 | Home > My Defender > New Zealand Td5 |
 
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| jomara Member Since: 26 Oct 2009 Location: Lanarkshire Posts: 1790   
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Hi Bruce
Loving your Defender, wish I had held onto my Td5 as the Tdci is nicer as an everyday car but it's lost some of it's soul!! I couldn't believe the prices of Defenders and parts in NZ when we were out, made ours seem cheap!! It actually made sense for us to export our cars from the UK as the £ wasn't as strong, has the market softened any? Thame and The Coromandel is a beautiful part of the country, we spent a few days exploring Hot Water Beach, Coromandel and even ended up on the Coroglen Road in error!! You must have had great time getting home as the drive from Dunedin up the coast to Picton is beautiful, we ended up involved in the L&P show at Kaikoura as they were having a Scottish theme and us and the local butcher were the only Scots in the area 
Did you stop off at any of the wineries in Waipara? We had some of the best wines we ever tasted at Pegasus Bay and I ended up chauffeuring my Mrs as she suddenly felt uncomfortable driving when there was a chance of wine!! When we were applying for visas I bought a Puma with the excuse that we needed to own it for at least a year before we could export it. Unfortunately my Mrs used the same excuse and bought herself a Q5  Unfortunately the business visa was closed and revised when we were 75% of the way through the process and when it re-opened we were just short of the points required for residency.
Hope you enjoy many happy miles in your Defender roaming around one of the most beautiful countries on earth 
Cheers John 2014 110 2.2TDCi XS Station wagon 1971 Bowler Tomcat 88 4.2 V8 Auto 2022 110 D250 XS Edition - Gone 2024 110 D250 X-Dynamic HSE |
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26th Jun 2017 10:12am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32  
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Hi John,
The Tdci model is definitely more refined. A bit more powerful & quieter. The back seats are tons better too, as my kids like to tell me 
The market doesn't seem to have softened yet, but it may do yet? There's lots of people offloading their Defenders while prices are hot. Couldn't go through Kaikoura due to State Highway 1 being closed as a result of the earthquake, & slip blocking the road, which was a shame. Short on time too, so no wine tasting  Still a fantastic drive home though.
That's a shame about the visa rules changing. That must have seriously cheesed you off! We've just been back in Dunedin last week, for a work conference. It's a great little city, especially being the most Scottish city in NZ
Cheers Bruce |
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26th Jun 2017 10:47am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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So the first thing I had to do once home was change the grille. It was a silver LRX (KBX precursor?) one so I removed it & sprayed it black. Much better:
 Click image to enlarge Cheers Bruce |
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26th Jun 2017 10:55am |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10742 
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Welcome Bruce and you have a great looking landy
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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26th Jun 2017 7:42pm |
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| BCdefender Member Since: 26 Oct 2015 Location: Nanaimo Posts: 211  
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Wow Bruce,
What a beauty. How is the rust situation? I remember it being a bit wet down south! We lived in Nelson for a year and had no luck finding any reasonable defenders. We ended up driving a P38 Range Rover which was is great shape. Did well on 90 mile beach! Hope all is well in New Zealand. Can't wait to go back. 1999 Defender 110 2003 P38 2007 RR SC "And that's why it needs to be celebrated, because when the Defender goes we'll have lost this pointer to where we came from, and we're really going to miss it." My build thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic47750.html |
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27th Jun 2017 12:12am |
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| agentmulder Member Since: 16 Apr 2016 Location: Outer Space Posts: 1324 
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A few kiwis turning up at these forums lately
Solved the bowel problem, working on the consonants... |
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27th Jun 2017 7:10am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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Dunedin can be wet, but is a fairly dry climate, as opposed to the more humid climate in the upper North Island where I live. Rust isn't too bad on this vehicle. The bottoms of the front doors will need some work, but other than that it looks pretty good. Now if I could just sort out the water leaks into the interior...must invest some time to try & resolve those |
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27th Jun 2017 7:21am |
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| VVS210 Member Since: 12 Nov 2016 Location: Hampshire Posts: 953 
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Love that street scene - reminds me of the time I spent working way down south in Invercargill. Fantastic country & would be on the plane as soon as the money was in the bank if I ever won the lottery or my premium bonds came up 
DCPU would be in a shipping container along with the D4 |
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27th Jun 2017 7:59am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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Yeah, Thames gets used for a few TV adverts & shows due to it's old fashioned streets & heritage buildings. Streets are wide too, but nothing on the Invercargill streets! Invercargill gets a bad rap, but I actually like it! We spent a few days there on our January holiday, & liked it a lot! I love the 110 DCPU too! I looked at a couple, but in the end went for a SW...head said SW, but heart said DCPU! |
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27th Jun 2017 9:46am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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Next post; wheels & tyres!
The plan was always to change out the Boost alloys for some Wolf steel rims, in black, plus some mud tyres. After we got the vehicle back home, I checked the tyres the next morning, standard General Grabber TRs, & was shocked! The sidewalls on three of them had sizeable bulges, where I’m sure the sidewalls were delaminating. Just glad one of them didn’t let go during the 1,700km test drive! They did feel a bit ‘lumpy’ on the drive north; now I know why! They looked like original tyres so I’m guessing they may have been in storage & put back on for the sale 
I went for 6 of each, as I like to have two spares for 4WDing. I took forever weighing up the options for tyres, & especially as they’re not cheap in NZ! BF Goodrich are definitely one of the more expensive tyres, but after many an evening on the internet researching, I went with the BFG mud terrain. I did consider them in the 255/85R16 size, but in the end went with the standard 235/85R16 size. Everyone has a different view, but in the end I had to make a decision! Anyway, some pictures below of before & after: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge I've been very happy with the rims, & tyres. The BFGs are very quiet on the road for a mud tyre & they're nice & grippy. Click image to enlarge |
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27th Jun 2017 10:03am |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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Towbar.
I knew that I wanted to change the standard Land Rover tow bar for something less obtrusive for off road use. I looked at the options, & there are a few out there. I decided to go for a Terra Firma receiver hitch setup. Once that arrived, I realised the rear step would have to go, which wasn’t too much of a sacrifice. Before: Click image to enlarge After: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Cheers Bruce |
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28th Jun 2017 12:54am |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10742
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Nice upgrades Bruce
do like the black rims and tyres on your defender  1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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28th Jun 2017 8:32pm |
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| hinsonberger Member Since: 31 Mar 2017 Location: Thames Posts: 32
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Thanks
On to body protection: I love the purposeful simplicity & standard ability of the Defender. Because of that, I don’t intend on making any big changes to my vehicle. I just like it fairly standard, but with some subtle improvements. Things such as protection & making it a bit better for our use, which is really just a few 4WD trips, & some general use. Nothing too extreme. With the rear overhang of a 110, I wanted to provide a bit of protection to the vulnerable rear corners. These can get a bit crushed if you come down onto a ledge or step a bit harder than intended. Again, I spent many hours researching what to fit. I like to try & make a smart decision on any purchase, but probably just waste too many hours on the net  . I decided to go for the Safari Equip ones, & have been very happy with the design & strength of them. Straightforward to fit too.
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Cheers Bruce |
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29th Jun 2017 8:38am |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10742
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Looking good Bruce
there is no harm in doing your homework first, saves a lot of time 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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29th Jun 2017 8:27pm |
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