Will@LRW wrote:

Having a LHD ROW Defender myself I can tell you that finding one in the UK pretty hard.

You can mostly use Td5 parts, except for everything in the engine bay above the chassis line - adding to your list: clutch lines, throttle cable, heater hoses, vacuum hose. These bits are unique and are either expensive or obsolete if trying to get new. They can be fabricated but that adds to the labour time.

This is a LHD bulkhead and dash on ebay that might be a good starting point (albeit expensive): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264729987048 It'll give you all the fiddly bits and you just need your original looms. There's LHD bulkheads here which are on for a premium: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/333598505002

The bulkhead loom should just flip around, even though the part numbers for RHD and LHD are different. This is my video about how the wiring is laid out:



The only cheap way to do it will be to wait for parts to become available second hand. I know someone that converted a ROW Defender LHD to RHD last year, but the parts are now all gone. I've not seen another opportunity in the last 5 years. Otherwise, LHD Td5 parts come up now and then on ebay. But i'm presuming you know this is going to cost a lot

There were a few hundred ROW Defenders sold in Chile and Argentina so it may be an option to source parts over there.

Good luck! I'd love a Kalahari.

Thanks a lot for that very detailed reply, it is highly appreciated

The problem with Chile is that they do only allow 2nd hand vehicle imports if you, as a chilean citizen, have lived outside the country for several years and have owned the vehicle you want to import in the country where you lived abroad for more than 6 months.

When it comes to ROW spec Defenders in Chile only a total of 10 units of 110 CSW, 300 tdi's has ever been imported and they sadly never get offered for sale When it comes to Argentina I know of one Kalahari Edition which was exported to the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas). There might be more around but I am not able to import one to Chile due to the above mentioned import restrictions of 2nd hand cars. When it comes to Td5's there are plenty in both Chile and Argentina, which as you say can be used for LHD parts

Thanks again for the tips

o4dn wrote:

Can't you just keep it RHD then?

There are quite a few RHD cars on the road on the continent over here. Main pain points are the motorway tolls, but motorways are not fit for Defenders anyway

That would have been the best option, however in Chile they do not allow you to register a RHD vehicle by law

wyvern wrote:

... maybe do what most RHD overlanders do and give Chile a miss - with the money you save from doing the conversion you can probably rent a small 4x4 and drive it as a standalone country .... we are looking at the pan am trip for the long term future and will probably just give those countries a miss when we come to them..

We are not overlanding Chile, we are returning to live there again

Please don't miss out on Chile on your future overlanding trip It is one of the most beautiful and diverse countries in the world and great for overlanding. I know of a South African family overlanding Chile in a RHD Defender 130, whom you can ask how they did it. This is the link to their website https://www.a2aexpedition.com/

VVS210 wrote:

Might be a bit of a long shot but try calling Keith Gott Land Rovers down this way. I know they have had a fair few ROW vehicles he's sold in the past & they have so much parts stock they are often used by the stealers to get bits they can't source from LR...

Alternative they may be able to do you a deal on yours against a LHD ROW 110?

Thanks for your reply, it is highly appreciated

BizLightyear wrote:

[
We are not overlanding Chile, we are returning to live there again

Please don't miss out on Chile on your future overlanding trip It is one of the most beautiful and diverse countries in the world and great for overlanding. I know of a South African family overlanding Chile in a RHD Defender 130, whom you can ask how they did it. This is the link to their website https://www.a2aexpedition.com/

I want to see the county as its one of the top spots of the world but may do it as a stand alone if I can’t take my own transport
... you may be getting a visit !  Poppy - TDCI (Puma) 110XS 2.2 - Camper conversion - see the build here - https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic56530.html
Elgar -TDCI(Puma) 110XS Dormobile - now sold
Devon & Cornwall 4x4 Response - DC126

wyvern wrote:

... maybe do what most RHD overlanders do and give Chile a miss - with the money you save from doing the conversion you can probably rent a small 4x4 and drive it as a standalone country .... we are looking at the pan am trip for the long term future and will probably just give those countries a miss when we come to them..