Deallad wrote:The_Dogge wrote:Don't know why you'd want a defender, design has moved on a bit since the 1940s! The army aren't going to bemoan its demise, it had a terrible reputation as a death trap in the recent campaigns didn't it?
In reply to the above quote, out of all the Defenders built over %60 are still on the road, so it must be reliable, there is not another vehicle that can boast those statistics.
With regards to it being a death trap the Defender was never designed as an armoured fighting vehicle, the armour was very much an after thought designed to protect troops from side arms fire in Northern Ireland. ( The Snach Land Rover)
As a farm work horse it is at the top of it's field.
What was needed was some up dating and modernisation
It also gives jobs to British workers.
Mike
I thought their reliability reputation was poor at best, they need a lot of maintenance compared to modern cars, the chassis rusts like mad and the issue is concealed by the aluminium bodywork. Old ones that are still on the road are probably like my granddad's brush, you know, he's had it 50 years and it's had 3 shafts and 7 new heads! When I read adverts for them they usually boast "new alternator, new starter, etc etc" like that's a good thing, it's stuff that just doesn't fail on most modern cars!
My dad had one when I was a kid, as a "farm workhorse", it was not a very practical vehicle, he's not had another. 2 friends have them tricked up for off roading, one is a proper classic, tax exempt, couldn't go far in them as they are far too loud and uncomfortable, not to mention uneconomical, though some of that is probably due to the aftermarket work, extreme tyres etc. Neither of them have the original engine.