21/08/2022 - Old Girl

Would you look at that! The old girl is back up for sale, think it's changed hands about 2 or 3 times now since we sold it a couple of years back. It also appears someone has been spending some hard earned cash on the beast! Though i must admit the price tag seems rather inflated. Good luck with the sale

21/08/2022 - Sound Dead

One of those really easy jobs that any one can do and with lots of options to go for it can be done with any budget. I've decided to lay Dynamat in the 90 and yes i know its the costly option but meh i dont care. Easy to apply and made easier with the roller tool. Dynamat Xtreme Sound Deadening Kit (Seat Box) - DA809

Definitely worthwhile and we did notice the difference, i should and wished i took a decibel reading before and after to showcase the difference.

20/08/2022 - Strike your out!

I've noticed recently when opening and closing the bonnet on the 110 the bonnet has been bounching batch and not latching unless you hulk slam the bonnet down, which isn't ideal.

Striker Assy Hood Lock - AGB71002 Buffer - 391287 Ensure you check the Striker you are buy is the correct one as there are obviosuly variants that will not fit and liberally apply grease to the pin. The stiker will also need adjusting to suit your defender, take an initial measurement before removing the old one and aim to replicate this as closely as you can.

07/08/2022 - Face lift

The more I look at the 90 the more I realise I need to smarten the front of the 110.

So what was replaced?

Front headlight panel finisher - TD5 - RH (LR051109)

Front headlight panel finisher - TD5 - LH (LR051110)

Grille - Radiator (LR038615)

Nut - Lokut (CZA4705L)

Front Grille Screw Kit S/S (DA1138)

Pretty much the same as when i did the 90 minus the bumper parts. Does without doubt look better, just need to give it a clean now!

31/07/2023 - Spring Rates

Love a good graph, basically I wanted to know what was the best springs to use on 90. Basically I don’t want to increase the rate/height as well as not soften it too much and drop the height.

Catch 22 I guess, but I ended up going with the OEM (pricey) Land Rover springs.

NRC9446, NRC9447, NRC9448 & NRC9449

These are from Rimmer Bros and the part number for the set of 90 spring’s is ZZ LL1302.

I’m hoping to get the shocks and springs sorted as soon as I can.

16/07/2022 - The Wedding

The 110 doesn’t make an appearance in this post unfortunately, but a series 1 will be the star of the show. The 90 gracefully did its job in delivering the bridesmaids to the church, but late as the driver (Amy) decided to go the wrong way as well as the bride in another vehicle (Range Rover) a great way to cause the suspense or turning up fashionably late.

I shan’t go into detail regarding the wedding but what an awesome day it was.

14/07/22 - Another Wedding!

In two days time is the wedding of Amy’s sister and of course this means I need to get the 90 ready to take the bridesmaids. Amy doesn’t tend to clean this 90 that often if not at all, and apparently because I’m the Defender nut I should clean it.. cheeky sod.

I’m still using the same cleaning products, but considering changing up and moving away from what I know.

10/07/2022 - Bars of Anti Roll

From time to time I have a quick look around the trucks to see if there is anything that appears on its way out or just looks tired. The Anti roll bars are exposed to the elements as much as most of the under side and as a result of a vehicle that’s 19 years old, the metal work is rusty where water ingress under the power coat eat away at the steel bars and the rubbers have cracked and perished.

So after visiting my preferred parts website (Paddock Spares) I order the complete replacement kit for both front and back.

Part number - STC8156AATD5

So I’m going to change this up and write up a step by step basic installation guide to help if you fancy tacking this swap out as well.

1.0 ANTI–ROLL BAR FRONT

1.01 Place the bushes on the anti-roll bar with the split pointing towards the axle.

1.02 Attach the anti-roll bar using the two straps with the angled sides of the bar pointing down.

1.03 Fit the bolts, washers and nyloc nuts loosely.

1.04 Fit bolt, washers and polyurethane bushes.

1.05 Attach anti-roll bar to ball joint links using new nuts.

1.06 Tighten to a torque of 68 Nm.

1.07 Tighten the nuts holding the strap to a torque of 30 Nm.

2.0 ANTI–ROLL BAR JOINT LINKS – FRONT

2.01 Attach the ball joint link with its arms pointing up, with the castellated nut.

2.02 Tighten to a torque of 40 Nm then fit new split pin.

2.03 Ensure anti-roll bar is in line with ball joint links.

2.04 Fit the bolts, washers and polyurethane bushes.

2.05 Secure the anti-roll bar using new self locking nuts.

2.06 Tighten to a torque of 68 Nm.

3.0 ANTI–ROLL BAR REAR

3.01 Place the polyurethane bushes on the anti-roll bar with the split pointing towards the axle.

3.02 Attach the anti-roll bar using the two straps with the ball joint link arms pointing down.

3.03 Fit the bolts, washers and nyloc nuts loosely.

3.04 Fit the bolts, washers and polyurethane bushes.

3.05 Attach anti-roll bar to ball joint links using new nuts.

3.06 Tighten to a torque of 68 Nm.

3.07 Tighten the nuts holding the straps to a torque of 30 Nm.

4.0 ANTI–ROLL BAR BALL JOINT LINKS – REAR

4.01 Attach the ball joint link with its arms pointing down, with the castellated nut.

4.02 Tighten to a torque of 40 Nm and fit new split pin.

4.03 Ensure anti-roll bar is in line with ball joint links.

4.04 Fit the bolts, washers and polyurethane bushes.

4.05 Secure the anti-roll bar using new self locking nuts.

4.06 Tighten to a torque of 68 Nm.

It’s one of the easier jobs I’ve done, and the post test drive is it feels more taught around corners. Though I’m sure the old dampers could do with swapping out as well in future to really have the round the corner on rails experience.. ha! I’m joking.

09/07/2022 - Rhytidectomy

It’s just a fancy word for a facelift, if you class it as a facelift. I’ve been toying with the idea to remove the bull bar and semi colour coded bumper off the 90 for sometime.

After speaking with the wife, which is still odd to call Amy that and showing her photos of examples of other 90’s she agreed that a less bulky front end would give it a more improved look. This also allowed me to replace a the grille and light surrounds as UV radiation and a lifetime of road grime had discoloured it.

So what was replaced?

Front headlight panel finisher - TD5 - RH (LR051109)

Front headlight panel finisher - TD5 - LH (LR051110)

Grille - Radiator (LR038615)

Nut - Lokut (CZA4705L)

Front Grille Screw Kit S/S (DA1138)

Fastener for end cap (DZM100080)

Tapping Blocks & S/S Bumper Bolt Set (ALQ710040K)

Front Bumper - Black - later type with holes for end caps (DPB104270)

All parts bought from Paddockspares using LRworkshop to obtain part numbers. Its a straight forward job to be fair, though removing the pre-existing ‘nut lokut’ from the grille shroud was a pig.

27/06/2022 - Aftermarket Woes

The door cards on the 90 have been tired since we picked it up back in 2016. I guess it’s one of those things that’s never a priority. But that being said when they’re basically hanging off you need to rectify the issue.

Typical failings of original door cards is when previous owners who don’t use the correct tools to remove the door card snap the plastic fixings which are part of the door card off leaving unsecured parts of the door card.

It’s worth mentioning the replacements are not OEM and they’ve been sat in ready to be installed since February. General observation of the door cards are they’re flimsy, don’t have the foam outer skin which I guess acts as sound deadening. The holes aren’t quite in the right places and it needs modification to fit the profile of the door… expected but annoying.

Parts list for the job.

ABS Plastic Door Card - RH Black with electric windows (TR232AEW)

ABS Plastic Door Card - LH Black with electric windows (TR233AEW)

Def Door Card Fixing Kit (DA4649)

Foam Spacer (MWC3137)

Door Lock Button Kit (DA2499)

I’m not super happy with the fit and need to revisit with more patience. Fitting the door card alone is achievable but if you have a spare set of hands it’s suggest take advantage of them.

06/06/2022 - Day 3

78 years ago today marks one of the most important campaigns of WW2 and it won’t involve too much driving today either. We were in for another potential treat providing Carl Liversage can sort something out apparently.. what that is we don’t exactly know but sounds exciting.

Todays agenda

Museum of the Battle of Normandy

Surprise

Jerusalem War Cemetery

Ver-sur-Mer (British Normandy Memorial)

Museum of the Battle of Normandy

Literally a stones throw from the Château is the Musee Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie (Museum of the battle of Normandy) and this will be the first stop of the day. Upon arrival we notice a cemetery on right (Bayeux War Cemetery) which appeared to have some big event going on with diplomat plated Mercedes parked up at the entrance and Royal British Legion tents etc… maybe this is the ‘surprise’?

We regroup and walk past a few WW2 tanks M4A1(75) Sherman tank & a Churchill Mk VII Crocodile Flamethrower Tank towards the entrance of the museum. There are others tanks but these in particular were what I consider more interesting.

The museum it without doubt is one of my favourite museums that I’ve been to, having a vast amount of exhibits with detailed descriptions of how what and why etc. I would highly recommend a visit when in Bayeux.

Bayeux War Cemetery Ceremony

I’d previously mentioned we had noticed that there was a ceremony going on in the Bayeux cemetery… well we were informed after the museum visit we’d be attending. This was honestly an honour as we were will be allowed to sit behind veterans whom served on the D-Day landings and listen to them recite poems and stories of fighting alongside their friends and servicemen, prior to this we were even fortunate enough to witness a fly over by a spitfire and hear the bellowing 1700hp V12 Merlin engine. I mean this is pretty awesome given the context of the event.

Jerusalem War Cemetery

Our last bit of green lanes of rural France leads us to the Jerusalem War Cemetery. Just another cemetery you are probably thinking reading this. But this cemetery does have some significance in fact all do but this one in particular has the youngest allied fall soldier Private Jack Banks of the Durham Light Infantry who fell on the 21st July 1944.

His regiment, the Durham Light Infantry, had advanced around 20 miles into France. After six weeks had surpassed the battalion commander required three volunteers to take out an enemy machine gun post which was situated inside a farmhouse near Caen.

One of those volunteers was Jack and of course two servicemen, sadly these men were tragically struck and killed by enemy mortar fire when attempting their objectives and are buried together.

Ver-sur-Mer (British Normandy Memorial)

Being honoured to attend the ceremony earlier there another at The British Normandy Memorial that were also attending. It stands just outside the village of Ver-sur-Mer overlooking Gold Beach, one of the two beaches where British forces landed on D-Day. The memorial which was opened in 2021 records the (22,442) names of all those under British command who lost their lives in Normandy between 6 June and 31 August 1944.

The Memorial was for the first time the focal point of the commemorations in Normandy, as a place where people could come together to remember and reflect. This was televised around the world, again there were more veterans some from earlier and a couple others who had landed on gold beach 78 years ago today. There was a military band playing Elgar - Nimrod and The Last Post among others I’m not so familiar with but build such an atmosphere.

As dark clouds close in on what has been a fantastic day, the trip was topped off with a flyover by a Douglas C-47 Skytrain (Dakota) and again to reiterate it’s a surreal experience to hear those WW2 warbirds. Now we say our goodbyes and head back to good old Blighty which is around a 9 hour journey (including ferry) to go back to normality.

The trip has been incredible, the agenda was spot on as well as the stories curated by Kieth Bowen as well as the rest of the team (Carl Liversage & Nick Gage).

Be sure to book a trip with

https://www.battlefieldsby4x4.com

05/06/2022 - Day 2

We wake pretty early after the Château was beaten within an inch of its life after a heavy rain storm which passed in the middle of the night.

Meeting the team and the rest of the tour guests at the front of Château, Keith briefed each vehicle individually on today’s agenda and the importance of these locations.

The Longues-sur-Mer battery

Omaha Beach

Pointe du Hoc

Maisy Battery

La Cambe German War Cemetery

The Longues-sur-Mer battery We use mostly paved roads until we reach Manvieux, here we traverse unpaved roads parrallel to the coast overlooking the British channel and arrive at our first point of interest Longues-sur-Mer battery. The battery is a Huge, preserved WWII gun installations, built by the Germans to defend France from sea invasion. It was part of Hitlers Atlantic Wall defences consisting of four rapid firing 152mm navy guns, each housed in large concrete enclosures. The site also includes a fire control post, ammunition stores, defensive machine gun posts and accommodation for the soldiers. The battery is actually located between Omaha and Gold beach which made it a massive threat to the Allied landings. Because of this, the area was heavily bombed on the night before D-Day. This was followed by a naval bombardment in the morning. Although the bombing did not cause much damage to the guns it did destroy the phone line linking the fire control bunker to the guns which severely disrupted the batteries ability to engage with the Allied ships that eventually knocked the guns out of action during a duel in which no Allied ship was damaged despite the battery firing around 170 rounds. On the 7th of June the major responsible for the battery surrendered to the British with 184 men. Gravel paths make access easy from the gun enclosures all the way to the coast line vantage points. Omaha Beach 18.5km west is the infamous Omaha Beach which was part of the D-Day Operation 'Overlord'. I could bang about this place for ages as it's such an important piece of the D-day puzzle. But i'm sure readers are already familiar of what happened here, so i will talk about what is here now... and you wouldn't think it was a place of a blood bath where Americans (1st Army, 5th Corps) suffered roughly 2,400 casualties. White sandy beaches and apart from the traffic noise the sound of waves crashing on the break on the beach was tranquil.We get chance to have a quick bite to eat before we head over to another location made famous by the Americans. One last thing to note is a white house nessled under the cliff, this house managed to survive the naval bombardment and Ally landings, it can be easily found as the owners have a picture of the house on D-day next to there letter box. Pointe du Hoc Not what i expected and though i went with zero expectation it is how i can describe as suprising. Prior to this trip inpreparation i had watched a documentary / read some articles of what is described as the most dangerous mission of D-Day and where the first American Forces on D-Day accomplished their mission objectives. The 2nd Ranger Battalion led by Lieutenant Colonel James E. Ruddler were tasked with assaulting the battery on D-Day to silence the guns, protecting Allied ships and soldiers on the beaches below from artillery fire.

Today the site remains cratered from the aerial and naval bombardment prior to the Rangers assault and features a memorial and museum dedicated to the battle. Many of the original fortifications and bunkers remain which you can access as well as the edge of part of the cliff. Given we are attending a around the anniversary of D-Day, an American ceremony was taking place attended by the new generation of US service men and women, as well as some vet's which was awesome to see.

Maisy Battery

The BF4x4 team always have something up there sleeves and it was the Maisy Battery and this was annouced over CB radio whilst driving through rural normandy. I would be very suprised if many people would know about Normandy's best kept secret where you can walk through 2km of original German trenches and explore their WWII bunkers. The Maisy Battery is a group of World War II artillery batteries that was constructed in secret by the German Wehrmacht near the French village of Grandcamp-Maisy in Normandy. British military historian Gary Sterne rediscovered Maisy Battery in 2004, after he had found a hand-drawn map in the pocket of a US Army veteran's uniform he had bought. The battery was about 1.6 km inland marked on the map as an "Area of high resistance".

The battery had been recorded as the second highest D-Day target in the Omaha Sector group of fortifications, but the exact location had been lost from later records. Using the old map, Sterne was able to locate a bunker entrance amongst the undergrowth. He (Sterne) then investigated further and found additional fortified buildings, gun platforms, and a hospital. Over 3 kilometres of trenches were uncovered and apparently there's still more to discover with time and permissions. Making this a little Land Rover related after enjoying the site i saw another defender parked up, a swiss TD5 110 Hicap which would be the definition of 'overlander spec' unfortunately i didn't get the oppurtunity to meet the owner(s) but had a good nose around. Make this location one to visit if you are in area as it’s really interesting and there are also a collection of WW2 guns and vehicles to view.

La Cambe German War Cemetery

I wouldn't say saving the best till last in this situation and like i had mentioned on our first BF4x4 trip (WW1) you don't see too many German cemeteries. Whether it be Allie or German, cemeteries are a place of reflect and appreciation. Though the enemy, these boys and men lives were needlessly cut short, what makes it worse is the value of these individuals post death.... forgotten and it took the families of the fallen to get this site erected. La Cambe was inaugurated in September 1961. Spread out over 7 hectares and located close to the American landing beach of Omaha, 25.5 km north west of Bayeux. It is the largest German war cemetery in Normandy where 21,222 German soldiers are buried. In fact, the mass burial mound holds the remains of 207 soldiers whose names were never discovered.

This ends Day 2 of our D-Day tour, we retreat back to the Château where we join the BF4x4 team to take advange of the fine dining offered as well as on the house calvados... which i still don't like.

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of D-Day and we don’t have a clue what is installed for us.

04/06/2022 - Day 1

The location for the group to meet was just a stones throw from Pegasus bridge located in Bénouville. Here we met some familiar faces from a previous BF4x4 tour we did a few years ago. As always an introduction and agenda was shared where most of this tour will be spent in the Calvados (Normandy) area. Today's agenda Pegasus Bridge Memorial Ranville War Cemetery Colleville-Montgomery - The Hillman Fortress Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery Arromanches-les-Bains - The Mulberry Harbour/Port Winston

Memorial Pegasus  As you would've guessed our first stop was indeed Pegasus bridge memorial/museum, now i'd imagine most would know this but the original captured bridge has been relocated away from the canal and the one you drive/walk over is a replica. The site is dedicated to the men of the British 6th Airborne Division who were the first Allied troops to arrive in Normandy on the night of the 5th/6th of June 1944 where a small detachment of the 6th British Airborne Division surprised the German garrison guarding the bridges. The BF4x4 guides arranged for a guided tour to walk us through step by step how the assault unfolded and we were even lucky enough to meet a veteran - Well worth a visit.

Ranville War Cemetery

1.4 kilometres down the ride (3 minute drive) is the Ranville War Cemetery. Ranville was the first village to be liberated in France when the bridge over the Caen Canal was captured intact in the early hours of 6th June by troops of the 6th Airborne Division, who were landed nearby by parachute or glider. Many of the division's casualties are buried in Ranville War Cemetery.

The cemetery contains around 2,236 Commonwealth burials of WW2, 90 of them unfortunately are unidentified and 323 German graves. The churchyard also contains 47 Commonwealth burials, one of which is unidentified, and one German grave.

One grave of interest was of Private Emile Corteil, he was from Watford in Hertfordshire and served with A Company, 9th (Essex) Parachute Battalion. Corteil was the dog handler for the company, and his dog was called Glen. Both parachuted into France with their company on D Day, Emile was killed on D Day aged 19 years; Glen was also killed and the two were found lying together.

Colleville-Montgomery - The Hillman Fortress

From Ranville we head 7.5km northwest to The Hillman Fortress which sits south of the town Collevill-Montgomery. The Hillman Fortress was a command post among the German coastal defences on the Normandy beaches which was built between 1942 and 1944.

The 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment liberated the site on the 6th of June 1944 but took longer than expected. The delay in taking the bunker complex has been cited as a reason for the Allies not completing their major D-Day objective of taking Caen. We were fortunate to experience a camp reenactment, this entailed enthusiasts dressing up as allies and Germans with decommissioned weapons and WW2 vehicles. 1940's radio's playing war speeches and also the Jive music like 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' by The Andrews Sisters. It's honestly awesome to be amongst it and i'm sure many have got bitten by the reenactment bug. Once we had completed many laps of the camp and the fortress we has a spot to eat in the back of the 110 mainly cheese, ham and baguette (continental lunch) before heading off to our next destination of the day.

Bény-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

Whilst in convoy heading west over the CB radio Keith informs us that we will be stopping off at another war cemetery, but this contains mostly Canadians. Many of those buried were of the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on 6th June or during the early days of the advance towards Caen, when the Division engaged the German 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Divisions. As you look around any war cemetery it is hard to really comprehend that each headstone represents a lost life and though i'm stating the obvious it's just an overwhelming experience.

Arromanches-les-Bains - The Mulberry Harbour/Port Winston

And just when you thought the day was drawing to an end, when arriving at our accommodation for the next couple of nights which is the very nice Chateau de Bellefontaine. The guys at BF4x4 explained after checking in and freshening up we have a table booked at La Marine which overlooks Gold beach, where the remains of the Mulberry Harbour/Port Winston lie. It was part of mission overlord, where the objectives at Gold Beach were to - Secure a beachhead - Move west to capture Arromanches  - Establish contact with the American forces at Omaha - Capture Bayeux and the small port at Port-en-Bessin - Link up with the Canadian forces at Juno to the east

The forces attacking Gold beach faced the German 352nd Infantry Division and German 716th Infantry Division and there were around 350 ally fatalities.

Mulberry "B" (British) was the harbour assembled on Gold Beach at Arromanches for use by the British/Canadian forces. The harbour was decommissioned 6 months after D-Day as the Allies were able to use the recently captured Antwerp port. The harbour was operated by 20 Royal Engineers under the command of Lt. Col. G C B Shaddick.

That will be enough about the history, the food at La Marine was fantastic and the on the house calvados shot (cider brandy) definitely opened up the airways. Based on Day 1... tomorrow is going to be another epic day.

03/06/2022 - Here we Caen.

A 3am start and 122 miles later we arrive at Portsmouth harbour to catch the ferry to Caen. But no trip doesn’t have it story of inconveniences. My father had mentioned about the 3rd Covid jab and that I’ll likely need one… which I assumed I’d didn’t as I’d had 2 already. Cut a long story short 2 security refusals and a panic drive to get a bespoke lateral flow test, we managed to board the ferry after the 3rd attempt.

Surrounded by WW2 willies jeeps driven by enthusiasts wearing officer garments, You can definitely tell it’s the D-Day anniversary week. The ferry trip itself is about 6 hours long, but feels a lot longer with lack of decent entertainment and mediocre food. Luckily I had my work laptop, so i could crack on with outstanding jobs.

We disembark the ferry and head to accommodation located at Golf Omaha Beach just west of Port-en-Bessin-Huppain. Here we had a mooch around the fishing town(s) Port-en-Bessin and Huppain are actually two towns. Interestingly a battle took place here between the 7-8 June June 1944 where Royal marine commandos were tasked to capture the fortified port as part of operation overlord.

As a result the commandos had 136 casualties (46 killed, 70 wounded). We were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time witnessing a flyby of a Dakota - Douglas C47 which was pretty rad. The ports bars/restaurants were brimmed with WW2 soldiers and officers with GMC and Chevy trucks parked outside.. it was impressive.

We head back to the hotel, consume wheat beer and an artisan 3 course meal. Today wasn’t even the start of the WW2 tour.. the real fun begins tomorrow.

02/06/2022 - Pre Trip Jobs

Vehicle: 110

Odometer: 95,176

Before any trip now I don’t want to be stressing about the condition of the truck and if it needs any work I’ll leave it to by friends at GreyHill 4x4’s to check over and ensure it’s in good condition before our adventure.

The 110 didn’t just have a check up but the following jobs were carried out.

Gearbox & Transfer box oil change

Rear lower shock bushes replaced

Coolant change

Front cam seal replacement

Fan belt & tensioner replacement

Swivel joints and props lubricated

Picked up the truck and placebo always kicks in and the truck feels new ha. But I’m glad it’s all ready for France.

01/06/2022 - Step aside. With the wedding over, the new side steps were removed from the 110 and replaced the existing side steps on the 90. For the cost of new steps, it wouldn't make much sense to refurb the old ones. For those of you who have eagle eyes you will notice the original steps aren't actually factory standard. Therefore i didn't feel as bad disposing of the old. 

28/05/2022 - Free-doom Well would you look at that.. she said i do! Now i’m officially responsible for 2 bloody defenders now ha. There’s not much more to talk about, awesome day and the trucks looked the part. In fact i’m stoked Amy (wife) wanted her wedding vehicle to be my 110.