My Defender Story

Now that we're beginning the assembly phase of things - every day seems to bring something of note. Today, Jim and I put the rear of the frame on the rear axle and installed the fuel tank. We're working with shorter days - from a few perspectives, but still trying to get as much done daily as possible.

Tub Construction

Yesterday Bernie helped me retrieve the rear tub from the painters - between last night and today I was able to get all of the bracing mounted and riveted in place. I'll probably replace a lot of the hardware that mounts the bracing to the floor with some longer - but its good to have things in place. Also ordered a pneumatic rivet gun. Anything else seems to be too much of a headache.

A Long Overdue Update

In June / July - Jim finally took his assignment in Japan. This left me down not only a pair of hands, but a project manager and decades of experience working on Defenders. Over the course of the project, we experienced tons of delays - many related to Covid and other issues. From sourcing a frame to stripping the original frame, to paint and other delays - we just ran out of time. Early last year, Jim and I had Drew at Coniston Classics do the welding on the original frame. The work was great, and while we were at his shop we were able to get a great look at the work he and Jimmy were doing on their custom builds. From the moment we walked into their shop, Jim and I agreed, that should things go awry - and I find myself unable to finish the project, this was the best place we could take it. Jimmy and Drew have a ton of experience with not just Defenders, but Land Rovers in general. They are factory trained LR technicians, and met while they were working at Land Rover ...