The successor to the Land Rover Series III, the Defender 90 carried over much of its predecessor's bodywork and running gear while offering various improvements including permanent four-wheel-drive, coil spring suspension, an updated cabin, and more. This 1987 left-hand-drive example comes finished in white over a tan interior and was sold new in Italy and reportedly remained in the country until it was imported to the US by the current owner in October 2022. This 1987 Land Rover Defender 90 is now being offered for auction by its seller out of California while showing 173k kilometers (107k miles) on the odometer.
This Defender comes finished in white and features dual side mirrors, checker-plate fender trim, cowl vents, a rear step, and mud flaps. The seller reports that it was refinished under previous ownership, and has provided a collection of images that can be found in the gallery along with a clean CARFAX. It rides on a set of white finished 16” Rostyle wheels which come dressed in a set of Vredestein Grip Classic tires.
The cabin features three front seats that have been upholstered in patterned tan cloth along with a black dashboard, door panels, and carpeted floor mats. The seller reports that the seats have been reupholstered and the headliner has been replaced. Equipment includes a heater, air conditioning, an aftermarket boost gauge, a rear cargo cage, and diamond-plate trim in the rear cargo compartment. The seller notes that air conditioning is not currently blowing cold.
Power comes from a 19J 2.5-liter turbodiesel inline-four-cylinder engine which is equipped with a Garrett T2 turbocharger and is capable of producing up to 85 HP and 150 lb-ft of torque. All four are driven by way of a 5-speed manual transmission and a dual-speed transfer case. Braking is handled by front discs and rear drums. A recent service was carried out by British Car Service of Los Angeles, California, including a new clutch slave cylinder and flex hose, clutch master cylinder, fuel filter, and a flush of all of the fluids.
This sale will include a clean title.
Comments (23)
Sold for $31,000
Offer in the amount of $31,000
Offer in the amount of $30,000
Offer in the amount of $28,500
Offer in the amount of $27,500
Bid in the amount of $26,000
Bid in the amount of $21,000
Bid in the amount of $20,500
Bid in the amount of $20,000
Bid in the amount of $19,000
Bid in the amount of $18,500
Bid in the amount of $18,000
Gary - it doesn't need to be smogged as far as I know, it's a diesel. As for registering in California it's doable. I do not believe it's cheap though. There are a couple of companies here in LA that put them through the CA system and there's one in San Diego.
Some people seem to be able to pop into any old CA DMV and walk out with a CA registration and a title in the mail. How they do that is above my scope of comprehension.
Bid in the amount of $15,500
Bid in the amount of $15,000
IS this legal in California? Will it pass a smog check?
Everything else works perfectly. All interior and exterior lights, all gauges, interior lamp and even the turbo boost gauge.
Is there anything, beyond the less than cold A/C, that is not working as designed on this truck?
Bid in the amount of $14,500
Bid in the amount of $12,000
Bid in the amount of $10,250
Bid in the amount of $10,000
Good evening P Car Market! Welcome to my auction of this very nice Land Rover Turbo Diesel. I’ve driven a lot of these trucks, and this is by far and away the best one I’ve been in and around. No slop in the steering, plenty of pick up, very little smoke on start up. It does have a red block engine and a fairly new turbocharger, so I’m guessing that it’s been rebuilt at some point. I’d say pretty recently going by the responsiveness and power the engine has. It really does cope well in modern traffic.
This is an extremely rare 2.5TD with AIR CONDITIONING! Of course, it doesn’t blow cold. But who’s complaining?! British Car Service had a look at the AC when it was in for the recent major service and said the system looked fine apart from lacking 12v power to a couple of relays and would require the obvious recharge. I don’t think it would take much to get it up and running and blowing cold air. I just didn’t have the time or inclination to get further into it.
Talking of British Car Service, they just did a complete service. Changed all the diff oils, gearbox oil, engine oil and filter, fuel filter, air filter, etc. Steve, who is notoriously picky, said it was a “very solid truck”. High praise indeed coming from him.
The little 90 was refurbished in Italy prior to being shipped to the states by my mate. It was treated to a new paint job, which is more than decent, brand new Vredestein “Made in Holland” tires, new seats, new carpets, new headliner, a bunch of other bits and pieces. The dashboard is perfect and original, this LR was used on a vineyard so was likely treated with care and the occasional glass of vino.
I can’t see any rust anywhere really, the frame looks perfect. It really is, as Steve said, a solid truck.
I treated her to a new set of glow plugs. It was a 40 second heat time in the morning, and frankly I bore easily. So it’s now a 10 second glow plug heat time. That’s more like it for an easily frustrated person like myself.
For the price of a decent Toyota, you can relive your Daktari memories and pretend you’re in the Camel Trophy on the way to the store.
Beware. If you do not like contact thumbs ups, and people rolling their windows down in traffic to try and talk to you about the truck, do not bid.