Say hello to the White Camel - Defender 90

[ze_zaskar]

Hi all,

This thread will about my 1995 Defender 90 300Tdi called White Camel. It's may daily driver and weekend toy, which I'm building as an overland rig.

This story will be told in media res.

It all started in February 2013. The White Camel was purchased new in 1995 by EDP, the Portuguese national electrical company (now Chinese...). They used it to maintain remote transformers and powerlines. Like most commercial Defenders of the time, this one was rolling on 205R16 tires and has a mostly untrimmed interior.

This is how how got it, and mostly, except for the snorkel, how EDP got it:


So, why buy a 18 YO company car? Mostly because it had NO RUST and a full LR workshop service history. Some bolts were missing, bushings were cr@ap and plastics broken, but all easily repaired.

It was a daily driver and weekend offroader since the beginning, but the idea was to slowly turn it into a capable overlanding vehicle. Most preparation ideas came from the Camel Trophy vehicles, without ever wanting to be a replica, hence the White Camel thing

 

[homeguy]

Very nice!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ze_zaskar]

Thanks Homeguy,

It was quite an unappealing car at that stage, at least to my eye. The stock rostyle rims looked awful, not to mention they were tubed.
Gearing was way too low with those tires, kind of hard to understand how LR actually equipped them that way.
Steering was all over the place, every single track rod end and ball joint was in need of replacement.

Will continue to post it's transformation. Unfortunately didn't nearly as many pics as I should of the process

 

[ze_zaskar]

So, imediatly after purchase, I started to renew it.

Tires were a priority, the one I got were tubed Portuguese 205R16 CAMACs. And yes, Portuguese tires are a thing, supposedly very sought after by UMM collectors.

So I got a set of 235/85R16 BFG ATs. Being in a tight budget at the time, had to opt for cheap Modular rims, at €36 each. Surprisingly, these went rust free for 3 years, also being unbelievably air tight.

Also started to replace suspension bushings, renew pedal and gear lever rubbers and replacing missing body bolts.

When I learned about the thickness (or lack of) of the diff pans, immediately got a pair of these:


The Superwinch X6 was not working properly, so I ditched it with the bumper. Luckily, a guy restoring a Camel Trophy special edition Discovery 300Tdi was after one, so that was a quick sale.

Here is how it looked 1 month later, in it's first trip:

 

[czenkov]

Sweet 90. I am on the hunt for one of these albeit a bit older.

 

[Kgh]

Great looking truck!

Somebody in the US would want those Rostyles, I bet. I think they look like Ford Pinto rims.

So what else is in the works?

Where are you located, generally? Austria and Germany have some good vendors for parts and upgrades, you may know that already.

 

[ze_zaskar]

Thanks all,

I'm located in northern Portugal. I usually order my parts from the UK, can't really beat the prices there. Also have some very good local suppliers, there's an very big LR scene here.

So, after the first upgrades, I proceded to install a Paddock galvanized steel steering guard. That was just me being cheap and avoiding to buy the Mantec one I really wanted, only to do so some years later.
After a couple of close calls with garranos (wild horses) in Geres, I decided I needed some basic front protection. Wanted a Camel Trophy type bull bar, but they are really, really rare in Portugal. Found a genuine LR bullbar close to me and pulled the trigger. Nothing heavy duty, but should protect the radiator and also the headlights from branches, etc.


Meanwhile, reversed into a light pole and bent in the rear door. Managed to repair it, but it was weakened in the process.
In order to avoid cracking the door I installed a Bearmach spare wheel carrier. It's a perfect copy of the expensive Mantec one, except for the cr@ppy paint job, which I redid myself.


And it was more or less done for 2013.
In 2014 and most of 2015 was also in a limited budget, so all the effort went into mechanical renovation.
Here's a small list of what was replaced (using only OEM parts):
- Radiator;
- viscous fan coupling;
- thermostat;
- "Y" cooling hose;
- expansion tank cap;
- front propshaft;
- rear propshaft;
- front transfer case output bearing;
- water pump;
- brake pads;
- every single suspension bushing;
- full chassis linseed oil anti rust treatment.

And it was mostly it

 

[ze_zaskar]

Just to keep going

In late 2015 I had most of the mechanical overall done. Time for upgrades.


First was a set of HD steering bars with OEM TRE's. The original ones were reshaped at least 2 times. The HD ones should be standard



Next was the steering guard. I never truly liked the steel one I had. Ended buying a Mantec guard, the one I always wanted.
Is reasonably light, very sturdy and protects as far back as possible. On the other hand, is not very friendly for tall suspension lifts since the front steering rod might hit the guard. For me is perfect.
In true LR / Mantec fashion, tolerances are all over the place, instructions are cr@p, some bolts are missing are other bolts are doubled. Easy to see how the two brands were buddies for so long.



Wanted to replace the tired suspension and played a bit around with different setups. Settled on:
Front - NRC9448/9 (130 fronts)
Rear - RKB101230/40 (90 HD progressive rears)
ANR2938 isolators on the rear springs
Genuine shocks all around
This gives a 1 or 1,5" lift when unloaded, a firm ride and a fantastic load capacity. It corners very good, even without sway bars. Offroad it has a hard time fully flexing unloaded, but given the true purpose of the White Camel this is OK.

PS: tried some different suspension setups and concluded there's no real need to lift a Defender unless you want to run 35" and up. Their stock suspension is already quite tall, more so than most of the competition like Patrols, etc

 

[ze_zaskar]

Next was the biggest investment so far, the mighty roll cage.
Keeping with the Camel theme, opted for the Safety Devices L142. It's the Camel Trophy model, but with rear stays compatible with the bench seats.

Other advantages:
- nearly 50% cheaper than other options;
- compatible with traditional roof rack;
- safe, as is has an actual internal loop.

It took me 40 man hours over 3 days to install it.




Also installed a Southdown snorkel by this time. It's a proper snorkel, goes direct to the airbox, ditching the tight and impossible to seal stock ducting

 

[Victory_Overland]

I love this little beast. Truly a classy looking D90. Does the roll-bar allow for a roof rack?

 

[ze_zaskar]

Hi,

Thanks, it looks a bit different right now, and will be in a big adventure next month.

Yes, the rollcage allows for a roof rack, but it needs to be a specific Brownchurch design, otherwise it hits the top bars

 

[ze_zaskar]

Some interior upgrades followed

The original 20 year old steering wheel was falling apart, so I installed a rally style generic brand steering wheel. Some guys have been racing this model for some time, and it's very durable.
The offset only works well with the next upgrade


Being 6'1 I always felt a bit cramped in the Defender, mostly on the knees. There are plenty of aftermarket seat raisers on the market but they felt a little too expensive for what they are.
€10 of 30mm tube later and I got a pair of seat extensions made (and an extra pair for a buddy). They are 30mm tall (duh) and allow for the seats to be mounted 50mm back


Being sometimes a cheap b@stard, I rode for 2 years with the hi lift between the seats and the bulkhead. Not only very dangerous in case of a crash, it was also a total PIA to use.
The I maned up and got a 4XRAC mount kit.
Was planing to mount it along the left wheel box, but noticed it fits perfectly on the bulkhead, even with the roll cage loop.




Then we bought a companion for the Defender


It's a mint condition, very late manufacture 1998 Discovery 300Tdi.
Absolute pleasure to drive, super comfy and delivers over 30 mpg

 

[Victory_Overland]

I never realized the size comparison of the D90 until I see it parked next to your Disco? The more I see D90, the more I am willing to settle for one and wait on the 110 until later for the full overland rig.

 

[Mako1114]

Looks great although I'd have kept the winch bumper and put an M8000 in it.

Cheers

 

[ze_zaskar]

Yes, except for length, the Defender kind of dwarfs the Disco, even more so in the current configuration.

Defenders are very tall cars, with tall bonnets which is accentuated when with big tires and offset wheels. That's why those aussie 130s on 35s always look ginormous next to other 4x4s