Defender Kit on LR3/4 Disco 3/4 vehicles

[Victory_Overland]

Okay, I might be off the wall here, but has anyone with fab experience ever considered modifying Defender protection and body gear for newer generation Rovers? Many are much more available and cheaper and to be honest have some great looks when placed up against new LR.

Something I am considering is buying a front Defender bumper and modifying it for fit on my LR3. I have a friend who is an amazing fabricator and think he can easily modify fit for a proven design already produced by reputable manufacturers for a cheaper price than what we have available to us for purchase.

Of course I do not have the width dimensions for the Defender so I would need more research from you Defender knowledgeable people.

I am sure this will spark some debate, just ask if you can keep it relevant to the topic at hand. Attached are a few PhotoShops of Defender bumpers I came up with for my LR3.

Defender Bumpers $1000 or less give or take depending on your location.
View attachment 306182

 

[rlynch356]

I'd think by the time you were done and had something that worked you'd be 2-3x the cost of the LR3 bumper price. Literally nothing interchanges from defender to LR3/disco, well not since the D1 anyway and that is just suspension and engine parts.

 

[nwoods]

Have to admit, those look pretty nice

 

[zelatore]

Having installed bumpers on an LR3 I can tell you there are few options because it's a very complicated fitment as seems to be the case with most Kate model vehicles. Ifor you don't like the style of the current offerings you would like be better off building from scratch than trying to adapt an existing part from another vehicle.

 

[Jwestpro]

Many are much more available and cheaper and to be honest have some great looks when placed up against new LR.

Something I am considering is buying a front Defender bumper and modifying it for fit on my LR3. I have a friend who is an amazing fabricator and think he can easily modify fit for a proven design already produced by reputable manufacturers for a cheaper price than what we have available to us for purchase.

Of course I do not have the width dimensions for the Defender so I would need more research from you Defender knowledgeable people.

I am sure this will spark some debate, just ask if you can keep it relevant to the topic at hand. Attached are a few PhotoShops of Defender bumpers I came up with for my LR3.

Defender Bumpers $1000 or less give or take depending on your location.

A. $ : If it's at all "about" $, at all, then the ARB is simple and only a few $100's more than you say you'd spend on a used old Defender bumper.... I'll leave the basic math to you

B. Aesthetics.... yeah, to each their own. Round tubes as primary shape look a bit goofy on the new generations of Land Rover. A tube here or there, is ok, at most. To be honest, I would prefer ARB to offer the LR3/4 bumper in the "Sahara" version without the welded upper frame. Disco 2 looks pretty slick with just the center A top tube or nothing with it removed.

Your lower photoshop job looks like, well, it's odd to me. Just too intense maybe, drawing too much attention to itself.

C. Fitting: Did you measure a Defender bumper ...? I have not, but I have been around them and I own an LR3, D2, D1. Guess what? The LR3 is a lot wider than those and I'll bet you also a lot wider, by a surprising amount, than the D90/110. so, just popping one on may be too narrow.

D. fabrication: So now, it's not going to "fit" or be even close in any single aspect, so the whole thing will really have to be "modified". Now, I can totally see the draw to that idea for someone who has very new/limited welding skills and tools because they could at least start with a rough object and go from there adding some parts and removing others. Ground-up design, fabrication, is a lot more careful work.

E. Safety ...?? Obviously, this like some of the above, is only if you care. Have you heard of "crush cans" and air bags? These newer rovers have highly engineered deformation structures so that your body receives the least amount of force upon impact with an immovable object, or worse. One thing about the ARB, and by now there must be some others too, is the 100% retention of the safety features.

So, to wrap the idea up, it sounds like a project for someone who does not care about the $ invested but in reality, it may be better to call Rovertyme or someone else in Australia, South Africa, or Germany and put your energy into something else.

Unless you can get this done for $100's total, but ending up with a Frankenstein bumper for $2000+ might feel a little odd. :camping:

 

[Jwestpro]

.... Kate model vehicles.

Oh HE LL, I knew there was something missing with mine. How did you get a "Kate" edition ???!!!!

 

[Victory_Overland]

JWest,

Absolutely all good points. I do have extensive fab knowledge and my friend has a shop with CNC and plasma table and lays welds like nobody's business so the process would be relatively cheap on my end. However, you make great points on what is available; it was more of an idea to draw conversation from those like you who have lots of experience on these vehicles.

I do care about the safety and crunch factor and functionality of whatever I put on my rig now and in the future.

Additionally, I couldn't agree more on the safari style bumper and considered going with TR or ARB and modifying from there to meet all my needs. I.e, removing the permanent bull bar for a modular adapter similar to removable sections of roll cages and also install the light guard grills for those harsh wooded trails. Also would like to see better recovery points.

I've spoken to Jake at Devon 4x4 for the hidden mount and their protection gear which I really like. Shipping to Hawaii is easy from there so I'm looking at hundreds of pounds of gear for a freight charge of around $150-200 which is actually much cheaper than almost anything of the same weight from CONUS to Hawaii. The only thing I do not like about the factory front is zero brush/rock protection and I can't run bush wires which are what I really need here in Hawaii to keep the paint and windows protected...haha

Goods and bads with all of the options we have I guess, just a matter of what I want vs what I need and what I am willing to sacrifice in the weight/protections category.

Thanks again everyone!

E

 

[spikemd]

Without my ARB bumper, the front and quarter panel would have been smashed by my friend when she backed out of her driveway and directly into my rover parked across the street. I got a scratch on the bumper while her Volvo rear hatch and window were totally smashed. $3k later, they fixed and sold the Volvo and bought an LR4.

 

[Victory_Overland]

Without my ARB bumper, the front and quarter panel would have been smashed by my friend when she backed out of her driveway and directly into my rover parked across the street. I got a scratch on the bumper while her Volvo rear hatch and window were totally smashed. $3k later, they fixed and sold the Volvo and bought an LR4.

:clapping: hahahahaha.....now that's a Land Rover sales commercial right there.

 

[Jwestpro]

:clapping: hahahahaha.....now that's a Land Rover sales commercial right there.

Yes, that was funny.

Go to it on your bumper idea. I might if I had the resources it sounds like you do at hand.

 

[zelatore]

Oh HE LL, I knew there was something missing with mine. How did you get a "Kate" edition ???!!!!

Apparently all you need is an Android device w/autocorrect and fat fingers.

(I just noticed all the typos in that post today- I'll leave them there for entertainment value)

 

[zelatore]

BTW, I got a chance to see the Tactical LR3 front bumper in person at Sedona - it looked better than in the photos and I found myself wishing I had done it instead of the ARB. I'm disappointed in a couple facets of the ARB, such as the poor access to the winch clutch, the massive forward protrusion, and the fact that despite the cost it was nowhere near a 'bolt on' and when questioned about it ARB more or less said 'sorry, we don't really know anything about the Rover stuff'.

I think it's an OK looking expo-type bumper, but a poor choice for more technical terrain. Though to be fair I haven't damaged it yet other than scrapes/scratches from rubbing it against rocks.

 

[perkj]

BTW, I got a chance to see the Tactical LR3 front bumper in person at Sedona - it looked better than in the photos and I found myself wishing I had done it instead of the ARB. I'm disappointed in a couple facets of the ARB, such as the poor access to the winch clutch, the massive forward protrusion, and the fact that despite the cost it was nowhere near a 'bolt on' and when questioned about it ARB more or less said 'sorry, we don't really know anything about the Rover stuff'.

I think it's an OK looking expo-type bumper, but a poor choice for more technical terrain. Though to be fair I haven't damaged it yet other than scrapes/scratches from rubbing it against rocks.

What part of the ARB bumper install did you not find as "bolt on"? I found it actually quite easy to install if you followed the instructions step by step....sure a little time consuming but very straight forward. As I recall the only thing that wasn't "bolt on" was the cut you had to make to the plastic wheel arch...but this is needed with the Tactical as well. I just watched the install video Tactical has posted of their bumper install and it also requires you to cut some of the sheet metal on the front fender.

I picked up my ARB on sale for $1130 from 4Wheel Parts....Tactical just over $200 more at $1375

 

[zelatore]

The mounting points to the frame were off considerably. I want to say 3/4" or so. I checked and rechecked but couldn't figure a way to make it fit. I called ARB US and they pretty much said sorry you're on your own. I then had a buddy who has built and installed many bumpers come take a look just to see if I was missing something obvious. Nope-he couldn't find a way to make it fit either. So we broke out the cutting tools and the welder....now it fits.

I've probably got pics from the instalation around somewhere if it matters.

 

[perkj]

The mounting points to the frame were off considerably. I want to say 3/4" or so. I checked and rechecked but couldn't figure a way to make it fit. I called ARB US and they pretty much said sorry you're on your own. I then had a buddy who has built and installed many bumpers come take a look just to see if I was missing something obvious. Nope-he couldn't find a way to make it fit either. So we broke out the cutting tools and the welder....now it fits.

I've probably got pics from the instalation around somewhere if it matters.

Interesting, mine aligned perfectly. Maybe the bumper was not assembled correctly (last one on a Friday before happy hour ) or your LR3 was in a collision that knocked the mount points off a bit. I suspect probably the latter as the bumpers are likely fabricated on a jig