Questions about Defender 110

N

NickH

Observer
I a moving to Sicily in a few weeks for 3 years (overseas tour). I have already searched and found that there are left hand drive Defender 90's and 110's. I am considering picking up one (preferably 110 with a bed) for all my expedition and hunting needs. It would be nice to do some mild wrenching while I am there as well. My wife and I are taking a Jetta overseas but plan on selling it before we return as we will take advantage of overseas sales and have a domestic on standby at our dealership of choice. That leaves my alloted 1 vehicle to ship open. I have searched the and found that if I am planning on bringing a defender back stateside at the end of my tour, it has to be 25+ years old and must be in nearly stock configuration.

My questions is what kind of hassel should I expect when I try to acquire a US title? Can I modify the rig after the US title? I was thinking of acquiring some updated seats and dash to add and shipping those within my pack-out when I return. I also read at one time that trying to acquire or rebuild door skins is a nightmare. Might wanna come home with an extra set of those as well. What about parts availability? If I bust something on the drivetrain how easy is that going to be to replace or trying to get something as easy as an oil filter?

Thanks for the help. I am just kicking around some ideas at the moment.
 
N

NickH

Observer
After doing some research I've found the defender has to be 25yrs old or a 1993. I also found that I just can't get it shipped on my own. I have to through a importer. Is my info wrong?

What defender has the more reliable/desired motor?
 
overlander

overlander

Expedition Leader
You will have no issue finding parts back here for any standard Land Rover parts. There are several well stocked and credible Rover part suppliers over here, but the powertrain you can select for reimportation will be dictated on when you come back. The TDI's are not yet legal to bring back. They haven't hit 25 years yet. If you have a few years, try to get a 200 or 300 tdi. I believe next year (2015) the 200 TDI will finally be legal and in 2019 the 300 TDI will start legally pouring off RORO ships like lemmings.
 
N

NickH

Observer
I'll be there till 2017. It seems the crew cabs are hard to find. I can be patient. I have plenty of time to look and learn some of the language. So 200tdi? Why are the 93s an exception?
 
overlander

overlander

Expedition Leader
Only year 110' s were legally imported by LRNA into US. Must still conform to EPA and DOT reqs for import though. Meaning V8, roll cage, correct lights, smog BS, etc.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk
 
Ray_G

Ray_G

Explorer
NickH said:
I'll be there till 2017. It seems the crew cabs are hard to find. I can be patient. I have plenty of time to look and learn some of the language. So 200tdi? Why are the 93s an exception?
Click to expand...

First off; enjoy NAS SIG or wherever you end up over there...I spent a fair amount of time there going in/out as we started up the air campaign on Libya....and then our boat 'broke' after we handed off total primacy to NATO so we spent some quality time in port. I'm jealous! I may well be doing OCONUS PCS this summer too..but not as nice as Italy.

Regarding the importation stuff, I would start with Defender Source as a resource and do a lot of searching. The basics of your question get asked there every week in some version. You have the advantage of time and location on your side though so it's not the same dynamics as others face when doing it from afar and bringing it to the US. Doug C, DividingCreek on here (already posted in your thread) is what I would call the leading resource for our community in terms of knowledge base-you'd serve yourself well to hit him up to get the very specific nuance of what is/isn't going to flag you coming back.

Since you've got time what I'd do is reverse plan from your like EDD from over there, figure out what the 25yr rule gets you in terms of trim/engine spec and then set out to find one-in that light personally I'd look for a southern Europe truck vice grabbing one from the UK to mitigate the rust issues. Use your time over there to get used to it (they are blindingly simple to work on) and up to spec. Since it needs to be original to come back through don't stress on the 'upgrades' that you want, best to do as you alluded and send back any mods you'd like in your household goods.

Good luck!
r-
Ray
 
N

NickH

Observer
Lol, yes sig it is. I'm an aviation structural guy picking up a 7222 NEC enroute to sig. Sounds like you might be going to Japan?

I'm going to keep up with my research. As you stated, corrosion is gonna be a big one for finding a clean 110. But, I've got the time and in no particular rush. Italy defenders are all LHD, I might need to try and get one up north, away from the salt air.

Thanks for the help.
 
D

DividingCreek

Explorer
NickH said:
After doing some research I've found the defender has to be 25yrs old or a 1993. I also found that I just can't get it shipped on my own. I have to through a importer. Is my info wrong?
Click to expand...

Careful. In order for it to enter, a 1993 (prior to it being 25yrs old) has to have been built as a fuel injected left hand drive 110 between Aug 1992 and Aug 1993. IE bringing the truck up to EPA and DOT requirements cannot include engine swap, fuel injecting, or converting from rhd to lhd. Moving the brake booster from one side of the truck to the other is considered VIN tampering by DOT. Guess what- all of the trucks of that spec were shipped to North America. There are no 92/93 model year trucks eligible for import from elsewhere and then brought up to NA Spec. IF there were such a truck it would then need approximately $25k (conservative estimate) in work to get it to pass EPA and DOT- the certification inspections alone are quite expensive. 4 years from now the 93 (first year of the 300 tdi) 110's will be eligible for import under the exemption rules with zero modifications.

You are welcome to get in touch and I'll walk you through the tulips as to the import process, I import 7-10 ea month.

Stick with 25yrs old.
 
Last edited:
Ray_G

Ray_G

Explorer
NickH said:
Lol, yes sig it is. I'm an aviation structural guy picking up a 7222 NEC enroute to sig. Sounds like you might be going to Japan?

I'm going to keep up with my research. As you stated, corrosion is gonna be a big one for finding a clean 110. But, I've got the time and in no particular rush. Italy defenders are all LHD, I might need to try and get one up north, away from the salt air.

Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Italian, Spanish, Dutch...you def have options at your shopping convenience!

Not Japan; looks like the UAE!
R-
Ray
 
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