1992 Land Rover Defender 90

For an ex-military vehicle, this 1992 Land Rover Defender is very tidy indeed, especially for one with 146,000kms on the clock. Mind you, ‘J710 WFL’ has been recently resprayed, Waxoyl’d, and fitted with four good matching tyres – and if you need further proof of the seller’s fastidiousness, she had power-steering fitted and kept the vehicle in a garage throughout her ownership.

She bought it straight from the well-known ex-military stockists Witham Specialist Vehicles of Grantham in 2010 after what looks like an eighteen-year stint in the forces and it’s been in her hands ever since.

A broken odometer makes it hard to pin the mileage down exactly but she estimates she’s probably covered no more than 10,000 miles in the 13 years she’s owned it.

Being offered with no reserve, this wonderful old Landy is being auctioned at the perfect time of the year; you can use it for collecting logs this autumn before relying it to keep you mobile no matter what the weather gods throw at us later.

The matt green bodywork is one of the best we’ve seen on an ex-military vehicle but then it has had a relatively easy life here in civvy street and was professionally resprayed a few years ago.

With very straight panels, ripple-free flanks and decent shutlines, it speaks of a life gently led.

The front bumper is also remarkably good and it features a central recovery point. There’s also a military towbar at the rear. (Both there for recovering other people obviously, not you.)

Other utilitarian fixtures include a pair of heavy-duty bonnet clips, wing box mounting brackets on either side, and a spare wheel on the bonnet. All of which is, of course, very, very cool.

The light lenses are also free of damage and cracks and the glazing is good.

The steel wheels are painted green, of course, and they’re also fitted with a matching set of Michelin 4x4 tyres, all of which have a tread depth that’s measured in inches rather than millimeters.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

Some of you might want to remove the wheelarches, door mirror arms, and radiator grille to repaint them but most would be happy to leave them as they are. There’s also the odd patch of black Waxoyl overspray that would respond to a white spirit-soaked rag.

You will want to explore the bubbling on the windscreen surround, if for no other reason than to check its progress.

The interior is simple and as straightforward as any we’ve seen. Not that that’s criticism, far from it; with fresh new trim and rubber floor mats, it’s in fine fettle and much better than most working examples.

It looks like the seats are the only major interior fittings that haven’t been changed and while they are in an acceptable condition, the driver’s seat is a little flattened and the passenger’s one has a (patched) hole in it. We can, therefore, see a visit to Exmoor Trim in the new owner’s future.

The rear is fitted out with a heavy-duty Land Rover rubber mat that extends up and over the wheelarches for complete protection. There are no seats, although retro-fitting them would be straightforward if you needed to carry more people. Again, Exmoor Trim could help.

There’s a Disklok to help keep your Land Rover safe from sticky-fingers ne’er-do-wells and a fire extinguisher, well, just in case.

The rest is all good, too. There are marks and a couple of old screw holes remaining from its previous life but these could be dismissed with a tap of the nose and a quiet “I’m not allowed to talk about it, I’m afraid”. (The same goes for the lighting switch and ammeter.)

If you’re looking for a job then the headlining could be cleaned and the sunvisors replaced but this is very much in the ‘nice to do’ category rather than anything more urgent.

As you can see, it starts readily, idles and revs as it should, and while the 2.5-litre normally aspirated diesel engine isn’t the last word in either power or refinement, it’ll still be running long after we’re all gone.

Mind you, it has been very well looked after during her tenure with the following being recorded:

10.12.2010 – service by Mototech of Chard Junction

01.04.2011 – new door seals and rubber mats by Country Land Rovers of Chard

08.07.2011 – differential oil seal replacement by Country Land Rovers of Chard

28.10.2011 – service by Country Land Rovers of Chard

20.10.2014 – service plus a new wiper motor by Country Land Rovers of Chard

30.11.2016 – new steering lock assembly, radiator, timing belt and water pump plus fresh coolant by Country Land Rovers of Chard at a cost of over £1,000

16.12.2016 - three new door cards, side trims, and a headlining plus thermal/acoustic lining by Country Land Rovers of Chard at a cost of well over £2,500

10.01.2017 – new battery by Country Land Rovers of Chard

23.10.2017 – service by Country Land Rovers of Chard plus new footwell trims

13.11.2018 – service by Taunton Land Rover including new steering linkage and A-frame ball joints, a rear crossmember, brake pipes, and a fog lamp switch for a total of £3,111

23.10.2019 – service by Taunton Land Rover

29.09.2020 – oil service by Taunton Land Rover plus rear differential leak resolved, four new tyres, and a new steering universal joint at a cost of £3,046

06.11.2020 – major service by Taunton Land Rover at a cost of almost £1,000

07.11.2022 – service by Windwhistle 4x4 of Chard including MoT

Some of the paperwork has been lost though, and the seller tells us it’s had a new clutch in her tenure in addition to the power-steering conversion we mentioned earlier.

As you can see from the invoices, it had a new rear crossmember fitted by the seller’s local Land Rover dealer back in 2018, so that’s another thing you aren’t going to have to worry about. The underside was also cleaned and Waxoyl’d last November, leaving it fighting fit and ready to see off another couple of decades of winter salt.

NB: The odometer reads in kilometers rather than miles and it’s not working, so the true distance it has covered is unknown.

In addition to the invoices we’ve already mentioned, the Defender comes with a V5 registration document in the seller’s name, an MoT certificate that’s valid until November 2023, two keys, and a clean vehicle history check from the RAC.

There are few better buys in the 4x4 world than an ex-military Land Rover because they tend to be serviced and maintained with no regard to the cost – but this advice only holds true as long as you buy the right one. After all, making something ‘squaddie proof’ is a cliché for a very good reason and an abused one will make you suffer for years to come.

This one looks good. In the same hands since leaving the military, it’s been serviced well and judiciously upgraded over the years as the owner’s slowly allowed some civility to seep into its life.

And, hasn’t it responded well?

The non-turbo engine is tough. Tough and reliable and while you aren’t going to be breaking any records, vehicles like this are about dependability and endurance rather than speed and agility.

As to its value, we estimate the virtual hammer will fall somewhere between £10,000 and £12,000 but as it’s being offered with no reserve, it’s going to sell from the very first bid.

Remember, as Jon Snow would put it: “Winter’s coming.”

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are strictly by appointment. To make a booking, please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, and read our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.