2007 Land Rover Defender 110 - Custom Build

In the care of the vendor since May 2018, this no-expense-spared bespoke build was heavily influenced by the amazing Land Rovers created by CoolnVintage of Lisbon.

First registered on the 4th of July 2007, to the Wessex Water Authority, it was the current owner’s intention to use it as a Line-X promotional vehicle, and will come as no surprise to hear that the body has been finished in a grey polyurethane polyurea hybrid LINE-X coating with the load bed, wheel arches, front bumper and headlamp surrounds painted in contrasting black LINE-X. This finish is, the owner assures us, “almost bulletproof”. We don’t know about that but we do know that it looks terrific.

Other points of note on this 2007 Defender 110 pickup are the Land Rover Series II doors (the tops of which can be removed), the new Exmoor hood, the LED exterior lights, the hinged tailgate and swingaway spare wheel carrier, and the folding windscreen. It’s Waxoyl’d too, so it’ll still look much the same in another couple of decades.

And yet, it is very far from being an all-show-and-no-go Defender because it’s got a height-adjustable towbar and full electrics plus brand new military wheels fitted with BF Goodrich All Terrain tyres.

Two years in the building, it has a new MOT and SVA certificate, a full-service history and a recent service. It is, therefore, on-the-button and ready to meet its new owner.

Defenders are, no matter how fancy the trim, working vehicles at heart and so they respond well to a patina and while this one’s panel condition and alignment is well above average, the choice of LINE-X for the bodywork is inspired as it gives great abrasion resistance and very good corrosion protection.

Matt grey in finish and lightly textured, it is wonderfully offset by the black wheel arches, front bumper, headlamp surrounds and pickup bed. It looks bloomin’ wonderful and the “bulletproof’ nature of the coating, which was applied by LINE-X UK itself, means that it should look just as good in a decade as it does now.

The same goes for the underside. Still sitting on its original chassis, the underpinnings have been cleaned and coated with a good thick layer of Waxoyl. Thus preserved, they should be good for another 17 years of hard use without serious intervention other than an annual reapplication of rust-proofing fluid.

The front and rear lights, including the headlamps, are modern LED items, a well-trodden modification that draws less current than the old filament units while also being more reliable. That they look so good is merely the icing on the cake.

The Exmoor soft-top is brand new, and the doors (which are also new) were originally designed for the Series II Land Rover. The advantage of fitting these – aside from the clean lines the continuous galvanized capping strip gives; the level of attention to detail on the Defender might escape the casual viewer but lies at the very heart of this car’s build - is that the top glass portion can be removed; these, along with the fold-down windscreen, allow for a full al fresco driving experience, something the Defender never officially offered. (Additional photos to follow) - Update 24/09: These have been supplied by the seller and are now available to view at the bottom of the images gallery.

The tailgate is a side-hinged replacement that gives far better access to the pickup bed than the standard fold-down item and the spare wheel carrier is a clever - and very expensive - new/old stock Land Rover accessory that hinges neatly out of the way when the tailgate is opened.

The hood frame is made of galvanized steel and its bolt-together nature means it can be completely disassembled and removed should you want to go for the cleanest look possible. Cleverly, a separate seatbelt bar means safety will not be compromised when the Defender is driven fully stripped.

Other points to note are that the Defender has been fitted with new rubber seals and a set of Land Rover mudflaps. Oh, and a pair of proper numberplates are provided to replace the good-looking but probably not legal ones that are currently fitted.

The 16-inch steel wheels are military items, so are ridiculously over-engineered as well as aesthetically pleasing. Brand new, they’re shod with matching BF Goodrich All Terrain KO2 tyres, a great choice for a variety of roles both on- and off-road and ones whose tread depth can be almost measured in inches rather than millimeters.

As we will never tire of explaining, our 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 an insight into their attitude towards maintenance.

The Dixon-Bate style towbar has been left sans towball and height-adjustment plate to give a clean look but rest assured that they will be supplied with the vehicle. Towing electrics have, of course, been fitted.

The dashboard is the more modern one and all the better for it. Much more ergonomic than the ones we all put up with for decades, it’s safer too.

The two front seats are protected with heavy-duty seat covers but fear not because the fabric underneath them is fine; these have not been fitted to cover up a decade or more of abuse but because they preserve them from the sort of mud, water and other detritus that a vehicle like this tends to attract, especially with the roof off.

A quick-shift gear-lever has been fitted, which the vendor tells us transforms the Land Rover’s notoriously imprecise and long-throw gearchange. (The original has been retained and will be supplied with the vehicle.)

New rubber mats and separate sun visors are very welcome additions but the interior has been left deliberately spartan, albeit with some well-judged upgrades.

We have found that the bonnet pull under the dashboard works, but needs minor repair.

The servicing regimen is as impressive as the rest of the Defender comprising:

• 04.01.2008 and 4,237 miles – service A

• 04.05.2008 and 9,859 miles – service B

• 14.11.2008 and 19,432 miles – service C

• 04.03.2009 and 24,177 miles – service A

• 12.06.2009 and 28,583 miles – service B

• 29.09.2009 and 33,250 miles – service A

• 22.01.2010 and 38,462 miles – service C

• 30.04.2010 and 42,521 miles – service A

• 24.08.2010 and 47,620 miles – service B

• 24.11.2010 and 52,616 miles – service A

• 09.03.2011 and 57,418 miles – service C

• 24.06.2011 and 61,847 miles – service A

• 29.09.2011 and 65,816 miles – service B

• 17.01.2012 and 70,707 miles – service A

• 13.06.2012 and 77,273 miles – service C

• 12.12.2012 and 84,577 miles – service A

• 13.06.2013 and 92,367 miles – full service

• 19.12.2013 and 100,547 miles – full service

• 24.06.2014 and 107,672 miles – full service

• 15.06.2016 and 117,390 miles – full service

The TDCi engine has been left standard and when they’re as well maintained as this they run forever on the merest whiff of an oily rag. The vendor tells us that it is a “cracking thing to drive” especially when stripped of its roof and doors, something that removes a considerable amount of weight. We haven’t driven it in that state but can confirm that it drives very well indeed.

We do know that the build quality is vindicated via its advisory-free MOT certificate, which expires in August 2021.

The underside is staggeringly clean; still on the original chassis, a lot of time and money has gone into bringing it to this condition and then protecting it with Waxoyl to preserve it. However, there are a few areas where the delineation between a painted finish and the underseal isn’t as neat as it could be. Given how well-finished everything else is, we can’t help but think that half-a-day spent neatening this area up would be time well spent.

The engine bay is decently presented but the eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that the underside of the bonnet is still white, the Defender’s original colour when it was in service with Wessex Water as a utility van. Those of you with more than a touch of OCD will probably want to valet under there too, if for no other reason than the rest of the vehicle is so nicely detailed.

The Defender comes with its factory jack and tool kit.

The Defender still has its original owner’s handbook, book pack, and storage wallet plus a stamped service history book recording its obsessive maintenance over the years plus two sets of keys.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been modified, built and maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

The Land Rover has been the subject of an extraordinary degree of care and thought. Keen to emulate the ethos behind the Land Rovers built by CoolnVintage in Portugal, the vendor was aiming for a minimalist Defender where the spartan nature of the original design was honoured but with judicious upgrades where warranted.

In this, he has succeeded; this is one of those vehicles that only reveal themselves slowly, and every inspection reveals something new, something better than it needed to be. Something cool.

He hasn’t kept a careful note of every penny spent on it (a wise move and one we commend to anyone embarking on a full restoration like this because you really don’t want to know the final tally…) but estimates it would probably nudge the high twenties, if not more.

Which makes our guide price of £18,000 to £25,000 seem ridiculously low for a vehicle as well-finished and maintained as this. That it is capable of fulfilling a number of roles, from company hack for the PR-savvy businessman/woman to Mediterranean villa beach transport for a high-net-worth individual only further sweetens an already very attractive vehicle. (Pssst: It’s not going to harm it resale value, either…)

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment 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, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.