1987 Land Rover DEFENDER 110

You think you’re looking at a Land Rover Defender from the mid-to-late eighties, don’t you? Well, you’re not. You’re actually looking at a "No Reserve" Truck Utility Medium Cargo 12V – Soft Top Diesel RHD. With the registration number 31-KG-97 and a mileage of just over 70,000 kilometres, or ‘just about run in’ as the Army would put it.

As an ex-military Defender it is way more functional than pretty, which means that if you’ve ever looked at a Chelsea Truck Company or a Twisted Defender, you might want to navigate towards the gorgeous Defender 130 we’ve got listed. (If you’ve ever looked at the Kahn Design website, then we’re sorry but you appear to have arrived here by mistake.)

But, if you’ve ever fancied building your own log cabin in Alaska, own a chainsaw with a bigger engine than a stock Citroen 2CV, or have ever served your country then you’ve arrived at the right place.

The military green paintwork is flat, dull, blistered in places and not terribly well applied – and those who have served in the Royal Corp of Transport will take that as the compliment it is because the underlying bodywork is in very good condition. It ain’t pretty, but it’s solid and solid beats pretty every time when we’re talking about ex-military transport.

“Dents, there are a few” to misquote Frank Sinatra. But they’re badges of honour, probably incurred while fighting its way out of an alley in Belfast. Or a towards a mortar position in Afghanistan. Or maybe Tesco’s in Stevenage. We simply don’t know – but they look good, don’t they?

It’s functional, too. Which means you get a pair of side storage bins that never quite made their way onto the civilian models. The tyres might sit on painted steel wheels rather than fat, expensive alloys but they’re skinny Michelin mud tyres that will outlast you and I. And the bonnet is held down with proper, old school clips. (Although good luck lifting the bonnet with the spare wheel on it…)

The fabric hood is saggy, and probably leaks. But that’s okay because you’re a tough sonofabitch and dry cabins are for losers, right? Of course, we’re joking. Kind of. Because this isn’t a BMW, or even a first-generation MX-5. If you want civility, then join a university debating society because there ain’t no safe spaces inside a military Defender. It might stop you dying of hypothermia in a snow storm, but the military doesn’t pay its recruits to be happy. Or comfortable. Or dry. 

If you thought the Defender Land Rover sold to the civilian market was crude, then you’re in for a helluva shock when you open the door on this military example.

The door trims are, er, well, there aren’t any. The carpets look – to be missing. The airbag warning lights are not illuminated because there aren’t any airbags. 

But, you’ve got a centrally mounted headlight switch with Tippex lettering, two sodding great gearlevers, an almost vertical handbrake, and a steering wheel. Oh, and two civilian cloth seats. That adjust fore-and-aft. Manually.

There’s a heater, too. And a natty little map light. Sliding front windows and bench seats in the rear. So, swings and roundabouts, eh?

Oh, we nearly forgot. It’s got two machine gun holders between the front seats. Yup, machine gun holders, so you’re sorted come the Zombie Apocalypse. Or, you could do what everyone else does and convert them into the coolest shotgun holders your shoot has ever seen.

The military might not waste much time making its Land Rovers look pretty but it services the hell out of them. Don’t expect a coffee while you’re waiting, or even a stamped service history book, but when your life depends on your Defender doing what its designers intended you tend to make sure that the oily bits work properly.

And look on the bright side; the military scribble its servicing notes straight onto the engine, so we know that it had an oil and filter change at 54,692kms. The rest, we take on trust…

The underside is as ugly as the topside, but it’s as solid, too with only the lightest dusting of surface rust on the chassis – and the bulkhead appears solid too, which beats almost every one of its soft civilian contemporaries. 

The online MOT history shows nothing of any real concern and the car comes with a number of expired MOT certificates. The MOT certificate itself expires in late March 2020.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this paperwork.

Ex-military Land Rovers are generally a good buy; they’ve been serviced to within an inch of their lives and while they’ve usually hit every branch of the ugly tree they’re solid and reliable, which is more than can be said of a lot of prettified civilian Defenders.

They’re cheaper than their more sophisticated Civvy Street cousins too, which is nice. So, you should be able to pick this one up for between £3,000 And £6,000, which seems like fair value to us. And, of course, there is no reserve, so you might just pick up a bargain.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this car can be seen here at The Market HQ in 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’.

If needed, please remember we have a network of trusted suppliers we work with regularly and can recommend: Classic & Sportscar Finance for purchase-financing, Thames Valley Car Storage for storing your car, AnyVan for transporting it, and Footman James for classic car insurance.

BORING, but IMPORTANT: Please note that whilst we at The Market always aim to offer the most descriptive and transparent auction listings available, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of the vehicles for sale. We offer far greater opportunity for bidders to view, or arrange inspections for each vehicle thoroughly prior to bidding than traditional auctions, and we never stop encouraging bidders to take advantage of this. We do take a good look at the vehicles delivered to our premises for sale, but this only results in our unbiased personal observations, not those of a qualified inspector or other professional, or the result of a long test drive. 

Additionally, please note that most of the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in 'average' sound quality; in particular, engines and exhausts notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.