Finally, after a lot of problems with the franchised dealer and several electrical faults which had to be repaired by a second franchised dealer, Helena’s 2009 Defender 90XS has been delivered. It has been very well looked after, but will need a thorough rust preventative treatment. We’ll be using Rustmaster for that. We fitted the genuine rubber mats in both foot wells and the rear load bay to protect the carpets, and I plan to fit the Safari snorkel over the next week or so, depending on the weather and also on Helena’s feelings when I assemble the snorkel and just hold it in position so that she can see how it will look – with having to drill three holes around the wing intake and four screw holes in the side of the windscreen frame, once it’s on, it’s permanent, so I want to make sure she likes it first! It shouldn’t be a big deal – she has seen them plenty of times on other 90s, so she knows what to expect, and she specifically wanted this type of snorkel.
Over the forthcoming months it will be getting a Mudstuff dash top glove box and probably getting standard front end plastic head light surrounds and grille; we both find the silver parts a bit brash. It might get Wolf-style headlight guards too, as they do a good job of disguising the ugly protruding nose that aircon equipped models have. However, they would have to be the hinged type to allow the guards to be swung open for cleaning and bulb replacement. Apart from that, there is no plan to mess about with it.
Glad you’ve finally got your hands on the 90 at last! I bet Helena is chuffed now it’s sat on the drive.
Regards,
Neil.
Very nice, very shiny. Looks like it was worth waiting for.
Steve
“there is no plan to mess about with it” other than the aforementioned plans for messing around with it. I give it six months before you do something significant that wasn’t in the list.
Smart-arse! Fair enough, Criggie. No major messing about, then, just a handful of minor accessories.
That’s how it starts mate.
Got a plan for routing of the wiring for the heated mirrors on mine that doesn’t involve drilling the bulkhead or doors. Just need to check if it will work or not. (And order the elements from Mudstuff of course.)
Regards,
Neil.
In that case, why aren’t you here with a tea in hand, showing me what you have in mind. That Zenith carb isn’t going to walk itself to you, you know! 😉
If you can show me your plan first, then we can put on a joint order to save on delivery charges.
I may have a trial of my idea tomorrow as that’s checking over the motors day, if it looks like it will work I’ll let you know. If not I’ll think of something else and let you know if that works.
Regards,
Neil.
Had a play on Sunday, now have two wiring route options that should work okay, one from inside the engine bay, one from inside the dash.
Regards,
Neil.