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1997 Defender 90 Soft Top
Upgrades and Repairs
This 1997 D90 has come to us from MA for some upgrades and repairs. The truck is on great shape overall and needs only some routine work, plus we will be doing some nice upgrades on the truck to make it even nicer. As with any Defender that arrives for the first time at ECR we have done a full evaluation of the 90 and gone over that with the customer. We then work out a list of work orders that the customer would like done and then we get to work.
This 90 has a lot of nice upgrades already, from new seat covers to a Badger top. It also had upgraded door hinges that were black and just didn't look right against the beautiful British Racing Green paint, so we have removed the hinges and are priming and painting in the correct color for a more finished look. We will also be adding a killer Alpine sound system, adding an on-board air system and doing some routine work.
Here you can see the customers door hinges have now been painted in the correct color and have been re-installed on the 90 using stainless hardware. This helps these after-market hinges blend in better and gives the Rover a much more finished and professional build quality look.
We have also removed the galvanized gutter kit that was installed with the Badger top and have powder coated these pieces in satin black. While we wait for those parts to be done we'll add things like our LED tail lights and perform a number of service and repair items that need to be done. Items that range from fixing the tailgate to changing out the broken reverse lamp switch.
Once these parts are powder coated and re-installed, as seen above, it helps gives the 90 look more "finished", but retains the galvanizing underneath so that rust will not happen on those pieces.
The owner of the Defender also wanted some great sound from his 90, and with as small as the interior is in a D90 that can be hard to do. Luckily the latest in subwoofer technology and our custom fabrication abilities give us the opportunity to set this 90 up with a large Alpine digital amplifier and two 8" subwoofers, four 6.5" speakers, keep the floor space open and keep the 4 jump seats! Yes it can now be done. Here you can see the newly constructed subwoofer box on the RH side that has an 8" subwoofer driven by the Alpine digital amp, the sister box resides in the same place on the LH side. We have painted the box in the correct British Racing Green body color so that it blends in perfectly and looks factory. The image above shows the unit before the jump seat backs go back in place because once the seats go back into place...
the subs and the boxes vanish. Notice that the seats, seat belts and all still function like they should and all the floor space is still open for your cargo or your dogs.
Those subs are connected to the Alpine head unit that controls your iPod and all its functions through the head unit, so you plug in your iPod and close the cubby box and manage your music through the radio face. If you doubt the power of this system with the 8" subs we dare you to sit in the back while we turn it up... this system has tons of punch and sounds great all around.
We also completed a number of other small work orders such as fixing the "on again, off again" odometer display. Once fixed, the problem is gone and the correct miles still appear on the display. Doing it this way means if you ever do sell your Defender there is no odometer discrepancy and that makes your Rover worth more money than one with an altered odometer. For more on odometer repairs go here.
This D90 sees use on Nantucket for the summer months and along with island uses comes the need to air down the tires to drive on the beach. The airing down part is easy, it is the airing up part that is difficult. You can wait in line at the local gas station after a long day at the beach, or you can have us install an Oasis on board air source, as seen above. The unit is safely tucked away in our seat box drop box, so you simply remove the seat base and open the lid and you'll see the red compressor on/off switch and the air outlet.
Plug in the supplied air hose and tire fill/gauge combo and fill up your tires as fast as our huge shop compressor does, all from your mobile on board air system. But beware, our beach going and off roading customers that have this system tell us there is a down side. Everyone wants you to fill up their tires too!
Here you can see the 90 ready to head back to MA for a summer of fun with piece of mind that knowing ECR has just checked the entire car over, tested it and added some really great upgrades so that summer, and winter, is even more fun.
If you have dreams for your Defender, contact ECR. We'll be happy to make your Defender world class... just like this one.
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