The Rat Bag - Rebuild

We bought a 2004 (FT53 AJO) Defender 90 CSW off one of our customers, at the 2009 Peterborough Land Rover Show. The car had been used as an off road toy since it was new, and had seen a pretty hard life. We carried out a stage 2 conversion on it about 4 years ago, and has been with us at most shows since. Every panel was dented and scratched, and there was mud, blood, and dog hair all over the place. It was disgusting! Just a couple of weeks after Peterborough, was the worlds fastest land rover event, at Bruntingthorpe. The car badly needed some TLC, and it was treated to a new pair of Diffs (with different crown wheel and pinion sets, as opposed to changing the transfer gears to 1.222 ratios), a complete service, new swivels, and an upgrade to all of our latest tuning goodies. Out of around 30 entries in all, of Petrol V8, Td5, and Puma Defenders, we took 3rd place overall, which was a great result given the lack of time allowed to prepair the car for the event. We even beat the mighty 4.2 Supercharged V8 JE Zulu!

We brought it back from Brunters, and started the strip down, which took us through to christmas. The panels were painted individually during December, and the chassis and bulkhead were painted in the first week of January 2010. The rebuild has been slow, and it's now almost May as I write this, and it's still not ready! The LRO Spring Adventure at Driffield should see it in a presentable state, but it will still have much more work awaiting it. The plan is to have it ready in time for the LRO show at Billing, where it should (hopefully) be just the way we want it. As it's also our development vehicle, there are some exciting new additions to be added under the bonnet this year. Additions that for now at least, we're keeping under wraps!

 

Project Start: Oct 2009

Our Defender Td5 90 CSW, aka 'The Rat Bag' is getting a much needed makeover for 2010. It's spent it's first 5 years as an off roader, so needed a lot of TLC. We've sorted it mechanically, so now it's just got to look the part!

It's currently being repainted in Land Rover Santorini Black (with an added twist!), and will be restored back to its original, un dented factory bodywork, doing away with the rattly 'thru body' side exit exhaust, and off road equipment it once had.

We have three wheel and tyre packages for it, and the suspension is going to be reworked for better cornering ability. The interior won't be neglected, with door cards, dash, and seats having retrim in leather, with aluminium detailing to polish it off. It really will be something quite special once it's finished.

This will be our Defender demonstrator vehicle, so will be making an appearance at every land rover show we attend during 2010 (See below). It's also our development vehicle too, so will be treated to new modifications on a regular basis, ensuring we stay at the very forefront of land rover tuning.

Update: 8th Jan 2010

The rolling chassis is now back in our workshop, with the chassis treated in Dynatrol and the bulkhead painted in it's new colour. The rear tub is now fitted as well, and all other panels are being painted on Saturday, so we should start rebuilding it in the next week or so. Look very closely at the paint on the rear quarter, where the light has caught it. Bling tastic!

Update: 13th Feb 2010

Progress has been slow on the rebuild, as we have been really busy with customers cars. The body is now in place, and the doors have been fitted and aligned. We have just got the interior back this morning, all retrimmed in new leather, and looking very plush! New door seals, and various other fittings and fastenings are arriving on Tuesday, so the headliner and interior trim panels can be refitted too. We've been applying sound deadening to all the panels, to try and make the car much quieter inside, since it will be a far more luxurious environment than what land rover had ever intended it to be!

The plan is to have the car finished in time for the Indoor 4x4 show, in March. We can't wait!!!

Update: 2nd March 2010

The project has gathered momentum now, and everything is coming together nicely. The new heated windscreen, and rear screen were fitted today, as well as a new radiator, Intercooler, Samco XDB hoses, and rear carpets. The side windows are going back in tomorrow to complete the glass, and a complete set of new lights are going on too. I think the original wheels from my range rover sport will be going on for now, although I do plan to refit some 18" 5 spoke wheels, as it previously had. Still waiting on a carpet section for the front of the car, so we can't refit the front seats until we have this. Hopefully it'll be back on the road in time for this weekend, as long as it isn't raining!!!

It just looks black, doesn't it?

Until the sun catches it!

 

Update: May 2010

The car is now pretty much finished, except for a full set of SuperPro bushes, which will be fitted in the next week or so. We took the car to the LRO spring adventure at Driffield, and the response we got from people was very encouraging. The britpart heated windscreen has been replaced with a genuine land rover part, as I think the silver strips looked awful! Jim kindly sent me the first two pictures below, taken when the car was only a year old.

Before: The Rat Bag at Manby, being driven by it's previous owner.	This picture makes me cringe! Ratter (Left) having done the Mud Run.