Defender buying advice needed

[mcdisco]

Ok, so I went to look at a nice green 94 300Tdi today. I looking at doing it up just for hard trips.

It was advertised as a ute, but it turns out it was what the seller calls a "panel van" which means its likely a hardtop thats been converted to a ute. The long roof, windscreen and ute side all come off in one section and he has put on a single cab ute roof (and back?) on it. Its done about 200 thousand he says cause the speedo stopped working for a bit.

So I did my research on here and had my hit list of things to check out. These are the bad things that I found:

- a lot of rust in the both the footwells, with the drivers side being the worst with a 50 cent size hole rusted all the way through at the joint of the floor and the firewall

-weeping from the b0ttom of the steering box

-bonnet latch not functional - with a rope hanging through the bonnet to open it

-battery light always on

-slightly bent drag link

-drivers door panel push in around the door handle allowing ingress of water and rusting out of bottom of door

-drivers window sticky when down - hard to wind up

-extensive scratching/gouging along drivers side - mirror and snorkel

-The centre cubby is pretty crappy and would need replacing...

-no maxi drive axles (as I thought it might have as it was advertised as a ute)

-No RWC and it isnt registered.

-and no documented service history!


Now for the good things -

-Engine is very tidy with no evidence of oi leaks, all hoses in good condition, radiator good, coolant nice and clean

-Turbo has been replaced with mitsubishi water cooled turbo - has a bit more oomph.

-chassis has no rust and looks in very good condition

-No rust in the firewall/bulk head

-gearbox and engine mounts look good

-No major signs of hard offroad work, but it does have a diff protector.

-High/low works with the diff lock engaging - also took out centre cubby and floor plate to look at the transfer - looks clean with no leaks

-cam/timing belt was apparently done 30-40k ago and the current owner (diesel mechanic) says he has had the injectors out and they are good and the head was fine

-clutch takeup seemed good - perhaps a bit more agricultural compared to my manual td5 disco

-It comes with a full length panel van roof with sides and a windsreeen, a rear wagon door (corner totally rusted out), a ute rear gate and a galvanised tool box in the back

-the owner also has some 50mm offset rims with 33 inch silverstone extremes for sale that would look really good on it.


SO, I need some advise as what to do. I must say that it was a lot rougher than I thought from the photos I say (but then again they are always deceptive) but I want it for a hard day trip ute so looks aint everything.

The owner advertised it for $7500 but said he would take $6750. Now Redbook says the private sale price is 4,200 - $5,900 for a hardtop. I would be happy to pay a premium for a good defender ute, but with the rust, steering box issues and the lack of a service history I am a bit wary. I would take it if it was cheaper though cause I think I am taking on more risk.

So, what do people think? Im inclined to consider it but only if the seller plays ball on the price a lot more. I think he would be struggling to sell it at that price. Am I wrong?!

If I was to take it, how hard/costly is it to fix the rust in the footwell and to replace the steering box?

Any advice from the fine forum sages on here would be welcome!

Many thanks

Angus (potential future defender owner)

[ISUZUROVER]

You say there is rust in the footwells but no rust in the firewall??? They are one and the same.

Sounds like it needs a general tidy up. What is the gearbox like? That is possibly the most expensive issue.

So it has been converted from a hardtop to a styleside ute???

I am not up on prices for Tdis, so I will let others advise you, however redbook prices are often inaccurate...

[mcdisco]

Yeah gearbox seemed fine. No shuddering. A bit notchy getting into 2nd gear, but that was only at first...it warmed up and was fine. My Disco does the same.

Yeah it was a hardtop and has been converted. I dont think it has an engineers report though.