Jersey 90

Land Rover 90 (Pre-Defender) – 3.5 V8

This is another example of one of the pre-restored vintage Land Rover to come into the Bishop+Rook Restoration Centre.  We found this lovely Land Rover 90 on the Isle of Jersey (officially the Bailiwick of Jersey), just 25km off the coast of France – the largest of the British Channel Islands.  The island is a mere 46.14 mi² – including a series of narrow green lanes – which is perfect for a little Landy like this.

We prefer to source non-restored and non-molested original vehicles – allowing us to be the first people to do any major mechanical or archeological digging.

Initial Assessment + Details:

We’ve only just started to go through the details of this Landy, but so far we love every bit of it.  Didn’t dress her up for the first photo shoot, because we rather enjoy watching the transformation.  Seeing the rusted side steps and loose door sills is part of the charm, right?

The grumble and power of the V8 are very rare, making them highly desirable.  The interior is a little bit tired, but could easily be cleaned up with a bit of effort.  We’re torn on the outside patina, as they’re only original like this once.  She would make a perfect restoration candidate, but could also live for many years as it is.

We go through all the major elements of the vehicle using a checklist of over 200 items and systems that we grade (checked, passed, failed, needs repair, needs replacement). Our plan so far is to do a complete mechanical service on Jersey – brakes, cooling system, engine tune, fuel system, electrical system, and chassis treatment.  Our baseline Defender service ensures that the vehicle is fit for modern roads and won’t leave you stranded. What we do with the restoration after that is entirely up to the new caretakers.

Model: Ninety/One Ten/127
Class: 90
Body Type: 3 door station wagon
Model Year: 1989
Steering: RHD
Engine: 3.5 V8, Carburettor, Low Compression, Petrol
Miles: 113,000
Gearbox: 5 Speed, LT77/LT77S/LT85, Manual
Factory: Solihull, UK
Sequential number: 450054

Initial Preservation + Restoration Plan:

We will spend quite a bit of time sorting through some of the old tatty elements of this Landy, including cleaning up the interior, dash, headliner, seats, and storage box.  With that we will ensure all the dash components, gauges, and switches are working as they should.

Mechanically, we will likely upgrade to a Edelbrock intake with Weber 500 Carb.  This is a great set-up on these old 3.5L V8 Rovers, as it gives a bit more HP, but more than that it is a much more reliable system than the original SU carbs – which are great for some purposes, just hard to keep in tune sometimes.

Exterior and body is the area we are currently debating:  do we do a simple polish and seal to preserve the patina, or do we strip it back to the chassis and complete a Preservation or Heritage Series level restoration.

Contact Us For More Information:

If you’re interested in this Defender, or something similar, please reach out to us via the contact form below.