The Defender is a 4x4 model from Land Rover, built to emulate the style of the original Series Land Rovers.

Series models and Defenders are often mistaken for one another due to their similar styling, although the differences are large. The fundamental difference between Defenders and Series models is that Defenders are coil-sprung whereas Series models are leaf-sprung.

Defenders entered production in 1983, and came in two wheelbases, 90 in and 110 in. The 130 in wheelbase model was introduced later.

Contents

1 Series I 2 Chassis and vehicle number locations 3 Series II 4 Series IIA 5 Series III 6 Defender 7 Other models

Series I

Series land rovers entered production in 1948, with the introduction of the Series I, which came in 80 in, 86 in, 88 in, 107 in and 109 in models. It was originally designed for farm and light industrial use, and had a steel box-section chassis, and an aluminium body. Series I production stopped in 1958.

Chassis and vehicle number locations

There does appear to be conflicting information on the location of the number on the chassis, and numbers often cannot be found due to age and corrosion.

Series I (80 in):

The chassis number is stamped on the top of the left hand engine bearer bracket. The vehicle number (the same as the number as on the bracket) is situated on the bulkhead inside the vehicle. Engine, gearbox, and front and rear axle numbers should be related to the chassis numbers,but these are often some or many digits later - due to spares and supplies for other vehicles being made and numbered at the same time.

Series I (86 in) and (107 in):

These numbers are situated on the transfer box instruction plate on the bulkhead inside the vehicle, and are also stamped on the left hand rear spring shackle bracket.

Series I (88 in) and (109 in):

Numbers are on the transfer box instruction plate, and are also on the righthand front spring shackle bracket.

Series II

Missing image 1963.landrover.s2a.arp.jpg 1963 Land Rover Series IIA

A pickup-type series IIA

The successor to the incredibly successful Series I was the Series II, which saw a production run from 1958 to 1961. It came in 88 in and 109 in wheelbases. This was the first Land Rover to adopt a relatively modern shape, and used a well-known 2.25 L petrol engine.

Series IIA

The Series IIA is, by far, the most ubiquitous and hardy series model constructed. It was produced between 1961 and 1971. There were some minor cosmetic changes from the II, and the 2.25 L diesel engine was introduced. Also the 2.6 L 6 cylinder engine was introduced for use in the long wheel base models. This engine was notoriously difficult to maintain, and was soon replaced by the 3.5 L Rover V8 engine.

Series III

Little changed cosmetically between the IIA and the Series III. However the headlamps were moved to the wings, and the traditional metal grille was replaced with a plastic one. During its production run from 1971 until 1985, the 1,000,000th Land Rover rolled off the production line in 1976. This was the first model to feature synchromesh on all four gears. The instrument cluster, which was previously centrally located, was moved to the driver's side.

Defender

The Defender model (which was, until 1990, named simply Land Rover 90, 110 or 127 depending on wheelbase) used the improved drive train, suspension and chassis of the previous model of Range Rover.

Other models

Other models included the forward control model 101 in, the lightweight, and various specialised vehicles.