1985 Land Rover Defender 90

Freshly restored after what looks to have been a 10-year hiatus, this Keswick Green Land Rover Ninety has been trimmed with a full suite of tan leather seats, bringing this 1985 model slap-bang into the 21st century with its Heritage-inspired colour scheme.

It’s also got a new tan hood plus refurbished suspension and a restored undercarriage, with the whole lot sitting on colour-coordinated wheels and beefy tyres.

The seller bought the Land Rover about eighteen months ago and lost no time in completing the part-finished project; the underside had already been restored and the paintwork applied, leaving him free to finish the interior and the electrical wiring.

Only for sale because he has a backlog of other projects to clear – he’s a man who derives as much pleasure from the doing as he does the driving – this is your chance to get your hands on a handsome example of an iconic 4x4.

Painted in Keswick Green, the same colour as the last-of-the-line, run-out model, this Land Rover Ninety hides its age well. Recently resprayed and fitted with a new tan hood and colour-coordinated wheels and wheelarches, its blunt lines are as ageless as they are classless.

As suited to desert travel as it is the school run, the fold-down steps at the side and rear that aid entry to this towering Goliath of the off-road world were fitted new in February of this year.

A pair of hefty mudflaps on the rear help cut down the amount of spray and road dirt flung by the nine-inch wide tyres while silver door hinges and body-colour headlamp surrounds and radiator grille reinforce the Land Rover’s upmarket credentials.

LED lamps for the indicators and front and rear sidelights complete the aesthetic upgrades while also bringing a useful increase in output.

The wheels are finished in black and Keswick Green, an attractive combination that’s further enhanced by a matching set of General Grabber AT2 tyres, an all-terrain tyre whose tread depth is measured in inches rather than millimetres.

We will never get tired of telling you that experience shows that matching high-quality tyres are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you a shortcut into their attitude towards maintenance.

The spare wheel, which lives in the rear, is fitted with a good, albeit non-matching, Comforser CF3000 tyre.

It all looks great and while the paintwork looks better from a couple of metres away than it does up close, a good polish might smooth things out enough for most people to be able to live with it.

There is some work to do, but only a little. Aside from the paintwork (which could be left as it is), some of the screws holding trim on are rusty (e.g. #15).

The three front seats are trimmed in tan leather and their presence in the front is matched by a pair of bench seats in the rear, giving space for seven people in total.

It’s a neat arrangement that allows you to juggle load space and passengers depending on what the day brings and they all still look like new, which isn’t surprising given they were supplied by Exmoor Trim less than a year ago.

The wood-rimmed steering wheel is just as gorgeous as the seats, and it’s supported by a pair of alloy gearknobs for the main and transfer gearboxes.

The carpet, which was fitted in July 2022 at the same time as the seat covers and the rear lap seatbelts, is in great shape.

As you can see in the accompanying video, it starts well and idles as it should. These older diesel engines might not be the last word in refinement but they’ll soldier on forever with little more than routine servicing and the lack of electronics mean they can be repaired and maintained with basic hand tools, something that was crucial given the vehicle’s original design brief.

Any half-competent DIY mechanic should be able to keep it running as sweetly as it is now, freeing themselves from the tyranny of the dealer network.

The underside is good. Recently refurbished with many new parts and finished with fresh coats of paint and underseal as appropriate, it’s good to see a solid rear crossmember; this one appears to have been replaced in around 2006 and it has survived the passage of time well.

A sump guard protects the underside of the engine – and looks great, obviously.

The Land Rover’s MoT certificate, which is valid until May 2024, was gained with no advisories.

It is being offered with a V5 registration document, the owner’s handbook, a bunch of old MoT certificates, and a thick wad of old invoices and bills. Like so many Land Rovers, it’s been the subject of ongoing maintenance and improvement over the years but unlike most this one has the paperwork to prove it.

The recent Vehicle History Check is clear.

True icons are rarer than you think but few would dispute the Land Rover’s place in the history books.

As tough as a miner’s boots and yet utterly classless, this beautifully trimmed example could take you from the opera to the grouse moors - and yet wouldn’t look out of place at the local livestock auction.

In need of nothing other than, perhaps, some very minor cosmetic intervention, you could pop a private numberplate on it and have everyone think it was only a few years old rather than almost 40.

As to what it’ll go for, our best estimate is somewhere between £25,000 and £35,000 – and given their previous record, the Landy might end up being a place to store your money temporarily rather than an actual cost.

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ near Abingdon; we are open weekdays 9am-5pm, to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.