Description
1988 Land Rover Ninety 2. 5 petrol with just 1 previous owner from new and a fresh MOT until May 2026.
History
Built on the 12th January 1988, and dispatched to Barretts Land Rover in Canterbury, it was registered to the first owner - a local farmer in Ashford - on 1st March 1988. After 25 years of ownership, I purchased it from him in 2013.
Over the past 12 years, I’ve extensively renovated the Land Rover to get it to the beautiful condition it’s in today. Initially I only drove the Land Rover around our own farm, then during lockdown I carried out lots of work to get it back to a roadworthy standard. Since then, I’ve driven less than 1, 500 miles in it, taking the mileage to 141, 600 miles, whilst continually renovating it. It’s been garaged throughout my ownership.
Engine and Drivetrain
The 2. 5L 4-cyl petrol engine starts and runs beautifully and is significantly more refined than the diesels of the same era. The gearbox is by far the best I’ve come across on any Defender (including much later models!), and it drives straight and true with no untoward noises.
It has been fully serviced with new engine oil, coolant, gearbox oil, front and rear diff oil, air filter, fuel filter and spark plugs. It has just had a new timing chain, tensioner and damper fitted using parts from Turner Engineering. Fully rebuilt Weber carburettor. Additional work includes a new alternator, exhaust system, heater matrix, timing cover gasket, water pump gasket, crankshaft pulley seal, sump gasket and rocker cover gasket.
Body and chassis
The exterior is in excellent condition, benefitting from a full professional respray in 2023 in the original Shire Blue. Resprayed tubeless steel wheels with matching Michelin Latitude tyres all round. New windscreen, front bumper and pressed aluminium number plates to match the originals.
It still has the original chassis and bulkhead, which are solid and have never been welded.
Interior
The interior has been subtly upgraded from standard specification with the fitment of half leather seats from a Puma, a centre cubby box, fitted rubber floor mats and new Exmoor trim carpeting which makes a notable difference to the sound proofing!
Brakes
The front brakes have been renewed with new discs, pads and calipers. The rear brakes have been renewed with new drums, shoes and brake lines. The brake fluid was also recently renewed.
Suspension and steering
The Land Rover has just had new front springs, shocks and galvanised turrets fitted, along with a new steering damper. The rear A-frame ball joint was also renewed. The NSF swivel housing seal has also not long been renewed. It also benefits from having power steering.
Service History
I have receipts for all the parts that have been replaced, including some not mentioned above. I also have a British Motor Industry heritage certificate, original book pack with the handbook, a service book detailing the servicing carried out during my ownership and an old copy of the logbook (as well as the current one). It even has the original Barretts Land Rover dealer sticker in the rear window!
Summary
Although by no means a flawless nut and bolt restoration, this early pre-Defender Ninety is now in excellent, original condition, and relatively rare as a petrol model. Everything is how it would’ve been when it left the factory 37 years ago except for the subtle interior upgrades.
It receives lots of admiring comments and was even my cousin’s wedding car last year. I’ve loved owning and working on it, but I’ve now semi-inherited a 110 V8 pick-up that’s been in the family since new and sadly it doesn’t make sense to keep both.
Please feel free to get in touch to arrange a viewing and I’d be happy to answer any questions.
