RAREST 1984 Series III Land Rover Defender 109" 5-door Station Wagon

1984 Land Rover Defender 109 Series III RAREST Description

NOTE for SHIPPING:If you are anon-Californian within these United Statesoran international customer, it would be my sincere pleasure in covering my half of the total shipping costs. This means everything from loading to shipping on my end will be taken care of for you.

Hello! Hope that this finds you most well, in health, and in joy!

Statement of Full Disclosure and Correction to Previous Ad Listings

I would like to humbly begin this statement by apologizing to all of you who have shown interest in this vehicle so far, and to those who are willing to show interest. I have proven myself to be an absolute idiot as it took me this long to figure out just what in the world this vehicle really is!

This investigation of mine was initially sparked by someone who was kind enough to point out to my cousin that this vehicle was not a 1984 Defender!

Since, this is the very first Classic Land Rover—or just a Land Rover, for that matter—that we have owned in my family, I was baffled by this statement as, admittedly, I did not become somewhat knowledgeable about Land Rovers until quite recently.

Let me begin by giving you a detailed breakdown of the VIN number of this vehicle:

VIN Number: SALLBCMG1AA214419

(eBay does not recognize this VIN number because of its non-American origins)

S – Europe

A – United Kingdom

L – Land Rover

LB – Series III

C – Series III 109” Wheel-Base

M – Defender 5-door Station Wagon

G – 2.25L, inline 4-cylinder, Diesel

1 – Series III 4 speed / Right Hand Drive

A – 1979 - 84

A – Solihull, United Kingdom (plant where vehicle was manufactured)

214419 – Serial Number (unique to the vehicle in question)

The website link that I used for decoding the VIN is as follows:

http://www.expeditiongear.co.za/cu5/Decoding-your-Land-Rover-VIN-Number.aspx

As you can clearly and kindly see, the VIN is describing a Series III Defender 109 5-door Station Wagon with a 2.25L, inline, 4-cylinder, Diesel Engine.

Now, here’s the catch:

1. This vehicle has a 300 Turbo-diesel Engine

2. This vehicle was actually registered as a Defender 110” Wheel-Base in Sri Lanka, the island-nation from where this vehicle was imported!

With the original registration of the vehicle being the only lead on the description of this vehicle, I was wrongly led to believe that this vehicle was a Defender 110 with a 300-Tdi conversion, since I was operating under the mistaken assumption that the original registration of the vehicle was flawless. I. Was. Wrong.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Occam’s razor, in its essence, dictates that “the simplest explanation for an occurrence is the most likely.”

Ask yourselves this question:

How can a Series III Defender 109 Station Wagon have the body of a Defender 110 that has the “…full-length bonnet, revised grille, plus the fitting of wheel arch extensions to cover wider-track axles…” (Wikipedia, Land Rover Defender)?

Occam’s razor would help us conclude:

This is a Series III Defender 109” with a Full/Partial Body-Swap of a Defender 110”!!!!

Now, what do we truly know about this vehicle?

1. It is a custom-modified Defender 109” 5-door Station Wagon with a Defender 110” Body!

2. It has a 2.5L, 300-Tdi engine instead of a 2.25L, 4-cylinder Diesel engine. This means that, at some point in the past, someone upgraded this vehicle with a more powerful, more sturdy, dependable, easily maintainable, highly desired engine!

3. It has had a transmission upgrade, since the original VIN indicates that this vehicle came with a 4-speed Manual transmission, whereas this vehicle of mine has a 5-speed Manual gearbox, which indicates a 5-speed Manual transmission!

4. It has also had a rear-axle upgrade as the original Series IIIs and 110s came with Salisbury Axles, not Td5/Puma Axles with Disc brakes, which this vehicle clearly has!

Following this, we must ask ourselves, what do we not know about this vehicle?

1. We do not know at which point in time such an amazing feat of customization occurred on this vehicle.

2. We do not know where this modification was conducted. However, knowing Sri Lanka and actually being from there, I have a hunch that Sri Lankan resourcefulness had a hand to play in this project.