·      Recently refurbished Matt Black 110
·      Long MoT
·      New head gasket and rear chassis crossmember
·      Mileage believed genuine

Land Rover Defenders are good news at the moment, following the cessation of production of the classic original.  Even more in demand are 110 County Station Wagons, especially those over 30 years old that are now eligible for export to the USA. 

And that’s what we have here – a smart, up-and-running example of the iconic off-roader that has been extensively recommissioned over the past few years, and with no expense spared. 

It’s a great looking thing, with a low mileage that’s believed to be genuine and lots of recent bills and receipts backing up over £6,000 of expenditure. 

The vendor has owned and loved this Land Rover for over a decade, having purchased it in November 2010 from Jake Wright Land Rovers near Ilkley, Yorkshire. It’s a September 1987 model, and has covered around 32,000 miles in the vendor’s 11 years of ownership. 

It was originally red but has since been repainted Matt Black to the owner’s personal taste. During the time he has owned it, he has had it maintained mostly by the Land Rover specialist he bought it from. 

In 2006, the MOT register shows a recorded mileage of 60,235, so the vendor believes the recorded mileage to be correct. 

The 110 comes with a V5C in the vendor’s name along with an MOT valid until July 2022. It also has a selection of bills and receipts from the current owner’s tenure, which include evidence of some major repairs that will mean less expense for the new owner, including a new rear chassis crossmember, repairs to the outriggers and a new head gasket all in the past three years and 5,000 miles. 

The 110 is functional and practical inside, with black vinyl seat facings and a clean, durable dashboard and floor.  It’s in good, serviceable condition. The front seats have obviously been replaced or retrimmed at some stage and the rears are in fair to good condition, with a few small tears. 

Of course, the 110 benefits from having not only a row of rear seats facing forwards, but also a row of seats to each side of the rear load area, meaning seating for up to 10 people. 

All of the dials and gauges appear to work as they should.

The 110 looks really funky in Matt Black with matching modular steel wheels (including the spare, while the exterior has been enhanced with black chequer plating on the bonnet, wings and sill bottoms. 

There is also a full-length roof rack with rear access ladder, which was fitted in 2016 at the same time as the truck was restored and painted black. 

The body looks great from a distance and is very smart, but like many Land Rovers there is evidence of alloy corrosion beneath the paint – a common reaction where alloy and steel panels meet and of no great concern.  

The rear crossmember has been recently replaced and work has been carried out on the outriggers. The front bulkhead appears to be sound, although there are signs of corrosion right at the top by the windscreen brackets, which may require future rectification. Overall, though, this is a smart and good looking truck and the recent structural work should put any future owner’s mind at rest. 

Under the bonnet, the 110 features the 2,495cc intercooled Turbo Diesel engine that appeared in 1986. 

The unit was the precursor of the later TDi units, and is much livelier and more powerful than the normally-aspirated 2.5-litre unit on which it is based, giving the 110 decent cruising ability and respectable fuel economy. 

It runs really well and has recently benefitted from a comprehensive service at the same time as the head gasket was replaced last year, at a cost of almost £1,000. 

The truck also had new brake pipes fitted at the same time, while a year and just 2,500 miles earlier it received new front brake discs and pads, and a new full exhaust system. 

The vendor reports that it is great to drive, and although it has only covered a few thousand miles a year during his ownership it has been used frequently in order to keep everything running smoothly and freely.

During his ownership, the vendor has never taken the Land Rover off-road – but he believes the low ratio transmission to be in good order.

Land Rovers are shooting up in value at the moment following the boom in popularity they’ve experienced following the original Defender going out of production. 

As a result, good ones are hard to find at a decent price. This one has immense promise. It looks cool, is mechanically well sorted and has been carefully maintained over more than a decade of ownership. It’s also of an age where it can be exported to the USA without any major complications, which is a major selling point.

It’s perfectly usable and ready to go – a great opportunity to buy a fully working 110 in the most desirable station wagon format.