1995 NAS Defender 90 Soft Top
New top and service items
This Defender 90 has come to us from Texas for a new upgraded top, some upgrades and a few general repairs. Overall the 90 is a very nice low mileage Rover, but it needs some attention to make it just right.
One of the upgrades for this Defender is to get rid of the factory soft top and install a custom soft top. The new top incorporates the gutter kit you see above so that the seal around the door actually seals, unlike the factory top. This upgrade is done with nearly all Genuine Land Rover parts and when combined with the superior quality and fit of the top, it makes a soft top D90 a lot nicer to drive, especially in bad weather. In the image above you can see we have stripped off the factory top and installed the gutter kits and new door seals. We are also doing some routine things like an oil and filter changes along with a full lube and fluid check. Unfortunately we did find a problem. The customer's local dealership had put gear oil in his R380 gearbox. The R380 has an internal pump and requires ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid), so we flushed the gearbox and installed the correct lubricant. This likely took quite a few miles off the gearbox and is one of the reasons we see Defenders from all over the country for ECR service. Attention to detail and getting it done right is what we are all about.
Back on the top install you can see that we have finished the gutter kit and installed the soft top. As you can see the seal around the door top is far superior to the Land Rover original top.
This image shows the soft top now installed. The slightly tinted side windows give it a nice custom look and the zip off side windows make for easy open air driving. The top even comes with a new custom storage bag for your side windows when they are not in use.
The Defender also got a number of upgrades while it was here at ECR. We installed a set of Hella 4000 driving lights, twin Optima batteries, removed a very poorly installed alarm system and even replaced a worn out Air Cond. blower motor. All these items and a routine service will mean the owner can take his Defender and have some fun for the summer and not worry about what was done right or wrong. We've un-done all the stuff the dealership did wrong.
Here you can see another common ECR upgrade for Defenders that we did to this Texas 90. We have replaced the upper footwell trims (they were originally cheap-o cardboard) with a heavy duty alloy panel that is covered in Hardura for a factory look. Our new panel may look factory, but it will stand up to muddy boots and it will never sag or fall off.
This image shows the completed upgraded top installed and looking good. The top alone makes the Rover look newer and as it is built with quality in mind we know it will last a long time.
Here you can see the completed Defender ready to head home. This wasn't a big job for ECR, but we are happy to do as much or as little as the customer desires. We are glad the D90 made its way here because we caught a number of mistakes from other shops that will mean this 90 will now last longer and be more enjoyable to own. If you need something as neat and easy as a top install, or something as complicated as a new engine, contact ECR and let us know if we can help make your Defender worlds class... just like this one.