This 1997 Defender 90 has come to us from Florida for some repairs from a past accident, some minor work orders and a new galvanized frame. Much like our frame swap system for the Series II-III Land-Rovers, we offer that same system for Defenders of all years, that way your trusty Defender can really have a shot at lasting a good long time, with no frame rust.
First step is to remove the chassis and running gear from the Rover. In this image you can see that we have removed the body from the Rover in our unique frame swap system. This saves you 1000s of dollars and hundred of man hours from having other shops do this type of work. They want to take your truck apart piece by piece, but if you really only want a frame, the ECR frame swap system is a great way to go.
Here you can see the rolling chassis, out and ready to begin tear down. From this point we'll remove the drive train and begin to swap it over to the new galvanized frame. We'll also be installing a new suspension as well as some other needed repair items.
This image shows the new galvanized frame with all the running gear in place. We took this time to replace some needed items, such as a new gearbox oil cooler, new exhaust manifolds, all new suspension bushings, as well as new Old Man Emu springs and shocks. We also did some work that it is smart to do when changing your frame. We installed new motor mounts and a few other small work orders. While the axles were out we tossed in a set of Ashcroft 4.11 ring and pinions so that this D90 can make use of all its power, and have some added low range crawl when playing off road.
These images show the body coming back down onto the new galv. chassis set up. Once it is lined up, it is bolted down with new hardware and all the systems are reconnected and then the accessories are bolted back in place. ECR started the frame swap system in the USA nearly a decade ago for Series Land-Rovers, and we still continue to expand our array of services, even for the most modern Defenders. Think about never having to worry about frame rust again in your D90... that is great piece of mind, available only from ECR. We even offer custom Defender frames that are already set up to convert your NAS Defender to 300 Tdi or Td5!
Along with the new galv. frame we have a few other upgrades in store for this D90. We will be installed a Safari Gard hitch point, rear fuel tank skid plate, rear shock drop kit, as well as the rear quarter guards seen here already installed. Our galvanized frames will also accept the stock step and tow bumper, but this customer chose to upgrade at this time.
Here you can see the rear section of the D90 completed with the SG quarter guards, skid plate 2" receiver set up, trailer lights and more.
This image show the Defender 90 ready to head back to Florida, but now with a new galvanized chassis, new suspension and a number of great upgrades from 4.11 gearing to a fuel tank skid plate that won't rust, this Defender is ready to hit the road or the trail, and never worry about chassis rust again.
If you'd like to make your D90 as rust proof as possible contact ECR about our Defender frame swap process. We can help you make your own Defender world class... just like this one!