Reviving this couple month old thread, because I recently read about the seizures,
but not about the returns.
I bet that chiropractor (or was it dentist?) in North Carolina caught with a dozen Defenders on his property still has legal problems. He is somehow involved with some importation, not sure if it's direct from the UK or if through Canada.
The Defender's have crazy prices on them, but some of the older Series 2 and Series 3's are reasonable by comparison.
Would it be insane to use a 30 year old Rover as a daily winter driver?
Just asking, the concept is appealing but I suspect the reality is somewhat more bitter.
EDIT: This is interesting, had not read this part before.
8/1/2014
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/44/4476.asp
Quote:
Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Christopher M. Feldman said that he inspected the "non compliant" vehicles and found discrepancies in the Land Rovers imported by Patterson Auto Sales. He presented his findings to the court.
"The chassis was galvanized and Land Rover has not manufactured Defender vehicles with a galvanized chassis," Feldman claimed. "The engine was a 2.5 TDi 5 cylinder (Storm) engine, manufactured from 1997 to 2007, which cannot be retrofitted into a 1986 Defender Station wagon chassis; the vehicle color does not match the original Venetian red; a number of interior and exterior features were not introduced into production until significantly later model years."
Richardet, the importer, had explained the discrepancies to the Customs and Border Patrol agency in an email two years ago.
"The truck was taken down to the frame," Richardet wrote. "It was sand blasted then galvanized to prevent rust. The doors are prone to rust are scrapped and swapped out for newer ones. The old dashes have been out of production since 2004 so the newer dash is used if the old one is bad. The restoration shops try to make modifications and upgrades to the trucks to make them safer and more user friendly. Just like restoring an old Camaro, old parts get junked and newer [ones] go on. I hope he will see that. All those parts are available from Land Rover and the truck has changed so little you can bolt them right on."
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I added a passenger side mirror to my 1977 911 last year,
wonder if the fed's will be all over me for making it look more like a later model?