4x4 Mag - Feature Article - Land Rover County Station Wagon 300 TDI 1995

Feature Article

Land Rover 90 County Station Wagon 300 tdi 1995 model.

The balance between a tractable road going 4x4 able to do the daily chores of shopping and people transporting, and an "off-roader" is something which many people endeavour to achieve. When it comes to choice of 4x4 the Land Rover Defender is often forgotten or left behind with the Discovery taken in preference. Every Defender owner knows that the vehicle is completely "class-less", both the landed gentry and the farm hand drive this vehicle and this is part of the attraction together with the ageless looks still gaining glances after 50 years of production.

The Defender County Station Wagon (CSW) is a synthesis of utilitarian work horse and comfortable four-wheel-drive. Yes we know it lacks the refinement of more car-orientated 4x4s but remember we're looking for the on/off road capability balance here.

As every one knows in standard form the Defender CSW offers good potential off-road ability, yet with the addition of just a few accessories the machine becomes more capable and effective as an off-roader.

The vehicle featured here was equipped to marry the balance of daily travelling duties, long distance road journeys, trailer towing (upto 3.5ton) and off road adventures. It was designed to be as self sufficient as possible and high on the list of priorities was the belief to protect the steering assembly and drive train of the Defender from possible physical damage as a result of driving off-road.

Traction

Tyre contact is your first point of traction with either tarmac or off road terrain. B F Goodrich Trac-Edge tyres were choosen for their good road manners, low road noise and high mileage potential. Off-road they have a rugged side-wall which self cleans in mud and snow and does a good job propelling the Defender over most other surfaces too without the downside of rutting down which some more "aggressive" patterns do. Tyre size of 7.50-16 rather than 205-16 increased the under axle ground clearance and gave the vehicle an even more noticeable and purposeful look. These tyres fitted onto standard Defender 90 rims. A simple modification to the throttle body and speedo are required to gain adequate throttle openings and accurate speedometer readings.

Underneath

Have you noticed how vulnerable the steering assembly is on a Land Rover ? It doesn't take much mis-fortune to damage the steering arms and render the vehicle useless due to lack of steering. A steering guard protects the drop arm and front assembly, and an underaxle guard on the front axle protects the rest of the components from damage. You loose some ground clearance, but we felt it was a fair compromise. Further back we fitted a rear axle differential guard which protects the exposed differential casing from rocks, stumbs and other immovable objects.

So, we protected the steering, axle and diff components... what else ... oh, don't forget the fuel source, a punctured fuel tank won't take you far and leaking diesel or petrol doesn't please The Friends of the Earth. We rectified this with a fuel tank guard.

After fitment of all this gear we had the confidence to traverse the roughest of terrain knowing that whatever grones and bangs we heard from underneath it was the steel protection system that was taking the punishment.

Self-Recovery

You can never place a winch at the right end of a vehicle. Convention dictates the front, and really that is the most useful place for one, and generally with the right amount of shackles and snatch blocks a front mounted winch should get you out of most situations. We choose a Warn XD9000i model fitted on a purpose built winch bumper with two towing eyes. We didn't have the two batteries and split charge facility, however, we found the winch performed well in the duties called upon it.

This 90 travelled 40,000 miles in it's first 18 months, never gave any trouble and did its job without any undue fuss. When we sold it the tyres were still very servicable and we had only gained three punctures during those 40,000 miles. Yes, we had the 90 stuck and it did have it's shortfalls. However, we achieved a balance and would consider that this Defender fulfilled the role we intended for it.