 | Home > My Defender > Antares, Vogler's 110 Td5 Hardtop |
 
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| Vogler Member Since: 02 Nov 2014 Location: Brussels Posts: 309   
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Hi all,
killing some time before festive duties are due, so here's an ideal moment to finally introduce our 110 and myself after lurking around for about a year. Although I've always been fond of cars and even tried to restore a Triumph Dolomite Sprint a long time ago , I didn't feel it to be necessary to get a driver's license until recently, just after my 40th birthday. Even before I obtained the final license, we acquired our Defender. It had to be a Defender, it's the one car that I always looked at with envy, and I always felt that if ever I bought a car, it should be a Land Rover. For a long while I thought it would never surpass the realm of dreams, but in the end it became reality, and sometimes I still can't believe that the 110 outside is ours. After a trip trough Iceland with a rental Vitara and a Maggiolina tent, we bought a James Baroud RTT, put it on our 1998 BMW 318 Touring and travelled to Italy in the next year. Since it's a bit of a ridiculous sight, it gave me the perfect reason to brainwash my GF into buying a Defender together. So enter Antares, our 2005 Td5 110 hardtop with black wheels and some battle scars on the far side:  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge It came from its second owner, who had so much stuff to enjoy, and so few time that he neglected the Defender a bit. Documents even show a year during which it had not been driven for more than 500 miles. It seemed to come with lots of goodies, but it turned out to be an illusion: the second battery was dead, the winch didn't work, the wheel carrier was the wrong type, and the 15 (!) tyres that came with it were geriatric. The Hella floods on the roof put most of the light on the bonnet, and although the darkened windows looked cool, they rendered the rear space into a dreary dog kennel. Since I bought the car, I have replaced all oils (except for the PAS, which is still to be done), overhauled the brake calipers, replaced the discs, pads and pistons, replaced the half shafts and wheel bearings, put in HD flanges, had the warped exhaust manifold straightened, replaced the wiring harness, the belt and clutch cylinders and some other bits and bobs. I was only too happy and proud when our Defender passed MOT without a single remark. During the last summer holidays, we went to Iceland again and took the Defender there, to make the dream complete. Except for two flat tires on the same morning (carcasses of the tyres were worn and punctured the tubes), we didn't encounter a single problem on the 4500 mile trip through a variety of landscapes and surfaces. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Two weeks ago I finally came to replacing the black wheels with General SAG's and put on white wolf wheels, with Cooper A/T3's, which I think is a big improvement for both looks and road behaviour. Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge I always found it a bit cheesy to name a car, but I started to think differently about our 110. They all have their quirks and squeeks and if it isn't for those, than it is because the Defender became more than a means of transportation and felt like a travel companion. It took a while, but finally I decided on Antares Treadwell. Antares as the anti-god of war (anti-Ares, or anti-Mars) and Treadwell as a variant of 'tread lightly': go and explore, but respect nature and your surroundings. In the beginning, I hoped that the excitement about owning a Defender wouldn't wear off, and luckily it doesn't. I'm still happy as a schoolboy! Greetings, Joris Edit: just some spelling errors.  Last edited by Vogler on 29th Dec 2015 10:38am. Edited 1 time in total |
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25th Dec 2015 3:13pm |
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| Cuthbert Member Since: 26 Oct 2013 Location: Up North Posts: 1535 |
Very interesting read, although I'm surprised that none of the ex-RN chaps on here have alerted you to the sad events surrounding another 'Antares'. Wouldn't be my first choice of name for a vehicle carrying my family and friends.
https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/collision-...of-4-lives Great pictures of your Defender and sounds like you will have a fantastic vehicle to go exploring in - but I'd suggest a change of name? |
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28th Dec 2015 12:09am |
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| dozerman Member Since: 09 Nov 2014 Location: Cheshire Posts: 101  
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Great Landy, and I'm super envious of your adventures to date! Iceland is mega, I'm still trying to get around to visiting there with my own transport...
I like the name Antares personally - it has a great meaning! I definitely wouldn't consider changing it on account of a totally unrelated accident - I could understand the reasoning for anyone personally affected but it's a bit extreme to dismiss a well considered moniker on the back of a tragic but totally unrelated event. The wheels have transformed Antares too - what an improvement! |
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28th Dec 2015 12:41am |
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| ericvv Member Since: 02 Jun 2011 Location: Near the Jet d'Eau Posts: 5816  
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Joris, congrats, very nice truck.
 Like those side windowed 3 door 110s like yours.
From the sounds of it, you may intend to keep this truck for a longer period of time, and in your pictures I do see at least already some surface rust on the chassis. Guess the chassis was never fully rustproofed by the previous owners, now you might want to correct that. If so, below is a suggestion you may want to consider.... Eric http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic13479....l+belgians You never actually own a Defender. You merely look after it for the next generation. http://youtu.be/yVRlSsJwD0o https://youtu.be/vmPr3oTHndg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GtzTT9Pdl0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABqKPz28e6A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZ49Jce_n0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvAsz_ilQYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8tMHiX9lSw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwjPuHIV7I https://vimeo.com/201482507 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSixqL0iyHw |
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28th Dec 2015 4:18am |
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| Maxarn58 Member Since: 28 Dec 2015 Location: Stockholm Posts: 4 
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Hello Joris.
Nice car and very nice pictures. I totally agree with dozerman, there is absolutely no need for You to change Your name of the car because something happened to something with the same name, it fits perfectly. If one thought in those lines, no name would be appropriate for anything, since stuff and things have happened to persons/things with every name ever used.. Lots of luck with Your car.. Rgds Ulf (not the guy that was convicted of arson.. Oh I have to change name... again!!) |
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28th Dec 2015 10:40am |
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| Vogler Member Since: 02 Nov 2014 Location: Brussels Posts: 309
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Hi all,
what a pleasant surprise to see so many constructive responses! It's always wonderful to notice how passionate and involved people can be about Defenders. Eric: you are right, corrosion protection is still an item on the to-do list. I intended to do it myself during a couple of hot and dry summer days but Antares has its way to show which things are more urgent and keeps changing priorities. So it's not as much a matter of good planning or management as it is chasing the facts. Still in doubt about doing it myself or not though. Sometimes the Defender reminds me of when I was a student: since owning the car, I have been checking the balance of my bank account as often as in those days... As far as the name is concerned: I can imagine that it would be an issue if one is involved in such an accident, but fortunately I haven't been. There's also an HMS Defender which has been sunk (although it is the only one of eight), so even the name Defender itself would not be ideal if you follow the same train of thought... Naming Antares coincided more or less with the last repairs, and ever since the car seems to drive better than ever - which is very gratifying. I wish you all a year of good health, peace of mind and satisfaction. Joris |
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28th Dec 2015 12:17pm |
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