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MUD-UK Defender Seat Rails (MUDRAIL) $130 Designed to fit under your Defender's existing seat frames, the MUD-UK Seat Rails are an ideal solution for very tall or very short Defender owners. The MUD-UK Seat Rails provide a greater seat height and more than two inches of additional rearward travel on the Defender's driver and front passenger seats. Most NAS Defenders are fitted with air conditioning units that displace leg room in the passenger foot well, so the MUD-UK Seat Rails are just as useful for the passenger seat as the driver seat when more legroom is required. MUD-UK Seat Rails are powdercoated satin black to match the existing seat frames and provide a factory appearance. Mounting Instructions and fasteners are included with every kit and no vehicle butchery is required for a proper installation. Fits all 90, 110, 130, Station Wagon, Double Cab, and NAS Defenders. |
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MUD UK Defender 90 Hood & Front Door Stainless Fastener Set (MUDBOLTS) $65 Eliminate the corroded bolt heads and bodywork stains by replacing your Defender 90's factory hood and door fasteners with the Defender 90 Hood & Front Door Stainless Fastener Set. Each MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set is made up of A2-grade stainless steel fasteners that will not corrode. Unlike other aftermarket bolt kits that substitute ALLEN, TORX, Hex, or PHILLIPS heads for the POZIDRIV heads used on the factory fasteners, the MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set uses the correct POZIDRIV heads for a factory appearance. Each Fastener Set includes six sets of fasteners for the Defender's hood and 16 sets of fasteners for two side doors. Proper mounting washers, nuts, and cage nuts for the bulkhead are included with every kit, and no vehicle butchery is required for a proper installation. Fits all 90, 110, 130, Station Wagon, Double Cab, and NAS Defenders, but the set is complete only for D90's and two-door Defender 110's and 130's. |
For most Defender owners, the driving position is an eminently comfortable one. The seat height is high enough to provide a very good view of the road and trail; there is sufficient legroom for a comfortable position; and the steering wheel is angled upward enough to provide copious amounts of legroom beneath the Defender's large-diameter steering wheel. Taller Defender owners, however, have a problem with insufficient legroom, even with the driver seat adjusted to its most rearward position. Shorter Defender owners also find visibility limited by the steering wheel, which is angled upward and of a large diameter. Many shorter Defender owners find themselves driving granny style unless they crane their necks upward while driving.
Even average-height Defender owners often have trouble seeing the road and trail ahead when they have fit an additional spare wheel to their Defender's hood. These additional spare wheels are not required for everyday driving but are desirable on longer and more difficult trips, where the likelihood of tire and wheel damage is high enough to warrant the carrying of two spare wheels. Adjusting the driver seat forward and backward does not help in this area.
Even average-height passengers oftentimes have legroom problems in Defenders fitted with air conditioning. The air conditioning units fitted to NAS Defenders is very bulky and displace great amounts of legroom in the passenger foot well Even with the passenger seat pushed back to its limit, there is often insufficient legroom for most passengers, even those of average height.
There is a solution for all of the above problems. Designed to fit under your existing seat frames, the MUD-UK Seat Rails are an ideal solution for very tall or very short Defender owners, as well as those Defender owners who have fitted the bonnet-mounted spare wheel.
The MUD-UK Seat Rails provide a greater seat height and more than two inches of additional rearward travel on the Defender's driver and front passenger seats. In the photo above, the driver seat has been fitted with the MUD-UK Seat Rails while the passenger seat remains in its factory configuration. Both the driver and passenger seats are adjusted to their most rearward positions. Now that the driver seat is situated taller much more rearward than the passenger seat.
Contrary to popular belief, the cutaway loadspace bulkhead on late-model Defender Station Wagons does not improve legroom. Rather, legroom is determined by the amount of travel on the Defender's seat runners and it's actually the limited movement on factory seat rails that restricts the amount of legroom.
By raising the level of the seat rails by an inch and shifting the seat's positioning further back, the MUD-UK Seat Rail kit utilizes the extra space available behind the seats to improve the legroom and comfort of any Land Rover Defender.
The MUD-UK Seat Rails extend above and beyond the loadspace bulkhead's flange. Note how the mounting holes for the seat's rails are extended backward more than two inches.
With the MUD-UK Seat Rails fitted, the seat can be adjusted backward much more than the factory seat ever could be. The seat is now also taller, giving even greater legroom to taller drivers and greater visibility to shorter drivers.
Even with the seat adjusted fully rearward, the rear of the seat will still easily clear the NAS roll cage.
MUD-UK Seat Rails are powdercoated satin black to match the existing seat frames and provide a factory appearance.
Mounting Instructions and fasteners are included with every kit and no vehicle butchery is required for a proper installation.
All Defenders suffer from corroded hood and side-door fasteners. The zinc-plated factory fasteners are just not up to resisting corrosion after years of exposure to the elements. These fasteners are unsightly, corrode in place and make maintenance more difficult, and also stain bodywork.
Eliminate the corroded bolt heads and bodywork stains by replacing your Defender 90's factory hood and door fasteners with a MUD-UK Defender 90 Hood & Front Door Stainless Fastener Set. The MUD-UK Stainless Bolt Set its all 90, 110, 130, Station Wagon, Double Cab, and NAS Defenders, but the set is complete only for two-door Defenders. Each MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set is made up of A2-grade stainless steel fasteners that will not corrode and will not stain the bodywork.
Each Fastener Set includes six sets of fasteners for the Defender's hood,
and 16 sets of fasteners for two side doors.
Proper mounting washers, nuts, and cage nuts for the bulkhead are included with every kit, and no vehicle butchery is required for a proper installation.
The cage nuts for the bulkhead are the only pieces in the entire MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set that are not constructed of stainless steel. These cage nuts are completely hidden from view when installed, as they lie under the door hinges.
Unlike the cheese aftermarket bolt kits that substitute ALLEN, TORX, Hex, or PHILLIPS heads for the POZIDRIV heads used on the factory fasteners, the MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set uses the correct POZIDRIV heads for a factory appearance. In the photo above, the upper bolt is the factory bolt and the lower bolt is the MUD-UK stainless bolt. The two bolts appear identical. The cheese aftermarket bolt sets look ridiculous on a Defender. In contrast, one cannot even tell the MUD-UK fasteners have been substituted in place of the factory fasteners.
The difference is, of course, that the MUD-UK bolt is constructed of stainless steel and will not corrode and will not stain the bodywork like the factory bolt shown above.
On the left is a factory side door bolt. On the right is the MUD-UK side door bolt. Both bolts take a POZIDRIV #4 bit and feature the same head size and same countersink taper and depth. Compare this to other aftermarket bolt sets that take a Hex, PHILLIPS or TORX bit and even have incorrect countersink tapers and depths so that they sit proud when tightened in place.
The six hood bolts are identical to the factory hood bolts. Both bolt heads feature the correct countersink taper and depth, and take POZIDRIV #3 bits.
What is POZIDRIV? POZIDRIV and PHILLIPS are not the same thing. On the left is a PHILLIPS #2 bit. On the right is a POZIDRIV #2 bit. Though the two appear identical at first glance, they are not identical and should never be used interchangeably. The wings on a PHILLIPS bit feature tapered walls that will cause the PHILLIPS bit to cam out of a POZIDRIV fastener under load and deform the fastener. This is the mark of a hack. Almost all of the Defender's bolts and small screws are POZIDRIV and they should be turned only with POZIDRIV bits. Obtain the proper tools before installing the MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set, use the tools skillfully, and your installation is much more likely to go smoothly.
The hood bolts take a POZIDRIV #3. If you want even greater turning power, obtain a POZIDRIV bit with ACRs (Anti-Camout Ribs), like the Snap-on bit shown above. The ACRs grab the fastener and provide much greater turning power. You can actually feel the difference in turning power when using a bit with ACRs.
The side door bolts take a POZIDRIV #4.
When changing out your factory bolts, they will probably be corroded in place. Use plenty of Blaster Products PB Blaster Penetrating Catalyst, which eliminates fighting with rusted and frozen fasteners and parts, and works where other purported penetrating lubricants fail. Simply saturate the troubled area before working and PB Blaster's unique capillary action allows PB to wick itself into the tightest cavities to break loose the surface tension of frozen and corroded fasteners and parts.
If your side door bolts are frozen in place with corrosion, then you might find an impact driver to be helpful, as it will minimize camming out of the POZIDRIV #4 bit under heavy load. Furthermore, capillary action will wick PB Blaster into the tightest seams and crevices and the light shock load delivered to the fasteners with the impact driver will allow the PB Blaster to wick even better, freeing these problem fasteners easily. However, use the impact driver wisely and judiciously. Don't just hammer away like an idiot and expect good results. Wield your tools with skill and good judgment.
Once installed the MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set mimic the factory appearance in every way and will really clean up your aging Defender.
The Defender Station Wagon's cargo door fasteners are just as susceptible to corrosion as the hood and side-door fasteners.
Water wicks into the cargo door's holes and corrodes the fasteners from within.
Unlike other aftermarket bolt kits that substitute ALLEN, TORX, Hex, or PHILLIPS heads for the POZIDRIV heads used on the factory fasteners, the MUD-UK Stainless Fastener Set uses the correct POZIDRIV #4 heads for a factory appearance. Shown left to right are a new Land Rover Genuine Parts cargo door bolt, a used factory bolt from John's Defender, and the MUD-UK stainless bolt. Note that all three fasteners feature a cheese head design and accept a POZIDRIV #4 bit.
The MUD-UK bolts are equal in length to the factory bolts. The difference, of course, is that the MUD-UK bolts will not corrode. The factory bolts will.
In addition to insufficient legroom for taller drivers and corroding fasteners, the Defender also suffers from other deficiencies for which aftermarket companies have developed solutions. For example, the Defender's side mirrors are terrible. They were improperly designed and are taller than they are wide. The factory side mirrors give a great view of the ground and sky, but they give a very poor view of other vehicles on the road beside and behind you. To solve this problem, many Defender owners fit the bubble mirror to give them greater visibility. The problems with the bubble mirrors are several. The view from the flat mirror is very limited and the view from the bubble attachment is wide but distorted. The bubble mirror is also unsightly.
To solve these problems, we have developed the Expeditionware Convex Mirror. This mirror has a convex shape and gives a wide-angle view of the sides and road behind your Defender. The mirror is very high quality and made of glass, not plastic. The Convex Mirror is a simple, drop-in replacement for the factory mirror fitted by Land Rover.
Another weak spot on all NAS Defenders is the radiator plug. For some inexplicable reason, Land Rover switched from a brass radiator plug (which was standard on the older Range Rover Classics) to a plastic plug. The plastic radiator plug is not satisfactory. The plastic threads are weak and easy to cross-thread. The plastic material gets very hot sitting on the radiator and eventually cracks. The plastic plug is also hollow and it is common for the head to shear off and leave the threaded shank inside the radiator. The plastic plug is a known weak point and a liability on any Defender.
Replace the factory plastic piece with the Expeditionware Brass Plug. The Brass Plug suffers from none of the plastic factory plug's weaknesses and also has an elegant appearance when mounted to your vehicle. Replacing the factory plastic plug is as simple as unthreading it from the radiator and threading in the Brass Plug.
The Defender's factory wiper blades are also terrible. They wilt easily under the sun and last only a few weeks. We recommend SilBlade Silicone Wiper Blades for every Defender. SilBlade wipers are formulated with a premium General Electric silicone elastomer that offers extreme high strength and resilience and are much more durable than rubber wipers. Silicone is naturally unaffected by ozone, ultraviolet light, acid rain, age, and even temperatures to 400°F. SilBlade wipers are guaranteed for a full five years against degradation.
With your wiper blades performing efficiently, you can rest assured that your wipers will work when you need them. Hot, cold, wet, dry, it won't matter.
The Defender's factory headlights are as bad as the factory mirrors and wiper blades. If you drive a Defender or Range Rover Classic, you know how weak the factory sealed beams are. Furthermore, the light emitted from these units is very yellow in color and gives the vehicle a very weathered appearance.
Replace those weak sealed beams with the Hella H4 7" Replacement Headlamps. These units provide a substantially brighter and crisper light pattern than the sealed beams and are a drop-in replacement for the sealed beams. The H4 Replacement headlamps are a drop-in replacement for the factory sealed beams on all Defenders. No modification of the vehicle is necessary for a proper installation, and even the plug pattern on the H4 bulbs matches the female plugs on the factory wiring harness. The H4 Replacement headlamps emit what is commonly referred to as an e-code pattern. This pattern differs from the standard DOT pattern in that there is a very sharp cutoff in the pattern from about 9 o'clock to 2 o'clock. The pattern looks very similar to this: ____/ ____/. Glare to oncoming vehicles is minimal to nonexistent and pedestrians and road signs on the right side of the road are very well illuminated.
The Defender's factory brakes are very good, but can be improved. We recommend upgrading the brake rotors to DBA Longlife Gold, which are cross-drilled and slotted for added performance.
Defenders are getting older and older, and require replacement of the factory brake hoses. Most Defenders used off-highway are also lifted, and longer brake hoses should be fitted to these vehicles. Replace your factory rubber brake hoses with the longer and stronger Expeditionware DOT Brake Hoses.
For brake pads, we use and recommend only the Land Rover Genuine Parts Brake Pads. These pads in conjunction with the Expeditionware DOT Brake Hoses and the DBA rotors will take your brake performance to another level.
All of the foregoing products will greatly enhance the ownership of your Defender, whether or not you venture to faraway places or merely drive your Defender around town. There is more to life than fourwheeling. Unlike dedicated offroad modifications, many of these products are enjoyed each and every day. They make your Defender more reliable, safer, and more comfortable.