E.C.D. has been building Land Rover Defenders since its inception around 2013. It was only in the last few years that we decided to truly dedicate ourselves to making sure every single build was as unique and individual as its owner. We also took the time to fully grow our facilities so that 100% of the work on each vehicle was done in-house, which opened up our abilities to offer a range of new and innovative options to clients. But even with all of these assets, why is building a custom Land Rover Defender still difficult?

The Land Rover Defender is a vehicle that has been around for quite a few decades since the mid-’80s and officially the early ’90s. This aspect makes it challenging to source usable base vehicles here in the U.S., where the Defender was only legally sold for a few short years. However, with the law allowing for the original style of vehicle to be imported as long as it’s 25 years or older, we simply had to become dedicated to sourcing each base vehicle from somewhere around the world. 

Once a base vehicle is sourced, the painstaking process of tearing the vehicle down to its frame becomes the next step. It may seem like one could just rip the vehicle down to the ‘studs’ like you would do a house and rebuild anew. But that isn’t the case. While we build custom vehicles, we pride ourselves on ensuring that the vehicle maintains most of its original body to ensure it keeps its heritage and nostalgia. So every part is cautiously removed and set aside for when it rejoins the build in a later stage. While this part is still the quickest portion of your custom Defender’s build process, there’s an additional 2,200 man-hours that go into the entire process. While the rebuilding is difficult, as we have grown and practiced over the years, we have established a meticulous bay to bay build process that ensures every step is complete with the utmost scrutiny. 

Ultimate Vehicle Concept Project Viper at ECD Auto Design

Another aspect of what makes building custom Defenders difficult is the process of being aligned to every spec the client desires. We have had some creative requests over the years, and while we strive to make sure every option is doable to perfection, we have also had to push past comfort zones to create a process that allows clients to keep us under just as much scrutiny. A member of our devoted concierge team arranges to fly our every client for an initial design meeting, where clients can physically touch samples, and see the entire process themselves. Once the client defines what they have in mind for their dream build, our design team creates a 3D rendering of what that dream vehicle will look like inside and out. 

This is where things can get hairy. After seeing the rendering, a client might completely change their mind or decide they want to head in a different direction after being inspired by our very influential Instagram of custom Defender 110 , Defender 90s, Defender 130s, and other Restored Land Rovers. Thanks to having every build aspect done in-house, we can easily manage changes for the client (within reason). We adjust their rendering for final approval, and once it has the seal, we post the new specs to the production team so they can get started. 

We then have to plan every aspect of the build down to the delivery date. That means planning and taking into account every possible part delivery, any unforeseen delays, and planning for any other unexpected aspect that could arise, and trust us, they do. This planning is what our co-founder, Elliot, has done since the beginning. If you saw the spreadsheets, you’d fully understand why this is both extremely difficult and important. After years of building ourselves as a premium custom Defender facility, we have also developed relationships with reliable parts dealers and partners that help us take our builds to the next level of custom. 

The last part of the difficulty in restoring custom Defenders simply comes from getting it right. We’ve had builds come through our facility with shabby, and quite frankly half-assed work, that pales in comparison to the quality of E.C.D. We mentioned our quality as the Defender goes from bay to bay, but what E.C.D. does great is ensuring every bay is held accountable to set a certain standard of excellence that allows the build to move to the next bay. You may have heard of our Q.C. Manager, Sergei, who is no-nonsense and strives for perfection. He performs a 400-point inspection on each build. Quality in materials, people, and even the very clients we work with is our main ethos. We simply do not accept “good enough.” To additionally hold ourselves accountable, we have a build quality guarantee and openly allow for clients to visit their build at the Rover Dome at any time.

Despite all of this, we’ve taken on these difficulties and used them as measurements for learning and growth. We have built a reputation for our quality custom Defenders that speaks for us, and we might make it look easy, but visit our facility in Florida, and you will see the passion and work ethic we put into our builds.