The journey to the ultimate custom Defender takes many steps, from consulting with the design crew to searching the globe for the best foundation vehicle for your particular design requests. Still, perhaps the most vital of these steps is the teardown of the original foundation vehicle. At ECD, we don’t just take old cars, spruce them up and slap on some fresh paint; we completely rebuild and customize every Defender that hits our facility from the ground up.

Why We Tear It Down

A vital part of your custom Land Rover Defender is the sourcing and tearing down of an original base Defender. Once the foundation vehicle has been located and transferred to our massive restoration facility in Florida, our team goes to work tearing down the classic NAS Defender to its bare frame.

Meticulous attention to detail is what makes ECD different from other restoration shops. That’s why we tear down every Classic Defender to its basic frame to ensure no detail is overlooked, regardless of how trivial. From the frame and wheels to nuts, bolts, and grommets, a complete restoration means every piece is in new condition.

We start with the more manageable sections and work our way into the internal components of the classic Defender. We carefully remove the body panels and store them till it’s time for them to be stripped and refinished. We then remove the inside parts, and any requested original pieces are set aside in case they can be refurbished for reuse. The original engine, wiring harness, lighting, and other parts that can’t be restored are removed and discarded, making way for modern innovations and upgrades to take their place.

We document the entire process, keeping our clients updated on the build’s current status. For a touch of nostalgia, we take an original hinge from the classic Defender and frame it as a small memento for the client’s welcome box.

Once the vehicle is down to the bare frame, we strip any rust and restore the frame to its original condition. From there, the rebuild begins with every nut, bolt, and washer being replaced. No part of the actual vehicle is left as it was before; every minor detail is evaluated, restored, or replaced.

The Team That Makes It Happen

Taking your custom Defender down to the bare frame and rebuilding it into one of the world’s most unique custom vehicles requires a level of knowledge, skill, and dedication to perfection that is only acquired over time.

Our team of English owners and American staff brings an unmatched degree of expertise to the industry. We employ more than fifty of the best mechanics, electricians, paint restoration experts, and body specialists, designers, fabricators, and so many more for every Defender restoration.  Each team member has their views on how the perfect custom vehicle should look, but that truly is what makes our vehicles unique. We strive to challenge perfection daily. More than 2,200 man-hours go into every classic Defender restoration, a process we find ultimately rewarding as the project begins to come together and a new custom Defender comes to life.