Joel Mercer is the owner of Buckhorn Imports LLC that operates out of Clayton, North Carolina. They specialize in the sale of used Land Rover parts, as well as the repair of Land Rovers. In late December of 2008, Buckhorn received a 1997 Defender 90 that was at one time owned by Billy Joel.
The new owner, who resides in NYC, had chosen this particular D-90 to become his beach cruiser at his North Carolina residence. Buckhorn, who the owner heard of from a friend of a friend, was originally commissioned to upgrade the frame to a brand new galvanized, as well as a suspension upgrade. Two weeks into the project, the owner decided that he didn’t want to stop there. Since the truck was practically torn apart, why not modify the entire truck? That is when the real fun began.
Once the engine was pulled, it received a complete overhaul including a head job and valve job, along with a brand new starter, water pump, alternator and hoses. The engine block was then painted and all other pieces powder coated for maximum protection.
The owner, unhappy with the original Alpine White paint job, decided he wanted to switch it up. He had at one time seen a 109” painted Shetland Beige, therefore he decided upon that color for his Defender transformation. With those instructions, Buckhorn contacted Phil McCarl, the owner of local paint shop Masterblend located in Rolesville, North Carolina.
Wanting to mirror the new good looks of the exterior, the interior also underwent a complete overhaul, including new seats, full Line-X, and audio system.
For aftermarket accessories, Buckhorn enlisted several companies, including Lucky 8 whom provided an Equipe Expedition Suspension Kit, Equipe A-Bar bumper and a Warn 9.5 XP winch among other things. Miscellaneous interior trim pieces were provided by Iron Goat 4x4, and Trailhead 4x4 provided the new custom sized braided oil-cooler lines. All powder coating was done at Carolina Custom Powder Coating.
The completion of this restoration has been the first of its kind done at Buckhorn, but judging by the way it turned out, we doubt it will be the last. I asked Joel what his favorite part of the entire process was, and he said that it was having all the bits and pieces laying out on the floor in front of him and being able to visualize what the end result was going to be. This ability will help him with his future Rover projects.
To see all the photos go to http://s424.photobucket.com/albums/pp327/BuckhornImports/Projects/1997%20Defender%2090/Story by Erik Torno Photos by Joel Mercer
