This amazing Land Rover Defender 90 was handbuilt by the crew at Bishop+Rook for a client looking for a summer beach cruiser. It was a complete panel/chassis off restoration, including conversion to soft-top and automatic gearbox, upgrading to a completely rebuilt 300Tdi engine.
Heritage Inspired Land Rover Defenders
Built By Hand in Salisbury, England and Minneapolis, Minnesota
+01 612.424.1642 (Mobile/Text) / +01 612.424.1642 (WhatsApp) / +44 7868 791544 – Salisbury, UK
Who We Are
The Bishop+Rook Team
We are group of Defender enthusiasts that have dedicated our careers to preserving and building vintage Land Rover Defenders. We have three fully operational workshops located in Minneapolis/Renville, Minnesota and Salisbury, England where we source, refresh, restore, and build some of the most timeless vehicles on the planet.
What We Believe
A Defender for Everyone
We believe in providing high-quality, reasonably-priced, Land Rover Defenders that can go anywhere and do everything. Whether you’re looking for a unique low-mileage Defender survivor or a complete nut-and-bolt bespoke restoration, we want to be the team that provides you with your dream vehicle. We keep a fresh stock of restoration ready Land Rover Defender 90s, 110s, and 130s – in both right-hand and left-hand drive.
Why It Matters
Sharing Our Experience
We believe not only in transparency in pricing, but also the restoration and build process. We provide a unique” behind the scenes” look into the methods, time, and process it takes to build a truly remarkable Defender – showing both the good and the bad. We’re also eager to share helpful advice and tips for those just beginning the research process.
Chief
We rescued “Chief” from the Spanish countryside where it once served as the Fire Chief’s Defender. We completely disassembled the body, replacing all doors, front wings, and several other panels. We added a custom interior, tinted windows, air conditioning, lift kit, and a few other “secret” items.
Similar Builds Starting at $72,500
Project Grim – Defender Rescue
This Defender 110 project came to us as a rescue mission from a client who imported his own vehicle, only to find that the seller was less tan honest. We took a sympathetic restoration approach, which included complete paint strip and respray in a custom Raptor finish, updated the interior with heated leather seats, dash upgrade, sound deadening, and provided a complete mechanical service to get him back on the road to adventure.
Complete Project Restoration Services Available
Skye
We were the third person to be trusted with the care and maintenance of Skye – having previously been owned by two different hot air balloon operators. In addition to an extensive mechanical service, we preserved her unique character by offering up a period-correct fresh paint job, adding fresh sawtooth wheels, while adding a functional roof rack and front bull bar for style.
Preservation Series Starting at $55,000
Rebel
We wanted to create a marriage of tough off roading with the style and grace of an urban Defender. We completely refreshed the chassis back to factory condition, updating the suspension, braking, and mechanical. In addition, we sprayed Rebel with glossy Santorini black, complemented by full panoramic side and rear windows.
Rebel Series Starting at $45,000
Carmen
Both RHD and LHD Options Available
Starting at $55,000 and $65,000
Overlander (aka Rocky)
We build Rocky as an early 300Tdi automatic conversion project to allow our local clients to drive a RHD Defender, without having to be concerned with learning (or re-learning) manual shifting. He became so popular around the workshop that we’ve decided to keep him as a permanent member of the Bishop+Rook team – although occasionally being sent out on remote adventures with friends and family.
One of a Kind Preservation Class Build
Sarge
This is one of the toughest and most adventurous driving restoration projects we’ve ever known. We’ve turned down several offers to “restore” Sarge, opting to keep the character and patina of this “internet famous” Defender the way it should be – Adventure Tested.
Currently Roaming Somewhere in Minnesota
(or Maybe California)
The Starting Points
Everyone begins their journey at the dreaming stage. Moving on from there generally means gathering more information and gaining confidence in your choices.
Use our custom quote configuration tool to see what options are available.
See some of the projects we’ve recently completed.
Reach out and begin a casual, or serious, conversation about a Defender build.
Even the deer are coming out of the wilderness to check out the Defender.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
The complete package. Not overdone. Not over built.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
From the archives: This impromptu photos session was taken one day when we drove Sopris from our Minneapolis workshop to our Renville workshop (about 100 miles away) to deliver parts.
About 45 miles down the road, we started smelling overheating and burning.
She wasn`t driving as smoothly as she had the first part of the trip. We pulled over to investigate, but there were no apparent signs - just a feeling of something wrong.
We should note that this is our workshop truck, and we only sometimes look after them as we should. Seems like she had a transfer case leak, and nobody noticed, as we had only ever taken her on short trips for parts, lunch, or a random trip around the nearby lake for some fresh air.
On this day, the extra heat from the long trip caused the dry transfer case to fight with one of the bearings.
A testament to their durability, we were able to limp her back to the workshop via backroads (stopping every so often to let it cool down and take photos).
We made it all the way back to the workshop before the transfer case finally gave out. When we opened it up, a pile of shiny bearing parts fell onto the ground.
Two lessons here:
1. Perform essential maintenance on your Defenders
2. Even when broken, they won`t leave you stranded
#defender #landrover #landroverdefender #defender90 #defenderrestoration #defenderlife #defenderlifestyle
Michael brought Fergus by to visit today. It’s fun when we get to see all the evolving changes and customizations come together over time - even after they leave the workshop. We still have a few more surprises to come on this one.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
Our Defender sourcing approach introduces us to a variety of amazing people where we get to share in the history of their adventures with the Land Rover.
We prefer to source directly from the owners rather than through brokers, dealers, or other trade professionals. Not only does it eliminate unnecessary markup and incentives to hide things on the Defender, but it also gives us the chance to meet the people who took care of these vehicles before entrusting us with the preservation of its legacy.
Here are a few photos from our recent Land Rover Defender 110 2.8i (Petrol) we took in for preservation.
If you’re not familiar with this engine package in a Landy, you might be surprised. When BMW owned the company they discovered that their online 6-cylinder petrol engine fit nicely inside the engine bay. The result was a very smooth running, fuel efficient Defender am that performed just as well on the highways as it did in the bush.
She’s undergoing a much-needed refurbishment, but is currently available for sale/adoption for someone looking for a great Defender.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
Working out the kinks in an automatic conversion. It’s never easy. That’s the thing about hand building cars - sometimes things go perfectly. Most times they don’t. But we stick with it to make sure it’s properly done.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
The team has been putting in a lot of extra hours and days to get these builds out the door to enjoy the summer weather. Project Bertha took her first extended test drive from our Renville workshop to the finishing and QA center in Minneapolis. 120 miles so far. Minor tweaks and a few more to go before we put the final interior in and release her into the wild.
Special thanks to the team for working through the weekend.
#defender #landroverdefender #landrover #defender90 #defender110 #defender130 #bishoprook #lifeofadventure #4x4 #defenderrestoration #overland #boxycar #landroverseries #classiccar
We don`t often get around to posting some of our interiors - because we don`t often get a chance to photograph them. Once we get the projects finished up, we try to get them to the customers as fast as possible.
Interior trimming is an art form and there are few folks that can do it right. We happen to work with some incredibly talented people that can create just the right balance of heritage style, with a bit of personal touch.
Too much leather seems over-the-top for us in a Defender. But just the right amount, in the right places, and oh-la-la, does it look nice.
Combine that trimming with a custom automatic conversion, electric windows, air conditioning, and a touch screen stereo with front and rear cameras, and you have something that rivals some of the best cars off the production line.
We hand-build cars. It takes a lot of time, but it`s worth the wait.
#defender #defender110 #landrover #landroverdefender #onelifeliveit #defender90
Begin Your Adventure
Whether you’re beginning your search or you’re already figured out your journey, we would love to hear from you.