The Land Rover Defender is an iconic 4×4 vehicle known for its rugged capabilities and durability. But what if you’re not much of a stick-shift driver? Here’s where the automatic conversion package offered by Bishop+Rook comes in.
Building an Automatic Land Rover Defender
Most Land Rover Defenders did not come from the factory with automatic transmissions, so they generally need an automatic transmission conversion to make them easier to drive. That’s where our unique adaptor kit kicks in. We spent several years of R&D to figure out the best combination of gearbox, controls, adaptors, mounting points, transmission coolers, and the right controls. The automatic conversion package is designed to preserve the Defender driving experience while offering the convenience of an automatic transmission.
Driving an Automatic Land Rover Defender vs. Manual
The benefits of converting a manual Defender to an automatic are immense, ranging from ease and convenience to the ability for anyone in the family to drive. We carefully designed our automatic conversion packages to make sure that the Land Rover Defender driving experience is not compromised in any way.
Driving a manual transmission vehicle is slowly becoming a lost art. When it comes to adopting a Land Rover Defender into your family, it helps if anyone can drive it.
At Bishop+Rook, we understand that everyone should be able to enjoy the Defender’s power and performance. That’s why we’re one of the only companies in America to offer the automatic conversion package. We use original Land Rover parts and genuine OEM components, so you can trust that our automatic conversion packages will make sure you get the same quality and reliability you expect from a Land Rover Defender.
An Automatic Defender The Heritage Way
When we developed our Land Rover Defender Automatic Conversion Package, we wanted to make sure the kit maintained the original look and feel of the factory appearance. Our system uses the same location points for the shifter, but instead of having a 5-speed manual stick, it is replaced with a custom push-button inline automatic shifter that looks factory.
Not only is it an easier and more convenient way to drive your Defender, it also enhances its value. So if you’re looking to upgrade your Defender with an automatic transmission, you’ve come to the right place.
Contact Us About Building or Converting a Defender to an Automatic
Reach out to us today to learn more about our Land Rover Defender automatic conversion packages. While we primarily reserve this service for our custom and Heritage Built Defenders, we do customer-provided conversions from time to time.
It’s taken a bit of effort, tweaking, and adjusting, but we’ve finally got this old Series to reach an incredible 50 MPH.
It’s mechanically one step above a go-kart and below a golf kart, but the amount of fun it provides is incalculable. When you drive something like this you should never be in a hurry to reach your destination.
Project Bingham. We`ve been on the fence about using this as a donor for a restoration project as we`ve grown to enjoy the unique character and driving experience of this original Defender.
Not all Defenders need to be restored. But we also know we can`t save them all.
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
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.
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.
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