It is supercoool to see the Defender out of the garage at last. With a completely rebuilt engine, chassis, new shocks and so on - a ground up restoration - it can take some time, so starting it up and getting it moving is a real thrill.

The big progress is the tray on the back. We decided to keep the steel tray and it's expensive to buy a new one and we may not even need a tray at all when we put the camper on the back. However, Jamie did remove a lot of unnecessary heavy bits and painted it black. We also glued coated form ply onto the back, and that'll be covered with rubber too.

Jamie also cut the bits above the wheel arches so the tyres didn't hit them when we did any flexing, and filled the holes and sprayed them.

Next is the doors, which is a bit of a nightmare - long story, but we ARE getting there and hopefully we'll have it on the road by after Easter. Jamie thinks Easter but I doubt he'll have the time.

Later...

Actually found this post in my drafts and realised I never posted it, so can say it definitely won't be done by Easter. However, the doors are on! That's MASSIVE!!!

Also something massive - we got the dash console in as well! Now we're busy ordering dials, the stereo, a new steering wheel, etc etc.

The tray is all completely done and wired up. Again, feels close but so far away...I mean, the whole thing would be done if Jamie didn't have to work for a living OR if I could do mechanics!

What car projects are you working on ? Drop a photo below - we'd love to see!