A restored Land Rover Defender 90, finished in 2025

Margin | Black Olive Green D90 Beach Soft Top

About the Build

Margin

This Defender 90, known to us as Margin, was commissioned for a customer in Houston, Texas who wanted something that would stop traffic. A Beach build in Black Olive Green with Barley colour leather, a teak load bay, and a Marshall speaker. Not the kind of car Houston is used to seeing.

The drivetrain was built around a fully rebuilt Land Rover 300TDi, bored out to 2.8L with the Shoreline performance pack and set with a highway-optimised gear ratio. The automatic transmission keeps it easy to drive in city traffic without losing any of the character. The Shoreline Dynamic Ride suspension and steering upgrade and Shoreline brake upgrade round out the mechanical package.

The body was finished in Black Olive Green with silver aluminium trim, half doors painted in body colour, a heritage-style front grille, LR badging, and a full LED light upgrade. A galvanised soft top frame with a full-length Sand colour canvas soft top. A bikini soft top was also supplied as an additional option. Black steel deep dish wheels on Cooper STT Pro tyres, a black swinging rear wheel carrier, galvanised bumper with driving lights, NAS-style rear step, and folding side and rear steps finish the exterior.

Inside, the cabin was built around Barley leather with a square stitch pattern. Classic front seats included seat adjustment configured for a tall driver at 6'4", and four individual folding rear seats in matching leather with rear seat belts. Full extended leather covered the dashboard, doors, and gaiters. The door cards featured a tweed insert and the customer's initials, the kind of personal detail that makes a one-off build feel like exactly that. A centre cubby box with storage finished in matching leather with an integrated large removable Marshall Bluetooth speaker.

A removable wood steering wheel, alloy gear and transfer handles, alloy parking brake handle, and a full interior aluminium pack finish the front cabin. New custom gauges, a starter motor immobiliser, black bulkhead bar wrapped in leather, rubber seat box matting, black front mat set, and teak load bay flooring complete the build.

This Beach was built for a family that wanted a classic diesel, finished properly, with enough power and comfort to handle Texas roads.

Rebuilt 300TDi, 2.8L Performance Upgrade

A fully rebuilt Land Rover 300TDi bored out to 2.8L with the Shoreline performance pack and a highway-optimised gear ratio. Paired with an automatic transmission for effortless daily driving. Shoreline Dynamic Ride suspension and brake upgrades round out the package.

Beach Soft Top Exterior

Black Olive Green paint with silver aluminium trim, half doors painted in body colour, a heritage-style front grille, a full-length canvas soft top with a black heavy-duty hoop, a bikini soft top included as an additional option, and black steel deep dish wheels on Cooper STT Pro tyres.

Barley Square Stitch Leather Interior With Teak

Barley square stitch leather across the classic front seats and four individual folding rear seats, with seat adjustment for a 6'4" driver. Full extended leather covers the dashboard, doors, and gaiters. A removable Marshall Bluetooth speaker sits in the cubby box, with a teak rear load bay.

Build Specification

Exterior & Mechanical

Fully rebuilt Land Rover 300TDi
Shoreline 2.8L performance pack
Highway-optimised gear ratio
LR automatic transmission
Shoreline Dynamic Ride suspension and steering upgrade
Shoreline brake upgrade
Body finished in Black Olive Green
Sand colour full-length canvas soft top
Sand colour bikini soft top, included as additional option
Galvanised heavy-duty soft top frame and stick set
Half doors painted in body colour
Half rear door, side mounted
Heritage-style front grille
LR badging
LED headlights
Full LED light upgrade
Galvanised bumper with driving lights
NAS-style rear step
Folding side and rear steps
Black swinging rear wheel carrier
Body colour arches
5 x 16 x 8 black steel deep dish wheels
Cooper STT Pro tyres
Set of 23 black wheel nuts for alloy wheels including locking
Aluminium hinge upgrade
Aluminium handle upgrade
Aluminium parts upgrade including mirrors and vents, black
Genuine front and rear mud flaps
"DEFENDER" hood lettering

Interior

Classic front seats in Barley fluted leather with contrast stitch
Seat adjustment configured for tall driver at 6'4"
Four individual folding rear seats in Barley fluted leather with contrast stitch
Rear seat belts for all folding seats
Full extended leather interior across dashboard, doors, and gaiters
Centre cubby box with storage in matching leather
Large removable Marshall Bluetooth speaker with charging, integrated into cubby
Black bulkhead bar wrapped in leather
Removable wood steering wheel
Alloy gear and transfer handles
Alloy parking brake handle
Full interior aluminium pack
New custom gauges
Front air conditioning
Starter motor immobiliser switch
Stage one soundproofing
Rubber seat box matting
Black front mat set
Teak rear load bay flooring