OUR BUILD PROCESS

Removing the chassis is a crucial part of the restoration, as it’s the foundation of the truck. If you don’t remove the body from the chassis you can’t see its integrity of the entire frame. Our aim is to build these trucks better than when they were first built and left the factory floor; to stay strong and capable for the next 25 years.

The chassis is shot blasted back to bare metal and any minor welding and repairs will be made before being primed and coated. This is one of the core elements to how we build, and our price point on this makes us almost exclusive amongst our peers and differentiates us a long way away from some vehicle refinishers that simply concentrate on exterior good looks.

The chassis is now ready for its suspension, brakes and axles. We replace all brakes and brake lines and install new ventilated front disks, new disks and pads on the rear, and refurbished axles. 

At TATC we only fit newly remanufactured engines and transmissions. Our engines are all from Turner Engineering who are the acknowledged gold standard in the Defender community. We take the same approach with the gearbox and transfer box, these are remanufactured for us by Ashcroft engineering who are again considered the very best on the market. In our South African built trucks we fit engines and transmissions that are rebuilt for us by LR Xtreme, who are considered the best on the African continent.

After stripping the body down into its component forms, we clean and prepare the outer and inner panels for paint. All floors, wheel arches, tubs and inner bulkheads are painted in Raptor protective paint which is resistant to rust, and it also adds some additional insulation and soundproofing. We fit brand new OEM doors to all our restorations, including new door cards and door components, and as an option we also offer Zintec coated steel skinned doors to mitigate the effects of galvanic action which is commonly seen on older doors.

All our body shop work is performed by seasoned professionals in high end facilities, we do not undertake this part of the work ourselves, as we feel that this is a highly specialized skill and better completed by others.  Unlike many restorers though who respray the whole truck with the body fitted, we paint all the body parts separately while the vehicle is stripped.

Once the panels are back from the body shop we begin to bring the major components together. Fitted first is the rear tub and then the front bulkhead is installed once we have fitted the wiring loom and fuse boards. From this basic configuration we are able to build up the wings, doors and run electrics.

All our builds have an additional center dashboard with USB and 12v power sockets, light switches. New windshields, either heated or unheated, front passenger soundproofing rubber matting kits etc.

Alcantara headliner, thermal acoustic carpeting in the second row and cargo area, and in the case of Defender 90s fitted rubber matting in the rear.

The optional extras are extensive but in the main, we install Air Conditioning (AC), auxillary heaters, upgraded new seats, enhanced HiFi systems and many other bespoke additions.

We also offer full soundproofing as an option.

Before shipping we run all our trucks for a minimum of 150 miles to iron out any issues and to double check the safety systems. Once we are happy the truck is sent for a full British Government MOT (safety check and certificate of roadworthiness) or European equivalent by an independent garage. And in the case of our South African built trucks, these are DEKRA tested, which is a German vehicle safety compliance test. This is the final stage of the build and the truck is now ready to ship direct to our client.