Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rick]

Reading this article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/9472476/Sir-Winston-Churchills-Land-Rover-to-be-auctioned-for-60000.html) got me wondering about Landies and Rangies.

Who here has a Land Rover or Range Rover? or who has had one in the past? Do you like or loathe them? Do you have any interesting memories connected to LRs or RRs?

A couple of WW2 Jeep-owning acquaintances can't stand Land Rovers, but I quite like them I wish I'd rescued a Series One that for years was sat in the old wartime hangars on the south side of Ringway (now Manchester) airport.

RJ
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[clan chieftain]

Years ago when I was a mechanic with Royal Mail I got a clutch to do on one. The hardest part was taking the floor out as the bolts were normally seized. After that it was a dawdle. One of my accounts before I retired from Dingbro rallied Land Rovers . They spent fortunes on them.Mind you they were related to Bartlett the potato company.But I have never owned one.
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The Clan Chieftain

[47p2]

I have one and owned another


The current one is the L322 model with the BMW TD6 engine. I've owned it for coming up 2 years now and love driving it.



I previously owned a 1994 LSE which was almost at the end of the production of the original shape. It really got me hooked on the marque even though it was like driving a 1960s Land Rover it was a great vehicle...until it suffered from slipped liners which most 4.2 litre engines do.




Would I have another, yes without a doubt, I'm addicted
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ROVER
One of Britain's Fine Cars

[47Jag]

I my very early 20s I knew a group of pals who went by the name of Fred Inc. There were about six of them and they did mobile car washing from (I guess) a Series 1 Land Rover. Only one had a licence and he taught all the others. He showed up at my door one evening asking for help. The Landie was out in the country broken. We got in my A70 and set off with the plan of towing it home. Whoever (I think it was the big one that became a cop) was learning had broken the gearlever flush with the ball. I took the gearbox cover off, pryed the selector into third and off it drove. I never did see it again.

Art

[BigJohn]

I had a Series 2 Landrover with a Perkins 4203 fitted and P5 diffs 30 odd yrs ago. It was the the numbest thing I have ever driven, but it would pull a house down.
I also had to drive a V8 110 County for work, it got about 6 mpg, it had a huge steering wheel due to no PAS and I was always getting my knee jammed and unable to hit the brake quickly. The wiring caught fire annually. I have no love for Landrovers.

[Uncle Alec]

I have a Discovery, one of the so-called "G-Wac" launch fleet cars.
Very useful multi-purpose vehicle and easy to self-maintain - but some of the bits are on the heavy side!
It goes on my classic insurance which is a bonus.

[Ellis]

As you can see from the information at the bottom of my post, I in fact own two.
A 1962 Series 2a 88" which has been converted from it's 2286cc petrol to a 200tdi turbodiesel from an early accident damaged Discovery. The best move
I could have done as the 2a is capable of everyday use and it keeps up easily with modern traffic.
The second is an early Series 1 86" from 1954 which is to be the next project.
I have also owned a 1997 300tdi Defender 90, an ex United Utilities auction bought example which I had several people trying to buy it from as soon as I had successfully bid for it myself! It was a truly good example with 140k on it's odometer. A former school friend bought is as an 18th birthday present for his son.



Also on the list was a 1996 300tdi Discovery which I bought from a friend in September 2009. He is a HGV and PSV mechanic and had looked after it fastidiously from when it was three years old. I only owned it for 6 months until I finally gave in to a persistent neighbour who asked me to sell it every week until I agreed.
I kick myself for selling it because now I want another I can't find one anywhere near as good as the one I sold.
And of course I see the d**n thing every day and no, he won't sell it back.

[img]

and the project Series 1.

[/img]

Not my garage I hasten to add but the farm shed where it is currently stored.

Ellis
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[British heritage cars]

I have an Landrover Series III '75 bought it at the age of 15..
And my father had an Defender TD5 '00

[Scotty]

I bought a brand new LR Defender TD5 County Station Wagon when the TD5 engine first came out and without doubt it was the biggest piece of junk I've ever wasted my money on.

Sufficient to say that I was back at the dealership so many times getting faults fixed I got invited to the Service Manager's daughters christening I got to know the staff that well!

Wrote to Bob Dover after going through all the hoops in the complaint system and 13 years later I'm still waiting for a reply - never again!

(I've just bought a new XF Jaguar and after only 5 months of ownership I've been back three times with multiple problems - I have a horrible feeling I should stay away from Jaguar / LR! LOL!)

[47p2]

[ukdave2002]

[Salopian]

Bought a new 110 Tdi County in 1992 - terrible build and trim quality but not so bad after I carried out what amounted to the PDI myself. Delivered with tracking nearly a quarter of an inch out hence scrubbed tyre plus doors not fitted properly etc etc. Diesel leak off pipes perished at 8 months old then steering box seals went. Hardly any paint on body cappings so bleeding rust before 12 months and 9000 miles old. Considerable correspondence with factory followed before it went to the dealers body shop for 2 weeks. I had a Maestro non turbo diesel as a loan - horrible!

Time has erased my memory of the numerous let downs (battery failed at 6 months miles away from home etc etc). An expensive piece of poorly made rubbish. Shame it was my 5th Land Rover albeit first new one and my last. It was stolen at 18 months old and has never been missed.

Looks like the chaps who built mine put Scottys together as well later on!
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Jonathan Butler
Alvis SD 12/50 1928 MG TD 1950

[Bitumen Boy]

Moral of the story here seems to be "buy an old one"...

[ukdave2002]

I was talking to the owner of our local independent garage, he was telling me that for things like ABS sensors, basically all manufacturers use the same product. However some firms like Honda & BMW specify that the connector is lubricated with silicon grease in the factory; these connectors he said last for ever; most manufactures don't do this at manufacture, and strangely enough, he replaces loads of their sensors . So for probably less than 1p of grease and 10 seconds more time in the factory and you have something reliable.

Presumably some bean counter has worked out that it costs less not to do this simple task ,this than pay warranty claims its the strange world that we live in

Dave

[47Jag]

The only problems over 8 years that I had on my last BMW were 3 ABS sensors, OH! and a PCV valve.

Art