Old Landrovers ??

[penfold]

Don't get me wrong I still love my Land Rovers, It's the company I'm not impressed with, A few decisions made at high level in the company could have made a truly great vehicle.

I've read similar opinions many times, but the reality of production engineering is that you'd end up with a Defender that cost as much as a Merc G-Wagen but still wasn't quite as well engineered.

 

[Rig Pig]

They may not be the best built machines but they get under your skin, I've alway had at least one laying about in bits on the drive or in my garage!

 

[julianf]

I think ive posted before, but, when i get some cash about me, the plan is....

To buy an MOT failure 300tdi disco, with a good engine - i figure arround £500 ish for one with good rubber also.
Take the engine, tires, and all the spares we could use for our current disco.
Scrap the rest (-£150) (
Ill then have my off-street parking space back...

Buy a s2a lwb crew cab, with a servicable chassis, but shot engine... I figure £500 on a good day.
(you see where this is going now)

With luck, ill then end up with a tax exempt (i will only change the engine, so be within the points system) lwb crew cab, which i can twin tank, run mainly on veg oil, and will have cheap insurance to boot.


This will result in a usable tool, with about as low fixed running costs as you can get for a road car. This will give cash for maintenance.




Id say that, if anyone wants a cheap landrover, then its the disco 300tdi and a welder. £500-£1k will do the job. We do about 15k per year in the disco, and, sure, it breaks all the time, but, in 40k of miles in it, ive only been recovered once - and even then, the engine would start and run, but just no good for the 250mile trip back home (ip front seal gone - plenty of diesel running out of the timing belt case)


...we also have a hard top landrover 101. Id love another (a soft top) but the price of them is just crazy now. (ive owned the 101 for about 14 yrs)

 

[Rig Pig]

It's easier to fit a 200tdi in a series + no electrical management to worry about. Without wanting to be patronising have you driven a series 2 recently? They aren't the most comfortable or practical everyday transport !

 

[julianf]

It's easier to fit a 200tdi in a series + no electrical management to worry about.

Its only the autos that have any electrics on the IP, IIRC. Ours certainly does not, and neither does my HS2.8 (300tdi clone) in the 101.

I cant recall the exact detail right at the moment, but, i believe the 300tdi is no more of an issue on the 109s due to the deeper chassis. But, as i say, not sure of the specifics right now. The 200 is an ancient engine now too.

Without wanting to be patronising have you driven a series 2 recently? They aren't the most comfortable or practical everyday transport !

We have a left hand drive 101...

 

[MrFluffy]

Theres always a steady stream of people to bash landrovers in public forae. Which I find amusing, as I've been driving my 750 quid drive away from sellers with a mot 90 td for the past 5 years, and Ive had to repair two things on it (turbo failed, new turbo and the clutch slave cylinder went). Its in the yard growing new species of moss and I have to take it for its yearly emissions testing in a few weeks. Maybe it'll explode like all the pundits said it would immediately on purchase because the 2.25 diesel was so terrible. I was going to use it as a excuse when it did to fit a 300tdi but I have been thwarted by the cunning refusal to die, even when it had a runaway when the turbo core failed and spewed the sump into the inlet. I'm still shocked it survived that, I had clutch issues because of the slave cyl and couldnt put it in gear to stall it so had to let it run away till it stopped.
Maybe I just got lucky. I'll remember that when Im pulling someone out of a ditch who thought the "modern 4x4" on their new car meant it would cope the same when the weather deteriorates again, which seems to happen every year.
Yes the chassis worries me slightly on its aging, but I plan on re-chassis with a galv replacement rather than fecking about with yet another project when the day comes. a grand in 5+ years of use with not uch work is ok by me, the mrs car can cost that in getting a replacement clutch at the stealer. I used to own a shogun before it, and I found that expensive in parts to fix when it went wrong (balancer chain best part of 350 quid to replace, service item?!), which it managed to more than the LR.

But carry on, I'll probably be too busy to hear you over the "crap" old leyland 4/98 in my jcb which is still also running happily. Maybe some people have mechanical sympathy, and some er, dont. :-)

 

[Rig Pig]

Your lucky with the old TD, mine has 4 cracked pistons and 4 cracked PCC's, admittedly I don't know how the last owner treated it but the poor old thing is coming out in favour of a low mileage 200tdi.