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Rot and neglect are the biggest issues - the latter because some people own them but can't really afford to look after them. Head gaskets pop, transmissions break but looked after, they can keep going a long time. Avoid non-Tdi diesels, though some aftermarket ones are good.
Oh and as it's a child of BL effectively, electrical gremlins are hardly unknown.
I'd really quite like one, especially as fuel is getting cheaper...
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1986 Citroen 2CV Dolly Other things. Check out my Blog for the latest! www.hubnut.org
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I love 'em. V8 'woofle' is ace, super comfy, mega off road. Though watch for neglect, off-road abuse, duff engines with impending HGF (2 of them remember!), worn steering / swivels the list goes on. Airbag suspension ones are often trouble too. Rampant rust in the steelwork is common, knackered electrics, scruffy interiors, saggy headlinings and kenked tailgates that don't shut/lock are commonplace too. Plenty of good ones about so buy the best you can from the poshest owner you can find to get a good 'un. LPG is a must!!! here's some from my archives: I bought this one off 'impjimbo', unfortunately an accident killed the autobox before I got to enjoy it. This one belonged to my friend Russ (who caused the damage to the one above ) Awesome off road, plus straight thru pipes etc. Very wobbly on the road though and hugely thirsty!
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Yea, electrical gremlins seem to be the worst of their problems - that and the majority of them are getting on a lot now in age and mileage and coupled with not being looked after properly, turned into total dogs. Considered a Jeep Cherokee instead? Loved mine, great thing. More economical than the RR too and better specced. Certainly more comfortable, cheap as chips and nicer to be in than my neighbour's old auto 3.5 Also more powerful! Muhah!
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Last Edit: Jan 5, 2009 16:51:04 GMT by Lewis
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You mean like the Jeep Cherokee I brought off you Lewis lol. I do wish I hadn't sold it. I was doing a 60 mile round trip to work in it each day and it was costing me a fortune in petrol. Was too much fun sticking your boot down in it
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Last Edit: Jan 5, 2009 16:54:05 GMT by MiniDan
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Smiler
Posted a lot
I no longer own anything FWD! Or with less than 6 cylinders, or 2.5ltrs! :)
Posts: 2,492
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I've also been toying with the idea of getting one of these and the missus is also keen. However, I have very little spare cash each month and the prospect of buying a moneypit is scaring me off anything like it right now. Especialy as it'd have to be the daily driver for now too and the old Beemer has proved to be very cost effective.
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www.Auto-tat.co.uk'96 Range Rover P38 DSE (daily driver) '71 Reliant Scimitar SE5 GTE 3.0ltr Jag V6 Conversion '79 Reliant Scimitar SE6A 3.0ltr 24valve Omega Conversion '85 Escort Cabrio 2.0 Zetec - Sold '91 BMW 525i - Sold '82 Cortina 2.9i Ghia Cosworth - Sold '72 VW Campervan - Sold '65 LandRover 88" - Sold
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I know they suffer badly from rotten tailgates, the upper glass part just rot away, and they make you feel sick when travelling in them due to the way they roll around corners.
Id aim for one of the last of that shape (L-M Reg) if you can afford it, They are called Range Rover Classic and they have better 'soft touch' dashboards and airbags.
If I remember correctly arn't some of the interior bits from the old BL parts bin like the dash, stalks and door handles?
Like Lewis said, have you thought about a Cherokee?, should be able to pick a nice 2.5TD cheap enough and it has all the toys inside you'll ever need.
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Last Edit: Jan 5, 2009 17:15:23 GMT by trigger
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2woody
Part of things
Posts: 24
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we have an early Disco V8, which is basically the same vehicle. £1500 and no rot. A quick change of suspension bushes and you're away.
capable of 20mpg driven sensibly - bizzarely, it actually does more to the gallon when towing a trailer than when not.
and yes, the sound is great
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Disco is a good shout. They don't tend to have quite as much kit as the Rangies - which is less to go wrong in my book!
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1986 Citroen 2CV Dolly Other things. Check out my Blog for the latest! www.hubnut.org
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MWF
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,945
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Cherokee is probably better value at the mo however loads more room for camping stuff in the Rangey I would have thought.
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yep. I would happily curse word broken glass to get my old Disco back.... 3-door, TDi, matt black rangie alloys, paint faded away to nothing, poo-brown interior, home made plywood centre console by the previous owner, and a boot door likely to rip the hinges out if you opened it too fast. Loved it. It was unstoppable off road, and NOBODY screwed with you on road. it ran on diesel, veg oil, heating oil...anything really. Also worthy of a mention would be a Defender - Significantly less comfortable on road than range/disco, but just as hardy. Again, when you drive something like that, nobody messes with you.
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1986 Panda 4x4. 1990 Metro Sport. 1999 Ford Escort estate.
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The sills tend to go I have an older Range Rover and also the inner wings so beware, the upper tailgate you can get new out of ali and glazed, and there is nothing wrong with the 3.5 V8. Andy.
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1980 3dr 3.5 V8 Range Rover. Rover 75 CDTi Auto.
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i traded in my old rangie for a 110 200tdi and i regret it,not because the 110 is bad.But because the range rover was fantastic.Ok it was'nt the most reliable car i owned but it was the easiest to fix,because it shares most stuff with a discovery bits were easy to get hold of.Like its been said already electrics are bad,when i got mine 3 out 4 windows would not open the back ones needed new motors from a disco and the drivers one needed a new switch again from a disco.My head gasket went, easy to fix,the only hard part was the height of the wings.If you don't like the rolly polly handling do what i did and fit police spec springs this gives you the benefit of being able to tow heavy stuff too.I found an american website called range rover remedies and if i ever got stuck they always got me going again.My fuel pump packed up one day and was told it was going to cost me £180 for a new one,so i had a look through my haynes manuals and found that the rover 820 fuel pump was the same when you stripped it down.that cost me £15 for 2 from the breakers.They are seriously comfy cars but under the skin they are still pure land rover and can be fixed in no time.If you need any advice just PM me i'll be glad to help.Oh and the inner wings and cross member are MOT killers if they rust.
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loved my 89 rangie ,3.5 lpg ,avoid the 2.4 vm deisels like the plague,also avoid the air suspension on the late classics, parts are plentiful and cheap ,I liked mine so much a bought a discovery es on gas straight after it ,same chassis engine etc etc ,it was the worst car i have ever had !!
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yes ,it started badly ,petered off in the middle and the least said about the end the better!!!
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,538
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Looks like you might ahev teh tech side covered here and I'd be no help on that ayway so here's some internet photos.... Overfinch Y0!
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Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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Mr S
Posted a lot
10-4 Good buddy.
Posts: 2,654
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Pretty much what the others have said really, watch out for rot and electrical gremlins. Paddock Spares (based in Matlock) have most things you'll need for dirt cheap pennies ( www.paddockspares.com). It's the only car I've ever sold that I miss and I'll shortly be getting another one when funds permit! If (when!) you take it off-road, make sure you give the underside a good jetwashing, nothing kills the chassis quicker than mud left stuck on the chassis.... Just one more thing to add - check the engine number against the list on the V8 owners forum website, the low compression one is only around 130bhp or so, the high compression one is 160 or so - it makes a fair difference, especially if you're thinking of using it on LPG.... My old one:
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Suzuki GSXR1000 K2 BMW R1150GS BMW K1200RS Chevy K5 Blazer Chevy Suburban LT Jaguar XKR
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Make sure you get a "One life live it" sticker and a big dent in the Passenger wing. It is compulsory.
I miss mine, even though with the 3" badly lifted suspension that made it feel like wanted to flip onto its roof at anything above walking pace corners. It was the biggest slowest shed I've ever owned, but I loved it.
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Cheers guys Just got to sell one now (SWMBO's rules, although, I do very much agree, there are too many cars at Casa MiniDan).
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SOmething worth mentioning is.. the early rangeys (pre 80 something?) although mechanically more basic, did a least have bolt-together bodywork like a landrover. THat means the floorpan, the whole bulkhead, the side structures , the roof , inner wings, slam panel etc, ALL unbolt like meccano and therefore can be kept going almost indefinately. Later models had same engine but better gearboxes, and had luxuries such as antirollbars, and had flapper fuel injection. Later still had 3.9 engine with hotwire type fuel injection. These 3.9 engines were a bit pants and were born with porus blocks. Block-sealer gloop in the coolant compulsory. (AVOID 3.9!) As with all those V8s, watch for worn cams. Late models drive really quite refined and less wind noise than you would expect from something so boxy. Don't forget, the later models were made of thinner metal and just spotwelded together and therefore are usually rotboxes but are cheaper than early ones generally.
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75 Range Rover 2 door 82 Range Rover 4 door 84 Range Rover 4 door 78 Datsun 120Y 2 door 78 Datsun 620 Pickup 81 Datsun Urvan E23 86 Datsun Vanette van 98 Electric Citroen Berlingo 00 Electric Peugeot Partner 02 Electric Citroen Berlingo 04 Berlingo Multispace petrol 07 Land Rover 130 15 Nissan E-NV200 15 Fiat Ducato
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Jan 14, 2009 11:24:07 GMT
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regarding engines, the 3.5L carb fed is the hardest to break, the 3.9efi is almost as good, slightly more powerful and slightly more economical, the 4.0L and up engines all have issues everyone will say that if you're wanting a diesel get a TDI one, and to be fair it's the slightly better engine, earlier diesels had the 2.4L VM turbodiesel (the sticker on the tailgate will say "TURBO D" on these ones) and you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who likes them.. they're actually a pretty good engine and can be hardwearing, but the cooling system is the Achilles heel, they don't survive overheating. regarding mpg, you'll not get more than 15mpg on petrol from any of the engines unless you drive like a nun, the VM one my friend had averaged 22mpg combined town and motorway and you'll get around 27mpg combined from a TDI if the handling puts you off you can fix it with heavy duty / police spec springs and shocks, you can also fit a discovery rear ARB to stiffen things up, one supplier as a rough price guide: www.mm-4x4.com/suspension-kits-328-c.aspif you're in the midlands i'd recommend AMD spares (north leicester), or Paddock Spares (derby) early discoverys are mechanically almost the same car as a rangerover of the same time period, the only difference is the looks, rangerovers feel slightly more luxurious though don't be tempted by a lift-kit unless you actually intend to do a lot of off-roading, even then i'd suggest staying at standard ride height unless you find yourself getting stuck a lot, also, if you are going to lift it and still use it on road, lift it with springs & shocks rather than body-lifting blocks tyres, if you're going to be mostly on-road, "AT" tyres are the best compromise, BF Goodrich ATs are my preferred option. rust.. tailgate, inner wings, sills, chassis, don't buy one with a sunroof if you can help it. oh and, silver modular wheels or white 8spoke wheels look stupid, especially the 15inch ones, stick with the alloys or swap for 16inch discovery steel rims.. or maybe 16inch 8spokes in black?
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Last Edit: Jan 14, 2009 11:26:37 GMT by karoshi
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