The Range Rover Classic thread:
Discussion
jon-yprpe said:
I’m running 6 pot fronts and 4 pot rears from
Fosseway Performance under my 16s, so there are options if you don’t want to look like one of the good ‘ol boys.
Hi Jon. Thanks. When I looked at options I couldn't find one that kept the twin brake lines so fitted the 110 fronts which are larger than Rangie ones. It was the fitting of larger discs for when the SC system went on the engine that's the real hurdle. How's your car?Fosseway Performance under my 16s, so there are options if you don’t want to look like one of the good ‘ol boys.
Sounds good.
I remember when I first started driving the current one after the rebuild that it wouldn't drop down during testing at the Fish Hill Proving Ground. It's got the uprated internals and I spent ages mulling over why, especially as I'd chosen the mechanical option to keep things simple and reliable. Spent a couple of weeks trying to think why it wouldn't kick down. One day I realised that I'd fitted all the lovely Disco sound deadening and it was preventing the pedal from travelling far enough.
I remember when I first started driving the current one after the rebuild that it wouldn't drop down during testing at the Fish Hill Proving Ground. It's got the uprated internals and I spent ages mulling over why, especially as I'd chosen the mechanical option to keep things simple and reliable. Spent a couple of weeks trying to think why it wouldn't kick down. One day I realised that I'd fitted all the lovely Disco sound deadening and it was preventing the pedal from travelling far enough.
My thoughts re the fuel filler is that you are creating your own car and changing a whole chunk of metal and sourcing the new swan neck etc just to try and appease the type of punter that can never be appeased, (nor should ever be pandered to in my book but told to sod off to Dunsfield or Craddock if they want to slobber over supposedly factory original museum pieces) is a waste of time and money. 
Re sunroofs, I avoid them like the plague as they result in my head hitting the edge of them. And if I were going to do one I'd get an old roof panel and fit a panoramic system from a modern hatchback that had a close enough roof profile. I seem to recall researching this and a Peugeot appeared to fit that bill. We Bastos are great but noisy and no one ever points out that to pull it all the way back you have to climb in the back.
Stepping back to wheels, have you considered the LSE alloys? I quite liked those. You've also got Wolfrace T5 Turbines although they tend to demand a car is painted orange and a confederate flag is painted on the roof. Which is fine, but I'm too old to try and leap through the windows of something as tall as a Rangie.
Re sunroofs, I avoid them like the plague as they result in my head hitting the edge of them. And if I were going to do one I'd get an old roof panel and fit a panoramic system from a modern hatchback that had a close enough roof profile. I seem to recall researching this and a Peugeot appeared to fit that bill. We Bastos are great but noisy and no one ever points out that to pull it all the way back you have to climb in the back.
Stepping back to wheels, have you considered the LSE alloys? I quite liked those. You've also got Wolfrace T5 Turbines although they tend to demand a car is painted orange and a confederate flag is painted on the roof. Which is fine, but I'm too old to try and leap through the windows of something as tall as a Rangie.
RobXjcoupe said:
With you on the wolfrace turbines. Although painted red white and blue with a union flag on the roof and a horn that plays Elgar could be more at home in our green and pleasant and somewhat muddy lands!
Late 2 doors look good on the lse wheels, again it’s that csk thing. I don’t want to build a csk replica but that collection of parts do make a good looking vehicle.
The other thing is build a back date with the late seats/interior? Would look odd though.
I need a relatively simple build.
What I will say is that you need to choose your end look in advance and based on which bolt in bits are available for bugger all and which ones are like hen's teeth and cost a fortune. Late 2 doors look good on the lse wheels, again it’s that csk thing. I don’t want to build a csk replica but that collection of parts do make a good looking vehicle.
The other thing is build a back date with the late seats/interior? Would look odd though.
I need a relatively simple build.
When I built mine I knew I wanted to use it as a daily but I also knew I wanted to retain the general exterior bits of a '72.
You saw my two door? It's a complete Frankenstein, dedicated 100% to what I wanted and liked from all the one's I've owned over the last 30 years.
It has the early dash as I think that's nicer. It has the late trans tunnel as I knew it needed to be auto as I don't like how the manuals drive. It has the later seating as it's more comfortable, trimmed up a similar way to my old LSE Overfinch as I liked that retro 70s type of stitching. It has LSE rear lights for safety. The door capping a from an In Vogue and the binnacles from a Monteverdi.
Ultimately, it's build from 100% original and authentic parts but I just chose the bits I wanted from from 25 years of production. The only non Rangie part is the XJS gear shift surround as it goes one higher than the original Rangie one.
Also, don't forget that the later two doors had different rear quarter panels than the early ones. The early ones have a flare out but the 90s 2 doors are completely flat so I always think that later design looks slightly off when done up with all the early exterior trim.
He's still trying to sell me a Jeep. . He's got a superb dark blue one that doesn't have any of the walty military stuff and would make a great summer pub wagon but I know I'll never use it enough to warrant the hassle.
You don't need the older rear panels to change the fuel filler location but it's worth remembering that you'd need a pair if you did want to just swap for simplicity otherwise the two sides of the car won't match.
Re seats, people have used later electric 4 door seats in the 2 doors, they do slide forward to be able to squeeze into the back but I never thought it ideal.
A seat that I very seriously considered was the electric ones from the E90 3 series convertible. Slid forward and flipped on electric, plus had the seat belt mechanism in the back of the seat. The other one was the XJS seat, which had a more traditional look.
. He's got a superb dark blue one that doesn't have any of the walty military stuff and would make a great summer pub wagon but I know I'll never use it enough to warrant the hassle. You don't need the older rear panels to change the fuel filler location but it's worth remembering that you'd need a pair if you did want to just swap for simplicity otherwise the two sides of the car won't match.
Re seats, people have used later electric 4 door seats in the 2 doors, they do slide forward to be able to squeeze into the back but I never thought it ideal.
A seat that I very seriously considered was the electric ones from the E90 3 series convertible. Slid forward and flipped on electric, plus had the seat belt mechanism in the back of the seat. The other one was the XJS seat, which had a more traditional look.
Yup, later electric seats do have a motorised rake so it's plausible to run a bypass of the standard seat controls to have a switch that moves the seat forward and pulls the back up. It would be very slow and with good potential for borkage.
Re the centre console, do you mean you've got a cubby lid with the big phone recess in it? I think they appeared as an option in the 1990 refresh.
Re the centre console, do you mean you've got a cubby lid with the big phone recess in it? I think they appeared as an option in the 1990 refresh.
The 'In Vogue' is a much under respected car, whether 2 or 4 door given how it was the 'mainstream' car that managed to break the idea of a premium 4x4 onto the world when then US stuff hadn't made any inroads outside of America.
I enjoyed restoring mine and using it. At one point I'm sure I cornered the market and was the leading global authority on branded Brexton hampers.
One of the highlights being trying to find replacement vinyl stripes and discovering that no one in the RR community knew anything about them and that most restos had just been guessing and applying their own interpretations. After months of making little progress I was talking to my older sister when she looked at a phot of the car and said exactly where Land Rover had taken the stripes from. When I was in the sixth form my sister bought a limited edition Metro that had belonged to the Aga Kahn (strangely, despite all the people writing about his cars they never mention the s
t stuff he bought for his staff ). Anyway, the In Vogue stripes were pilfered from an Austin Metro special edition from 1980. I suspect the blue colour also came from the same direction.
Of all the Rangies I've owned, I think this was the one that made me realise how special they actually are:
I enjoyed restoring mine and using it. At one point I'm sure I cornered the market and was the leading global authority on branded Brexton hampers.
One of the highlights being trying to find replacement vinyl stripes and discovering that no one in the RR community knew anything about them and that most restos had just been guessing and applying their own interpretations. After months of making little progress I was talking to my older sister when she looked at a phot of the car and said exactly where Land Rover had taken the stripes from. When I was in the sixth form my sister bought a limited edition Metro that had belonged to the Aga Kahn (strangely, despite all the people writing about his cars they never mention the s
t stuff he bought for his staff ). Anyway, the In Vogue stripes were pilfered from an Austin Metro special edition from 1980. I suspect the blue colour also came from the same direction. Of all the Rangies I've owned, I think this was the one that made me realise how special they actually are:
Think that's about right. E/F reg was a change year for much of the interior to the dash and seating that ran to the end. The rear seats persisted in the commercials after that date.
If swapping from old to new the side brackets are different and further back when putting them in a two door.
Of you want some photos of mine for reference just shout.
If swapping from old to new the side brackets are different and further back when putting them in a two door.
Of you want some photos of mine for reference just shout.
RobXjcoupe said:
So my donor 91 rhd has the high back rear seats (4 door) the late 2 door has the separate fit rear headrests. I’ve got all the high back rear seats fittings so I’m now assuming these need to be removed and fitted to the 2 door before I can fit the high back rear seat?
I’m just getting ready before I scrap something I need
Rob, you're asking me to think back more than yesterday!! I’m just getting ready before I scrap something I need
Early 2 doors had the latch brackets that are attached to the side of the car further forward and were a different design. The 90s commercial 2 doors had the same type of bench rear seat and I believe still used the older latching mechanism but I can't recall for sure. The key is whether your two door has the push to release mechanism same as your donor 91 4 door?
The early two door rear seats were released via a lever in the centre of the seat itself. Is there a centre mechanism on yours?
Huntsman said:
I'm working on identifying the Huntress, meanwhile, since I need a tow vehicle for a Huntress, I think I might buy a Range Rover Classic and recreate that pic. It'll have to be a 4dr as we'd never get granny in and out of the back of a 2dr and she'd complain in the boot!
No real sound deadening in a 2 door so you probably wouldn't hear the complaints for the boot. Huntsman said:
Does a January 1982 registered 4dr have seat belt mounting points in the rear?
Good question. My 81 In Vogue didn't. My father had a C reg back in 84/5 that did and by the 85/6 intro of the Vogue they were factory. My father never had a car which didn't have rear seatbelts for my sister and I so either the C reg Rangie came with them, was an option or he had them added I'm not sure.
They're easy to add just by taking the floor and wheel arch plates from a later car as well as any reinforcement the rear pillar fixings use. I simply added all the parts from a '91 to my '72 for the rear belts.
It would t surprise me if LR fitted just lap belts initially in the back and the shoulder belt fitting was added when the Vogue came out along with all the other minor interior changes.
Edited by DonkeyApple on Wednesday 1st May 11:40
Huntsman said:
Thank you, I'll have to investigate when the car arrives next week, I'll need 3 belts in the back.
The P6 Estate is troublesome in this regard, when they did the estate conversion they lost the top mounting points for the rear belts.
That's annoying. There are no issues retrofitting later belts to the earlier Rangies and as yours is a 4 door it'll have the sloping rear floor so referencing for the holes will be easier. The P6 Estate is troublesome in this regard, when they did the estate conversion they lost the top mounting points for the rear belts.
If 'Danboats' is still on eBay then he'll be the most likely source for all the parts and I just sent all the belt bits off to the usual company who put new belts and rollers on. You might want to retain the old buckle clips though as new ones don't like going into the old receivers which has been an annoyance for me as the children couldn't put their belts on themselves for a few years until they'd toughened up a bit. Or get new receivers at the same time, which probably makes the most sense.
niva441 said:
I think the age for requiring rear belts is 1985. My Niva was an 86 and needed me to put the rear seat back up for the MOT, so they could be tested. Apparently if it had been a year older it wouldn't have been necessary.
They were being fitted in the 70s by some manufacturers. Pretty sure the Shadow and XJ6 had them from childhood memory. By the time the Vogue was launched they were standard in the Rangie so that would have been 85/86ish? I've also a memory that rear belts didn't become a legal requirement until the 90s!!! But that may have been related to using them and fitting them came earlier?
Huntsman said:
The Unseen Range rover is here, drove it round the yard, a quick inspection very positive.
Pissing oil out of somewhere. Otherwise as described, very please for the money.
Excellent. Get those bumper end caps separately insured as they look like originals and are worth a fortune. Pissing oil out of somewhere. Otherwise as described, very please for the money.
Door mirrors look incorrect. They look to be the slightly smaller design that was used on all the Austins etc. I think there were three sizes with the smallest being on the mini and metro.
Rear belts?
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