The Range Rover Classic thread:

[DonkeyApple]

I figured that as quite a few of us on PH own Rangie Classics and inspired by Clapham's recent thread, we ought to have a thread.

With values from just £1,000 to now well over £100k and a lifespan from 1969/70 to 1995 they cover a very wide range of tastes.

In recent years they have become popular in London as very useable everyday cars that don't carry any stigmas or set image. As cars they are driven by the whole spectrum of British society and in many ways could be called classless. You can park them on the dodgiest of council estates or on a proper old English estate. There is no uniform linked to them, you can climb out wearing a suit or just in old underpants and no one thinks twice.

The easiest way to breakdown the 25+ years of manufacture is by the three types of bonnet letters. The 'mark I' up to 1980 had the raised, plastic, plug in letters. From 1980 to about 85/6 the 'Mark II' had the black letters with white borders and saw the intro of door mirrors, aircon, auto etc and of course the 4 doors and the 'Mark III' from about 85 had the single colour stick on badge and the larger dash config, body spoilers and new seats with split, high back rears.

I personally like the Mark II as it still looks like the Mark I with its simple and clean trim but has enough mod cons to be totally useable as an everyday classic without compromises.

Here is the recent history of mine:

Latest 4 door purchase. It's an '89 but made of the old steel, not the 16 gauge that came in that year and is famous for rotting. It's completely original and in near perfect condition with just 65k on the clock. Very sound and drives and runs perfectly:



The 'In Vogue', took delivery last week. This is the model that I believe is set to climb. It has been overlooked as first Soft Dash, then CSKs were pushed up. Then Velars and Suffix As have been pushed. But the In Vogue was 400 UK only 2 doors trimmed out by Woods and Picket and was the first time Land Rover had had the money to capitalise on the luxury custom market. It sold so rapidly that after a couple more runs as 4 doors the 'In Vogue' brand became the standard, default setting Vogue and the concept of the luxury SUV was firmly here. This one is low mileage and has all the right In Vogue trim including the hamper. It is missing the twin grey body stripes as it had some recent paint work. The interior is very good and just needs a serious clean. The base of the As need to be re done so as to be original spec and that's it:



And my fully galavanised '72 which currently has a late 80's exterior and odd Nationwide interior. This will be altered to early 80's spec exterior and interior and sorted for power and handling to be my everyday car:





And my previous recent Rangies have been a K reg 3.9 which was a superb every day shed for London and we did a lap of Scotland in it trying to avoid Tarmac as much as possible:



And the last ever official Overfinch conversion. Carried out to a restored LSE in 2005. I absolutely loved this car but values spikes so hard that I banked the cash a year or so back:

Edited by DonkeyApple on Sunday 17th August 11:59

[DonkeyApple]

Unless you are the drummer for Def Leopard, they are the obvious Land Rover product.

[DonkeyApple]

Land pilgrim, one life to live?

[DonkeyApple]

NomduJour said:

Interesting to see what this one makes:

Is that the one being pushed around for £65 in the hopes it doesn't go to auction?

[DonkeyApple]

NomduJour said:

Possibly.

Scruffy one for auction on Wednesday:

Edited by NomduJour on Monday 18th August 00:13

They are cracking cars but you can't ever stop the rot because the oxide is inside the steel. Quite a few CSKs are now running on European market 2 door chassis and bodies with the interior and panels etc retained. I think the one above has a new chassis and much of the body replaced. It's such a shame they rot so badly.

[DonkeyApple]

Flatinfourth said:

They don't have to rot badly. There's nothing really wrong with the body superstructure that can't be restored and protected for good. The electrolytic problems with he doors can be permanently fixed with an intelligent approach and modern materials. I would happily put a life warranty on a Range Rover Classic door out of my workshop!

I agree completely. Being intelligent with the points where ally meets steel will stop electrolyte issues and good prep will keep everything else very good.

What I was referring to was that from about '89 they switched to a different steel, 16 gauge, and this had oxide bits actually inside the steel. So no amount of external finishing can protect against it rotting from inside the steel outwards. It's this issue which has meant that CSKs have been absolute rust buckets in contrast to the pre 89 cars which have faired much better.

There is some story that the steel came from recycled Russian ships and the scrap wasn't processed well enough, hence oxide remaining in the sheet steel that was produced.

[DonkeyApple]

Looks good in the later Warwick Green and black bumpers.

[DonkeyApple]

mph said:

I'm confused.

Been talking to a serial RR owner and he's advised me to avoid the Series 2 like the plague. Not sure if his definition of a Series 2 is the same as the OP's or is that a factory designation ?

Another question, is the 3.0 litre diesel OK ? Seen a 2002 model that I like but really know almost nothing about RR's.

Any advice welcome.

He means the P38 that came after the Classic.

Lovely cars. Cheap. Riddled with electronic issues.

If you go to any Rangie forum they are dominated by a million threads with the title 'My P38 won't start'.

[DonkeyApple]

NomduJour said:

£8,500 plus premium; CSK unsold.

Doesn't surprise me about the CSK. Firstly the whole market appears to be taking a breather from silly prices as we enter the final Q. Plus, just like the original boost in Soft Dash values has fallen away so, I think, has the CSK somewhat.

The last few sold in London at top prices were messes that owners are still trying to sort and the chap in MK who had about 5 racked up in a field ready for turning out appears to have left the market after getting lumbered with the Jimmy Savill RapeMobile.

£65k is serious money, very serious, if it is not a perfect restoration by a known party.

[DonkeyApple]

Nice. They still sold 2 doors in Europe almost to the end in the mid 90's under some kind of commercial user tax break or similar.

Lots of shells coming back from Portugal, Spain and Italy to be used in Suffix A restos but the shells are different even from the later CSK so it ends up being a bit of a scam.

[DonkeyApple]

Sterillium said:

Are there secret Range Rover Classic forums where obsessive owners buy and sell these old beauties?

Or is that here?

Edited by Sterillium on Tuesday 26th August 13:57

Not found one, hence this thread.

Most forums are about offroading and many are just swamped with threads asking why their P38 is a bucket of turd.

Only on PH have I found fellow 'fast road' Rangie enthusiasts.

[DonkeyApple]

Spottedlaurel said:

I suspect this is the closest I'll get to owning one:

Matchbox Superfast Range Rover Police Patrol #20 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

But here are a few I've seen for comment/discussion:

Range Rover 2dr by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Range Rover 2dr diesel by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

2dr bodystyle seems to have been popular in France, have photos of others there too.

1986 Range Rover 5dr by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Fitted with the bumper/spoiler off a later one? Only reason I say that is because of this one:

1986 Range Rover V8 5dr by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1971 Range Rover by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

1990 Range Rover CSK 3.9 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Chopped-down SWB Range Rover by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

The C reg may just have the right bumper/spoiler as '86 was a change over year. By D reg the last inaction was out with higher rear seats, spoilers, electric wing mirrors and unicolour lettering. Those change over years for Land Rover and many old Leyland entities always seemed to be a bit of a mix around.

[DonkeyApple]

It's amazing how many little Rangie collections there are like this. There is one in a barn in The Netherlands and one in Ireland where the chap is slowly selling them.

I recently learned that the original and only Olympic, which is a properly important Rangie, is just being used as a farm hack and is all banged up. And the chap has a VELAR sitting next to it just rotting away.

He clearly knows what they are as he writes weird articles for a Landy magazine and yet two of the most historically valuable Rangies are deliberately being left to rot to nothing.

[DonkeyApple]

0llie said:

DonkeyApple said:

I recently learned that the original and only Olympic

I thought there was at least one more alive and kicking?

I'm sure I remember reading about the prototype in LRM a couple of years back.



ETA - The image I remember from the magazine.

There were two made in the mid 80s but I've been led to believe that the second one was destroyed at some point.

[DonkeyApple]

Harleyboy said:

So here is mine. 91 Vogue SE 3.9. Plymouth Blue. 106,000. I bought it 18 months ago. It looks great at 5 paces and not that bad a little closer! Inside is pretty tidy, outside has been repainted and has had new tailgates. Welding done on rear arches and drivers floor for last MOT and I am hoping nothing needed this year! Kept in the dry now but used weekly for general burbling, occassional horse box towing and shooting - just what a Rangie was made for! Only changes are BFG AT's and a new stereo.

Needs: Headlining (surprise) and, I think, a new radiator as she runs hot when under load....anyone got a good s/h rad?

I love it and hope to keep it forever! My 12 and 14 year old girls drive it around the field and want it as their first car. They don't understand fuel consumption yet....

People really seem to like these old RR's judging by the comments. Enjoy.

106k miles is a lot of dead bugs in a radiator. Have you tried spraying a garden hose jet through the foils from the engine bay side to blow all the carcasses back out?

Also worth flushing. But temps rising on heavy load can sometimes be a clue to head gasket leaking. Worth keeping an eye open for water loss and creamy oil cap?

[DonkeyApple]

0llie said:

Is that Portofino Red? That looks lovely

What do we think this will go for? Estimate is £100-140k...

Range Rover YVB151H

Despite the estimate, there are details on it that bug me, a number of incorrect parts fitted and a distinct lack of chassis plate or indeed any under bonnet labelling (or was this de rigueur for pre-production cars?).

I know it wasn't mint, but the oldest surviving car was up for £77.5k last year with a superb history file that this one can't match.

I have to say that I wouldn't buy it. I think an awful lot of effort has gone into proving what it is. I'm not a fan of bidding for important things that have gone missing and then turned up again. The last part of the advert just doesn't sit well.

I hope it does sell well as I have a fear that they are having to sell because of the fire earlier in the year. Very sad.

[DonkeyApple]

If things like the water pump seem ok, the rad looks fine, oil is clear so not suggesting a head gasket or cracked block and assuming you haven't got any air in the system then it must be time to flush the system or chance a rad replacement?

[DonkeyApple]

That's another point. Have you checked the spark IGs to see if the engine is running lean?

Also, if the timing is a little too retarded then this can cause the engine to run hotter?

[DonkeyApple]

Masai was the original red then in 1980 Venetian red came along (that's the colour that faded to the tomato soup orange) and in the late 80s you had Portofino, Tocadero which was metallic, then a few more in the 90s.

Would this be Portofino Red then?

[DonkeyApple]

vanquish spirit said:

What a great thread. And what great cars they are. I have been a fan since they were first launched back in 1970. Here are a couple of my early two doors, both Suffix A , one a Davos white car and the other Masai Red. Such good colour names as well. There must be a little room at Land Rover where someone spends all day thinking up names for colours!

Stunning