Classic Range Rover - LSE Soft Dash (photo heavy)
Discussion
I thought that rather than always cluttering up the range rover thread, I would start one here and bore folks all in one place!
First, some background...
In 1999 I decided to buy a Land Rover Defender - I wanted something I could use on shoots / to tow / across fields / to carry stuff / etc. etc. so I went out looking and came back with a Range Rover (In Vogue - 4 door in a very gold colour) - owned by an engineer at jaguar, in great condition and so much more comfortable than a Defender:
It was written off (by the RAF with a coach!), bought back and run for years until the engine blew up and I scrapped it (silly decision no 1.) and went out to buy another - my first LSE:
Within 6 months - the engine blew up - air/fuel mix and the 4.2 was not a good combination, so we replaced it with a brand new 4.6 from RPi - chipped and lots of fun... within 6 months, some scrap from the road punched a hole through the oil filter at xx mph and the engine seized - 3 engines in 12 months - doing well
Amazingly my insurance company paid for it to be totally stripped down and rebuilt at a specialist and we ended up with a tweaked c. 5litre engine in the car... It was fab, 0-60 was quite rapid, but corners still needed careful negotiation, or taking at a 45deg. angle 
however, a few years later the fuel pipes went and rather than a body off job replacing them properly the car was sold to someone who wanted the engine (and they scrapped the car) - (silly decision no 2.)
It was replaced with a P38 - diesel (silly decision no 3.)
It was the slowest car I had owned at that point - bought in Cheltenham and couldn't even make the hill out of town at 60mph - so bought on the Friday and on the Monday went in to JE engineering for a stage 2 upgrade - which did transform the car... It was a very comfortable car - great for long distances and was taken all over the country (photo above is on a grouse moor in Scotland - having just come down from 2+ foot of snow) - it was the only car on that trip that got back home with no damage / not getting stuck... it was used to tow lorries up hills in the snow, in fact, used for everything, but the electrics were a bit of a pain... so eventually it was sold and replaced with a Ford Kuga - leased... (silly decision no 4.)
In parallel, I had also acquired variously
- the rarest LR in the world (Series 2 Diesel LWB Station Wagon - only 1 remaining of only 4 built - there are more centre steer prototypes!) - but no-one cared that it was rare!
- a series 1 LR (SWB cab / on a LWB body / on a Rovery 3.5 v8 chassis)
- a 2a in good condition...
the first two were sold quite quickly - the last I kept as my go anywhere car - but I didn't, too much hassle / too cold / too uncomfortable / steering that was too vague / a gearbox that had to be double-declutched / etc. etc. - just too basic...
then in December 2016 I was at my mechanics dropping off Christmas bottles and chocs when his wife told me to go and look at what he had in the workshop... a 1994 LSE Soft Dash... The car had sat for 8 years in a field - a local commercial mechanic collected cars, but eventually the farmer wanted the field back so he sold a few cars to my mechanic... I looked over it (dirty / rusty / etc.) and fell in love - so a quick negotiation based on the fact that I would be spending lots of money in his workshop and the car was mine... and the Series 2a went:
and what was this? yes, it was a soft dash LSE - exactly the version of car I would choose to buy given a choice - all the toys, and one of the last few made - and in Ardennes green - a beautiful colour...
It needed some work doing to get it through the MOT - my mechanic had planned to remove the air suspension and put it on springs, but instead we simply replaced the 4 air bags (c. £36 a corner) and that worked - some rust replaced with metal in various places and the occasional hammer placed strategically where needed and the car sailed through (well, got through...) We decided that this would be a rolling restoration as I wanted to use it and so I started to drive it with a notebook and pen at the ready to list the work needing doing...
- seat ecu - replace (done)
- fan that sounds as though it is about to explode - sort (stones in fan - done)
- radio not working (to do)
- headliner (to do)
- paintwork (lets leave, quite like the rat rod look)
- engine oil leak - ahh, the big one... well not to worry, rather than taking out the engine and fixing it we had a cunning master-plan (bear in mind that I am not very good at fixing things, so would have to pay labour on any work...) Along side the history of LR cars above, the Series 1 monstrosity which was donated to me by a client to pay a bill, came with a dead petrol P38 - the engine was still in the yard - so we decided to strip it down and rebuild it and tweak it and etc. My mechanic and his sons have all spent years building and racing v8 stock cars at world championship level - so they know their v8s - choice of power: 300 - 600bhp so we are starting by aiming at c. 300bhp (so that we don't need to upgrade all the brakes / suspension / etc.) and will see how it goes...
engine when taken apart:
lots of technical & dirty bits...
since then it has been off to the engine stripping down place and come back all shiny:
and I have paid for lots of bits I don't understand with weird code numbers, but which I believe will magically come together to give me lots of oomph and power
the car has just been through its second MOT - fuel lines needed replacing (unlike the first LSE I owned we are not scrapping the car!) and the exhaust has been mended - we will replace that when we put the engine in...
and then today, it has had its first proper valet - Max from ALT Valeting (Highworth) who does my cars was a little surprised to have to clean a car where the paintwork comes off if you are not too careful, or if you poke the rust too much it makes holes (I think he finds the M5 easier!) but he did a great job - tidying up and cleaning as a first step - and then gradually we will bring it back to life...
Only using a mobile - but you can start to see some of the great depth of colour and in the last a bit of the mica (I think?) in the paintwork which makes it glisten in the sunlight...
so - that is the story so far - these really are great cars and they connect with you emotionally - nowhere near as brilliant / sorted / etc. as the M5 - but in its own way, so much fun to drive - and they will just go absolutely anywhere...
no doubt more to come... (story - I don't need more cars!)
First, some background...
In 1999 I decided to buy a Land Rover Defender - I wanted something I could use on shoots / to tow / across fields / to carry stuff / etc. etc. so I went out looking and came back with a Range Rover (In Vogue - 4 door in a very gold colour) - owned by an engineer at jaguar, in great condition and so much more comfortable than a Defender:
It was written off (by the RAF with a coach!), bought back and run for years until the engine blew up and I scrapped it (silly decision no 1.) and went out to buy another - my first LSE:
Within 6 months - the engine blew up - air/fuel mix and the 4.2 was not a good combination, so we replaced it with a brand new 4.6 from RPi - chipped and lots of fun... within 6 months, some scrap from the road punched a hole through the oil filter at xx mph and the engine seized - 3 engines in 12 months - doing well
Amazingly my insurance company paid for it to be totally stripped down and rebuilt at a specialist and we ended up with a tweaked c. 5litre engine in the car... It was fab, 0-60 was quite rapid, but corners still needed careful negotiation, or taking at a 45deg. angle however, a few years later the fuel pipes went and rather than a body off job replacing them properly the car was sold to someone who wanted the engine (and they scrapped the car) - (silly decision no 2.)It was replaced with a P38 - diesel (silly decision no 3.)
It was the slowest car I had owned at that point - bought in Cheltenham and couldn't even make the hill out of town at 60mph - so bought on the Friday and on the Monday went in to JE engineering for a stage 2 upgrade - which did transform the car... It was a very comfortable car - great for long distances and was taken all over the country (photo above is on a grouse moor in Scotland - having just come down from 2+ foot of snow) - it was the only car on that trip that got back home with no damage / not getting stuck... it was used to tow lorries up hills in the snow, in fact, used for everything, but the electrics were a bit of a pain... so eventually it was sold and replaced with a Ford Kuga - leased... (silly decision no 4.)
In parallel, I had also acquired variously
- the rarest LR in the world (Series 2 Diesel LWB Station Wagon - only 1 remaining of only 4 built - there are more centre steer prototypes!) - but no-one cared that it was rare!
- a series 1 LR (SWB cab / on a LWB body / on a Rovery 3.5 v8 chassis)
- a 2a in good condition...
the first two were sold quite quickly - the last I kept as my go anywhere car - but I didn't, too much hassle / too cold / too uncomfortable / steering that was too vague / a gearbox that had to be double-declutched / etc. etc. - just too basic...
then in December 2016 I was at my mechanics dropping off Christmas bottles and chocs when his wife told me to go and look at what he had in the workshop... a 1994 LSE Soft Dash... The car had sat for 8 years in a field - a local commercial mechanic collected cars, but eventually the farmer wanted the field back so he sold a few cars to my mechanic... I looked over it (dirty / rusty / etc.) and fell in love - so a quick negotiation based on the fact that I would be spending lots of money in his workshop and the car was mine... and the Series 2a went:
and what was this? yes, it was a soft dash LSE - exactly the version of car I would choose to buy given a choice - all the toys, and one of the last few made - and in Ardennes green - a beautiful colour...
It needed some work doing to get it through the MOT - my mechanic had planned to remove the air suspension and put it on springs, but instead we simply replaced the 4 air bags (c. £36 a corner) and that worked - some rust replaced with metal in various places and the occasional hammer placed strategically where needed and the car sailed through (well, got through...) We decided that this would be a rolling restoration as I wanted to use it and so I started to drive it with a notebook and pen at the ready to list the work needing doing...
- seat ecu - replace (done)
- fan that sounds as though it is about to explode - sort (stones in fan - done)
- radio not working (to do)
- headliner (to do)
- paintwork (lets leave, quite like the rat rod look)
- engine oil leak - ahh, the big one... well not to worry, rather than taking out the engine and fixing it we had a cunning master-plan (bear in mind that I am not very good at fixing things, so would have to pay labour on any work...) Along side the history of LR cars above, the Series 1 monstrosity which was donated to me by a client to pay a bill, came with a dead petrol P38 - the engine was still in the yard - so we decided to strip it down and rebuild it and tweak it and etc. My mechanic and his sons have all spent years building and racing v8 stock cars at world championship level - so they know their v8s - choice of power: 300 - 600bhp so we are starting by aiming at c. 300bhp (so that we don't need to upgrade all the brakes / suspension / etc.) and will see how it goes...
engine when taken apart:
lots of technical & dirty bits...
since then it has been off to the engine stripping down place and come back all shiny:
and I have paid for lots of bits I don't understand with weird code numbers, but which I believe will magically come together to give me lots of oomph and power
the car has just been through its second MOT - fuel lines needed replacing (unlike the first LSE I owned we are not scrapping the car!) and the exhaust has been mended - we will replace that when we put the engine in...
and then today, it has had its first proper valet - Max from ALT Valeting (Highworth) who does my cars was a little surprised to have to clean a car where the paintwork comes off if you are not too careful, or if you poke the rust too much it makes holes (I think he finds the M5 easier!) but he did a great job - tidying up and cleaning as a first step - and then gradually we will bring it back to life...
Only using a mobile - but you can start to see some of the great depth of colour and in the last a bit of the mica (I think?) in the paintwork which makes it glisten in the sunlight...
so - that is the story so far - these really are great cars and they connect with you emotionally - nowhere near as brilliant / sorted / etc. as the M5 - but in its own way, so much fun to drive - and they will just go absolutely anywhere...
no doubt more to come... (story - I don't need more cars!)
Edited by akirk on Wednesday 11th March 16:49
akirk said:
indeed it is...I live a couple of villages away...
if you are heading out this way, drop me a line and come on over... rr is either here, or in storage locally (or having work done to it!)
jumare said:
akirk said:
indeed it is...I live a couple of villages away...
if you are heading out this way, drop me a line and come on over... rr is either here, or in storage locally (or having work done to it!)
Purso said:
Very nice and I will be watching keenly with interest having just picked up one myself. Would love to watch from a distance one with 600bhp and original suspension
I think I would prefer to be at a distance as well as I have an M5, this car doesn't need to match that in performance, so we are deliberately setting it up to deliver wafty, torquey power - not high end speed... bearing in mind that the car is heavy (around 2 tonnes) - ability to pick up her skirts and waft down the road is key... (and towing etc.)
jumare said:
I'm in Wootton Bassett, what garage do you use? I've recently started to use G&D in Minety after going to Swindon 4x4 for about 15 years. Only stopped because of convenience, both are great L-R specialists.
I drive through WB daily (well crawl through is more appropriate), LSE is with me today. I'll keep an eye out. There's a chap in Lyneham with a couple of classics.I know Greg and Dudley well and yes they tend to have my car but sometimes I use sw 4x4 as its really easy to drop it off and walk into work.
I'll keep an eye out. I'm Lyneham way.
having been valeted yesterday, it was in a slurry filled farm yard today - sums up the dual nature of these...
but back into storage / at the garage to be looked at next week to deal with an issue where it occasionally cuts out...
it could be dirt in the fuel tank hitting the filter, (fuel filter & fuel lines have been replaced), but there seems to be no pattern, and we know that there is a leak at the manifold, but don't want to replace that yet as it will be simpler to replace manifold and exhaust when we swap engines... so my mechanic will have a look next week...
enjoyed it for about 4 days and back for work - but I guess that is the nature of a rolling restoration, and every time you fix one thing - something else pops up!
- sums up the dual nature of these...but back into storage / at the garage to be looked at next week to deal with an issue where it occasionally cuts out...
it could be dirt in the fuel tank hitting the filter, (fuel filter & fuel lines have been replaced), but there seems to be no pattern, and we know that there is a leak at the manifold, but don't want to replace that yet as it will be simpler to replace manifold and exhaust when we swap engines... so my mechanic will have a look next week...
enjoyed it for about 4 days and back for work - but I guess that is the nature of a rolling restoration, and every time you fix one thing - something else pops up!
573 said:
Brilliant. Read your thread and have thent wasted a few hours in the classifieds looking at these.
just buy one - they are great cars - and if you get one of the rarer / more collectable ones, they are gradually going up in value - at least you won't lose money on them... and they are a totally classless car now - not blingy / in your face - at home in London / in the country - and very comfortable...DKL said:
I drive through WB daily (well crawl through is more appropriate), LSE is with me today. I'll keep an eye out. There's a chap in Lyneham with a couple of classics.
I know Greg and Dudley well and yes they tend to have my car but sometimes I use sw 4x4 as its really easy to drop it off and walk into work.
I'll keep an eye out. I'm Lyneham way.
Keep an eye out for a Monte Carlo blue Discovery 2, although it's normally my wife driving it. Traffic from Bassett to M4 is ridiculous at the moment, I live on the estate nearest the motorway took me 50mins to do the 1.5 miles to the M4 a while ago.I know Greg and Dudley well and yes they tend to have my car but sometimes I use sw 4x4 as its really easy to drop it off and walk into work.
I'll keep an eye out. I'm Lyneham way.
I felt really bad going to G&D after using Swindon 4x4 for so long, but I needed emergency work done at Christmas and G&D were open 4x4 weren't. My wife is friendly with Greg's sister, who works at T H White Fiat/Alfa Romeo.
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