Range Rover P38 4.0

[josh00mac]

Thought there might be a bit of PH interest in this as we all need something to multi-task.

I bought this 3 years ago after fancying a change from the MX-5. I ideally wanted a RR classic but prices for clean versions were shooting out of my £3k budget. Thankfully these have an awful reputation which means they are a total bargain.

I bought it from a chap who works at a Land Rover specialist in Northern Ireland. In classic Barge 1-5 thread style I did a lot of questioning over the phone and then drove all the way to the tip of NI to buy it on the proviso that I would leave it if it wasn’t right (as if that was ever going to happen).

It was looked after by the marque specialist for some time as a customer car before the mechanic I bought it from took it off her hands and ran it himself – for this reason I had confidence that it had been reasonably well looked after and the paper work backed this up.
Before he owned it the customer had the engine block replaced (assume slipped liners which is a common problem) with a fairly expensive Turner engineering block. They also had it converted to coil suspension which was a huge selling point to me after much research into the air system.

So what has it been like to own? Truthfully – I think I was very lucky to have found this one. I had basically given up as almost all P38s have been ‘modernised’ with naff trim or bodged to keep them going leading to electrical problems. It is standard and is in quite a classic spec. Interior is a great place to spend time with that high seat position – nothing like it really - and I am glad I ended up with it over a classic as the modern seals and body engineering can see it charge along the autoroute at 100 with quiet conversation taking place. I think the ride and handling is pretty decent – I have ridden in air examples and wouldn’t swap it given the tendency for the systems to give trouble. Lots of people say they can be fixed easily without huge cost but every P38 I enquired about had some sort of suspension issue so I made my mind up to avoid.

The engine is the later 4.0 Thor Petrol and I think this is what I have been most impressed with – so much smoother than I would have imagined for something of this age design wise. In everyday driving I get 15 in town and 20 on a motorway cruise.
When I bought it I did a full service of all fluids which weren’t in bad condition and then have just enjoyed it really – driven it across Europe where the faulty air con (I will never look into that…) was the only weakness.

What about the costs and built in LR weak points? The engine had been done as mentioned. I had the standard ‘heater O rings’ problem and decided to change the entire heater core for an Audi version which does without the pathetic connections that LR designed in. Best mod ever but a big job. Most interior plastics are very brittle now so you have to take care when doing little jobs and the fuses/relays are pretty poor and require replacement according to the LR schedule and are worth keeping on top of. All of the parts are quite cheap really compared to the later models (apart from a full exhaust – LR wanted 2K so I had to buy non OEM). I budget about 1k per year for maintenance and things which will need replacing on a 130k mile luxury car. Insurance is classic policy and tax is only 220 which helps.

Just a great thing to own really – hugely practical and always feels nice to get in and start of a morning. I would recommend one but buy from caring owners who can manage the upkeep.

[josh00mac]

[josh00mac]

[josh00mac]

[josh00mac]

[josh00mac]

[josh00mac]

[Hainey]

Wonderful thing. Well done.

[Jimmy Recard]

Very nice!

I've been trying to buy a very particular one for a while, but the owner doesn't want to sell it yet

[r129sl]

We ran one of these as a hack and tow car for about five years. It was surprisingly excellent. The fundamentals were indestructible, quite literally: my brother encountered an errant E39 on the wrong side of a bend, and whereas the five series was a write-off, the RR had a mere thumb-sized welt in its plastic bumper. The second level stuff like the heater or various electrical devices were all pathetically unreliable, but it gave the sense that the stuff that really mattered would never give up. It was an excellent tow car, happily dragging 2 tonnes of horse and trailer at 75mph. And it made a very comfortable cruiser in a relaxed way.



It made a fine bar, too. That's not me in the picture.

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 13th July 22:33

[CharlesdeGaulle]

I've never been a massive fan of the P38, but yours looks very nice and I might have to reconsider.

[josh00mac]

[quote=r129sl]We ran one of these as a hack and tow car for about five years. It was surprisingly excellent. The fundamentals were indestructible, quite literally: my brother encountered an errant E39 on the wrong side of a bend, and whereas the five series was a write-off, the RR had a mere thumb-sized welt in its plastic bumper. The second level stuff like the heater or various electrical devices were all pathetically unreliable, but it gave the sense that the stuff that really mattered would never give up. It was an excellent tow car, happily dragging 2 tonnes of horse and trailer at 75mph. And it made a very comfortable cruiser in a relaxed way.




It made a fine bar, too. That's not me in the picture.

[/quote

Your analysis of second level stuff is quite right. You can see where they had to scrimpt on connectors, systems etc. For those that don't know, the entire heating system is electrically controlled with lots of flaps and motors and they can get stuck after years of use and play up. Whilst having the heater core replaced, I had the whole heating system overhauled/lubricated while the dash was out. That was not a job I undertook myself.

[was8v]

I think the P38 is about to have its day.

Remember, there was a time when a 2 door range rover classic was worthless.

[josh00mac]

I am not sure they will increase - still tons about. This is LR's first product that didn't rust. That's a very different fact to the three door.

[Hainey]

josh00mac said:

I am not sure they will increase - still tons about. This is LR's first product that didn't rust. That's a very different fact to the three door.

Its not rust that kills them. Its the 1st gen automotive microswitches failing and dry soldered joints that kills them.

[AmitG]

Lovely car OP. I have a real soft spot for the P38 and have come very close to buying several times, but there has always been some kind of problem with the example in question.

was8v said:

I think the P38 is about to have its day.

Remember, there was a time when a 2 door range rover classic was worthless.

I reckon this is true. The P38 design has a certain timeless quality about it.

[Sparky137]

AmitG said:

I reckon this is true. The P38 design has a certain timeless quality about it.

Really? I always thought that the P38 was the version of the Range Rover that has aged the worst and now looks dated without looking 'classic'.

All the same, a nice car and probaly not a just receiver of the negative criticism levelled at it. I'd still rather have one of them than ANY Audi!!!

[alpinab3]

A nice original P38 is looking very attractive now. All the council scum driving L322's now.

[TVR Sagaris]

Agree with the above - I think in the main it is now the L322s that you see with awful cheap modifications. Increasingly I think the P38 is ageing well and now looks fairly classy. Saw one similar to yours which looked great and sounded delicious. The V8s are lovely.

[NDA]

I bought a V8 supercharged new about 10 years ago. It's done 110,000 miles without a problem and now probably worth the same as a used biro.

Great cars.