What made you buy you 1st Land Rover

[dobbo]

It's 0313hrs in the morning another night shift watching trains come and go one after the other passing the time reading the forums and it's come to my attention we must all be slightly excentric. Why would we buy cars with endless faults, overpriced services, limp modes, massive fuel consumption and dodgy electrics etc etc etc. Just so on the occasions when they work properly what do we do bush bash them. We must be mad.
For me I've wanted one for years and because I love them. I love the combination of rugged looks, little luxuries and mod cons combined into a package that has the ability to go bush on my terms whenever I want (must be a control thing). But why a Land Rover there are many capable 4wd's fine not as capable as a landie when both vehicles are in stock form but other brands are available.
And why is 1 never enough like most Landie owners I just bought a second one O.K it's obvious I now have the poison running through my veins but what makes these vehicles so special to so many


mat

[camel_landy]

1 - I'd always wanted one!
2 - It would make access to the hills for my climbing easier.
3 - I'd just had a big, head-on car crash where I smashed my face up & wanted to make sure that if it happened again I wanted to be driving something bigger!!!!

M

[JDNSW]

It was 1962 and I needed a four wheel drive as I was having all sorts of problems with my VW working in the bush. Got an ex-SMA Series 1. The only alternative would have been a WW2 Jeep, and the S1 looked a lot better as a private car.
John

[drivesafe]

My first hobby was and is anything relating to railways and as such, 9 years ago I decided to get 4x4 so I could get to some out of the way places, to get video of some interesting rail operation.

My first idea was to buy a Jeep, ( shock horror ) until I tried to get in one at a dealers, talk about small.

So then I set about looking at all the KNOWN 4x4s.

A mate I have known since my railway days, owned an older RR and I mentioned to him my interest in buying a 4x4.

He suggested I look at a Discovery, to which I relied “ A what “

I had heard of Land Rover but had neither considered buying a Landy or had ever heard of a Discovery.

My mate also informed me that he does some test driving for one of the 4x4 mags and suggests I should ring an editor friend of his to get some ideas of what's what with the different makes and models of 4x4 on the market at that time.

I didn’t ring his friend but for the next three months, I bought every 4x4 mag I could get.

One of them had just done a comparison test drive of 5 4x4s including a Discovery. The Disco came in a close second behind a Toyota ( surprise, surprise ).

A few weeks after reading the article, I get a phone call from my mate’s editor friend and he introduces himself and asked could he be of any help.

Well after giving him my ideas of what I wanted he tells me that the best 4x4 on the market by a long way, at that time, was the Disco.

Now it was his company’s mag that had proclaimed the Toyota to be the best so I asked him why was the Disco not the winner.

His reply was that there were two reasons. 1, Toyota advertise in his mag and 2, Land Rover ( at that time ) did not ( again, surprise, surprise ).

So I bought a Disco and with one exception, have not regretted it owning Landies.

Cheers

[Reads90]

Ever since i was a kid my Dad had them. The my Older sis had a S3 as her first car. Which i bought off her two years later
And it all started from there. and lead to in my time
5 x 90's ,2 x Range Rovers,110,2 x Disco,100 Hybrid,

[gruntfuttock]

I needed a vehicle and it was the cheapest I could find!

[4bee]

I fell in love with the S2A FFRs my Sig. Sqdn used. The outcome was predictable.:D

[BigJon]

Years ago, my Dad had a Classic Range Rover two door. Then more recently he had in succession 3 Discoverys and 2 New Range Rovers.
At one point my brother had two door Classic Rangie. He now has an old Series III tray top.

I work at a Land Rover Dealer, so with that family history it makes sense for me to have 2 Classic Rangies, a 73 two door and an 87 Hiline four door.

[Omaroo]

I grew up appreciating the Land Rover when our family had one on out farm in Mudgee during the late 70's. We had a Series trayback with a Holden red motor - and it never failed us. It always put up with the hard yakka without a single complaint.

Years later I still loved the utilitarian look of the Defender, and along with an alloy body I figured that if I had one, I'd likely be able to keep it for years. So when a mte of mine wanted to sell his (which was kitted to the eyeballs) I didn't hesitate. I'm glad I have it now - it's my favourite out of our four 4WD's by far.

[Greylandy]

And why is 1 never enough like most Landie owners I just bought a second one O.K it's obvious I now have the poison running through my veins but what makes these vehicles so special to so many


mat

I always get very nostalgic about this but I believe it is what they represent, their character, the history. They are more than just cars that take you from A to B, they've almost got a personality of their own. Land Rovers attract car enthusiasts and if you are not one ... it will make one out of you! In this plastic society new car models are being turned out like a bad case of diarrhea ... LR's seem to hold what is still good and pure, simplicity with a certain level of honesty.

:huh: where did that come from ... :p

I had a fascination with Overland travel from a young age. With that went images of a Series or Defender traversing an isolated desert. I was sold. Unfortunately bloody Land Rovers are so expensive in South-Africa I could only afford one when we moved to Oz. I can now say I drive my dream car and I would not swap it for anything in this world (I reserve the right to withdraw this statement upon the release of any new Defender models :D )

[D110V8D]

I was looking at 4x4's for my first car and I saw a 78 Game model on the cover of Just 4x4 magazine.

I fell in love with it and started searching everywhere for a Game model.

I found one, paid too much for it and spent the next 3 or 4 years fixing it up. (Running project)

I just love the old bangers!:D

Always fun to drive and full of character.

[muddymech]

i blame sales brochures, i had one as a kid showing a range rover
going though a deep ford, that was it i was hooked then saw the camel trophy and
i was addicted, evntually i had a fling with a s111 swb pick up which i still think was great despite
top wack of 60mph and all the noise a diesal can make, follwoing that a vm engined range rover which got stolen and showed me the true value of insurance companies (some were at the top of the list with double glazing sales men and estate agents)
then finally my 90. we now own two discos as well and truley bitten, i still ahve that sales brochure
and still think they are the best cars going, what else makes you smile these days.
to add to that i swopped the disco for a comadore for a few days apart from burning up some rubber was glad to get back to the disco.

[Redback]

This is our first Land Rover, we bought it to do outback touring and weekend offroading trips, so far i'm really happy even if we got the same ol' same ol' " a bloody Land Rover for outback touring ya mad it'll break down then what'll ya do:eek: " well poo poo to them i say, on most of our trips so far we have been the only ones not to break down.

I love our Disco, a Defender will be our next one, also we will be getting a second Landie in the near future too, a 130 i'd say.

Baz.

[PCH]

Because I like to visit the dealer :eek: very often.

No seriously, best 4WD's around and I wanted something you don't see like the proverbial (eg LC, Patrols etc...) and it can go most places.
And I :wub: my Land Rover.

Chris

[stevo68]

Hmm, where do I start :D . As most of you know the D3 is my first landy, I almost bought one in 98, I had the brochures sent out and everything. I ended up buying a new C180 Mercedes, great car no guts. Then gave it back when marriage went to poop ( but thats another story :eek: ). Now come forward 8 years, I have a 10mth old Territory and keen as mustard to get off road, not the right vehicle, then I see an article on the new D3. Hop online and have everything they can send me on it.

First off was the look of the vehicle, nothing else compared to it, I can't lie and say the prestigious factor didnt come into play :cool: , hence why I would only get one if I could get top of the range. If I was going to spend that sort of coin it had to have everything ( satnav, premium sound etc) , it had to be black and a sunroof. I didnt bother test driving anything else, as soon as I took it for a spin I was hooked. Part of the reason for a landy is that I just have never been into "japanese cars" I've always had Australian or European cars.

Anyway hands down this is the best vehicle I have ever owned, it has introduced me to a great bunch of people on here and in my club- GCLRO, it has taken me places with my children we have never been before and allowed some great adrenalin pumping experiences. Plus did I mention the killer looks it has :cool: . I've now had it for 6 mths and it has a dint, a cracked rear light cover and a cuppla scratches from taking it off road, so it is rugged as well now :lol: . I could go on......but won't, I just love that car

Regards

Stevo

[JamesH]

Gosh I can't remember why. I've always liked them. Whether it was Daktari on TV as a kid, visiting farms, seeing the army drive them, etc etc all the way to the Queen Mum hopping out of a Defender at Balmoral (she never went for the Disco, Rangie stuff).

Question is why do people drive anything else?

[crump]

Harry Butler drove one all over W.A. and then said "Bloody Hell" on tv when he got his 5th staked tyre for the day.I was 8, he swore and got away with it, I was hooked.

[seqfisho]

That Bloody Bush Tucker man is to blame:p

I had a L300 with body and suspension lift, 2.6lt sigma motor at the time and we were doing The Old Northern Road out of Wisemans Ferry at the time, my brother in law was along as part of the trip and had borrowed a 110 county from work (he was head test mechanic for Jag Australia at the time)

Where I was lifting front wheels a meter in the air:eek: the damn county just walked over everything with that V8 burbling away, that was the end of me

Kept see Mr Hiddens treking around the top end and that was it, off to Garthons for a Defender please, very nearly bought one of the ex Calvert expedition wagons but they didnt get back in time from WA so picked up an ex LRA company car, the rest is history.

Although I drive a disco at present, it wouldn't take much to get me back into a Defender:rolleyes:

And Baz, I'm along your train of thought, a 130 for an outback tourer would be the "Ducks Nuts"

[Quiggers]

Why did I get a Landy? Because I wouldn't be seen dead in a Jap thing.
A mate who races and had various Toyos, each from new, said he rented a Rangie on a job and it was much better on and offroad than his then new Cruiser. Sounded good to me! A new D1 Rossignol was the choice and the price was right! It went after a while and 3 years ago another D1 was too good to pass up and still does to job very nicely. My only other 4wd was a new Bronco back in 85 and it was pretty neat, but drank gallons a minute and had manual front hubs - sounding lazy?

Cheers, GQ

[rangieman]

it was my fathers fault i was bought up in a s1 shorty and with 5 kids the s1 shorty was too small

so dad looked around and bought a s1 long wheelbase ute with a hard top back , man i hated my only sister she aways got the front seat and inwinter they had that tiny little heater in the front while the four boys out the back froze:eek:

but we had some good holidays , in all those years i do not remember those s1 s never letting us down not once , and dad did do some good 4wdriving , i remember being bounced around in the back with my brothers
(no seat belts in those days)

that started it cause since then in my life ive had 3 series vechicles , 2 rangies , and now im on my first love affair with a defender and yes it is a sweet love affair just like my wife i cant shut her up :eek:

[solmanic]

Our extended family had a 109 series III hardtop for camping in the 70s (when I was but a wee chap). It stayed in the family all the time, even getting a full re-build with the rotten old chassis being re-dipped. I then needed a car when I started Uni so I bought a half share from my Dad's mate. Spent most of my uni years towing lesser student bombs out of the UQ potholed dirt carparks in the rain. Got many, many offers of beer.

I didn't realise how attached I had gotten to it until I was forced to sell it for numerous logistical reasons. Then spent the next 15 years idly ogling the ever evolving Defender until I finally managed to pursuade the domestic gestapo that it was a sensible option for our new car. And then I got another, and so on and so forth...

[dobbo]

O.K Considering I started the thread I better contribute

All good things are worth waiting for. 3 generations of winging Poms

From a very young age in the old Dart I have vague memories of my Grandfathers Series LWB don't know what year or anything like that, just the colour, yellow with a white roof.

Fast track years now to around the age of twenty three. My old man just got delivery of his brand spanka's P38 Range Rover Java Black with 18" tri spoke mags. I looked at it, then him (his face gleaming) and said "Ya can't go offroad in that! It's too low""
Bigger grin on his face"Watch this" he turned the ignition pressed the button in the middle of the dash, back goes up, front goes up, back level, front levels
I said smart **** and walked away.
$hit I was jealous but at the age of twenty three couldn't raise the 100k+ to buy my own. I can still hear mum screaming nagging tones through the window a few weeks later as she saw it parked in the back yard front wheels sitting on top of a 1 to 1.5 metre sandstone drop off in their back yard back wheels firmly planted on the lawn, car was on a 45 degree angle with the bags lowered for shock value. Or the time a extended family from Pom's ville went on an outing. Restricted seats made us drive two vehicles to Wollongong The Rangie and my trusty Valiant ute 40 degree day and guess what, the compressor on the Rangie was working O/T freezing the thermostat sending the climate control into a state of confusion resulting in the ambient temp outside reading of -4 and the heater automatically turning on and wouldn't turn off. it was so humerous for us in the Val with our steel dash and crutch height vents to see four windows lowering simultaniously heads poking out gasping for air . After a few short trips in the Rangie, easy ones (low profile tyres) and a holiday with the missus and her rello's in Arnhem Land, I was hooked on going bush and I had to have a 4wd . Old mans advice buy an ex army series that way when I dented it just pop rivet a new piece on. Nah I wanted one like his, like Beckham's, a Black sex machine, heaps of street cred massive mags (for the day) an a big V8.(Well I was young, dumb and full of you know) Couple of years pass and priorities change (with 2 kids and a preggo's wife) I was looking for an economical family mobile capable of a lot of highway kilometres, a diesel was in order, so up to Sydney and down Parra Rd I went, luxes, trols an bruisers. Then I saw it an aqua coloured disco 1 diesel, cargo barrier,dual batts spotties snorkel you get the idea I first looked because of the mods but upon sitting inside fell in love with it, the comfort, style , size (others were like B-52's in comparison) walked up to salesman and inquired, it was allready sold. I went back to my parents (stayed there while in Sydney) and told the old man, I want a Landie, and there new engines a beauty the TD5, he smiled. A couple weeks later we made a deal, he traded his beloved Rangie for a brand new Td5 disco, of course had to be Java black or similar settled for Bonotti Grey, auto, two spares mags with tyres. Then the hardest part I had to wait another 3 long years till his lease was up before I bought it from him. Well that happened 6 months ago a long wait of 6 and a half years was over. After waitng so long naturally I don't want to test my limitations as a 4 wheeler although the car is very capable I know my limits are far exceeded by the cars. I needed another a toy that if crashed and scratched will not feel like 6.5 years of Land Rover less solitary waiting being an act of futility. Hence yesturday I bought an old series III LWB with a colour sceam Yellow with a white roof, just like my grand fathers all them many years before.

[norto]

i had always owned a 4x4 since about 1979, mainly for towing stuff or going shooting. when i returned from an around Aust trip in 1995 i decided that the 80 series cruiser was just too much like a truck to drive and i could do more with the 35 grand i had tied up in it. i still needed a forby to tow so (somehow) i ended up with an 85 rangie and just loved it. today, if i couldnt own a land rover/rangie i wouldnt own a 4 wheel drive
norto

[Vern]

Was going to get a Patrol, took a 82 2 door Rangie for a drive, end of story. Bought it on the spot.
Now on Rangie number 2, and looking at getting a D3 for the missus next year.
Rovers a addictive

[disconut]

I loved the Disco look, it stood out, it had a V8 in it, 4 doors, plenty of room. 3 Disco's later I fell in love with a Yellow 90. Its such a cool looking thing. One day I will get it dirty, meantime its our tow wagon for the caravan, a job it does "Extremely" well.

Trev.

[CraigE]

Land Rovers have character. All of mine have the Disco, the RR and the Fender. Most of the rest are bland. I do like the new Jeep Commander though.
LRs are different and up until recently were significantly cheaper than any of the Nippons and had better options for the cost.
I do disagree that they are dearer to service than others. Some mechanics think it is ok to raise service prices when the words Land Rover or Range Rover are mentioned. Go and price parts and service costs for a 100 series.
Plus LRs go anywhere Nippons can't.

[one_iota]

I harboured early adolescent fantasies of kitting out a swb and driving across Australia. These prepubescent notions were fueled by the early Leyland Bros exploits....but there comes a time for boys to turn into men and fantasies change.

I had a brief interlude with a Mini Moke and that introduced me to fire trails and what could be found at the end of them...but testosterone and status aspirations resulted ultimately in a red Alfa.

I found that the rack and pinion steering and the low profile tyres didn't take kindly to back roads so I was confined to the tarmac...always wondering what I was missing as I drove past those side roads.

Mid life crisis, marriage breakdown and two fortnightly sons (aged about what I was when I first had LR dreamings) led me back to my true course and with a purpose: to share some special places with my sons...so what 4wd?...no question...no regrets.

It has made me a richer person.

[George130]

Me I was after a crewcab ute. Didn't like the running costs of the crewman as proposed by the lease company. I was about to buy a corer but thought I shold look through the other secondhand yards fst. Saw my beastie sitting there and Instantly thought I used t love hose things as a kid. After walking away as I coldn't afford one of those I went back and test drove it. Sold! from them on it had to be.

[Ace]

we had a Land Rover when we lived in coffs harbour in the mid eighties. Always loved playing on the beach in it when we were kids. I have loved land rovers ever since. My want for one died down a bit for a few years but when i was 15 a girlfriends parent bought a jeep after test driving the Disco and the Jeep. They chose the Jeep because they didnt like the step in the roof of the disco. This fueled both my love of Land Rovers and my hate for Jeeps. So when i got my first car i looked around for a land rover but couldnt find anything within my budget or near enough to look at, so i went for the escort. Then at UNI i nearly bought a SIII SWB but was turned off when the guy wanted triple what it was worth so told him no. Bought my commodore when i was at UNI cause the long drives loaded with gear was killing the escort. The i finished UNI and wanted a Ute but held off to start the business, once the business was started i lived my dream out and bought the disco. Matt

[Bushie]

Some of my first driving experiences were in a S2 landy in the early 70s certainly the first off road driving was in a S2 plus 35 :) I then graduated to a S1 (neither of which I owned) around 1976/77 I was convinced I was going to buy a Daihatsu F10, but bought a Datsun 1600 instead.
Anyhow I had a trip down to the snow with a guy in a Bolwell Nagari and he scared the crap out of me to the point I wouldn't come back with him and got a ride back with a mate who had a Rangie, that trip convinced me I had to have one. I suceeded in 1981 and kept it through to 1998 when I traded it for the Defender.

Martyn

[Stepho_62]

:)

Just sold a 10.6 metre power cruiser and was looking for a new FWD to play with. The current crop of Jap things are either to flash (Toyota) or to expensive.

I wanted a Turbo Diesel and couldn't justify buying another 4.2 litre Patrol. I hadn't driven a Landy since the early Eighties and had a wheel of one of my mates 110 S/wagon on Bruny Island.

Brought one the following week :rolleyes:

[ciapek]

I'm a man of simple ideals......Big titties are Big titties....And a Defender is a Defender, it has a Presence of it's own, it evokes a thrill of an Adventure, a rush of Adrenallin just thinking about a weekend escape, and it pretty much explains why it takes me 45min to go down to the shops to get a packet of Darts......and it's only 10min by foot....
Drive into the Horizon.............................And pray nothing bloody breaks down !!!!!!!!!! .....ha ha ha ha

[edddo]

my old man rebuilt a series 1 (54 model) in the mid 70's and we used it for fishing trips from when I was about 10. Then he got a S3 and took it to cape york. When he died I could have had it but.............never really liked it becuase I dont like sitting with my knees up around my ears. My first fourbie was a 76 FJ40-capable enough but ROUGH, my kidneys still hurt and I have symtoms of trauma at the thought of leaf springs. Went on a trip with a few people in the late 80's and one had a 4 door rangie and I was completely besotted with it-the way it rode over rough ground, had a comfortable interior, had leg room and character!! and class and sounded great. I got rid of the 40 and got an 83 2 door, then a 76 2 door, then a defender (woops no leg room!), then an 80 2 door and now a 98 disco tdi. Something about lust for landys must run in the family........short answer is 40's suck and my dad had a landy.

[mr_sav]

Why a Landy for me:

Superb Curves
Chick Magnet
All the Accessories you could possibly want - Interior Light, Brakes.

Finally upgraded - to an interior lined vehicle that oozed charm, character and oil. Far more advanced than my old SIIA.

Not sure why I am single. hmmm.

[arthurking83]

it was my fathers fault .....
...... bought a s1 long wheelbase ute with a hard top back , man i hated my only sister she aways got the front seat and inwinter they had that tiny little heater in the front while the four boys out the back froze:eek:

but we had some good holidays , in all those years....

Hey rangieman.......are you sure you're not really me? :D

Apart from the 'only sister' and the 'S1 shorty'!!!

My dad 'traded' an old Rambler 660 for his SIIa!
( I suppose that 360 motor and 175 sized tyres made it less desirable on his hunting trips?? :lol:)

Only 2 problems I can remeber him having with that thing.....

On a family trip to Canberra and beyond (seemed like an eternity to us "other 4 kids" loafing around the back....my youngest brother was the "only sister" ;)).....the old bomb just died coming out of Yass, up a big hill towards Canberra.
The thing had 3 petrol tanks(190lt total) and I had the 'pleasure' of filling them up! while the other 4 had to put up with eating ice-creams!!

We got stuck back in Yass all day while carbies were pulled apart and fuel pumps were checked....etc...etc.....

The IIa eventually fired up and got us 10 meters up the road while dad was fiddling with a switch (fuel tank switch!) and the car died!

"Water in the fuel!" he thought.....back to the service station to get them to check/drain the tank......of course nothing came out!! I was too busy drooling over some pretty young thing, or ice-cream, or something.... to fill ALL 3 tanks!!!!!
(never trust a 12 year old!)

:lol:

The other problem, HE had...... was ME!!
(teaching myself to drive at 12-13!!)


So I ended up with the Rangie bug too!!
(along with various rover cars....P6's..... SD1's!!)

17 years after my first (horrendously overpriced '79) still got it!
Actually 17 years is a bit of a record for me with one vehicle(by about 16 1/2 years!!)
They tended to get replaced more often than not.


It's last big trip was in '99 or there abouts.. to Darwin....got us home, etc....but used up way too much oil (with over 500000klms on an "original" ?? motor......except for the Bosch dizzy).

It's retired (hurt!!) at the moment, while I struggle to decide whether to part company with 'her........:( the brain tells me what to do, but the brain resides in the hard head that reminds the brain who's in charge!!
(Now I know why I'm perpetually 'broke' :p)


Looking back on my Landylife...........my 'ol man has a lot to answer for!!

[edddo]

This is a great thread. Shows how much our landys are not only about loving the brand and heritage of the car but how they connect many of us to family and family history. You guys with kids...........in 20 years time there will be another thread in another forum cursing and thanking you for their landy obsession.

[disco95]

I grew up with them, mum and dad had a few in succession. They started their own 4WD club and their S111 landy and the Rangie in the group never failed to outperform all other vehicles off road. Also were the only two vehicles that never missed an outing due to breakdown.
Great memories of White hills and Tims thicket, Woroona Dam and places like Wedge island.
When we moved East we towed about 3500kgs of furniture trailer, we got all the way to the Victorian border from Perth when someone pointed out that one of the axles on the trailer was barely moving and we'd pretty much skull dragged the hole lot across the nullabour and up the Adelaide hills:eek: (Don't know how we didn't blow both the tyres, must have been moving just enough) What other vehicle could do that!

[cookiesa]

Just to start the hate mail!

Same with a Lada Niva. You put up with the bad points because every now and then

[matbor]

The guy at the landrover dealer (MLR) took me around there test track....

Matt.

[MacMan]

I lusted after a Series Rover to play with but as an early 20's student with no money, an Italian car and a high maintenance girlfriend it was never going to happen. Got into bikes for going bush, got into hunting, banged myself up on bikes and then decided to take the plunge. My ****box car was pinched 18 months ago and that got me started.

I chose a D1 because:

1) At 198cm tall I could fit in it, where everything else I could fit into was out of my price range.

2) Nothing depreciates as hard as an English semi-luxury vehicle and a 12 year old Disco 1 still represents outstandingly good value. I hope the rest of the world continues to bag them so in 3 years I can buy another at an even lower price and pull it down for spares.

3) It still has the Rover pedigree but I could live with it every day.

Happy with my choices!

[dullbird]

:mad: :mad: :mad: THE R.T.A:mad: :mad: :mad:

although now i'm thankfull for it

dullbird

[dungarover]

Well, my old man had one when I was young after spending an uncomfortable childhood going on holidays in the back seat of an MQ Pootrol. Dad had always wanted one, but raising myself, my sister, paying off a house and the cost of even a second-hand one was too expensive, so when the prices dropped, Dad bough an 81 2 door. great vehicle, learnt how to drive 9got familiar with the notch LT95 4 speed box).

Gopt my license at 17, bought my first one (76 2 door rust bucket :mad: ), flogged the crap out of it and enjoyed doing so and learning how to fix it (apprentice wages don't allow for 'professional' repairs). Got plenty of help and spares on the cheap from Rover care in Slacks Creek. Previous owner Mike Hall was brilliant, much like Rick & Debbie at Ricks 4WD to be honest, always helpful.

I have owned another 4 Rangies after that (84 4 door, briefly a 93 Discovery, 93 Rangie, 83 Rangie and the 87 I currently have, plus about 4 others I have wrecked).

On the lookout now for a 2 door for a restoration project (something different), trying to find one with little to no rust is a challenge in itself :eek:

Trav

[p38arover]

I was looking at 4x4's for my first car and I saw a 78 Game model on the cover of Just 4x4 magazine.

This one?

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/06/154.jpg

Ron

[p38arover]

I first drove one in 1965 when I was a trainee technician with OTC. We used them on all of our radio stations for getting to the aerials (spread over several hundred acres). As trainee techs we had a ball thrashing the Landies across paddocks.

I've liked them ever since. I also loved the Range Rovers but knew I'd never be able to afford one.

Then about 10 years or so ago I got suckered into buying a share in a car trailer. The EA Falcon we had wasn't legal for towing it so I bought a Toyota FJ55 Land Cruiser - this one:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/06/151.jpg

One day whilst my wife was in hospital I saw an advert for a diesel SIII Landie set up as a camper and went to look at it - and fell in love. I went to the hospital and told Elisabeth but she said "No!" until she could see it.

The day she was released, I took her to see it but it had been sold. She asked "Are there any other Land Rover places around here?" I took her to Trivett Classic (or was it still called Asquith and Johnstone?). They had a lovely '83 RR manual there. We took it for a drive and bought it - this one:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/06/152.jpg

Not long after, Elisabeth broke her left foot and couldn't drive the manual with the LT95 and heavy clutch. So we bought this one-owner auto that had been bored and stroked by John Davis Motorworks to a 4.6:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2006/06/153.jpg

This we drove for 5 years until 4 years ago when I bought the P38A.

Of course, I also bought the County - another love - that classic Landie shape.

And I was right all along - I also loved the Range Rovers but knew I'd never be able to afford one.

Ron

[numpty]

Started touring in the early 70's in a VW Beetle, graduated to a Kombi, which took me round Australia in '75. With present wife followed the old Stuart Hwy to Alice and The Rock in my Fiat 124 Stn Wagon in '81. Was around about here we decided maybe a 4wd was the go. Like Bushie, had been using and abusing Landrovers in the local Bush Fire Brigade during this time, had a soft spot for Landrovers, had always admired them, so naturally when it came time to part with the hard earned and buy a 4wd, we bought a Datsun 720 Dual Cab.
Needless to say, a few years passed and we sold that and bought our current drive, an '81 Stage 1 V8 which we have loved (occasionally) for almost 20 yrs. A Series 1 in an alarming state of undress also resides under the house as a looooong term restoration project.
A new Defender is currently clearing customs to come and live at our place hopefully this week.
Perry.