Thread: looking at buying my first 80's rangie

I would consider how many kms are on it for the price, and just have a general crawl around under the car and make shore none of the oil leaks are to seriouse
When you take it for a test drive just note how well the gearbox works and if the clutch is working well, and don't forget to test out low range and diff lock to make shore there's nothing wrong there

CHEERS TIM.

thank you for that, so they can be treated just like a car then. i took a disco 4 a test run a few months back and it made some nice drive line noises, but have been told they run different driver lines, am i correct there?

A Range rover is quite different to drive to a car - There will be some slack in the drive line, after all there are three diffs in the thing. Mechanically I would rate it on par with any other 20 year old car - there will be things worn on it.

There are a lot of variables in buying a Range Rover -

1 - Do you want electrics or basic simple non electrics. For example if you get a very early 80s RR then there are very few electrics in the thing. No fast glass or any other fancy bits to break. Simple easy to fix stromberg carbies. And a uncluttered engine bay. As you move into the late 80's you start seeing lots more wires/electric bits and bobs. Your choice - but I deliberately chose a RR with no computers or electric windows etc.

2 - Kilometers, in my opinion matter less than condition and maintenance. For example - I bought a Range Rover that only had 186,000ks on it, but because it had not been maintained - it was rooted. The coolant system had been destroyed. Engine wrecked due to no oil changes. Transfer case was nearly empty. I got it very cheap but if it would have cost a fortune to make reliable. The annoying thing was that it was almost mint condition inside. I have a nearly 400,000km 83 model that Iv'e owned for years - It's been maintained pretty well - had new window rubbers - and basically anything that started to wear badly was replaced. New radiators/viscous fans every couple of 100,000k's etc. It's still got it's original un opened engine, and will still thrash my TD5 Defender.

3 - Do you want one you can unbolt to fix. The Pre 85 models had a body that was completely bolted together - you can strip it down to body panels with a spanner and a drill. For example - I replaced a rear set of goal posts on an 81 Range Rover in a weekend without any welding or paint.

SO once you've decided on what you want here is what I would look for.

1 - Transfer Case/gearbox Noise. they do whine, but does it grind crunch or make so much noise you go deaf? Might require a few $$$$$$ to fix. The early LT95 4 speed manual is a very hardy box. The Chrysler 3 speed Auto mdoel is also very very hardy. Not sure about the others, my experience with the later boxes has been clouded by the R380 in my defender.

2 - Coolant system. - I would not buy a Range Rover that had its coolant system neglected. Make sure it's coolant is green, and not just water. Look for coolant leaks. Put the heater on and sniff for coolant. A Heater job is a complete bastard, and would be needed for a RWC. Check the radiator fins, are they corroded off? Does the Viscous fan work, if you are there on a very hot day then just run the car hard, and see if you can start hearing fan noises if you stop for a moment and take off. Check for water leaks. Later model viscous fan clutches are not too $$, but pre 84 viscous fan clutches are really hard to find and very $$$$$$.... I'm still looking for one.

3 - Rubber seals - Do the window seals look OK, or are they cracked. If cracked - you might have water leaks, and therefore rust in the floors.

4 - Rust. Range rovers rust in hidden places - Lift the floor mats, they rust under the exit entry steps, up the side of the kick panels where your feet go - particularly if W/s is leaking. In the floor sides at the rear - for example under the spare tyre, and on the opposite side where the tools sit. Minor rust is easy to fix with a few welded patches. Major rust can require a major strip down. Does the car smell mouldy - if so then it's leaking water somewhere.

5 - Electrics. Despite their reputation - I think RR electrics are good - EXCEPT if 1) an auto electrician has butchered them 2) an owner has butchered them 3) the car has got wet inside 4) You have had RATS... There are many bullet style connectors that can corrode, once that starts then you will have issues. A RR that's been parked for more than a few weeks is a candidate to have had mice or rats. Mice just smell, but rats eat wires, plastic etc. rats are a PITA. I keep a rat trap in each of my parked land rovers.... And Iv'e caught a few. One of my parked RR's had a rat, which ate all of the wires behind the dash over a weekend. Complete dash removal to fix.... 10seconds in my rat zapper fixed the rat.

6- Interior - It's expensive to fix up a wrecked interior.

7 - Everything else. As with any 20 year old car - there are likely to be many things that need fixing. Some urgent some not so urgent. You should budget quite a bit for maintenance - likely you'll be replacing starter motors/alternators/radiators/water pumps/ something else in the first few years. This would apply to any car. At least RR parts can be found cheaply, and as long as you do the work yourself then they can be fixed easily. As long as it's had a RWC then likely the oil leaks are not too bad - unless the thing leaking is empty.

** MY personal choice would be a 84 or 85 Range rover with a 3 speed TF727 auto - with A/C that worked, no rust, and with a known service history. Very hard to find though. OH and make sure the vendor supplies the RWC.

Hope that helps.
-

what can i say to a post like that thank you very much... i am gunna go have a look at it now. ill let you know what model it is today, and whether the family 4bie camping trips are a go

its a 88 with 206 thou on the clock, engine leaks near exhaust manifold (oil) r/h/r electric window dos'nt work its on gas, and oil under neath look pretty good, not much at all. nice coolant in the radiator but dos'nt look like its had a oil change for a while, start first pop, but ran rough for a few seconds it hadn't been start for a while a good sevice and the engine should be mint. hope to get for $1500 but booked in for mechanics check tommorrow morn, see what he has to say

That sounds pretty good for the price! The oil leak near the exhaust I bet is a leaking valve cover gasket - now on a carby model it's 4 screws, 20mins and a $20 gasket. I think it's the same on an EFI model - but might be more involved due to the EFI bits and bobs.

thanks again, i will letr you know what the mechanics says tommorrow

Yep the rocker cover seal leaks on just about every rover