Thread: Tell us about the first Land Rover you ever owned

My first Land Rover was a 2000 D2 td5 manual, with 120,000km on it when I bought it for SWMBO.

The next was the “Grey Ghost” - my 1961 S2 109 Ute.

I was towing the S2 home behind the D2, when the D2 died. Lol

The D2 is gone but I still have the S2.

Lol

Mine was a 1950 ish 80 inch. My brother Peter and I dragged an intact chassis (there were actually two) from the Herberton dump on the Atherton tablelands back when it was easy to make deposits and withdrawals at dumps. The year would have been late 1976. We then bought a wrecked 80 inch for 150 bucks and I went and did vacation work at MIM over the summer (to earn money for the Landrover rebuild) while my brother (who was just finishing school) started work on fixing it up. By the time I got back from Mt Isa in February 1977 he'd pretty well got the wreck onto the rescued chassis (which was imaculate) and we set to stripping the engine to have it rebored. I recall we paid 50 dollars for that - we supplied the bare block.

Once we had the engine back together it was time for us both to go to University in Townsville (my third year, his first) and I remember running the engine in by driving at various speeds down the Bruce Highway from Innisfail (where we lived) to Townsville. It was a slow trip, even by the standards of the day!

Some time later I got a Series 2 and Peter accumulated a Series 1 (which he still has) and the 80 inch was retired for a short while. However once my brother had finished his degree he dropped a Rolls Royce engine from a champ into the 80 inch and he still has the vehicle running (but not registered) to this day. So we've had that vehicle for 45 years!.

Cheers

Michael

I bought a series 2 LWB at the army auctions in June 1969- I was 17. It was a 24volt sigs wagon and thus my learning curve began..
It took everything I threw at it, which was a lot. All pics were the first years of driving it.
Wonnangatta 1970-1
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Portland beaches
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Mt Buller
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I can't delete the attached pic below of it in the first year.. (P plates) Sandy Point -Shallow Inlet

My first was an old series 2 or 3 shorty I can't remember what series it was but it didn't have a roof on it.
It was a great little 4WD and it took me to some amazing places But I got sick of getting wind blown and wet so I traded it for a Nissan G60
This is going back a few decades though.

Originally Posted by trout1105

I traded it for a Nissan G60

my first 4wd was nissan g60

had a ball in the thing up and down the coast...

My first Land Rover was a 1983 110 County named ''Bertie'' purchased in the UK in 2000 It belonged to a family man enthusiast who had installed a 200 tdi motor in it, had used it for camping, holidays, family bus etc etc.

I knew nothing about them at the time as I owned a lwb suzuki, but was a member in a club where the majority of 4x4's were Land Rovers. So after a good chat with the owner I decided to buy it and gave the man the cash. It was then that his two kids who were present burst into tears as I prepared to drive it away At the time I thought it strange why kids would cry over a car but 20 years on I think I understand. I told them I'd look after it and off I drove.

Me and my two young boys had lots of fun in it, off roading it and a few weekend trips to Wales We also took part in the guiness book of records '' longest procession of land rovers'' and received a nice plaque and a photo taken at the start line.

Jump forward to 2002 and I had to sell it rather quickly to fund a holiday in Australia . So now I was a bit sad as were the boys, without knowing it Bertie had become part of the family !! The holiday made us forget about Bertie, but it was a holiday that would change our lives forever as we applied to emigrate as soon as we got back to the UK.

I've since owned quite a few variants of Land Rovers, all different and each seems to have it's own character. I now have my forever Land Rover.
A Series (pre-Defender) Land Rover is quite possibly one of the most spartan, uncomfortable, slow, and unreliable cars ever made. I love mine though. (now upgraded)
I don’t prefer being attached to things if I can help it, but a Land Rover is not a thing, a Land Rover is not a car, a Land Rover is an experience! Truly, it is. However you use it. And if you let it, it will give you a lifetime of epic stories worth sharing.


Bertie was exactly the same as these pics

Originally Posted by incisor

my first 4wd was nissan g60

had a ball in the thing up and down the coast...

Did yours rust itself to death like mine did

Back in the early seventies an 86 inch Series One Truck Cab with it's original motor and driveline was my first Land Rover, and my first 4WD.
Along with three mates we decided to take a trip from Mildura up through Broken Hill, Tibooburra, Innamincka, then across to Maree and up the Birdsville Track into Qld. So I set about making up a hard canopy for the tub of the old girl as it needed to accommodate four, and in standard form it was only a three seater. I never fitted a fourth seat, instead it was decided we would take our spare clothes in Duffle Bags and they would provide a soft mattress like surface for occupant number four, who would change on a daily basis. We also decided to take a trailer with a Honda SL100 in it as our back-up vehicle, just in case the Landy decided to let us down in any way. First night out was a roadside camp on the Tibooburra Road (Silver City Highway) about fifty kays north of Yanco Glen. Whilst setting up camp and getting wood for a fire, one of the guys put a razor sharp axe through the instep his foot, so that buggered that. We packed up and headed back to Broken Hill to seek medical attention for the badly lacerated foot, which we had sufficiently bandaged up in the meantime. On arrival at the Yanco Glen Pub we thought there may be someone with a faster vehicle that could take our injured mate on ahead to the Broken Hill Base Hospital ED, however the female publican/bartender's response was, "take a look around, everyone here is way too ****ed to drive to Broken Hill", however she did ring for an ambulance to meet us along the way, so we set off again in the Landy.
After rendezvousing with the ambulance and being treated at the BHBH our mate was hospitalised for a couple of days, as it was a nasty gash that had severed a few of the bones that were attached to his toes. This incident waylaid our journey for several days and in the meantime big rains had fallen up north, which resulted in the roads north of Tibooburra being closed to traffic, so we decided to detour via Yunta, then up through the Flinders Ranges to Maree, then head up the Birdsville Track into Queensland, but as it turned out the Birdsville Track also ended up closed south of Birdsville, so we diverted up the Oodnadatta Track to Alice Springs.
The rest of the trip took in Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Mt Isa, then we headed home via Barcaldine, Longreach, Charleville, Cunnamulla, Bourke, etc. and for the whole trip the old Landy never missed a beat, just used a bit of oil.
Eventually when worn out, the motor was replaced with a Holden 186 engine using a Johnson Conversion kit, as this was a far cheaper option than reconditioning the original motor.
Back in those days the cost of Land Rover parts were prohibitive, a series one water pump alone was $90, whereas the engine conversion kit was $120.

Cheers, Mick.