Thread: Series Land rover Chassis?

Originally Posted by 4x4 MORE

I mean are they really that limited

Or it it just the lack of good tyres?

umm... not quite sure what you are talking about. They are standard vehicles, no lockers or traction aids on what look like highway style tyres. They are driving on slippery ground which tests those areas particularly. And they all managed to get through the obstacles with a little bit of extra momentum.

However if you do a little work to a series by softening springs and putting lockers and decent tyres on they are quite surprising where they can go. My Game (78 SWB ) got further up a travel ramp than a brand new 90 a little while ago.

Cheers,

TimJ.

What I will say is that stock standard series Land Rover 88s were far superior to stock standard Suzuki LJs like in your avatar.

I remember one moderate track with a washout across the track that any full size 4WD didn't blink at had a Suzuki cross axled with no traction on either suspended wheel.

It all depends on the conditions faced - the Suzuki will outperform the Landrover 88 where ground bearing strength is the critical factor, for example, or where the narrower width allows it to go between trees that stop the Landrover, short of a chainsaw.

But in almost all cases in real life, the skill of the driver can outweigh the vehicle capabilities, and in many cases, as suggested in earlier posts, tyres can be the key factor.

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

It all depends on the conditions faced - the Suzuki will outperform the Landrover 88 where ground bearing strength is the critical factor, for example, or where the narrower width allows it to go between trees that stop the Landrover, short of a chainsaw.

But in almost all cases in real life, the skill of the driver can outweigh the vehicle capabilities, and in many cases, as suggested in earlier posts, tyres can be the key factor.

John

Cheers..also did't series 1's also come with bar tread type tires from the factory

Originally Posted by 4x4 MORE

Cheers..also did't series 1's also come with bar tread type tires from the factory

Hmm does the series 1 in the brochure you posted have bar treads?? Nothing wrong with bar treads as long as they are not being used on wet bitumen.

It varied over the ten years they were in production, but other tyres were always an option - and most Series Landrovers today, or indeed over the last few decades, have had tyres that are at least partly optimised for wet bitumen.

John

I did't realize rover changed tyres over the Series 1's life span

Originally Posted by 4x4 MORE

I did't realize rover changed tyres over the Series 1's life span

Not only that, but tyres also varied between markets - for example, with tariff savings to be made by increasing Australian content of those sold in Australia, most Series 1 delivered in Australia did not have the tyres specified in the handbook printed in England, as these were not necessarily made in Australia. And there were always options.

In 1948 bar treads were most common as these had been the standard Jeep tyres during the war. But by 1958, while there were still some fitted with these, other types (and sizes) had become common. And as I commented earlier, very few today have original tyre types. At the time I bought my first Series 1 in 1962, I don't think I had ever even seen one with either bar tread tyres or the standard 6.00x16 size. And that was only four years after they were being sold.

John