ONE LIFE, LIVE IT!1! bought

[garethj]

Perhaps you're right.  It looks much better with just steel wheels and Avon Rangemaster tyres

 

[Pillock]

Much better on those wheels!

[garethj]

I've put some paint on the two driver's side doors, although it really needs another few coats. And painted the wheels too.

 

The spotlights and bull bar have gone, it's getting there! Two tankfulls of diesel have gone through, the first was just under 30mpg and the second was just over 31mpg.

[dollywobbler]

Wow. Given that 27mpg is the usual benchmark for these, that's impressive.

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Whats it like driving one of these like 100+ miles? I'm talking about a coil-sprung 5-speed semi modern landy with at least a 200TDi engine.

[dollywobbler]

I did a few long trips in my 90. Wasn't too uncomfortable, just cramped as you sort-of end up crushed up against the door. Wasn't too noisy either. Don't get a V8 though. Thirsty and also rubbish. I find that high driving position far more comfortable on a long trip than sitting low down. 

[brickwall]

The V8 in the Defender is woeful and sometimes it's difficult to stop . Unless, of course, you get one of the special editions with the tuned 4.0 and autobox - rare and expensive. Still doesn't stop, though.

[garethj]

Here's a pic that didn't appear in my last post

 

I've never really understood about being cramped by the door, there's no armrest and a very narrow window sill but the steering wheel is a bit angled so you can kind of rest your arm on the rim like when you drive an Austin 1100.

 

Legroom is a bit of a squeeze, although it's comfortable enough, and you can get conversion kits which move the seat runners back a bit if you want to.

 

It's got enough power to do 80+mph, but it's noisy.  I stick to 60mph on the motorways but there's lots in reserve if you want to get past other traffic.  Better to drive like that than cruise at 75 and take an age to get to 80 if some twat in a repmobile lives in the middle lane 2mph slower than you.

 

The driving experience is quite good fun, which is why I bought it.

[DS20]

If you're over six foot and too fat with it (yes, that's me), they're not desperately comfortable on long trips. Lack of knee room isn't great, and I rather felt the right-hand half of me was a bit squashed. Better with the window rolled down, though.

[garethj]

I've had this for about 10 weeks now, what's the stuff to report?

 

I've done about 3000 miles in it and it's lived up to the usual Land Rover clichés:

 

1. It leaks.  Water dribbles its way into the driver's footwell and a little into the passenger's too.  Not a lot, and by the time I've driven to work with the heater on it's all gone.

 

2. It's unreliable.  Well, it is and it isn't.  It's never let me down, failed to start or any of that stuff and remember it's over 20 years old with a quarter of a million on the clock, but things have gone wrong with it.  Someone spent a lot of money on it a few years ago but I don't think the last owner was of the same mind.  I've replaced the exhaust, the alternator, a gearbox bearing, the rear brakes and a couple of propshaft universal joints.  A new Toyota it isn't.

 

3. It's noisy.  Funnily enough with a new exhaust and UJ's that don't squeal it's a lot better.  The heater fan is noisy and the driver's door doesn't fit well so there's wind noise from there, but normal conversation is possible at 70mph which is far better than my old Series 3 V8.

 

The scorecard doesn't look too good but actually it's a nice old thing.  The driving position is good, being so high up you don't get so much glare from other cars' badly adjusted headlights.  It's pretty good on the motorway, usually I'm at 55-60mph but tonight I was later and the motorway was quiet so I stayed at 70.  It doesn't weave about or make you worry you can't stop from that speed, the brakes are very good.

 

The only problem I've really had is with the M1, that's the motorway and not BMW's sportscar.  Because it's had loads of traffic jams recently I've been forced to take an alternative route to work, and that route has quite a few roundabouts and junctions on it.  While the Land Rover is fine when it's up to speed, pulling away from stationary lots of times makes you remember it's no lightweight.  It's fast enough, but if you want to get off the line smartly it's harder work than in a car.  The clutch is heavy, the gearchange is long and there's not much power when the turbo is off boost.

 

Despite that the kids love it, lots of people at work comment on how they would secretly like one and it does give you a feeling of being able to tackle anything which is quite nice.  Just a shame they're so expensive to buy.

 

The MoT is up in February so I think I'll see what it needs for that and if it's not too expensive I'll get a boost pin and look into getting a Discovery transfer box fitted.  That should give it a bit more poke and better cruising too.

 

I'll leave this advert here, which looks pretty cool IMHO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEf0pKdyeyg

[Minimad5]

Still really want one of these.
Keep up the good work, sounds like it's getting the attention it needs.

[dollywobbler]

Surely a Disco transfer box will do the opposite of giving it more poke? Doesn't it increase the gearing, so it'll certainly make it more pleasant at speed, but might actually reduce acceleration? There are tweaks available to extract a few more horses though I understand...

[garethj]

Yes, it's the boost pin I mentioned that would be done at the same time as raising the gear ratio, otherwise whatever nippiness it had would be reduced even more.  The boost pin changes the amount of boost plus where it's delivered, it's like a remap but as this is a Land Rover it's done with a new profile on a machined pin rather than a software flash.

[twosmoke300]

Yes, it's the boost pin I mentioned that would be done at the same time as raising the gear ratio, otherwise whatever nippiness it had would be reduced even more. The boost pin changes the amount of boost plus where it's delivered, it's like a remap but as this is a Land Rover it's done with a hammer and chisel rather than a software flash.

FTFY

[purplebargeken]

Here's my old 110. Bloody brilliant thing. I loved it and still bear a grudge.

 

[purplebargeken]

Hmm, no MOT since 03/02/2010 and no tax since 09/2009. A YES on the export marker.

 

I'd get rid of everything apart from the Amazon to get another one.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Pwopah Land Rovah accessorah.

[Uncle Jimmy]

All that 'one life, live it' crud gives me anxiety. Makes me want to barricade the airing cupboard and stay in there eating cornflakes for three years.

[sutty2006]

Get the diesel pump turned up. Fitting a boost pin is OK, but for better powahh and more reponsiveness, rip the cat off (if its got one) turn the pump up and loose the viscous fan (fit electric). My 300tdi disco goes like stink....

[dollywobbler]

Ah, my eyes aren't doing very well this week. Utterly missed the boost pin comment. I need a holiday. Ooh, it's Christmas! That'll do.

[garethj]

Pwopah Land Rovah accessorah.

 

[Alan_Green]

I did a few long trips in my 90. Wasn't too uncomfortable, just cramped as you sort-of end up crushed up against the door. Wasn't too noisy either. Don't get a V8 though. Thirsty and also rubbish. I find that high driving position far more comfortable on a long trip than sitting low down. 

 

• Yes! Have used loads of these over the years and always felt like I was squashed in the corner with no room to move, which was ridiculous for such a big car.
• A work colleague had a very plain SWB Defender in black with silver wheels and no accessories except big mud flaps. It looked amazing. Less is more with these classic designs. One day I will get one exactly like that.
• This was the one I owned. Bought from a charity:  

[garethj]

This passed its MoT yesterday, it needed a track rod end, a fog light and a brake light bulb - not bad going!

 

Of course it's also had new brakes, a complete exhaust and various other things since I've owned it so not too surprising that it's in pretty good shape.

[garethj]

I was at a swapmeet today, to park near the door to unload all my stuff meant a little jaunt across the grass.  As I have a 4x4 I am clearly invincible so drove across the grass and got a bit of wheelspin about half way across.  I was wondering whether to switch on the difflock but by the time I'd thought this and then had a look down to find it on the gearlever the wheelspin had stopped and I was parked on the concrete.

 

A look back on the grass showed that I'd sunk about 6 inches into the mud and that the grass was more like a shallow swamp.  Think no more about it, instead think about selling my stuff to punters for the rest of the day.

 

When I came out there was a note under my windscreen wiper "to the owner of the Land Rover, please help, signed the owner of the Jaguar behind you" and a phone number.  I looked behind me and a very nice silver Jaguar hadn't been quite so lucky crossing the grass.  Fair play, if I'd have tried zipping up the motorway at 90mph he'd have done a lot better than me.

 

I gave him a call and said I'd tow him out but I didn't have a tow rope.  After he'd asked around he managed to get one and I walked over the grass to where his car was SLAMMED 2 DA MAX. sitting about 3 inches lower in the mud.  You could barely walk on the grass after almost a whole day of rain but I reversed towards his car and got stuck.  What a twat I am.

 

With a lot of forwards and backwards action and the diff lock definitely on, I pulled out of the mud and found that I'd left tracks about a foot deep.  That's really muddy.  The problem is that there was only a towing eye fixing on the front of the Jaguar and nothing on the rear so I couldn't tow him out backwards.  The handbook was as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking competition, so we stood around for a few minutes while the rain got more and more horizontal and icy.

 

After a more careful look it turned out the handbook was fibbing, there was a fixed towing eye on the rear so I could pull him out backwards without getting bogged down myself.  Here we are with a selection of tow ropes, one of which wasn't quite as strong as we'd hoped.

 

But after some skilled help with knots and finding a better towrope we were off.  Bearing in mind that the ground was so soft you could hardly walk on it and there was several inches of standing water everywhere, the fact that an amateur like me could tow a 2 tonne car out of the mud was staggering.

 

In other news, I took my lad and his 6 friends to the cinema for his birthday and they all had a laugh.  Then a couple of days later I took my 3 kids plus 2 cousins and all their scooters & skateboards to a park for to work off some of the sugar rush that kids have during half term.

 

Verdict: Windows with windy handles are the strangest thing ever.  And a car where the doors are locked until you reach in and unlock them one at a time from the inside just does not make sense.  The youth of today, eh?

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Is that Woughton College in Milton Keynes ?

[inconsistant]

Gripped AND sorted.

[garethj]

Is that Woughton College in Milton Keynes ?

It's Woughton Leisure Centre, is that the same place?

[Guest Breadvan72]

Only just seen this thread and it is giving me THE HAPPY.

 

I have just moved to an old falling down farmhouse, mainly to give my old falling down Landy somewhere more appropriate to fall to bits at.  

 

MoT just passed - needed some fugging about with front hubs and other bits and bibs, but no big rot horrors. 

 

You can get quite a lot of manky old tat in a SWB Landy, but this weekend of OMGhousemovekaos just gone I would have appreciated a LWB. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[garethj]

That's a little sweetie pie.  If you're used to the levels of comfort and luxury in an old Landie, or perhaps something like this

then a Defender will seem like outrageous opulence.  For anybody else it's like being made to sleep in the shed.

[Guest Breadvan72]

This are be true.

 

Series Landy has a speaker in it, but no radio.  I bought one for it on eBay from a Defender (so its says Land Rover on it and is guaranteed to be shit), but the bracket  bolted to the roof is is too small, and I CBA to change it.   Anyway, I suppose a radio might be useful in a traffic jam, but why would you be in one of those in an old Landy?   Most of the time, the aural driving experience is like putting your head in a zinc bucket while someone hits it with a lump hammer.  When I engage the Fairey overdrive you get demented shrieking (but also 63 actual MPH, I shit you not)  As you said on page one, Gareth, you can relax more while being relentlessly machine gunned by crack fuelled nutters than you can while driving a leaf spring Landy.