JT’s fleet: Auction purchase…

[horriblemercedes]

On 28/06/2025 at 19:42, J-T said:

 

Upper tailgate is a bastard to shut. I know the ali ones are a pain but this is beyond.

 

They are terrible for it. Some adjustment may help. You'll find that those tailgates are pretty much a consumable part (they really rust) and some replacements fit better than others. You'll probably also notice a gentle click from each side as it unlatches as you drive over bumps.

 

If it is getting rusty, replace it before the glass falls out as this will eventually happen......

[N Dentressangle]

4 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

They are terrible for it. Some adjustment may help. You'll find that those tailgates are pretty much a consumable part (they really rust) and some replacements fit better than others. You'll probably also notice a gentle click from each side as it unlatches as you drive over bumps.

 

If it is getting rusty, replace it before the glass falls out as this will eventually happen......

Started on the last page, and read only this post.

Knew straight away what car the OP had bought 🤣

[J-T]

7 hours ago, horriblemercedes said:

They are terrible for it. Some adjustment may help. You'll find that those tailgates are pretty much a consumable part (they really rust) and some replacements fit better than others. You'll probably also notice a gentle click from each side as it unlatches as you drive over bumps.

 

If it is getting rusty, replace it before the glass falls out as this will eventually happen......

It’s already had an aluminium one fitted, I’ll have to try and adjust it as the glass will end up in the boot in 1000 pieces , you have to slam it that hard (and that’s with a hand on either corner).

To be honest, I had a good poke around it and another drive of it yesterday and I don’t know how long I’ll be keeping this. It looks good but really it wants more TLC than I’m prepared to give it, talk about buyer’s remorse. It’s been got at by a gorilla, I went to adjust the upper tailgate and you can’t adjust the striker because the screws have been chewed. I’ve ordered an impact driver but otherwise I’ll have to drill it. I went to adjust the bottom tailgate - cue many missing trim fixings and a cross threaded hinge bolt, looks like they’ve just fired a metric bolt in there. I thought the blowers weren’t working and it appeared the headlights and half the indicators weren’t working… they do work, just not on ignition only, it has to be running (but one side works ignition only). I can tell this will just be the ongoing pattern. One of the swivels seems to have shat all its grease on the way home. 

It drives fairly well but it sort of feels like a collection of parts hanging together as it makes it’s away along, but I get the impression that’s how they are, 1960s design and all that. And Land Rover seem to have forgotten people have elbows - I have to open the door to get the ignition key in.

We’ll see, I’ve ordered a few bits and I’ll see how I get on but I would be lying to say I’m thrilled with it. One day I’ll fucking realise to listen when your gut is telling you something; nearing the age of 40 I thought I’d learnt that, but no “oooh shiny, ohhhh V8 noise, here take all my money”.

[N Dentressangle]

All the tailgates I've ever seen have been butchered that way - they're a shit design and people have been trying for years to make it work properly.

RRC electrics look complicated at first but aren't really that bad. There are a dozen or more relays which control stuff - some in the footwells, some under the dash, some under the seat and some under the bonnet. You're right that it's basically a 60's design which has been added to in a half-arsed piecemeal way over the years, hence why the 'supplement' in the Haynes is nearly as big as the original section... Just think yourself lucky it's not CANBUS, or a P38, or anything modern with many computers and sensors. All you need is a test meter, the wiring diagram and a bit of patience.

Put this stuff in the swivels: https://ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/product/one-shot-grease/ and forget about them. They'll nearly always leak out EP90 if you use that, unless everything's in perfect condition.

[horriblemercedes]

I've never seen one where slamming is the best technique - because the frame is so light and flimsy, the latch just bounces. 

 

Have you tried pushing it to and then giving a short, sharp push in each corner simultaneously? I've usually found they respond best that way 

[J-T]

1 hour ago, N Dentressangle said:

All the tailgates I've ever seen have been butchered that way - they're a shit design and people have been trying for years to make it work properly.

RRC electrics look complicated at first but aren't really that bad. There are a dozen or more relays which control stuff - some in the footwells, some under the dash, some under the seat and some under the bonnet. You're right that it's basically a 60's design which has been added to in a half-arsed piecemeal way over the years, hence why the 'supplement' in the Haynes is nearly as big as the original section... Just think yourself lucky it's not CANBUS, or a P38, or anything modern with many computers and sensors. All you need is a test meter, the wiring diagram and a bit of patience.

Put this stuff in the swivels: https://ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/product/one-shot-grease/ and forget about them. They'll nearly always leak out EP90 if you use that, unless everything's in perfect condition.

That’s part of the issue - the technology is a bit too before my time for me to understand what’s going on, so everything I look at, I’m starting at step 1. Is there a particular manual you’d recommend - I know there’s Haynes, but “Step 1: Remove engine” gets a bit wearing. I reckon I’ll have to do the swivel seal, it looks like runny CV grease, it’s plastered everywhere.

48 minutes ago, horriblemercedes said:

I've never seen one where slamming is the best technique - because the frame is so light and flimsy, the latch just bounces. 

 

Have you tried pushing it to and then giving a short, sharp push in each corner simultaneously? I've usually found they respond best that way 

Yeah, one side is a bit better than the other but one side really needs the striker adjusting, I just wasn’t ready to start warring with ruined fixings. 

[N Dentressangle]

Ah, I see. The Haynes is fine tbh. You'll get used to flipping back and forth from the main section to the supplement 😉

Rebuilding the swivels is actually pretty easy. You'll need a hub spanner like this one https://www.jgs4x4.co.uk/wheel-bearing-hub-nut-box-spanner-defender-discovery-range-rover/ and a fishing / luggage scale to set the pre-load. Have a look at:

You only need to replace the balls (the expensive bit) if they're really bad. Use one-shot grease and it won't leak out unless the balls are totally knackered. You can order the swivel seal kit and bearings separately for about £40 a side.

[J-T]

Well that was a bloody war, but after messing with them for about 3hrs this afternoon, the lower and upper tailgates now shut to an acceptable level.

I started with the lower; re-tapped the ruined hinge thread after ordering new bolts to replace the assortment that were on it. Took all the bolts out, put it in the closed position and managed to get the whole thing shifted down about 3mm. Then undid both side catches and adjusted them, adding some washers until it would shut with a normal amount of force and until the inner handle opened both at the same time without repeatedly braying the handle whilst  pulling the tailgate down as before.

Once this was right I tried shutting the upper tailgate which was now fouling the top of the lower tailgate. I didn’t want to start adjusting that again, so I disconnected the gas struts and loosened the hinge screws. Pushing the whole thing up with the screws loose got me about another 3mm, so tightened it back up and it would shut again but the corner catches were still a twat to get closed. Cue lots of fiddling with the strikers, pushing them out and adjusting the handle rods so it would actually unlatch off the button on one press. You still have to give it a very hard shove with your hand on either end but it’s a lot better than it was.

I do find it quite funny that in the mid nineties, these were still being churned out with panel gaps you could walk through and everything shimmed to ‘fit’.

[EyesWeldedShut]

On 30/06/2025 at 21:09, N Dentressangle said:

Rebuilding the swivels is actually pretty easy. You'll need a hub spanner like this one https://www.jgs4x4.co.uk/wheel-bearing-hub-nut-box-spanner-defender-discovery-range-rover/ and a fishing / luggage scale to set the pre-load. Have a look at

I happen to have one of those that's been doing buggerawl here since about 1996 - it's not pristine but is available for postage only if it's any good to anyone - drop me a PM

[J-T]

Had 10 mins before, so stuck my head under this for a closer look at this swivel.

photo has flipped, but yeah definitely leaking! When I cleaned it off it looks like the seal has somehow deformed at the bottom (again photo has flipped). Swivel ball isnt pitted though.

I was reading some have had success by just removing the plate holding the seal in and cutting the new seal at the top to get it round the swivel, then glue it at the top rather than stripping everything down so I might just have a go at that first.

On another note, does anyone know if you can drop the transmission pan on these without removing the crossmember/brace or the exhaust that runs underneath it? The Haynes doesn’t mention removing these but when I had a look before it looked like it might struggle for clearance and I’d like to do an ATF & filter change.

[kevins]

cutting the seals and putting them on usually resolves most of the leakage.

never done the gearbox sump, just the whole gearbox!

[J-T]

I managed to get the swivel seal changed over the weekend (the bodgey way) and topped up with one shot grease so I’ve been driving it quite a lot over the last couple of days.

Headline is, I just don’t fucking like the thing. I really like the look of them, I always have but the drive…nah, not for me, it feels like an old pick up truck and my head is stuck in the roof lining with the seat at its lowest setting. I knew it would be no L322 but I was probably just expecting too much from some very old tech. It doesn’t feel particularly wafty, it feels like a slightly more refined defender (I don’t really know why I expected anything else 😁) and it’s going to take too much to get up to the standard I’d want it to be, so I’d rather bail early on than convince myself I’ll like it better after I just do…(insert myriad of jobs on it) that I’m realistically never going to have time to do.

I’m going to give the interior a good valet then fire it through a classic auction I think when I’m back from holiday in august. If I take a haircut on it so be it, I’d rather just have something I like more! Shame as it’s an handsome thing but there we are, it’s one crossed off the list if nothing else!

Onwards! 

[Bear]

On 05/07/2025 at 20:26, J-T said:

I do find it quite funny that in the mid nineties, these were still being churned out with panel gaps you could walk through and everything shimmed to ‘fit’.

When BMW visited the factory Land Rover showed them the leaks and fit chamber. The engineers proudly held up three skunks, then locked them in a Defender.

"Ah, we use the same system, we let them run around for a day inside the vehicle and if we can smell them in the room before letting them out, the car fails. How does yours work?"

"If one of them is still in the car after a day, it passes"

(joke modified because I don't like the original one)

[N Dentressangle]

14 hours ago, J-T said:

I managed to get the swivel seal changed over the weekend (the bodgey way) and topped up with one shot grease so I’ve been driving it quite a lot over the last couple of days.

Headline is, I just don’t fucking like the thing. I really like the look of them, I always have but the drive…nah, not for me, it feels like an old pick up truck and my head is stuck in the roof lining with the seat at its lowest setting. I knew it would be no L322 but I was probably just expecting too much from some very old tech. It doesn’t feel particularly wafty, it feels like a slightly more refined defender (I don’t really know why I expected anything else 😁) and it’s going to take too much to get up to the standard I’d want it to be, so I’d rather bail early on than convince myself I’ll like it better after I just do…(insert myriad of jobs on it) that I’m realistically never going to have time to do.

I’m going to give the interior a good valet then fire it through a classic auction I think when I’m back from holiday in august. If I take a haircut on it so be it, I’d rather just have something I like more! Shame as it’s an handsome thing but there we are, it’s one crossed off the list if nothing else!

Onwards! 

 

Sounds fair enough to me. Completely understandable.

These drive like a refined Defender because that's exactly what they are and what they were designed to be. The Defender (and Disco 1) chassis are derived from the RRC, so in terms of driving, apart from engine noise and spring rates, there won't be that much in it. My RRC drinks fuel and handles like a boat, but it's great off road. I barely use it on road, because it's not that good at it, especially with big knobbly tyres on.

Hope you get as much back on it as possible!

[dome]

19 hours ago, J-T said:

I managed to get the swivel seal changed over the weekend (the bodgey way) and topped up with one shot grease so I’ve been driving it quite a lot over the last couple of days.

Headline is, I just don’t fucking like the thing. I really like the look of them, I always have but the drive…nah, not for me, it feels like an old pick up truck and my head is stuck in the roof lining with the seat at its lowest setting. I knew it would be no L322 but I was probably just expecting too much from some very old tech. It doesn’t feel particularly wafty, it feels like a slightly more refined defender (I don’t really know why I expected anything else 😁) and it’s going to take too much to get up to the standard I’d want it to be, so I’d rather bail early on than convince myself I’ll like it better after I just do…(insert myriad of jobs on it) that I’m realistically never going to have time to do.

I’m going to give the interior a good valet then fire it through a classic auction I think when I’m back from holiday in august. If I take a haircut on it so be it, I’d rather just have something I like more! Shame as it’s an handsome thing but there we are, it’s one crossed off the list if nothing else!

Onwards! 

I think you've been spoiled by the L322. I was too. 

I had several Classics going back 15-20 years and always loved them.

I then had a WJ Grand Cherokee about 15 years ago which felt very much like an updated Rangey Classic - woofly V8, live axles front and rear but with better road manners. 

I had my L322 in 2020 for a couple of years and fancied another Jeep after it went so bought another 4.7 Grand Cherokee. 

The Grand Cherokee felt ponderous and wallowy, even after throwing a fair bit of money at the suspension. 

L322s really spoil you as they're so fucking capable, you'll struggle to go back to an older 4x4

 

[kevins]

I love my 87 v8 classic, just driven over 300 miles in a day, half of it towing a caravan. I did come from a series 2 landie though!

I am happy at a slower pace (55-60) on motorways, its easy and relaxing to drive like this it's  nothing like a modern car but compared to othet 70s/80s cars it scores pretty highly.  Even the mrs approves,  "I don't throw her around like in the mx5/tr7 , the aircon works well and the squashy cloth seats are comfy"

The one thing that transformed it was fitting a Mark Adams Tornado ECU, it starts and drives just like a modern car and the improvement in fuel econonmy was amazing (did 25mpg on the first part of my journey without the caravan).

If you get a chance please could you send me a pic of the weight part of the vin plate on yours at some point the plate on mine has been replaced and they only stamped the vin,  the caravan at 750kg is well within its 3500 capability but I'd rather not have to prove it to VOSA/plod beside the road somewhere.

[J-T]

1 hour ago, dome said:

I think you've been spoiled by the L322. I was too. 

I had several Classics going back 15-20 years and always loved them.

I then had a WJ Grand Cherokee about 15 years ago which felt very much like an updated Rangey Classic - woofly V8, live axles front and rear but with better road manners. 

I had my L322 in 2020 for a couple of years and fancied another Jeep after it went so bought another 4.7 Grand Cherokee. 

The Grand Cherokee felt ponderous and wallowy, even after throwing a fair bit of money at the suspension. 

L322s really spoil you as they're so fucking capable, you'll struggle to go back to an older 4x4

 

I think you’re right, I thought I’d find it charmingly aged but it’s more like disappointingly archaic. That’s entirely the  fault of my expectation rather than the car though. 

 

1 hour ago, kevins said:

I love my 87 v8 classic, just driven over 300 miles in a day, half of it towing a caravan. I did come from a series 2 landie though!

I am happy at a slower pace (55-60) on motorways, its easy and relaxing to drive like this it's  nothing like a modern car but compared to othet 70s/80s cars it scores pretty highly.  Even the mrs approves,  "I don't throw her around like in the mx5/tr7 , the aircon works well and the squashy cloth seats are comfy"

The one thing that transformed it was fitting a Mark Adams Tornado ECU, it starts and drives just like a modern car and the improvement in fuel econonmy was amazing (did 25mpg on the first part of my journey without the caravan).

If you get a chance please could you send me a pic of the weight part of the vin plate on yours at some point the plate on mine has been replaced and they only stamped the vin,  the caravan at 750kg is well within its 3500 capability but I'd rather not have to prove it to VOSA/plod beside the road somewhere.

Similar to what others have said, I reckon if I had some proper work for it to do - towing, bit of green laning etc I would be more of a fan, as it would no doubt be in its element.

Will do on the vin plate.

[J-T]

Just dug this thread out to write an update and spent an hour reading all about my 147 GTA again, god I miss that car 😩

Sit rep: fired the RR classic through an auction and as predicted, took a bath on it, but never mind, I was never gonna get on with it.

Since then, I have been mostly…trawling through other auctions to find something to replace it (including a cross country jaunt to Anglia Car Auctions the other month, Jesus there was some rough cars in there and most seemed to go for DAFT money, I’ll write this up if I remember).

Anyway, today a purchase was made. Tomorrow I shall be relying on our nation’s fine public transport network to collect it. Wish me luck!

 

[MrBig]

The problem is nothing compares to the L322. I honestly think it's the only LR product where comfort was the number one priority. Latter models have had too much focus on being sporty and it's moved them away from the serene ride of the 322. 

[Bear]

6 minutes ago, MrBig said:

The problem is nothing compares to the L322. I honestly think it's the only LR product where comfort was the number one priority. Latter models have had too much focus on being sporty and it's moved them away from the serene ride of the 322. 

I've driven a current RR diesel Autobiography (the personalised spec being white with a brown interior, so someone really likes soiled nappies).

The ride was easily as serene as the L322 I had for a short time at the same time. It made me appreciate what an amazing thing an L322 could be if only people would spend something on maintenance and get what they paid for when they did, because £2K banger to £120K new model loses maybe 15% of the experience in the new one (mostly adaptive cruise and more seat movements) and you still have half a house to spend.

New one did achieve over 42mpg average on a round trip to Scotland though.

And bits of the interior on the new one had broken off (B-pillar trim) so... like I said. Very similar experience.

[Bear]

And why didn't I put my money where my mouth is? Because I didn't have it - but also, I needed rear sill repairs and arches. Nearly everything else I could DIY. But no matter what artisan welders you see on Instagram making amazing seamless repairs, £200 and tetraseal or £2000 and "restored", you don't get anything that will last from most garages - just another MoT or two.

Needs to be done by an artisan who wants to save the car, not an employee in a country that sees repair-engineering as worth less than a middle manager who just acts as a conduit - and the hourly rate of a welder as a means for profit rather than them earning.

[J-T]

Right, I had planned on doing live updates until I remembered my phone battery lasts about 3hrs and I needed it! So better late than never…

A morning train was caught. All on time and running nicely.

Hello Chester train station. I had intended to get an uber from here, until I realised I could save £15 and sit with some old people.

This was a funny little bus that felt like the back end was going to fall off every time it crashed over a bump, which was many times. When I was still on it 45mins later and realised my stop was sort of in the vicinity rather than actually where I needed to be, I wished I’d just accepted the £15.

Walking up a road with no path. Quite a long way.

Ok this looks promising. At this point I realised my Google maps distance had measured to exactly this point. It neglected to mention the 15min walk (I kid you not) up the drive that this was the entrance to, it must have been another mile. Still, nil desperandum, a vehicle needs collecting…

Posh venue. 

Some admin was done, key handed over (whilst listening to an Asian fella going apeshit at one of them on the phone, threatening legal action because his car hadn’t made enough in a no reserve auction, as the young lad who was there to collect it looked on). Tried to tax it from the new keeper’s slip which wouldn’t work and kept telling me to go to the post office so I decided to fuck that off and just drive home.

I’ll get into the car in a bit.

[J-T]

Let’s carry on.

I’d been able to have a good poke around said vehicle at the auction so knew it seemed to be a good one on appearance at least, but hadn’t heard it run. So turned the key with some trepidation, but thankfully needn’t have worried. Started up from cold with no horrible noises or bings and bongs from the dash.

 

They are screenshots of the auction photos as I’m too much of a technocripple to get them to download to my phone. As I’m sure you can make out, it’s the car I should have bought in the first place: L322 Vogue V8. 65k miles, not too keen on the wheels but it’s wearing a set of Pirelli’s so they’re staying for now, gangsta tints can go in the bin, other than that I’m very happy with it. Usual L322 rust areas are unrusty and heated steering wheel, heated seats, rear wiper, climate and PDC are all working unlike my last one. Have a pez shot

Been looking for a tidy one of these for aaaages so I’m pretty pleased with this. Of course it simply wouldn’t be a Land Rover product if absolutely everything went swimmingly. I was enjoying its imperious waftyness in the outside lane of the M6 about 10 mins from home when I heard a strange noise at the front corner as if I’d ran over something. I didn’t see anything on the road and didn’t see anything in the mirror so thought nothing of it. Then pulling up at home, found this:

Sidelight made a bid for freedom but did cling on valiantly considering it hit the wheel (there’s a big scuff mark on it). They only clip in, so I’m hoping it’s just been knocked by someone going all Mike Brewer on it with the bonnet up. It seemed to clip back in ok so I’ll just have to keep an eye on that. Oh, and neither key seems to work on the remote, but I’m pretty sure there’s some bizarre combination of pressing and clicking that will recalibrate them so I’ll give that a go tomorrow.

Trip computer says it’s been averaging 14mpg; I was hoping it might do a couple more than that as that’s exactly what the supercharged one did, but this is the slightly older BMW engine rather than the Jaaag lump so maybe that’s wishful thinking. But you don’t buy one of these to save fuel do you. 

So that’s another L322 on’t forum. I’ve been to about 3 or 4 different auctions looking at these and some other things over the past few months, when I get a minute I’ll write up some of my findings as they (classic auctions) seem to be doubling in number and are somewhat variable in fees setup and quality of entry!