Need opinions on a RR Classic.

Carl, I'm sure you know but, look very carefully at the chassis and other steel bits, if it looks rusty walk away.

Is that the only real weakness (other than what shows up as a bad drive, engine, gearbox etc?). I'm expecting 70/80's Leyland/Jag/Rover electrical conector problems and a fair degree of already performed electrical bodgery.

Oh and stupid question, but with it being an EFI and a luxury motor back then, did they have any factory security fitted besides door locks and an ignition key. I know that one in particular has central locking

You get used to just about having fort knox hanging off your keychain, and some of the insurance companies have asked what security it has fitted. But my old Saab T16S didn't have anything fitted except by the owner.

Don't think classic electrics are too flakey. If you want flakey electrics and are short of a challenge in your life, buy a P38!

Rear cross member, inner wings and inner wheelarch were the rustiest bits on my classic.

3.5 Engine seems pretty bomb proof. Mine was well worn when bought (PO had disconnect oil pressure telltale..), but rattled on very happily, went all over the country towing a couple of tonnes of dive boat without complaint or getting any worse. Gearbox clonked between back and forward, but again, always did what was required.

Lots here to scare you:

but in truth, I bought my classic cheap. Thoroughly abused it for 3 years or so, and apart from developing an unhealth appetite for cheap starter motors (fixed by fitting an expensive one), was actually fairly reliable and never once needed a computer programmer to get it out of my garage, unlike my P38.....

Geoff is right, its rust that they eventually die of.

HTH

David

My vogue efi (1986 d plate) had none.

Someone had fitted an aftermarket alarm, but no immobiliser.

David

Cheers.

Wow, sounds a scary lot, without digging into everything, what percentage of that list is terminal and what is just bloody annoying?

Guess it is time to buy and learn to operate a mig then.

main problem with cheap range rover - big holes in steel parts of body ie. inner wings, inner and outer sills, rear crossmember (doesn't look good on pic), rear wheelarch (inside rear side doors)

- cost of fixing any of these problems - a lot. if sills or inner wings have gone its more or less scrap. chassis wont rot usually unless neglected or used on beach.

engine - make sure it doesn't use any water over a week - if it does its head gaskets (=A3600) or block (scrap vehicle)

vehicle must be test-driven and thoroughly inspected underneath.

to buy unseen - value =A3300 to =A3400. if checked out and everything ok =A3600 to =A3800. =20 hope this helps

Nice one. Cheers fella.

I have a mate who is in Liverpool who works in the trade (Shadey scouse=20 type bloke, limo driver, car delivery driver, parts mover) who loves LPG=20 Rangies, so I may get him to kick the tyres and knock him down as it=20 goes.=20

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

Playing at home:Black Wire-The Face

On or around Tue, 23 Jan 2007 19:38:56 -0000, Elder enlightened us thusly:

it's a big advantage to have a rangie nut to look it over.

bascially...

tailgates all rot.

other rot points: rear crossmember and floor. sills, floor inside the doors. front inner wings under the bonnet. rear door post on 4-doors, at the back of the rear doors, top of the wheel arch.

E reg Autobox should be a ZF 4-speeder, which is a good box. 3.5s are not as powerful as 3.9s but tend to have fewer problems, apart from general wear and tear.

"rads" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

And the FF alarms are not acceptable to the majority of insurance companies Thatchem or nowt. Check the rear arches if the back panel on which the mud flaps mount is holy then be cautious about the boot floor quite a big job to repair. The front inner wings rot like billyo but are not MOT items and not difficult to repair however wet getting in especially n/s will bugger up the electronics which are sited close to. the drain holes in the doors block up and can cause the casings to rot so check underneath to be sure. I have to say if I wasn't so dammed busy I would be nipping over the Pool to have a look at that motor for myself with LPG in decent nick with none Startrek mileage it should fetch about 1k

Derek (nice to see someone else in no doubt about BL electrics)

Where's its lpg tank? Boot? forget carrying much luggage. Where the petrol tank used to be? Tiny lpg tank(s), range 120 miles if you're lucky. Under sills? Probably the best, till you need to weld the floor and sills.

I think the ebay one will still have a conventional transfer box. Later ones, with the viscous transfer box, are fine till they fail.

You'll need them. I used to get 2 - 2.5 miles/litre on lpg - say

20p/mile? For similar use, I get around 6 miles/litre of derv in my 300tdi auto - say 15p/mile. For comparison, and admittedly without any towing, we get 11-13 miles/litre in an Astra 1.7Dti, or around 7p/mile. Add in the extra miles you'll do making special journeys to fill up, and allow for the fact that, in practice, on a long journey you'll finish up paying motorway prices for lpg whereas your tank of derv would have lasted you 500 miles, and the economics of lpg look even shakier. Then there's the cost of keeping your ignition system in top condition to run on lpg. Someone will tell you that you need a Mallory distributor (£££) then Magnecor magic HT leads (£££). Then it will backfire, and you've got laundry bills.

You pay a high price for the V8 burble.

Minor "beg to differ" on someone else's post about rot in the inner wings. If it's at the upper corner, it could be in a "prescribed area" by being near the master cylinder. Sill rot gets you by having the seat belt mounts near it, as does rear wheel arch rot. Rear cross member rot (the body cross member, round the mounts) is an absolute pig of a job to do properly, and if you get it wrong the tailgate won't fit the hole any longer.

Overall, Range Rovers are a nightmare - I just haven't found anything more suitable for towing. When the great day dawns and our European masters effectively ban towing by old buggers like me who'd never pass a test in a million years, it'll be gone.

Do they rot in an 80's Skoda or 80's Saab kind of way?

80's Skoda, the rot started before they left the factory, the steel was thick but cheap with wax underseal to trap the moisture. By now, with all the Estelles, Rapids and Favorits made in the 80's and early 90's, there are less than 100 Estelles and Rapids left on the road. 80's Saabs do rot in one or two places, but the steel is quality and thick and the cars that are now 25 years old are just starting to become rust buckets instead of old. Inner Arches, door bottoms, and bonnet edges are just starting to become too rusty, and scarce to replace. Many more died of sacrifice to survival in accidents, rather than tin worm.

Having owned both and loved it, I know which one require maximum mig slap.

I don't mind "not as powerful". I want it as a cruiser/plodder, somthing just to be comfortable in wherever, something to just cruise at a steady speed, not go flooring it everywhere. It will be my first big 4x4 (I had a Celica GT4), first LPG Vehicle, and even first Auto (I'm an old fart but only been driving 5 years), so I fancy something cheapish first to find out if there is anything about any of them I can't get on with. If I like it, and once I'm back in regular fulltime paying employment, then I'll either fix it up, or flog it to an offroader for a special/buggy and buy a better one.

And let's face it. If it is a good one, then there is always the option of the bigger engine with all the Rover V8 tuning bits on.

Boot located tank. Not sure whether across ways or long ways. If, and only if, I blag it super cheap, I'll probably gamble on it, to experience one. With the cheaper insurance it will be just infront. Come MOT time, if it is a rotter, it'll be flogged for peanuts for someone to make into a project buggy, but I'll try to check that out in advance. If by some miracle it turns out to actually be solid, I'll keep it.

I just need a bit of "fun" in my driving. Under duress from the missus, I replaced my slightly shagged old Saab

900 convertible (leaky roof and rusty and slightly bent (I think) A pillars) and was looking for something interesting, but she pursuaded me to go all sensible and get the Octavia. Sure it flew through the MOT with just 4 advisories, and sure it never fails to start, and sure I haven't had to fix anything apart from a Check engine light that came on *straight* after the garage service (I think it was a dirty connector all Vagcom could find was an idle issue the garage was supposed to have fixed), but it is dull to drive, and it isn't that comfortable (Sciatica), no fun, has an annoying engine note that really jars arround 2.7k-3.2k which just happens to be normal motorway cruise, and apart from fitting a cd player, I daren't start playing arround with upgrading the audio, because I'm scared I'll break some multi hundred pound plastic trim piece that is only available by import, or set off the bloody airbags.

I yearn for comfort, and simplicity, as it wallows and rolls like an old barge anyway, so I might as well drive one. The Burble will be the bonus. And you never know, I might have an excuse to learn to weld.

Elder wrote on Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:43:56 -0000:

??>> Geoff is right, its rust that they eventually die of. E> Guess it is time to buy and learn to operate a mig then.

The problem may be once you have chopped out the rust there may be nothing left to weld to !

On or around Wed, 24 Jan 2007 08:14:27 -0000, "Autolycus" enlightened us thusly:

Reports from BiL Tim are that the P38 diesel is an excellent tow truck on-road, but not necessarily so capable off-road - although his is on fairly well-worn Scorp STs. The previous Classic also ran on the same tyre pattern though, so it's not that.

Can I ask what you noticed specifically about this one from the photos, just to give me a clue in future if I give this one a miss.

There are bound to be some I'll see advertised, that I will want to travel to inspect, but won't want to waste time on a total lemon before I set out.

Finished at =A3421 without a reserve. And becuase didn't get chance to=20 look, I bottled out.

I would have gone to =A3500 but didn't even place a bid because I woosed=20 it like a big girl.

--=20 Carl Robson Audio stream:

Finished at £421 without a reserve. And becuase didn't get chance to look, I bottled out.

I would have gone to £500 but didn't even place a bid because I woosed it like a big girl.