Any pointers for someone looking for a RR classic?

vote: V8

sounds more like a 109/110 - except for the 'comfort' bit :)

Never measured it but I'd guess that front seat-backs to rear-door is longer in a Discovery.

Whereabouts are you?

What's a "diesel" ? Factory ones aren't the most fun to be had, but there are lots of after-market conversions with Jap 6-pots that are rather better. But: Check for cowboy builders and check that you can insure it for less than silly money.

8-)

And barge like handling

It's easier to carry the trolley jack to the car than it is to carry the thumping great oversized Rangie part off the Rangie. Yes, you _can_ change an axle without lifting the vehicle. But is that really ever that important ?

They're surprisingly short in the back, they're damned high up and if you've a spare wheel in there too there's less room than you'd expect. A 900 Volvo estate shifts stuff just as well, and rather better if they're long.

That's really the only good reason (or you want to tow). So keep the mileage low and stop worrying about the consumption.

Which would be a better prospect?

Seconded.

Range rovers really don't suit a diseasel engine. The V8 throb is all part of the range rover experience!

On or around Thu, 28 Dec 2006 00:20:51 -0000, "William Tasso" enlightened us thusly:

fit car seats to a 110 you can get the comfort part as well, not necessarily to Rangie standard but quite good. IME it's the seats that let the 110 down.

If you can afford the fuel a V8 ( pref EFi ) is probably the finest car you could ever want. However when you sit in traffic expect the words fuel and economy to be mutualy exclusive I went from a trouble (and traffic) free 18-

20mpg 6.30am start at work to a truly horrible 6-8 mpg 9am start, it's that bad. The rear tail gate is the achilles heel of the RRC rarely does the top lock properly and most rot very very badly replacements are readily available but not cheap allow for cost in your bargaining . The lower tail gate will rot more slowly aided by scuffing from the trim behind the bumper .Remember also the tailgate is very high dogs struggle to launch themselves inside and lifting heavy items in is a pain. The electrics - check everything especially locking windows roof and if you are lucky enough the seats, rarely do they all work and sorting them out is time consuming. At some point the ( soapbox time) efi will ruin your day due to the rubbish connectors used in the build Lucas dealers carry all the bits you need to replace them as they fail Rangies are surprisingly heavy to push to the side of the road. The V8 should be whisper quiet on tickover if its a little tappety (more a ticking sound) you can put up with it probably for years noisy and its a days work to fit new camshaft and followers.Look inside the rocker chest the valve gear should be silvery or light golden brown like BBQ chicken if its dark brown somebody has been ill treating the engine . The front inner wings will like as not be rotten easy replacement, the boot floor is not so easy ditto the lower bulkhead above the front footwells check if its wet under the carpet. Derek

I'm in Warrington. I probably needs something fairly comfy because as of the new year the commute may go from zero (used to be 40 round trip) to

80 mile round trip. People keep saying get a Mondeo, get this get that. But the Octavia I have now is bland enough. My cars have always been a bit daft. A Skoda Estelle A Skoda Favorit on motorsport shocks and springs with buckets Then I discovered powerful cars. A Saab 900 T16S A Celica GT4 A Saab 900 T16S convertible.

Then after various leaky engine, rusty A pillars and leaky roofs, the missus convinced me to buy the Octavia. Yes it is nice. Yes it is a little comfy, but eventually even that gets painful. It wallows arround like a rubber duck in a harbour and it doesn't have the go from it's 8v 2 litre to make a suspension upgrade worth doing. It is nice, practical but not too practical, and zero fun. Even the stereo is crap. Factory standard is horrid with only wiring for front speakers (even in the ISO). I fitted a goodmans MP3 headunit to make sure I could actually hear anything at motorway noise as the 8v unit drones at just the right pitch and volume at 70 to make it really annoying and intrusive.

Comfort is important as I know I might have to spend time dead still on the M6 traffic. And 40 miles after working all day needs to comfy. Also I don't want my Sciatica kicking in again.

OK, so V8 on working LPG it is then.

In a 4x4 you expect that. In a family saloon like the Octavia it is the last thing you expect.

OK, fair point

I have to admit, a volvo 960 or 760 was in the mix somewhere for pretty much all the reasons the Rangie was.

That won't happen unfortunatly. Probably looking at 400 mile round trip a week commute. 80 miles a day.

Don't do that in a Rangie, even an LPG one. 2nd car for the commute will still be cheaper.

Fair play. One off the the list then. No room for two cars, even if one is for fun and the other tiny.

Well there's yer problem right enough and that needs sorting first.

An eighty mile trip in a 110 is fine.

An eighty mile trip every day just for the privilege of going to work is not a life choice I'd be comfortable with - in any vehicle.

Agreed. I was doing a 120 mile round trip for 18 months but I was being paid for the travelling time and using a company vehicle to do it. Even with those incentives the only reason I bothered was the fact I was looking after a good friend's business and I know he would do the same for me.

You are talking 20,000 miles per year if my maths is any good, which isn't all that high. I did double that in a V8 Disco, converted to LPG late on. I only got rid because it was getting tatty (by my standards). It's still going strong in Sheffield with (I would guess) over 150,000 on the clock.

However, you have to spend money to keep them going well. I bought at £7000 and lost £4000 in depreciation and spent about £2500 on regular maintenance and 'fixes', including a new gearbox, minor engine rebuild and various tweaks (including better braking). On LPG I got about 14mpg (against 18 mpg on petrol) making about 30mpg financially at todays prices. That's over about 2-3 years.

Those figures just don't stack up all that well economically when you can contract hire a brand new 3 Series or something at £300 / month for

2 years and only pay for fuel at about 45mpg. But it will be dull!

You could do what I did before the Discovery - run an XJR at 20mpg, grin like a tit all day, toast Scoobies on any straight bit of road and still have better comfort than your living room. Good ones seem to start at about 15k nowadays...

'What's a "diesel" indeed', I totally disagree. If you want a RR Classic, you want a factory fitted 200 Tdi, don't get me wrong, I love the V8 EFI, but you can't beat 29/33 mpg depending on the use, comfortable and quiet (well insulated by factory against noise) and the only time you can hear it is when it's ticking over, no arsing about with ignition problems or gas leaks etc. Much better than any conversion and well able to keep up with motorway traffic.

Doesn't handle like a barge at all, they're surprisingly nimble and especially so considering the size and weight, but I do have Polybushes fitted (which makes the suspension slightly harsh) and standard sized tyres fitted.

Ideal for such jobs, a good allround vehicle, and as far as the 80 mile round trips go, I went to London and back yesterday and again last Sunday, that's two 404 mile round trips in less than a week with no discomfort, but I would say that the cloth seats are probably more comfortable than the leather ones I have in mine.

By the way Austin, if you read this and you still want that 110" manifold and carb, I will be going again sometime next week.

Martin

On or around Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:57:53 -0000, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

IME, 235/70R16 is a good tyre choice, and unless you plan serious offroading, fit some such as the Goodyear GT+4 or Pirelli Scorpion ST which are "80% road" tyres.

BiL reports that the Classic is more "chuckable" than the P38, although the P38 is good for towing. Having said that, his P38 is on steel springs, and depending on who did the conversion, it might not be all that well sorted.

However, in terms of everyday use and acquiring a good one cheap, I'd go for a late 300 TDi disco I over the rangie. There are heaps of them around and even good ones don't fetch much second hand. There are heaps of SH classics, too, but mostly V8s. Factory-fit TDi rangies are fairly thin on the ground.

On or around Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:57:53 -0000, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

going where? :-)

If you're not in a hurry to get it out of the way, best bet is for me to collect it - I'm liable to be up manchester way some time in the new year, might be february now though.

"Lord Austin the Ebullient of Happy Bottomshire" wrote:-

I did mention London in the previous paragraph and you said you could get someone to pick it up from there. :-)

No hurry at all, I'll put it on one side then. I've got something else you may be interested in, a conversion to turn a bicycle into a full size trike, a proper made thing though.

Martin

On or around Sat, 30 Dec 2006 22:03:56 -0000, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

is it one of ours?

Should have have said it's for the rear wheel conversion, can't remember the name, I'll have a look on tuesday, sorry about that.

Martin

On or around Sun, 31 Dec 2006 14:49:41 -0000, "Oily" enlightened us thusly:

might be a Ken Rogers. Conversions aren't that common, either sort.