Motoring Discussion > Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! Car Deals
Thread Author: Auntie Lockbrakes Replies: 13
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 22:39 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Auntie Lockbrakes
BiL has acquired - for free - a non-running 1982 "classic" Range Rover. Been garaged for past 4 years or so. Bodywork looks good (aluminium panels?) in factory original gold/bronze metallic. Needs a new engine but he's found 2 old engines to cannibalise and recondition - those old Buick V8s seem plentiful even here in NZ!

He needs a utilitarian car/van for work - is he mad taking this on? By his reckoning, 2-3K spent on a free Range Rover is better value than spending 3-4K on a used Japanese runner that someone else may have hammered. He'll do a lot of the work himself. And could he make a tidy profit if he renovates it "nicely"?!
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 22:43 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Old Navy
What are there more of in NZ / Australia, Range Rovers or Toyotas? Your answer may lie there.
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 22:47 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - R.P.
Sounds like beige to me.
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 22:53 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Auntie Lockbrakes
Beige-ish perhaps, but a shade darker than that Skoda that you foisted on to your poor unsuspecting mate last week ;-)

Anyway, BiL will probably destroy its originality by respraying it black if he has any money left over. And then let's see his face when he gets through a tank of petrol in hours...

There are a zillion more Toyotas than LRs in these parts, and their second-hand prices are silly high. You do see the odd blingy RR Sport in and around the big metropolis of Auckland of course quite often. But I haven't seen a single other orginal mark 1 Rangey in nearly 2 years of being here!
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 22:57 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - RattleandSmoke
Take it and convert it into a mini camper van scouser style!
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 23:02 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - rtj70
The Rover V8 engine was based on but not identical to the Buick V8 from the early 60s. I assume he's not just going to stick a 1960s V8 in a 1980s Range Rover? Maybe it'd just fit and work though.

Sounds like a lot of money to spend on a project if a main car. If this is a hobby car and the cash is spare then why not?
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 23:07 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Auntie Lockbrakes
There's already a million camper vans of that ilk trundling round NZ Rattle! Not Range Rovers I grant you, but ancient Previas or Japanses box vans. Gimme a cheap motel bed instead every time!
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 23:09 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Auntie Lockbrakes
>>The Rover V8 engine was based on but not identical to the Buick V8 from the early >>60s. I assume he's not just going to stick a 1960s V8 in a 1980s Range Rover? >>Maybe it'd just fit and work though.

>>Sounds like a lot of money to spend on a project if a main car. If this is a hobby car >>and the cash is spare then why not?

It's not his main car, but he's short of cash and needs a load lugger for work. And Yes, I reckon he'll take pretty much any V8 he can find! (Plenty of old Holden V8s lying around this country...!)
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 Thu 6 Jan 11 23:20 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - RattleandSmoke
My machanic had one and put a 7 litre tractor engine or something in it. It was V8 and diesel but not sure what else it had. He said he produced about 400bhp as it was turbo charged but returned 12mpg. It kept breaking down so he didn't keep it long. He bought if of a customer for pennies as the customer was sick to death of fixing it every weekend.
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 Fri 7 Jan 11 08:05 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Perky Penguin
Also, which is nearer to Aus/NZ? UK or Japan. Probably only a small factor I agree!
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 Fri 7 Jan 11 09:46 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Boxsterboy
A free motor, 2 spare engines, plus his mechanical know-how. Can't go wrong. It would be only be a money pit if he had to pay for it and pay for work on it.
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 Fri 7 Jan 11 10:26 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Old Navy
>> What are there more of in NZ / Australia, Range Rovers or Toyotas? Your answer
>> may lie there.
>>

I was thinking of the availiability of parts, cars in breakers yards, etc. Parts for a near 30 year old RR are plentiful and cheap in NZ are they? If it is to be a "working" car will it be reliable?

Toyotas are popular in your bit of the world for a reason, your life can depend on their reliability, in Australia anyway.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 7 Jan 11 at 10:29
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 Fri 7 Jan 11 13:18 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - AnotherJohnH
>> A future classic or a money pit?!

probably both.

www.landroverclub.net/Club/HTML/Range_Rover_classic_problem.htm

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 Fri 7 Jan 11 16:19 
 Land Rover Range Rover 'Classic' - A future classic or a money pit?! - Dave
I ran an early 80's RR a few years back. All the basic mechanicals are fairly good, it was the later electronicy bits that caused most of the problems. As long as the chassis is ok and the body, mainly the sills, bulkhead and rear hockey sticks aren't rotten, then they're a lovely old car.
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