Land Rover

[Avartar]

Thats the best option for your budget.LR expert Souhaine is selling all his LRs.Contact him.Cant offer his contact due forum rules.

Visit lr4X4.com forum for Lady help.It got very valuble info.

MINIACE

pls mail me the contacts to [email protected]

thx

[Devinda_Z]

so u guyz suggest me to goto S3 and modify it???do u ll have any site of modification advices and such...etc

shan

Avartar, can you please tell us what exactly your requirements are? Do you intend to use this as a daily run about or will this be used exclusively for off-roading and the like?

If you’re genuinely interested in getting a Land Rover for under a million then the Series III is your best option. You ought to be able to pick up a decent vehicle in good running order well within your budget. Such a vehicle will not require any modifications for normal use. If you want to spruce things up and make it even more usable, adding a power steering unit and Air conditioning is about all you might want to consider doing.

The 2.5L normally aspirated 4 cylinder unit is very sturdy & fairly straight forward to use and maintain

I'd strongly advise against trying to "convert" it to a 'Defender' and preserve the originality as a Series III

because no matter what you do, if you were to "modify" it, you will always know what you've managed to put together is merely assorted bits from another model and there by reduce your vehicle to nothing more than a 'pretender' of sorts..

And those who know their Land Rovers will not be fooled either...

So it’s best that you invest your money in a far wiser manner and simple use it maintain and improve an original Series III if and when you choose to get it

The potential to customize a Land Rover is immense as there are countless options from Lights to winches to Light guards and so on that you can add - but always try to maintain the originality of the vehicle

Just so you get an idea of the things you can do and what’s in store for you if you join the ranks of the Land rover owners, I highly recommend that you get your hands on the a "Land Rover Owner International" or "Land Rover Monthly" magazine and read through the many features

..It’s a good place to start....

http://www.landrover.ee/est/varia/downloads/cars.htm

[miniace]

pls mail me the contacts to [email protected]

thx

Mail sent!

MINIACE

[The Don]

Avartar, can you please tell us what exactly your requirements are? Do you intend to use this as a daily run about or will this be used exclusively for off-roading and the like?

If you’re genuinely interested in getting a Land Rover for under a million then the Series III is your best option. You ought to be able to pick up a decent vehicle in good running order well within your budget. Such a vehicle will not require any modifications for normal use. If you want to spruce things up and make it even more usable, adding a power steering unit and Air conditioning is about all you might want to consider doing.

The 2.5L normally aspirated 4 cylinder unit is very sturdy & fairly straight forward to use and maintain

I'd strongly advise against trying to "convert" it to a 'Defender' and preserve the originality as a Series III

because no matter what you do, if you were to "modify" it, you will always know what you've managed to put together is merely assorted bits from another model and there by reduce your vehicle to nothing more than a 'pretender' of sorts..

And those who know their Land Rovers will not be fooled either...

So it’s best that you invest your money in a far wiser manner and simple use it maintain and improve an original Series III if and when you choose to get it

The potential to customize a Land Rover is immense as there are countless options from Lights to winches to Light guards and so on that you can add - but always try to maintain the originality of the vehicle

Just so you get an idea of the things you can do and what’s in store for you if you join the ranks of the Land rover owners, I highly recommend that you get your hands on the a "Land Rover Owner International" or "Land Rover Monthly" magazine and read through the many features

..It’s a good place to start....

http://www.landrover.ee/est/varia/downloads/cars.htm

Devinda what is the cheapest somebody can pick up a Landrover with the modern "Defender" face in running condition ?. (I asume it starts with the models just after the series 4 ? Sorry my ignorance is showing, but no point pretending he he, don't know much about Landies)

The Don

[xXx]

First of all very sorry for offending the true LR enthusiast by generalizing every Tom, Dick and Harry as one.

My point is it's quite well known that LR's have massive reliability issues plus it’s an European brand thus causing even more headache to the owner when it comes to re-selling. But for some reason since of late Defenders have been going off the shelves like hot cake.

As you said Devinda either people are taking the plunge with out doing their research or they are trying to be wannabes. I have no issue's with the second category but they are spending a hell of a lot of money to put on a show.

The other reason I can think of is since most of these are diesel they may be bought to offset higher petrol costs. But obviously LR's don't fall under the cheap runner category.

Finally, term 'buch of conservatives' was used to refer to us Sri Lanakns. Remember not too long ago we had a discussion about this and came to a conclusion that when it comes to buying an automobile Sri Lanakans are truly conservative. So it is bit strange that Defenders have a high demand among a group with conservative ideology.

[miniace]

Very fundamental rules when using Land Rovers.

They for eternity insist TLC.

Once asked a Landy user on the subject of pleasure, habitually the respond is very favourable.Any differing react always as an upshot of incorrect treatment,handling and dealings to Landies.

In SL there are many specialists Landy mechanics who does only Landies.many places to obtain spares at competitive tags.

I do agree with Devinda regarding maintaining SIII style and identity rather than transforming into other kind resulting hideous looks.

I personally go up against the statement Landies are very costly to maintain and extremely undependable.

Don’t be afraid to own one and feel the distinction!

MINIACE

[Devinda_Z]

First of all very sorry for offending the true LR enthusiast by generalizing every Tom, Dick and Harry as one.

My point is it's quite well known that LR's have massive reliability issues plus it’s an European brand thus causing even more headache to the owner when it comes to re-selling. But for some reason since of late Defenders have been going off the shelves like hot cake.

As you said Devinda either people are taking the plunge with out doing their research or they are trying to be wannabes. I have no issue's with the second category but they are spending a hell of a lot of money to put on a show.

The other reason I can think of is since most of these are diesel they may be bought to offset higher petrol costs. But obviously LR's don't fall under the cheap runner category.

Finally, term 'buch of conservatives' was used to refer to us Sri Lanakns. Remember not too long ago we had a discussion about this and came to a conclusion that when it comes to buying an automobile Sri Lanakans are truly conservative. So it is bit strange that Defenders have a high demand among a group with conservative ideology.

Although I’m rather ashamed to admit it xXx, I can't shy away from the fact that LR's do have a dodgy reputation when it comes to reliability...

Oddly enough though even in the UK, despite LR's more or less permanent position at the bottom of the quality surveys, they yet maintain some of the highest residual values...

It is said that even after 10 year most Defenders manage to be worth over 50% of its purchase price in the UK! & even in the US the new Range Rovers have made the top 10 vehicles with the best resale values…

Completely illogical I know, but I guess it’s all got to do with Land Rovers “x-factor”

You’re quite right about the general Sri Lankan public being generally conservative, but I doubt it’s this group who are buying Land Rovers at the moment... if at all they are, I’m guessing its more in terms of an investment, given the way Diesel SUV prices here somehow manage to hold & at times even appreciate!

Then there is also that issue of 'desirability' , as LR has built a prestige positioning in the minds of some of the SL consumers, so this and the fact that genuine Land Rovers aren't freely available has gone onto to drive up the prices of the entire market...

A point to note on the ignorant and 'wanna be' types as you noted, buying LR's is that as a result of their inability to deal with the attention that the vehicles require, you see corner being cut, used Japanese components being substituted and technicians who know squat about LR's handling repairs - as such sometimes even the average vehicles wind up looking terribly unreliable and thus sets off a chain of negative W.O.M

Fuel economy on LR diesels is quite acceptable but the maintenance costs do go onto offset the benefit gained on some occasions

[Ripper]

wow...din't know one can get a decent landy for that kinda budget though it will be an old one...

they do have that "timeless" appeal IMHO so an older one well taken care of won't look that dated

very interesting thread would love to own a land one day as a weekend warrior type runner...

[The Don]

wow...din't know one can get a decent landy for that kinda budget though it will be an old one...

they do have that "timeless" appeal IMHO so an older one well taken care of won't look that dated

very interesting thread would love to own a land one day as a weekend warrior type runner...

Well Ripper join the club, I've always wanted to get a Landrover and a Mini though where I am going to find the space to park a Landy is beyond me Found a CSW in 1997 for a meager 1.2 Million but being a school boy didn't have any money sob sob

Ever since I drove my uncles Mini I've wanted one, and believe it or not he brought his for a miserable 50 000 in 2003 !! (ok the rear brakes didn't work !)

I kind of like the Landies which came after the series III with the more modern face cos I like the looks of the Jeeps compared to Series I to III landies. Still waiting for Devinda to come back with whats the cheapest you can get one for these days ....

[xXx]

Ever since I drove my uncles Mini I've wanted one, and believe it or not he brought his for a miserable 50 000 in 2003 !!

How things were so different back in The 'Green' Era

sorry boys i had to say this.

[Devinda_Z]

Devinda what is the cheapest somebody can pick up a Landrover with the modern "Defender" face in running condition ?. (I asume it starts with the models just after the series 4 ? Sorry my ignorance is showing, but no point pretending he he, don't know much about Landies)

The Don

Short answer = Rs. 1.6 Million is the lowest i've seen Defender shaped Land Rover being available for (it was a runner, but had at least another coupla hundred thousand worth or repairs left in it to make it acceptable to be seen in out in public )

Edited February 13, 2008 by Devinda_Z

[The Don]

Short answer = Rs. 1.6 Million is the lowest i've seen Defender shaped Land Rover being available for (it was a runner, but had at least another coupla hundred thousand worth or repairs left in it to make it acceptable to be seen in out in public )

When was this, and this was an original ? not a so called "restoration" ? Could I bother you for "the longer answer" as to what needed to be done to be done to make this particular vehicle presentable, just to get an idea .....

Edited February 13, 2008 by The Don

[Ripper]

http://www.landroverranch.com/forsale.html

some nice old landies....sigh

[Devinda_Z]

http://www.landroverranch.com/forsale.html

some nice old landies....sigh

there are places in sunny SL with stock lots, possibly even a tad more interesting than this....

....all you need to do is meander over toward Castle St , Welikada or Udahamulla....

[xXx]

there are places in sunny SL with stock lots, possibly even a tad more interesting than this....

....all you need to do is meander over toward Castle St , Welikada or Udahamulla....

Talking about rundown cars in SL, I remember many moons ago car park in the education building (can't remember the name) in Battharamulla had quite a few Jeeps and cars including a Merc limo with 3 doors in each side and two rows on seats in the back. Wonder what happened to that car

[lakshank]

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I don't understand who actually use all these old defenders, off road junkies???

I can’t see how they can be used as daily runners with their notorious reliability issues.

[/quote

thats a complete different area man...explaining this to a non-land rover lover or a japanese car user would be like " explaining a blind man how the white colour looks"

[Devinda_Z]

Still waiting for Devinda to come back with whats the cheapest you can get one for these days ....

Sorry for the delay Don - been typing this for sometime, but had to rush off n rigorously workout the muscles on my left leg whilst@the wheel of the ole Landy The short answer was given as this was forthcoming...

The answer to your question isn't 100% straight forward on the simple basis that there will be any number of people reading the previous post saying that they know of "Defenders" for much cheaper....

To be able to understand the reason for that, would require a slightly (typically ) long winded description of the model which followed the Series vehicles and preceded the proper "Defender"

The model in question is the known as the NINETY (90) & ONE-TEN (110)

The production run for these where from 1983 through to 1989. The bulk of the vehicles being sold off as "Defenders" here in Sri Lanka are actually these!!!

From a mechanical point of view, the easiest way to tell one of these is from the engine its running, as standard it should have a 2.5 N/A 4 cyl unit called the 12J or else a 19J which is the Turbo charged variant.

Be well aware of the fact that most of these "restored" vehicles have had their original power plants chucked out, so it could very well be running a 200 or 300 Tdi which were originally only available from 1990 on the Defender range.

Another key difference is in the brake set up - The newer Defender have all round Disks where as the 90's & 110's will have drums at the back.

Two of the most common ways to tell a 90 & 110 from a proper Defender is from the hood - if you look closely enough you will notice Ridges on the hood of the older vehicles!

The other tell tale sign is one easily changed, but those who get sloppy forget the little details - The door handles on the Defenders are chunky plastic ones that protrude outwards , where as the older 90's & 110's door handles are made of metal and are found more or less embedded into the door panel itself.

I’ll try and post a few pictures later on to illustrate the point, but you might be able to see these very signed in a "restored" vehicle on the AL classifieds itself!

Even the Steering wheel shows a differnece in that the older vehicles have 4 spokes and a rectangular center where as the Defender has 2 spokes and is much softer and thicker.

The best vehicles to buy are those that were brought brand new to the island - the bigger know fleets outside of the military were with the Central Bank & the B.o.C, but all these have since been decommissioned. The number of brand new vehicles owned by the public sector far out weight those that have been purchased directly by individuals.

Just about all the brand new vehicles were tropicalised so they had factory fitted A/C - this meant that the steel flaps on the bulkhead beneath the windscreen which act as air vents on the base models would have been replaced by plastic covers. This is also a way to spot a brand new Defender.

Most such vehicles will be on commercial plates {61- & 62} (and some on 54/8- plates ) and will have been registered in the early and mid 90's.

The only worry with these is the possible high mileage, but as long as they've been cared for, they'll soldier on

Certain anomalies in specification will exist as Land Rovers are highly customizable and as such upon order they may have been spec-ed very differently in terms of engine and gearbox combinations even, that what would be deemed conventional.

The most desirable specification would be a Country Station Wagon with all the bells and whistles like A/C, Fabric Seats, Thick carpets, Body Sticker and the Alpine windows! ( those sky lights on the sides of the hood)

Many try to pass off those older 90's & 110's as Defenders and succeed simply because the masses are ignorant to the subtleties. The authorities have caught wind of this "restoration" business and have impounded suspect vehicles, so it’s best to check the chassis number and decode it to see if the actual vehicle meets the description signified by the number.

one last thing, don't forget that the Series Land Rovers didn't have permanent/full time 4WD - so the gear selector set up is different to those of the 90's,110's and Defender which are permanent 4WD's with 5 forwards & only a High, Low and Central differential lock setting - they run perpetually in H4 unless otherwise selected.

There are a number of Series III's on 31- plates which have had face lifts and are being passed off as "Defender" so do be careful!

Oh & also, I’ve mentioned this in another thread - there are only quite literally, a handful of short wheel base Defenders. All the others are 90's brought down by the Police in 1986 & 7 which have since been decommissioned. look out for shoddy turbo charger installations - these are plenty which have had turbochargers bolted on without the necessary changes to the internals and the 12J block is know to react rather badly to the kind compression faced by having it 'blown'.

There are plenty of brilliant vehicles to be found - make sure you have it checked out by a LR technician and have the papers, chassis & engine numbers checked out properly before you commit

It’s very difficult to sum up all the things that one needs to keep an eye out for when getting a LR - any questions and queries are most welcome

...realized that i havent dealt with the question of Prices - i'll try to post a comprehensive pricing guide tomorrow

Edited February 14, 2008 by Devinda_Z

[Avartar]

Well my purpose of getting a LR is for daily usage and for the passion of the brand name.... well i know its gonna be alittle expensive and messy but i love the subject to learn about engines and stuff.... anyone can drive but when coming to trouble shoot some issue you can try hands on in a LR rather than some other vehicle...

shan

[Devinda_Z]

Well my purpose of getting a LR is for daily usage and for the passion of the brand name.... well i know its gonna be alittle expensive and messy but i love the subject to learn about engines and stuff.... anyone can drive but when coming to trouble shoot some issue you can try hands on in a LR rather than some other vehicle...

shan

Excellent

Thats definitely the right spirit

&as MiniAce pointed out , LR's require lotsa T.L.C and a hands on approach will be very rewarding

a Series III would suite you just fine pass your contact on or add me up on FB - i'll give you a shout if i come across anything decent - in the mean time you can always go have look at what Indika & Souhaine have in stock...

[lakshank]

I have a TD5 110 Truck cab -2002 for sale. I am soon going to advertise it in auto lanka.( just registered),....give me sometime

[Ripper]

Avartar

your journey into LR territory is a very interesting case study for the rest of us like Don and meself

keep us posted on this mate

wanna own a landy myself someday and an old one would be preferred in my case

[Avartar]

Excellent

Thats definitely the right spirit

&as MiniAce pointed out , LR's require lotsa T.L.C and a hands on approach will be very rewarding

a Series III would suite you just fine pass your contact on or add me up on FB - i'll give you a shout if i come across anything decent - in the mean time you can always go have look at what Indika & Souhaine have in stock...

Pls let me know details about Series 3 when going to look into one.... plus how much would a 32sri S3 with hardtop and original engine (as for the owner) cost like??

shan

[Devinda_Z]

Pls let me know details about Series 3 when going to look into one.... plus how much would a 32sri S3 with hardtop and original engine (as for the owner) cost like??

shan

haven't come across one in the last coupla months, but i do recall a 2 door truck-cab Series III with a 12J which was supposedly going for about 5 lakhs - vehicle was in fair shape but undergoing an engine repair..

I'd say 8 Lakhs ought to buy you a mint series III hard top,but finding one is another story...

- i'll get you some leads in a few days

[The Don]

Sorry for the delay Don - been typing this for sometime, but had to rush off n rigorously workout the muscles on my left leg whilst@the wheel of the ole Landy The short answer was given as this was forthcoming...

The answer to your question isn't 100% straight forward on the simple basis that there will be any number of people reading the previous post saying that they know of "Defenders" for much cheaper....

To be able to understand the reason for that, would require a slightly (typically ) long winded description of the model which followed the Series vehicles and preceded the proper "Defender"

The model in question is the known as the NINETY (90) & ONE-TEN (110), un-inspiringly named on the length of the respective wheel bases of the vehicles (88" & 109" to be precise, but they felt the rounded figure would be more catchy! )

The production run for these where from 1983 through to 1989. The bulk of the vehicles being sold off as "Defenders" here in Sri Lanka are actually these!!!

From a mechanical point of view, the easiest way to tell one of these is from the engine its running, as standard it should have a 2.5 N/A 4 cyl unit called the 12J or else a 19J which is the Turbo charged variant.

Be well aware of the fact that most of these "restored" vehicles have had their original power plants chucked out, so it could very well be running a 200 or 300 Tdi which were originally only available from 1990 on the Defender range.

Another key difference is in the brake set up - The newer Defender have all round Disks where as the 90's & 110's will have drums at the back.

Two of the most common ways to tell a 90 & 110 from a proper Defender is from the hood - if you look closely enough you will notice Ridges on the hood of the older vehicles!

The other tell tale sign is one easily changed, but those who get sloppy forget the little details - The door handles on the Defenders are chunky plastic ones that protrude outwards , where as the older 90's & 110's door handles are made of metal and are found more or less embedded into the door panel itself.

I’ll try and post a few pictures later on to illustrate the point, but you might be able to see these very signed in a "restored" vehicle on the AL classifieds itself!

Even the Steering wheel shows a differnece in that the older vehicles have 4 spokes and a rectangular center where as the Defender has 2 spokes and is much softer and thicker.

The best vehicles to buy are those that were brought brand new to the island - the bigger know fleets outside of the military were with the Central Bank & the B.o.C, but all these have since been decommissioned. The number of brand new vehicles owned by the public sector far out weight those that have been purchased directly by individuals.

Just about all the brand new vehicles were tropicalised so they had factory fitted A/C - this meant that the steel flaps on the bulkhead beneath the windscreen which act as air vents on the base models would have been replaced by plastic covers. This is also a way to spot a brand new Defender.

Most such vehicles will be on commercial plates (61- & 62-) and will have been registered in the early and mid 90's.

The only worry with these is the possible high mileage, but as long as they've been cared for, they'll soldier on

Certain anomalies in specification will exist as Land Rovers are highly customizable and as such upon order they may have been spec-ed very differently in terms of engine and gearbox combinations even, that what would be deemed conventional.

The most desirable specification would be a Country Station Wagon with all the bells and whistles like A/C, Fabric Seats, Thick carpets, Body Sticker and the Alpine windows! ( those sky lights on the sides of the hood)

Many try to pass off those older 90's & 110's as Defenders and succeed simply because the masses are ignorant to the subtleties. The authorities have caught wind of this "restoration" business and have impounded suspect vehicles, so it’s best to check the chassis number and decode it to see if the actual vehicle meets the description signified by the number.

one last thing, don't forget that the Series Land Rovers didn't have permanent/full time 4WD - so the gear selector set up is different to those of the 90's,110's and Defender which are permanent 4WD's with 5 forwards & only a High, Low and Central differential lock setting - they run perpetually in H4 unless otherwise selected.

There are a number of Series III's on 31- plates which have had face lifts and are being passed off as "Defender" so do be careful!

Oh & also, I’ve mentioned this in another thread - there are only quite literally, a handful of short wheel base Defenders. All the others are 90's brought down by the Police in 1986 & 7 which have since been decommissioned. look out for shoddy turbo charger installations - these are plenty which have had turbochargers bolted on without the necessary changes to the internals and the 12J block is know to react rather badly to the kind compression faced by having it 'blown'.

There are plenty of brilliant vehicles to be found - make sure you have it checked out by a LR technician and have the papers, chassis & engine numbers checked out properly before you commit

It’s very difficult to sum up all the things that one needs to keep an eye out for when getting a LR - any questions and queries are most welcome

...realized that i havent dealt with the question of Prices - i'll try to post a comprehensive pricing guide tomorrow

Thanks Devinda for taking the time to write this. Much appreciated.

You have helped me get rid of a misconception I had which is I thought Defenders always came as 90 or 110 and now only do I realise they are 2 separate series of Land rovers altogether !

[The Don]

I have a TD5 110 Truck cab -2002 for sale. I am soon going to advertise it in auto lanka.( just registered),....give me sometime

I guess it won't be cheap but I am sure it will find a good home soon enough

Lakshan is your bro still in the UK cos both the mobile numbers I have of him don't work anymore !