Tuesday 24 March 2015

For Sale - £2995 - 1981 LAND ROVER 88" Series 3 SWB - Chippenham Wilts




1981 Series 3 short wheelbase Land Rover 2.25 petrol, non-overdrive model.  Previously owned by BT and professionally converted to unleaded in their workshops. Overall, in good condition for year, starts goes and stops well (as well as can be expected for a series Landy).

Bodywork in good condition, some surface rust to chassis - to be expected, but nothing serious.  Few dents here and there, but haven't they all?  Sitting on a set of mid '80's chunky Weller steel wheels and off-road tyres but a set of genuine series steel rims is included.  They need a serious wire brushing, repainting and re-tyring, but they're included nonetheless.

Inside, genuine series rubber matting fitted in the front, County seats fitted, so a little more comfortable than standard.  Everything working as it should, not that there's any fancy boy equipment in these things, it's a pretty agricultural experience owning a series Landy!  The car starts on the button and idles smoothly, runs very sweet, no noises or knocks from the engine or transmission.  Gets along about as well as can be expected for one of these old cars, so about 50mph max if your ears can take the noise!

Features include: first generation parking distance control, front and rear (tow bars); organic power steering (really clever system, harnesses the power of your arms and shoulders to power the steering); sliding windows - not much to go wrong there.  There is a brand new cubby box to be fitted in place of the centre seat, bought it with all good intentions.......... Comes with adaptive stereo system, instantly adapts to the driver including required volume (you gotta sing).

The only thing not working is the front spot lamps..... all the wiring seems to be in place, possibly a bad earth somewhere or duff units - again, haven't got round to looking at it properly.

To the uninitiated, these old Landy's are VERY basic, painted metal inside - very little in the way of insulation either from cold/heat or noise.  The seats do not adjust in the accepted sense of the word, so if you're over 5'8", they can be a bit uncomfortable after a fairly short period of time.  There is no electric anything....... no power anything...... the steering is very heavy to those used to driving modern PAS equipped cars, as is the clutch and the gearbox has a gate wide enough to drive a shire horse through.  You can see daylight around the doors (they're all like that, sir), the heating is about as effective as an old lady breathing on you, they're noisy and SLOW..... having said all that, they are great fun to drive, will go pretty much anywhere and, being a big boys meccano set, if you don't like it the way it is, get the spanners out and everything above the waist simply unbolts.  Really versatile old vehicle.  Only selling as I no longer have the requirement for an occasional tow vehicle.  Great to use as is or drive and improve.  If I was keeping it, the crap carpet (previous owner) in teh rear would have to come out and the rear folding bench seats be refurbished.  A weekend with a paintbrush would have this old Landy looking excellent.

Car is located in Chippenham, Wiltshire, bring along proof of insurance if you want a test drive.  If you've never driven one before, definitely recommend it before committing to buy one!  Viewings welcome, any questions email me through eBay.  I am open to sensible offers and maybe the odd part exchange if it is of interest.