Re: LRO: Real Rovers (was Parts availability....)

From: TeriAnn Wakeman (twakeman@cruzers.com)
Date: Thu Apr 05 2001 - 11:58:04 EDT

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    > An interesting dilemma arises when considering older
    >Series Land Rovers that have been fitted with Rover
    > V-8s. Are they Land Rovers? Given that Land Rover
    >never fitted (to my knowledge) the V-8 to Series
    >vehicles until close to the end of Series production,
    > I would say, no,

    The Land Rover factory evidently started dropping V8s into series rigs
    for testing purposes around '66 or '67. I think the test vehicle I
    photographed was a '66. The V8 went into production in series rigs
    starting '74 or '75 about 8 years before the end of series production.

    >Land Rover, I would never consider buying a re-engined
    > version unless the price was virtually giveaway

    This is of course your option. An interesting side note:
    Every Land Rover with a Timm Cooper engine conversion that I have seen go
    up for sale has sold for well above the going price for a bone stock Land
    Rover. On an average they seem to be going for about half again more
    than the price of a bone stock stock Land ROver. The highest I have
    noticed was about twice the top going rate for that year/model bone stock
    Land Rover. But that was a very well designed off road rig in very good
    condition.

    Of course since I plan never to sell mine, resale doesn't mean all that
    much to me except for insurance purposes.

    >TeriAnn's hybrid is something she had built to her specifications

    The engine, gearbox and steering box conversion I had done, the rest of
    it is pretty much all my own labour.

    > using a Land Rover as a starting point. Kind of like the
    > show everyone on this list seems to like so much, Junkyard
    >Wars.

    Almost but not quite. I spent almost two years designing how I wanted
    the rear interior to be and where to put things before I took wrench to
    the car. I spent almost a year looking at power plants and asking people
    about their experiences and running cost vs fuel savings numbers before
    settling on an engine.

    It is my understanding the junkyard wars participants need to knock out a
    design in just a few minutes.

    Also, the junkyard people could only get parts within their own junk
    yard. My car received many new genuine Land Rover parts from several
    years and models of Land Rover, both military and civilian.

    Other than a few camper bits (most of which came from a dead Land Rover
    Dormobile), the non Land Rover parts are just the engine, gearbox,
    steering box and radiator. All the rest of it, including the complete
    suspension, brake system, axle assemblies (opps there is an ARB diff and
    a Quaife Diff) and body are pure Land Rover. Ok now that I think of it
    some of the Smiths gauges are from an MGB.

    >I know TeriAnn doesn't agree with me, so never the twain will meet.

    Marin, it is a lot more fun not to agree with you. But I do agree that
    my Land ROver is a hybrid. The race car people had (have?) a way to
    label race vehicles that have a different power plant. They used the
    vehicle name followed by a slash followed by the engine make.

    I that spirit I have no problems with the phrase Land Rover/Ford hybrid.

    My problem is with the concept that just because I opted for a Ford power
    plant and not a Buick power plant, doesn't mean that all the other Land
    Rover parts just fell off my car and disappeared. If you count up all
    the bits and pieces, about 90% of them are still factory or after market
    Land Rover parts.

    The car is Land Rover and something more. It is not just a Ford or a
    Scout II.

    Don't deny my car's Land Roverness and I will not deny it's MG gauges, or
    Ford power plant, or Scout II steering box. It is indeed a Land Rover
    based hybrid and that means it is mostly Land Rover. All those 90% or so
    parts have not just fallen off and disappeared.

    If you can learn to say Land ROver hybrid or Land Rover/Ford we can both
    be happy.

    Just think of my car as a retro concept prototype for the next version of
    Land Rover Defender.

    TeriAnn Wakeman Marigold Ltd.
    Santa Cruz, California Web design, site updating, testing
    webmaster@overlander.net search engine optimization, graphics
                                  and more

    http://www.overlander.net/Marigold/index.html



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