okay, just to amuse you jeff, and to do something that doesnt involve going
outside on a cloudy day, here is my knowledge of 4x4s, i am not going to go
into the LWB and range rover/discovery versions as i do not know as much
about them. in reality, i know much much more but will only remember it once
asked. her goes:
the jeep was the original light four wheel drive vehicle originally conceived
for use on the battlefields of WWII. companies such as willys, bantam, ford,
and others were all took on the challenge. as many know, the willys design
won the contract and they were produced under the wills name and later the
ford name also. after the war, two young blokes from a bicycle company in
england came up with the idea for a farm tractor that could also be used as a
runabout vehicle. built originally on a willys jeep frame, the first
preproduction land rover had centre steer and aluminum body panels (chosen
because aluminum was cheaper in post war europe than steel). unveiled at an
auto show in 48, the land rover was put on sale soon after in the 80"
wheelbase specification. the earlier SI's had 1.6L inline four cylinder
engines from the rover car, along with the transmission from teh same
vehicle. personally, i suspect that the earliest of the land rover transfer
cases were actually Spicer 18 units, taken from the WWII willys. these
transfer cases were of a twin stick variety, meaning that rear wheel drive,
front wheel drive, or four wheel drive could all be selected independently.
a 2.46:1 low range was specified on these spicer 18s, and they also had both
output shafts on the right hand side. in i believe 1952, land rover switched
to a 2.0L inline four gas engine, and later a 2.0L diesel was offered. in
1953, once again i believe, land rover went to an 86 inch wheelbase, and then
again to an 88" wheelbase in 1957(?). towards the end of the SI model run,
the diesel engine was changed to a more powerful and reliable 2.25L unit.
the SI production ceases in 1958.
the SII land rover was wuite a change over its SI predecessor. a "sytled"
body was imployed, as was a different dash and other styling cues. the
wheelbase of 88" was kept, although the other dimensions of the vehicle
seemed to get larger. the axle width was widened a bit, as was the general
body width. in 1962, land rover unveiled its newest, the SIIA. this vehicle
had a 2.25 gasoline engine as well as the 2.25 diesel from the SII. this
model was otherwise unchanged for the most part, until 1969. In 1965, land
rover moved the headlights to the wings to compensate for a new australian
law. a few land rover "bugeye" bodels were produced, with just the
headlights cutout on the wings and no surround. these vehicles were produced
until land rover could design a proper headlight surround, first used on the
1970 rovers. in 1972, land rover introduced its newest model, the SIII.
this model was more refined than ever before, with a vinyl dash and a all
syncro trans. land rover stopped importing to the USA in 1973. the SIII
continued its production though, up until the land rover 110 was introduced
in 1981(?). the SIII was sold alongside its new, coil sprung, 8 speed, full
time four wheel drive counterpart until the land rover 90 was released in
1984. in 1987, range rover north america was founded, and new range rovers
were imported to the states. a true land rover would not come to the us
until 1993, with th importation of the D110. the D110 was sold for one model
year only, and only 525 were imported to north america. in 1994, however,
the first defender 90s were brought stateside, with 3.9L V8s and sporty
looks. some would say that land rover hasnt been the same since. in 1995.
land rover changed from the LT77S 5 speed to the R380, and the taillights
were changed to round units instead of the bulky square type. land rover
stopped importing defender 90s in 1995, but then brought them back again in
1997 with 4.0L V8s and automatic transmissions. the ultimate poseur mobile,
you no longer had to use your left foot or your right arm while driving.
btw, i am going to the beach to check out some girls in bikinis tomorrow : )
adam
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