From Land Rover guru John Middleton: Picked up a 1984 Land Rover 90 that was an insurance write off after apparently being in a building fire. It runs and drives. We are resurrecting as a 90 pickup.
After cutting out some rot and welding in some new frame sections we installed the replacement rear bed. It hauled its first load of hay.
Category Archives: Land Rovers
Land Rover Series 3 promotional video (1973)
Why a Land Rover?
How Far Would You Go for a Land Rover?
Rebuilt engine for Series III Land Rover
This morning YouTube served up a 25 minute video of a Series III Land Rover (same as mine) getting fitted with a newer 300 Tdi engine.
My Land Rover had to undergo the same procedure back in 2018 as part of the restoration. I purchased a rebuilt 300 Tdi from Zombie Motors out in Oregon. Photos here, here, here and here. Not cheap. But less expensive than having the engine shoe-horned into my Rover. I feel better about what I paid after watching this video. And in the five years I’ve been driving the Land Rover, it has never failed to start on the first crank. Not once.
What is the essence of a Jeep?
Perhaps the better question is, do vehicles have an essence.
“the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, that determines its character.”
I put this question to a handful of people I know who might have given some thought to such a question.
I’ve been watching lots of videos about the history of the Jeep as well restoration projects. Seems there’s as much mystique and passion surrounding the Jeep as Land Rover.
The historical videos started with the initial development during WWII; then the transition to Jeeps made for the agricultural market; and on to the more mainstream civilian models.
The Jeeps I see on the road (and there seems to be a LOT) bear little resemblance to those early Jeeps. Looks like the name and the grill (maybe) is all that’s left. Which got me wondering… when did these models cease to be a “true Jeep?” If Mitsubishi purchased the brand and putting the Jeep name on one of their models, nobody would consider it a Jeep.
We saw this mindset at work with the Land Rover “Santana.” The forums were full of guys who insisted that is not a “real” Land Rover. I suspect no two Jeep owners could agree on this question. And I don’t particularly care, except from a philosophical standpoint.
If I get any takers on this question, I’ll share them in comments below.
Rover hardtop back on for winter
Helpful Neighbor and World’s Smartest Guy helped me get the hardtop back on the Rover this morning. Took about two hours with the new storage rack. (Image above animated GIF)
NYC Land Rover
Spotted on 71st Street in Manhattan, where –I’m told– physicians can park anywhere. This is a thing of beauty. I would love to know the story that goes with it.
BBC’s Top Gear Lost Segment – Greatest Car Vote
“The greatest car vote segment was cut out of all re-airings and streaming versions of BBC’s Top Gear. It was aired only once in 2003, and most of the recordings of it were lost.” Segment 5: Land Rover (5:45)
Historic Land Rover
From Land Rover aficionado John Middleton:
My daughter and I had the rare opportunity to view and ride in the Oxford 1955 Series One that was used in the Oxford and Cambridge Far Eastern Expedition from London to Singapore. It was found on the Island of St Helena by a man from Yorkshire and rebuilt. I drove from Singapore to London in 2019 and is currently finishing up a tour of the US we drove to Memphis, TN to see it. Tim Slessor wrote a book about the expedition called First Overland and there’s a movie of expedition on YouTube.