1995 Range Rover Classic LWB

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
Here we go.

I will consider any reasonable offer.

Be sure to read all of this if you are interested.

RBB_5704.jpg


The Good:
  • Pretty complete, no major missing components.
  • It runs. It drives and turns left and right.
  • It stops well, lots of feedback in the pedal.
  • The engine seems to pull fairly well. (SEE BELOW!)
  • Transmission seems to shift fine, but sometimes it does feel like the BW has locked up.
  • The AC blows very cold.
  • Dash is nearly flawless, no cracks.
  • No frame rust.
  • Rear seats are excellent.
  • Comes with a 4.2 engine, complete, sans ancillaries.
  • New battery; Newish wires and plugs and cap; Newish alternator; New high pressure steering hoses.
  • The exhaust looks to be a good aftermarket type, and it sounds pretty good.
  • The air springs have been replaced by Bilstien shocks and some blue springs. Probably a typical kit, but I keep forgetting to look at what brand.
  • The current tires seem OK, they are new and nothing special. You can take the tires and wheels on it, or you can take the used but good Goodyears on the original Hurricane wheels, or both. (The original wheels are currently on the my Disco, but I would put them on the Range Rover for the sale.)
And now for the bad........

The engine has problems. When it runs, it runs fine, feels strong. But I started chasing an issue where it would die after the first five minutes of driving, right when it warmed up. After running in circles on this, I found that if I unplugged the temp sensor on the top of the engine it would not do this. So I assume that sensor is bad.
Shortly after that was "sorted" one of the rear window switches snapped and broke. It works sometimes. I have a new switch. The rear windows sometimes don't want to work, both of them.

Shortly after that, the recirc button on the HVAC also broke and is just stuck in the OFF position.

Shortly after that, a sprinkler hit the otherwise good windshield on a 100+ degree day, and.... crack. Full top to bottom crack line all the way down.

Not long after that, the driver's seat started going crazy. I guess this is what happens when the control computer goes out. I hot wired the seat into a position where I can drive, then pulled the fuse. This is about $500 to fix with a replaced/rebuilt computer.

Shortly after that, the SRS, TC, and ABS lights came on. This made me start to investigate the brakes, although they still seemed to work fine -- it looks like the previous owner CUT THE WIRES that go to the wheel sensors. Or maybe it's the wires that go to the pads... either way..

Shortly after that, the engine seemed to be producing a lot of compression in the coolant system, but no other symptoms were noted. It was... Shortly after that when I started to hear a pronounced knock from the engine. More of a distinct tap that develops once it gets to normal operating temps.

This is when I bought the 4.2 engine that is in my garage. I figured I'd just drive the thing till it started acting like it was breaking, and by then, I'd have a great engine ready to swap in. The replacement engine has no real known history, but it has obviously been worked on. Just yesterday I took the time to put it on a stand and take a close look. The heads seem to have been blasted clean, but they have been run. Then I noticed that the head bolts don't look new.... odd, the head really looks like it has been pulled, but... Then the valve cover seems to have non-standard bolts. The cylinders are very clean, and it seems to hold compression (will attempt a test soon). When I pulled the pan, there was oil in it, and no metal shavings or sparkle. And it looks like at least one of the cylinder sleeves may be new. The cam shaft has zero markings or trace lines, it appears to be very low mileage.

It was shortly after that when I found a nice 1998 Disco for my kids to drive, and I sort of gave up on this Range Rover. Besides, all that time I was in the final stages of driving and working the kinks out of a Defender project. So I parked the Range Rover, and committed to restoring it sometime in the future. It sat for 2.5 years till this summer when I replaced the battery, and it started right up.

Because of this, I really have not spent much time in trying to track down the knock and what seems to be a head gasket leak. I think they may be connected. Either way, the engine does still run "fine", but it was at this point when I decided that this was a restoration project for another day -- this was two years ago.

The headliner is sagging, but it isn't annoying yet because I was pretty successful in pinning it up out of the way. But right now, you wouldn't notice the headliner anyway, because the rear view mirror dropped off the windshield a few weeks ago.... the mirror seems fine, just needs to be re-glued. And anyway, that stupid windshield crack keeps your attention away from the headliner. The front seats are comfortable and still have good support, but the armrests are torn, and the drivers seat has the typical side tear. The previous owner seems to have had issues with things that might be in the way when you want to turn. Both front quarters have a slight bend in the bumper and panels. The driver's side wing has a dent just in front of the driver's door. There are a few dings and slight bends in the rear panels, but they are hard to see unless at the right angle. I think you might be able to make them out in the photos.

The paint looks good when you are drinking beer from 10 feet away. Honestly, it looks like they got the first coat on, then ran out of that color on a Friday evening at the factory, so they just left it as Jeremy Clarkson said about Land Rover build quality: "That'll do!" The front air dam does have cracks and a slight warping, but it looks good enough to just leave in place. The side lights and brake lights have some cracks in the lenses. I have some lenses that could fix some of this. The rear shelf is missing. There are a few spots and normal wear on the carpeting. The radio "works"..... The steering wheel has an uncountable amount of wear at the 11:30 to 12:30 position. It's like the previous driver always drove like the hero in an '80s movie, and always wore sandpaper gloves while doing so.The lower tailgate is missing the lift tabs, and it does have some rust along the top edge that should be cleaned up and addressed in some way. The upper tailgate has surface rust that I cleaned up a bit, then applied CorrosionX to. If I were to keep the vehicle, I would pull the tailgate apart, clean, paint, then put it back together. As far as I can tell, it is only surface rust.The rear right hand door does that thing where it doesn't POP when you pull the handle to open it, you have to pull the handle, then actually pull the door to open. Hard to describe, but I bet it is fairly common. It does have some oil leaks that are enough that they should be addressed, but this is connected to the engine, and since the current engine is problematic (see above) I have not tried.

Why am I selling? Although I still have a 1965 Series, and the 1998 Disco, I'm kind of done with Rover projects. I just want to maintain, and enjoy now. But the thing that pushed me over the edge to get me to give up on this project is that this last June I was finally given the opportunity to get back into aviation after being away from it for 22 years. So the idea of keeping it for a later restoration just wasn't a thing anymore.

Finally, I had been driving it a bit the last few months, and gathering a few parts for odd things that I knew I or the new owner would want. It drives pretty well, and has not had any problems... But yesterday, I pulled into my driveway and got out to go open the garage door, when I looked back coolant was coming out of places.... No steam, no overheat.

After cleaning up with clean water, and letting it dry and cool down, I started it again, and it appears that the overpressure from what must be a head gasket leak (that knocking sound?) caused the seal on the bearing for the water pump to spring a leak. I cannot see directly, but coolant seems to be coming out of the water pump at the pulley, then making a fine spraying mess of everything as it spins on the pulley, and the belt and the other pulleys....... In other words, the engine still starts and runs and it has not overheated, but the vehicle cannot be driven without making a mess. And I suppose the coolant would run out fairly quickly, then we'd have a real problem.

So I'm deciding if I want to get it fixed for the sale, or just let it go as is. Maybe you want a project, so this otherwise 'minor' issue doesn't mean anything to you other than a good bit of leverage for negotiating the price down. I had someone here yesterday looking at the car, we started and drove it for a minute or two before shutting down.

My final assessment of this vehicle is this: If you want a daily driver that you can (please do it tastefully) modify for camping and back roads driving, you could have this up and running by diving into it as a fall project. A few weeks of dedication to a project, and you'd be good. Or this would be a great candidate for a full restoration that you could put on Instagram and become an influencer with. Either way, come take it off my hands. If it doesn't sell, I'll put it into storage for a future barn find. The photos are all new, and if you need more, just ask. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjA6rwN

I'm outside of Portland, and my if-it-was-driving-and-didn't-have-the-strange-knock-price is $8500.00.
 

mm3846

Member
honest ad, and to me seems like a great deal. GLWS. hard to find one of these in good, clean shape. motors are a dime a dozen.
 

evilfij

Well-known member
Yes, based on the door jams not rusty. I am sure people want to see the floors (front footwells and rear), inner wings. sills, and rear body crossmember. Finding one without material rust is near impossible but location and what is shown this is promising.

Rust repair is not fun (or cheap) and engine replacement is cheap and relatively easy.

GLWTS
 

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
Alright, no surprises here, but I'm coming up on the end of good weather, and I'm going to put this thing away for long-term storage unless someone wants to take it off my hands. I've had a few interested parties, one that was close, but maybe someone here is interested in this project.

Make me an offer.
 

RBBailey

NAS-ROW Addict
Callsign: KF7KFZ
Promotional Bump.

Etfreder is first in line right now, but I'm kind of tired of all the Facebook people asking and asking, then disappearing, and I'd like to sell it relatively local. I'll even deliver as far away as.... lets say........ Seattle? Price is negotiable since I'm no longer thinking of just storing it for later, and I want to put zero more time and effort into it. I want some cash to fix the sunroof leak in the Disco, and to buy an extra set of aviation headsets, an aviation transceiver, and a couple of hours to get recurrency in IFR. ....I used to think a Defender project was expensive, then I started flying again....
 

saetaes

Member
I have a brother in Seattle who might be interested if it's still available. Let me reach out to him, and I'll message you if it'll work on his side.
 
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