80 inch or 86 inch
Discussion
Max_Torque said:
Buy the most original one with the best provenance you can find of either model!
Really depends what they want from it.Originality is great as a show piece that you don't drive much. And in the current climate is likely to be good for residuals, although initial purchase price might be higher.
But if you want to use the vehicle, then 100% originality is not always the best. As they can be made to drive and perform a lot better. While still adhering to heritage of the model.
300bhp/ton said:
But if you want to use the vehicle,
Er, if you want to "use" the vehicle, then you really don't want to be buying a very old, extemely slow, noisy, uncomfortable bit of machinery built with pre-war tech...... I'd suggest spending £5k on a nice jap pickup instead.... ;-)Your username suggests that you will, given how tight it is behind the wheel of an XK120, but have you sat in one to make sure that you fit?
A Series 1 feels like it was designed for someone of slight build up to 5'10". Above that, and you've got to really want to drive it, perticularily if you don't want to modify the seat and bulkhead.
A Series 1 feels like it was designed for someone of slight build up to 5'10". Above that, and you've got to really want to drive it, perticularily if you don't want to modify the seat and bulkhead.
Max_Torque said:
Er, if you want to "use" the vehicle, then you really don't want to be buying a very old, extemely slow, noisy, uncomfortable bit of machinery built with pre-war tech...... I'd suggest spending £5k on a nice jap pickup instead.... ;-)
On the contrary, lots of people use them. I know a number of people with Series 1's.This one is owned by a good friend. He has owned it for many decades and it is heavily used during the year. Does a lot of green laning and running about.
It's an 80" and uses all Land Rover parts. But the suspension, axles and brakes are all latter or modified items. And it runs a 3.5 RV8. It looks the part and could be converted back to stock if required. But is a lot more enjoyable and usable as is. Hence why it does quite a few miles over the years.
Depends on what you want with it.
An 80” will have a higher price, as they are the original Land Rover.
Then you have 48-50 or 50-53 models.
Small headlights behind grill vs larger ones through grill. The more original the car, the higher the asking price.
86” is arguably more useable as it’s got an extra 6” of bed and will have the better engine.
The 2.0 is a more powerful engine but it’s still going to struggle with keeping ahead of HGV’s.
Then soft top or hard top?
That’s more personal preference and you can convert from one to the other with some basic tools and some time.
Rust is the biggest issue. Like any older Land Rover, chassis or bulkhead rust can spell trouble.
Tired engines are expensive to overhaul.
However, they can be modified to take later stuff and many have been upgraded over the years or stuff has worn out.
My own 1950 80” has a mixture of later series 2 and 3 running gear. So it’s faster, stops better with the larger drums and spares are much easier to get.
But it will look like an original 80”.
An 80” will have a higher price, as they are the original Land Rover.
Then you have 48-50 or 50-53 models.
Small headlights behind grill vs larger ones through grill. The more original the car, the higher the asking price.
86” is arguably more useable as it’s got an extra 6” of bed and will have the better engine.
The 2.0 is a more powerful engine but it’s still going to struggle with keeping ahead of HGV’s.
Then soft top or hard top?
That’s more personal preference and you can convert from one to the other with some basic tools and some time.
Rust is the biggest issue. Like any older Land Rover, chassis or bulkhead rust can spell trouble.
Tired engines are expensive to overhaul.
However, they can be modified to take later stuff and many have been upgraded over the years or stuff has worn out.
My own 1950 80” has a mixture of later series 2 and 3 running gear. So it’s faster, stops better with the larger drums and spares are much easier to get.
But it will look like an original 80”.
300bhp/ton said:
On the contrary, lots of people use them. I know a number of people with Series 1's.
This one is owned by a good friend. He has owned it for many decades and it is heavily used during the year. Does a lot of green laning and running about.
It's an 80" and uses all Land Rover parts. But the suspension, axles and brakes are all latter or modified items. And it runs a 3.5 RV8. It looks the part and could be converted back to stock if required. But is a lot more enjoyable and usable as is. Hence why it does quite a few miles over the years.
That's lovely! Just bought an s1 86 which has had a 2.25 fitted or decades but comes with freshly built rover v8 on a pallet to fit this winter - for exactly the reasons you have mentioned aboveThis one is owned by a good friend. He has owned it for many decades and it is heavily used during the year. Does a lot of green laning and running about.
It's an 80" and uses all Land Rover parts. But the suspension, axles and brakes are all latter or modified items. And it runs a 3.5 RV8. It looks the part and could be converted back to stock if required. But is a lot more enjoyable and usable as is. Hence why it does quite a few miles over the years.
Jonny TVR said:
I have a great an L322 range rover V8 which has a great engine and bad bodywork. Is this a good donor for a series 1 or is it too new?
I would have thought that the challenge of an engine from an L322 is that unless you change all the running gear to suit the large increase in power over an old SU carb'd version - it will trash any old series axles/box etc pretty quickly. Also imagine that with a multitude of ECU's and general complexity its much more of an involved conversion project? I'm just using a carb fed old V8 albeit rebuilt - so am hoping series axles and S11a box should be fine for what will probably be about 130 bhpEdited by rossb on Monday 30th November 20:06
Jonny TVR said:
I have a great an L322 range rover V8 which has a great engine and bad bodywork. Is this a good donor for a series 1 or is it too new?
I have never heard of anyone doing that kind of transplant. It would make the car incredibly difficult to sell. With a Series 1, standard is the way to go. Max I would ever consider is a Rover 3.5/3.9 V8 or maybe the 2.25 petrol engine from the 2/3. Would make a great magazine cover car if you did transplant L322 running gear into a Series 1
bakerstreet said:
I have never heard of anyone doing that kind of transplant. It would make the car incredibly difficult to sell. With a Series 1, standard is the way to go. Max I would ever consider is a Rover 3.5/3.9 V8 or maybe the 2.25 petrol engine from the 2/3.
Would make a great magazine cover car if you did transplant L322 running gear into a Series 1
I think I secretly knew the answer!Would make a great magazine cover car if you did transplant L322 running gear into a Series 1
What do you think of this one? https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1957-land-rove...
Jonny TVR said:
I think I secretly knew the answer!
What do you think of this one? https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1957-land-rove...
Difficult to tell. But the tyes on it are OLD. The XCL's haven't been sold in over 20 years. Looks shiny though What do you think of this one? https://collectingcars.com/for-sale/1957-land-rove...
As for the transplant. Anything is possible.
However a Rover V8 will pretty much bolt right up and require minimal changes to make it viable. Also 130-180hp works well in a Series.
The L322 used a BMW 4.4 V8 or a Jaguar V8 (4.2, 4.4, 5.0). Never will mate to the Series transmission. so it would be a much larger project. And would likely require a lot of changes. But it is certainly doable.
But the thing with the Rover V8 is. It is a very common engine swap into a Series (not just a 1, but 2 & 3 also). So much so. That Land Rover introduced the Stage 1 V8 and eventually the V8 One Ten and Ninety models. There were also dealerships in the USA selling V8 converted Series III's back in the day.
300bhp/ton said:
As for the transplant. Anything is possible.
However a Rover V8 will pretty much bolt right up and require minimal changes to make it viable. Also 130-180hp works well in a Series.
The L322 used a BMW 4.4 V8 or a Jaguar V8 (4.2, 4.4, 5.0). Never will mate to the Series transmission. so it would be a much larger project. And would likely require a lot of changes. But it is certainly doable.
But the thing with the Rover V8 is. It is a very common engine swap into a Series (not just a 1, but 2 & 3 also). So much so. That Land Rover introduced the Stage 1 V8 and eventually the V8 One Ten and Ninety models. There were also dealerships in the USA selling V8 converted Series III's back in the day.
I'd also be wanting to substantially improve the stopping power too!! However a Rover V8 will pretty much bolt right up and require minimal changes to make it viable. Also 130-180hp works well in a Series.
The L322 used a BMW 4.4 V8 or a Jaguar V8 (4.2, 4.4, 5.0). Never will mate to the Series transmission. so it would be a much larger project. And would likely require a lot of changes. But it is certainly doable.
But the thing with the Rover V8 is. It is a very common engine swap into a Series (not just a 1, but 2 & 3 also). So much so. That Land Rover introduced the Stage 1 V8 and eventually the V8 One Ten and Ninety models. There were also dealerships in the USA selling V8 converted Series III's back in the day.
M
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