Land Rover Series 3 88"

[Wardukw]

I scored a very nice pile of bits a while back and in it was  the new re-released Tamiya LRDP Chev and 3 land rovers ..2 ambulances and a standard hard top 109 ..when I'm done with two of the landies..well ones gonna be much longer than normal 

[Devilfish]

Excellent work! Absolutely believe able build.

I got, while doing military service, my driving license on a swb Landrover (diesel) in winter time. It had a soft top over the rear seats and plastic windows which fogged up very soon. Couldn't see anything in the rear view mirror. Comfort: it had none. Speed: it maxed out at 78 kilometers an hour. Quirks: the turn signal was on the dashboard and worked reciprocal. Other quirks: it was very well know in the Dutch army to snap off inner axles once the drive forgot to switch off 4wd once it was on normal roads.
 If I remember correct the engines in the Dutch army Laro's ( as they were affectionately known) were petrol engines converted to diesel as it was cheaper to run.

David aka 63CPE

Nice memories.

When Our camp closed, we decided to wreck our Landy. We drove it all day without using the clutch.  Last we heard, it needed not only a new clutch, but also a gearbox....

[Wardukw]

Ex army 109 landies are quite common here..I know a bloke in Wellington who owns 8 of them..all 3.5ltr V8 models and most are in average condition but 3 are prefect ..absolutely  immaculate.
Still you would think they had hefty price tags ..nope ..they are worth maybe 4 to 5k ..maybe.

[McColm]

When I was in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force 1986-1997 I got to drive the Ambulance version and the Range Rover 6x4 fire engine, also the civie version when I worked at Luton Airport.

[Mossie]

Landis's are always good, and this is a great conversion.

I'm always surprised by how dumpy the 88 Series 3 looks compared to the later Defender 90.

[killnoizer]

Excellent work! Absolutely believe able build.

I got, while doing military service, my driving license on a swb Landrover (diesel) in winter time. It had a soft top over the rear seats and plastic windows which fogged up very soon. Couldn't see anything in the rear view mirror. Comfort: it had none. Speed: it maxed out at 78 kilometers an hour. Quirks: the turn signal was on the dashboard and worked reciprocal. Other quirks: it was very well know in the Dutch army to snap off inner axles once the drive forgot to switch off 4wd once it was on normal roads.
 If I remember correct the engines in the Dutch army Laro's ( as they were affectionately known) were petrol engines converted to diesel as it was cheaper to run.

David aka 63CPE

You're right , Dutch landys are diesel driven , maybe it was lightweight that you remember. Friend of mine just bought one from Dutch army some weeks ago.    I own ( and drive ) a Land Rover Tithonus ExMod in complete military condition.
Right behind the dodge ...
You cannot view this attachment.

[rickshaw]

I used to drive various Landrovers when I served in the Army.  The series II and in particular the IIa were the best.  The 109 not so much.  I remember one exercise seeing 19 diggers get out of the back of a LWB Landrover and unload all their personal gear as well, after they were commanded to "bug-out" from a position and rather than walk crammed themselves in.  An excellent vehicle, a whole load smaller than a Hummer and it can carry a whole load more and fit inside a Chinook easily.   

[killnoizer]

The car in the pic above is the modern version with axles like the first Range Rover , no power steering and no electronics , all the body stuff and the doors are simple  like series III . That is the perfect mix , also with a stronger build  frame plus full roll cage and modern and rough exmoor seats . I like the Series very well , but driving a distance of some more 100 miles,  and survive by accidents plus very high performance off-road , that is the way ...  the series will try to kill you over 50 miles speed .

Nobody knows how much they can carry ,  the trials  keep running for that

[Devilfish]

When I was in Kuwait, we had a section Land Rover and we had a thing going to see who could get it through the chicane and around the bend on the airfield peri-track the fastest....

I'll just say, 60 mph is scary in those conditions....

[Wardukw]

On the farm I grew up on dad had a series 1 that used to let me thrash around the farm on ..that thing was bloody scary at 40mph off road as the seat belts sucked and the seat was useless at holding your butt in place ..of course I changed that over time..4 point harness ..half roll cage yet didn't mod the motor and then ohhhh the fun factor was fantastic...still slow but without the risk of falling out .. you can go even faster. 45 to 50 mph 
That was so much fun and I only ran over a fence twice 

[PR19_Kit]

When I was at Pressed Steel in the 60s our 'Mobile Lab' was a Series II Station Wagon, the one with the tropical roof and a roof rack. It was so STUFFED with instruments and batteries to drive them, along with the required invertor, that it's 0-60 time was measured with a calendar!

So we put a spare Rover V8 in it, and it just may have been the first V8 one ever, long before Rover did it themselves. Then it was a lot better performance wise, but our boss then loaded it up with MORE instruments etc!

We couldn't win.............

[Rheged]

I've told the tale previously, but the elderly LWB  diesel Landrover I part owned (50% share) whilst at Uni (Lancaster 1970-1974) would plod on relentlessly (but slowly ......occasionally overtaken by passing glaciers) over just  about any conditions.  Yes, it went wrong on several occasions  and needed DIY repairs(been there, done that, got the oilstained T shirt on more than one occasion)  but it never completely let us down .  It was a challenge to drive at speeds in excess of 50mph on road and 15 mph off but the chap who owned the other half share, and bought out my share in 1975, is still running it.  It was his daughter who coined the phrase " Infinite Inevitability Drive "  as she is a Hitchiker's Guide to the Universe fan......................it may take an infinite time to get there, but get there it will, no matter where THERE happens to be located. My mate's grand daughter Fiona (age 14) is now driving it round a farm in Dorset and reckons her great grand daughter will probably do the same.

Posts here show that Kit  appreciates the epic load carrying  capability and Pellson the DIY repair  possibilities. inevitabilities.

If I  had  more time/space/ spare cash  I'd love to own a series 2a  12 seater.

[PR19_Kit]

Posts here show that Kit  appreciates the epic load carrying  capability and Pellson the DIY repair  possibilities. inevitabilities.

By the time I left PSF in 1969 the V8 Series II had large Honda generator mounted sideways at  the back of the roof rack, a socking great retractable 2.5' dia. reel of 27 core cable mounted on a short swivelling Blackpool Tower-like thing just in front of the gennie, 4 x 12V batteries on the floor in the back, 24 channels of DC amplifiers in a 19" rack, two invertors, a 12" and a 6" UV recorder, an industrial sized tape recorder, three seats,2( in the front, one in  the back) AND it still carried the spare wheel on the back door! 

Load carrying it surely was!

[Rick Lowe]

And I bet it still had spare space and pulling power!

[PR19_Kit]

It sure did with that honking V8 up front!

It was a tad cramped inside though.