Why i love my Landy

[Tony]

Well, there's down sides to having a colander for a motor but when it comes to the crunch it's great.

I was jsut sitting here doing some work for the VAT man when there's knock at my window, some guy i've never met before asking if i've got a tractor as he's got his flatbed stuck about a mile and a half up the road, they do stone work and were reparing some grave stones when they reversed, slipped and a little ditch full of mud captured them.

Who needs a tractor "jump in mate, we'll sort it out" and off we went, easy job everyone happy/

Last year I pulled a concrete mixer lorry out of the mud at my mates building site.....
I often think about selling it and moving on, but what on earth would i do when the man comes knocking at my door

 

[tobes01]

My last LWB shifted a 17 tonne removal lorry that was blocking the main roundabout into town. Current Series 1 was the village taxi / milk cart / grocery delivery wagon during the last snows. Took her out this morning and you still get admiring glances (which have to be for the Landy since they certainly won't be for me!).

She leaks air in, fluids out, bits fall off once in a while, but I wouldn't swap my Landy for anything...

 

[Wayland]

I used to have a little Toyota Tercel 4WD and took great delight in rescuing a Landrover out of a muddy field once.

Not everybody that owns a Landy knows how to drive them.

 

[timboggle]

When they're working they can be great - when they're not working they can be very exspensive and time comsuming.

Heres a piccy of mine on the Isle of Skye, Scotland about 3 years ago

 

[Shewie]

When I grow up I want a proper Landy too, along with a small holding and a wee woodland in the Trossachs somewhere

 

[Rob]

never get rid of your 200tdi Tony. Best engine ever - who needs quiet on the motorway, i want lots of low rev range power

Do what I did - when the chassis finally becomes more weld than plate, spend a week and about a grand rebuilding on a galv chassis

 

[Goatboy]

I've loved my landy's too,

It's the little details that they think of. Like having leaky door seals so that the water ingress from the sunroof and widows can drain out before you drown.

GB.

 

[Adze]

I used to have a little Toyota Tercel 4WD and took great delight in rescuing a Landrover out of a muddy field once.

Not everybody that owns a Landy knows how to drive them.

I once saw a Suzuki SJ410 (it was the 1.3 version not the 1 litre mind you) tow a Mitsubishi Shogun out of a ditch, sideways... lots of people underestimate the small 4WDs. The smaller of the Japanese ones are definitely designed for the Japanese demographic (i.e. 5'4 and 9 stone when dripping wet) since I'm about a foot taller and two or three stone heavier when similarly soaked, it's about the only thing stopping me having one as a 'disposable'.

My Landy? Well... it's more of an ongoing project really. I bought it instead of mechano. Sadly, the only things which have gone wrong with it in 3 years and nearly 40,000 miles have been one water pump, an alternator belt and a clutch master cylinder. Total repair fund spend about £75.

Mind you - the clutch is just starting to judder, so with a little luck that'll cost me a weekend and about £65 in bits soon. It is true that I've had to teach myself to weld in order to be able to fix the bits which haven't rusted yet... but I live in hope.

If I'm really lucky something indispensible in the engine will self destruct... but despite my best efforts and driving it like a mexican bank robber, still no joy

If something doesn't go wrong with it soon I might end up having to sell it as it's completely failed to live up to it's reputation for needing constant repair and tinkering. I mean... the heater even works and despite taking the seats out of the load area and not refitting any of the bolts, leaving holes into the cab in the wheel arches, it still resolutely fails to leak. Very disappointed really.

Mind you, it hasn't failed to do anything I've asked it to do either and it does scare the crap out of BMW drivers at roundabouts, so I suppose it gets a reprieve for the time being

 

[timboggle]

.....it does scare the crap out of BMW drivers at roundabouts, so I suppose it gets a reprieve for the time being

Yeah, they're great for that.!!

I once had a really aggressive 'Dirt' Bike guy try to intimmidate me with all his noise, regalia and fancy tricks and a game of chicken, I genuinely had nowhere else to go and he didn't realise this until it was nearly too late - he 'ejected' himself off his bike and landed safely in the ditch, his Bike however met my bullbars and the full weight of the landy as it's four wheels ran it over, he was a tadge upset and I offered to swap insurance details, he declined.

I think he carried his bike home in a bag

 

[tobes01]

But what's not to love? I could never part with my current Landy...

Summer outfit:

Winter outfit:

Working hard:

Bushcrafting:

 

[swyn]

That's nice! Good to see that you have removed the freewheeling hubs. More pain than gain there. I bet you get lots of cheerful waves.

I'd like to post a pic of my present work one but I've tried to upload a shot recently and failed desparately

I had the luxury of choice in 2003. Defender 110 in LR green, no frills and an aluminium tipping body made and fitted, some under guarding and three bolsters, front middle and rear which enable me to carry up to 25' of timber.
I can sleep in the rear with my tarp tied over the bolsters. Park in places where one would expect to see a LR so no land owner issues when I am delivering. Plus there is always a good excuse with a slab of Oak on board cut for a Sailing Barge, that always makes for a good conversation and a cuppa!
The downside is the not so good fuel consumption and little quality isues that now....seem....to....have.... gone (touch some wood quick!) with the 55000 miles. Radio works and so does the heater....eventually! I don't like journeys in it that are longer than 100 miles as my leg goes numb!

Swyn.

 

[Chris G]

I've had two. Both nearly bancrupted me.

Would I have another one? Got my eyes on a mates basket case S3 SWB which I know he's selling in the new year.

 

[widu13]

Lots of time and effort there Tobes. Congrats she a beaut.

 

[tobes01]

Lots of time and effort there Tobes. Congrats she a beaut.

Are you referring to the Landy or SWMBO?

 

[Wattle]

Tobes, I have a rather tidy 86 inch as well, they just look so right.

My workhorse is a tricked up discovery which is really good offroad but it has no character whatsoever.

Phil

 

[Nonsuch]

But what's not to love? I could never part with my current Landy...

Summer outfit:

Winter outfit:

YUM YUM YUM
That is a real beauty


NS

 

[tobes01]

Thanks all - would love to bring her to the 'moot, but the only certainties of a journey there from Hampshire would be:
1. At least two major breakdowns
2. Hourly stops for fuel
3. Driver exhaustion after two hours
4. Overall journey time of at least ten hours.

But that's life with an old Landy for you...

 

[Peter_t]

now i do like land rovers but are they sensable to have if its your only car? if you don't have a backup how do you manage?

i was considering a land rover pickup but im not so sure now after all the horror stories of breakdowns. also a mate of mine had a 90 and the steering fell apart! luckily it was on a quiet country road and he hit a tree but imagen if it was on a motorway



pete

 

[Adze]

Imagine if he'd maintained it properly and it wasn't 20 odd years old. The possibilities are almost endless!

 

[TallMikeM]

now i do like land rovers but are they sensable to have if its your only car? if you don't have a backup how do you manage?

i was considering a land rover pickup but im not so sure now after all the horror stories of breakdowns. also a mate of mine had a 90 and the steering fell apart! luckily it was on a quiet country road and he hit a tree but imagen if it was on a motorway



pete

obviously, everyone's experiences and opinions are different but I my experience they are about the most uncomfortable car to drive. I recall once having to take one on a 3 hour round trip. By the time I got back to the yard I was totally done in; back spasms, left knee all shot and and chronic headache. Off road they are supurb, but on road they are not for me.

Oh, should point out tho, I am 6' 5", so am not the best size for a landy.