Picking it up and first impressions...

It wasn't easy sorting the travel arrangements for a 1.5/2 tonne truck. Especially as I don't have a trailer. Or a towbar.

I'm very lucky in that I have some very good friends who were prepared to lend me their equipment for a few pounds and/or beers.

So I set off down to Cambridge in an old Transit Tipper with a triple axle Ifor Williams in tow. What a long drive. 4 hours there and 5 hours back! £120 in fuel alone. Add to that £20 for the trailer and £20 for the truck and it was a relatively expensive day. Not to mention the purchase price of the truck.

Ah, the truck...

Well first impressions aren't too bad. The previous owner hadn't had it long but it's history is all in the Cambridge area. It had been handed back to an MOT station in payment of a bill when it's keeper had obviously had enough. Previous to that, though, he'd kept it on the road for many years. I presume it had just become too much.

I'm not sure how long it sat outside the MOT station, but as it was last MOT'd in 2005 I'd presume five and a half years until 'Nik' (the vendor) bought it in early 2012.

Apparently the gearbox was seized but it had been started over the previous months.

The truck was hauled onto the trailer in the pouring rain with a tow-rope and, unfprtunately I didn't take any pictures. So I left Cambridge with the 109 behind me and a big grin on my face. Cheers Nik. Top bloke.

Once home I began to have a closer look at what I'd bought.

Pics on the driveway:

Hmmm, it would appear pretty original, however the engine shows as a Series 3 2.25 petrol, yet it still has a dynamo.

The bulkhead has rotted in the usual corners and the drivers side footwell has rotted through. The passeneger side, however has been repaired at some point in the past. The chassis has a few holes in it that will need patching for MOT and the whole thing needs a bloody good tidy up.

First impressions though are positive. Would it remain that way?...

The 109 is found.

After a few weeks of scouring every Land Rover forum, eBay, Gumtree and free magazine I finally came upon a tax exempt Series 2a 109 in Cambridge. I say came up on, as it had pretty much passed me by. I hadn't been watching it, it just came up ona quick search during my lunch hour. It was £500 with a minute left. Sod it. £510.00 bid. Just in case.

I should clarify that I wasn't that bothered. It was too far away and £500 was top of my budget anyway. History seems to show that £500 with a minute left rapidly increases to £650 before the end as all the last minute snipes find their mark. In no way did I expect to win.

But I did.

Bugger. I've just spent top-whack on a wreck that's been sat in a field in Cambridge for 6 years. 200 and odd miles away. Bugger, bugger, bugger.

The description sounded familiar though:

"Ok, so the story with this is I bought it by mistake. Well that's what I told my wife! Went shopping and bought a land rover. Hmmm worryingly she believed me. Last time I went for potatoes I came back with an army landy so in my life anything happens! Thing is I have too many and not enough time. This has sat for about 4 years and the person sold it to me to do a couple of months back. I know it will not be this summer and I need my money out of it before then to cover some other crazy idea projects. So..... Having had a quick look at it. It has a divider between cab and back so nice and secure. The engine runs nicely. It goes into gear....reverse! Will need a battery. Needs welding to the chassis. One leaf spring has a crack in it. A side window was smashed by kids who also mangled the gear stick somehow feels like the gear gates are at 90' to where they should be. So in a nut shell. If I were keeping it which I really want to !! I would I would fit a new floor section of the bulkhead. change the gearbox ( I will include a spare one I have for the purpose). I would add a new leaf spring or bind it with oil cloth before any mot. I would spend a week under it welding (I am a slow welder!!) Needs clutch sorting at same time as gearbox swap. No idea of condition of brakes. Most of the electrics worked when I played with them but I would check all and replace lights etc. Think thats the crux of it. Sold as spares or repair. You are welcome to view by agreement as it is stored elsewhere. Collections is roughly from the the CB24 8RH area. You will need a trailer. IT WILL NOT DRIVE AWAY!! Please ask any questions. Don't ask for a buy it now price, offer me one and I will let you know! Cheers. It is tax exempt so once it is running you will save £220 ish every year in road tax and historic insurance is £100 a year. How cheap is that to run a 4x4!!!! If you wanted to set up as a man with a van or trades business this would be perfect. TO CONFIRM..NO TAX (FREE), NO MOT AND NEEDS WORK! Thanks for looking"

These are the pics from eBay

Now I just had to pick it up!

The next Land Rover will be...?

So after about 9 months of being without a Land Rover, the bug started to bite again. It had to be done. But which one? Frankly, finance was an issue. The spiralling costs of keeping two boring cars on the road is enough to deal with without a toy added to the equation. So it had to be cheap to buy with minimal overhead costs. Simple. A classic has cheaper insurance and if it's old enough, benefits from free road tax.

So the search began for a Series motor. Preferably tax free. The other advantage to a Series is that parts are pretty cheap, the engineering is relatively basic and there's still plenty of them about. Plus; I'd never had one before.

I have to admit it was a bit of a shock looking at the prices of Series LRs now to what they were a few years back. Then, a Series 3 could easily be had for £150 notes in project condition. Now, they start at £500 for a rust bucket. I guess it's down to the recycling value.

So which model to go for? I, II or III...

I love Series 1s. They are achingly beautiful to look at. They are the perfectionists Land Rover. But... They are increasingly expensive, some parts are hard to find and, they are fairly utilitarian to drive. Next...

Series 2s are beautiful machines too. Particularly with the headlights in the grill. There's plenty around. Almost all are tax exempt and they're pretty cheap(ish)

Series 3s are the archetypal Land Rover. The one your mind goes to when someone says 'Land Rover'. They are very common, reasonable to drive and parts are everywhere. But, they're a little too common and most are over £200 a year in road tax.

For me, the Series 2 wins here. It's beautiful, traditional, tax exempt and not too common. But which one?

The 88" always look best. They're just in proportion. 109s are ungainly and a bit ugly, especially with a hard top. However 109s are usually much cheaper as less people want them, despite their larger carrying capacity. My 90 was a great truck, but it was pants for load lugging as the door shape and general load area is relatively small. As my truck is for tip trips and load lugging, the 109 is more sensible.

So there we have it. A Series 2 109. The search begins...

The rest of the collection...

So after the Discovery, there was a definite LR bug taking hold. The next vehicle was a 1989 F reg 90 2.5TD.

What a truck. It was this truck that really hooked me as a Land Rover addict and my first real foray into off-roading. There's enough history in that truck to write a huge blog of it's own, but that wouldn't make any sense at all. So lets just stick with - Bought, Fixed, Wrecked offroad, Rebuilt and Sold. Next...

2006 Discovery 3. Wow. Amazing vehicle. The most practical vehicle of all time bar none. Also probably teh most unreliable and expensive to fix. Didn't last long. Bye Bye.

Discovery 2 V8

I suppose that I should 'fess up right now that I'm not really expecting anyone to read this. I actually hope they don't in some ways. I'd probably be bored if I were reading it.

But for me, this is like a diary for someone who doesn't do diaries and is much too lazy to keep them up to date and accurate if he did. There is no real timeline other than what my (increasingly lapsing) memories tell me. Hence the blog. I can ramble on and recollect here, just in case I ever need to remember it again. It makes sense to me, anyway.

So, whilst on the Land Rover subject I might as well chart the brief history leading up to the actual meat of the blog, namely the 109.

Here goes...

After the beginning there was a definite interest in all things Land Rover. Never really noticed them up until then. Turns out they're everywhere. Well, I wanted one. Badly.

1999 T' reg Discovery II 4.0V8.


Came my way from Peterborough. What a great car. Roomy, luxurious, but bloody thirsty. Lasted for a few months before the LPG kit packed in. Gone but not forgotten...

In the beginning...

...there was a flood. Not much of a flood; but enough to keep a regular saloon car from getting under the bridge. I suppose it could have been attempted. But, in all likelihood, it would have failed. Anyway. There was water and lots of it.

On the other side of it, was the road to the Mother in Law's (capitalised, of course). That's where the kids were. On the other side. Bugger.

The next thing that happened was innocious enough that I've never really realised it until now. But it was definitely a pivotal moment. A Land Rover simply plodded through.

No bother. Hardly slowed. Probably going to pick their kids up too. Gits.


I guess that's where it started...