1980 Land Rover Other
Offered for your consideration: 1980 Land Rover 109 Series III Shooting Brake. This truck was completely restored and renovated by the owner for his own use (not with the intent to resell). Soon after completion he lost his life to cancer. I am offering itat auction here for his widow who knowslittle about cars andnothing about eBay.
I'll give the bullet points first followed by the story of the vehicle as I know it:
- 4.6 liter V-8 (new block and internal parts custom built by Land Rover expert)
- Military-grade rebuilt 5-speed Trans and 'Diff-Lock' transfer case
- 4-wheel Disk Brake conversion
- Complete repaint (body stripped off framework and re-riveted after painting): Land Rover original color "Massai Red" with beige/tan rooftop and wheels and silver accents
- New upholstery (complete: seats and body-sides upholstery--black cloth seat faces and black vinyl throughout for the rest).
- New headliner (beige)
- New carpet (black) throughout
- New accessories (brush guard auxiliary lights various hitches axe jack side steps Jerry can and mount roof rack and ladder high-mounted back-up lamp and on and on)
- New B.F. Goodrich All-Terrain T/A radial tires and 8-spoke steel off-road wheels (including the hood-mounted spare)
- Bilstein shocks all around including steering stabilizer
The car shows 57900 miles on the odometer but is being driven a small amount periodically so the actual mileage will change (although not significantly) before auction's end. The owner's widow has assured me that this mileage is correct. All of this work expounded upon below was done at approximately 56000 miles.
According to the widow her husband bought thetruckin California sometime in the late 2011 or early 2012 (from Jason Momoa: film star and husband of Lisa Bonet) with around 54K miles on it. The truck saw limited use before he began the restoration and preparation for a life in Montana. The work was completed by the end of 2013/beginning of 2014. Soon afterward he was diagnosed with a fast-growth cancer and died soon after that. Upon completion the truck won 1st place at the 2013 "English Motors at Fairbrook" auto show and in 2014 was accepted for entry into the prestigious La Jolla Concours d' Elegance. The truck has had only 1000 – 2000 miles put on it since then. It has not been off-road since completion. I do not know if it was ever taken off road before he purchased it.
Engine
This Land Rover originally came with a 3.5 liter V-8 engine but a new 4.6 liter was built by a reputable Rover expert in San Diego—beginning with an new block and all new parts. A 4.2 liter cam shaft was used in the build-up so as to maintain the 3.5 liter's oil pump drive and distributor-based ignition. The truck is running dual Strombergs that have also been rebuilt with a factory air-cleaner. The engine cooling system was completely renovated (new radiator and all new hoses) at the same time.
Driveline
At the same time the engine was being built the owner imported (from RK Automotive in the UK) a rebuilt military-grade Land Rover Discovery 5-speed transmission which was then fitted with a new flywheel and clutch parts mated to a Diff-Lock differential. I am told it has 28-spline Salisbury(?) axles. The vehicle has also been fitted with 4-wheel disk brake upgrade kit from Rover's North and Bilstein shocks all around including a Bilstein steering stabilizer.
Wheels and Tires
The truck (including the hood-mounted spare) is fitted with 16" steel 8-spoke wheels that have been painted light beige/tan to match the top. The wheels are shod with new B.F. Goodrich All-Terrain T/A Radials (LT 235/85 R16) with "Tri-Gard 8-ply" sidewalls. (They still have most of the 'nubs' on them.) The valve-stem caps have Union Jacks on them.
Body
At the same time as the drivetrain was being built up the owner had a high-end bodyman strip off (by drilling out all the rivets) the exterior body panels (in part to affirm that there was in fact no rust but also mainly so that when finished the truck would retain the original rivets-over-paint factory-original look. The truck is painted bright red (Land Rover Massai Red) with a light-beige/cream-colored top and accents. After paint all these body panels were then reinstalled using OEM Land Rover aluminum rivets (ordered directly from the Land Rover factory). The front hitch hardware and auxiliary axe are painted in the body color. All the alloy hinges were stripped and refinished all the locks rebuilt and all new weather seals were installed.
Accessories
The truck is fitted with
- A very stout and solid roof luggage rack (with an equally stout access ladder bolted-on to the rear) all painted silver to match other truck side and corner trim)
- A front brush guard (with two auxiliary Hella fog lights)
- A high-mounted auxiliary back-up light
- 4 high-mounted Hella driving lights
- A 5-gallon 'jerry' can mounted to the tailgate
- Auxiliary steps and tail-light guards mounted to the rear (painted silver).
- Fold-up steps beneath every side door (painted black)
- Both 'clamp-on' and 'ball-type' trailer hitches mounted to the front bumper (painted the same Massai Red as the truck's body)
- Auxiliary axe and shovel mounts on the hood/bonnet.
- Wide-view mirrors (very easy to 'read' while giving superior rearward vision all around)
- Lock-out front hubs
- Universal hi-lift jack mounted to the roof rack
- 4 roof vents
- Overhead reading/map lights mounted to the roof (inside behind the front seats)
- Siren/air horn system (Federal Signal Corp model MS 4000)
- External Hood Lock
Upholstery
The interior was reupholstered as well using black cloth and new black carpeting throughout. The original dash pad is perfect the below-windshield vents work perfectly. The headliner was replaced as well and looks perfect.
Issues
The only issue I could find in my several hundred miles of driving is that the gas gauge does not read 'full' when the tank is full so I'm not sure if 'empty' really reads empty. I have filled it up several times at the ¼ mark and each time it has taken about 10 gallons of gasoline. When full the gauge reads three-quarters full.
Summary
The owner built this truck to serve him for the rest of his life. It was not a 'frame-off' restoration but short of that everything that should be replaced was replaced. He spared no expense (and in fact invested between $70 & $80K in the restoration refurbishment and upgrading) in creating this thoroughly reliable truck that could easily be used as a expedition platform or as a daily driver. I used to be in the auto-restoration business and can attest to the comprehensiveness of his vision as well as the quality of workmanship and thoroughness of ALL those who performed work on this amazing vehicle. It runs and drives wonderfully and gets a LOT of smiles and 'thumbs-up' everywhere I've driven it. I would not hesitate to load the truck up and head to Alaska or the tip of South America. It's an astonishingly well-thought-out and quality restoration of a well-engineered and carefully upgraded truck.
Legalities
The truckis currently registered in Montana and does not appear to have any California-related smog parts on it. The truck is currently located in San Diego. Delivery elsewhere can be facilitated post auction but all delivery-related arrangements and costs will be at the winning bidder's behest and expense.
$500 down payment due within 24 hours of auction's end or vehicle will be offered to the next highest bidder. Payment in full required within 7 days of auction's end. Unless prior arrangements have been made pick-up or delivery must be completed within 7 days of auction's end.
VIN: SALLBCMV1AA157199
