Are we the only ones that can drive these things?

[LH Drive]

I drive and own a 1972 Series 3 Land Rover. I have always loved Series trucks even as a kid. The way i see it, my Series Rover found me as I was not looking to buy or even thinking of owning one at that time. I have not rode in one or driven one before my purchase, I could'nt even take it for a test drive as it was'nt drivable.
My determination to get this old truck back on the road and myself to adapt towards any driving condition the Series came with is stricktly out of my love for this old girl. I've managed to handle her very well on the road and have already had to replace a broken u-joint 600 mile away from my garage and replace a fan belt on the road side of I-294 near Chicago.
My wife loves to ride beside me on the Series LR but she can't figure out how to drive it. I really want her to drive it and even take it to work once in a while. I guess she is used to her newer car so she gave up on the landy. After riding with me for awhile and after the Land Rover was more road worthy my father in-law asked to drive it. With me on the passenger side and him behind the wheel. The engine fires up for him as soon as he turns the key. He studdies the shift pattern thats eched on the shift knob and gets a feel where the gears are. As we start to move he couldnt keep it in first gear, it kept jumping out as he would release the clutch. The landy would jack rabbit as he would give it ALOT of gas and she would spit out the gear shifter. (detent spring? maybe)This never happens to me and its almost like my landy did'nt want him behind the wheel. I told my in-law to start in 2nd gear and then we were off. The sound of the 2.25 engine screaming was the first for me as he still had it in 2nd gear. Shifting to 3rd was a problem as my father in-law could'nt find 3rd gear. I thought he was going to rip the stick shifter clean off the tranny. About the time we lost momentum he found 3rd gear but this was the wrong gear to be in at that speed and the landy coughed and hopped till we gained enough speed. 4th gear was easy for him to find but then the light ahead had just turned red so back to first he went. I kept shaking my head and let out a little laugh as I was'nt sure that was okay to do, him being my in-law. Frustrated but he kept at it, I could see he was having trouble and all he could do is start complaining about the transmission and weak brakes. The next few intersections signal lights were green and cruisin 35 MPH was fine but then came the first right hand turn. He had forgotten I had said the turn signals were on the right side of the steering wheel prior to this journey. Cars started honking behind us as he was saying to me,"this thing doesnt even have a signal indicator". He was glad the test drive was over and has'nt asked to drive it since.
Both my wife and my in-law have owned cars with manual transmissions and both say it was'nt easy to drive my Series 3. I know with practice they too can enjoy it but now I wonder about the first Americans that test drove the first imported Series 3 Land Rovers back in 71-74. Was this one of the reasons they did'nt sell? Were all these bad test drives the reason axles and the new all syncro transmission went back for repairs before they even sold?

[jp-]

Interesting story, and yes we are the only ones that can drive them. I have tried to explain it to others, but have often given up. You have to adjust your driving style to the machine. Very, very few people are comfortable doing that. They figure you just get in and go. No, no. Take me for example, I love to speed. So when I get in the Rover and drive like an old lady they say, "Why you goin so slow?" It's not a sports car. It won't go 90. You have to shift slow, you have to brake in advance. New car makers have done their very best to make us "switch off our brains" when driving. They even make the cars park themselves now!

There is a steep learning curve for driving a Rover. People who love them will learn it, people who don't will give up. It took me several weeks to master it when I was 16. Now it's second nature. Don't be so quick to think that you could drive your Rover like you do now on your first day out.

It's not unique to Land Rovers, all old vehicles require much more of the driver. When I first drove my Uncle's 1922 T-model, I thought I would wreck it. It takes some fancy footwork on some small pedals to shift and stop. But that's part of the lure.

Not everyone can drive these old monsters. Patience and persistence, I fear, are diminishing traits in our society.

[PH4]

My wife drives our 1972 RHD SW with no problem. In fact drives it quite a bit in heavy traffic and large bridges. In addition, there are women driving them all over England. I believe some people are just intimidated by them but the actual driving is not so difficult. I believe a good deal of this comes from the current state of the Rover. If the rover is in good condition, it is pretty easy to drive and actually not much more bumpy then a Toyota Forerunner when the rover shocks are in good condition. I never had the pleasure of driving a new series off the assembly line but would bet a pretty good ride compared to alot of vehicles.

[yorker]

Is this one of the reasons they did'nt sell? Were all these bad test drives the reason axles and the new all syncro transmission went back for repairs before they even sold?

Everyone I've talked to who test drove one in the 1960's and opted NOT to buy told me cost was a factor. They could get a Bronco with a 289 or 302 for similar $ if not less(just one example given to me). The lack of power is often mentioned too. No one ever mentioned problems shifting- they were used to quirky and non syncro Trannys back then.

ca. 1969 you could get a CJ5 with a 225 V6, Bronco with a V8. Most american 4*4s came with a 4cylinder as a base option- true but they at least offered something with more power.

[LH Drive]

Yorker, another ugly truck built for the same multi-purpose in the same era comes to mind. The 1965-1971 International Scout. It was American built so no added oversea fee's. With a 304 V8 engine, bullet proof T-19 4-speed tranny and stout dana 20 t-case with dana 30 front axle, Stronger dana 44 rear axle. This Corn Binder also had a heavy duty price tag. Built tuff to handle the abuse like farm equipment, low sales was the death of this old truck.

[yorker]

Well the Scout itself didn't die alone- all of International's light duty truck line died- the Travel Alll, and the pickups line in addition to the Scout.

It was a tough market and Land Rover had a lot going against it in the early '70s late '60s here in the US.

[scott]

Well the Scout itself didn't die alone- all of International's light duty truck line died- the Travel Alll, and the pickups line in addition to the Scout.

It was a tough market and Land Rover had a lot going against it in the early '70s late '60s here in the US.

the scout died because of international saw greater profits in commercial truck production than in passenger vehicle production. the retooling and design required to meet the governments mpg rating sent a pretty capable truck to its early grave. my bro has a 79 traveler and its nice, not as weird looking as my series but more dependable and nearly as capalbe

[LH Drive]

I just came from the annual IH International harvester Nationals held in Springfield, OH August 10-12. About 400 IH trucks showed up and most of them being Scout & Scout II's. I drove my Series LR to check out the show and parked it near the hundreds of Scout trucks. I was amazed how much attention it got and how many of these offroaders had never seen one up close. They were impressed with the allum body,overall spartan design but most of all the hand start crank, it got them every time. The early 1961 Scout has alot in common with the Series LR's.

[Donnie]

I think that the CAFE & clean air act ,helped put the kibosh on the Rover mark ..............JMO..........Donnie

[scott]

getting back to the driving these things...i taught my 17 y/o daughter to drive a manual using my series iia. she listen, then took off as smooth as if she's always driven a stick. went out and got her a new beetle and she nearly (literally) destroyed it just triing to learn the clutch to throttle mix

[yorker]

I think that the CAFE & clean air act ,helped put the kibosh on the Rover mark ..............JMO..........Donnie

If the market here had been worth it they would have found ways to comply. Look at their sales figures here prior to these issues-they were never a huge seller here especially when you compare them to the sales of domestic 4X4s in the same years.

[LH Drive]

got her a new beetle and she nearly (literally) destroyed it just triing to learn the clutch to throttle mix
I think that most stick shift cars don't have enough low end torque at low engine revs. You can't just take your foot off the clutch and expect to start rolling without giving it gas like you said. I have my Series engine idle set at 750 RPM's and when in first gear you can release the clutch then give it fuel without stalling the engine.
I know my Series 3 transmission is syncronized on all forward gears and it works well. However, I've been double clutching between 1st & 2nd and floating between 3rd & 4th gear. The gears go in smooth without any force. I'm not sure if driving it this way will cause any harm but my tranny sounds happy so far.

[msggunny]

I taught my wife how to drive it, she finally learned after the 2nd attempt.

First time scared the hell out of her and she wouldnt go near it for a while.

2nd time she did well, it took her a bit but she got the hang of it.

Worst part for her was the manual steering at slow speeds. I dont feel comfortable with her driving it in traffic yet though, even though she used to drive a big toyota 70 series cruiser with no power steering in Harare.