WHY DO WE WANT THESE THINGS????????

[xrover]

i HAVE READ MANY (20 TO 50 OR SO) LISTINGS OF PEOPLE THINKING ABOUT BUYING A SERIES... WONDERING WHAT ONE MIGHT BE WORTH... TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT THE BIG DEAL IS.... AND ETC... ETC... ETC...

I WANTED MINE BECAUSE I HAD THE CHANCE TO RIDE IN ONE WHILE I WAS A BOY SCOUT BACK IN 1979, I SAID TO MYSELF, "SELF, IF YOU EVER HAVE SOME DISPOSABLE INCOME WERE GOING TO BUY ONE OF THESE NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE SAYS..."

ADDITIONALLY, I LIKE THE CRAZY LOOKS AND THE FACT THAT MY NEIGHBOR CALLS ME TO GET HIS F250 WHEN IT'S STUCK IN THE MUD.

ADDITIONALLY, ADDITIONALLY... IT GIVES ME A REASON TO GO OUTSIDE AND DO SOME YARDWORK AS I AM WAITING FOR IT TO COME TO TEMP AFTER I INSTALL 200.00 IN NEW PARTS AND SPEND COUNTLESS HOURS WAITING FOR YOU FINE INDIVIDUALS TO GIVE ME ADVISE ON WHAT I SHOULD DO NEXT. (I AM VERY GREATFULL YOU KNOW...)

IT'S A PERSONAL THING YOU KNOW..........

WHY DID YOU WANT ONE????????????????????????????????????????????

[scott]

lots of my friend have short wheel based 4x4s mostly jeeps, but badvibes has a iia and a jeep and like he says "heeps, yodas or roves, they all get stuck they all break down". so i went with the one that always gets stuck always breaks down but most definantly always looks cool

[badvibes]

WHY DID YOU WANT ONE????????????????????????????????????????????

Because I'm a gentleman and do not wish to motor about after dark!

Jeff

[Jim-ME]

I bought mine because the first vehicle I ever owned was a 65 88. Always loved that thing even with all the repairs and expensive parts. I can also say that it never failed to get me where I needed to go. Like I said earlier they get in your blood.
Jim

[msggunny]

I bought mine because i couldnt bring a 110 back with me from Africa and after driving one i fell in love with it. I have always liked to be a bit different too, not buying what everyone else has.

Going to keep it until either i die, my son wants it, or it falls apart. Lots of sentimental value that out weighs the PITFA that it can be.

[singingcamel]

bought my first series rover in 1974 , $2500.00 and have had them ever since.
when i was 12 yrs old i would drool not only for the topless african women but for the adds on the last few pages that would have adds for land rover. i was hooked then.
i have had evey year of the series rovers except the year of the 1954 and never owned a 107 but i'm not dead yet .i still own my 109 3 dr. for over 30 yrs.now.
i just took a 3 day drive in my 1969 .on a camping excursion, i still love em and can't ever imagine walking into my shop without seeing a series rover.
i tell people who are thinking about one, its kind of like being married. 90% of the time you love it ,10% of the time you wonder why you did it .
you ought to see our house and drive way, looks like a rover rally waiting to happen, in facy at the park we stayed at ,we had several people stop and ask if it was, it was just a family gathering ,but it did look like like a rally, never thought abought it.
KEEP EM GOING , MY BROTHER IN ROVERS ...marc

[TeriAnn]

bought my first series rover in 1974 , $2500.00 and have had them ever since.

i still own my 109 3 dr. for over 30 yrs.now.

Wow! Someone into them longer than I!

My first Land Rover was a 1968 88 I purchased in 1976 and This Year is my 29th with The Green Rover (1960 109 3 door Dormobile).

To the topic question:

"A Land Rover is less of a car than a state of mind."
from a review of the 1964 Series Land Rover by Car and Driver magazine

This seems a spot on statement. Series owners fully believe that Series Land Rovers have more raw charisma in a single lug nut than just about any other 4X4 could ever claim.

Long time Series Land Rover folks are almost all romanticists who dream the mystical charisma of Series Land Rovers.

Lots of folks buy Series rigs, keep them a couple years then sell them because of any number of very good reasons. They never seem to get past the reality of leaky seals, high maintenance, noise and primitive amenities. The dream fades when met with the reality of the vehicle and the vehicle is sold for any number of very good reasons.

Then you get people who fall in love with the dream long term but can not quite handle the reality of a Series Land Rover. They often collect several Series Land Rovers, few if any are ever in good reliable operating condition, let alone drivable. The owner seldom puts more than 5000 miles a year on their Series Land Rover. Most of their actual driving is done in a more modern civilized vehicle. The Series Land Rovers are dream machines, facilitating untold hours of wonderful fantasies.

Then there are the folks who own A Series Land Rover long term and put lots of long miles on it. These folks generally lose what grip they might have on normal reality and become the dream, living in a different reality from the normal person.

This latter Land Rover owner subgroup tends to be mostly composed of hopeless romanticists that have a streak of masochistic tendencies and a large dash of tenacity. Generally, they also tend not to be well attached to the normal day to day reality of modern society. They are mostly thought of as mostly harmless eccentric nutters.

I'm not putting any good , bad, better or lesser labels on any subgroup as we are each different people with different needs, desires and asperations. If anything the Series Land Rover nutters should perhaps be pitied as they will never quite feel comfortable as members of normal society nor feel normal social aspirations as others do.

[Jim-ME]

Well I guess that I have you all beat for now. I got my first Rover in 1970.

[LaneRover]

I got my interest in Rovers from a combination of all those old African films and from my older brother who had a 1966 (I think) 88 and had brought it back to Maine to rebuild it over the summer. He would bitch about fixing his volkswagen but he loved working on the Rover. He was going to Trinity and then transfered to Bethel college in Minnesota. I think he sold it to a friend who then sold it on, bought it back and so on. On really cold mornings he would have a roommate sit in it and use the starter while he ALSO used the crank as that was the only way to start it when it was so cold. He also at one point owned the Rover, a Cruiser and a Jeep. he said that the Jeep was best for going down the highway but that the Rover was best for going anywhere.

Also, what other vehicle can you get into rather cheaply and have people coming and telling you that you have their dream car and that they have always wanted one.

Back in 2000 Ford borrowed my 1965 109 SW for a big meeting of the Premier Auto group up in Orange County. They wanted a display of vehicles and wanted a pretty original long wheel base Rover ( I think they found me through BPacific). I didn't get to go because that week-end I was at the aformentioned brother's wedding in Minnesota. But when they brought the Rover back the driver said, "They had sports cars worth 150 - 200K sitting there and EVERYONE was looking at your old Rover!"

[Tim Smith]

I love questions like this but never really get it right when trying to explain... So to put it quite simply I wanted because I needed to put a smile on my face every morning.

I'm keeping it because it does that and so so SO much more!

[LH Drive]

My favorite show growing up only came on the tube once a week, it was Mutual of Omaha's Wild kingdom. I would get excited when they would show a topless Series Rover. I would also drool over them on my uncle's magazine ads. I remember a shot of a mustached man sitting on the front of a Series bumper lighting up a cig. The tan Series was either stuck in the mud or he was changing the front tire. Not sure if it was a Camel Trophy or Camel cig ad. I always wondered how it must feel to drive one of those trucks. Growing up in South Texas you just don't see them on the road. The first time I traveled west to New Mexico I saw one in traffic. It was a RH drive and it was rigged up for the outback or something. I only remeber the rear of the Series SW and a Navy Seal logo on the tire cover as I was following it down the road till it turned left. That was the first I even thought of buying one for myself. I thought ,,how did that guy bring one over from the UK.. and If he can have one then so can I.
I don't have all the money in the world so about 8 years later,,I finally bought one and I can't stop driving it.

[singingcamel]

I love questions like this but never really get it right when trying to explain... So to put it quite simply I wanted because I needed to put a smile on my face every morning.

I'm keeping it because it does that and so so SO much more!

WELL SAID TIM

[dmurrell]

Why not

I too had a few other 4x4s as a younger guy, started with a 1941 Ford (Willys) GPW and then a couple of FJs and a 1970 Bronco.

I was in the Peace Corp in Kenya and took a vacation in Tanzania. I rented an early 72/73 Seriess III 88 to go to the Ngorongoro Crater. On the way up the crater the passenger rear wheel fell off at about 30 mph. After a thrilling stop, I said I must have one of these things.

It took me a while, but I have had my Series III for almost 10 years. Good portions of the time it was my only car. I can't imagine not having the ol' girl around as she's my kid's favorite car and SO DEPENDABLE.

Some of you probably know Steve Johnson from Dixieland Rovers (now closed) but his motto was , "a Series truck will always get you back to the camp". So far he's been right.

[BackInA88]

Bought my first a 73 Series III 88 on a whim from a farmer down the road.
This is before the internet and I didn't know what I was getting into.
First time I went to the auto parts they looked at me like I was nuts!

I don't even know how I found out about Rovers North, maybe an ad?
I was pleasantly surprised to find out most of the parts were cheaper than the ones for my J**p......
But alas I ended up with a new job that took me from 3 miles on local roads to work to 30+ miles on the highway.
With no O/D it just wasn't going to cut it.
So after about 3 years I sold it for double what I paid and moved on but it never got out of my blood.

Than one day wasting time on Ebay I saw a 74 88 a couple miles from my house that had just come from the Southwest with a "Buy it Now" of 10K!
Sounded high , but what the heck I was just looking.
Called to go look at it the first day it was listed, SOLD!!
But I was bitten by the Series bug again and there was no going back.
Lurked on Ebay for weeks watching......watching...watching....
Watched one not make it's reserve the first time around.
It came back up with no one bidding, so on the last day I sent the ower a note and made an offer he took.!

A solid rust free rig from the Southwest.
Of course I couldn't leave it alone.
Replaced all the seals, it is now leak free, for now.
Re-did my crashbox to Series III inners but retained the IIa clutch, so the wife can drive it, which BTW she has yet to do!
But both my daughters have!
The first time my youngest daughter drove it she popped and axle shaft at the bottom of the drive!!

In a few years my sons will be driving it!

Steve


Here's my other toy....

[scatterling]

I bought mine because riding in the back of a Land Rover in the dunes outside of Walvis Bay in Namibia is one of my earliest childhood memories... it reminds me of home


Great postings.... it just shows how much a part of us these amazing little trucks actually are, there's just no explaining it