Eugene, Oregon makes a good stand-in for the Serengeti plains of Africa, and this 1981 Land Rover Series 3 109 Diesel can handle either with charm and optimism. If you find yourself exclaiming things like, “I say; can’t those bothersome lions sod off? Cuppa tea, mate?”, then you might need more Land Rover in your life. Take a digital walk to check out this one on eBay. Listed at $13,500 or best offer, the right-hand-drive rig is a claimed “fine” driver. Encouraging communications outside of eBay’s normal channels seems like an odd way to attract buyers, but to each their own.
My long-gone 1966 Dodge Coronet’s “Turquoise” paint could be a dead ringer for this Land Rover hue. Sturdy black vinyl readily shuns fast food spills and animal blood. Hey; things happen. It wouldn’t be a classic 4×4 without five or six levers sprouting from the drivetrain tunnel. A gear shifter and transfer case range selector should account for two. One is probably the “ROAMERDRIVE overdrive” mentioned in the listing, and the others are probably for dumping an oil slick or ejecting the passenger. You can tell we’re in the ’80s by the plastic dashboard and steering wheel; fancy! “Put the gas pedal through the floorboard!” could be more than a euphemism on this well-worn Land Rover. The listing mentions rust repairs needed; cracking job, seller!
Students will crane their necks looking past that Tesla Cybertruck to figure out whose parent has a tire on the hood. That chisel-edged square stock bumper will carve up any tin can that tries a Blinker=Right-Of-Way lane change.
The windowless top seems perfect if your companions are boxes or creatures that can’t be trusted to remain in the vehicle until it reaches its destination. The “109” refers to the Landy’s 109 inch wheelbase, about the same as the 2024 Land Rover Defender, a vehicle with windows all around and a side-mounted faux ladder thing that’s part of its rooftop cargo carrier. Overall this 1980 version looks far more suited to overland travel. I can’t imagine traversing sod in a Land Rover without the sound of old-school gear reduction whine.
The Troop Carrier configuration adds seating for eight out back, perfect for your next bank robbery or soccer game. The hose-ready interior repels any mess created by toddlers to teens. Would you consider this utilitarian throwback for your troop?
Ha! That’s the best ab workout I’ve had in years, nice work, Todd! Not only is the title a great band name, this is a solid condenter for Barn Finds Best of 2024, if we had such a thing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see spare tires showing up on the frunks of Cybertrucks after this one hits the internet.
Thanks, Scotty! It will be news to my wife that I occasionally amuse others besides myself. Imperfect Diesel – with opening act Free Beer. Cheers, mate.
‘Ello mate, taking the Landy to the camel races, eh? To me, Land Rovers are the coolest 4x4s. Much better than the Asian knockoff of a similar name. While the diesel may be preferred in the desert, it’s horribly anemic with 0-60 in 48.1 seconds( if you get that fast) and 1/4 mile times, well, not sure, the stopwatch only goes to 15 minutes. Obviously, not made for speed, none really are, it’s just us Yanks have to have big V8 motors in them, and the diesel is probably adequate. This truck looks like it should be transporting 3rd world militia into some bombed out village.
I never understood the spare tire on the hood ? Who wants to hoist that up to check your fluids ?
No need to look under the bonnet. If there’s no oil under it, there’s no oil in it.
Naturally, the British have a reason for everything. They claim, it kept the spare tire cleaner, and away from debris if mounted below or on the roof, and eliminated any kind of carrier.
Great article, Todd! Love the Landy too. Function above cosmetics, hooray!
Thanks, Michelle! My daughter has the LR2 aka Freelander 2 which I’ve learned are quite popular among farmers in the U.K. I’d love to own one of these old school units… for a few years anyway. Cheers!
Searching for my campaign chair and khaki shirt with epaulettes now! Those bloody lions need to be taught a lesson-in cold steel! (or surplus WW2 aluminum).
We Australians feel as much love for these as the British royal family and Ant Anstead put together. Most folk of my late age who have ever lived in the bush have probably been in one, often on a daily basis. Our mail and other stuff was delivered in a Land Rover, who also took passengers between a and b because the postie was a general contractor and not a square inch in that vehicle was not utilized to deliver stuff. We all knew farmers who had them and we all rode in them.
But that galvanic corrosion is sneaky and great at hiding even if the later ones had painted surfaces where aluminum and metal met each other. Eventually it finds it’s way in and can cost a mint for replacement panels etc. Nice Landy, nice price and in theory you could put a snorkel on this puppy and go serious sub surface. But I’d want to see more of it up close.
I worked for a fire apparatus company that built steel tubing body frames with aluminum inset compartments. We used a dielectric barrier material between the two dissimilar materials to avoid electrolysis. One day, as I was explaining how we constructed our products to a fire chief, he turned to me and asked, “How do you avoid urinalysis?” While I had several wise guy responses immediately pop into my head, I chose to be an adult and I respectfully went over our construction techniques with him once again…
Excellent write up. Thanks for the laughs!
Thanks, Fogline!
Like the ‘59 petrol LR that I once owned, this has the slot in the front bumper for cranking, just in case…the crank handle was mounted to the bulkhead behind the passenger compartment seats. Not sure if the diesel has compression that would forbid cranking but just for grins I gave it a go, never actually started it though.
We got a used Series 2 in the early 70s but probably suffered from lack of maintenance. It developed a nasty rod knock on day 28 of the 30 day warranty and we “persuaded” the selling dealer to tow it to the LR dealer for a few month rest while parts were obtained. The “pedal through the metal” incident for me was the high beam switch that was suddenly dangling behind the front wheel. With first and second non-sync, shifting was better than any other timing game. We tried the spare tire on the back door and on the hood and kept the hood location because we used the back door more frequently–and it looked cooler. In those younger years the extra weight was not too difficult to muscle up.