How can I check my land rovers authenticity?

A bit stumped by all this so thought I would put it to the experts on here.

About 6 months ago i went to Sheffield and bought my first land rover. It is registered as a 1975 series III 88. The body however is not, it has all been replaced inside and out with what looks like around 2001-ish parts. After educating myself (i know i should have done this before buying) I thought there was no way the chassis could be original because it's in very good condition, but I've checked the V5 and the chassis number stamped on the plate by the engine matches up. Should I be looking anywhere else? Looks like the plate would be easy enough to fake, but it says series III 88 on it and surely if it was being faked they would have matched it to the body year? It has been stolen (a week after I got it) and recovered by police and been for an MOT by a land rover specialist garage and nothing was mentioned, so I assumed it's ok. Just don't want to get a nasty suprise down the line. I've heard about having to get 8 points to keep it's identity, but how will I know if parts are original? It's had the suspension changed to coils and a 300tdi put in, so I know they don't match up.

Cheers,
Ben

1st thing 1st, did you say it has coil springs?

If it does, then it will have a coil sprung chassis which is not a like for like replacement therefore it would loose the vehicle ID.

There was some legitimately done, but these were all before the mid 1990's, so if yours has been done in recent years then it is a problem.

"however" its not tax exempt as its a 75 MY, so its not like you are trying to defraud revenue and customs, it just means its not a series3.

Is there a plate on the inside on the bulkhead? That is where the series 3 ID is, along with the chassis number stamped into the front (NS I Think) dumb iron. They never had any id inside the engine bay.

It sounds to me like someone has stuck a series ID onto a defender chassis and body.

Some pics would help.

Yeah it it coil sprung. Certainly looks like it is a newer model with a new identity, can't think why someone would go to that trouble and not have the identity match the body though. The plate I've checked is in the engine compartment next to the clutch master cylinder. Is there somewhere else I should check that is perhaps a little harder to fake? I'd just like to know what I actually have, and that my insurance will be valid. How would I know if this was one of the legitimately done ones? 2001 was just a guess, could be Pre 1990 I suppose, is there a particular change that can help narrow down the year? I'll get pics up when the sun comes up.

Cheers

Liverpool.90 said:

Yeah it it coil sprung. Certainly looks like it is a newer model with a new identity, can't think why someone would go to that trouble and not have the identity match the body though. The plate I've checked is in the engine compartment next to the clutch master cylinder. Is there somewhere else I should check that is perhaps a little harder to fake? I'd just like to know what I actually have, and that my insurance will be valid. How would I know if this was one of the legitimately done ones? 2001 was just a guess, could be Pre 1990 I suppose, is there a particular change that can help narrow down the year? I'll get pics up when the sun comes up.

Cheers

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send me a pm of your post code or phone number if you wont an al call round or come an meet you over the weekend an tell you exactly wot it is if you wont to put your mind at rest

go to the landy look at the chassis on the drivers side or passenger side in between the wheel an bulkhead part it should have numbers on it, it will say wot year the chassis was made its by a small hexagon shaped hole

just been out and its FB94. im guessing that means it was made in 94 and i really have ended up with something of a dodgy motor then :-(

Liverpool.90 said:

just been out and its FB94. im guessing that means it was made in 94 and i really have ended up with something of a dodgy motor then :-(

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ye mate its a 94 chassis

ok, so at least now i know i have a 94 landrover 90. is there anyway i can make this legal? can i get its original id back (guessing not) or am i screwed? i really have caught the land rover bug and spend all my free time and money on it (im only 21 and a student so that isnt much, well money anyway). i'd hate for the police to come and destroy it now.

thanks

Liverpool.90 said:

ok, so at least now i know i have a 94 landrover 90. is there anyway i can make this legal? can i get its original id back (guessing not) or am i screwed? i really have caught the land rover bug and spend all my free time and money on it (im only 21 and a student so that isnt much, well money anyway). i'd hate for the police to come and destroy it now.

thanks

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The actual ID side of things can be sorted by fessing up as it were, HOWEVER with the propensity for Landrovers to get nicked, there is a good chance the police will want to go over it inch by inch to see if they can identify any stolen parts on it.

im fine with them checking it over, id rather they did and any stolen property was returned. i know how horrible it is when something you worked hard for is taken by someone who refuses to do the same. is there a way to find the original id or would they give it a new one? didnt expect anything like this when i bought it, the guy seemed really genuine, took us for a drive, invited us in for a cuppa, we met his wife and kids too. suppose he might have had as little knowledge as me tho.

cheers for the help guys. one last question, who should i contact do i just call the police non-emergency number or is it more the DVLA etc?

thanks
ben

Liverpool.90 said:

im fine with them checking it over, id rather they did and any stolen property was returned. i know how horrible it is when something you worked hard for is taken by someone who refuses to do the same. is there a way to find the original id or would they give it a new one? didnt expect anything like this when i bought it, the guy seemed really genuine, took us for a drive, invited us in for a cuppa, we met his wife and kids too. suppose he might have had as little knowledge as me tho.

cheers for the help guys. one last question, who should i contact do i just call the police non-emergency number or is it more the DVLA etc?

thanks
ben

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if the hole landy turns out to be stolen then you will lose your money an maybe the guy you bought it from didn't know either

just as a double check if you can get to the wiring loom that will be dated as well

lazydog said:

just as a double check if you can get to the wiring loom that will be dated as well

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the chassis is clearly a 94 an there would be no clear explanation why it would have that on the chassis it sounds dodgy to me but as you say its still worth a look he can also check behind the clocks for yellow tags it says time an date it came off the production line

think ill have a look more out of curiosity than anything. would be nice to know if the body matched the chassis or if the whole car is a botched job. i miss living in blissful ignorance, and i was nearly finished with all the repairs/upgrades i wanted to do. ill be living in fear that the police are gonna stop me and take it till i get this whole mess sorted out/get rid of it.

thanks
ben

I bought a Series 2 that turned out to be a Series 3 that had been given an earlier identity - presumably to make it road tax exempt. Rightly or wrongly I sold it on as I just didn't want that hanging over me. In my case it would have been very difficult to prove what had happened, since the chassis differences between the last Series 2s and the Series 3 are quite subtle, and the dumb-iron had been welded at some point in the past removing the chassis number in the process!

I would keep schtum and just enjoy the car as i reckon you will lose it.
As for talking to the dvla dont go there.
It seems strange that they havent removed the original chassis id as once thats gone the cars pretty untracable.
Worst case scenario just break it for spares and tell dvla its now scrapped
Dont forget the car if stolen wont go back to its original owner will go back to insurance company and get broken at a specialist breakers.
I can think of other ways around it as well!


Lynall

And of course theres the obvious issue of insurance being invalid if you have an accident, whether you knew about the issues or not

its a ringer deffo. the police will take it an keep it. never to be seen again