That's exactly what I thought when I first got into mine for the drive home. After my research, I was fully expecting it to be noisy, slow, uncomfortable, heavy steering etc. But it was much, much worse than I had imagined. After I had driven it from the seller to my sons house 20 miles away, my wife said my face was ashen. It was the scariest drive of my life. A few hundred pounds later, it's great. Still noisy, slow, uncomfortable, heavy steering etc but at least it goes more or less in a straight line now and stops. Have fun and have faith. Oh, and have breakdown cover.Exciting times!
You'll probably convince yourself on the drive back that you've bought a dog. You probably genuinely won't have though, it's just that even at best they all drive like a dog (at least compared to anything else manufactured after 1983)
They don't really compare to anything else for driving experience which is all part of the charm and fun.
You will soon realise that you've bought yourself a financial black hole, and you will enjoy it all the way - good luck!
Do t know whether just to tidy it up or fit new panels.
Agree completely, a few battle scars are fine on an old Landy. There's a bit of work to do on yours, all I can say is enjoy putting it right but don't bodge anything. Whatever it is that needs attention, do it properly: Overhaul the brakes from front to back so that you can be sure that you have left nothing to be done later. Go over every inch of the chassis with a wire brush and a tapping tool. If you find any rust that need welding, cut the rusty steel away and let-in new steel and weld it all round, no tack-welds. Whatever you do, don't weld new metal over rusty metal, the rust would quickly spread.Some of those dents you could probably pop/straighten out. It depends how much you care to be honest. Unless you want it show quality then I personally prefer landys with a few battle scars. Obviously nothing major, just a few dings gives charecter. At least that's the excuse I use.
Welcome To LandyZone, the Land Rover Forums!
Here at LandyZone we have plenty of very knowledgable members so if you have any questions about your Land Rover or just want to connect with other Landy owners, you're in the right place.
Registering is free and easy just click here, we hope to see you on the forums soon!