rob_bell

rob_bell

Well-Known Member
I've been loving my FL1 ever since I bought it as spares or repair - it's taught me loads and its been a hoot to drive on and off road. Even the family have grown to love "yet another car".

Ultimately though, because it is a Euro3 petrol and the fact I live within the extended London LEZ, I will have to let it go. I'll get a newer LR product. Or may be a much older one ;) But that does mean that I'll have to say good bye to my Hippo :(

But I have a year or two to ponder and play.

The Hippo has exceeded all expectations on road and off - the only problem with off roading has been lack of ground clearance. Nothing that a 40mm lift and chunkier tyres won't solve.

So... if I go down that route... will I end up with a Hippo I won't be able to sell on? Would I be best advised (as I have done so far) to keep it standard?

Discuss... ! I prevaricate: I can't decide!!! Argh! Need advice and thoughts from my learned friends here! Much easier a decision if I knew I would be able to keep it indefinitely!
 
My tuppence worth;

I don't think it would make much difference at all on a car as old as an FL1. And, given a couple more years of depreciation, even less.

Some people may be put off as it obviously suggests off road use, and that will ring alarm bells for some. They will be after standard cars though anyway.

For others it will be a bonus as they will mean it will perform better off road and save them a job doing it themselves. Go for it I say!
 
I guess the latter is a much smaller, albeit enthusiast market.

The former has all but disappeared. How many people are out to buy a 17+ year old car these days? Answer almost none...

I’m thinking I might as well go for it, but many other car projects to get through first - and some on the Freelander! Lol

Thanks :)
 
Give the l'ill donkey the legs it deserves, you could always find a place to stash it outside the XTLEZ, if you wanted to keep it as a toy.

Go on, it was only the low hanging belly of the l'ill donkey caused it an issue on the plains.

Look on the bright side, better than a jimny...LOL.

Cheers
 
Hmmm, my brother lives in Finchley, outside the LEZ and not too far from me... :cool:

My Hippo surely can't be worse than that Jimny - at least the AWD works all the time! LOL

If anyone has a spare set of 16" Modulars for an FL1 that need a new home, let me know! :D
 
"How many people are out to buy a 17+ year old car these days? Answer almost none..." Me...:p
I'd say go for it Rob. From what I've seen over the past week looking for a hippo in my very low budget they all seem to be a similar price unless it's a spares or repair (and some of those are ridiculously expensive!), I know a lift would have attracted me but then I was looking for a specific car rather than just a cheap run around.
 
I think that anyone looking for a Hippo these days is looking for a specific thing - and you’re right about the prices too Mick... :)
 
kernowsvenski said:
My tuppence worth;

I don't think it would make much difference at all on a car as old as an FL1. And, given a couple more years of depreciation, even less.

Some people may be put off as it obviously suggests off road use, and that will ring alarm bells for some. They will be after standard cars though anyway.

For others it will be a bonus as they will mean it will perform better off road and save them a job doing it themselves. Go for it I say!
Click to expand...

I agree.
Lift it and enjoy it while you can. If you really need to sell it standard, then remove the lifting blocks and sell them separately later on. ;)
 
Last edited:
rob_bell said:
I've been loving my FL1 ever since I bought it as spares or repair - it's taught me loads and its been a hoot to drive on and off road. Even the family have grown to love "yet another car".

Ultimately though, because it is a Euro3 petrol and the fact I live within the extended London LEZ, I will have to let it go. I'll get a newer LR product. Or may be a much older one ;) But that does mean that I'll have to say good bye to my Hippo :(

But I have a year or two to ponder and play.

The Hippo has exceeded all expectations on road and off - the only problem with off roading has been lack of ground clearance. Nothing that a 40mm lift and chunkier tyres won't solve.

So... if I go down that route... will I end up with a Hippo I won't be able to sell on? Would I be best advised (as I have done so far) to keep it standard?

Discuss... ! I prevaricate: I can't decide!!! Argh! Need advice and thoughts from my learned friends here! Much easier a decision if I knew I would be able to keep it indefinitely!
Click to expand...

Hi mate

How’s it going , always nice being able to keep a motor if it serves ur needs and ur happy with it

Did u start looking at the D3 v8s :)
 
Hey Gary, how's things with you? :D

D3 V8 is one idea to future proof an older LR. As the petrol D3 is Euro4, it won't attract the Sadiq Khan tax - but is "old enough" to take off road and not be too precious about it (like my lovely Hippo!)

I'm in no rush: still have a couple of years before I get slapped in the face by the LEZ :rolleyes:
 
rob_bell said:
Hey Gary, how's things with you? :D

D3 V8 is one idea to future proof an older LR. As the petrol D3 is Euro4, it won't attract the Sadiq Khan tax - but is "old enough" to take off road and not be too precious about it (like my lovely Hippo!)

I'm in no rush: still have a couple of years before I get slapped in the face by the LEZ :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Hi mate

Know you’ve done a lot of work with urs and indeed would be a shame to have to get rid of it, hopefully u can keep it for many more years

The V8 D3s seem to be getting thinner on the ground , whether it’s because of the emissions etc or LEZ I don’t know 100%

Nothing like the sound of a V8

Not bad thks, can’t believe summer is nearly over and another year with just me and the dogs, lol
 
The V8 is an expensive truck to run (thirsty!) so of limited interested. Most folks buying older cars want to save bucks (also skip maintenance - that’s why so many cars are scrapped) - so a thirty petrol is less desirable. But the petrol V8 itself seems pretty robust :)

How’s your D3? Hope you can get out onto Salisbury Plane soon?
 
rob_bell said:
The V8 is an expensive truck to run (thirsty!) so of limited interested. Most folks buying older cars want to save bucks (also skip maintenance - that’s why so many cars are scrapped) - so a thirty petrol is less desirable. But the petrol V8 itself seems pretty robust :)

How’s your D3? Hope you can get out onto Salisbury Plane soon?
Click to expand...

Indeed and imagine off road u won’t be seeing anything over 10mpg, don’t have a V8 but know there thirsty beats, lol , unless there the possibility of doing a LPG conversion

Good thks, D3 has come a considerable way , finished all my suspension now, MOTD last month, all undersealed

Got to now find a parasitic battery drain and find a leak on the AC system, think it’s the condensor but got an AC manifold gauge set and will pin it down , have been spending a lot of time on it to ensure it’s just so

Funny enough bought a D4 steering wheel yesterday and will retro fit that later , will have to get some modified circuit boards as the D4 using a different software system than my earlier D3

Thks and really looking forward when I can come and join u guys on Salisbury plain , plus will have spare seats if anyone wishes to also ride shotgun

Also been looking at some full length underbody guards which will include my air tank and compressor
 
I had a D3 V8, although only for a week. It was lovely to drive but quite thirsty. I bought it from a dealer, but it turned out to be "of interest" to an insurance company. I got a call out of the blue from the dealer asking me return it in exchange for a full refund.
It was a blessing in disguise as I felt the gearbox was on its way out anyway.

I then found a 1 owner TDV6 to buy, which ended up costing loads rectifying bodged repairs.

Mpg wise, the V8 was only few MPG less than the TDV6 and was much more entertaining to drive.
 
Nodge68 said:
I had a D3 V8, although only for a week. It was lovely to drive but quite thirsty. I bought it from a dealer, but it turned out to be "of interest" to an insurance company. I got a call out of the blue from the dealer asking me return it in exchange for a full refund.
It was a blessing in disguise as I felt the gearbox was on its way out anyway.

I then found a 1 owner TDV6 to buy, which ended up costing loads rectifying bodged repairs.

Mpg wise, the V8 was only few MPG less than the TDV6 and is much more entertaining to drive.
Click to expand...

Blimey that was a close call and great u got all ur money back , imagine it was awesome to drive, now we know u didn’t lower the window through tunnels to listen to the exhaust , lol

Indeed that’s been the battle with mine , taken me a good year to sort out all the bodges where they couldn’t be bothered to fix them correctly , things like cable ties in brake lines, superglue on a main loom connector, tape on electrical connections , etc,etc

am about 98% done , 2 x years later along with a serious amount of time and effort am pleased with it , but like everything time will tell
 
Rewarding process though Gary!

There's a few V8s around on Autotrader - many in the SE, and often in a decent spec. I'm not too bothered with gadgets: things like satnav go out of date so quickly, much better to use your phone IMO.

Shame you "lost" your D3 V8 Nodge, but as you say, with a dodgy gearbox, that could have proven expensive...

Anyway, I think I will continue to play with the Hippo until such time as I am forced to part with it. :cool:
 
rob_bell said:
Shame you "lost" your D3 V8 Nodge, but as you say, with a dodgy gearbox, that could have proven expensive...
Click to expand...

It was a lucky call, although I'm sure the dealer knew more than he was letting on. He even covered my out of pocket expenses, so got back more than I paid him.

I'm pretty sure the TC was on its way out, as the box would randomly shudder a few seconds after changing up. The V8 I had was also an SE, which had enough toys without being silly. The nav screen also doubles up as the TR display, which is really handy if used off road.

I'd be tempted to buy another V8, if I needed such a vehicle again. At least the V8 doesn't suffer sudden crank failure like the TDV6 does.
 
That’s what I’ve been reading too Nodge. Which is lucky as the mean mileage on the cars currently on autotrader appears to be around 150k, or else they’re silly money for such an old car... ;)
 
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