You could of continued the ruse into video form.....
Imagine the scene....

Camera pans to a gaylander (borrowed for the scene), you begin with a piece to camera extolling the virtues of said thing, you continue with a drawn out explanation about your need to downsize to a simpler and cheaper form of LR stock, after a few minutes you suggest it's time to get in it and give the new thing a test run, you stroll round to the drivers side out of shot somehow, the camera goes a bit blurry as we hear a vehicle start.....camera then focuses towards front of gaylander expecting it to move off but instead a previously obscured defender drives away from the other side of the 'prop'......but the p!ss de resistance is a close up of you (in said Defender) doing a quick rolls the eyes with the quip "Hey I ain't gay",,, but hilariously you are all dolled up in blusher and lippy with a blonde wig, then the credits roll with this >>>>>>




 
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You could of continued the ruse into video form.....
Imagine the scene....

Camera pans to a gaylander (borrowed for the scene), you begin with a piece to camera extolling the virtues of said thing, you continue with a drawn out explanation about your need to downsize to a simpler and cheaper form of LR stock, after a few minutes you suggest it's time to get in it and give the new thing a test run, you stroll round to the drivers side out of shot somehow, the camera goes a bit blurry as we hear a vehicle start.....camera then focuses towards front of gaylander expecting it to move off but instead a previously obscured defender drives away from the other side of the 'prop'......but the p!ss de resistance is a close up of you (in said Defender) doing a quick rolls the eyes with the quip "Hey I ain't gay",,, but hilariously you are all dolled up in blusher and lippy with a blonde wig, then the credits roll with the song............... "sometimes it hard.....to be..a Woman"
I should hire you to the screenwriter and director next time!!.... Genius!

Oh, and can I have me dress back, this time sans the dubious 'Stains'....!!!
 
....For the first time in almost 17 years I will find myself Range Rover-less and for nearly 20 years....without a vehicle powered by a V8 engine.

My vehicle history since I started driving is thus:
  1. Opel Manta GT/E fitted with a 3 litre Opel Monza engine (I6)
  2. BMW E36 325i Sport Coupe (I6)
  3. BMW E28 730i (I6)
  4. BMW E32 735i (I6)
  5. Rover 827 Hatchback (V6)
  6. Jaguar XJ40 3.6 (I6)
  7. Range Rover Classic 3.5 EFi (V8)
  8. Range Rover P38 4.6 HSE (V8)
  9. BMW E38 735i (V8)
  10. Range Rover P38 4.6 HSE (V8)
  11. BMW E38 740i (V8)
  12. Range Rover Classic 3.9 Vogue SE (V8)
  13. Range Rover P38 2.5 DSE (I6)
  14. BMW E38 735i (V8)
  15. Range Rover L322 4.4 Vogue (V8)
  16. Range Rover P38 4.0 SE (V8)
  17. BMW E38 740i (V8)
Many of those I have owned have overlapped eachother and at one count we had 6 cars in the household when you count the girlfriends two mini's!!

But since my first Range Rover, I have always had a V8 and one of them has always been a Range Rover.

As our living costs increase, our time and disposable income (what there was of it) decreases, Costs of having kids increases, the relative value of our income decreases, we find ourselves looking at the L322 and making a hard and painful decision, she has to go.

The only issue is what to replace her with....

The stipulations were thus:
  • Cheap to buy
  • Cheap to run
  • Cheap to repair
  • Simple to repair
  • Something I understand and can work on confidently without needing costly garage prices
  • Something I already have experience and knowledge of
That led to only two makes really....Land Rover and BMW.

I love Big Bimmers....comfort, style and speed all rolled into one, but it will be the same as the L322, costly to repair and complex (the L322 is a BMW in a posh frock after all)

So that left the Green Oval....

Now I don't have much cash and the current state of the L322 with its dodgy gearbox drone means it is not worth a huge amount, means I have little in the way of cash to spend on it's replacement, which I need to get before I part with the L322.

So off to Autotrader (other vehicle sales websites are available) and put in Land Rover and my maximum price.....

As you scroll through the list you realise the only things in your price range are Freelanders and Rusty Discos that will drain your wallet just as fast as the L322 while you try and get rid of the tin-worm.

Oddly, as you come to terms with the fact that Freelanders are cheap and plentiful, meaning you have a vast choice of trim, spec, colour and style , they become more appealing....beggers and choosers as they say!

Do I want a blue one or a black one? One with the big bullbar style bumpers? Sport styling or sensible 4 door? Oh, look, there's one here with knobbly tyres on, that looks like it could manage the Tesco Car Park alright!

Do I want a petrol model or a diesel? Can I handle people calling me a Gaylander owner? Will I get untold amounts of grief from friends, colleagues and you fine fellows on the forum for selling the L322 and going the 'Hairdresser' route?

I thought, we are all one family under the Green Oval umbrella, what does it matter what the model name plate says......they will ultimately understand and hopefully forgive me and still accept me as one of their own.

So today I drove over 105miles (210 miles in total) to look at another one of Solihuls finest, only this one doesn't have a V8 engine, not even an I6.....it has 4 cylinders and burns oil.....it also has knobbly tyres and is a sensible 4 doors, it's black and is cheap to repair, fix and buy......

'This is the one' I thought to myself, 'this is a bit of me'.....'this is the new me'....'the sensible and more practical me'.....

Parts are cheaper, repairs are simpler, yeah its not a Range Rover but it still sports a Green Oval badge, they won't hate me or deride me for it......

So I bought it........

Part Two will be posted shortly......once I have sorted the photos out....
Poor Ant, that's one ugly Freelander, as if they aren't ugly enough.


This will also teach me to read the whole thread before I post ;)
 
:)

That's certainly cheap and simple but not the most comfortable at your size unless you take the bulkhead behind the seats out and maybe move the driver's seat left a bit to get your shoulder in!
If he's anything other than slightly less size than average size build, he'll be walking around like Quasimoto, (the bells,the bells), after driving a medium distance in that, even seat position mods dont help a lot.
Drove 300 klms in one stretch in a Deef once, never again, never, never again, just plain fk'in uncomfortable, designed for right arm amputee with short legs, or left arm with short legs if you're from somewhere else where they drive on the udder side of the road.
 
If he's anything other than slightly less size than average size build, he'll be walking around like Quasimoto, (the bells,the bells), after driving a medium distance in that, even seat position mods dont help a lot.
Drove 300 klms in one stretch in a Deef once, never again, never, never again, just plain fk'in uncomfortable, designed for right arm amputee with short legs, or left arm with short legs if you're from somewhere else where they drive on the udder side of the road.

Ant is a little larger than the average Rhino.
 
Hmm, you should have got a Freelander. The Defender is THE DEVIL! I may have stopped following your ever changing car collection, what happened to the 300TDi in your sig? It looks to be way better shape than your new one.
 
Hmm, you should have got a Freelander. The Defender is THE DEVIL! I may have stopped following your ever changing car collection, what happened to the 300TDi in your sig? It looks to be way better shape than your new one.

The 110? Yeah, I never noticed that one go. I saw the 90 go and that was a shame but I thought he'd decided to keep the 110. It had Rangie seats in IIRC.
 
In my work I occasionally have to drive late model Defenders, most often towing 2t generators around etc. Sometimes up to 3-400 miles a day.
I'm 5 foot 9. My knees are 1 inch from the dash so how bigger fellas get on is a mystery - there is NO room!
 
Hmm, you should have got a Freelander. The Defender is THE DEVIL! I may have stopped following your ever changing car collection, what happened to the 300TDi in your sig? It looks to be way better shape than your new one.

The 110? Yeah, I never noticed that one go. I saw the 90 go and that was a shame but I thought he'd decided to keep the 110. It had Rangie seats in IIRC.

In my work I occasionally have to drive late model Defenders, most often towing 2t generators around etc. Sometimes up to 3-400 miles a day.
I'm 5 foot 9. My knees are 1 inch from the dash so how bigger fellas get on is a mystery - there is NO room!
The 300Tdi Defender 110 is the girlfriends car and I really like it, hence why when we decided to call it a day with the L322 a 110 was on the next to have list!.....

As for how I fit in it...very well surprisingly.....I'll do a vid showing me get in and out of it so you can see....

And even a Freelander with a V6 and leather is, at the end of the day, still a Freelander!
 
The 300Tdi Defender 110 is the girlfriends car and I really like it, hence why when we decided to call it a day with the L322 a 110 was on the next to have list!.....
Ah, so now you're a two 110 house hold? You're a bunch of weirdos. So when is the V8 conversion? I hear LS motors are all the rage these days.
 
The 300Tdi Defender 110 is the girlfriends car and I really like it, hence why when we decided to call it a day with the L322 a 110 was on the next to have list!.....

As for how I fit in it...very well surprisingly.....I'll do a vid showing me get in and out of it so you can see....

And even a Freelander with a V6 and leather is, at the end of the day, still a Freelander!
Yes but getting in to the Deef using 2 large crow bars and a set of porta power jacks is not always going to be really that convenient; and what about emergency egress?
Curiosity will take us some unusual places I guess!
 
The 300Tdi Defender 110 is the girlfriends car and I really like it, hence why when we decided to call it a day with the L322 a 110 was on the next to have list!.....

As for how I fit in it...very well surprisingly.....I'll do a vid showing me get in and out of it so you can see....

And even a Freelander with a V6 and leather is, at the end of the day, still a Freelander!

The 110 is the girlfriends car so doesn't count. There's a real green badge addict. Now, the registered keeper of my Rangie is the missus but she most definitely is not the owner but it is our Rangie, if you follow me? Either way, she'll drive it if I fix it.
 
hell sell it anyway who knows when?? but when range rovers are in you blood from a childhood dream like ant & myself you will GO BACK 100% ive been there & got the medal nothing compares imo ;)you know its only a matter of time ant
 
hell sell it anyway who knows when?? but when range rovers are in you blood from a childhood dream like ant & myself you will GO BACK 100% ive been there & got the medal nothing compares imo ;)you know its only a matter of time ant
In the mid-seventies I used to PDI and carry out warranty work on the original Classics - 3 door, hose out interiors and no frills.
Have to say I loved them - they were to me fabulous machines and we have to remember there was NOTHING like them around.
Ground breaking (literally!), they ushered in a new type of vehicle as never seen before.
I always look back on those days with fondness for the original Rangie and I'm glad that I had that wonderful opportunity to be around them.
Confession Time..........whilst on road test one day in a quiet side street I noticed a builder had had a substantial pile of sand delivered at the side of the road.......and I just drove clean over the top of it - because I knew I could:eek:
 
Ah, so now you're a two 110 house hold? You're a bunch of weirdos. So when is the V8 conversion? I hear LS motors are all the rage these days.

I think the LS fits in but you lose the 4WD as nothing downstream can take the grunt.

there's a video somewhere of a Defender with a truck Cummins engine in. Same issue I think. A 2WD defender? Like a turbo on a push-bike.
 

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