The journey begins.......(long post) - Land Rovers Only

nbdyuknow · 05-27-2008, 03:23 PM

Hi All,

I first posted back in April that I was about to undertake the RRC plunge. At that time, I had a couple of questions about a CL Rover and one also on eBay. Thanks in no small part to the advice I received here, I passed on both of those Rovers.

In the last month, I have done a fairly exhaustive search of RRCs available all over the US. At one point, I literally went though almost every local CL listing searching for "Rover." I talked to folks from St. Pete FLA to Eugene, OR. Because I live a hour north of Chicago, rust is a problem for local vehicles. I was willing to purchase a Rover from a less rust-prone climate and either drive it or ship it. I saw a lot of great Rovers and talked to some really cool people.

In the end, I decided to go with one that was listed on eBay, but was actually being sold by someone who lives in Pekin, Illinois, about 3 hours south of me. I exchanged numerous emails with the seller and long story short, the list of work that he said he had done mechanically (as a trained LR tech) and the lack of rust at all (except on the bumpers) led me to pick that 1991 RRC to start my journey.

As I go forward, I hope to exchange information with you all, I have much enjoyed reading your posts, discussions and sometimes heated exchanges. I will try and document all of the happenings (both good and bad) and the decisions I make (both good and bad) both for your amusement and, ideally, to provide some help or reference to someone in a similar situation.

To start, here is what the individual who sold me the Rover says has been done:

Complete cooling system overhaul/rebuild (including removing radiator, cleaning, boiling and pressure checked)
new water pump
new thermostat
new valve seals
updated head gaskets and head bolts on cylinder heads
new valve cover gaskets, new valve cover bolts
new lower intake maniforld gasket/new end seals/new hold down clamps
all new accessory drive blets
new exhaust maniforld gaskets both at heads and Y-pipe
all fluids changed (front & rear diff./trans/transfer case oil/engine oil and filter (once for run-in and then changed again))
flushed cooling system with new coolant
new heater core
3 new tie rod ends
rebuilt pitman arm ball and socket
both front swivel balls rebuilt down to axle housing with new seals, retainers and bearings and set to proper preload
new driver's front axle and CV joint
recent front shocks and new rear shocks and front steering stabliizer shock (bilstein)
new brake pads, rotors OK
present tired Michelin with 6/32 tread

I drove vehicle from Pekin to my house (almost 200 miles) and it drove wonderfully on the highway, seemed happiest between 70-80 mph, I set CC at 72 for most of the trip without a problem.

Now, here are the things that need to be fixed before any additional modifications can take place:

upper tailgate is taped shut, latch is in the rear cargo area. needs new upper rear tailgate, then install latch I received with RRC so keys match. Or could install new upper tailgate with new latch.

Driver's window inoperative. Seller said needs Driver's Window Module (~$60)

Rear passenger window inoperative.

Windscreen has three cracks in it.

Headliner beginning to sag.

Rear Driver's side door only opens from inside.

right front turn indicator amber is cracked and broken.

Factory cassette stereo only radio works.

A couple of small dings on body.

Those are the things that were disclosed to me and that I discovered on the trip home. Anything else I find, I will add on here as it is revealed to me. The body seems to be in pretty good shape, with the only rust on the front and back fenders. tailgate has no rust at all, nor under carpets in wells or behind doors. I paid just over $2,000 for this Rover, mainly because of the list of repairs that had been done by the seller. I have posted a photo below, one of what I hope will be the first of many as we fix the issues and then start adding the fun modifications to make the RRC worthy of any off-roading adventures.

Thanks for reading,

Bill B.

ArmyRover · 05-27-2008, 03:55 PM