[Jbaker1121]

Hi all -
Recently acquired this new-to-me 1993 Range Rover County "Classic" SWB (1992 build - no EAS) from it's 6th owner in NJ. It was a California car (no rust!) up until 2018, when the 7th owner brought it home to NJ. In the last two years he only drove it about 3500 miles (but put a lot of money into maintenance, a paint job, undercoating).

Now it has a new home in Connecticut/NY. It's currently at 155k and I plan to put many many more miles on it, from the suburbs to highways to mountains to the beach.

I got it with maintenance records going back around 7 years, the truck was decently cared for from the looks of it, and it's condition shows a general history of care. The truck drives nicely, steering tight, comfortable springs/shocks, and (almost) everything works! ...even the clock!

MAINTENANCE/ISSUES

The main issues are of course electrical and are very common. They are as follows:

• Heat does not really blow hot (fixed with a new thermostat)
• Seat heaters dont work
• Driver seat recline doesnt work
• Power side mirrors dont work
• sunroof does not work (however, it does work if you have the switch "on" for the rear wiper....though I am afraid to try and open it at all in case it gets stuck)
• rear wiper does not work
• headlamp washers do not work
• driver window regulator on last legs
• misc cracked wood, plastics, trim, etc. - Need to hunt down some pieces
• bad radio ground (hums)
• interior illumination scroll button broken, contact bad - currently working fine
• misc interior bulbs out (clock, part of HVAC, part of shifter)
• Pass rear door lock mechanism sticks locked - I think the spring in there needs to be changed. (all other central locking works)
• tires mismatched and dry rotted (already put on 5 new tires - 235/70R16 BFG K02)

Mechanicaly the truck is fine, a few things to tinker with. Naturally they are mostly leaks!

• Potential RMS seal
• Leaking steering box
• Leaking PS pump
• Leaking oil pan gasket
• Leaking Valve Cover gaskets
• 1 Rear ABS sensor wires apart (no CEL or ABS light, front ABS still works - tested it on ice this week...)
• Already flushed and filled the coolant, I plan to do some other service items including belts, plugs, above gaskets, etc.
• Kickdown cable needs slight adjustment (maybe I am just learning the power curve) - does not always want to downshift with pedal to floor....

PERSONALIZATION/MODIFICATION
I am really into period-correct personalizations and "OEM+" modifications. I really want to keep the truck pretty original with some small changes that in my opinion will make it better looking without getting drastic. I have the accessories book from 1993 and there are a few that I am after to make some period-correct changes.
Already went straight for the OEM rubber mats and the disco cup holder...... the other accessoies a bit harder to find!

• STC8026 front lamp guard grilles. very rare options in the states apparently. Only ones I have seen for sale are abroad....
  (I have the OEM nudge bar with lamp guards, but I think I like the look without the big bar on the front. A bit cleaner, though I like the option to throw it on when I'd like to)
• ROW non-NAS corner lamps with both orange/clear (as opposed to all-orange NAS)
• Clear side markers w/ orange glow (my oem ones already faded to essentially clear anyway) - I found some period-correct Overfinch aftermarket ones which I may go with
• RTC9475 OEM roof bars. Very hard to find, may just go with the Thule. I like the option of throwing them on thought the wind noise will likely drive me nuts...
• OEM Front tow hook in OEM lower valence cutout
• Swap out OEM lamps for Cibie or Hella units with better lighting - while sticking with halogen.
• STC8147 Cocktail cabinet & STC8149 picnic tables - found a single set for sale online....
• STC8018L - padded gun/security box - for storage but "cool"
• STC8131 - ABS plastic OEM loadspace protector
• RTC9585 - OEM portable fridge for trunk
• STC8244 - OEM tool kit ( I have the bottle jack, ramp, tire iron - but thought would be cool to have the period correct tool kit)
• RTC9520 - OEM Winch Kit (gloves, tow rope, etc) - thought cool to have!

As far as other changes, I am thinking of doing custom wood inserts where I can't find OEM burl wood trims, for the center console and dash. Additionally, I am thinking of building out a wood cabinet for the trunk space, including drawers and storage cubbies - one that is removable for when I need the larger trunk space.

Additionally, I am considering a very small lift, but only when it comes time to change out the shocks down the road. The truck will be primarily used on pavement, with some trips offroad for when we are in the mountians, at the beach, or otherwise. It will not really see propor 4x4 trail duty.

Anyway, it's been 10 days of ownership and already have my work cut out for me with the interior electrical gremlins and the parts I'm looking to source.... but so far it's been lovely to drive...here are some pictures!

Looking forward to the adventure that is Range Rover Classic ownership!

 

[Jbaker1121]

Proper British weather for its first day home...

 

[Jbaker1121]

First snow only a few days after bringing it home... great opportnity to test out the legendary AWD systemwhile on dry-rotted old tires...

New BFG k02 on, front license plate bracket off... looking better already for its first early Sunday AM cars & coffee....

 

[LanceL]

Welcome to the Classic RR family! I have found that despite fixing dozens of electrical gremlins over the years, more will always pop up. I'm always in a state of having at least 1 electrical element not working. I was breifly in a state of pure electronic bliss a couple months ago when EVERYTHING was working! And then the central locking started acting up. It was a short-lived bliss.

 

[Jbaker1121]

Welcome to the Classic RR family! I have found that despite fixing dozens of electrical gremlins over the years, more will always pop up. I'm always in a state of having at least 1 electrical element not working. I was breifly in a state of pure electronic bliss a couple months ago when EVERYTHING was working! And then the central locking started acting up. It was a short-lived bliss.

thank you! I am prepared to have a few things not work, or to have others stop working while the current ones get fixed. That’s part of the charm isn’t it ?
As long as it starts drives stops with no issue I’ll be happy 😊

 

[LanceL]

It's definitely part of the charm, as I always tell my buddy with his ever-relaible toyota 4runner, reliability is just so tedious, spontaneity is the spice of life!

 

[Jbaker1121]

It's definitely part of the charm, as I always tell my buddy with his ever-relaible toyota 4runner, reliability is just so tedious, spontaneity is the spice of life!

Exactly. The RRC is actually replacing our dead reliable Jeep JK Wrangler.

Yesterday while shuffling cars around, my non-working rear wiper decided to move itself, while the rear glass was open, and ended up lodging itself into a resting position angled at the roof. Pressing the buttons did not do a thing. Removed the wiper arm and bolted back on in the proper resting position. Something for another day.
Tinkering gives you something to do! Lol

 

[LanceL]

Exactly. The RRC is actually replacing our dead reliable Jeep JK Wrangler.

Yesterday while shuffling cars around, my non-working rear wiper decided to move itself, while the rear glass was open, and ended up lodging itself into a resting position angled at the roof. Pressing the buttons did not do a thing. Removed the wiper arm and bolted back on in the proper resting position. Something for another day.
Tinkering gives you something to do! Lol

An endless source of pandemic projects!

 

[reverendALC]

I can’t wait to get back to my RRC! Bought a house and a few home projects take precedence /-:

these trucks are pretty simple compared to the later models, so it’s fairly intuitive

 

[Jbaker1121]

Took a trip up to the Catskills for the day. Approx 2 hour drive each way with no issues or complaints. One thing I know I’d like to fix is the grounding issue with the aftermarket radio... after 2 hours of that felt like I was still hearing it while hiking 😅 in think there’s a ground right behind the radio so will check that first. I’m thinking some of my other interior issues may also be bad grounds. Though The seat recline was just a fuse....

 

[reverendALC]

The ground post on the back of the stereo... goes off into some harness and grounds god knows where. When I picked up my RRC, the stereo didn’t even turn on. I grounded the post directly to chassis and it sounds great!!!

on another note, I moved my RRC to the driveway so I could store my renovation materials in the third bay, and what do you know... not a single drop of anything beneath it! Did have to jump start it tho

 

[Jbaker1121]

The ground post on the back of the stereo... goes off into some harness and grounds god knows where. When I picked up my RRC, the stereo didn’t even turn on. I grounded the post directly to chassis and it sounds great!!!

on another note, I moved my RRC to the driveway so I could store my renovation materials in the third bay, and what do you know... not a single drop of anything beneath it! Did have to jump start it tho

awesome, better make sure your fluids aren’t empty! Lol!

where did you ground the radio on chassis? Maybe I’ll just pull the radio, cut it’s ground wire, connect to new one and ground that directly to chassis instead of hunting down the issue... I’m getting a buzz from the driver speaker and the rear pass speaker, as well as a wine that changes with acceleration...

 

[reverendALC]

Hahah good call on the fluid check.

I actually left the factory ground intact (because it wasn’t working) and ran about 16” to a factory screw beneath the dash in the driver footwell.

if your audible whine is in sync with your RPM, it’s almost certainly a ground loop. You may want to reground your amp also. I used to install car stereos professional some 20 odd years ago, and we would often battle the whine. It’s usually introduced when adding multiple components around the vehicle, but if you’re up against it with OEM gear, proper grounding should suffice

 

[Jbaker1121]

Hahah good call on the fluid check.

I actually left the factory ground intact (because it wasn’t working) and ran about 16” to a factory screw beneath the dash in the driver footwell.

if your audible whine is in sync with your RPM, it’s almost certainly a ground loop. You may want to reground your amp also. I used to install car stereos professional some 20 odd years ago, and we would often battle the whine. It’s usually introduced when adding multiple components around the vehicle, but if you’re up against it with OEM gear, proper grounding should suffice

I think it’s all oem aside from the head unit. May try to just re-ground and go from there. There is a buzz as well as an RPM-following wine

 

[reverendALC]

In a perfect world (possibly what the OEM harness does/did), the amp and the head unit would share a single ground point. That’s why in competition setups, they use a distribution block for grounding all of the equipment to the chassis at once. This will greatly reduce the ground loops and other nonsense. If push comes to shove, you can purchase ground loop isolators to filter out the noise.

good luck!

 

[LanceL]

The ground post on the back of the stereo... goes off into some harness and grounds god knows where. When I picked up my RRC, the stereo didn’t even turn on. I grounded the post directly to chassis and it sounds great!!!

on another note, I moved my RRC to the driveway so I could store my renovation materials in the third bay, and what do you know... not a single drop of anything beneath it! Did have to jump start it tho

No drips??? I'd be terrified, it's gotta be empty!

 

[Jbaker1121]

Haha that’s always my joke. There are some drops for sure

No drips??? I'd be terrified, it's gotta be empty!

 

[Jbaker1121]

as of today I've put around 1600 miles on the RR since purchasing a month ago. So far not really any complaints aside from the usual electrical gremlins and driveway spots..... Some more pics from the last few weeks:

 

[reverendALC]

That’s a sweet ass rig. I was ecstatic to find a white one... but green with the body matched three spokes, that’s my quintessential RRC

 

[Jbaker1121]

That’s a sweet ass rig. I was ecstatic to find a white one... but green with the body matched three spokes, that’s my quintessential RRC

Agreed! Once I found this one I knew I had to have it