[grnole]

Are us classic owners finally getting our rig's in tip top shape? Or are we dwindling down quick?

I personally do not use this forum as much as I should, but there is a great wealth of knowledge here... Just wanted to try and fire up some activity

:wave::buttrock::beer::rellye

 

[p76rangie]

Are us classic owners finally getting our rig's in tip top shape? Or are we dwindling down quick?

I personally do not use this forum as much as I should, but there is a great wealth of knowledge here... Just wanted to try and fire up some activity

:wave::buttrock::beer::rellye

I think it is that the last classic being built 20 years ago. So now they are either running perfectly or they are dead. Also a 20 to 40 year old vehicle is less likely to be used as someone's primary transport and are most likely owned by enthusiasts and not used as much.

 

[disco biscuit]

I hear from some people things are getting very hard to find. If I remember maybe the passenger side door handle can't be got at all anymore. I heard there were other things that can't get got. Im sure somebody here knows more than me about it. Obsolete....important words for those who own one. Better start hunting.

 

[Paul Grant]

I used to see a dozen or more each year brought to my shop for parting. It's just about a year since I had a Classic brought to the shop. The supply is drying up. Here in New England harsh winters have turned many to a pile of rust.

People who have Classics are holding on to them. Fewer are using them daily. For many the are a long term rebuild project. People with '95's are always calling looking for the same handful of parts unique to that model year. Parts are getting harder to come by. Some are virtually nonexistent.

I don't know how active it is over on rangerovers.net but given the fact that board is dedicated to Range a Rovers, you may find more action over there.

 

[Eugene]

I see a problem caused by lack of follow ups. People asking to solve a problem and then never post, if or how, was the issue resolved. So the people with knowledge give up on giving suggestions. Kind of forums normal procedures and it does't benefit no one. And of course that these trucks are getting scarce and people are giving up. Only the hard core are hanging in and maybe they don't need that much help.

 

[ehojefua]

I agree with Eugene, There are no follow ups with an issue... Im one of those hardcore enthusiast. I will run my rover into the ground and then rebuild it back. I had an issue recently with my hood latch cable that broke off. I went on here and couldnt find anyone who knew how to repair it except for Paul Grant that helped me out. I bought the new cable and just threaded the new wire through the old harness and presto.....All done.
When it comes to part availability, Paul, Will, PT Schram are my go to guys. Lately RRC parts are seriously dwindling. For example if you have a LWB and are looking for the side steps...its going to take years before you find one in acceptable condition. It took me 4 years to find the side steps for my truck. Im going to fly to Oklahoma to pick them up and also recently I flew to San Francisco to pick up another excellent pair, Maybe I should play the lottery.
Another member on here was looking for the fog light switch for a 95 classic ( that switch was only for the 95 model. They tried most of the normal vendors and avenues, but eventually had to go out west to find it. It seems that the breakers and junkyards are our best hope of finding parts. AB,RN,BP are also sources but even they do not have all the parts necessary. Most owners of Classics know they are going up in value and are keeping them and restoring them for their Sunday drive vehicle. Me personally i live in Brooklyn NY so I have the luxury of parking it up for long periods or driving it whenever ( public transportation is 24/7 here).

In conclusion:

If you own a classic rover 3 things will happen:

1. If your not mechanically inclined, you soon will be. Mechanics also know the rarity of parts and will charge you a premium for the parts and the labor.

2. In your search for parts you will become very creative in your methods: When the conventional search produces nothing you will remember the " nice fellow with the barn up the street" chat him up and you never know.

3. Lastly, while working on or paying for repairs to your rover, your vocabulary will instantly change from a respectable person to a sailor: Either way its going to happen. From changing the power steering hoses yourself to getting a $500 bill for 1hr of work it will definitely change

 

[mikieman]

here ya go...my latest issue was the distributor...some how or another i bent the shaft... had another....i replaced it...never haveing don this brfore.. it took a while but i got it running..jve watched and read other peoples havoc... in this replacement.. and kinda knew what to expect...but all in all i also like the follow ups...makes ya want to throw up your hands..ill be lurkin in the back ground... ya never know whats gonna happen next....i do know when my pile of rust stops runnin..ill get another.. the are still plenty to be had...
if ya dont mine workn on it ...
mike

 

[roverandom]

Just check out the Series forum, that's the future for RRC.

Everything has already been discussed, detailed, documented, argued over and resolved so many times there is little need to ask questions anymore.

Even the DI forums are calming down now.

Most action is on the DII and LR3 forums.

Watch out for every other LR forum to go silent almost overnight if Land Rover release the 'New Defender' in North America. Especially if it is any good off road.

Me, I will always have a "proper" Range Rover in the stable.

My 2c.

 

[ehojefua]

@roverandom

How is this possible? Comparing the RRC forums to the series forum. The thing is, I can see how the series is dying out because not everybody has a series (at least not stateside), but when it comes to the classic, they are found a dime a dozen ( SWB and LWB). People now are restoring them and they come up with new problems so to me that would mean more question and in turn more traffic. Am I missing something??????


Sent from AutoGuide.com App

 

[Paul Grant]

Ali, there were maybe 33,000 Range Rover Classics sold over nine years in the US. The last one was sold about 20 years ago. I can't say if there were as many Series Rovers sold in the US over the roughly 25 years they were sold here in the States, with the last year being about 40 years ago but I think what Roverandom is saying is correct.

In the 15 years since I first began to frequent Rover boards on the web I've watched questions about parabolic springs vs. genuine leaf springs evolve into EAS restoration questions. Nevertheless, there are only so many questions you can ask about this trucks. As far as restoration questions are concerned, there are seldom enough of them to make a board particularly active anymore. None of the boards have anywhere near the traffic they did a few years ago.

Now as far as Classics being found a dime a dozen, all I can say is I used to part out dozens every year. That's why I named my business Classic Rovers. All I was doing ten years ago was parting out Classics. Now, I haven't had a Classic to part out in over a year. I've seen the prices go from $500 for trucks that needed a little work to get running into the thousands for non-runners. This is just like it was for the old Series Rovers as well. I remember buying a non runner with a solid chassis, good bulkhead and overdrive for about $4000 in the late '90's. That's about what the truck had sold for when it was new 25 years earlier!

It boils down to this, not a lot of Classics were sold in the US, even fewer are still on the road and even fewer are going through some sort of restoration. Over the years, here on the web, tons of information about repair and restoration have been archived on the various Rover boards making the need for active forums less likely.

I'm curious about exactly how many Range Rover Classics are still on the road today. If about 33,000 were sold in the US from 1987-1995 between the pressures of a disposable society and Federal programs like Cash for Clunkers, I would guess the number is pretty low.

 

[Eugene]

It would very interesting to find out, how many are still on the road. Not everyone is on the forums. Could someone start a poll? There is one on how many miles people have on them and "post a photo of you classic"

 

[Paul Grant]

I don't know how accurate a poll would be.

I do know that on Top Gear they were able to find out exactly how many Austin Marina's were still registered through the MOT but because we don't have a national database like that I think it would be a lot harder to ascertain how many Range Rovers are still registered.

My bet would be on somewhere between 5 and 10 thousand are still in a drivable condition.

 

[roverandom]

When comparing the RRC forums to the Series forums my meaning was to highlight the trend to restore these vehicles rather than keep in daily use or modify seriously for off road.

Even five years ago there was much talk of 35" tyres and winch bumpers on all RRC forums. Now the scene is fast changing to restoration and presavation. Big mods and the associated questions/opinions are the stuff of newer vehicles because innovations are still possible.

Once the New Defender hits the streets (assuming it is relatively affordable and decent off road) Disco I, II and LR3 owners that were interested in modifications will sell up, buy one and the forum fun will start anew. Then the current forums will all be like the Series forum.

 

[raderrods]

Registry

I think a good add to this forum would be a registry page, I have several classic cars and most of them have some sort of registry. They may not be that accurate but at least give you an idea of how many frequent the forums.

 

[PTSchram]

I don't know how accurate a poll would be.

I do know that on Top Gear they were able to find out exactly how many Austin Marina's were still registered through the MOT but because we don't have a national database like that I think it would be a lot harder to ascertain how many Range Rovers are still registered.

My bet would be on somewhere between 5 and 10 thousand are still in a drivable condition.

Part of my wife's job is to determine how many of a particular vehicle are still registered for use.

5,000 is closer to the number she told me for RRCs and surprisingly, only about 30,000 DIs are still registered.

 

[ArmyRover]

That is a pretty surprising number. My hunter being one of +/- 400 must be one of the rarest RRC's left

The bidding will begin at 1 million dollars lol

 

[Paul Grant]

Back in '94 I had one of 200 Beluga Sable Editions. I've parted out four since and come across another five or six over the years. I often wonder how many made it and are still on the road. When I bought mine I thought I was buying a truck for the ages.

 

[roverandom]

5,000! Makes me feel bad I beat mine up in the bush so much........well, not really.

But I may hang on to my stock 87?

 

[rturbett]

We are doing our part!

We have a 90 RRC SWB that is a daily driver- my son refuses to part with it!
also, my brother has a 95 LWB, now weekend vehicle.


We don't need to use the boards as much because we have fixed p[retty much the whole truck, with everyone's help here.
Rob

 

[ducsurfer]

Part of my wife's job is to determine how many of a particular vehicle are still registered for use.

5,000 is closer to the number she told me for RRCs and surprisingly, only about 30,000 DIs are still registered.

i would be very curious to know how many 95 LWB are still registered?....