The Land Rover Page

My Series III 109 (LWB) 1975 ex-British Army Land Rover, straight from England (via Philly)

Why have a Land Rover?

In the few short months that I have owned mine, I can tell you that Rovers are a lot of fun, and are very reliable.  I have taken mine out on the beach at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in the very soft sand, and have had no trouble at all.  There's plenty of clearance, and the tires dig right in and keep on going.  Someone once told me that Rovers don't go very fast (mine whines at 55 mph) but "they can climb a tree."  So now that I've told my kids that they want me to take it up a tree, with them riding in the back, naturally.

I just completed the first mechanical work I have ever done on a Land Rover, replacing the water pump.  It was really pretty easy, overall.  The engine compartment is roomy, and everything is right there where its easy to get at and work on.  These vehicles were chosen by the British military for the reliability, toughness, and their ability to go pretty much anywhere.  My 1975 Series III Rover, shown above, was in active service in a British Army artillery regiment from 1975 through 1999, and I suspect those British soldiers didn't baby it one bit.

As for parts, it is absolutely no problem getting what you need pretty readily.  I did quite a bit of research on Land Rovers before I bought mine, and found that there were a number of places throughout North America where you can get basically anything you might need for your Land Rover.  Many of the links listed below are for places I use.  There is a pretty vast network of Rover enthusiasts out there, too.  So there are people that can help you diagnose problems, offer advice, or just swap stories with you about where they took their Rovers recently.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't get someone saying "Cool truck!" or "Where'd you get that?" or at least waving at me and giving me a thumbs up.  I park it outside on the weekends so my kids can play in the garage if they want and people stop their cars, get out and ask me if I'd consider selling it.  If you are single and want to meet people, get a Land Rover!  I'm still learning about mine, and it is definitely a project in restoration, but so far its all been a lot of fun, and I have never regretted my decision to get a Land Rover.

Land Rover Links

Rover Web
http://www.fourfold.org/RoverWeb

Land Rovers - General Information
http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~lloyd/tildeLand-Rover/landrover/04.html

The Land Rover Exchange
http://www.lrx.com/

The Land Rover Clubhouse
http://www.roverclubhouse.com/

Land Rover Supermarket
http://lr.merseyworld.com/

Rovers North
http://www.roversnorth.com/

Rovers Down South
http://www.roversdownsouth.com/

Tennessee Land Rovers
http://www.tntlr.com/

East Coast Rovers
http://www.eastcoastrover.com/

Museum of Transport (England) Land Rover Histories
http://www.winwaed.com/landy/history.html