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Military Rebuilt 2.5 N/a Diesel With Low Miles on 2040-cars

Year:1980 Mileage:47513
Location:

Portland, Maine, United States

Portland, Maine, United States
Advertising:

With a heavy heart, I list my Land Rover for auction. I've owned it for almost three years and, sadly, I need either more space or better towing capacity (if you've never owned a D90 before, go see one in person, trust me, it's not as big as it looks back there). I'm open to trades on something along the lines of a 110 or 109. So if your into these ugly, slow moving vehicles like I am, let me know and maybe we can set some sort of trade up! Here's what I can tell you:

The Good:

- I purchased it with help from GMR4x4 of Vermont, and had it shipped in from overseas. Those guys are pros and have a person in England that does quality control for them before it gets purchased and loaded onto the boat. It had no rust (save some surface spots) and only 20 something thousand miles on a rebuilt engine (block has a plate that says it was done in 2006). It didn't come with nor does it have a title (Vermont and Maine don't require it, PLEASE check with your state to see if this is the case) and the VIN is a UK VIN so it doesn't show up through Ebay. Also, the steering wheel is on the "wrong" side- wrong for North America, perfectly acceptable for a Land Rover

-From what I gather the military did an excellent job at maintaining it until it was decommissioned. Based off the paint shades and condition, it has a relatively new hood, firewall, and tailgate. The chassis was waxoyled before it came over and I've been keeping the rust at bay with linseed oil and Fluidfilm.    

-It originally had a canvas soft top (but that doesn't fly in Maine year round) so I purchased a hard top (which is in great condition, save the poor paint job and surface rust on the interior of the rear door) and had the new problem of it being WAY too hot whenever the sun is out. The dual sunroofs make it a solar oven during the summer. The new top came at the expense of the roll bar, which still has the mounts and holes for it, but no actual bar. The next "mod" (I use this term loosely) was to add more comfortable seats, so it has re-purposed Minicooper seats. I drove it to Utah and back and didn't want to get whiplash if I was hit from behind so I looked for the smallest seats that fit and had good support. I also hated how I couldn't reach the wheel with my leg to steer with my knee. Problem solved. I have NO idea how legal this is, but it was way better than getting a spinal cord injury. If you have big thighs, it might be a tight fit.

-There are jumpseats that face eachother with no seatbelts and an interior mount on the inside for a hi-lift jack. The jumpseats went in so I could work on my laptop in the back, sitting at one and using the other as a table. The hi-lift mounts got put inside so I could leave it places and not worry about someone stealing my jack.

-I replaced the starter, battery and fuel filter within the last year. It really stemmed from one problem- the fuel filter was clogged, which caused the engine to crank too much when starting, which killed the battery and eventually the starter. Everything works fine now, the old starter was garbage anyways.

-I wired in a 12v outlet to charge a cellphone, run a GPS etc.

-Radiator muff is included for winter operation (this works like a charm, definitely keeps the cabin toastier) 

The Bad (arguably, the ugly):

-Depending on your tastes, the paint is a disaster. Basically an encyclopedia of cosmetic defects. There are scratches, uneven shades, areas where the paint is haphazardly caked on, dings, nicks, you name it. I tried to take pictures of the worst spots to get you an overall idea of the condition of the car. I thought about painting it... but honestly, it looks better like this.

-The windshield is cracked, under the rear view mirror. I don't even notice it any more, it hasn't spread, but its there.

-It doesn't leak very much of anything, which is rare for Land Rovers. It does weep a little though when it gets extremely hot or very cold (i.e. when the fluids and seals expand and contract)

-The rear door above the tailgate should be sanded and repainted. Solid, but it doesn't look very nice. I just bolted it shut because people kept on opening it at night.

-Contact corrosion put a hole in the exhaust which I repaired with one of those wide, generic autozone exhaust clamps. I think stainless steel would be the way to go eventually, but it works fine for right now. 

-The front left signal will not turn on when the head lights are on. Your guess is as good as mine. Turn the lights off... no problem. Same goes with the passenger side map light.

-Temperature gauge was acting erratically for a few weeks and decided to park itself at cold. Hasn't had any effect on vehicle operation.

Most of these problems are hardly noticeable day to day. Bigger issues to think about if you're considering a vehicle like this are:
-The complete lack of acceleration that a 2.5 diesel engine has.
-The fact that there is a learning curve driving on the other side of the vehicle
-The matter there is no power steering (city dwellers beware, parallel parking can be painful)
-On the highway, you will never see 70MPH nor will you be able to hold a conversation with your passengers over the engine noise at 40MPH.
-If it rains, you will get wet. If it's hot, you will sweat. If it's snowing, you'll get covered in snow. Look at it like an upgrade from a motorcycle, not a regular passenger car.
-My state doesn't require inspections for antique vehicles, yours might. Will it pass with right hand steering, aftermarket seats, etc? 

There's no warranty, but like I said, I drove this from Maine to Utah and back with NO problems. That being said, you could in theory drive this home, but if you've never driven something like this before, you will crash without some practice. I might be willing to drive it to you, depending on my work schedule and provided you don't live somewhere like Alaska, if you would pick up the fuel costs. If not, shipping or pickup is the buyers responsibility. Ask as many questions and you want and I'll make sure to answer them- thanks for looking!

Auto Services in Maine

Van Ess & Son Auto Repair ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Electric Service
Address: 28335 5 Mile Rd, Salem-Twp
Phone: (734) 422-0320

Thurlow`s Transmission & Auto ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Auto Transmission Parts
Address: 243 Shaker Rd, East-Poland
Phone: (207) 657-3902

T N Import Auto Service ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service
Address: 130 Thadeus St # B, South-Portland
Phone: (207) 741-2770

Sunset RV Storage ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Boat Storage
Address: 12641 Stark Rd, Salem-Twp
Phone: (734) 422-3220

Sovel`s Service Centers Inc ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Gas Stations
Address: 41425 W 10 Mile Rd, Salem-Twp
Phone: (248) 348-7337

Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Automobile Air Conditioning Equipment-Service & Repair, Auto Oil & Lube
Address: 6181 N Canton Center Rd, Salem-Twp
Phone: (734) 582-7280

Auto blog

All Jaguars and Land Rovers to get diesel engines... almost

Mon, Jan 12 2015

Virtually all Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles – except the F-Type sports car – will get a diesel engine option in the next three years, the company confirmed Sunday night at an event before the Detroit Auto Show. The aggressive blitz begins this fall, when the 2016 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will launch with available turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 diesel engines. They will push out 254 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque, while returning fuel economy of up to 28 miles per gallon on the highway. The combined rating in city and highway driving will be 25 mpg. The Rovers will be followed in 2016 by the XE sedan and F-Pace crossover, which will offer the 2.0-liter turbodiesel four-cylinder engines, in addition to gasoline units. The diesel-powered XE is expected to get at least 40 mpg on the highway, Jaguar Land Rover North America CEO Joe Eberhardt said. The oil-burners are expected to offer 20-to-30 percent improvements in fuel economy compared with gasoline engines, depending on the vehicle. JLR's announcement comes as gasoline prices have plummeted in the United States, and regular fuel costs about $1 less than a gallon of diesel, according to AAA research. Still, the company is taking the long view, and Eberhardt said diesel engines offer greater performance and range than other options. JLR expects about 20 percent of its customers will opt for diesel engines. "We strongly believe this is what our customers will want, regardless of the fluctuations in gas prices," he said. JAGUAR LAND ROVER DEBUTS DIESEL POWER OFFERINGS, JAGUAR XE AND ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR PRODUCTION OF AN ALL-NEW JAGUAR PERFORMANCE CROSSOVER AT 2015 NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW • Jaguar Land Rover to introduceadvanced, highly fuel-efficient, clean-diesel powertrain options on virtually every Jaguar and Land Rover model sold in North America • The Jaguar F-PACE performance crossover to join Jaguar lineup in 2016 • Land Rover Range Rover HSE Td6 and Range Rover Sport HSE Td6 debut in U.S.; on sale in 2015 • North American debut of the Jaguar XE at NAIAS 2015 • Jaguar Land Rover announces global sales up 9% in 2014 (MAHWAH, N.J.) – January 11, 2015 – Jaguar Land Rover confirms several new vehicle announcements today including an all-new model to the Jaguar lineup, the Jaguar F-PACE, and diesel power options for most of its luxury line up, beginning with the 2016 MY Range Rover and Range Rover Sport luxury SUVs.

Jaguar Land Rover parent Tata posts a loss over coronavirus

Tue, Oct 27 2020

BENGALURU — India's Tata Motors posted a wider loss for the September quarter on Tuesday as the COVID-19 pandemic sapped demand in several of its key markets. The global health crisis has hammered sales for automakers worldwide and compounded problems for Tata Motors, which was trying to improve Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sales amid weak demand and uncertainty related to Brexit. Tata Motors reported a consolidated net loss of 3.14 billion rupees ($42.47 million) for the second quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of 2.17 billion rupees a year earlier. Retail unit sales at luxury car unit JLR, which rakes in most of the company's revenue, was down nearly 12% for the reported quarter. Tata Motors, however, said it expects JLR sales to gradually improve. "Despite concerns around the risk of a second wave of (COVID-19) infections ... we expect a gradual recovery of demand and supply in the coming months," the carmaker said in an exchange filing. Total revenue from operations fell 18.2% to 535.3 billion rupees. Tata Motors said it was committed to achieving near-zero net automotive debt in the coming years. Shares of Tata Motors ended 1.46% higher on Tuesday while the broader Mumbai market settled 1.03% higher.

A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Thu, Dec 18 2014

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.