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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

Tuffy Auto Service Centers ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Brake Repair
Address: 22750 Pontiac Trl, Salem-Twp
Phone: (248) 437-4800

Tire Warehouse ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Dealers
Address: 24 Topsham Fair Mall Rd, Bowdoin
Phone: (207) 725-7020

Tire Supermarket ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Tire Recap, Retread & Repair, Tire Dealers
Address: 38670 Michigan Ave, Salem-Twp
Phone: (734) 895-8326

Rotary Auto Sales ★★★★★

New Car Dealers, Used Car Dealers, Used Truck Dealers
Address: 1844 Lisbon Rd, Lisbon-Falls
Phone: (207) 753-3004

Michigan Tint Co ★★★★★

Auto Repair & Service, Window Tinting, General Contractors
Address: 6418 Golden Ln, Salem-Twp
Phone: (248) 866-8520

Kupskis Auto Body ★★★★★

Automobile Body Repairing & Painting
Address: 34914 Forest St, Salem-Twp
Phone: (734) 728-4770

Auto blog

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Thu, Apr 8 2021

The month of March was unofficial minivan month here at Autoblog. We drove all of them but the Kia Carnival, but don’t worry, you wonÂ’t have to wait much longer to read that review. Among all the family-toting machines, we drove some more exciting vehicles including the Land Rover Defender and a pair of up-and-coming EVs. It was a month of excellent cars, meaning that this monthÂ’s litter of EditorsÂ’ Picks is stacked. In case you missed FebruaryÂ’s picks, hereÂ’s a quick refresher on whatÂ’s going on here. We rate all the new cars we drive with a 1-10 score. Cars that are exemplary or stand out in their respective segments get EditorsÂ’ Pick status. Those are the ones weÂ’d recommend to our friends, family and anybody whoÂ’s curious and asks the question. The list that youÂ’ll find below consists of every car we rated in March that earned the honor of being an EditorsÂ’ Pick. 2021 Ford Bronco Sport 2021 Ford Bronco Sport First Edition View 32 Photos Quick take: Ford's baby Bronco is an authentic foil to the big Bronco 2-Door and 4-Door. It brings rugged styling, better-than-average off-road capability and thoughtful utility features to a generic segment of cars. Score: 8 What it competes with: Jeep Compass, Jeep Cherokee, Mazda CX-30, Subaru Crosstrek, Kia Seltos, Chevrolet Trailblazer Pros: Stellar design, excellent off-road, clever interior details throughout Cons: Pricier than most, average transmission, underwhelming interior quality and ambiance in lowest trims From the editors: Road Test Editor Zac Palmer — “I genuinely enjoy driving this cute crossover. It feels like a mini truck on the road, and Ford admirably translated the design from its big Bronco over to this Escape-based crossover. News Editor Joel Stocksdale — "The Bronco Sport isn't perfect, the transmission could use some work, and it's a little bumpy, but it's a characterful little thing with loads of style, great visibility and space, and impressive capabilities on and off road in the powerful Badlands form." In-depth analysis: 2021 Ford Bronco Sport Review | Bronco for the masses   2021 Land Rover Defender 2021 Land Rover Defender 110 View 64 Photos Quick take: The Land Rover Defender provides everything you'd hope for in a modern Land Rover: superlative off-road capability, surprisingly plush on-road demeanor, abundant interior space and abundant character. The base four-cylinder is likely all you'll need and lower trim levels provide more than enough equipment.

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Mon, Oct 24 2016

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