Factory V8 prices..walking away from this one!

Apologies for the long post.....

I have always loved V8s and have owned a 3.5/3.9 efi 90, 3.5/3.9 refi 110 and a 3.9 efi RRC (the 90 came with a 3.5 carb which I 'helped' a friend swap for a 3.9 efi which then replaced the 3.5 carb when I got the 110).

Although some folk might say that the 3.5/3.9 RV8s are underpowered, thirsty, old technology I happen to like them and think that they are ideal for a Landy. Note that I don't want to be the fastest off the lights or zoom around like it's a hot-hatch; at my age and inclination I'd just pootle along in that lazy, effortless V8 way, with of course that lovely soundtrack.

Despite having bought a very nice 2.5 petrol 90 a few months ago (I needed a fix for my habit and had been going cold-turkey for too long) I have seen an ad for a local factory V8 90 which is said to be in vgc; private seller not dealer. Details:

D reg (86) 90 CSW, 109543 miles. Top end rebuilt with new high compression pistons, rings and small end pins, new oil pump, dizzy drive gear, big end bearings, 3.5 high comp cam and US made followers, 4.2 flowed big port heads. The chassis is said to be solid unpatched/welded and treated with Rust Converter and Dinitrol. B/H, floor and door pillars are solid, floors removed, treated & repainted. Other stuffs includes replacement drive shafts, drive members with heavy duty Terrafirma screw on cap, wide angle prop shafts, extended s/steel brake lines, Delphi +1.5 inch gas shocks, longer and softer springs, front brake disks +pads, rear drums and shoes, & transfer gearbox input gear replaced with later oil hole on shaft and thrower. Professional B/H reduction, twin Kenlowes, original doors replaced with new LuH ones, long travel runners fitted to drivers seat, and a Mountney steering wheel. All in good condition Baby-Poo Beige a.k.a Arizona Tan.

I've done DLVC reg and MoT checks, Cazana etc and it all matches up. I hope to inspect it this weekend but I'm interested what your thoughts might be on V8 90 prices in general and this on in particular. It was on the market in the summer when I was first looking but at 13,995 I ignored it. It is now down to ~11.5 and we have chatted by email and he is prepared to negotiate further as he needs to get rid of it after a change in circumstance and the cost of keeping his 'toy' on the road. Although a lot, given their rarity and the supposed condition of this one I'd be prepared to go to 10/10.5 for a running keeper.

Any comments much appreciated. When I informed MrsC she didn't bat an eyelid and said that she knew I'd not be satisfied with the 2.5 and would end up with a V8!

It’s all about the condition. How is the rear crossmember, the doors, the bulkhead corners below the screen. Is the interior original and still nice, is the bodywork free from dents, is the paint original, has the colour been changed and so on.
Good original ones make the money, but if it’s non original or all past its best it can halve the value or more over a genuinely nice one.

Meeting the owner on Saturday to inspect and test drive. Looks like a very tidy and preserved original.
I'll report back on Sat.

Take pics, it sounds excellent ..

No idea on prices, sorry, but for an '86, unless it's pristine I wouldn't pay more than maybe 7k ... but then I'm a tight git.

Having said that, my '89 is beige and I love the colour, and it sounds that the mods have been done to suit it being more reilable for Green laning, or off-roading but could be easily changed back to standard if wanted. Don't want to teach you to suck eggs, but I'd suggest that when you're looking round it take a small hammer and tap the chassis rails etc and outriggers. I'd check particularly the A-Frame front mounting box, around the rear suspension mounts and all the rear cross-member.

Hope it's what you want ..

Paul D said:

Take pics, it sounds excellent ..
No idea on prices, sorry, but for an '86, unless it's pristine I wouldn't pay more than maybe 7k ... but then I'm a tight git.
Having said that, my '89 is beige and I love the colour, and itsounds that the mods have been done to suit it being more reilable for Green laning, or off-roading but could be easily changed back to standard if wanted. Don't want to teach you to suck eggs, but I'd suggest that when you're looking round it take a small hammer and tap the chassis rails etc and outriggers. I'd check particularly the A-Frame front mounting box, around the rear suspension mounts and all the rear cross-member.

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Cheers Paul.
I agree re price but that seems to be the current market.....worth it to me for a real running keeper though.
Hammer and magnet at the ready. I know the potential weak spots and will inspect, tap and poke as appropriate.
I did wonder about the suspension mods, will they make it less road drivable and more off-road biased? It looks like a mild lift but I don't want anything silly.
Jon

Yeah, if it's what you want price doesn't matter, so long as you're not too daft about it .. or just want it badly enough!!

Suspension mods are for off-road use, longer, softer springs will make it less road drivable to some extent, but that's subjective and if the shocks are decent then you might not notice.

Anyroadup, springs are easily changed. Longer softer will probably not sit much higher than standard length standard weight springs as some of the extra length will be taken up with suspension droop, the weight of the vehicle making the springs sag a little. I found that HD spings of standard length gave about a +40mm lift with extended shocks, so would guess a your lift (probably what people regard as a standard lift) with softer springs would give a roughly standard, maybe slight + ride height when empty, probably a bit lower when full ...

You've dropped on with the props, they will have been fitted to accommodate the lift and won't hurt anything even if you lower it again. Similarly the replacement half shafts and end caps! The only other thing I'd really check are the extended brake lines. When you lower it again, if you do, you might want to change back to standard length brake lines, they can bunch up, especially if, as I did, they used +4" extended rather than +2" lines. (Mine was done because I have HD trailing arms and humongous droop) Suck it and see, watch for the lines catching the tyres at both full locks and each end of the suspension.

Have fun ..

Cheers for the advice Paul.
I will be very careful as this will probably be my last Landy purchase so unless it really is a goodun I'll walk away.

Paul D said:

You've dropped on with the props, they will have been fitted to accommodate the lift and won't hurt anything even if you lower it again. Similarly the replacement half shafts and end caps!

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@Paul D - just to check, does the above mean it's good? i.e.You've dropped on with the props...or the body is lower with them? Sorry...
This pic shows it sitting empty, doesn't look particularly tall although it looks like the wheels are 205s?

Speaking of which, nice as they are I prefer steelies on Ninetys.

BTW, is your 90 above Arizona Tan or another beige. I like it, my old 110V8 was the same.


Thanks for all your help, I'll let you know what I find.

Yeah, 'you've dropped on' .. the props are good.

Agree with the steels ...

I have no idea .. it's just 'Beige' on the V5.

Had a look today, hammer & magnet check and test-drive and it is in very good condition for its age, not pristine but cared for, drives nicely, and the bits that wear have been replaced. A lower price has been agreed provisionally and we are in negotiations pending the MoT. Will Santa be kind to me this Xmas?

Wishing you a successful conclusion & a very happy Xmas mate.

Nice one ..

Or I could have gone for this on Gumtree.....a bit cheaper

Rare Genuine landrover defender county V8
Banff, Aberdeenshire £1,500.00

In need an bulkhead repair

Rear crossmember to be fitted supplied

Couple plates on chassis

In need full respray

Require work to the doors an replace rear door

Heheheh, bit of WD40, T-cut and elbow grease, maybe a lick of paint, job's a good 'un ..

Regrettably I'm walking away from this one.
Failed MoT on excessive CO emissions, exhaust leak, side lights, fuel cap, incorrect number plate, but most importantly...
* Offside Rear Suspension component mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded top of chassis rail by shock mount (2.4.A.3)
* Offside Rear Suspension spring mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded chassis rail (2.4.A.3)
* Nearside Rear Suspension spring mounting prescribed area is excessively corroded chassis rail (2.4.A.3)
Advised about oil leaks from steering box and both tractor joints.
Offered him 4k as a project and haven't heard back.
So it goes.....if I'm 'meant' to have one it'll turn up in time!
Thanks for all the advice etc.

Well, any thirty year old Defender is going to need chassis work/have a few chassis repairs unless it’s previously been fitted with a new one.
And for that you will pay a lot more.
I’d still be tempted to get it inspected by a LR specialist before you kick it into touch.

I dunno .. sounds like it needs a quarter chassis at the least, maybe even a new cross member too ... A fair amount of work for a 'dream vehicle' ...

He emailed me this evening....
In a nutshell he's as shocked as me at it failing, he wouldn't have taken it in if he thought it would fail. He had got the lights working but the holders are dodgy, loose terminals so played up on the test but he wiggled the bulbs till they worked. The tester was really rough on the chassis - "used a hammer on the chassis when not allowed to" (?) - the holes are small and on the rear behind the spring mounts, it is heavily waxoyled not undersealed and I saw that (it was slippery and moved under pressure unlike underseal), it's never had emissions fail issues (MoT confirms this) so just needs carbs checked.
He has ben really busy and has two kids with no mother at home with them now so it's been difficult to manage it all.
He ended that if I'm are still interested I could take it away for a few days trial (and full check over) but he's not thinking of selling anywhere near as low as 4k, he would rather keep her.

The rear x-member seemed solid when I banged it and has apparently been replaced in the past, and the rest of the chassis seemed ok so the corrosion issues are around the spring mounts on top of chassis rails which is quite common on a 30 year old.

Paul D said:

I dunno .. sounds like it needs a quarter chassis at the least, maybe even a new cross member too ... A fair amount of work for a 'dream vehicle' ...

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If this is fixed and the emissions and wring properly sorted, what would be a reasonable offer? We had agreed on 9 pre MoT when I thought it was a 'dream vehicle' but even if all fixed up, the chassis will need more work over time and I kind of lost trust; I doubt he'll take less than 8 considering that he got a big bill pending.

Maybe I should take his offer and take it away for a couple of days and get the local indy LR garage to give me their opinion?

Or maybe I should just forget it; I have a sweet and solid 2.5P which keeps up with the traffic and manages most of the hills on the south downs, the problem is having had V8s before, they are just so much nicer to drive and I miss the feeling, and sound, of that effortless pulling power!

Easier to pop a v8 into your sweet and solid 2.5p.
Same engine mounts.
Better v8s out there and for that money, I would be looking for a new chassis fitted.
Engine is getting older and might not be just carbs.

Gmacz said:

Easier to pop a v8 into your sweet and solid 2.5p.

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Something MrsCapo suggested, "can't you just pop a V8 into yours?" and has always been my plan B. I know it's commonly done and I've helped in 2 engine swaps and 1 rebuild but they were V8 to V8. Need rad, starter, alternator, air box etc, the LT77 is good but adaptor need etc and I'd rather have a LT85. It all adds up cost wise, plus finding a decent V8 which won't require a rebuild and I haven't the space, tools experience or time to do it myself. I'd have to find someone reputable and affordable to do it and with the original cost of my 90 must come to the same or more as a decent factory one?

Gmacz said:

Engine is getting older and might not be just carbs.

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Not sure if you read the whole post but this one had a top end rebuilt less than 10 years ago with new high compression pistons, rings and small end pins, new oil pump, dizzy drive gear, big end bearings, 3.5 high comp cam and US made followers, 4.2 flowed big port heads.When I drove it albeit on back roads nothing faster than 40, it pulled and drove very well. But a new chassis would definitely be a persuader