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Careful, I may pull the plug on the “sweet” $hit. I won’t know until I know if I’ll ever jump back into the Rover game, all depends on the Sun, Moon and Stars aligning. When I’m bored I search CL. Ever since I was a kid I wanted a two door Laredo. Right now I’ve been offered a 60’s CJ5a and also an 82 Laredo. One has a stuck valve and needs wiring wrung out, the other is a basket case but good bones and a 360. I like not having either too.
I enjoyed my TJ/LJ/WJ, but I'm not a fan of the new Jeep crowd. I got back into LR's due to several things, but I've never been happier, and I truly enjoy helping people either fixing theirs up. The LR crowd on here, and in TX is very nice and on all the off road events I've gone on it's nice to see people still respecting Tread Lightly and keeping the trails clean. Something the last few Jeep Clubs I was with couldn't care less about.
Ain't you sweet!!! I forgot about your dirty Jeep habit. A D1 or D2 with a proper heart transplant is probably in the future. Or a LR3. Every time I see one I get all giddy. Never has a Nissan inspired such emotion
LR3 coil conversion OME springs, super reliable set up and extremely capable with the Terrain Response.
Community is the key word in all of this. Many makes and models have forums. I am on more than a few Saab, Mercedes, Ford, BMW, and MG. The only crowd that I can message a guy I know on the forum, ask him to check out a Rover for me in Vegas, Denver Michigan or Maine and not only get someone to look at it and send me pics is the Land Rover World. I have transported bumpers and winches for guys I have never met to help them save shipping. Hell I picked up, stored and drug a Freelander 700 miles behind my LR3 to get it to a Rover addict up north.
That is community, it goes beyond advice and trouble shooting. The only group that comes close is the MG world, probably something to do with similar brotherhood of the Brits
LR3 coil conversion OME springs, super reliable set up and extremely capable with the Terrain Response.
Community is the key word in all of this. Many makes and models have forums. I am on more than a few Saab, Mercedes, Ford, BMW, and MG. The only crowd that I can message a guy I know on the forum, ask him to check out a Rover for me in Vegas, Denver Michigan or Maine and not only get someone to look at it and send me pics is the Land Rover World. I have transported bumpers and winches for guys I have never met to help them save shipping. Hell I picked up, stored and drug a Freelander 700 miles behind my LR3 to get it to a Rover addict up north.
That is community, it goes beyond advice and trouble shooting. The only group that comes close is the MG world, probably something to do with similar brotherhood of the Brits
Preach. That's the damn truth. There is not a community over on the Nissan side. It really sucks. I'm sure there are some cool Jeep guys out there....but I haven't met them yet. Weiner measuring is all I've ever seen.
I've just about finished clearing all the Rover parts out of my garage. I've thrown away so many parts that took me years to acquire. I mean 4 huge cans full of spares and parts that no one wanted. Plus so many body panels. Bumpers, driveshafts, axels, you name it. Kinda sad really. After the last RRC I owned...I just had enough. I got tired of fixing them on the weekends and not actually getting to use them for what I was building. I will always love the heritage and history of the brand. I will love the capability of these machines. I will love the uniqueness of it's looks and it's driving position. I will miss the soul of these trucks most of all.
A year and a half ago I bought a new to me 2012 Xterra Pro4x to take the place of the Rovers. The worst attributes are it's lack of soul, emotionless design, and it's empty heritage. Maybe it's lack of axel droop in there too. It took me a long time to like this truck. Truth is I was in an abusive one way relationship before. Now I've seen the light.
So far I've racked up 27k miles on this thing since I've taken ownership. I've driven this thing way way more than I drove my last 10 Rovers combined. All while getting decent MPG and not so much as a hiccup. I recently put on 800+ miles driving through Escalante Utah. Zero. Issues. I can't stress that point enough. I spent zero time stressing about temps. About noises. Grunts. Groans. Zero times lifting the hood. This sort of trust and security did not instantly happen. It took time. I'm completely impressed about it's abilities. I've never been in a situation where I couldn't get out. Its been extremely capable on and off the road. 85 on the highway with plenty of power. No more being scared to merge. No more slow lane going up Utah grades.
Having these improvements made me realize what I was missing. I know now that if I ever own another Rover it will have an LS swapped in. Even a 4.8 turd with 150k will be a drastic improvement over the Buick V8. I'll take my time building it right to combine reliability and power with the rest of the truck. The way it should have been built to begin with.
For now I say good bye gents. Every one on here who helped me out. Gave me advice. Bought or sold me stuff. Thanks for the laughs guys. Its been fun. I wish you well. I'll be out on the trail if you guys can get yours out of the garage. HA!
Was at a seriously low ebb a few weeks back and contemplated the scrap yard for it as I want my driveway back and my life that's not spent with a spanner or a welding torch in my hand.
07-21-2019, 10:13 AM
