From the day I decided to buy a vintage Land Rover the plan was to make it my everyday vehicle. I’d sell the MINI almost immediately. Friends and concerned strangers urged me to hang on to the MINI, if only for a few months, to make sure I could make do with a 40 year old truck. So I rented one of those U-Store-It places to keep the MINI, even though I’m not entirely comfortable with having two vehicles. The Land Rover is still a month away. Maybe six weeks.

In the meantime, the MINI’s value as a back-up ride has… diminished. Might have a crack in the head gasket which is an expensive repair. $1,500, maybe two grand?

I paid $24,000 for the MINI in the fall of 2011. The Blue Book value is around $5,000, perhaps a bit more. But that’s WITHOUT a serious engine problem. Do I invest $2K to fix the car in order to sell it for $5K? If I’m doing the math correctly, the car is only worth $3K at the moment.

I’m almost completely ignorant in these matters because I’ve always driven cars (Toyotas) for 300,000 miles or more. Then I’d buy a new one. Zero experience with used cars. And more importantly, I refuse to fuck with buying/selling used cars.

So I’ll keep the MINI until the Land Rover arrives but keeping it in storage no longer makes sense. I haven’t figured out what to do with it but I will. The local high school has a career center with an automotive program that accepts donated vehicles for the student to work on (for practice or to fix and sell). I might donate the MINI.

What I’d like to find is a “concierge seller.” Someone that finds a buyer and takes a commission.

I was a little surprised at how quickly the MINI lost value. And how difficult and expensive it was to maintain. And, yes, driving a 40 year old truck will have a new set of surprises.

Not sure what it is about these two photos that appeals to me. I assume they were taken by Mrs. Wolf at the recent Land Rover meet-up. It’s probably loud as hell but these images seem so still and quiet.

I “met” Jim Potter and Neil Sommers on a Land Rover forum and they’ve been answering my newbie questions ever since. Yesterday I drove over to Kansas City to meet them (and their Land Rovers).

That’s Neil’s 1963 Series IIA and the photo below is Jim’s 1968 IIA.

I’m in love with the soft top on this truck and plan to order one for next spring. Jim will be switching back to his hardtop soon which he keeps suspended from the roof of his garage.

UPDATE: By the time I finally take delivery of the truck, spring won’t be that far off so I’ll probably order a soft-top and have it ready. The Hoist-A-Top is for Jeeps but looks like it would work. The Harken Hoist looks a bit complex and requires 10 ft which I’m pretty sure i don’t have. Jim made his own hoist (below).

The highlights of the trip for me were the drive from KC down to Neil’s farm in Jim’s truck. Bumpy, loud, slow… wonderful! After meeting Neil, we jumped in his truck and drove around in one of his pastures. He let me drive for a bit and it was a blast. My first time to drive a Land Rover (right hand steering!).

Neil has one of the most amazing shops I’ve ever seen. Okay, I haven’t seen that many shops but this thing was packed with every imaginable tool and some big-ass metal lathes. (I think).

Update from Neil: “The freshly painted blue machine tool is a Steptoe 16 inch metal shaper. It is painted Land Rover Marine Blue. The metal lathe is a Monarch 10EE and the big drill press looking tool is a Bridgeport milling machine.”

Behind the shop Neil had the axles from one of his Land Rovers on sawhorses (he’s doing some more restoration (that’s the chassis above). After explaining how the differential gears worked and how I would need to check the fluid levels periodically, he presented me with a custom tool for taking out the plug. Uh, yeah, maybe.

Jim and Neil are passionate about old Land Rovers and they could not have been more gracious and hospitable. I was pumped about getting my truck but now that I’ve actually driven one… (high pitched squeal!)

The evolution of the early Land Rover trucks can get a little complicated. Mine was made in 1979 (Series III) in Santana, Spain. Land Rover made 440,000 of this type between 1971 and 1985. The video below features a Series I truck. They didn’t use that term until the Series II trucks came along and all previous trucks then became Series I, by default.

Frankly, I’ve never understood the appeal of off-road vehicles. ATV, dirt bikes, etc. But after watch a whole bunch of videos showing Land Rovers doing impossible things in all kinds of terrain, I’m getting a little tingle.

Mind you, I have few legitimate reasons to go “off road,” but a couple of times a year a big rain will completely wash out the gravel road leading to our house. Deep ruts that would swallow my MINI whole. I’ll be sure to post videos.

Fear not, I’m going to spend some time practicing this kind of driving, starting with gentle roadside ditches and farm pastures.

PS: Looks like this video was produced in 1972 but the voice-over sounds like 1955.

Apparently it is not uncommon to name one’s old Land Rover. This is Fergus and he (it?) belongs to a new acquaintance in the Kansas City area.

You can’t look too close- it needs a frame, and isn’t restored but is set up to take it into the forest for firewood. We left the dents in the body, rough cut the rear bulkhead out for more legroom, added comfortable suspension seats, and lifted it a bit with parabolics and OME sport shocks. One day I will take it apart again for a frame swap and better engine. The 2.25 gas just doesn’t have enough power to be safe on the highway. I lose 10 mph just going up hills!

I believe this is a Series IIa and I think it’s beautiful. I’m fond of the bikini top and will probably go that route next next spring. Here’s another angle on Fergus.