Description

1979 Range Rover Classic Two-Door

Current owner 40 years; only 70k miles from new; ground-up restoration on new galvanised chassis; fortunes spent; massive history file

Purchased by our vendor 40 years ago on 3^rd June 1981, this white, Suffix-F 1979 Range Rover was first registered in May 1979 and had covered approximately 20,000 miles in the hands of its three previous owners by the time he drove it home. The original receipt shows he paid £7,230.

Since then, it has been a ‘high days and holidays’ car, taking the family on holidays and weekends away, mainly exploring the Welsh coastline – hence its low mileage - which is still below 70,000 miles from new.

In 1995, the speedo packed up at just over 53,000 miles, its replacement now showing an additional 16,809 miles on top.

The vendor soon decided that the car felt undergeared so during its first service in his hands, he instructed his local garage to install a new Fairey Overdrive unit which remains in the car today. The cost for this (and the service) totalled to £696!

The vendor erected a purpose-built breeze-block garage with roller shutter door where the car has lived ever since. It has been maintained to within an inch of its life and updated with period upgrades along the way, including electric front windows in 1982 and grille-mounted spot lamps in 1984. The exhaust was upgraded to stainless steel and in 1988 the gearbox was reconditioned.

Further love was lavished on the car, with Bearmach anti-roll bars front and rear and special seat covers made to keep the seats in excellent order – as they are today. The seat covers are included in the sale.

Multiple bills remain on file dating back to 1983, including Hereford Land Rover, Hereford 4x4, Henlys and A.Victor Wherley Ltd – all local Herefordshire businesses. Conspicuous by their absence are bills from the mid 2000s relating to a major rebuild which included removal of the body and replacement of the chassis with a brand new item which was sent out for galvanising. This was done by a local specialist and included a careful body rebuild including new front wings, inner panels and rear 1/4 panels, undersealing and a professional respray which took some years.

This Range Rover has been in a programme of continual improvement since its initial purchase, the most recent bills from Hereford 4x4 covering a new radio with quad speakers, a dash cam and battery isolator.

In addition to all of the bills, the file includes the handbook, multiple brochures, a factory parts catalogue, Classic Range Rover DVD, several books on the marque and an Autobooks and a Haynes manual. There are also some useful parts, including a new windscreen rubber and a nearside rear internal quarter trim panel. It even comes with a set of snow-chains just in case, although we doubt it saw much bad weather post 1981!

It has been running around on the vendor’s personal number plate for many years which is being retained. It comes with a new V5C bearing the number HAH 571T.

Only on offer due to ill health, the vendor says ‘I must now relinquish by Range Rover which has given ALL my family so many happy memories over the last 40 years’. The care and love that has gone into it during this time is testament to that.

For more information - contact matthew.parkin@brightwells.com