My perfect rangie would be:
early 80's 2 door with the wonky steering wheel, '99 GEMS motor management and heads on a 4.6L top-hat lined block , LT95, ABS brakes from a '91-95, > '91 fuel tank, sunroof lid from > '90, wolf rims with Michelin 7.50's, AEU 2522 CV's with the 110 spindles and HD drive flanges, refurbished interior bits imported from England, SD roll cage, Devon front bumper with recessed Warn 8274 and a highly attractive brunette in the passenger seat.
Thing is, every time I go onto craigslist I'm sorely disappointed.
Here's what drives me crazy about all these threads about what vehicle to buy when new folk are looking for their first rig: THEY ARE ALL THE SAME TRUCK WITH SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PARTS.
D1, DII, RRC - I don't care. Buy the nicest you can afford and sort out the nits for that model year, later. They all have warts. Except the 2004 Discovery II. Apparently this thing is the best rig Land Rover ever gave birth to. Until you bolt on the front t-case housing to your buddy's 2003 DII. Some people had trouble with the engine in that year. but we can't verify the numbers because all we really know is what we read on web forums. So a 2004 must be the way to go. But lets not get into this right now.
Don't want sunroofs? Fine - take the lid off an '87 in the junkyard and put it onto your '92.
Do you want "the better t-case"? Great! Because you're going to be installing one, anyway. The 87 and 88 trucks are getting long in the tooth and need bearings. Any junkyard Disco I will serve you well, and with so many going the way of the dodo bird the swap is as inexpensive as ever. You can't buy a crappy TJ for the price of a B/W Rangie and a full D1 donor for parts.
If you do find a 2-dr, awesome. Swap in a 4.2L or a GEMS 4.0. That 3.5 with the carb sucks.
Don't want sway bars? They unbolt in about 20 minutes. Give yourself an hour if drinking beer.
What is this? That ABS system is real bad, eh? Have you people driven an ABS Rangie that's working properly, and compared it to a non-ABS truck on larger tires and full armor?
Being ran off from a really nice '93~'95 LWB because of the air suspension? Don't! They're just springs! And the air-tank works great for a vi-air and dual ARB's.
Set your budget and look for the Rover that seems to need the least work, because even that one is going to give you fits. All of these nuances between year models don't make nearly as much of a difference as starting with a nicer truck that deserves to be built up.
cheers,
-ike
