The AM Forum

Bought from a colleague who's leaving Athens.  The first non-American car I've owned - 1991 Land Rover Discovery.

No electrical fires yet!   Pics taken on top of Mt. Ymmitos, did some 4-wheeling up there last weekend.  You can see the city of Athens in the background in one of the pics.

Any car that run and looks as clean as the one you got is a good deal!

Lots of antennas on that mountain.

Hmmmmm....................20 year old Lucas Electrics anyone?? For that price just keep a few packs of hotdogs and hamburglars handy along with a long stick!  ;D  ;D

Lucas fuel injection even  ::)

Of course being British it has a slight waft of raw gasoline but amazingly everything works except the aircon.

It has a few minor battle scars but it's by far the best $500 car I've owned.  If it craps out, it's getting abandoned.

Mt. Ymmitos is about 3300 feet and its proximity to Athens is ideal to situate broadcashers.  The intermod up there is something else!

Great deal on the car  :) That mountain.....wpheeeuu... ;D tower man stay busy longtime big boysons.. :D

73

Jack..

JN,

Bet you couldn't buy that nice a $500 car back in the States!  (unless it was VERY hot!)  I looked at a couple of Scouts last year that were a lot more money (and had a lot less body due to rust).

With any luck, the Lucas Prince of Darkness and Flame doesn't like to visit Greece.

Enjoy the mountains!

You couldn't buy the rims for that price! Regardless of it being the soccer mom offering from Rover, they are well-made and have/had one of the highest reliability ratings out there. Compared to renting a vehicle to take out 4 wheeling, ya done extremely well!

From the looks of one of those pictures, you solved your aerial issues, too. All you need is a big ol' roll of coax and a few of those strapping chromed alternators under your hood and you'll be whirlwide!!   ;D

You're a BRAVE man there Johnny Novice  ;D  ;D

Hmmm................. Lucas electrics + Lucas fuel injection + the smell of 'oleene= run like hell!!  :o  :o  ;D  ;D

That thing qualifies as a WMD. I hope your fire and liability insurance is paid up ;D

The gasoline fumes are actually a feature to warn the wanna be terrorists that Jihad Novice is in the Hood so stay away if you know what's good for you :)

How much would it cost to buy and ship a Rover Diesel engine by boat to here??

Somewhat serious question... might be able deal with more than one...

                   _-_-bear

Btw... wish I could get that sort of deal here... all the cars here are pure body rot...
What I'd love to get is a "110" which looks like the earlier "109" wheelbase "Series" Rovers,
but has an external frame... of course they ONLY seemed to import the automatic tranny
vehicles to the States, since they started on the newer styling...

Yeah just toss the title in the glove box and if it craps out, walk away.

Here's a thought:  British = Positive ground ?
Had fun putting my hissette deck in a cardboard box in my '66 Austin-Healey, so the chassis wouldn't touch anything.

But hey -- do you think your Suburban would take it, ya know ?

great for $500! if you are worried about fires, put a 50A or 100A magnetic DC breaker in the dash in series with the hot (using good wire, not the stock wire).. just shut it off when not using the vehicle.

A nice old Scout would be my dream vehicle, Rodger.  Had a '78 Scout II that's essentially medium duty truck on a little chassis.  Absolutely indestructible except for the famed IH tinworm infestation.

This beast has one thing in common with the older Scouts - you can go into LO/HI range independently of being in 4WD.  2-LO is kinda nice for creeping in heavy traffic.

Interestingly it's mechanically very similar to the old-sk00l Defender.  Same engine (the Rover/Buick 3.5L V-8), 5-speed tranny, transfer case, axles, etc.   Other than the Defender it's perhaps one of their last serious 4X4s.  Land Rover's really gone to hell with the "luxury SUV" theme lately - all kinds of unnecessary gingerbread, poor ground clearance, low profile tires that are useless in anything but dry pavement, etc.  In other words, poseurs, just like any Murano, BMW SUV, etc.

I do prefer my Suburban, but parking and navigating that beast thru this city would be hell.  There are some crazy Greeks that seem to do it with Hummers and Escalades though  ;D

Looks like you got a hell of a deal, JN. Like the rest of the guys, I'm a bit concerned about the Lucas electrics, but you should be able to mitigate that particular bit of British contribution to your ride. Love the Rovers. If you've got one, you just have to be creative about about plugging all the places the magic smoke tends to leak out of.

Enjoy. There ain't much -- if anything -- that can beat a Rover for just plain ol' off-road capability. Wish I still had my '56 Jeep CJ-5 though.

ldb
K5WLF

So far so good with the Lucas electricals.  The guy I bought it from thoughtfully included a pair of jumper cables ("mandatory", he said!) but the alternator looks brand new.

It is a negative ground, Paul, so the horrendous aftermarket JVC stereo works (?) without jury-rigging.

Bear, I'd have no idea on shipping a Rover diesel.  Best way is probably a LCL container.  I'd think you could do better with something else unless you have a dead Rover needing an engine.  This one has the little gas V-8 that Rover re-did from the 215 Buick aluminum V-8 so it has a tough sound  ;D

My Friend had one.. What a nightmare that thing was.  You got a heck of a deal though!    Make sure you have that special wrench for the lug nuts..   We got stranded with a flat and realized we had no way to get the lug nuts loose.. Then we realized nobody in 200 square miles did either.

C

Nah, just keep a couple packs of hotdogs handy at all times.  ;D

what the hell, they dont call em carbeques for nothin.  :o  :o

Yeah yeah yeah....

Aside from Johnny and anyone who actually owned and worked on Brit vehicles routinely, ya gotta wonder how many of the Lucas horror stories are first hand and how many are just 'passed along'. So-n-so knew so-n-so who had a such and such. Reminds me of the old saying "All Harleys are junk, they leak oil" from the AMF days.

I must've been awfully lucky, I had 3 MGBs, 3 Triumphs, 2 Land Rovers, 4 Jags and a Mini. None of them ever had anything resembling a fire - electrical, brakes, fuel, or otherwise. They all did suffer from the typical Lucas wiring/Smiths gauges deficiencies, but a 6th grader could trace out their wiring and fix those little bullet connectors pretty easily. Methinks a lot of it came when folks started buying used XJ-6s and maintaining them like Chevys. Come to think of it, the only problem area in the XJ-6 I had was the Borg-Warner tranny. $500 to get it rebuilt in 1988 dollars.

OTOH, I did have several US cars like Mopar 318-based rigs that caught fire due to that lovely automatic choke set up they used on an otherwise-sweet engine. They'd either catch fire or suffocate themselves at traffic lights, so you had to carry a screwdriver on the front seat to stuff down into the butterfly to get it started again (after removing the air cleaner cover amidst a chorus of honking horns at a busy intersection). Also witnessed a couple of Hitler's Vunder-vagons light up when accumulated oil leaked from the push-rod tubes caught fire. The only imported car that ever caught fire on me was an Italian Lancia, which I admit was a pretty cheesy vehicle overall(though it did have a high redline). And even then, I tore the offending wiring out which removed the smoke, and the car still functioned as before, everything worked and only the engine smoked.  Must've been some redundant system. ;D

BTW Johnny, I saw a sweet TVR Vixxen some years back that the owner had dropped that nice little al-uuu-mini-um Rover/Government Motors V8 into. 'Twas a rocket. Suspect any problems you have with your rig will be more about the amenities and less about the mechanics.

Enjoy it. It's all good, mostly.  ;)

Todd,
        I've owned and repaired many british motorcycles. (Triumphs & BSAs) All had elecrical problemz!! Mechanically they were reliable as a rock if you had frequent bolt tightening partys. (parts would vibrate loose and fall off!) I put over 100k on a 1963 T-120. (for those who know what that was) And it never had to come home in the back of a truck.

BUT I'D LIKE TO HAVE $1 FOR EVERY TIME I HAD TO RIDE IT HOME AT NIGHT WITH NO LIGHTS AND A DEAD BATTERY   ::)  :o  ::)  :o       ;D

Oh, yea, I forgot this one! A buddy of mine bought a new Jag back somewhere around 2000. He showed me all of the computerized electronics on it and I just rolled my eyes thinking about the Prince of Darkness having anything to do with all of that complicared stuff. I think my buddy said it had 3 computers in it, I just sighed in disbelief.

He said he bought the car "as an investment". When he sold it (with next to no miles on it) some years later he ended up taking a hell of a loss on it. He said noone wanted them and that "you couldn't give them away"

I wonder if the Lucas electrics had anything to do with it ???  ???  ;D

Most of the Lucas troubles on older cars revolved around grounds, those terrible Smiths guages, and voltage regulators when I worked in that shop.  Lights, turn signals, etc would get corroded grounds and all kinds of weird stuff would happen.

We got a LOT of fire damaged 70's XJ-12s and XJ-Ss in that shop.  The fuel rails had little splices in them - rubber hoses, held on with garden variety hose clamps.  IIRC there's 30-50 PSI of fuel going thru that rail.  Sure as hell they'd spring a leak.  The owner would turn the ignition to "on", wait a few seconds as normal (all the while raw fuel is spraying over the engine), hit the key, and WHOOMPH.  Most of the time the car was totaled.

Very few problems with the computers on them.  The interiors and accessories were pure crap though.

Then there were the XJs with the SU carbs, and the owners who never knew to fill 'em with oil...

Never had a problem with my old six cylinder ford and I bought another one never interested in these jallopies.

But still a good deal.

73

Jack.

The Rovers that burnt up that I know of were ones that saw occasional use and had oil leaks that were ignored.

British cars and bikes seem to do well when used daily.( I've owned a few second hand cars and bikes and liked them. Rust killed mine  :-\

Dust/Oil/Petrol/Heat = BBQ  :P
If you have chronic oil leakage, douse the warm engine w/ simple green or the purple stuff by Castrol and rinse followed by WD40. Allow the WD to evap. as it WILL catch on fire, believe me :o  ( and fix the leaks )


Re: American Trucks, I built my own "dream" Chevy.
A 94' Extracab 4x4 with a UPS/FritoLay 3.9Liter 4cyl turbo Cummins w/ a tow truck 5spd OD trans = 23 to 26 mpg on cut and filtered waste oil, #2 and pump Diesel.
I drive it 400mi/wk & love it!

Everyone Gasp.. Gasp..LOL  8) A Super Chevy... :D

Don't knock it till ya try it  ;D

Keeehee hee hee another chitty chevy

Pulled two out of the mud up at Butlers Mud Fest  ;D wif my wittle wanger ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L38wthA4Ld0&feature=related


I Got-R-Done ;D

I think he will enjoy the Rover.  Its very capable off road.  Hell for that money, I would have purchased the thing in a second.. But I like odd types of cars..   One of my Dream cars showed up on ebay recently. I know its going to go for big money. 

Yeah its slow.. Real slow.. But thats not the point.. this is the nicest one I have seen.

160452564845


Clark

Ah Heck Ya dem Rovers are Known Performers ya Buddy...

I built my "dream truck" too.  ;D A '66 Ford 6' stepside with a '71 Chrysler 440 unda the hood. 12 mpg pulling, loaded or empty it didnt matter! Back tires lasted for 2 or 3 days  ;D ;D  but it was fun blowing off many of the day's "supercars" Consistant 13.50s left in drive and floored. And a big "shit eatin grin" on my face. ;D  ;D

Well, mine won't pull any crazy 1/4 mi times but it will run on juss bout anything greasy and free  ;)
 I do like huge, mid 60's Chryslers. My friend had a bone stock 383cid Newport granny hand me down that was rediculus fast.
It was a rolling motel room in High School  ::)

Clark,
check out the Suzuki samuri / 1.6L VW conversions. I want to build one next.
Daily driver, turn key kits start at at about $650.

my dream truck 1972 1 ton with a wood flat bed. 350 plus .030 fuelie cam and 411s
Take any stock vet out of the hole.
butt ugly primer black
A guy here has a '73 with a 454 that looks interesting. Body pretty clean

LOL I had my first ride was a 61 Ford Falcon 6 cycl three spd on the column Get-R-Done.. ;D

73

Jack.

I thought a truck was for hauling stuff. Who gives a crap if it can hole shot a Vette or go fast in the 0.25 mile.

Next you'll be telling me how good your SSB rig sounds.   :D

I grew up with a '79 Scout II that replaced a '73 1010 Travelall and the Scout is perfectly sized and easy to work on (and parts are fairly cheap, the $500 that you paid for the Rover would buy about one injector for my current diesel pickup).  The problem with all of the local Scouts I have found is too much rust and too many mods (poorly installed lifts, hacked up frames, Chevy engine installed, etc.)

I have a couple of leads on some fairly local Scouts and I need to do something in the next year since I will be getting a new pickup soon and 4WD adds about $3,000 to the price so if I come up with an alternative for heavy snow I won't need it on the truck.  I only need 4WD a few times a year and since a full sized crew cab doesn't fit in the parking deck at work I have to park in a surface lot and scrape the snow/ice off before leaving.  A Scout would fit as easily as my CTS and as I recall is even more maneuverable.  I could have gotten the CTS with AWD but with low ground clearance it would have been a no go out here in the country.

I bet you make a profit on the Rover when you leave and sell it!

Why in the world would anyone replace that wonderful IH 345?  I had the wide-ratio 4 speed manual in mine; the granny gear was quite useful.  In 4-low and granny gear you could get out, walk along the Scout, and get back in easily.In any event, once in a while eBay coughs up a halfway decent Scout, but they're pretty far and few between nowadays.

Rodger, sometimes I think you're my doppelganger - or vice versa  ;D  Same taste in radios, same troubleshooting mentality, and now I see we have exactly the same taste in cars.  My other car here in Athens is a 06 CTS, 3.6L 6-speed.  Raven black.

Unfortunately as a US government employee I'm prohibited from making a profit on selling personal property during my overseas tour.  That's one reason I got the Land Rover cheaply - the guy I bought it from had purchased it at an embassy auction for about the same price.   So if there's anything left of it, someone else will get lucky (or unlucky, as the case might be) down the line.

I agree with you on the IH motors.  They are strong enough to be used in medium duty trucks and a school bus so they are plenty big for a Scout.  They pull nicely without having to run at a screaming RPM and last a long time when treated with a little care.  My current GMC pickup has a 6.6L diesel and I test drove one of the 6L gas engines before buying but it just didn't feel right in the truck after having driven diesel engines in my previous two trucks.  Like the Scouts, with this engine and the 6 speed Allison automatic it has the equivalent of a medium duty driveline in a light duty vehicle and gets between 19 and 20 MPG running 1800 RPM at 70 MPH.

The CTS is the first RWD car I have owned since my 1985 Monte Carlo SS and I had forgotten how much I like RWD cars.  Our daughter was 5 when I ordered the car (2008 3.6DI) and had great fun helping place the order and choosing the color (Black Cherry) and it wasn't hard for her to convince me we needed a sunroof and nav system.  With the weight balance the CTS does surprisingly well in snow but it wouldn't take too much of a drift to stop it due to lack of ground clearance.  For our use, it is a design that GM got right.

Well, even if you can't make a profit you certainly shouldn't lose anything on the vehicle and you will have a lot of fun while you are there.  My wife spent a semester in Greece when she was an undergrad and wants to make a return trip so I have a feeling I will be over there for a trip next year.  I am working on a project to get back to Cuba for a few weeks and our next overseas trip after that will be to Greece.  After Greece I plan to attend a conference in Vietnam but that may be a solo trip.

Be sure and contact me before you go, and let's hook up Rodger!

Cuba was one heck of an experience.  Lemme know how it's changed since you were there last (I lived there 2001-03).

JN,

Will do!

I feel your pain.... :o

Back in 1971  four of us from CT rode our Triumph 650 bikes to Calif and back.  It was a one month Easy Rider trip.  Somewhere around Illinois my bike started running intermitant. I troubleshot it myself in a campground - it took me two days to figure out the problem. The Lucas ignition key switch was intermitant to road vibration, I finally located one and it had like 12 wires coming and going to it. What a hassle fixing it out on the road with limited test gear!

On the same trip as we crossed the Calif line in the dark, my bike suddenly went dead.  After another hassle, it turned out the battery cable went intermitant and burned out all the lights on the bike from the soaring gen voltage.  

I used to watch in envy as those slick BMW bikes went humming by. Now those were road trippers!

T

It sure is funny, and a little bit sad.

People have been bemoaning the loss of such good makes as Triumph and BSA for decades. I think it started with the Honda Cub and the Honda 750 four was the steak in the heart. People want to own and be seen on them, but many sure did complain about having to tighten fasteners on occasion and put up with a few minutes of buzzy hands after a few hours of big grins on a long twisty ride. Seems to me all the foreign players were just giving them what they were asking for. It was not until they stepped back and saw what the consequences were of what the wanted that they started lamenting.

Now most motorcycle editors would be inclined to say here that they don't miss those days of catching hell over oil spots on the garage floor and like all the actual riding they can do now. But that's not how I feel. Sounds to me like more appliance user apologies. But I'll spare you all the waxing about the soul of the machine, since you have all heard it before, and I know many of you feel it too, which is why we meet here and not elsewhere.

That looks like a real serious motor. It's like I had heard somewhere recently about someone who has abandoned buying consumer appliances for his home in favor of industrial-grade ones because they are the only things designed to last and be serviced anymore. Of course his wife is not always happy with their appearance.

Hey I still have my Uni-Syn, John, and yeah, topping the damper oil is "routine maintenance," both on the British-made SU and the knockoff Hitachi side drafts I have on the Datsun Roadster. I use the Uni-Syn on them when needed, but I tell ya, it was a foreshadowing of the Nippon Invasion in the automotive world, that Japan came out with a sports car that was reliable, woo wooh !

On the 'Healey, I had an intermittent in the ballast resistor off the coil. Damn thing would work fine for months, nay, weeks at a time, and then suddenly the points would overheat, melting the plastic rubbing block. I got so where I could swap in a new set in about 10 mins, using the paper end of a match as a feeler guage.

International Harvester.  In the early 1970s, our neighbor across the street was a dealer for them.  He ordinarily brought home a demonstrator 'Scout, and I really liked that model. However, somewhere during production there was some sort of problem with the drive shafts where the torque would twist the damn thing like a pretzel. It happened on his once and I was amazed at what the driveshaft looked like.

Always the salesman -- he said, "too much power !"

On a side note: What cha doing over there?

Can you here the guys on 75?

Paul, the IH 345 has enough torque that it'll start out in any gear with minimal slipping of the clutch.  Put it in 4-lo and bang the throttle and there's probably enough torque to bend the Brooklyn Bridge.

Terry, I can hear some of the big guns on 75 sometimes.  Depends largely on my noise level here.

My second car cost $500. It was a 1965 Dodge Dart Slant 6. I bought it on an Indian reservation near Massena NY and it already had mega miles on it.

Constant TLC to keep the brakes happy but indestructible motor! Had it much longer than I should have - I used it though college - New York, Ft Lauderdale years and finally Montana where I sold it for $300.

I ran a National NCX-3 in it and still had room for a passenger in the front seat.

Mike WU2D