When I was a kid my Dad had a E registered 3.5 Classic which he then traded in and bought a L registered 3.9 Soft Dash Classic.

For years I've messed around with P38's as they don't tend to rot but the lure of a Classic is getting stronger. I nearly bought one a few years back but a quick change in circumstances stopped me, I'm now looking at them again.

I've been told that they're awful to drive but I'm not convinced that'll bother me as it's not being bought as a race car. I've had P38's and L322's and still have them, adding a Classic to the line up seems like a bit of fun.

What's everyone elses thoughts? Got a feeling I'll be perfecting my welding rather then just mechanical skills with one of these though.

David.

I ran a '93 LSE long wheelbase one for a couple of years. The LWB had a 4.2 litre version of the engine and it actually felt quite sprightly, in fact, when I first got the P38 I thought it pretty gutless in comparison until I realised it had twice the throttle travel so I wasn't giving it as much welly. Rust is the biggest killer, the worst places to repair are the area around the body mounts at the bottom of the bulkhead and the top of the bulkhead.

A mate bought a '95 softdash LSE that had been standing for 8 years. It actually looked pretty good considering and he bunged it in for an MoT to see what it would fail on. Other than a couple of ball joints and rusty brake pipes the only thing that seemed more serious was rust on the bulkhead near to where the brake modulator attached that allowed it to flex when the brake pedal was pressed. Took the scuttle panel off and found that the top of the bulkhead is a channel with drain holes at each end. These were blocked with dead leaves and assorted rubbish so water had sat in the channel and rusted it through along the full width of the car. We ended up going to Holland and getting a complete front bulkhead and getting that welded in place. He ended up doing a complete restoration on it which took over two years.

They are fun and I'd have another but only if I could buy one from somewhere where it wouldn't rust and the problem then is that rust free ones are damned expensive.

I had a classic years ago. It was a 1982 two door and fitted with a 4 cylinder Perkins diesel engine. The big problem again was rust.
I did however learn to MIG weld on that car. About the only good thing that came from it. I started on the floor panels and then the door pillars.
I wouldn't have another one. My P38 is 19 years old now and pretty rust free underneath.

I love the shape of the classic - especially the 2 door. Just to think you couldn't give them away not all that long ago..........

Check out this channel - amazing Irish fella who combines car restoration with time lapse filming. He has 40 or more videos dedicated primarily to restoring a classic RR and also a Lotus Esprit. Well worth the watch IMO.

It will either kill or cure your urges ;)

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheeKookTube/videos?disable_polymer=1

For me, they're ugly but that's obviously a matter of taste. What would put me off is rust. Car Cancer is just so damn expensive to fix compared to the bolt on bits required for a P38. If you're a good welder/fabricator/bodywork guy then fair enough :)

I've converted a few that owners bought from scrapyards and fixed up, some apparently didn't need much work to pass an MOT and those owners much preferred classics over other models. Each to their own, these days getting out of a P38 into a classic seems to me a lot like getting out of a plush executive car into a series Landrover... but back when dad was a bit obsessed with series Landrovers there were many times when I'd have been very pleased if he'd bought a posh comfortable classic with a 'massive and thirsty' V8 that was probably just as economical as his 2&1/4 or 2&1/2 Landrovers and a lot more comfortable. My uncle bought a new E reg Rangerover diesel which ate it's manual gearbox with less than 1000 miles on the clock towing a mid sized caravan.

Funny but when I ran a Series 2A as a daily, including towing heavy horseboxes around the UK, I was staggeringly underwhelmed when a mate lent me his 3.5L Classic for the weekend.

Yes, it had the V8, which obviously gave it a bit more poke over the 2 1/4, but, to be honest, I just didn't, "get it".

A few years later, we had one as a company car, a soft dash. Again, I drove it and wondered what the fuss was all about. I still had my 2A and would drive that just as happily.

A few of years after, I sold the 2A and bought my first '38. Then I got it!

Although stayed down and dirty with an early 2.5 90 as well. Loved driving them both.

Maybe it's like my Dad who told me nothing about his war, but did with his grandson. Skip a generation!

I like the look of the classic, but sorry, I'm stuck in a niche and, hopefully, won't come out!

Can't disagree on how agricultural the classic now feels - and I've had and rebuilt 3 Series 3s on new chassis so I know what agricultural feels like.

The first P38 I looked at before I bought the one I did was a Jap import with 50k miles and a 4.6. I was seriously underwhelmed by the ride and found, on return to the garage who were selling it, that it had been put on springs.

The air ride is what makes the P38 so good for me - sure it is far from a perfect vehicle but it feels like they took all the experience of building the classic for 25 years and thought "how do we make it better, without losing the underlying DNA". The L322 and beyond have moved too far in the direction of Chelsea tractor for me and have suffered because of it - I guess the sales figures would dispute this from LR's perspective but if I ever fall out of love with the P38, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't replace it with a later model.

After sitting in a Classic and having a "play" compared to the P38 interior it is very "tacky"

Very Austin maestro like.

The P38 by comparison is just better.

A better interior

A better design in a quality point of view..

Doesn't rot..

The P38 is the last RR to have pure RRC DNA in it..

The Rv8

The solid chassis

Beam Axles

4spd Auto

all very much RRC like but just improved..

Interior quality and design is better, body panels fit better and don't rust.

Style is subjective but i find them equally attractive..

The Range Rover P38. A definite future classic. Good ones in my opinion will only increase in value and desirability.
Rob.

Robbo1 wrote:

The Range Rover P38. A definite future classic. Good ones in my opinion will only increase in value and desirability.
Rob.

and that comment makes me wish I had never sold my last one!! It was a cracking motor. The debate was whether to spend £15k on a Sport or £5k on doing a makeover on the 38.

oilmagnet477 wrote:

Can't disagree on how agricultural the classic now feels - and I've had and rebuilt 3 Series 3s on new chassis so I know what agricultural feels like.

The first P38 I looked at before I bought the one I did was a Jap import with 50k miles and a 4.6. I was seriously underwhelmed by the ride and found, on return to the garage who were selling it, that it had been put on springs.

The air ride is what makes the P38 so good for me - sure it is far from a perfect vehicle but it feels like they took all the experience of building the classic for 25 years and thought "how do we make it better, without losing the underlying DNA". The L322 and beyond have moved too far in the direction of Chelsea tractor for me and have suffered because of it - I guess the sales figures would dispute this from LR's perspective but if I ever fall out of love with the P38, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't replace it with a later model.

Yup, I thought I'd made a huge mistake. It drove like crap.

First job was 20" wheels to 16", with appropriate tyres, second was to reinstate air.

Then I had a '38!

OldShep56 wrote:

and that comment makes me wish I had never sold my last one!! It was a cracking motor. The debate was whether to spend £15k on a Sport or £5k >on doing a makeover on the 38.

That's ten grand of beer money for a no-brainer! :-)

The guy that bought OldShep's car called round to see me a few evenings ago. In the two years he's now owned it, he done nothing other than service it, refinish the wheels (as they were a little scruffy) and drive it. It had just been in for the MoT and had failed on the two little brake pipes at the back that always rust and less than half the bulbs working on his high level brake light. Other than that, and the drivers side heater blower having stopped working, it's done him well and he's still enjoying it. So it didn't really need a makeover.

Make him feel better, go on :)

Morat wrote:

Make him feel better, go on :)

Should have taken a few pics and posted them up Gilbert lol.

I once bought a Volvo V70 from Ebay, one company owner and LPG converted but the LPG system was broke, had a dent in the passenger side front wing and wheels were scabby. Fixed the LPG in about 5 minutes of getting it home but ran it with the dent and wheels as it was. Kept it a couple of years before selling it for more than I bought if for to a local old gent. Few weeks later saw him driving it around with it looking immaculate, dent and wheels sorted, only cost him £200 to sort, wished I'd never sold it.