Lot Ended
Description
Few owners, the current for 30 years; has spent the last nine
years in sunny Spain; very original and lightly used; runs like a sewing
machine
Supplied new by
Sturgess of Leicester in May 1977, this Land Rover Series III 88” has been
in the current ownership since August 1996 and has been used lightly but
regularly throughout that 30-year period.
There
are various invoices for routine upkeep but it never seems to have needed much,
although the driver’s door was replaced in 2014, hence the slightly different
colour.
The vendor describes the vehicle as
follows:
“I bought SFP 196R in 1996 so I have
owned, driven and loved it for nearly 30 years. It had few owners before me and
certainly never did any serious toil. It drives lovely for a 48-year-old
machine. The petrol engine is the higher compression spec and is the original
unit. Due to the way it drives I have sometimes wondered if
the 15,700 miles might not be genuine. It has certainly done no
more than 7k miles in my ownership.
From 2016 – 2024 it resided in Spain with me at my house in the
Picos. The patina of the paint is therefore ‘bronzed’ green by the Iberian sun
and it has been kept very dry, hence there is very little rust.
I did register it on Spanish plates but
when it was re-imported last year, the DVLA kindly agreed to put it back on its
original UK registration number and also update it to Historic status so it is
free to tax and MOT-exempt.
It has
always been kept in good running order and has always been very reliable.
Annoyingly, on the day I delivered it to Brightwells prior to going on holiday,
it wouldn’t start initially because the solenoid had seized (a common fault on
Series Land Rovers) so I had to rig up a jump lead to connect the battery
directly to the starter motor (hence the red cable under the bonnet). It now
starts easily but obviously the solenoid will need to be fixed or replaced. This
model also sports a manual starting handle which is located behind the front
seats and still works perfectly.
I love
this Landy and it will be a big wrench to part with it but I no longer have any
need for it. I hope it goes to a good home who will look after it and enjoy it
as I have.”
We can confirm that the vehicle
does indeed start promptly and it has been driving very nicely as we have moved
it around on site, with one of the sweetest-sounding engines we have ever
experienced on an old Land Rover so maybe the mileage is correct – unlikely, but
who knows? The MOT history online shows that it has only covered 5,700 miles
since 2007.
Documentation includes the V5C,
one old MOT from 2014 when it was showing 10,391 miles, various invoices for
upkeep, a Haynes workshop manual and an original 1977 sales brochure and price
list. The latter shows that this 88” petrol would have cost the first owner
£3,606 and 12p including a full length canvas hood. We just hope they haggled
hard enough to get the 12p knocked off…
Consigned by James Dennison – 07970 309907 – james.dennison@brightwells.com