1986 Range Rover Classic

The vendor has had this car since last summer, since when he has enjoyed a few entirely trouble-free long trips in the vehicle. He is only selling the car because his collection has expanded and he needs the room to accommodate other cars.

By any measure, this Range Rover Classic is in very good condition indeed. It has had a great deal of top-quality work done to it, some of which is covered in the History section. Add to that the fact that it’s spent at least 10 years relaxing with its feet up in a private collection, and you’ll begin to get some idea why it’s in such good nick.

We can vouch for the fact that the car drives as it should and feels reassuringly solid and authentic in all aspects. The vendor tells us that it averages over 30mpg and will happily cruise at 70-80mph all day long, although it will take a while to get there.

The vendor has also said that the gearbox oil is of a slightly higher viscosity than standard (just like a Ferrari) and therefore takes a little longer to warm up. Clearly, that’s no bad thing in terms of optimizing long-term protection.

From what we’ve seen and experienced, this is a vehicle with a great deal of aesthetic and mechanical integrity and one that’s had the right amount of money spent on the right things at the right time.

It seems to us that this car has had pretty much all of the heavy (and expensive) lifting done by other people.

All you’ve got to do is buy it, drive it and look after it.

The green paintwork has a depth of shine and quality of lustre that belies the car’s mileage, let alone its age. The panels are broadly free of any creases, dinks, dents, wrinkles, folds, bumps, lumps or bumps to speak of and the shut lines, while clearly not aligned by lasers in some places, are as good as they would have been when the vehicle rolled off the production line.

The trim, badging and any exterior vinyl are also in very good nick.

The alloys are largely free of any scuffs or nicks and present very well. They are shod with matching Michelin tyres with plenty of life left in them.

Look closely and you’ll find that the paintwork has the odd nick or scuff here and there. There is some light cracking to the fibreglass on the bumper moulding. There are a few stone chips, but these don’t do much more than indicate that the car has been driven outside at some point.

There is some light bubbling visible under the paintwork on the n/s rear panel and some of the shrouds for the electric cables serving the top tailgate are a bit wonky and exposed.

So, in short, it’s in remarkably good overall condition, and the usual Range Rover go-to places for uncovering horror stories - the sills, the door seals, the tailgate - are reassuringly free of corrosive grimness.

The good news continues on the inside, where you’ll find everything in pleasing condition and showing very little of the wear and tear that you’d expect to find in a vehicle that began life in 1986. The charmingly named grey ‘teddy bear’ cloth is free of rips, stains, holes, blemishes or any other damage of note and the seats – front and back – are supportive and fully functional. The dashboard surround is neither faded nor cracked and the dashboard itself is in good condition.

The same is true of the headlining, carpets, mats and door cards, all of which are in fine fettle. The wooden door cappings are intact and free of any damage but look as if they’d thank you warmly for a bit of oiling and polishing.

This being a Classic and not one of the fancier Range Rover incarnations of this vintage (a Vogue SE, for example), it is not over burdened with gadgets, gizmos and all sorts of electronic trickery that could, and almost certainly would, have stopped working at some point during the car’s life.

The central locking system has been deliberately taken out (it’s in the glove box so it can be re-fitted if you so desire) because, as the Range Rover aficionados among you will know all too well, it likes nothing more than draining the battery and leaving you with all the ensuing bother that that entails.

The auxiliary gauges are non-functional because they were not originally intended to work with the retro-fitted Daihatsu turbo-diesel engine the car has today. The rev counter does not currently work.

The o/s/r window didn’t initially want to dip below half-mast but it does work intermittently. It may need looking into.

The boot is in good nick. Lift up the carpet here (and elsewhere in the car) and you’ll see no rust worthy of the name.

There’s not much to say about the undersides, save to say that everything is in its right and proper place, there’s a good coating of wax/bitumen, and there is no rust other than the odd superficial dusting here and there.

The engine bay seems correct and sorted, with everything clean, dry, ordered and tidy.

This rare manual is made all the rarer by the fact that it was retrofitted with a Daihatsu 2.8 litre diesel engine by marque conversion specialists Milner in the early ‘90s. This was shortly before Range Rovers became available with factory fitted diesels.

The popularity of these conversions reflects the fact that, at the time, many people were turning to diesel in an attempt to get a break from sky-high petrol prices and a few just wanted the extra torque provided by an oil burner.

The previous owner had the car for 14 years, 10 of which saw it dry stored in his private collection. He was a wealthy businessman and the owner of a coach transport company.

This car, like his others, was maintained by a combination of specialists and his own Chief Mechanic. Prior to that, the car was owned by his previous Chief Mechanic, so it’s safe to assume that it’s long been in the hands of people who know what they’re doing with a spanner.

Around 4 or 5 years ago, the then owner decided that the Range Rover looked a little less than pristine when viewed in the presence of the Ferraris, Aston Martins and other automotive exotica in his collection.

So, entirely understandably, he decided to remedy this by spending vast amounts of money on a ground-up, glass-out restoration and rebuild. When you bear in mind that he’d already had the car resprayed shortly after buying it, you begin to get a sense of the obsessive nature of his curation.

The work covered £6-7k worth of painting and bodywork restoration, including the addition of ‘Brooklands’ body mouldings. It also covered the refurbishment of the engine and all mechanicals, including the brakes as recently as last year.

All the work was carried out by the same restorers and mechanics he trusted with his Astons and Ferraris.

The car has lots of paperwork including original service book and manuals plus thousands of pounds of receipts for work carried out. There are invoices and bills missing for some of the major jobs carried out because the then owner was using his own mechanics to do the work.

The original sales wallet, mirror hanger and various other paraphernalia are included.

The car has an MoT certificate valid until 10.9.21.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been maintained to a very good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

And please be reassured, we’ve undertaken a full COVID-assessment and put into place strict control measure to enable us to safely facilitate a no-contact, socially distanced viewing that includes disinfection of the vehicle before and after your viewing.

However, if you’d rather not come to see the car in person, please give us a call and we can shoot a personal video of the car honing in on any areas you’d like us to concentrate on.

Or, even better, why not contact us with your mobile number and we can set up a WhatsApp video call? You get to direct us in real-time, giving you a virtual personal viewing experience while maintaining the lockdown. We like to call it ‘The Market’s 2020 Vision’…

We think that this is probably one of the best original Classics in the country.

It is a very good, solid, impressive example of an iconic car.

Everything important works and there are very few faults except the odd scratch and scuff and one or two small areas of bubbling.

It looks fine, goes well, and has the clear benefit of having been owned and cared for by people with deep pockets and excellent mechanics.

It’s not concours, but it’s been well looked after and is in extremely impressive overall nick for its age.

If you felt the urge to restore the car to its original factory spec, you could find and fit a petrol V8 for about £3-4k.

Either way, this car is ready to be used and enjoyed, whether it’s just for nipping between home, pub and shops (when we’re allowed to) or crossing the Llanberis Pass in a blizzard.

We’re happy to offer this special vehicle for auction with an estimate in the range of £14,000 - £20,000.

Inspection is always encouraged (within Govt. guidelines of course), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.