Range Rover Classic Two-Door

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They really do not make them like this any more. And what a pity - the early Range Rover is a svelte piece of kit by comparison with its lardy progeny and all the better for it.

GDU 851L is a Suffix A car that has had the attention of a serial restorer of the best kind – and what a fabulous job he has made of it. In all, over 1,200 hours were invested in the car and there are 1,500 photographs detailing the work involved.

The restoration was carried out over four years and only finished recently. Both axles and the gearbox were stripped and rebuilt and the (incorrect) SD1 engine was replaced with a Suffix F V8, which was also stripped and rebuilt.

The brake calipers and the servo were rebuilt and the remainder of the braking system was replaced, the components being beyond saving. The optional but much needed power steering box and pump were both rebuilt and new hoses were fitted.

Early Range Rovers do have a bit of a reputation for rust and our vendor spent a lot of time attending to this aspect of the restoration with the car being shot-blasted back to bare metal. The rusty areas were cut out and, amongst other items, the car received new sills, inner wings, bulkhead, and A- and B-posts.

New seat covers, door trims, cappings and carpets were supplied to special order by specialists Nationwide Trim, of Redditch. All the gauges and the electrical system were removed and thoroughly examined with any remedial work carried out and any replacement parts fitted were OEM quality parts.

The recorded mileage of the Range Rover was 75,728 miles before the restoration but that is more or less academic now that it has been restored to better than new condition. It does have an MOT (to June 2020) and it will not surprise you to learn that there were no advisory notices.

All in all, this is a show-winning example of an early Range Rover. The restoration work has produced a car that looks like new but with a better build quality. It is a car that would be perfectly at home on the road or on your country estate but is in such pristine condition that you might think twice about getting it dirty. What a dilemma!