Land Rover Series 3 Stage One V8 - Rare in US - Museum Exhibited - Runs Great!

1983 Land Rover Series 3 Stage One Description

Officially named the Series III 109 inch V8, this model is more commonly known as the Stage 1.

Vehicle VIN isSALLBCMV1BA186061 - eBay would not recognize it above as its a UK VIN. Vehicle is currently registered with clear title in MA.

Info on this Stage One

This Land Rover is in great running and cosmetic condition. It is cosmetically a solid three-footer with maybe the need for a quick polish if one wants to actually do that to a truck. This is a beautiful driver and has been driven. It has also been exhibited in the Heritage Museum & Gardens Museum in Sandwich MA over the 2015 season. Was the most talked about and photographed vehicle that year. But don't be misled. This is not a trailer queen. She is meant to be driven and should be.

Everything on the truck operates (except the horn currently). Truck starts right up in cold weather with the choke and warm weather without. Shifts through all gears. Lights, directionals, gauges, work correctly. Additional spot lights up front and on rear work. Kill switch added. Galvanized roof rack including tools and gas cans included. Very RARE windshield mounted spotlight added that connects to aux power in dash via a retractable cable. This part along was $1500. Tires are new. Truck has recently had an alignment and all fluids changed. Two doors require an aggressive push to close due to new seals being larger than originals and haven't worn them down yet. New fuel pump added in 2016. Rear seats fold and secure as designed.

Truckdrives great. Slow speeds, Highway speed. All good. Miles believe to be original but cannot confirm.

All seats have been redone in white/black houndstooth pattern. Very rare rear mudguards added. Correct badging for Stage One on entire vehicle.

A bunch of extras come with vehicle:

• New Master Cylinder in case you ever need it
• A few new cables for heating mechanism
• Wheel cover for spare
• A couple extra seatbelts (Currently has 5 installed in car)
• An extra set of mudflaps
• And whatever else I seem to have hanging around.

Truck does not need a thing other than a new home. You will not be disappointed and I am sure you will be the ONLY one with a Series 3 Stage One at your local show. Scheduled to appear at this years Boston Cup if it doesnt sell or if new owner wants too. Concours quality event located on Boston Commons in September

History & Specs of Stage One

In 1979, the Range RoverV8 engine and drive-line were fitted to the 109" to produce the "Stage 1". This combined the extra power of the Rover V8 with the load-space and indestructibility of the 109" long wheelbase Land Rover. The LT95 4-speed full-time 4WD was used, but the power output of the V8 was reduced slightly to match the 109" application. The grille had to be moved forward to fit the V8 into the engine bay, resulting in a vehicle that looks like a hybrid between the leaf-sprung 109" and the larger-engined Defender 90/110

As well as adding power, the V8 is a much smoother engine. It is also noteworthy for producing peak torque and power at very low engine speeds - idea for a heavy duty vehicle such as the Stage 1. The Stage 1 has a top speed of about 80mph, and is capable of climbing 1-in-1 slopes.

Why the name? Well, the "Stage 1" was the first stage of a £200 million investment program. The investment program also produced the 4-door Range Rover, and culminated in the replacement of the Series III Land Rovers by the coil-sprung 110 and 90 Land Roversin 1983 and 1984 respectively

The Stage 1 essentially took an existing long-wheelbase Series III vehicle and squeezed in a 3.5 litre V8 and matching four-speed gearbox as already used in the Range Rover. The LT95 gearbox is reputed to be the Land-Rover's strongest ever, indeed it was used in the Land-Rover 101 inch 'one tonne' forward control gun tractor. Instantly the engine was powerful enough and reliable enough to tempt those export customers that Land-Rover needed.

In standard form, the Stage 1 V8 is fitted with restrictors between the carburettors and manifold to reduce power output to a modest 92 bhp. This is because the engineers felt that any more power would make the vehicle too fast for the brakes and suspension. This de-tuning also had the effect of allowing the engine to run happily on lower grades of petrol, a plus for many countries at the time. The restrictors are quite easily removed, allowing the engine performance to increase to standard Range Rover levels : 135 - 140 bhp. This is not however the power limit of this engine, as the Rover SD1 high compression versions were rated around 155 bhp as standard, and Land Rover itself constantly uprated the capacity and horsepower of the engine as it was also used in other models.

The Stage 1 introduced some new features which would be carried forward to the 90/110 range :
1) Permanent four wheel drive - most previous Series models had selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive.
2) The radiator and grille was moved forwards which gave us the flat fronted appearance seen on the Defender.
The bonnet was of course longer than the 'standard' Series IIIs, rounded at the front and wrapping around at the leading edge.
3) The door locks are mounted in the door skin rather than in the handle aperture (also carried on to military Defenders).

Land Rover Stage 1, 109 inch station wagon, 10 seats, 5 doors
Length: 4580mm, width 1680mm, height 2000mm
Wheelbase: 2770mm (109")
Track: 1330mm (front) 1330mm (rear)
Turning radius: 7.15m
Ground clearance: 209mm
Weight: 1809kg (unladen), GVM 2710kg, towing 500kg (unbraked)
Engine: 3528cc, petrol, V8, 2 valves per cylinder, ohv
Fuel injection: twin Zenith Stromberg CDSE carbs
Bore:88.9mm
Stroke: 71.12mm
Compression ratio: 8.13:1
Power:restricted to 69kW (92bhp) at 3500rpm
Torque: 230Nm at 2000rpm
Transmission: LT95, full-time 4WD, with centre vacuum operated diff-lock
Ratios: 1st 4.069:1, 2nd 2.448:1, 3rd 1.505:1, 4th 1:1 (rev 3.664:1)
Transfer-case:hi 1.336:1, lo 3.321:1,
Diffs: 3.54:1 Rover / Salisbury 8HA
Suspension: (front) live-axle & leaf springs
(back) live-axle & leaf springs, with drum brakes all round.
Tyres: 7.50x16.
Fuel-tank: 68 litres (15 gallons imperial).