NINETY SURVIVOR

There aren’t many 1984 Ninetys still around with their original 2.5 petrol engines, but here’s one time-warp example that’s up for grabs in this month’s Classifieds, says Dave Phillips

TASTES CHANGE in the Land Rover world. Twenty years ago, if you had an 80in Series I, you’d probably stick a V8 engine under the bonnet and take it trialling. These days you’d put it in an auction and decide where in the world to take the luxury holiday you can buy with the proceeds.

It’s the same with restorations. The 1990s were the decade when Land Rovers were stripped of their original paintwork and resprayed, often in garish colours. Original steel wheels were scrapped in favour of big modulars and knobbly, aggressive off-road tyres were de rigeur. Oh yes, and bull bars.

Bull bars went out of fashion very quickly – and rightly so. But it is only in the last decade or so that enthusiasts have swung from full-on restoration and respray to sympathetic updating. Old Land Rovers that have been restored to within an inch of their lives are so last year, as the fashionistas would say.

Of course, the painstakingly-restored older vehicles will always be popular, but sometimes they have less impact than the little hidden gems you can find in the most unlikely places – like this month’s LRM Classifieds, for example. Tucked away on page 173 of this issue you’ll find just the sort of vehicle I’m talking about. It’s that unassuming 1984 grey Ninety. Have you spotted it? It doesn’t stand out from the crowd, but it is a proper diamond in the rough, as they say.

A 33-year-old Ninety in this original condition is very rare indeed. To make it even rarer, it is fitted with the unpopular 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine (74 bhp). Most buyers opted for either power (3.5 V8 petrol, 114 bhp) or economy (2.5 naturally-aspirated diesel, 60 bhp). The four-pot petrol got forgotten about, which is shame because it was the logical development – the swansong, if you like – of the venerable and popular 2.25 petrol engine that had powered most Series Land Rovers for four decades. This one runs “smooth and quiet”, according to the vendor.

What makes the 2.5 petrol even rarer today is the simple fact that many owners later replaced them with the new generation of Tdi engines, which gave better performance (111 bhp) as well as economy. As ex-discovery Tdis have became more plentiful in the last ten years, they have also become cheaper, and this has made the relatively straightforward conversion from 2.5 petrol to 200Tdi or 300Tdi even more tempting.

The seller can’t vouch for the very low odometer reading of 55,000 miles, but it seems likely from the overall original condition of this vehicle that it could be genuine. But what is definitely genuine is the paintwork and the very distinctive period County decals, which seldom survive the decades as tastes change. We particularly like the fact that nobody has messed around with the Slate Grey paint and it shows exactly the sort of honest patina you’d expect from a Land Rover. That this is top-of-the-range County spec makes it even more attractive.

We assume the steel wheels are the originals, but even if they aren’t they are genuine Land Rover items – and this Land Rover sits nicely on them. It even has a set of intact mudflaps.

The current keeper has had the vehicle since 2014, during which he has only covered 1800 miles on the undemanding flat landscape of the South Lincolnshire fens. But during his ownership he has replaced the front shock absorbers and turrets, headlights, distributor, radiator and hoses, front brake calipers, front radius arm bushes and rear lights.

The rear crossmember – that perennial rust hotspot for all Defenders – has recently been replaced, too.

The vehicle is Mot’d until August next year and is for sale at £4950. And that’s a bargain in anyone’s eyes.