Ed Evans

says: “Read the manual!”

SELF-INFLICTED unreliability used to be a dark issue on Land Rovers. Technical questions and discussion has always been a hot topic, and it started long before I became involved in Land Rover journalism back in the early 1990s. Then, the marque was suffering a diminishing reputation for reliability which had kicked off during the 1980s and, courtesy of the then-complex P38 Range Rover, lingered on into the 2000s.

The numerous running problems were easily blamed on Land Rover and, fair enough, there did appear to be inherent reliability issues with the brand at that time. But much of the blame rests on the vehicles’ great DIY accessibility. It’s what led to Land Rovers being repaired and serviced by absolutely anyone, such was the general impression of mechanical and electrical simplicity. But those trucks still required a level of engineering and electrical knowledge if they were to be fixed competently in a way that would last. Land Rovers didn’t just break down once, they failed again and again because the repair hadn’t been done quite to the book. And the book – the Genuine workshop manual – was, and still is, an essential guide to fixing them.

Wind on 20 years to the present and it’s relatively rare to see botched repairs that will only break again or cause a related part to fail a few thousand miles down the road (but check Trevor’s wiring story on page 100 – it still happens). Technical stuff has been discussed inside out by the Land Rover mags down the years and, coupled with a new attitude to preserving our vehicles rather than just keeping them going on a shoestring, most classic-era Land Rovers on the road now are impeccably maintained and running at their best.

Which gives me a lovely nostalgic feeling when I come across a completely abused shed of a vehicle. It’s how many of them used to be – and they can still be bought at old prices. There’s fun and interest to be had from bringing these neglected trucks up to scratch again. The expertise to fix them is widely known and easily available, and good quality parts can still be sourced at reasonable prices (mostly); but the Genuine workshop manual remains an essential part of the toolkit.

Buy the book, buy the truck, and have fun getting into the scene.