EDITOR’S PICK
This unique 1986 Land Rover 110 is for sale — just two owners, one of them careful. The current owner, Pete Sinton, says the other owner, the Forest Service, wasn’t at all careful with it, but it provided a sturdy platform for the changes he wanted.
It had to be a workhorse for his surveying business, and a tow wagon for the family’s boat. So, in 1990, he commissioned Eli Friedlander at Land Rover specialists, Forward Specialities, to create a sixseater, twin-cab wagon, with a covered tray for his gear.
“It was the first 110 he had converted like this,” says Pete. Eli added power steering and upped the gear ratio in the transfer case to give it a comfortable open-road cruising speed. He also added LPG fuelling — it’s now twin fuel — and credits this cleaner fuel for the engine still being strong after a second rebuild halfway through its life.
The 110 introduced coil springs, replacing the Land Rover 109’s leaf springs, and Pete sat it on wider wheels, which gave it much more positive handling and car-like cornering. He spent $16K on the conversion — serious wedge in 1990, but there weren’t many choices among off-road vehicles back then.
Pete will be sad to see the Land Rover go after nearly 30 years, but it now just occupies space in the garage, which he won’t have when he moves from Kumeu to Sandspit.
Pete says he learned his lesson there. He noticed rust around the firewall and in the roof pillars after the vehicle had lived outside for a few years. That prompted a second rebuild — $12K — including a complete rustproofing, new aluminium skins, and a repaint in the same colour scheme by the same painter.
If anyone wants to know just how carefully the Land Rover has been maintained, the same mechanic, Tim Warburton at Bramble Downs, Taupaki, has looked after it throughout Pete’s ownership — including being hands-on during
the conversion. In 1990, Tim was working at Forward Specialities.
Pete doesn’t imagine the Landy will stay in Auckland. He says it would be ideal for a collector or a tourism operator who wants to take tourists on the highway in style and into the great outdoors. It can tow 1.5 tonnes with electrical braking; it has two differentheight tow bars, and a tow fitting on the front for manoeuvring.
“You can even hose it out, which you can’t do in today’s plush alternatives,” says Pete.
Enquiries to Pete Sinton, via email at petesinton@townplanner.co.nz, or by phone on 09 412 2016 or 021 637 772.