1982 Land Rover Series III 7 Seat County Station Wagon. Overdrive, New Mot

  

An opportunity to acquire a desirable 1982 Series III Land Rover Short Wheel Base (SWB) Genuine Factory 7 Seat COUNTY Station Wagon. The last SWB Series model to be introduced before Land Rover switched production to the vehicle that was to become the Defender. In constant, albeit infrequent, use until recently, cherished and well maintained by its last owner. Never restored and seemingly retaining all of its Sundym glass and original panels.

Finished in one of only two colours available on this model, Russet Brown, which has recently been professionally refreshed. A presentable and very usable example of Land Rovers first venture into the early eighties emerging 4x4'leisure' market. The Land Rover was conceived by the. In 1946 during the aftermath of. Rover's usual products were luxury cars which were not in demand in the immediate post-war period.

Rover's chief designer, Maurice Wilks, came up with a plan to produce a light agricultural and utility vehicle, of a similar concept to the. The proto type Land Rover had a tractor style central steering wheel and used the Jeep chassis. However by the time of its launch in 1948.

The steering wheel was mounted off to the side as normal, the bodywork was simplified to reduce production time and costs. A larger engine was fitted, together with a specially-designed transfer gearbox to replace the Jeep unit. The result was a vehicle that didn't use a single Jeep component, was slightly shorter than its American inspiration, but wider, heavier, faster and still retained the Power Take Off drives. The bodywork was hand-made out of surplus aircraft grade aluminium, mainly an aluminium/magnesium alloy called.

Birmabright, to save on steel, which was closely rationed. Paint was also in short supply, resulting in the first production vehicles making use of. Originally the Land Rover was a single model offering, which from 1948 until 1951 used an 80 in. And a 1.6 litre. It became known as the series 1. The successor to the Series I was the. It came in 88 in and 109 in wheelbases (normally referred to as the'SWB' and'LWB'). To receive the attention of Rover's styling department- Chief Stylist. Producing the familiar'barrel side' waist. The Series II was the first vehicle to use the well-known 2.25 litre. Introduced in 1971 the Series III was to become the most popular of the Series vehicles.

Were moved to the wings and the traditional metal grille was replaced with a plastic one. The simple metal dashboard of earlier models was redesigned to accept a new moulded plastic dash. The instrument cluster, which was previously centrally located, was moved to the driver's side. Top of the Range in the mid to late seventies and the most expensive was the Station Wagon.

Available in 12 seat long wheel base or the more popular 7 seat Short Wheel Base, which had four individual rear seats that folded up when not in use. Both were fitted with the double skinned'safari roof with vents. In the early eighties with the Series 3 replacement, the One Ten and Ninety, looming Land Rover needed a new top of the range model in the interim to address offerings from the competition in the emerging 4x4 leisure market. The'County' Station Wagon was launched in April 1982. Available in just two colours, Russet Brown or Masai Red both with Limestone doubled skinned Safari Roof and both with matching body stripes with script'County badges'. To attract the private leisure user standard equipment included black and grey hound's tooth check tweed trim, Sundym tinted glass all round, twin Lucas auxiliary driving lamps with covers, acoustically dampened County Trim, head restraints, lifting and towing hooks, reversing lights, inertia reel seat belts and so on. Improvements were also made to mechanical items including the steering to make for a quieter and smoother ride.

Factory options, overdrive and freewheeling hubs were available. Today the first of the Land Rover'County' Station Wagons in series format are highly desired and sought after, none more so the SWB 7 seat version. As with all Series Land rover's Prices have risen dramatically of late since Defender production ceased.

None more so than the genuine 7 seat County Station Wagon - now considered by many as a sure fire investment as there are so few left. First registered on the 1 November 1982 little is known of SWL 321Y's early life. The registration document correctly shows the model as 88 4 CYL CNTY SW (County Station Wagon) and the body type is stated as ESTATE which all goes to show that this is a genuine factory built example not a later conversion - as many are. In fact if the registration document shows anything other than Estate next to body type it will not be a factory genuine example of a 7 seat Station Wagon. It may be that either hand controls or some sort of extra equipment was fitted when new but these have now been removed.

Although some none standard (now redundant) wiring remains. The V5 shows 5 previous keepers. The last owner and his wife used the Land Rover as a third vehicle in and around the Cotswold village where they live, covering less than 10,000 miles in their 6 year ownership. The recorded mileage is shown at 83,800 and although there is insufficient paperwork to support this we believe from its condition that this is correct.

The last owner telling us that whilst in his care it only failed to start once when the lights were accidentally left on. We note that the engine number does not match that recorded on the V5 and suspect that a replacement factory unit may have been fitted early on, but again we cannot be sure. When we acquired SWL 321Y with the exception of some small minor dings. And scratches there was very little damage on the vehicle.

For the most part the body and paint finish was factory original and way above the average 34 year old Series III Land Rover. Panels still with their factory spot welds. However the Russet Brown paint had faded and rubbed through to metal in several places. The side stripes had also been partially removed and you could see where they had been as the paint had not faded so much below them.

We decided to have our Bodyshop repaint all of the Russet brown, although the Limestone hard top was left original. Apart from those few dents and very minor small (by Series Land Rover Standards) repairs to the foot wells no other bodywork to speak of was required. We do have pictures of the foot wells on request. There were no signs of previous repairs to the bulkhead none were required and it is very solid indeed. The Doors and door tops remain original and some repairs were made here and to the back door. The rear quarter chassis has been replaced in the past and we note that work was required to both front suspension spring mounts for the MOT in 2013. Otherwise the chassis looks good and free of any major obvious issues as far as we can see from ground level. The VIN number is stamped in the correct place on the driver's side Dumb Iron although a couple of numbers of it are illegible, although may not be so with a little work with a wire brush! The Station Wagon hardtop with safari roof is excellent and virtually unmarked with just a couple of minor scrapes to the top, not visible from ground level. We would say that the interior is very good to excellent for a thirty four year old Station Wagon- which because they were fully trimmed so often are very tatty. The original factory fitted seats (front and rear) are virtually unmarked and have no rips tears or major distortion. The front and rear headlining is not dirty, stained or damaged and the vents we tested open as they should. The dash is good with a couple of holes drilled and some additional instruments, a clock, vacuum gauge and voltmeter (disconnected) have been added. The original rubber front floor mating and sound proofing remain although split and cut in places. The lower door cards and the rear door card (cut for the rear wiper motor) have been replaced with aftermarket items and look tidy. The top door trims are original and show some wear. All four rear windows slide open, all the window channels are good.

The steering wheel is in good condition with no excessive chips or wear to the outer coating, always a good indicator we think with Land Rovers as to the way that they have been kept and a barometer of mileage. The load area is clean with virtually unmarked floor mat. Extremely clean with original stickers still in place. SWL 321Y has had a Weber carb conversion and the standard choke has been substituted with one fitted to the bulkhead.

Although in this warm weather we have not had to use it and the engine fires into life at the first turn of the key without it. The usual puff of smoke on starting with clears immediately and the engine runs without any further undue smoke or noise. Our mechanic has taken the Land Rover on a test drive before he takes it for an MOT and performs his pre sales checks.

He reports a smooth drive with no issues. Gears change up and down as they should, overdrive working, as is the four wheel drive and low range. All in all he says a big improvement over none County spec Series 3's. The rear wiper/washer and heated rear window are not connected. Like all Series Land Rovers it drips a little oil, but hardly any and far less than most. The steering is light and as it should be.

V5c showing 5 previous keepers and the last since 2010. Service invoices and old MOTs since 2010. Whereas, for cosmetic reasons rather than anything else, SWL 321Y has recently had its paint refinished for the first time since it was new and has had some areas of the chassis replaced/repaired is an honest, and solid original Series III 7 seat COUNTY Station Wagon with an excellent bulkhead.

Often the Land rovers will sell have had just 1 or 2 owners, are totally original, exceptionally low mileage supported by history and have generally been stored unused for the majority of their time. SWL 321Y though although believed low mileage and very original has been a Land rover that has been in constant daily use for the last 34 years and although un-restored and exceptionally presentable there are signs of that use. The V5c vehicle registration document correctly shows the model correctly body type as "Estate".

Which adds greatly to its desirability and indeed value as genuine Series County SW's are now sought after and rarely come up for sale. If you like lots of checker plate, wide wheels, lights on the roof and Rover 200 seats in your Series III this is not perhaps the Land Rover for you! On the other hand if you have been looking for an un-restored Land Rover Series III 7 seat County Station Wagon that looks presentable drives well and should give many more years of enjoyment whilst holding its value then your search almost certainly is over.

Values for low mileage original condition Series III have risen sharply of late as they are now highly sought after and really are becoming very rare indeed, few more so than the 7 seat CSW. Values are predicted to rise even further in the coming years. Our reserve is set way, way below than the Land Rover offered by the specialist, in fact it is a four not a five figure sum. We will, of course, be happy for serious buyers to view the car by appointment.

We do usually give a guide of the expected final price. If you are unsure of being able to acquire the relevant funds equal to that expected final price you should question, for both our sakes, whether you should come to view. If you have any doubt come and see it first or at the very least telephone. Your wifes permission, please get it before you come to view. We really are very approachable and welcome any questions about the vehicle but ask that you telephone at reasonable hours only.

ORIGINAL V RESTORED - OUR VIEW. We endeavour, on the whole, to offer original, genuine, exceptionally low mileage and un-restored cars from the 1970's and 1980's. Almost all cars from this era have had a little paint rectification carried out at some time during their 20-40 years. However there is, of course, a huge difference between rectification of paint work and total vehicle restoration. Often we will offer a car that has had some paint rectification for these reasons or perhaps to localised areas following parking mishaps etcetera.

Occasionally we may offer a car that has had rather more paint rectification although we will always endeavour to make this known, if we are aware of it, in the description. It will be very rare however for us to offer a car that has had a full restoration including replacement panels etc and only then if we have satisfied ourselves of the quality of the work. It is becoming extremely difficult to obtain an un-restored 20-50 year old car.

By and large they were just not built to last in the 70s and 80s. However, if you do find an original example thats survived the chances are that, if looked after, it should last for many more years, after all it will only have lasted this long because it will have had little use and been extraordinarily well cared for previously. The same, unfortunately, is far less likely to be able to be said for a car that has under gone renovation.

We think that you simply cannot beat a straight original example of any item. There is a school of thought that believes that if you take something apart and then put it back together you are just recreating that item in a false attempt to make it as it was in its former glory, and that. No matter how well a vehicle has been restored it can only be original once.

Whereas we know that many restorations are done to the highest standards we believe that there are far more that are not. Who really knows what skulduggery may lie beneath a car that has possibly covered hundreds of thousands of miles then been restored at least one time or maybe even more than once! In our view if a car has required restoration then by default it must have become worn out, tired and have most probably been neglected. Even they know, in their hearts, that one thing is for sure - a car that has been the subject of restoration, no matter how good will, almost without exception, lack the spirit and soul of an original example and probably cost 3 times as much to complete and be worth less than half than an original example when done! The vehicle is in South West Oxfordshire.

15 minutes from the A34 at Oxford (M40 from London or Birmingham) or 20 minutes from Swindon East Junction of the M4. Business Mobile 07771 567567 (reasonable hours only please).

The description endeavours to be as informative as practically possible but it is not, obviously, meticulous with regard to every individual part or area of the vehicle. It is intended to represent just an overview of the general state of the vehicle and not a thorough condition assessment report. If we know of major problem we will say so however any inspection will have been carried out only at ground level without the use of a hoist or any other equipment - so if it's not readily visible from the ground we won't know about it and can't include it in the description. Therefore when considering any reference to condition buyers should bear this in mind.

There are some General proviso's regarding classic vehicles and the parts that make them up that are often decades old. Please remember they have been used and are not "new out of the box" and will inevitably show sighs of such. All vehicles and their components deteriorate as soon as they leave the factory, just some to a lesser degree than others.

This is not a new vehicle, or a vehicle that has been restored using new parts so most of the parts and often the paint finish will indeed be many years old. Common sense, giving consideration to its age and mileage, should prevail. Any references to condition should be taken in the context of age and type of vehicle. For example we may say "remarkably rust free", that should be taken in context of the age and type of vehicle. It should not be taken that the vehicle and its components are entirely without perhaps some oxidisation whatsoever anywhere.

Or we may say "never welded" and this or anything similar should be accepted as referring only to that that is obviously noticeable and from ground level. This is not necessarily a reflection on this particular vehicle but applies to classic cars in general.

Finally so confident are we that our description is a fair representation of the overall condition of the vehicle that if, on collection , it is not and there are obvious. Faults, not previously mentioned, we will not expect you to proceed. Therefore it is positively not in our interest to deliberately miss-describe the vehicle. Which brings us on to.

If you look at our feed back over the last ten years it is exemplary. We list here just a few extracts. The car was exactly as described. Car Was As Described & It's Beautiful. "The man is a perfect Gent - excellent car, delighted with entire thing top marks".

"I think I have dealt with one of the best sellers on E bay if not the best"....... And so on - high praise indeed. We have listed here just a few, there are many more similar reviews that can be viewed in our feedback section.

Fresh paint, described as'factory'. The vehicle in question was a Motorhome converted when new from an early eighties Fiat van not much bigger than a small car.

The actual paint finish of these vans when new was sometimes less than perfect. Runs in the paint, often an "orange peel" surface finish. For this vehicle in our listing under the bodywork section we said. For a 30 year old Fiat, as we say they were renown for corrosion, Y is remarkably rust free with just the smallest of hardly visible areas of surface only oxidisation in one or two places. The vast majority of the paint remains factory applied complete with unintentional but standard'orange peel' effect, considered acceptable in the early eighties on Italian built vehicles intended for commercial use.

We have had our body shop attend to a couple of areas of surface only rust such as around the rear vents and in a couple of other places. We had, then, clearly stated that there was some fresh paint alongside the vast majority (not all) of factory original and that there was some surface rust bubbles (oxidisation) remaining in one or two places. We stand by the description as correct. Most of the paint was original. Our body shop give us assurances that when they worked on the areas mentioned in the listing there were no additional coats of primer between the top coat and the factory primer and only the one top coat. The paint finish on the inside of the vehicle, also without question original, matched that of the outside with exactly the same density of Orange Peel effect. The finish on this camper was indeed mostly original and exactly as described. All photographs in the listing are taken by us using a digital camera.

They are recent and are often taken just hours before the listing is posted. All photographs are copyrighted and may not be used elsewhere without our express written permission. You will be able to take the vehicle on an accompanied test drive before you pay for it but will only be able to not proceed if you find an obvious major mechanical fault that has not been mentioned in the description. We accept that just because you dont have a high score does not mean that you are not serious, but we do need to check you are real, that you clearly understand the rules and your intentions are good. Please, do not ask what the reserve is set at we really are unable to say any more about the reserve than we already have under the value section.

If you are the winner. The total Balance to be paid by Cash U. Sorry there can be no exceptions and deposits are not refundable. The vehicle must be collected.

Before 1600hrs on Thursday 1 September or after Wednesday 7 September but in any event before Saturday 10 September. Please give us as much notice of required collection time and date as possible.

If you are delayed on your way to us it's not normally a problem please just let us know. We would ask that you ring us when you are an hour or so away from us. Usually a mechanic does carry a pre sale levels & safety check (lights etc) at our premises at ground level only without the use of a hoist. This check is not by any means exhaustive As we have said though we are not restorers and this is not a vehicle that has been rebuilt. Please remember that the vehicles we sell often are many years old and some of them have had very little or even no recent use.

If you are able we would suggest a policy of easing a car back into service gradually. Despite our best endeavours to ensure they don't, occasionally things can unexpectedly go wrong. Our advice would be to allow plenty of time for your journey, especially if you are catching a ferry and it may be a good idea to have AA or RAC cover, again this is not a reflection on this particular car just good general advice for any older/classic car user. We will always try to be flexible and help where we can.

Provided that the reserve price has been met we do offer a collection service from Birmingham, Luton, Heathrow or Bristol Airports, subject to suitable times. For costs where the reserve has not been met or other locations please enquire.

Descriptions, terms conditions and pictures used in this listing are copyrighted and may not be used without the authors express permission. Under the collection section a mistake was made in the listing it should read. The vehicle can only be viewed. Before 1600hrs on Thursday 1 September. The item "1982 LAND ROVER SERIES III 7 SEAT COUNTY STATION WAGON. OVERDRIVE, NEW MOT" is in sale since Saturday, August 27, 2016. This item is in the category "Cars, Motorcycles & Vehicles\Classic Cars\Land Rover". The seller is "thedoctor102" and is located in Faringdon. This item can be shipped to United Kingdom.

• Year: 1982
• Manufacturer: Land Rover
• Model: SERIES III SWB 7 SEAT COUNTY STATION WAGON
• Type: Four Wheel Drive
• Doors: 3
• Colour: Brown
• Reg. Date: 12821101
• Mileage: 84800
• Engine Size: 2286
• MOT Expiry: 201708
• Transmission: Manual
• Seats: 7
• Drive Side: Right-hand drive