Range Rover Specification Guide E-Book

James Taylor

• Herausgeber: The Crowood Press
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Seitenzahl: 325

Beschreibung

This book is designed to give guidance on the original, ex-factory specifications of the first-generation Range Rovers built between 1970 and 1996. Sometimes known as Range Rover Classics (although the only ones properly so called were built after autumn 1994), these models laid the foundations for the following generations of Land Rover's world-acclaimed Range Rover. Many of these early Range Rovers fell on hard times as they passed on to third, fourth and subsequent owners. Many were butchered beyond recognition when converted into off-road playthings. But now, more than a quarter of a century since the last examples were built, it is no surprise that enthusiasts have begun to restore examples to their original condition. This has created a demand for accurate information about what that original condition actually was. James Taylor has trawled painstakingly through original documents and examined original vehicles to put together all the known facts in one place. This guide will be essential reading for everyone with an interest in restoring or running one of these iconic models that became the foundation of today's Land Rover marque.

Leseprobe

First published in 2024 byThe Crowood Press Ltd

Ramsbury, Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

[email protected]

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2024

© James Taylor 2024

All rights reserved. This e-book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 0 7198 4383 9

The right of James Taylor to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Image credits

Alex Halford, p.126 (bottom); Anthony Kaine, p.118 (top left and second down, left); Chris Dawson, p.43 (middle); Dave Shepherd, p.55 (top); Helen Hall, p.16 (bottom left); Jacopo Penati, p.147 (top); José Mario Raicic, p.152 (bottom right); Mark Denton, p.82 (bottom); Nick Dimbleby, p.49 (top), p.127, p.130 (top), p.132; Phil Holland, p.74 (top), p.148 (top); Phil Hooker, p.128 (top); Roger Conway, p.147 (bottom); Ron Brown, p.135 (second down, left); Tim Hammond, p.120 (bottom).

Cover design by Blue Sunflower Creative

Contents

Introduction and Acknowledgements

1 The Life and Times of the Original Range Rover

2 Vehicle Identification

3 Chassis and Running Gear

4 The Engines, and the Fuel and Exhaust Systems

5 Gearboxes

6 Body

7 Electrical Components

8 Seats and Interior Trim

9 Dashboard and Controls

10 Some Variations

11 Overseas Variations

Appendix I: Model-Year Changeover Points

Appendix II: Paint Options

Appendix III: The Option Packs

Index

Introduction and Acknowledgements

There were literally thousands of minor changes to the first-generation Range Rover between its introduction in 1970 and the final production example in February 1996. I first discovered this the hard way, when I carried out a series of updates on my own Range Rover between 1988 and 2001. What started out as a two-door manual V8 finished up as a four-door automatic 200Tdi, and to achieve the transformation I spent far too many hours poring over parts manuals to find out what would fit, what could be changed, and what could not.

I would not dream of carrying out such an extreme transformation these days. Range Rovers have become far too precious as coveted classics, and the work that owners carry out on them is more likely to be restoration to original ex-factory condition. However, discovering exactly what that original condition would have been is remarkably difficult. Land Rover’s own parts manuals are excellent, but do not illustrate everything (and are occasionally just plain wrong). Even though there are plenty of pattern parts available, for good commercial reasons their manufacturers often pursue a one-size-fits-all policy, thus losing some of the original detail differences.

This book is therefore intended to help in that kind of restoration. It contains information that I have gathered slowly (and sometimes painfully) over a period of more than 35 years. There will be some mistakes – though I hope not too many – and if you find one, please let me know via the publishers.

I owe a debt of gratitude to the many people who provided information or photographs, or helped me in my quest to improve that Range Rover all those years ago. There must be many whose names I have forgotten, and for that I apologise, but I am no less grateful to them for all that.

Among those whose names I do remember are Peter Hobson of Hobson Industries, Stan Tooth of Turbo 4×4; photographer and friend Nick Dimbleby; Phil Bashall of what was then Dunsfold Land Rovers and is now the Dunsfold Museum; Geof Miller and Roger Crathorne at Land Rover; and Phil Holland and his colleagues at Twenty Ten Engineering. In the run-up to the publication of this book I asked a few people (and I hope we are still friends) to check various chapters for mistakes and omissions. Whatever mistakes still remain cannot be their fault, so here are special thanks to Ron Brown (formerly at Land Rover), to Matthew Brennand, to Anthony Kaine for his detailed work on the chassis section, and to Tim Hammond, who seems to have owned more Range Rovers than most people have had hot dinners.

James TaylorOxfordshireSeptember 2023

Where it all began for me… this 200Tdi automatic four-door Range Rover with Discovery wheels and front apron started life as a 1974 two-door V8.

CHAPTER 1

The Life and Times of the Original Range Rover

It is easy to forget that the original Range Rover remained in production for a remarkable quarter of a century, from mid-1970 until early 1996. During that period the Range Rover underwent a huge number of changes, and it is the documentation of those changes that is the underlying purpose of this book. There was no grand plan from the beginning: the Range Rover changed to meet the tastes of its buyers, and those changes were made in an almost piecemeal fashion because there was never enough development budget to pay for a fundamental overhaul of the original design. Yet bit by bit, the two-door farmer’s car became the four-door luxury conveyance without losing any of its original character.

The idea for the Range Rover originated in the New Vehicle Projects department of the old Rover Company, which had been established in the early 1960s to keep ahead of the game by examining options for future products. At its head was Spen King, who had been closely involved with the design of the Rover 2000 saloon, and it was he who realised that the long-travel coil-spring suspension of that car would work very well on a Land Rover. With more power and better braking than existing models, such a model would also add the road performance that was never a Land Rover strongpoint. When Rover’s market research revealed that exactly this kind of vehicle was gaining popularity in the USA, the New Vehicle Products team set to work on designing what King had in mind.

There was some initial grumbling from the Land Rover side of the company, where the prevailing view was that the leaf-sprung suspension on existing models discouraged owners from driving too fast on rough terrain. Soft coil springs, said the doubters, would allow them to drive faster and damage the vehicle or get into difficulties. Nevertheless, Rover’s top management put their weight behind the new idea, and authorised a full development project.

1971.

1972.

1973.

1974.

Known somewhat prosaically during its early development as the Land Rover 100-inch Station Wagon, the new model was given the more evocative name of Range Rover before it entered production in 1970. Realistically, it should have had another few months of detail development, but Rover’s masters at British Leyland (which the company had joined in 1968) wanted some impressive new products for release that year and chose the Range Rover as one of them. The strongly positive reactions it received on its launch in June made clear that they had chosen well.

However, the early 1970s were a time when British Leyland was beginning to run into financial difficulties. Funds were allocated to the most urgent causes, and even though the Range Rover’s success was bringing in the money, very little of it was earmarked for improvements to that model. In fact, the Range Rover barely changed in its first decade in production, and it was not until 1981 – eleven years after the original Range Rover’s introduction – that a much-needed four-door model went on sale. Rover’s Sales Department had called for one as early as 1968; not asked for an opinion during the early stages of the model’s development, they went on record as calling the original two-door model a ‘tragedy’. Subsequent sales proved that they had been right in anticipating customer demand for a four-door model, and the two-door rapidly became the second-best variant of the Range Rover.

Meanwhile, the Range Rover’s manufacturers had been treating the model in much the same way as any other Land Rover product, seeking out opportunities for utility conversions to supplement the sales of the standard vehicle. Range Rovers became popular as police motorway patrol vehicles in the UK; they were given a third axle and converted into crash rescue tenders for airfields and airports; and they were lengthened to make ambulances that could reach accident sites that conventional ambulances could not. At the same time, the new demand for Western luxury goods in the Middle East that followed the 1973 Oil Crisis was being met by aftermarket specialists who developed the Range Rover through bespoke conversions that went far beyond Western tastes and requirements – but also suggested ideas for future development of the existing models.

The arrival of the four-door model presaged the next major Range Rover development, which was to improve its luxury and convenience elements. An automatic gearbox option and a vastly improved manual gearbox were introduced, and less basic levels of trim became available – cautiously at first, but by mid-1984 there was enough confidence in customer take-up for an overtly prestigious Vogue derivative to become a regular production model. Shortly after that, the decision was taken to develop the Range Rover for the USA, in the hope that success in that vast market would offset falling worldwide sales of the utility Land Rovers. There was a certain irony about this, as the USA had been earmarked as an important sales target for the Range Rover market when the model was under development; it had never gone on sale there because strong sales in other markets dissuaded British Leyland from allocating the necessary development funds.

1975.

1976.

1977.

1978.

1979.

1980.

1981.

1982.

1983.

1984.

The next stage of the Range Rover’s development in fact focused on two areas. One concentrated on more luxury and convenience features, which were going to be necessary to give the model appeal in the USA and would at the same time improve the top models for other markets. The other was to give Range Rovers greater appeal in continental European markets, where the model had not been a strong seller because its large-capacity V8 engine attracted high taxation. The way forwards here was to develop a diesel engine option, and in spring 1986 that became available in the Range Rover Turbo D. Diesel Range Rovers were initially perceived as more down-market than the petrol types, but they broadened the market for the model and brought in the revenue that underpinned its survival and further development.

In the late 1980s the Range Rover was moved ever more determinedly into the luxury market, as equipment levels were improved and more work was done to improve performance and handling. By the turn of the decade, the model was competing for sales with conventional luxury cars, and although in practice it fell short of the standards they set in many areas, its unique features more than compensated for its shortcomings, and it had gained a valuable toehold in a market that tolerated higher prices. Since 1987 it had also been on sale in the USA, and enjoyed remarkable success for what was already a seventeen-year-old design.

By the early 1990s, work was well advanced on a new Range Rover to replace the original, though production was still some years away. The existing model was therefore further developed, both to prepare the ground for its successor and to keep the Range Rover name in the luxury market. Keeping it credible as a luxury car in the run-up to the 1994 launch of its successor (and as sales were gradually sliding) was a hugely laudable achievement, and was given a major fillip by two major changes that were made for the 1993 model-year. These were an air suspension system for top models that improved the relatively poor ride (by luxury-car standards) and reduced noise transmission into the cabin, and the introduction of a long-wheelbase limousine derivative called the Vogue LSE that gave rear-seat passengers an extra eight inches of legroom.

1985.

1986.

1987.

1988.

1989.

1990.

1991.

1992.

The last major changes were then made in March 1994 in response to new US legislation. To remain on sale in what was now seen as a vital market, the Range Rover was redeveloped with a completely new dashboard that incorporated both driver and passenger airbags. The 1995 models were also offered with the latest, more refined, 300Tdi version of Land Rover’s own diesel engine, and the growing acceptance of diesel power within Europe was reflected in the availability, for the first time, of diesel Range Rovers with an automatic gearbox and the top Vogue SE levels of luxury equipment.

Only six months after that, the new Range Rover went on sale, but not without some misgivings at Land Rover. It was not that they lacked faith in their new creation, but they were well aware that Range Rover customers tended to be very conservative, and there was still a queue of loyal customers for the original model. So the original standard-wheelbase model was kept in production for another eighteen months or so and was renamed the Range Rover Classic. That choice of name proved more successful than was originally anticipated: many people now refer to all first-generation Range Rovers as Range Rover Classics, even though those built before autumn 1994 were never called that!

1993.

1994.

1995.

1996.

The new, second-generation Range Rover hit its intended mark, and so Land Rover gradually wound down production of the original model. The very last of 317,615 first-generation Range Rovers left the assembly lines with appropriate ceremony on 15 February 1996. This left the field clear for further developed models that would build on its successes – but it also left a legend of its own and what might best be called a dedicated fan base.

YVBs and NXCs

Two legendary groups of Range Rover were built very early on in the model’s story. Some months before the media launch in June 1970, pilot production began with a group of vehicles that were close to production specification but had a number of differences from it.

There were 27 of these, including one chassis that was never bodied but was made into a drivable demonstration unit. In order to maintain secrecy when these early examples were driven on the roads, the Rover Company decided on two ploys: on the one hand, they gave them Velar badges (and supported this deception by registering a Velar company as well), and on the other hand they made sure that they would not be immediately identifiable as Rover products by registering them well away from the company’s Solihull home.

1970 (pilot-production vehicle).

So instead of wearing readily recognisable Solihull XC numbers, these vehicles were registered in Surrey as YVB 151H to YVB 177H. (YVB 150H was allocated to the final prototype, and YVB 176H was never allocated; the vehicle that would have had it ran on trade plates before it was registered as UXC 159J in June 1971.)

The second of those legendary groups of early vehicles incorporated some changes from the first group, but still had several detail differences from the volume-production models that followed. They came off the assembly lines in April and May, and were planned for use on the press launch. They were registered together on 27 May 1970 in the sequence NXC 231H to NXC 250H. As far as is known, none of the NXC press Range Rovers ever wore a Velar badge.

The surviving members of the YVB and NXC groups of Range Rovers are highly prized today. Adding the details of their differences from the production models would only serve to complicate the already complicated story in this book, but readers who would like to know more are invited to look at Range Rover, the First Fifty by Roger Crathorne, Geof Miller, Gary Pusey and James Taylor (Brooklands Books, 2013).

Who Manufactured Range Rovers?

1970–1978Rover-British Leyland, a division of British Leyland.1978–1989Land Rover Ltd, a standalone company within the former British Leyland group.1989–1994Land Rover Ltd, a standalone company owned by British Aerospace.1994–1996Land Rover Ltd, a standalone company owned by BMW.

CHAPTER 2

Vehicle Identification

Occasionally the line card may be found tucked under the dashboard or under the headlining. This shows the specification to which the individual vehicle was built.

Some cards showed a basic build specification. Worth noting, however, is that the cards sometimes ended up in the next vehicle along the assembly track, for reasons that remain unknown!

A very rare survivor: the build record for a Range Rover that was among the pilot-build air suspension models in June 1991. On the left-hand sheet it is described as a ‘product development vehicle’.

Each first-generation Range Rover was defined by multiple characteristics. These included the engine type, the gearbox type, the number of doors and (after 1992) the wheelbase. So typical descriptions might be ‘Range Rover two-door V8’, ‘Range Rover 3.9 automatic’ or ‘Range Rover LSE’.

Note that the descriptions here are for standard production models only. There was a thriving business in aftermarket conversions of the Range Rover for most of its life, and the specialist converters created a variety of extended wheelbases to suit the special bodies that they built.

WHEELBASE OPTIONS

There were two wheelbases for standard production models. By far the majority of Range Rovers had the 100in (2,540mm) wheelbase, but from late 1992 there were also models with a 108in (2,743mm) wheelbase.

ENGINE OPTIONS

There were several different engine options, and all are examined in more detail in Chapter 4 of this book.

Petrol Engines

3.5-litre V8 carburettor

(1970–1988)

3.5-litre V8 injection

(1985–1989)

3.9-litre V8 injection

(1989–1996; from 1988 for NAS (North American specification) models)

4.2-litre V8 injection

(1992–1995)

Diesel Engines

2.4-litre VM turbodiesel

(1986–1989)

2.5-litre VM turbodiesel

(1989–1992)

2.5-litre 200Tdi turbodiesel

(1992–1994)

2.5-litre 300Tdi turbodiesel

(1994–1996)

BODY TYPES

There were three basic body types: two-door, four-door and long wheelbase.

Two-Door

The first Range Rovers were only available in two-door form. This body type was withdrawn in January 1994. (Land Rover never called it a ‘three-door’ style; that description was reserved for the Discovery, which really did have three doors.) The two-door body was also used as the basis of van models, which were mostly built for export.

Four-Door

A four-door body became available as a factory-built alternative to the two-door type in June 1981. (Land Rover never called this body a ‘five-door’ style; that description was reserved for the Discovery, which really did have five doors.)

Long Wheelbase

The long-wheelbase body for the 108in chassis was introduced in late 1992 and always had four doors. This is often described as the LSE, which was its model designation in most countries outside the USA.

CHASSIS NUMBERS

All first-generation Range Rovers had their chassis number stamped into an identification plate that was riveted to the bonnet lock platform. There were two types of chassis number: the first type was used before mid-1979 and the second one after that. The first type is usually described simply as a chassis number, while the second conformed to international standards and is known as a VIN (vehicle identification number). There is more about the two different types in the following paragraphs.

As these identification plates were removable, Land Rover also stamped the chassis number into the outer surface of the left-hand chassis side rail, just behind the front bumper. This can be hard to locate because it was first covered by black chassis paint and then perhaps by underseal as well. Sometimes the number is concealed by extras that have been bolted on, such as a winch mount or winch bumper.

From early 1992, the chassis number was stamped into the right-hand rear chassis outrigger by a hydraulic rolling machine. While this was still on trial, the number continued to be hand-stamped at the front of the chassis, and some chassis between JA618165 and JA618466 therefore have the number in both positions. The new type of stamping took over completely from JA618467. On the 1995 and 1996 models, there is also a ‘visible VIN tag’ with the number behind the bottom left-hand side of the windscreen.

The chassis number identifies the vehicle type and will show whether it was built with right-hand drive (RHD) or left-hand drive (LHD), a diesel or petrol engine, at Solihull or from CKD (completely knocked down – in other words, shipped as a kit of parts to be assembled at an overseas location). It will also reveal details of its mechanical specification and (after 1985) the model-year of manufacture. Note that this is not necessarily the same as the calendar year.

The Land Rover model-year typically, but not invariably, began in September and ended in July, so that a vehicle built in September 1978 would actually be a 1979 model, as would one built in July 1979. A Range Rover built in September 1979 would be a 1980 model, and so on. In the month of August the production lines usually closed down; staff took their annual summer holiday during this period, except for some of those in the Production Department who prepared the assembly lines for the new season’s models. Appendix A shows the start dates of each season, and where there were departures from this general rule.

It is possible to discover the exact date on which a Solihull-built Land Rover left the assembly line by consulting the archives of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, which are held at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire (telephone number: 01926 895270 at the time of writing). The archives contain the records of the factory’s Despatch Department, which recorded against the chassis number of each vehicle its original body colour, the date when it left the assembly line (and therefore entered the Despatch Department), and the date when it was ‘despatched out’ to a dealer, converter or customer. However, the details of CKD vehicles were not recorded by the Despatch Department and can therefore not be obtained from these records; at the time of writing, these details were simply unavailable.

The Despatch Department records also show the line number. Range Rovers were not built in chassis number order but were often grouped in batches of a similar type for convenience, and each one was allocated a line number as it joined the assembly lines. The line number is meaningless by itself, but by comparison with the numbers allocated to other vehicles built at the same time it can indicate whether a given vehicle was built before or after another.

The chassis number was also stamped into the chassis frame itself, and was often upside down.

Sometimes, dates recorded as ‘into Despatch’ seem to contradict the evidence of the line number. One reason for this may be that a vehicle had a fault or a missing item when it reached the end of the assembly line; it would then be taken on one side for rectification before it was passed from the Production Department to the Despatch Department. In the meantime, vehicles behind it on the assembly lines would, of course, enter the Despatch Department ahead of it.

Identification Plate Format

Several different types of identification plate were used on these Range Rovers, including some special ones in export markets.

The earliest type of plate has black printing on aluminium and describes the manufacturer as the Rover Co. Ltd. These plates were attached by four pop-rivets, one in each corner. A revised version of the design that shows the manufacturer as Rover-British Leyland UK Ltd was introduced at or about the time B-suffix production began in early 1973.

The third type of plate had a different design and described the manufacturer as BL Cars Ltd. This was used from the introduction of VINs in 1979. The VIN was normally preceded and followed by an asterisk as a security measure. These plates were attached by two pop-rivets, one at each side.

From the start of the 1985 model-year in June 1984, the manufacturer was described as Land Rover UK Ltd. From the start of the 1989 model-year in autumn 1988, the VIN was embossed into the plate (stamped from the reverse) rather than stamped into the plate as before. These plates were again attached by two pop-rivets, one at each side.

From the start of the 1990 model-year, a new design of plate was used, showing the manufacturer as the Rover Group Ltd. The numbers were again stamped into the plate from behind, and the plate was attached by two pop-rivets, one at the top and one at the bottom.

Note that the changeover from one type of VIN plate to the next was not always made cleanly, and there were therefore some anomalies.

The earliest type of chassis number plate showed the manufacturer as the Rover Company.

This plate from 1980 shows the manufacturer as Rover-British Leyland UK.

By the time of this 1983 plate, the manufacturer was shown as BL Cars Ltd.

The final type of plate displayed Land Rover as the manufacturer; this one is on a 1992 model.

The later plates have panels for Paint and Trim, four panels of which two are prefixed by the numbers 1 and 2, and an additional panel above the VIN. The Paint and Trim codes are not normally filled in; the four panels were typically used for various weights where the regulations in the destination country required this; and some plates have the number 01701T stamped into the panel above the VIN. It is not clear what this number indicated.

Late-model Range Rovers also had the VIN stamped into a tag that was visible through the bottom of the windscreen on the left-hand side.

Some export territories had special regulations for identification plates, typically requiring use of the local language. For the USA, there was also a special identification plate that was mounted on the left-hand (driver’s) door.

The 1995 models had a ‘visible VIN’ plate behind the windscreen in addition to the plate on the bonnet lock platform.

Some export territories required special plates. This one was for France.

This plate was used on Range Rovers built from CKD in South Africa, in this case on a 1979 model.

A German-market identification plate from the 1970s.

This plate was mounted on the edge of the left-hand front door on early NAS models.

UNDERSTANDING A RANGE ROVER CHASSIS NUMBER

Two different chassis numbering systems were used on Range Rovers. The first was used from 1971 to 1979 (and slightly later on some CKD models), and the second from 1979 until the end of production.

For clarity, this book uses a hyphen to separate the type identifier (or VIN prefix) and the serial number. This hyphen does not appear on the actual vehicle identification plates.

1971–1979

A typical example of a Range Rover chassis number from this period is 355-01238A. This number breaks down into three elements. The first three digits indicate the type:

355   Home Market

358   LHD

356   RHD Export

359   LHD, CKD

357   RHD, CKD

The five-digit number that follows (in this case, 01238) is the serial number. Note that between 1970 and January 1975, each type number had its own sequence beginning with 00001. From February 1975, all types shared a common serial number sequence, while the type codes remained as before. So, for example, there were 355-61576G and 358-61577G.

The final digit (in this case, A) is a suffix letter that indicated major design modifications. These letters ran from A to H.

1979–1996

The second identification system conformed to international VIN code standards. It consisted of a longer, alphanumeric-type identifier followed by a six-digit serial number.

For just one year, from 1979 to 1980, the alphanumeric VIN code prefixes consisted of eight digits. These conformed to an EEC directive enforceable from 1 October 1979. They combined with six-digit serial numbers to make fourteen-digit VINs. An example is LHABV2AA-100020.

From 1 October 1980, standards agreed by the EEC and the International Standards Organisation (ISO) required an additional three digits to identify the manufacturer, and all subsequent VINs therefore had an eleven-digit identifying prefix. This combined with a six-digit serial number to make a seventeen-digit VIN. An example of this is SALLHAMM3JA-609657.

The VIN prefixes decode as shown in Table A. A theoretical VIN (of the later seventeen-digit type) might be SALLHABV1AA-123456, which breaks down in the box on the right.

The VIN prefix codes used on NAS vehicles differed, and break down as shown in Table B. Note in particular that the model-year codes were not the same as those on RoW (rest of the world) models.

Table A

(*) For most countries there was no 1994 model-year, and the 1993 KA identifier remained in use until the start of the 1995 (MA) model-year. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, nevertheless required a more accurate system, and the LA identifier was applied to the vehicles they received in the last few months of 1993 and the first few months of 1994.

Table B: NAS VIN codes

Suffix Letters

Fuller details of the changes introduced with each change of suffix letter between 1970 and 1979 can be found in the later chapters of this book. As a rough guide, however, these were the dates of their use:

Suffix AUp to December 1972Suffix BJanuary 1973 to October 1973Suffix COctober 1973 to October 1974Suffix DOctober 1974 to October 1975Suffix EOctober 1975 to May 1977 approximatelySuffix FMay 1977 approximately to September 1978 approximatelySuffix GSeptember 1978 approximately to October 1979

The serial numbers associated with these specification changes are listed in Appendix A.

Serial Number Sequences

1971–1975

355–00001A to 355–11062D

Home Market

356–00001A to 356–03292D

RHD Export

357–00001A to 357–00432D

RHD, CKD

358–00001A to 358–10556D

LHD

359–00001A to 359–02340D

LHD, CKD

1975–1979

xxx–12000E to xxx–61821G

All models; 35x prefixes with the

same meanings as before.

September 1979 to May 1986

100001 to 173008

With VIN prefix code.

500001 to 501200 (at least)

With VIN prefix code. This sequence

was used for CKD models only and

may have begun at 500500; no

records survive in the UK.

May 1986 to December 1990

261902 to 486100 approximately

With VIN prefix code. Note that this

number sequence was shared with

other Land Rover models.

December 1990 to February 1996

600001 to 664120

With VIN prefix code.

The serial numbers associated with model-year changeovers will be found in Appendix A

CHAPTER 3

Chassis and Running Gear

This chapter looks at the ‘rolling chassis’ of the Range Rover: the chassis frame, axles, suspension, steering and brakes.

SECTION A: THE CHASSIS FRAME

All first-generation Range Rovers were built on variants of the same steel ladder-frame chassis. There were two major versions of this, one with the original 100in wheelbase, and the other with the 108in wheelbase that was used for the 1993 and later Vogue LSE and US-model County LWB. Chassis frames were always manufactured for Land Rover by John Thompson (Pressings Division) in Wolverhampton on a semi-automated assembly line.

These chassis have box-section side rails and five box-section cross-members. The side rails consist of two C-section pressings that are welded together along their top and bottom faces. There are also two outriggers on each side to provide support for the body, and two spring pans on each side. The whole chassis has a black enamel finish.

The side rails are 3in wide and are made from 0.08in-thick steel. They overlap by 0.12in where they are welded together, and their depth varies between 3.88in and 6in over the length of the frame. Chassis intended for Range Rovers with air suspension have additional brackets on the side rails to support the air supply and control units (on the left) and the air reservoir (on the right). The long-wheelbase chassis have an additional 8in section inserted into the middle of each side rail, but no additional cross-members or outriggers.

This 1970 publicity picture shows the layout of a LHD Range Rover chassis – in this case, the drivable demonstration unit.

Another early chassis, this time with RHD, shows the original style of cross-member ahead of the axle, the silver-finish rear bumper and the Rostyle steel wheels.

CROSS-MEMBERS

The second cross-member is bolted, rather than welded, to the side rails to allow removal for access to the gearbox. From July 1982 approximately, this cross-member was modified to make room for the new automatic gearbox, and the redesigned cross-member was standard for manual-gearbox models as well. There was a further change to this cross-member at the start of KA-series chassis production in 1992, and at the same time a special cross-member became standard for chassis fitted with the 200Tdi diesel engine.

The fourth cross-member (ahead of the rear axle) was rectangular up to the end of GA-series chassis production in mid-1989, but later chassis had a tubular fourth cross-member.

The change was needed to suit the new Land Rover Discovery, which used a slightly modified Range Rover chassis, and the cost-effective solution was to commonise the designs.

The long-wheelbase LSE chassis had an 8in section welded into each side rail. On this derelict chassis, the rust marks the angled join for the extra section.

These additional brackets on the left-hand side rail of an air-sprung chassis were for the air tank.

On the right-hand chassis rail, these extra brackets carried the box with the air suspension’s compressor and valve block.

The fourth cross-member on the early chassis was rectangular. This one is on a white-painted demonstration chassis, and clearly shows the mounting points for the bracket holding the Boge strut.

The mountings for the A-frame and for the Boge self-levelling strut (see later in the chapter) changed between the rectangular and tubular cross-members. On the rectangular type, two crow’s-foot brackets were bolted to the underside of the cross-member to take the arms of the A-frame, and the top bracket of the strut was secured by four long bolts with nuts that passed right through the box section. On the tubular type, the A-frame mountings were welded in place and the top strut mounting was also welded in place (it was a flat plate with welded nuts). On chassis with air suspension, the strut mounting was omitted (although it may have been present on some early models that used existing production-type chassis frames.)

Later chassis had a tubular cross-member ahead of the axle. This is from a diesel model, with the fuel filter mounted just behind the cross-member.

Unique to the NAS Range Rover chassis was this integral tow-hitch receiver. It was normally filled with a rubber bung that carried the Range Rover name.

The rear cross-member was always integral to the chassis frame, but it proved vulnerable to corrosion in service. As a result, the cross-member was made available separately as a Service replacement item for a time.

There were no fewer than five different types of rear cross-member. The earliest type was associated with the steel fuel tank that was secured to it by three bolts. Two differently spaced bolts were used with the multi-vent steel tank on the early petrol-injected models, so calling for a different cross-member. The third type of cross-member was introduced to accommodate the later plastic fuel tank and its metal cradle from the start of the 1991 model-year (VIN HA). There were then variants of the second and third types for export models fitted with the NAS-pattern tow-hitch receiver, which was welded on to the cross-member itself.

BODY MOUNTINGS

There were ten body mounting points on the chassis of both the 100in and long-wheelbase 108in chassis. Four were on the outriggers and the other six were on the side rails; there were two at the front, two for the bulkhead, and two more at the rear. The bulkhead mounts on early vehicles had a much larger washer than the other body mounts: these probably gave additional rigidity to the bulkhead, and washers of equal size appear to have been used on all mounts from the start of all-welded bodyshells in mid-1985. The mounting bosses on the chassis frame were made thicker at the start of Suffix D production in mid-1974, supposedly to prevent fouling between body and chassis. Service literature pointed out that fitting an early body to a Suffix D or later chassis required longer bolts, tie rods, and two extra bottom seat base plates.

Four right-angled brackets were bolted to the side rails at the rear to support the rear body floor: on each side, there was one just ahead of the spring pan and one just behind it.

SUSPENSION MOUNTINGS