1979 Series III "88" Lightweight/Airportable- Left Hand Drive!

1979 Land Rover Series III 88 Lightweight Description

I am selling a very nice Series III Airportable/lightweight Land Rover.
Here is what I know about the vehicle:
It was brought to the US in the late 90s via a UK based MOD. The truck was supposedly used on a base in the Netherlands, which is why it is Left Hand Drive. It was supposedly used only on base and thus has very low usage. It was reported to have been an FFR (fit for radio) version, with a 24 volt electric system. It has been converted to a 12v system and there is no evidence that it had any radio gear in it. All the electrics are well sorted and everything works properly. I cannot verify that it was or was not FFR. One might be able to submit the VIN to a Rover historical archives to find out for sure, but I did not have this research done.
The truck was originally Olive Green Camo in color, but the owner who brought it over had it painted blue in the early 2000s. It was brought to New Orleans in the late 90s and the owner used it on his farm in Mississippi as a general all around vehicle. The owner chose to have a body off frame paint job done in the early 2000s. He had the work done at a very well respected local shop that is no longer open. We are in the resto business here in town and the shop that did the work was one of the best in town, specializing in Jaguars. This shop took the entire body to bare metal and applied a marine grade, extra durable paint in the present blue shade. This owner stripped the original upholstery off and had matching blue cushions made.
This owner drove the vehicle both at his farm in Mississippi and also in town in New Orleans. He was driving it one day and the owner I purchased it from stopped him and asked him how much it would take to buy the Rover. The owner was not planning to sell it but got an offer he could not refuse, so US owner #2 purchased the truck and kept it garaged here in New Orleans.
I purchased the vehicle from this person (owner #2 since MOD sent it to the US). I have a classic car restoration shop in New Orleans and the owner called me to offer the vehicle to me for sale because he needed room in his garage and never had time to use the Rover. This owner put literally less than 100 miles on the truck from when he bought it. I bought the truck from him for the express purpose of selling it.
My shop did a few repairs to it. We replaced the rear frame support/bumper and the rear spring perches because there was some rust present. We put on new axle check straps and a new muffler. We replaced the missing axe and shovel from the existing Pioneer kit and installed a new coolant temp/gas gauge. The owner I purchased it from had a brand new soft top in the box from Rovers North. We unpacked it and installed it. That is literally all the vehicle needed.
Other nice bits this Rover has: Seat belts which were on it when it came over from the MOD, two gas tanks, tires with almost no wear on them. This Rover is a 4 speed, it does not have an overdrive unit. It is good for about 55mph, maybe a bit more if you really push it. It cruises effortlessly around 40 and is a joy to drive.
The previous owner supplied a receipt for a differential and transmission service, a tune up and a new carb installation. Likely less than 100 miles since these services. Odometer shows 15814. There is no place for 6th digit, so I cannot verify that it is not 115,814 but I was told that this unit had very low usage since it was used on base only. No matter, it runs and drives like it has only 15k miles!
There is one small spot of rust on the vehicle and I have included a photo of it. There are some scratches here and there and the front bumper has a dent in it. Otherwise the truck is straight and clean. It looks great, rides great and shows very well. This is not a project vehicle. Yes there are tons of things a new owner could choose to do to it, but it is great as is. I want to be honest that this is not a recently restored, show pony with no wear on it at all. It is clean and straight but does have some wear on it in spots, but not much. It is a great driver and cool for shows. If you wanted to show it competitively, it would need some cosmetic work.
Ultimately, these trucks are rare here in the US and most often when they come up for sale, they are not in good shape. This one is also Left Hand Drive, making it much more user friendly here in the US.
If you are looking for a Lightweight Rover- this is a great one to get!
Note the truck is for sale locally so I do reserve the right to end the auction early.


On Aug-14-17 at 10:04:23 PDT, seller added the following information:

Forgot to mention the following in the original listing and want to be sure to note:

1. The coolant sensor reads on the hot side when the vehicle is not running hot. I believe this is a calibration issue with the replacement temp gauge we installed. 2. The passenger side fuel tank sending unit works intermittently. We did some work to it, but it may need to be replaced.