Vehicle Description
Long Wheelbase - 3.0L V6/4 Speed Manual - Right Hand Drive - New
Tires - Upholstery in very good condition - Well Traveled and ready
for more adventures! - (Please note: If you happen to be viewing
this Land Rover Defender Series III on a website other than our
main website, it's possible that you've only seen some of our many
photographs of this vehicle due to website limitations. To be sure
you access all the more than 100 photographs, please go to our main
website: Garage Kept Motors.) � 1978 Land Rover Defender Series III
(Long Wheelbase) � ... the ultimate incarnation of Land Rover's
classic lineage. �€"Auto Classics website, December, 2018 (Why the
Land Rover Series III remains Britain's ultimate 4x4) � There
really is something special about any of the classic Land Rover
Defenders. It's certainly not about luxury, or creature comforts,
top speed or 0-60 times. Those metrics are for more ordinary sorts
of automobiles. And for sure, this is no grocery-getting,
always-on-smooth-roads, suburban-mom SUV. No way. � Auto Classics
reviewer, Calum Brown, continued: While lesser four-wheel-drive
vehicles construct off-road ability around on-tarmac refinement,
and come with road tires as standard, the Series III took the
opposite approach. Building on the unbeatable rough-and-ready
formula honed by Rover engineers with the Series I and II/IIA,
smoothing out the sharp edges and adding enough refinement �€"
especially in County specification �€" to maintain serious road use
without compromising ability off the beaten track, it remains the
ultimate incarnation of the original Land Rover recipe. � The
Series III Defender here is one of the Country-specification,
longer wheelbase examples. And with just over 110,000 miles on the
clock, you can be certain it's had plenty of interesting country
travels in its more than 40-year life. No longer powered by a
smallish diesel, at some point a 3-liter Ford V6 was substituted in
the engine bay. Both performance and reliability were gained as a
result. Under the hood, all the factory data plates are present.
The undercarriage is tidy with only slight surface rust. Wheels are
solid and all-terrain tires (including the hood-mounted spare) have
plenty of tread remaining.� � The exterior of the vehicle displays
some patina, but overall, the re-painted
medium-(sea)-blue-with-white-trim paint shows quite well. The glass
in all twelve windows-removable cabin-door windows, windshield, and
roof eyebrow windows included-is all in very good condition.
Inside, seat-upholstery fabric-including on the center-facing twin
rear-compartment seats-shows minimal wear. Instrumentation and
switchgear-including the yellow and red transfer-case controls-are
complete and, with the 4-speed manual shifter, properly located on
the left-hand side of the RHD steering wheel. An aftermarket radio
is in place. Largely surface rust is evident on the interior side
of the doors at points where original trim has been removed. � The
current owner has been custodian of this Defender for the past ten
years since it was first imported from England. Maintenance has
been with the assistance of factory manuals included in the sale.
Original floor pans have been replaced. � To say that a Land Rover
Defender Series III is not for everyone is a simple fact. And that
alone is part of its charm. Back to Calum Brown: On paper, the Land
Rover Series III makes little sense. Yet, as an experience and
automotive icon, nothing comes close; the undiluted spirit of
adventure oozing from the panel gaps is second to none. � And now
comes word there's actually going to be a new Defender for 2020.
From the official Land Rover website: With an all-new exterior and
interior design, as well as a suite of the latest driver-assistance
and connectivity features available, the next-generation Defender
will be a revolutionary product for Land Rover.... � Given the
choice between all-new versus well traveled, we know which Defen