Land Rover Stage One V8 Test Drive! Ex-NZ Army

I drive a 1984 Land Rover Stage One V8 in Kiwi Army Radio Vehicle spec. I didn't know at the time, but it was on its third trip around the odometer, having covered 160,000kms or 100,000 miles in military service.
The Rover V8 engine sounds well, having been tweaked up a little from the 91-94bhp they were detuned to from the factory. The transmission is early Range Rover, so permanent four-wheel drive and a four-speed all-synchro gearbox.
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Don't forget to like the video if you like it, and share with your friends if you really like it! Thank you all.

[@peterlowen5132]

Great to see Betty again. I purchased this vehicle at the NZ Army auction at Linton and had it certified to become DLH358. You may notice the decal on the inside drivers door. Three Air Force engineers bought five of the vehicles between us, one for spares. We formed the engineers Landrover club and had some great drives. I was sorry to see her go; good to see the vehicle in such great condition.

[@davidhynd4435]

You've gotta love the engineering of the doors on a Series Land Rover. Very cleverly made with two positions. Fully Open and Slightly Closed.

[@twocvbloke]

So the V8 engine is basically there to run the 24V generator, the car's just going along for the ride... :P

[@fill7t1]

twocvbloke a very efficient way of generating power 🧐

[@Tom.J.O]

This Landrover: Drive me over rocks, hills, whatever... BRING IT ON! Modern day Landrover: Please watch the speedbumps near the school, they might hurt me.

[@brianlaunchbury4491]

Er, no!

[@Tom.J.O]

@@brianlaunchbury4491 Why no?

[@andicog]

Brilliant, as a person that had fast bikes for over 30 years buying my ex mil defender has changed my outlook completely, its so nice to trundle along , nice slow gear changes. I've never owned anything that gets so many thumbs up from young and old , all the oldies swear they learned to drive in 1956 in one and they have a crash box ..... Love the " 70, 80, 90 kmh" , I always follow that with" buffeting" and "I'm going to try pushing the stick forwards" (copyright 'The sound barrier) keep up the great anti covid vids!

[@PaulBaker85]

“Sounds absolutely magnificent!” Yep, going to have to agree with you there Ian.

[@Shane_Marsh]

I love the buick/rover V8. I've had 3 v8 range rovers, 4 v8 disco's and a series 3 lightweight v8. I think the main reason was the sound and then the torque. Lovely video with great scenery and classic HubNut delivery.

[@daniellee9015]

Brilliant video Ian what a lovely car nothing finer than a v8

[@m3zov]

I have a ex MOD series 3 ffr radio land rover too. I nearly fell off my chair when I heard it was called Betty . Mine is called Betty too.

[@cambridgemart2075]

This one doesn't have the usual FFR electrics though, unless someone ditched the original ignition leads and distributor.

[@alexmcandrew8370]

@@cambridgemart2075 It originally had the insulated HT leads and sealed distributor. Chronically unreliable though, so somewhere in its lifetime it was replaced with the Mallory ignition which is there now. Couldn't tell you though if this happened during its military service or its first owner after it left (I am the second post-military owner).

[@JJWilliams-uk3rf]

Had a series 3 many years ago and loved it to bits. Gone now and after watching this want another one

[@npet6842]

I recall there being a 109 with 3.5V8 and coil springs and permanent 4x4 ( like 90-110 ) towards the end of the run . Saw two in yellow paint to and electricity company .

[@npet6842]

Yes , leaf springs ; found a photo

[@fp4man542]

I almost bought a Stage One on eBay, a few years ago, but was outbid at the last second. Would still like to own one eventually.

[@ThePowerbloke]

Certainly does and sounds the business. Lovely that noise. That huge 24V generator is amazing! Good stuff! :-)

[@JuanMiguelGarcia1969]

Thank you for the vidéo 👍❤️

[@taffy7hfa897]

Lovely stuff, thanks for uploading, more memories...I bought an ex-army Series 11A lightweight from the auctions at Ruddington in 82, stuck a Rover v8 and a Fairey overdrive in it, omg it was a death trap, went like a scalded cat in a straight line though. happy days.

[@frothe42]

Absolutely glorious, loving the sounds as well . Well done!

[@widewheel9239]

Great share , yep I want one

[@damolux3388]

When the NZ army deployed to Bosnia in the mid 90's. The Land Rovers they took were all modified with hard tops and Isuzu diesel engines fitted. I think they also had disc brakes on the front too. I think they may have

[@grantmcgowan8399]

A very enjoyable vid Mr HubNut. This is what I like to see! Hope Betty is safe and well!

[@TiagoMorbusSa]

Really interesting vehicle! I'd love to see it with all the radio equipment in the back, but still, fantastic stuff.

[@seancooke4127]

Sounds great. Brings back memories of a Series 3 my dad had. A 109 pickup setup with a Perkins Diesel conversion. Very hard, very loud and very slow. 43 mph with 2 feet on the pedal. Green oil pressure light was extremely useful because the engine conversion was such that the front axle would puncture the oil filter if you hit something too hard off road. At which point you would walk home and return with a new filter and some fresh oil. No steering lock, no seat adjustment but great heater, powerful headlights and magnificent off road. Really wouldn't fancy 100 kph with the half turn steering play and drum brakes. 😂

[@mattkoch7473]

Nice to see. I have one of it's siblings. Very well done.

[@clooperman3745]

My first Land Rover was an ex MOD 109" Series 3 FFR on a 4 cylinder 1 Ton chassis, had a fully lined hardtop, an extra heater in the cab with hoses going to the rear, two 12 volt batteries behind the bulkhead under a cover and a massive generator under the bonnet, the chassis was immaculate, protected by a thick coat of factory applied underseal, only had a 2.25 litre engine though!!!!!!

[@nigelrudd670]

Like it along with the series 2 review down under And the special on the fwd control class mr nutt 🤓👍excellent 👍👍👍

[@craigmclean8260]

Another great road test/review! That generator was enormous...looked as if it could power a house if need be. The sound, running up thru the gears, is reminiscent of the old International school buses I used to ride on in the 1960s-early-'70s; they had a unique cooling fan sound.

[@tonys1636]

A friend used to make a living out of shoe horning Rover V 8's into series two and three Land Rovers. Apart from a remote oil filter, a re-modelled bell housing and an electric cooling fan as no room for the engine driven one, it was an easy conversion. The main problem was putting all the power through the rear axle, broken half shafts were common, nearly always the long one but by withdrawing it one could limp home in 4 wheel drive. Changing it required a strong magnet attached to a broom handle to extract the broken end from the diff if one did not want to open it.

[@millomweb]

I'd strongly suggest it was not the power of the engine but the rotational mass of it ! I suspect all the breaks would have been due to rather rapid clutch pedal release than shear power. I know a clever lad with the ability to break a half shaft and a gearbox casing in LDV 7·5 tonners ! He did it twice in 2 different vehicles a few years apart. The half shafts broke about half an inch from the wheel end - so magnet not needed as they could be easily grabbed. With the gearbox casing broken, I was in the process of disconnecting the prop-shaft - which I discovered went round while the wheels were still on the ground.

[@tonys1636]

@@millomweb Land Rovers had the habit of breaking the long shaft at the spline where it entered the diff, the shaft often showed twist marks if had been used for heavy towing and severe off road use. Maximum towing weight was rated at 4.5 tons, but have towed fully laden trucks with the farm one out of fields after being loaded, more prone if fitted with tractor tyres and a V 8. It was a good old workhorse with not a straight panel anywhere, abused till it fell apart after 20 years of hard work.

[@millomweb]

@@tonys1636 Shaft ends are the natural weak spots and I suspected from your previous comment that they'd fail just short of the splines. You can achieve significant overloads if done gently. It's the jerk that's the killer. I don't know if you've been in a 'truck and hill' situation - in a gear that's 'sufficient' but only just - and you end up with a transmission oscillation where the engine revs up winding the transmission up and lifting the front of the vehicle a bit with the power to the point the engine's overcome, the vehicle 'catches up' as the engine struggles and slows and then the cycle repeats ! Low frequency 'kangaroo juice' !

[@shaunw9270]

Lovely Land Rover ! Sounds awesome 👌

[@TheSkauskas]

Sounded beautiful through the gears

[@weaselman24]

Owned one myself. A very dependable truck. and the 3.5 was rock solid.

[@philbeaumont5485]

Enjoyed the video Ian, as an ex Stage One owner, it was interesting to see your take on it. I enjoyed my short ownership except for the welding, (ex diving club owned previously) restrictors removed, and exhaust removed one day doing an RTV trial, now that sounded good on the journey home oh and my god did it like petrol, but still glad i had it.

[@grayfool]

Love a proper land rover. Great stuff.

[@mrfahrenheit3867]

When I was in the NZ army we had the 106 recoilless rifle mounted on the old 110 just to pep the land rover up a bit.

[@chrisrumble2665]

"I do love a V8 engine - especially in something that doesn't go to fast.." The came the Maloo!

[@jt-bg6ey]

the wipers leave corners of disappointment

[@stalkata]

and a whole middle of inverted triangle of doom

[@benjaminmarriott1746]

Love this test. An oddity in its overlapping production time, 24vdc wired, dual tanked, all of the further instrumentation, the uprated rear axle, the bl bits, a well kept example by the looks, and I love a rover v8 which sounds just stonking here. And a metallic purple sirion!

[@rayg9069]

Factory build option specifically for military use.

[@spudpalmy]

Hi Ian. As someone that was in the NZ Army from 1979 - 1991, I can relate to this video. During that time, I drove Series 1 & 2 Land Rovers (both short and long wheel base). Also RL Bedfords and later the Mercedes Unimog. When the NZ Army purchased the V8 Series 3 models, we all had to do a course before being allowed to drive them. We drove them both off road and on highways. They were restricted to a top speed of 120km/h with the addition of a plate inside the manifold I believe. After the older models, these were such a luxury to us, as was the Unimog after the RL days. Love your channel.

[@HubNut]

Cheers. All Stage Ones were restricted to about 94bhp. I think they were otherwise too fast for the brakes!

[@daler2577]

Great video Ian have been waiting for this one for quite some time now ! The series III that I had the tops of the doors were so loose and floppy they used to actually open about an inch and let fresh air in while you were motoring along and yet surprisingly didn't let any rain in.... I was told that the UK military versions used low compression V8 so they could run lower grade fuel when they were out in the field and had to use whatever fuel they could find if necessary, My A reg Land Rover 110 has a low compression Buick derived Square topped block, & the squared topped valve covers & not the later rounded Rover ones.

[@markpitt5248]

Triangle of Inattention!

[@k8vnl]

Stage 1 v8.All the good lucks of a series 111 but with a range rover engine.👌

[@DougsCars]

This is gonna be great!

[@shadowmare1742]

talk about a nice sounding v8 i love this Land Rover

[@moviebod]

I had forgotten how magnificent those engines sounded. I had a 3.5 V8 1987 110 Series 3 and we drove it from East Sussex via Brittany Ferries with seven of us onboard to Bretignolles Sur Mer in 1999 and I think the petrol bill for the trip was £400. It was the County model in a very dull light blue with cloth seats.

[@TheStwat]

Oh eck, that sounds lovely. I'm missing my Range Rover even more now.

[@travellifewithjobo5740]

I have the last Snatch Land-Rover to be released from service by the M.O.D.It is 12volt and 24 volt( the 24 volt to power the radio system).The 24 volt models were named FFR (fitted for radio).It weighs 3.6 tonnes and is Kevlar armour plated.

[@alan-sk7ky]

those floor mats are just the biz :-)

[@terabyte1695]

Third comment/ The range rover we had on the farm in 1984 used to do about 18 miles to the gallon, 3.5 v8, so pretty thirsty, those land rovers are fantastic,just bloody noisy... farewell.

[@tonys1636]

18 mpg that was good, more like 12 -14 in a V8 landy, far less with a lot of off road use or towing an heavy trailer.

[@rayg9069]

2.25 L 4 cylinder only get about that pushing a LWB body around, providing half your trip is down hill.

[@CaptainHoratioPugwash]

For those curious 200, 472km (124, 567 miles) / 5,096.68 hours makes for an average lifetime speed of 24.4mph (39.3kph).

[@Chambers101]

Great video this, it would be interesting to see the difference between an 88 Stage One. I remember Quentin Wilson's old 109 one from magazines. We also had the Stage One Half Track which was fun.

[@danieleregoli812]

Magnificent video!!! Thank you for yet another great upload! That is a car and 1/2!!! ...it bothers me to no end seeing what LR is producing these days... what would you call those things? Supermarket-going SUVs parading as proper offroading vehicles I'd guess?

[@clooperman3745]

Whilst l fully agree about Land Rovers current range they have to make vehicles today that can be driven by the limp wristed lettuce munching brigade that don't know how to drive offroad so they push a button and the car makes them look good!!!!!!

[@CauliflowerMcPugg]

Oh the memories..... I spent many hours/years in one of those driving, eating and sleeping. We were a bit more manly in the British Army our fuel tanks were under the front seats. Lol

[@brianlaunchbury4491]

I was surprised this one hasn't got the extra tank, thought they were fitted on most military land rovers. Needed to lift the passenger seat.

[@rayg9069]

Main Battery would be under the passenger seat, this unit has the front tank along the RH chassis rail, effectively under the drivers seat.

[@redsorgum]

This is very cool. The old school body style is better than the more modern ones.

[@dormie200]

Back in the old days when considering an engine for a vehicle conversion we used a factor of 30 miles for every hour recorded on the engine.

[@ginggur17]

Love this ole growler.

[@MrTrundleon]

A magnificent trundler!

[@micheltebraake7915]

Everyone must have driven a Land Rover V8 at least once in their life!

[@robt2151]

I have a 1984 127 with that engine but with EFI from an early Range Rover and an auto box - does 20mpg compared with 13mpg quoted for the original carb version.

[@AliMackMechanical]

Nice machine good burble out of her great machine👍👍

[@machiningbasics1729]

The best kind of Land Rover . Love my stagie county sw

[@shebbs1]

The Australian developed Pirente LR's were great too, still a dream to get one as they are being replaced gradually over the padt deveral years. My heart wants the 6x6 but a 4x4 is more sensible.

[@Equiluxe1]

The police radio cars used to have a similar sized generator to run the radio in the 50's and early 60's keyed down to talk and they lost ten miles an hour so much power was required to run the dynamo. The bang in the transmision is most likely a front prop shaft UJ, I have had a few landrovers over the years and they eat front UJ's for breakfast.

[@BelloBudo007]

A lovely trip, thank you. That motor, the boxy look, canvas ready to offer the ultimate open feel, are all positives. Brakes...not so, nor what I guess is only a 4 speed gear box and no power steering could wear one down. Otherwise a very desirable second vehicle.

[@Zadster]

There may have been a vehicle made that uses the Rover / Buick V8 that doesn't sound delicious, but I haven't met one. A truly great engine. And in this application I can practically feel the hair growing on my chest. I imagine that with permanent 4WD and those knobbly tyres, if that Landy can't get there then it isn't worth going anyway.

[@neilforbes416]

You mentioned a Daihatsu Sirion. I used to drive a Daihatsu Applause, but it doesn't mean I had the "clap"! LOL

[@richdelgado3405]

Read your comment without my glasses on and thought "why would someone name their car the 'Sirloin'?"

[@neilforbes416]

@@richdelgado3405 I guess he'd want to get in for his "chop"! Something to "meat" his needs! LOL Geez I'm really "butchering" these puns!

[@williamgreer4087]

That is such a nice Landy! I can't see a Land Rover without yearning for one. Unfortunately the upkeep would be way beyond my skills/budget 😐

[@pablojones5613]

Makes a really nice noise, in all honesty.

[@petemoxley925]

Wonderful vehicle, just my cup of tea. Would love to add this to my group of old Land Rover. Question is- could I afford to run it? Probably not....Thanks Ian, great to have a good look at the stage 1.

[@daviemaclean61]

They all pull to the left on the approach to filling stations and the handbrake is there to rest your clutch leg (if not foot) on - you get used to it! ;-)

[@MrGeorgepip]

I had a series 3. My advise to any one who gets the opportunity to go in one is, do it! Even better drive it. It's like nothing else!

[@RichieRouge206]

I’d say they were epic Corners Of Despair on those screens 😂 and the middle Area Of Hopelessness between the two swept areas. Bonkers Defender with fuel consumption almost reaching American 50s landyacht territory. And called Betty? Icing on the cake. Love it.

[@PieAndChips]

It's a Series 3

[@nakoma5]

"Steering is... there. Brakes are... there." xD I wonder what kind of service this Land Rover saw, I don't imagine battle fields in NZ.

[@machiningbasics1729]

There are a few arguments as to the name it’s the stage 1 Rover v8 and the first stage of government investment in the company. Second stage never came

[@schlookie]

Lucky you've long gone from NZ. We've had 3 large-ish earthquakes in the past couple of days now!

[@HubNut]

Didn't seem to phase Jacinda. 😉 You've also had a far better time with certain viruses.

[@timmartin7468]

Can't beat the V8 sound. As a kid a friends Dad had a 3500 P6 and I loved being driven in that. He also had a Haflinger which was a novel 4x4.

[@emmajacobs5575]

Tim Martin a friend described the Haflinger as a ‘go anywhere milk float’! and of course they have a loose connection to ‘TWC’, both having flat twin Steyr Puch engines in the rear.

[@timmartin7468]

@@emmajacobs5575 Not heard of a TWC. Had a quick search on the web but can't seem to find anything. Can you enlighten me? Cheers.

[@GhostNation1]

TWC is Ian’s Invacar, TWC being the last 3 letters of the Reg (also addressed as ‘TUC’ as W in Welsh is a similar sound to ‘U’ if I remember the video correctly.

[@timmartin7468]

@@GhostNation1 Can't believe I didn't make the association with TUC. Thank you for putting me straight. Invacar engine in my mind is Villiers for some reason.

[@GhostNation1]

Tim Martin My pleasure 🙂

[@darrylgilbert2587]

Very interesting. Here in Oz the Armywent from the standard Series 3 to the Defender fitted with a 3 litre Isuzu diesel. 6 x 6 versions got a turbo. This engine was also available in civilian versions. In recent years the army has been gradually selling them off and replacing them with Mercedes G wagons

[@HubNut]

Yes, very odd things the Aussie ones. It seems you converted the Defender back to leaf springs with that 6x6 conversion!

[@AUmarcus]

@@HubNut The aussie ones were actually made in Australia too....JRA at Moorebank.

[@lindsaybrown7357]

Aussie ones had 3.9L Isuzu Diesel in the 4x4 and 3.9L Isuzu Turbo Diesel in the 6x6 Perentie version.

[@pauldavies6037]

cant beat the Rover V8's in this version sounds like a small private airplane trying to take off !

[@catmandoodoo7903]

I want that sooo much 😻

[@paulmckinder3082]

I do love a old Land Rover and the lovely v8 thirsty girl but got to love the v8

[@HighHoeKermit]

Those wipers leave a whole middle of misfortune.

[@ninaandbob]

"No triangle of doom, just in-attention". lol.

[@commonsense953]

Great vehicle ... and interesting to see the change from Series 3. I’ve got to admit though that I’d still stick with my coil sprung 2.5 naturally asthmatic diesel 110. Nowadays I find the leaf springs of my previous S3 made the Land Rover nod or buck when driving whilst the coils are much smoother. I’m sure that this is a nice ‘inbetweener’ something like the Santana?

[@michaelkelly9582]

The only land rover i had that was reliable. But still not a patch on any toyota I've owned

[@bentullett6068]

I think the UK army had some of these but only in ambulance form. I have also seen a breakdown truck stage V8 which can usually be found at Silverstone racing circuit.

[@thebismarkandthehood]

I'd rather this than the LR Wolf I'm currently forced to use! Not shocked to see how little changed with the "updates"

[@michaeltutty1540]

Great video. Wonderful machine indeed. One thing, though. You showed the odometer, and said 2nd time around, which would mean at 100,000 plus what it reads, but the caption said 200,000 odd.

[@HubNut]

Yes, I wasn't aware of the mileage when I did the road test. It is its third time around. Maybe I got the caption wrong too...

[@bcfairlie1]

Filmed in Napier, it would appear. I,is remarkable how many of these are left in NZ

[@declanmcquay3476]

You are looking very sunburnt in that video :)

[@HubNut]

I think that was because of the roofless Series II I'd driven the day before!

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

From experience, the ride is improved when laden. It's till a bouncy light truck but a bit less harsh. Strange that they didn't fit the disc brakes from the Range Rover but this did have a greater Gross Vehicle Weight and they did de-rate the engine. It will have had the wider front drums though.

[@alexmcandrew8370]

@Leonard Carr Not sure about East Timor; definitely not Bosnia though. NZ Stage 1's which went to Bosnia were re-powered with 300TDI's, painted white, and canvas was replaced with hardtops. They were never converted back post-deployment.

[@dunc1958]

A friend of mine had a v8 safari on an 'x' registration we removed the restriction devices for extra power and to cure a habit it had of suddenly going to a high idle for no reason. In tuned form it would easily keep pace with a range rover, top speed was quite terrifying. The one dislike I had was the extremely low gearing on the steering, no power of course but lower than a standard 109.

[@Strike86]

Knees alert t-shirt when? 😁

[@harmoniclivechromatic7698]

cool car, wonder where they put the crank handle lol

[@grenvillephillips6998]

Definitely aspirational for army dreamers and passionate preppers: needs a big aerial though. Please note that LR employees insist on their products being referred to as vehicles.

[@millomweb]

"Vehicles" as opposed to what ?

[@emmajacobs5575]

pmailkeey cars perhaps?

[@millomweb]

@@emmajacobs5575 No - it appears they were originally 'cars' for farmers. Best alternative I thought of was 'heaps of junk' ;)

[@claudelacasse1276]

the triangle of despair....

[@steved3702]

The zone of mystery. Whole vehicles could be hiding in the mist on the windscreen in the wet!

[@damolux3388]

Kms would be wrong. The NZ Army did not have enough of these to just have them sitting around. They were driven and driven hard!

[@paulbaker3527]

These vehicles were good in rough conditions, gravel roads and cross country. Durable yes, fast no. The earlier NZ Army Series 2 (Skippy) was very good on rivers as the air intake was well back from the front firewall. You could have the entire bonnet underwater and they just kept going. This was a time when the country had plenty of money and employed soldiers who weren't worried about testing things to the limit.

[@alansmith1770]

Big & beefy I like it

[@ricklane8554]

Pushing on your glasses, is it a habit lol?? ;)

[@davidmg1925]

With the 4WD 10 to the gallon and like it.

[@lee2217]

Look at the day light through the door frames

[@paulkirby5479]

what is it about a rover V8 that makes an ordinary vehicle so special. TR7. MGB. LAND ROVER in all proper versions. TVR , in all mad states of tune. But best of all , a Sherpa ambulance. Do any survive. Now that's a video I would love to see.

[@HubNut]

I know of at least one LDV V8 ambulance...

[@paulkirby5479]

@@HubNut many years ago there was an ambulance depot next to where I still work. sadly gone for a homebase. all were petrol. v8 Leyland. v6 ford and a couple of v8 gmc Americans.

[@nealya1291]

In the ninety's, when there were bomb alerts in Manchester, I'd listen to the V8 LDV Tactical Aid units leaving the city centre police station, from my open office window,that was directly opposite on a one way back street. Lovely sound, and no one came to harm, even when there was the bomb outside the Arndale shopping centre.

[@clooperman3745]

A local garage has a V8 engined Sherpa recovery truck.

[@EmilePoelman]

Hey, Ian. Was there no opportunity to test the 4WD capabilities? The test was good fun, bu also a bit like testing a Boeing jumbo jet by taxiing on the airfield ....

[@HubNut]

Not really sadly.

[@drd6416]

Hmmm wonder if anyone has hooned one of these up with a holden or barra mill? Evil plotting ensues hehe.. Love the makeshift aircon (rollable sides)

[@rayg9069]

Although Holden sixes were a popular change they were a bit revvy and didn't have the same low down torque of the 2.25L long stroke 4 cylinder. Gave better highway driving, but lost out on slow heavy work.