[jyl]

You probably already know that there are three main body styles available in the US - 88" (Jeep-like), 109" 3-door (pickup truck like), and 109" station wagon (four doors). The 109"s have an inconveniently large turning radius, but they carry a lot more. I had a 109" 3-door w/ hardtop and side-facing seats in the bed - this was a pretty versatile setup.

The 109" series 3s also offered a 6-cyl engine. Even though this would seem like an advantage over the underpowered 4 cyl, I heard bad things about it - not that much more power and harder to get parts.

If you have the funds, the D90 and D110 that Land Rover imported for a while in the late 80s (I think) are very neat vehicles. Coil springs, v8 motors, modernized. But they are not cheap.

If I were you, I would plan on some safety upgrades. The stock LR barely has lap belts, which will simply help your face be crushed by the hard steel dash. It also lacks any real rollover protection, since the body structure is aluminium.

If I got back into 4x4s someday, I'd like to take an old S2 or S3, drop in a V8, and have the chassis adapted to coil springs. Some guys have dropped a LR body on an older Range Rover chassis (stretched).

Ah, the pleasure of old LRs. I still remember a trip I took from LA to Monterey, up Hwy 1. Pitched races with the motorhomes, mirrors folded in to reduce drag, fighting and drafting to eke out a pass at 45 mph . . . I also remember taking the buyer for a test-drive (I had to sell it, to help finance a year of travel). I drove him down into a deep canyon, then turned up the exit route and watched his eyes bug out as we scrabbled our way up the steep, loose trail, fighting for traction and spraying rocks. He was impressed, which was good since I was slightly worried about whether we were actually going to make it out. I realized later that all that extra drama was because I'd forgotten to lock the front hubs.