Something about Land Rovers brings to mind Marlin Perkins on “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.” In the back of my head, I can picture Marlin venturing out into the African Veldt in search of this week’s “elusive prey.” Well, here in Palos Verdes, Land Rovers are pretty elusive prey, so I’d though I’d share this so-so shot taken through my windshield.
I’ll also share this shot, not because it gives us a better look at the Land Rover, but because it includes some spectacular Pacific scenery. Catalina Island is also an elusive creature, often hiding in the Marine Layer (Easterners just call it a fog bank), so this shot delivers two rare targets in one frame.
That looks more like Jim, and he seems a bit glum. Maybe Marlin told him to drive over there and pull a Cheetah out of a tree by it’s tail. Jim always got the worst jobs.
As a kid I wanted to wear a tan outfit and chase animals.
Ha! I had forgotten all about poor old Jim. “Let’s come over here and look at these elephant tracks while Jim catches a couple of crocodiles for us to look at in a minute.”
Nice looking Land Rover and the driver does look a bit glum. Looks like the kind of road where everyone would speed.
I had some coworkers who spent nearly 3 months on Catalina Island, but I think I would get a terrible case of Island Fever since the most time I have ever spent on an Island is less than 24 consecutive hours.
Maybe he’s on his way for a smog check….
I drove a LWB biscuit tray for a while and it was plenty fun. Don’t know why he’s so glum, probably because fun and speed are mutually exclusive on these things.
Will that thing drive fast enough to be safe on the freeway? Not badmouthing. Just looks as slow as the 64 IHC Scout I once drove. SoCall – freeways – ?
I had one of these in the short wheel base for a while. They are fun. Very “raw” motoring. They are not fast. They are not safe. The faster you go the less safe they are.
You need to have a certain, ummm – “dedication” to drive one on more than a very occasional basis. There’s a guy who drives one locally, like this with the roof off. It looks ruggedly cool – but I know what he’s suffering for his art and it’s not that pretty.
I sold mine a while back. I don’t miss it.
I have a ’67 88″ as my daily driver. The definition of love/hate.
That has the wrong patina to be a native Palos Verdean. And, that’s no freeway, either. On a side note, I thought it was 20 miles plus to Catalina? If it is, that had to be the cleanest the air has been in Southern Cal since the sabretooth was getting stuck in the tarpit.
Trevor, is that you?
Owned a series III lightweight 1/2 ton military Landrover a decade back. Strip off the top, remove the windows and, hey presto; natural air-conditioning. This baby needed a six lane wide road to do a u-turn in and would easily demolish anything standing in its’ way otherwise. I can confirm that at speeds over 50mph, the steering wheel became nothing more than a decorative item. There simply was no feeling of grip transmitted from the wheels to your hands.
A real man’s car.