Land Rover Stage One: 1979 to 1985

Though officially named the 109" V8, the Stage 1 is so-called because it was the result of stage one of a major (around £200 million) investment plan at Land Rover.
The investment programme also produced the 5 door Range Rover, and culminated in the replacement of the Series III Land Rovers by the coil-sprung 110" and 90" Land Rovers in 1983 and 1984 respectively.
Really Land Rover should have produced this much earlier - the first Land Rover with adequate power and a reasonable cruising speed (top speed was around 80 mph).
Indeed many private owners had converted 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder Series IIa's and Series III's to more powerful 6 cylinder engines, and even V8 engines from a variety of sources including Rover car V8s.

The Stage 1 took an existing Series III vehicle and squeezed in a 3.5 litre V8 and matching four-speed gearbox as used in the Range Rover.
The LT95 gearbox is reputed to be Land Rover's strongest ever, indeed it was used in the 101" Forward Control trucks.
Instantly the engine was powerful enough and reliable enough to tempt those export customers Land Rover needed.

As standard, the Stage 1 V8 is fitted with restrictors between the carburettors and manifold to reduce power output to a modest 92 bhp.
This is because Land Rover felt that any more power would make the vehicle too fast for the brakes and suspension.
This de-tuning also had the effect of allowing the engine to run happily on lower grades of petrol.
The restrictors are quite easily removed, allowing the engine performance to increase to standard Range Rover levels : 135 - 140 bhp.
This is not however the limit of this engine, as the Rover SD1 versions were rated around 155 bhp as standard, and Land Rover itself constantly uprated the capacity and horsepower of the engine as it was also used in other models.
The V8 was a tight squeeze in the engine bay and was slightly tilted upwards at the front.
The radiator was moved forwards and the grille made flush with the front edges of the wings.
Various incarnations of this V8 were also fitted to the 90/110/Defender up until 1996 when the last factory-fitted (excluding special order) V8 Defender was produced - the 50th Anniversary special.

The Stage 1 introduced some new features which would be carried forward to the 90/110 range :
1) Permanent four wheel drive - most previous series models had selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive.
2) The radiator was moved forwards which gave us the flat fronted appearance still seen on the Defender.
The bonnet was of course longer than the 'standard' Series IIIs, rounded at the front and wrapping around at the leading edge.
3) The door locks are mounted in the door skin rather than in the handle aperture (also carried on to military Defenders).

Prototypes were built and tested as early as 1976, however it was not until 1979 that vehicle went into full production.
All of the first year's production went to export markets, the 109 was available in either pick-up, hardtop or safari station wagon body styles.
The high capacity pick up body was introduced in 1981.

As well as the six colours available on the standard Series IIIs, the Stage 1 had four exclusive colour options:
Java Green
Masai Red
Inca Yellow
& Pageant Blue.

Russet Brown later became available with the County Station Wagon.

The Stage 1 was produced almost exclusively with the 109" wheelbase, but some 88" models were made to order.
It is believed that as many as 29 88" Stage 1's were built, including one prototype, with 24 of these being shipped to Trinidad in 1982.
Just two are thought to be in the UK.

Relatively few Stage 1 V8s were sold in the UK because of high fuel costs - diesel becoming a more popular choice.
Stage 1 production ended in 1985, some two years after the introduction of the 110.

Specs:

The series III chassis was modified by moving the grille, radiator and first cross-member forward, deleting cross-member number two, and cutting away the cross-member behind the transmission to clear the prop shaft.
Axles are standard series III 109" but with 3.54:1 differentials.
Because the engine was tilted up, the gearbox output shafts are not quite parallel with the diff input shafts so a double-Hookes c.v. joint was fitted to the transfer case front output shaft.
This complex joint is often replaced with a single universal joint when it wears out, generally with acceptable results.
The steering swivels contain Range Rover c.v. joints because of the full-time four wheel drive.

Land Rover Stage 1, 109" station wagon, 10 seats, 5 doors
Length 4580mm, width 1680mm, height 2000mm
Wheelbase 2770mm (109"), track 1330mm (front) 1330mm (rear), turning radius 7.15m, ground clearance 209mm
Weight 1809kg (unladen), GVM 2710kg, towing 500kg (unbraked)
Engine 3528cc, petrol, V8, twin Zenith Stromberg CDSE carbs, 2-valves/cylinder, ohv
Bore 88.9mm, stroke 71.12mm, compression ratio 8.13:1
Power restricted to 69kW (92bhp) at 3500rpm, torque 230Nm at 2000rpm
Transmission LT95, full-time 4WD, with centre vacuum operated diff-lock
Ratios 1st 4.069:1, 2nd 2.448:1, 3rd 1.505:1, 4th 1:1 (rev 3.664:1)
Transfer-case hi 1.336:1, lo 3.321:1,
diffs 3.54:1 Rover / Salisbury 8HA
Suspension (front) live-axle & leaf springs
(back) live-axle & leaf springs, with drum brakes all round.
Tyres 7.50x16, fuel-tank 68litres (15 gallons imperial).
Also available as hard-top, pickup, high-capacity pickup, and cab/chassis.

Terry's Hi-Cap

The Stage 1 Hi-Capacity pickup was available from 1981 to 1985.
Terry bought his Stage 1 from a collector of all sorts of stuff.
At that time he was not into V8s, but had a look anyway, as the advert said it had a new chassis.
After chipping a bit of paint off, he found a galvanized chassis underneath.
The vehicle was duly purchased, and taken back to Cornwall.
Terry soon found that he was hooked on this series V8.
The vehicle was previously used as a tow truck, and there is sign writing painted on, but it has faded and illegible.
He expects to be fitting a galvanized bulkhead and update the suspension to parabolics in the near future.
It is believed that only 27 of these Stage 1 Hi-Cap vehicles were made, as the 110 Hi-Cap vehicles became available from 1983.
Just four Stage 1 Hi-Caps are believed to be resident in the UK.
Two of these are in Cornwall.

Do you own a Hi-Cap? get in touch!

Horst Krus's Station Wagon

The Stage 1 Station Wagon is probably the most numerous version of the 109" V8.
Horst bought the vehicle from a member of the Leicester & Rutland Land Rover Club.
He expects to keep the vehicle long term and maintain it to a high standard.

Charles Edington's Aussie Stage 1

Charles is the proud owner of a 1980 Stage 1 Ute, converted to run on LPG.
The vehicle has covered over 91k (kms). She is in great condition overall, runs well and pulls like a train.

Stage 1 SW.

Stage 1 Pick-up.

Stage 1 Hardtop.

Stage 1 Emergency Vehicle.

Stage 1 Fire Appliance.