This one stings a bit. I had high hopes that I struck gold when spotting this derelict 1995 Range Rover County LWB on the side of the interstate, but it seems like I need to cut my losses early. Well, that's the opinion of Jeff, my mechanic, who agreed to store it at his house so he could mess with it on nights and weekends.
I don't know if Jeff really doesn't want to work on this or if it's really that bad. It's likely somewhere in between. It is rough, there's no denying that, and the backstory on it would suggest someone did use it for parts at some point. I usually don't get invested in projects I have little interaction with but I just really liked the vibes this Rover gave off. I totally get why so many people are smitten by these things. They have incredible presence.
At the end of the day, however, you can buy a respectable one for $7,000-$10,000. It won't be a final-year LWB, however, which is what this one is. What I have to accept is the following: I can buy an older, non-LWB model now. Or I can put the equivalent money into this one at a specialist shop for what a decent LWB would cost. It's the age-old scenario I often find myself in, such as with the Cosworth and the Trooper RS. Here's the difference: both of those cars are incredibly hard to find. You can still buy a nice LWB for $30,000, and they made a lot of them.
When I do these mental gymnastics, I find myself arriving at some very respectable conclusions: the Trooper RS is a genuine, 55K mile truck that will look fantastic when it's done, and it's never been hacked up; just suffering from the passage of time. The same goes for the Mercedes, which is also a complete car that was only modestly pulled apart and went back together easily. The Range Rover isn't as rusty as those vehicles, but it's still rusty - and it's been messed with in a thousand different ways.
It hurts my soul to admit defeat, because I usually come out in a good place despite my batshit vehicle pursuits. But if the Saab 900 sells for what I want it to - and if I abandon my aspirations to own a Porsche 968 - I can buy a truly decent Range Rover (or equivalent Land Cruiser) for $10K and begin enjoying it immediately. Now, time to find a buyer for a largely rust-free RR that is likely a better candidate for an engine swap than sensitive restoration.