GQ questions

Hi Guys, This is my first post on this forum. I am a patrol tragic and have recently purchased a 1989 GQ Safari to keep my 2007 GQ Patrol company. The GQ is a 4.2 diesel auto with 230000 clicks on the clock. It was very untidy when I got it but has cleaned up nicely. One problem,, when i select drive the car wants to move off in 3rd gear, which sucks. If i manually change to 1st gear all is good and the box seems to reset itself and work fine after that only for the problem to reoccur the next day. Any suggestions to why this may be happening would be appreciated. Apart from that it is a sweet ride and I love the 80s feel about it. Also the previous owner put a horrible saas steering wheel on it and I cannot find an original, suggestions?
Cheers, LanceAttachment 83396