DISCOURSE DIS COURSE THE MAGAZINE OF THE DISCOVERY OWNERS CLUB
Number 16 - August / September 2004
Discovery 3 A new era begins
Global Challenge 2005 Land Rover announce a new challenge
www.discoveryownersclub.com
Page 1 - Discourse 16 Photograph courtesy of Land Rover
The Small Print For the purposes of this notice, ‘Discovery Owners Club’ and ‘Club’ are interchangeable and assumed to mean the same thing.
Discourse Articles The Club reserves the right to edit or refuse articles received from members.Views expressed by members contributing to this magazine are those of that member and may not necessarily be those of the Club. Every effort is made to verify the contents of member’s articles, but the Club can not accept responsibility for the veracity of its content.
Caveat Emptor Every effort is made to ensure advertisements are bona fide. The Club can not accept responsibility for the quality of goods or services advertised. The moral is “buyer beware”.
Public Liability Insurance The Club has Public Liability Insurance for registered Club events of a non-competitive nature. Cover is provided for full Club members, their spouse or partner and children residing at the same address. Family members as defined in the Club rules travelling in a separate vehicle are also covered. Road traffic accident risks are not covered by the Club’s Public Liability Insurance. It is the responsibility of the member to ensure that they have proper and legal Insurance cover for themselves and the vehicle from leaving home until returning home.
Club Events Activities in particular but not excluding off-roading and green-laning are undertaken solely at the participants’ own risk. Vehicles should be suitably insured and prepared for the undertaken activity. Participation in any Club organised event is on the understanding and acceptance that safety is the responsibility of the participant.
Green Lanes All ‘green lanes’ are highways as defined by the Highways Act 1980. Green laning events require the same level of insurance, road tax, MOT and driver’s licence as normal roads.
Association of Rover Clubs The Club is a non-competitive member of the Association of Rover Clubs (ARC), an organisation bringing together all member Land Rover clubs for organising events (both competitive and non-competitive) and providing many essential services to member clubs. The Club’s ARC Representative is Alan Smart.
GLASS The Discovery Owners Club supports GLASS (Green Lane Association). GLASS is a national rights of way user group representing the interests of motor car users on unsurfaced minor highways or ‘green lanes’ in England and Wales. GLASS promotes responsible off-roading and the Club endorses this.
Club Web Sites & DOC Forum www.discoveryownersclub.com and www.discoveryownersclub.org are the Club’s website addresses. www.doc-forum.co.uk is our forum address. For instant access, all you need is a valid membership number to register on site. Once registered, you can log on anywhere in the world to catch up with your favourite club, post replies and help fellow Discovery Owners.
Complimentary Show Tickets From time to time, the Club receives complimentary tickets to shows the club is attending. The Club’s policy is to make these tickets available to those members willing to help on the Club stand during the event. If you are willing to help at the event on the Club stand and / or allow your vehicle to be displayed, please contact the Club’s event organiser (listed in What’s On) whose decision on the distribution of those tickets shall be final. Surplus tickets shall either be destroyed or returned to the event organisers.
Data Protection The Club recognises its responsibilities under the 1998 Data Protection Act. The Membership Secretary is the Club’s Data Controller. The membership database of current and past members shall be for the Club’s exclusive use and shall not be made available to any third party. Elected Officers of the Club may have access to member information having shown good reason. Ordinary members may request contact information of another member. This shall only be through a Committee member who will contact the member to first ask permission.
Committee Meetings Under the rules of the club, members may attend, but not participate at committee meetings. If you plan to come along, please let the Club Secretary know in advance. The planned dates for committee meetings are: 1st. February, 2004 at Northampton and 7th. March 2004 at Redditch.
Acknowledgements Front and back cover courtesy of Land Rover.
Contents REGULARS Land Rover News General News Recent Events Club News Your Say Discovery Juniors The Glove Box Committee Corner Calendar and Contacts Regional Meets
4 5 6 7 8 9 11 18 26 27
Subjects range from Caravanning to Humour. There’s optional email notification for individual postings, entire topics or forums.
Back Issues Two ways for members to obtain Discourse back issues: Printed copies at £2.50 ea together with a self addressed A4 envelope stamped at 41 pence, or CD-ROM at £2.00 including postage (this would have all back issues). Cheques should be made payable to ‘Discovery Owners Club’ and sent with your order to the Membership Secretary.
Advertising in Discourse Advertising space will be available in future issues of Discourse. Advertisements can be whole page, half page and quarter page in either black and white or full colour. Suppliers and dealers wishing to advertise in Discourse should contact Alan Smart for a Rate Card and details of space available.
Small Ads for DOC Members
THIS ISSUE Land Rover Experience Local Section Map Back To The Fold Technical - 1” Lift Technical - Headlamp Levelling Discovery 3 ARC National Rally Minerva Land Rover
12 14 17 19 21 22 24 25
Members can place small ads for Discovery stuff in Discourse for free. However, if you have a cottage to let or anything else that would bring in some income, then you’ll also be able to advertise in the small ads section but will be expected to make a contribution to the production costs of Discourse.
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Articles for Discourse When submitting articles for inclusion in Discourse, please save the document as a text file without embedded images. Images should be separate and sent either as photographs or digital images in .jpg format on CD. All files should be sent to the Club’s Editor for selection. They should only be sent to the Publisher directly by prior arrangement. Photographs will not be returned unless requested.
Your Committee Neil Brownlee Chairman 9 Lindisfarne Way, East Hunsbury, Northampton, NN4 0WG. Tel: 07768 366 157, Email: chairman@discoveryownersclub.org
Tim Arnold Events Co-ordinator 9 Sunstar Lane, Polegate, East Sussex, BN26 5HS Tel: 01323 489003, Mobile: 07801 292024, Email: events@discoveryownersclub.org
Alan Smart Secretary, Archivist, Wessex LSR The Bales, Cow Lane, Kimpton, Andover, Hampshire, SP11 8NY. Tel: 01264 772851, Fax: 01264 773300, Email: secretary@discoveryownersclub.org
Camping & Caravanning Officer, Email: camping@discoveryownersclub.org
Lee Jones Membership Secretary, Sth. Staffs LSR 73 Tottenham Crescent, Kingstanding, Birmingham, B44 0ST. Tel: 0121 603 3632, Mobile: 07759 299031, Email: memsec@discoveryownersclub.org
Claire Spencer Club Shop Officer 16 Bishopst Close, Redditch B98 0AT Email: clubshop@discoveryownersclub.org
Horness Spencer Discourse Editor 16 Bishopstone Close, Redditch, B98 0AT Tel: 07967 205 071 Email: editor@discoveryownersclub.org George Glover Publicity & Press Officer 158 Malcolm Drive, Duston, Northampton, NN5 5NH. Tel: 01604 582252, Mobile: 07721 559456, Email: northantslsr@discoveryownersclub.org Paul Walker Vice Chairman, North Worcs LSR 17 Ditchford Close, Hunt End, Redditch, B97 5XT Tel: 07939 411995, Email: vicechair@discoveryownersclub.org John Francis Treasurer 32 Lichfield Road, Halewood, Liverpool, L26 1TT Tel: 0151 486 9910, Mobile: 07766 168869, Email: johnfrncs5@aol.com
Kim Hollings North West LSR 15 Knowsley Crescent, Offerton, Stockport, Cheshire, SK1 4JB. Tel: 0161 480 7096, Email: k.hollings1@ntlworld.com Don Hoaglin Kent LSR 23 Springcroft, Hartley, Longfield, Kent, DA3 8AR Tel: 01474 707531, Mobile: 07714 696270, Email: kentlsr@discoveryownersclub.org Gerard Brooks Wales LSR 16 Deganwy Close, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5JT Tel: 02920 757459, Mobile: 07977 545790, Email: waleslsr@discoveryownersclub.org Mark Hooghiemstra Scotland LSR The Cottage, Wood of Aldbar, Brechin, Angus, DD9 6SZ Tel: 01307 830441, Email: scotslsr@discoveryownersclub.org
From the Editor’s Keyboard - Horness Spencer Welcome everyone to the long awaited Discourse 16. It has been a long time coming, and as new Editors we have had a steep learning curve to contend with, with a few failed hill starts thrown in for good measure. When I was on the “other side of the pen” so to speak, and waiting patiently for Discourse to arrive I never realised the amount of work involved to put together a few pages of text, some photo’s and send it off to be printed. Like The Club, the one thing that Discourse relies on more than it’s Editors or publisher however is you. In this issue we see some show round up’s from LRW and the ARC, one man’s Land Rover Experience, and an overview of the new Discovery 3. Land Rover have announced details of their Global Challenger for 2005, along with a new business initiative to support the classic Range Rover and Discovery Series 1 with original parts. Finally we have more activities for the Discovery Juniors (and the big kid members) along with discounts on servicing and parts from MJA Land Rover, and tyres from Black Circle Tyres. Discourse has been brought to you by the words “why” and “me”, and the number “16”.
Horness.
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Land Rover News
Global Challenge 2005 LAND ROVER ANNOUNCES GLOBAL ADVENTURE CHALLENGE FOR 2005 Gaydon, Warwickshire, 15 June 2004 - From the jungles of Southeast Asia to the high plains of South America; the 2005 Land Rover G4 Challenge promises to be even tougher and more spectacular than the inaugural 2003 event. This time the action starts amongst the intensity of Bangkok city, and ends at high altitude on the plains of Bolivia. In between lie thousands of miles of vehiclebased adventure, strategy and sweat, with a new Range Rover as the ultimate prize. All Land Rover models will be used during the 2005 Challenge, including the all-new Discovery 3, as well as a fifth vehicle that is yet to be announced. These near-standard vehicles will form the base of operations for the competitors as they bike, climb, kayak and 4x4 drive their way towards victory. Painted in a custom orange body colour, the vehicles will not only carry an array of equipment that will aid the competitors in their global quest for victory, but will also form an integral part of the competition, with daily 4x4 driving challenges.
During the 2003 Challenge, former fighter pilot Rudi Thoelen made history by becoming the first winner of the Land Rover G4 Challenge. The Belgian’s resolve, driving ability, stamina and mental agility were the key elements that put him ahead of the pack. “I had nothing left at the end,” says Thoelen of his victory. “The Challenge pushed me further than I had ever been pushed before. It is a tough test of both body and mind. And I can still hardly believe that I won it!”
Are you ready to apply? Are you ready to test your physical and mental endurance to the limit? Do you have the guts to tackle the jungles of Southeast Asia and the high plains of South America? Do you have the stamina and skill to climb, bike, kayak and drive in demanding urban and remote challenges? Can you compete against the world’s toughest men and women from 18 Nations across the globe? The application form for the 2005 Land Rover G4 Challenge is now available from http://www. landroverg4challenge.com, the deadline for UK applicants is October 29th 2004, at 1700 hours. For the 2005 Land Rover G4 Challenge our participating countries are: Argentina, Australia, Belgium and Luxembourg, Brazil, Chile and Costa Rica, France, Germany, Greece,
“The first Land Rover G4 Challenge proved itself as one of the toughest, most spectacular adventure challenges in the world,” says Matthew Taylor, managing director, Land Rover. “Its authenticity and global reach allowed us to prove that Land Rover is synonymous with adventure. And in 2005 we will be doing it again.” Working in bi-national teams, men and women representing 18 nations will pit stamina and skill in an arena stretching across four countries on two continents, over a four-week period in October 2005. From 21 June 2004, would-be competitors can apply online at www.landroverG4challenge.com, or complete an entry form at their local Land Rover dealership. With many thousands of entries expected, each nation will hold a ‘national selections’ event, in order to identify its top three competitors. These competitors then go through to ‘international selections’, which will be held at Eastnor Castle in the UK. Ultimately only one competitor will be chosen to represent his or her nation in the 2005 Land Rover G4 Challenge.
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Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Russia, Taiwan, Turkey and United Kingdom.
Lighter Land Rovers Land Rover is looking at shaving pounds off the weight of its next-generation 4x4s with lightweight technology similar to that found in Jaguar’s latest XJ. The new Discovery 3 already has an aluminium bonnet and tail gate, and a prime candidate to follow it would be a new Range Rover. The move would improve fuel economy and emissions, and help meet pedestrian impact laws.
News
Support for classics
4 x 4 = 17?
LAND ROVER CREATES CLASSIC PARTS BUSINESS INITIATIVE
RAC RESPOND TO KEN’S CLAIMS
Land Rover has announced the creation of the Land Rover Classic Parts (LRCP) business initiative. Due to the high levels of vehicle retention and customer loyalty found within the Land Rover brand, it is acknowledged that older vehicles within the range require focused support. This initiative is to ensure customer satisfaction and consistent availability of parts, to allow owners to keep their vehicles on the road with the confidence and reliability from using Genuine Land Rover Parts. The Land Rover Classic Parts business unit will manage the purchase, warehousing, distribution and promotion of
Following suggestions that the owners of 4x4 vehicles should pay double the congestion charge in London, taxed more and banned altogether from some places, the RAC Foundation has called for a calm examination of the facts - asserting that not all 4x4’s are gas guzzlers. Some 4x4’s are, say the RAC, actually cleaner, greener, smaller, shorter and safer than many standard saloons and even people carriers. The RAC has contrasted some of the claims made by politicians with the realities in a bid to clarify the argument: Environment: Claim: All 4x4’s are bad for the environment. Reality: The average CO2 of a dual-purpose 4x4 is more than 12 per cent lower than most luxury saloons and on a par with emissions from executive and sports cars. Most vehicles sold in the 4x4 segment are diesel variants; they have better fuel consumption and emit less CO2 than petrol models. Many manufacturers are also working to bring alternative fuel versions to market.
genuine Land Rover parts for specific older models. From launch in October, the programme will cover the Range Rover Classic (1970 – 1994) and Discovery Series I (1989 to 1994 MY). To further enhance the programme an all-new Land Rover Classic identity has been developed, which will enable customers to relate to the brand and feel assured in the knowledge, that all products offered within this programme are 100% Genuine Land Rover Parts. As with all Genuine Land Rover Parts the Classic Range will be available via the Land Rover approved franchised dealer network. This programme will be administered separately from the Land Rover mainstream parts business. All of the commercial and logistical functions will be co-ordinated by Unipart Logistics through the Automotive Business Unit in Cowley, Oxfordshire. With the public launch of the programme scheduled for the International Classic Motor show at the NEC, Birmingham on 22-24 October, exciting plans are already in place to ensure Land Rover owners see the benefits of this new business focus before the end of 2004.
Size: Claim: All 4x4’s are two tonne monsters that take up more road space, so increasing congestion. Reality: While often taller than other models, some of the most popular 4x4s are narrower and shorter than the average saloon car. Research shows that 71% of owners of a 4x4 model with three rows of seats regularly use them. Safety: Claim: All 4x4’s pose a threat to other road users and pedestrians, beyond that associated with normal saloon cars. Reality: Improvements to front end design of many 4x4’s have resulted in them increasingly scoring well on pedestrian protection in EuroNCAP tests. Lifestyle: Claim: All 4 x 4’s are an aspirational product driven by rich, urban women to do the shopping. Reality: They may be chosen because of the capacity and storage they offer, their performance, driving position, style, safety or suitability for the environment in which they travel. Edmund King, Executive Director of the RAC Foundation added “In a democracy there is no place for politicians or the anti car brigade telling motorists what vehicle they may or may not drive. Perhaps this is more about the politics of envy rather than the politics of democracy.”
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Recent Event News LRW Show (19th & 20th June 2004) As most of you may be aware this year sees the fifteenth year since the launch of the Discovery. So with that in mind I set about getting a collection of Discovery’s to put on the stand at Eastnor, which just happens to be one of the places that Land Rover used on the launch, how do I know this, simple really, I was at Eastnor for the press day driving a around in a Range Rover. Thanks to an old school friend who worked on the “Jay” project and his dad who was a senior member of the management. Anyway as the LSR for the “Worc’s group” I volunteered that as Eastnor was on our door step so to speak, that we as the local section should organise, setup & staff the club stand. I had an idea of what I wanted to do and how to lay out the stand, now it was a case of getting to grips with the people who run the show. After a few e-mails between the LRW magazine and me, a pitch was organised and the ticket allocation sorted out it was down to making phone calls or posting e-mails to various club members to see if they would put their car on the stand. After a while a plan of how many cars would fit on the stand was drawn up and then a short list of the different types of Discovery was made. So the begging phone calls and e-mails started. After a chance meeting with a gentleman from the Land Rover experience team, a name was gained as a contact point to borrow a G4 spec car. A camel was proving to be hard, until Alan Smart pointed me in the direction of the ARC Chairman, A quick 5minute chat at the Heritage run day back in May secured his camel for the stand. Now a G-WAC was needed, but who’s? Another phone call to Alan gave me my lead. Email was posted to one of the founders of the Discovery Owners Club, and Mr Capewell agreed to place his car on the stand. Things were going great at this stage, I had names and confirmations for all the 300 series motors, A Td5 modified declined the offer as he was going on
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another club stand, and a 2003 modified was another elusive car, when I found one, again it was going on another stand. Then there is the MPI version, I knew of only one within the club, after checking with Alan, he confirmed it was the only one. So I asked if the owners were up for a weekend of camping & working on the stand, luckily for me they agreed. This planning thing is easy…Then disaster… Two cars were having to pull out…one with head gasket problems and one with diff problems, both were V8s and both were 200 series motors…By the time of the show I had managed to find one replacement but it still left a hole in the line up. I would to thank the following people who gave up their cars for the weekend.
G-WAC = John Capewell MPI = Paul + Debbie Windsor 200Tdi standard = Jon Hunt 200 Tdi modified = George Clover 200 V8 standard = Danny Otter 200 V8 modified = missing from line up 300 Tdi standard =Chris Mayneord 300 Tdi modified = Paul Walker………..oh’ that’s me. 300 V8 standard = Simon Grego 300 V8 modified = Neil Brownlee Td5 standard = Darren Reid Td5 (2003) = John Franics Td5 (2003) = Lourens Breytenbach Camel = Dennis Bourne G4 = Tony Sidwell @ Land Rover Experience I hope that those of you who made the show enjoyed the display and would welcome any comments about the stand. (The committee is dealing with Issues about the club stand location). And as for next years display………….let me think !
Club News
ARC National Rally CLUB WINS ARC TEAM SPIRIT TROPHY At this year’s ARC National Rally the Club again ran the public off road course (Scenic Drive) on the Saturday and Sunday. It was a good event over some “interesting” terrain being an old lead mining area. We started setting out the course on the Thursday and, it seemed, just as we had found a good route, the trials boys decided they wanted to put a section there! Ho hum! At the southern end of the site were the remains of some early open cast mining – large holes with heaps of spoil. The only problem was that over the years the grass and nettles had covered the shape of the landscape. It was then I committed the cardinal sin – I did not walk the terrain before driving and lost the One-Ten down a large hole! Worried looks were exchanged as we hung in our belts and teetered on off-side front and near-side rear wheels. Select diff-lock and reverse and out it popped. I reversed back in my own wheel tracks and got out to look for another route on foot. By Friday night we had an interesting layout – not too challenging to put off the beginners but something for everybody except water – the water hole had sheer sides. There was a steep ascent and descent, rocky bits, side slopes and some very twisty bits in between some of the trials sections. We even had a spot where drivers could safely park and take photos over the stunning views of Carsington Water. We wrote some words for the PA announcement to promote the event emphasising this was a photo opportunity. Saturday dawned misty – very misty. In fact as we took the marshals round to show them the course I could hardly recognise the course. Stunning views? I don’t think so. We got off to a slow start. By mid morning the mist started to lift and the rest of the weekend was glorious sunshine. I lost count how many vehicles we took round but for the two 130s and the German 155 we had to take them round a slightly different route leaving out the tight twists and turns. Many drivers came back for a second go so we must have got it right. It’s difficult to single out anybody for thanks so I’ll just thank all of you who helped make the weekend a success and help promote the Club. So much so, we won the Farvis Spirit of the Event Award that is presented to
the person, team or club who has done most to display the traditional spirit of the event. We were presented with
a shield with the Club’s name engraved upon it by Denis Bourne, Chairman of the ARC. This year’s organisers, Peak and Dukeries Land Rover Club have subsequently asked us to run the scenic drive at their August Bank Holiday inter-club trials event. As a non-competitive member club of the ARC I think we have found our niche – our ability to organise this part of the event.
Discourse finds new Editors It has been a long time coming, but in the end it came down to those Club members who could not get the key in the ignition quick enough to get away. Discourse has a new Editorial team. I am sure everyone will join me in saying a big “THANK YOU!” to Alan Smart for all the effort, hard work, and dedication he has put into Discourse for so long. Taking the place of just this 1 man, are 6 mortal’s. From bottom left we have Vicky Hill, Evie Jones, Eve Evetts. From top left we have Paul Jones, Horness Spencer and Nick Evetts. Paul and Evie will be helping out with advertising and content, Nick and Eve will be proof reading and providing technical input, Vicky the photo’s and I’ll be locked in a dark padded room with a box of crayons and a bottle of glue. Horness Spencer. Discourse Editor.
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Your Say
Members’ Letters New Local Section in the Nottingham Area Last month I posted on the clubs forum a call to any DOC members in the Nottingham area regarding starting a new local section. To date I have only had one reply, and that was from a husband and wife I already know from Clifton. As not all members have access to the Internet or use the forum you may not have seen this. With enough members (eight) attending any new local section can vote or nominate a Local Section Representative (LSR) who will act as a point of contact with the national clubs’ committee. This LSR would also organise any events or activities on behalf of that section. Once a month each section meets for a drink and a chat to discuss outings, off road days, caravan/camping weekends and general days out that members suggest. These events can then be forwarded to the clubs Deputy Chairman for approval as club events open to all members. You will only get out of this club what you put into it, so if you live in the area around Nottingham please get in touch with me via the contact details below. Roger Spencer # 840 Mobile: 07766 222386 Email: rspencer-airedales@ntlworld.com
Tyres and fuel consumption My 300Tdi has now covered over 135,000 miles from new in 1986, of which all but the first 28000 have been on Michelin XPC tyres. I have always kept a full record of my fuel usage etc. and I have recently made a somewhat surprising discovery. Until the beginning of December last, the car has always run on 205/80 x 16 size tyres, but at the last tyre change I decided to fit 235/70 x 16’s Up until that point the overall average fuel consumption was 29.9 mpg with a range between 25.3 up to 36.6. Since changing to the larger tyres my average has dropped to 28.4 mpg with a range of 27.0 to 28.9. Admittedly this is over only 2055 miles and it has been quite cold weather, but it still seems to be a significant decline in economy, bearing in mind that only the tyre size has changed, they are still the same make and type. In all cases tyre pressures are run at about 1 psi above the Discovery handbook figures, so the 205’s were run at 28 F / 38 R and the 235’s are being run at 27 F / 35 R I wonder what would have been my economy if I’d fitted the 235 BFG All Terrains that I considered? John S. Batchelor
Travelling Abroad We go to France many times each year, and as many will know one of the legal requirements for UK drivers is that you must ensure your headlamp beams dip right instead of left. Various options are available, from sticky tape to the shaped panels, to the more expensive “Beam Benders”. Any of these can prove expensive if you are a regular traveller to Europe. The solution? I have always used genuine Land Rover headlmap protectors at around £35 per pair. Buying a second yellow tinted pair has allowed me to epoxy resin the Beam Bemders to the headlamp protectors making them permanent fixtures. This means a quick change while at the ferry port, and we are ready to hit the roads of France without the fear of being stopped by “Les Gendarmes”. Nick Evetts Daytime Running Lights In many Scandinavian countries but more recently in Italy and Slovinia, you are required to drive on dipped during the day. This poses additional loads on th alternator and battery of about 140 watts and another 40 watts when towing a trailer. This equates to 0.8 litres / 100 kms as well as premature wear on the bulbs. Changing either front or rear bulbs on an early Discovery is a fiddly and ticklish job! Hella offers a new daytime running light with a nice clear glass design with 123 reflectors behind a crystal lens and only 30watts consumption the pair. Using the wiring kit, the lamps automatically come on and go off when you switch on or off the ignition, but will go out when headlights are used. So whether the sun is bright or it’s a dull and grey day, others can see you and you are doing your bit for road safety. The Hella kit comprises two lamps, universal mounting brackets, wiring harness and relay as well as instructions. The lamps are long life and do not have replaceable bulbs. I mounted the lights on the upperside of the front bumper and the rlay next to the heater plug relay. In all it will take a garage about 1.5 hours and the kit costs about £40. See www.hella.com for more details. Diether Hoffmann
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Discovery Juniors
Uncle
George Glover Here
I have a cuddley toy for the under 5’s and a pair of Cinema tickets for the first correct entries out of the hat for both the 5-11’s and 12-17’s. Under 5’s - I would like you to paint or colour me a picture of my Discovery Liberty see cover of last Discourse (Issue 15). 5 to 11’s - Identify this vehicle from these clues
Q: What’ s big and grey with horns? A: An elephant marching band!
Hi all Mad George here again with another DJ’s page. In this edition we have more prizes to give away, and a chance to see you in action in the next edition of Discourse!
(1) Series 1, 200 Tdi (2) It’s rather stuck up (3) It also has +2’s 12 to 17’s - Answer me these questions
DISCO KIDS Been caught in the act? Lurking around, striking a pose, or just plain messing in the mud, if there is a photo of you and your Discovery, ask your parents to send it in. The best ones will be printed right here. Please remember to ask permission before sending any of those precious family photos.
Teacher: Why does the statue of liberty stand in New York harbour? Pupil: Because it can’t sit down!
(1) Year and month the Discovery was launched in the UK (2) How many different engine sizes has the 200 Tdi. got? (3) What year did Land Rover launch the 300 series?
William Spencer, Aged 18 months
Please send your jokes, stories, photos, paintings or anything else you think should be in Discovery Juniors to:
Uncle
George’s decision is final.
Discovery Juniors Uncle MAD George 158 Malcolm Drive Duston Northampton NN5 5NH Page 9 - Discourse 16
Discovery Juniors Discourse 15 - Discovery Juniors Competition Winners It’s a long time ago, but in Discourse 15 we held a series of competitions for our younger readers. Thanks to everyone who sent in their answers, here are the winners:
Sean Gregory (Aged 4) Painted us this superb picture of “Dizzy” which is Daddy’s discovery named by Sean.
Andrew Bastin and Jessica Gormin were the lucky winners of the Word Search competition.
Uncle George signing off. Thanks to everyone who entered the competitions in the last issue, I look forward to hearing from even more Discovery Juniors, and giving away more great prizes.
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The Glove Box
From The Forum (http://www.doc-forum.org.uk)
The Glove Box.
Diesel fuel additive
Not quite big enough for the rest of the magazine, but still worthy of a mention.
...I bought the Forte Diesel Fuel Treatment, easy to use, just remove the fuel filter, empty the diesel and then fill it up with the additive and screw back on, prime the fuel lift to get rid of any air. Start up and that’s it. About 3/4 of the bottle fits in the filter, the rest I mixed with the diesel and poured in the tank. I left the engine tick over for a few minutes and then took it for a run up the road, instantly noticed the difference, sharper acceleration and much quieter too!! Highly recommended at around £13. (Stefan Tapp, #89) ...You need to use an additive on an ongoing basis as the DS1 fuel pump was not designed to run on low sulphur diesel. When I had a DS1 I used the Millers additive, specially designed to prevent damage due to low sulphur. When I first used it my MPG dropped foe a few thousand miles and then improved to better than before I started using it. At one measure per 20 litres a bottle lasts for ages. (John Francis, #547)
Long Weekend? Land Rover are currently planning a weekend “Adventures” programme at the world-famous Carnegie Club, which also runs The Land Rover Driving Academy. Dates for 2004 and 2005 are to be confirmed.
Aucunes Quatre Unités de Roue ! Paris could soon be off limits to 4x4 owners. Officials there have drawn up plans that would ban SUVs when air pollution is high. But the move doesn’t go far enough for some. The city’s deputy mayor for transportation, Denis Baupin, wants mud-pluggers off the streets permanently.
Trading Post
End of the Line
Something to sell, something cluttering up your garage, or are you seeking that elusive part or tool for the job? Here is the place to ask.
The last ever Discovery 2 rolled off the production line at Lode Lane recently. Launched in 1989, over 670,000 DII’s were produced.
WANTED Interior spares “stone” colour to suit 1990 Discovery, especially drivers door handle, and rear door cover. Contact Paul Jones on - 07930 128 333.
Discounts
Mechanical Terms As many can assure, working on your pride and joy can be a daunting task. With differentials, drive shafts and dampers lurking under there, those terms and tools can be all but a mystery to some. Just for fun, Discourse lends an oily hand.
Discount Parts & Servicing This month MJA Land Rover are not only moving to bigger premises, but they have kindly offered a discount scheme for all Discovery Owners Club members. 10% of workshop labour and up to 50% off parts can be yours, all you have to do is show your membership card. MJA are moving (see page 19) but should be available on 01527 837058 by the time you read this.
Discount Tyres Black Circle Tyres are offering members “substantial discounts” for Discovery Owners Club members. Log on to their web site www.blackcircles.com and enter discount code DISCOOC and off you go. With over 700 fitting stores nationwide, they claim to have all brands in all sizes at lower prices. You can even pre-book a fitting appointment.
Rotate Anti-clockwise: Clamp with mole grips and then beat repeatedly with a hammer in an anticlockwise direction. If this fails, better try clockwise to be sure. Hammer: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer is now used as divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object you are trying to hit.
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Members’ Stories
Land Rover Experience Every new Land Rover buyer receives (eventually, in my case) a voucher for a half day 4x4 Experience at one of LR’s nine centres around the country. I chose to have my experience at Coniston Cold just outside Skipton on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. The centres are all part of Land Rover franchise and this one is operated by Ronnie Dale who is well known in the off-road World. Lined up outside were an assortment of Land Rover current products sporting silver livery and the logo of the “Land Rover Experience 4x4 Driving” with roof racks and roof mounted spotlights (albeit not wired up!). The Reception Centre is a jungle-style timber lodge constructed in 2002, containing reception, lounge area and conference room. There was a welcoming and friendly atmosphere. In addition to your free “experience”, you can opt for single occupancy (one-to-one training), taking another driver/passenger or extending to a full day of accredited
training. Each option is £50+VAT. I opted for a full day of Level 1 training. The first part kept us in the conference room for a classroom session and introductions for the six participants, who each declared what they wanted from the visit. Ronnie then took us through the various driveline parts and how two wheel drive and 4x4 systems work, using some rather good Lego Technics models with working diffs. He also covered loss of traction, differential locking, ABS and traction control systems. Some of those present were very non-mechanical so this was a sound start for them and the explanations of traction control, ABS and the role of the centre diff were very good. We were introduced to our instructors and sent of to our vehicles. There was one taker for the Automatic Discovery (a familiar looking Tangiers Orange G4, as pictured), two in an Range Rover, one in a Freelander and two of us in a silver manual Disco; myself and Gary Ellis from United Utilities in the Northwest, who had paid for the day out of his own pocket (no new car voucher). Our instructor was Adrian Whitehead, a self confessed Classic Range Rover enthusiast and Defender Owner from Ripon who, lucky for us, also runs the Level 2 courses at Coniston.
Discourse 16 - page 12
After a basic mechanical walk round and underbonnet checks, Adrian drove us down the road to a nearby pub car park to demonstrate the difference between amounts of available left and right lock (not many people know that, I didn’t) and how to shift from high ratio to low and back on the move. This sounds obvious but it was nice to learn and practice Low 4th to High 2nd shifting in one go. The two-year old Disco was pre-reinstatement of manual diff lock so that “shift” was missing compared with my own vehicle. We went back to the centre to join the G4 on some rollers where loss of traction could be demonstrated on one wheel or two, to show the differentials in operation both with and without the diff- lock engaged and, covering various methods of regaining traction by use of the vehicles braking systems, manually or by the Traction Control System. Interesting! At last we set off round the part of the course visible from the A59 with side slopes, axle twisters and inclines to negotiate. Gary and I took turns at the driving and Adrian gave us encouragement and correction as necessary. Note in the picture below that the ACE-equipped vehicle has a much softer anti-roll bar and therefore better wheel articulation than the non-ACE, like mine, which has a stiffer anti-roll bar as there are no hydraulic rams to help minimise rolling on cornering. In low box (as we were) the ACE is disabled. Such things were all discussed and practised to keep in mind for the day. We left the “arena”, which is misleading to passers by as it is only a tiny part of the available terrain, and set off across some fields towards the woods. Here I learnt something new - the importance of the differentials and the use of the difflock under emergency braking in slippery conditions. I was asked to set off at speed downhill on the grass field and, using the scenario of someone stepping out in front of us at a set point, Adrian had me perform an emergency stop. I knew the ABS would kick in so I hit clutch and brake in the classic way. Then Adrian told me to reverse up and repeat the operation again but keeping the clutch engaged to the last moment - the result was amazing, with all four wheels now braking together the stopping distance was dramatically reduced and I felt much more in control the vehicle. Even more benefit is gained with diff lock engaged and I suggest you try this under controllable conditions or with an expert.
Members’ Stories
Gary took his turn at this and then we went on. We drove off to the woods in another part of the estate with some longer hills and did the usual failed hill climb, use of highest gear ascending and lowest descending, etc., loss of traction, stall on ascent recovery etc.. I had already got this sorted after my earlier session with Owen Welford at the North Yorkshire Off-Road centre in Robin Hoods Bay so was able to help Gary along. We drove up and down various slopes and traversed side slopes. It is amazing the angle these vehicles will go to.
drove the section with few problems, just had a bit of hesitation letting the ruts guide the wheels and Adrian reminded him not to overuse the steering wheel. We went back past the lodge to the Coniston Hall Hotel in whose grounds we were located for pre-ordered sandwiches with chips and a drink of choice during a half-hour break. We mixed with the normal residents who seemed totally un-fazed by our presence (the other LR participants having left after their half day). The grounds are also used for shooting and there was a fair bit of coming and going all day.
At one point Adrian had Gary driving a gently sloping gravel road in high range without the use of the throttle in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and NO stalls, demonstrating just how good the engine management control system is on the Td5 at idle. Next we moved on to another field called “The Play Pen� which contained some more slopes, ditches and a V-gulley. All these obstacles are designed to take the various Land Rover Products to their maximum limits and show their full potential to their owners. There are some tennis balls on strings in various places that are used for points scoring in the corporate entertaining and team building events that they do. This account for about 50% of their business.
After lunch it was my turn in the play pen, through the water hazard, up the stair case, etc. After that, Adrian took us to an area normally held back for the Level 2 courses (we must have been doing OK!) and a fearsome descent into a muddy hollow with uphill exits in two directions and a very wet downhill exit. The decent was not a slope on which you could readily Continued on page 16
The final part of the morning was spent in another different area which was accessed by a log bridge and gave access to some more slopes, some very deep ruts (just kissing the bottom of the diff) and some water hazards. No deep wading was involved and no need for bow wave techniques though, just sensible off-road driving. The rutted section was one I would have avoided but Gary
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Discovery Owners Club - Local Section Map
Discourse 16 - page 14
Recent Events
Key: 1. Cornwall, Devon 2. Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Cambridgeshire 3. Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and South Birmingham 4. Shropshire, Staffordshire and North Birmingham 5. Pembroke, Carmarthen, Powys, Monmouth, Cardiff and Swansea and Ceredigion 6. Gwynedd, Conwy, Anglesey, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham 7. Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bristol 8. Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire 9. Wiltshire, Hampshire and Isle of Wight 10. Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 11. London and Essex 12. Surrey, Kent and Sussex 13. Norfolk and Suffolk 14. Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire 15. Derbyshire, South Yorkshire and Cheshire 16. North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire 17. Lancashire, Manchester and Merseyside 18. Cumbria, Durham and Isle of Man 19. Northumberland 20. Scotland 21. Northern Ireland 22. Somerset and Dorset
For up detail y s Con our o on se 079 tact P wn se tting 39 4 c 119 aul Wa tion, 95 lke r
Local sections This is a quick idea on what you would need to be able to set up your local Discovery Owners Club Section. 1) Find a suitable room, a friendly pub or hotel is the ideal place. 2) Best move is to get to know the landlord, find out when is his quiet night? Hold the meeting on that night, (kill two birds with one stone) - the landlord gets customers, and you get a cheap or free room. (Please note the club will not pay for room hire for local sections). 3) Car Parking. You need to find a pub which has a large car park, Discoverys are big vehicles and take a lot of space up, even when parked bumper to bumper. Also ensure that you can use the car park out of pub hours as a gathering place, for when you go green laning or to hold the start of events. 4) Pick a central location, within your area for the meetings, this will allow even mileage for people to drive to the meet. The country has been split up into areas (see map). This is for your information so that you know how big areas can get. 5) Once you have got a few people together for your first meeting. You will need to decide who is going to be the Local Section Representative (LSR). They will need to be voted into position. The correct paperwork is now available from the Club Vice-chairman. Please note, the roll of rep is for the period of one year only, and must be voted on every year. 6) A decent and upto date head & shoulders photograph is needed of the rep, this is for inclusion in the Club’s magazine, “Discourse”. 7) Once you have completed 1-6, contact the vice-chairman again, and he will start the ball rolling, with regards to the web site & forum details. Also the club membership secretary will send you an upto date list of members that live in your area. You will also get from the vice-chairman a Rep’s pack, which is a bunch of papers, on how to run the local section.
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Members’ Stories Continued from page 13 stand up. We inspected the ground and Adrian asked Gary to take us down into the hollow and attempt to exit straight on up the other side. The descent was fine and we came to a stop at the bottom ready to attack the exit hill. Gary had several goes at this but failed to clear it. Various levels of attack and use of 2nd and 3rd gear. He tried moving to the side but tended to loose momentum while trying to steer out of the ruts. Lots of failed hill climb practice and a sticky clutch (that had bothered us from time to time during the day) made for immediate use of reverse rather difficult. We backed up and took the less steep exit to the left after several attempts to traverse the sticky muddy patch, traction control doing overtime! We then exited the field at its lowest point and returned to the top for my turn. Based on the previous experience, Adrian decided that
the straight on approach was not possible – I would have liked a go as Gary had been close and if he had left the wheels to run in the ruts, I thought we could have made it. However, you follow instructions and Adrian asked me to negotiate the descent and exit left. Having checked the ground, I decided to do this in one smooth move, keeping momentum from the descent to help with the incline. All went well on the descent, with a nice controlled run and just a tickle of throttle to regain traction near the bottom then at the lowest point, round to the left and up into second for the climb out… then we ground to a halt with a box full of neutrals as the clutch would not clear to let second gear engage. Now we were stuck at an angle, slightly up the slope and with a wet patch behind! Several attempts, lots of power, lots of traction control and much steering wheel rocking eventually saw us out but it was a close thing as there was very little traction. Adrian said that the last resort would have been a bold reverse with enough momentum to carry us through the wet patch – glad we didn’t get to that. A quick visit back to the stream crossing got the worst of the mud off and then we went back to the Lodge for a debrief (marks out of 10 for the place, the car, the instructor, etc.) a final tea and biscuits before issuing of the Level 1 certificate and off home. The Level 2 course is £300 +VAT so I won’t be going for that for a while, if ever. I enjoyed the day. It was good to practice existing skills and learn some new ones. I gathered confidence in the traction control that I now have and better understand the technology that Land Rover builds into the car for the average user that can be beneficially circumvented by those in the know. If you or anyone you know is buying a new Land Rover, make sure you take up the offer of the half day training. Most DOCs will know a lot more than me but I’m sure every individual will get something out of it. Even if you don’t buy a new vehicle, you can book a Land Rover Experience at any time. By the way, I think I may have successfully recruited Gary to DOC! Chris Bale (#311)
Discourse 16 - page 16
Members Stories Back to the fold It was December 2002 when I sold my Discovery TD5. I wanted something faster, and a 2nd vehicle for off road use. So I decided to sell the TD5 and buy an MG ZT and a Land Rover 90. I managed to pick up a 2001 fully loaded ZT and a 1988 2.5 Genuine County 90 for off road use. I didn’t initially miss the Discovery, I certainly didn’t miss the speed (or lack of) and the huge main dealer under warranty stitch you up 24,000 mile £750 service bills!! The ZT was a snip at £189 for 30,000 mile services and boy was it fast! The 90 was great, he was 15 years old, 48,000 miles on the clock and despite some slight ali corrosion on the body was in very good condition, inside and underneath, and of course, kept my passion for Land Rover alive! After a very near miss in the ZT I decided to go back to another Land Rover, in addition to the 90. I contemplated a Defender, but soon had to rule that out for practicality reasons. So it was to be a Discovery, but what? TD5 or 300Tdi? I decided that as I really wanted to do the servicing myself and also to tuck a little money away for a rainy day, I’d go for a 300Tdi, but it had to be a specific model. I kind of like the finer things in life, my good wife is testimony to that, so I decided nothing less than an ES Premium would suffice, and it had to be a 1998 ‘R’ or above. Do you know how rare those things are!! I looked for weeks in Autotrader, being prepared to travel anywhere in the UK for one. A garage just a stone throw from where I live had one, in ‘immaculate’ condition it said. I went for a look and his idea of ‘immaculate’ was a little different to mine! Not to mention the hideous metallic green it was in, not Epsom, but lighter and brighter, and certainly, in my opinion, not worth the £10,995 asking price! A few more came along, but unfortunately all in Epsom green, a colour we had on the old V8 ES, but of course we now wanted a different colour. We then settled on Oxford blue and set about weeding the ads down to that colour only, even more rare on the used market. Then a possible came along, an advert on the Autotrader website for a 1998 ‘R’ ES Premium Auto Tdi in Stratford-Upon-Avon, for £8,700!! I rang the number fully expected to be greeted with a ‘sorry, it’s
sold’, but no, it was still for sale and with 90,000 miles on the clock with full history, was well within the acceptable mileage limit I wanted. We despatched ourselves to look at it that evening, a round trip of 220 miles and certainly weren’t disappointed, the bodywork was mint, the underneath was clean and only the usual slight oil leaks under the bonnet. It was a 2-owner vehicle and the current owner an art dealer was selling it to by a Mercedes SLK something or other. We discussed the price, he reminded me that the going price was around £10,500 for one of these, but he needed a quick sale and we finally settled on £8,500 a damn fine bargain. He knocked another £100 off as the CD changer was knackered and we agreed I would pick it up that weekend. I collected it that weekend and drove home, a pleasant drive too; it just felt right to be back behind the wheel of a Discovery! When I got home I did a few checks, a couple of niggling things that didn’t work, the rear height adjust motor on the drivers seat was playing up, it was just a bit sticky. A couple of blown bulbs and an oil leak from the front of the sump. I checked the sump bolts, only to find they weren’t even finger tight, so I tightened them to the correct torque and put 3.5 litres of oil in the engine to bring it up to max!!!! The light stone leather seats needed a bit of a clean, and a few scrub downs with Autoglym leather cleaner and cream, provided some improvement, but after a quick chat with Neil Brownlee who suggested baby wipes, the seats have come up a treat, and a much more pleasant smell than Autoglym too!! So all in all, we’re very pleased with the Discovery, of course there’s the usual things that a Discovery of this age needs attention to, the oil leak has gone but a slight one from between the transfer box and gearbox exists, a slight weep from the oil cooler pipes needs attention along with the usual slight corrosion spots, but at the end of the day, for £8,500 I’m over the moon. Here’s to many more happy years as a Discovery (and 90) owner. Stefan Tapp (#89)
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Committee Corner
Committee Corner Your Committee met on Sunday 1st August 2004. INVENTORY OF CLUB STOCK & PROPERTY Attention all members. I am about to prepare an inventory of the club’s stock & property. Would any members who know the whereabouts of any stock or property, which is not stored in the club trailer, please contact me. The committee is particularly keen to track down the club’s gazebo, petty cash box, two green table covers and banner, as these items would have been most useful at the shows the DOC have attended so far this year. Your help in this matter will be very much appreciated. _________________ Paul Walker Vice-Chairman
AGM VENUE CHANGE FOR 2005 I have contacted another venue in the Warwick area with a view to moving the AGM. As Gaydon now charges for entry and most of you have been there before I propose we should try elsewhere. The new venue will have facilitys for a social event after the meeting and accomodation for those who require it. I am also considering changing the start time of the AGM to 1pm. _________________ Tim Arnold Events Co-ordinator
Discourse 15 Crossword Answers
Discourse is YOUR magazine That’s right, you. Discourse is a club magazine, produced by members of The Club, using articles submitted by members of The Club. If you do not contribute, then the hard working Editors cannot put together a 28 page magazine, and have it sent lovingly to your door every 2 months. If you have any material, no matter how small or trivial it may seem that you think could make it to these very pages, please do not hesitate to send it to us. Without the members of The Club contributing, there is no Discourse. This is a simple fact. If you have any ideas for content, layout or something you feel is missing from Discourse, please let me know. Documents can be submitted electronically in any of the popular formats. Please remember to send the original image, rather than a scaled down one if your article includes photo’s so that it can be reproduced as clearly as possible. Articles are also welcome on good old parchment, where we can scan them and have them in to Discourse in no time at all. Thank you for any contributions. Horness Spencer editor@discoveryownersclub.org
Crossword devised by James Ferguson.
Discourse 16 - page 18
Technical 1” Lift Here is a novel way of lifting your Discovery up by an inch without the pain, cost and hassle of replacing the standard springs and shocks. All you will need is four pieces if 4 inch diameter aluminium, each one, one inch thick. You can buy this from any decent metal stockists for a fiver each, or have them made up by a local engineering firm for a few quid more. Once you have drilled a few holes into them they will fit under the suspension spring retaining seats, thus lifting your Discovery up by the same amount. Starting with the rear spacer’s, find the centre of the 4 inch aluminium section and drill two 10mm holes 75mm apart, that’s 37.5 mm on each side of the centre point. Jack up your vehicle allowing the rear springs to extend as far as possible, support the chassis on axle stands and remember to apply the hand brake and chock the front wheels. Remove the spring retaining plate and attach a set of coil spring compressors and compress the spring. Lift up the lower retaining plate and slide the aluminium spacer underneath, lining up the holes with the captive nuts under the retaining plate. At this point you will have snapped off at least one of the spring retaining plate bolts, so either drill out the remain-
ing part of the bolt or grind off the captive nut and secure the retaining plate, spacer and spring retaining seat with two 50mm x 10mm bolts and nyloc nuts. Remove the spring compressors then stick the wheel back on and repeat on the whole procedure for the other rear spring. For the front you will need to drill an additional hole in the centre of the aluminium spacer to allow the front shock mounting to pass through, this hole will need to be at least 35 mm depending on the make of shock you have on your vehicle. You should end up with a chunk of metal that resembles a ring doughnut with two smaller holes either side of the large centre hole. The front installation is the same as for the rear, except that you will need to unbolt the bottom of the shock absorber and pass it through the centre of the spacer once you have installed it under the spring retaining seat, then bolt the spacer, retaining plate and spring seat back into place. The whole operation should take about 30 min for each spacer. When all four spacers are installed, stand back and admire your taller Disco. Wizard (Gerard Brooks)
MJA Are Moving DISCOUNT FOR CLUB MEMBERS MJA Land Rover are not only moving to bigger premises to accommodate more vehicles to fit in to their busy schedule, and a larger parts department to cope with demand, but they have also kindly offered a discount scheme to any Discovery Owners Club member who shows their membership card. Discount on workshop labour of 10%, and a discount on parts from 10% to 50% is on offer. By the time you read this, MJA should have finished their move to the following address: MJA Land Rover, Unit BH8 Buntsford Hill Business Park, Buntsford Hill Road, Bromsgrove B60 3DX Tel 01527 837058 Web site: http://www.mjalandrover.com
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Advertisement Feature
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Technical Headlamp Levelling If you are like me you get to feel a little guilty when the back of the Disco is loaded up and you start to blind oncoming drivers. I use to console myself with the idea that I just couldn’t help it and they would have to suffer, especially as it cost a small fortune to have the dealer do it when the tow-bar was put on and must therefore be difficult to do. How wrong I was.
verse way around to the holes in the existing ’95 model, the picture below shows old to the left and new to the right.
I put a question out on our Tech forum and was told that a 95 300TDI should already have all the wiring in place. To the dismay of the neighbours I had the bonnet up and was shining a torch around at 11pm, and yes I did have the wiring there, a small black 3 wire connector with each headlight and a larger white 6 connector block behind the dial position.
Adding the motors to the headlamps is almost as simple, but first find a wall and mark on it the current height of the beams. You can now remove the headlamp as if you are replacing a bulb, and pull off the lower adjuster. Connect the motor to the black connector and mount the motor in the headlamp surround, as shown below.
Next question was where to get a kit from. A scrap vehicle was suggested but I didn’t know of any, so I went looking around the various spares websites not expecting to find anything as they are supposed to be rare. Luckily only my third site turned up the goods, FamousFour had them and a later email confirmed they had quite a few. A short phone call later and I had done the deed and they were in the post to me for around £45 including VAT and postage. I was just as surprised to receive them the very next morning. The kit consists of two motors, a dial, and the trim to put the dial in. You need the trim because the dial and position scale are the re-
Installation is straight forward, remove mirror switch, replace the trim, put mirror switch back, add levelling switch and plug it in.
To complete the task put the headlamp back into position, do the same to the other and you are almost finished. The only thing remaining is to turn the level dial to zero and adjust the headlights back to where they previously were, preferably using the same wall and marks you made prior to starting. If you missed that step you will need to borrow another Disco to set to the marks up, just like I had to! Time taken to complete, 10-15 minutes, cost £45. Why did I wait 8 years …… Part numbers: STC8938AA Kit-Levelling H/Lamp FAV101160LNF Bezel-Facia Other stockists: Swindon All-Terrain Rovers (Bearmach), approx £32 for STC8938AA (inc. VAT)
Mark Sims
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Discovery 3
Discovery 3 Arrives. DISCOURSE WELCOMES A NEW MEMBER
Inside we see more radical changes. The traditional Discovery interior has been completely redesigned using the same theme as the new Range Rover (2002 model onwards), a theme that Land Rover believe they can apply in other vehicles such as the next generation of Freelander.
15 Years since the first Discovery launch and those unforgettable pictures of G WAC’s cluttering for space in every Land Rover magazine and motor press release, and now the vehicle that invented the “Family 4x4” market takes a bold new step in what could be the riskiest move to date for Land Rover. The question on everyone’s The new Discovery (or LR3 as it will be lips however is how does the “The [new] Discovery is designed, known in the United States) shares very engineered, and built by us right new Discovery perform on little of it’s predecessors design. Offerand off road? here in England.” ing more classic lines that the designers Matthew Taylor - Managing Director, Land Rover The new T5 modular chassis hope will see the Discovery 3 age slowly, and Integrated Body frame and keep the lions share of the Family construction mean that this 4x4 market for another decade. new Discovery offers the strength of it’s predecessors along with the level of qualGone are the beam axles, spacious panel fitting and ity found in many of today’s road cars. This new platform, almost iconic rear door mounted spare wheel. This new debuting in the new Discovery will find its way to many Discovery has been re-designed from the inside out, and of the current Land Rover models, including the flagship is set to be Land Rovers biggest revenue earner in the Range Rover. range. Six-speed adaptive automatic transmission is your only One of the biggest changes to our beloved vehicle of option for the V8 model of Discovery, while the V6 diesel choice is in the wheelbase. Changing from 100 inches offers the same six-speed auto, as well as a six-speed to 114 inches, the new Discovery can offer much more manual option. Fuel consumption figures have been anspace inside, and accommodate 7 large adults comfortnounced at 19.5mpg and 28.2mpg for both the V8 petrol ably in it’s 3 rows of theatre style seats (each row of and the V6 diesel respectively. seating is higher than the one in front). These extra 14 An electronically controlled transfer box allows the switch inches however only mean an between low-range and extra 4 inches to the Discovery’s high-range gearing to be full length, just over an inch to it’s done by the press of a width, and thanks to a new susbutton while on the move. pension system, the new DiscovA centre differential will ery is 1 inch lower. lock automatically when The more visible change for many the terrain calls for it, and however has been the move to (if fitted) the new Terrain a split tail door, replacing the traResponse system allows ditional door with mounted spare the rear differential to be wheel. With the extra space now locked as well. available inside the vehicle thanks Terrain Response allows to the longer wheelbase, “third the driver to adjust the row” passengers no longer need way in which the Discovto get into the Discovery 3 using ery performs in accordthe rear door. New suspension ance to its environment. designs along with the changes From General on-road made to the overhang of the vehidriving conditions to wadcle meant that a split tail door was ing through Great British the sensible choice for functionalmud, the Terrain Reity. sponse has a programme to suit. Up on the roof, we see yet more changes. This new An all independent double-wishbone setup front and Discovery is lower then it’s predecessors, seeing the rear has been introduced to the new Discovery to cater traditional “roof step” being reduced to conform with Land for refined on-road handling, and to maintain the off-road Rover’s wishes to reduce the height of the Discovery. abilities that Land Rover are legendary for. Wheel travel Also changing are the roof bars, now integrated and parof 255mm at the front and 330mm at the rear ensure tially countersunk into the roof panels, and finally the new good steering control and traction while off-road. Discovery comes with the option to have three sunroofs Tyres are mounted on alloy wheels and range from 17 fitted to cater for each of the seating positions. inch to 19 inch in sizes 235/70/R17 to 255/55/R19.
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Discovery 3
Safety has also been improved for this new generation of Discovery, bringing it in line with many of the MPV’s currently on the market. All seats are now equipped with a three point seat belt and head restraint. Isofix attachments have also been included on the outer seats of the second row to accommodate the newer child seats now being sold in Europe and North America. Air conditioning now comes as standard on all models, and you can expect the higher specification models to come with automatic climate control. For those climates subjecting the Discovery to more extreme temperatures, optional rear air conditioning is available to keep the occupants comfortable, while diesel owners have the option of a 5kW heater to be fitted to boost the heating capacity. Also making an appearance on the options list are “adaptive headlamps”, which can steer the headlamp beams into corners to improve illumination while driving at night.
In New York, the new Discovery stole the show, and Land Rover’s stand at The Motor Show proved to be the most popular in its history of attending. The main attraction on the stand was of course the Discovery 3, which aroused enormous interest and a fantastic response from those who saw it.
With so many rival vehicles out there, finding a benchWhile for some, the new design “The new car [Discovery] aims to be as mark for the new Discovery good on the road - and even better off it.” may not be what they expected was going to be an ardufor a next generation Discovery, Matthew Taylor - Comparing the current Range Rover to ous task. Bringing together the new Discovery the finished product shows some of the biggest names Land Rover’s determination to in motoring, Land Rover revolutionise the Family 4x4 put the likes of BMW, Volvo and Toyota through their market once again, and to bring the Discovery to the paces at the famous testing grounds at Eastnor. While same iconic status as the Range Rover and Defender impressed with all the offerings their rivals had to offer, models. Land Rover engineers discovered that the perfect comparison was in fact sat in their own garage - the [Horness Spencer] standard by which the new Discovery was to be benchmarked was to be their very own Range Rover. For more information, and to request a brochure, either contact your local dealer, or visit http://www.landrover.co.uk Early Discovery prototypes were built in 2001 from Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers. Both have a 113.8 inch wheelbase, and were perfect for fitting TD V6 V8 the early Discovery interior Engine: 24 Valve V6 Turbo Diesel 32 Valve V8 Petrol designs into. Capacity: 2720cc 4394cc Power: 190bhp 295bhp Three years of testing in Torque: 325lb ft 315lb ft some of the worlds harshTop Speed: 115mph 125mph est conditions, thousands 0-60mph: 12 seconds 8.5 seconds of man hours spent in Transmission: 6 Speed Auto or manual 6 Speed Auto refining the interior after Suspension: Independent double wishbone, coil & air sprung options speaking to hundreds of Wheelbase: 2885mm 2885mm people of all shapes and Brakes F/R: 317/325mm Ventilated discs 337/350mm Ventilated discs sizes, and finally the new Wheels: 235/70/HR17 255/60/VR18 Discovery makes its apWeight: 2708Kg (Manual) 2718Kg (Auto) 2704Kg pearance to the public for Length: 4848mm 4848mm the first time in New York, Width: 2190mm 2190mm followed by The Motor Height: 1887mm 1887mm Show Live held in BirmingFuel Tank: 82 litres 86 litres ham this year.
Discovery 3 (L319) Specification
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Down Your Way ARC International Rally 2004 29th - 31st May 2004 Meadow Farm, Carsington, Derbyshire The Association of Rover Clubs (ARC) holds their main rally at different venues each year and a different club has to host these events. This year it was the turn of the Peak & Dukeries Club from the district of Derbyshire. In November of 2003 a small group visited the site that had been chosen to see if the Discovery Owners Club could once again assist the ARC with a scenic drive. Saturday 29th May 2004, I arrived in glorious sunshine at Meadow Farm looking forward to the weekend of fun and relaxation ahead. Alan Smart and Jan had already set up camp and pegged out some spaces for the other expected members. Just up the way was Tim Arnold camped to the side Dawn Page (Alan’s niece), Andy and family. We were later joined by Neil Brownlee in Piglet and then Rob Reeder in a bright orange 300tdi. Suzy McLachlan and Mike waved as they passed through, Suzy was taking part in the trails so would have been busy getting ready for nerve racking event scrutinising.
Later, after a few jars of squash in the beer tent, just to be sociable of course, and hitting the burger van it was time to get to sleep ready for the next day’s scenic drive. Saturday morning arrived with bright skies shortly followed with….. you guessed it, rain. Not only rain but fog so thick you couldn’t see the temporary village of caravans and tents. But that wasn’t going to spoil the day and a team of members went out to set the route. The clouds lifted, the rain stopped and the sun returned along with some customers. The route meandered through the trialing events and was quiet tame compared to what the main event participants were doing, they made very interesting viewing. The first party we took around consisted of a leader, a sweeper and a paying customer. Later things picked up as word got round that the drive was very enjoyable. There were twists and turns, inclines and declines, a couple of good axle twisters along with a stunning view of Carsington
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Discovery Owners Club Merchandise Waters. By then end of the first day we were taking parties of ten around. It was a good job we had more members turn up to help and not one complaint been made by the paying customers, only compliments. The successful day needed to be celebrated, so it was off to the beer tent again for an orange juice and a boogie to the sounds of the 70’s (showing my age now).
Minerva Land Rover Whilst visiting various places commemorating the D Day landings we came across a MINERVA Land Rover on the outskirts of St-Mère-Eglise. These vehicles were built under license for the Belgium Army from 1952. The Rover company were competing with ‘Willy’s” for this contract. It was suggested that 2,500 would be required; in fact a total of 8,959 were built before the termination of the contract in June 1956. Rover supplied CKD’s (Completely Knocked Down Kits) with CKD chassis numbers. These consisted of the chassis, engine, transmission and other parts. The Minerva Company in Antwerp would then build its own steel body to suit the army. The chassis were later built in Belgium and they were different in a number of ways to the Land Rover chassis (they were box welded and lacked the PTO hole provision in the rear cross member).
Sunday was a glorious day from the moment we arrived at the signing on tent. Steve and Sue Gadd joined us along with Roger (Terrierking) Spencer and Paul Holding’s family to help. I enjoyed the drive that much the groups sometimes had double sweepers as I snuck in extra duties. There was a good atmosphere and everyone was willing to muck in and do their piece. We even had people paying to ride shotgun, although I suspect it was husbands wanting to get their wives out of the way so they could go and spend some money on Land Rover parts and a GPS. The highlight of the day was we took a 130 Defender around that had travelled all the way from Germany. The driver has his own off-road course but thoroughly enjoyed our scenic route. Sadly I couldn’t stay for Monday’s events as work duty called, but as the Comp-Safari event took place there was no scenic drive. It was announced that the Discovery Owners Club members had shown true team spirit over the weekend and was awarded the team spirit shield for their efforts. Well done everyone that helped over the weekend, those driving and the wonderful ladies taking the bookings. An event I look forward to attending next year. Lee Jones.
Minerva employed around 500 qualified workers and produced 50 vehicles a day. All left hand drive, 80-inch wheel base models with a 2-litre engine. An armoured version was produced with heavy plating, armoured glass and machine gun mounts, front and rear. They also produced field ambulance models. In 1953 a civilian version was announced, fitted with 3 seats, a drop-down tailgate and a choice of colours. 1,100 86inch wheelbase vehicles were built in 1954 replacing the 80-inch (as was the case in the UK). The Minerva Company fell into liquidation in 1958. Today the factory site is divided into industrial units. Paul Jones
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Events
What’s On - Tim Arnold Town and Country Show, Stoneleigh The Town and Country at Stoneleigh will be held from the 21st to the 23rd of August this year. The Club will be providing the charity rides on the off-road course to raise money for the air ambulance. Anybody interested in doing this should contact Alan Smart. LRO Show The LRO Show is the biggest Land Rover event in the world and features more exhibitors, vehicles and visitors than any other Land Rover show. The show features a huge exhibition at the East of England Showground and 2 off-road courses. A Family Course based just a few minutes from the Showground at nearby Hampton and an Extreme Course also at at Hampton, strictly for more advanced off-roaders. The show features different ‘Areas’ from clubs and autojumble, to industry exhibitors (i.e 4x4 related) and General Trade (i.e non 4x4 related).
2004 Calendar and Contacts AUGUST 21-23 - Town & Country Show incorporating Caravan/Camping W/E, Stoneleigh. Contact Kim Hollins - 0161 480 7096, 07831 541245 21-22 - National 4x4 Show, Biggleswade: Malcolm Bourne. 01270 627143 28-30 - Caravan/Camping weekend: Kim Hollings 28-30 - Town and Country Show, Stoneleigh: Contact Needed
SEPTEMBER 11-12 - Land Rover Owner Show, Peterborough Contact Chris Gorvin - 01827 261758 10-12 - Major’s Memorial Trial, Eastnor Castle: Alan Smart 25-26 - Abingdon 4x4 Festival: Contact Garry Tredwell - 01235 520240 11-12 - Land Rover Owner Show, Peterborough: Chris Gorvin 17-18 - Belgian National: Neil Brownlee 25-26 - Abingdon 4x4 Festival ? Sep - Langley Farm. Contact Required 30 - Closure Date for Discourse 17 articles: Contact Horness Spencer - 07967 205 071
OCTOBER 3 - London to Brighton Land Rover Run: Dawn Page 02392 261239 16 - Rhino Ark Charge: Tim Arnold 17 - Test Hills Run in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind: Alan Smart 23 - Sodbury Sort Out, Newbury Showground. 01454 323109
This issue of Discourse has been published using Adobe InDesign 2.0 for Mac. © Copyright 2004. The design and layout, use of typestyles, and source files created in the production of this publication are the copyright of the Discovery Owners Club. Special artwork, photographs and images used in this publication are copyright of the originator. No element of it may be copied in full or part in any form without the express written permission to do so.
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Events
Regional Meets Central Southern (8) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
North Worcs / South Midlands (3)
Post Vacant. Paul Walker. tbc tbc tbc
Contact: Tel: Location:
Malcolm Bourne 07746078833 Billing Quays, Northampton, (nr Aquadrome). First Thursday of each month. 7:30 pm onwards
Scotland (20)
When: Time:
Paul Walker. 07939 411995 The White Hart PH, Evesham Road, Redditch, Worcs. Second Tuesday of each month 8:00 pm onwards
Cheshire Contact: Tel. Location: When: Time:
East Sussex (12) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Post Vacant. Paul Walker. tbc tbc tbc
Home Counties North (10) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Post Vacant. Paul Walker. tbc tbc tbc
Don Hoaglin. 01474 707531 Black Lion, Southfleet. First Wednesday of each month. 7:30 pm onwards
Northampton (2) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Frank Bayley. 07973 815 579 Billing Quays, Northampton, (nr Aquadrome). First Thursday of each month. 7:30 pm onwards
Norfolk / Suffolk (13) Contact: Tel. Location: When: Time:
Patrick Young 01394 672 482 Mobile: 07811 415 719 tbc. tbc. tbc.
North West / Manchester (17) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Mark Hooghiemstra. 01307 830441 tbc tbc tbc
South Staffs / North Birmingham (4) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Lee Jones. 0121 603 3632 tbc tbc tbc
Wales (5) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Kent (12) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Gerard Brooks. 02920 757459 Mobile: 07977 545790 The Old Ford Inn, Llanhamlach, BRECON, Powys First Sunday of each month 1:30 pm onwards
Wessex (9) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Alan Smart. 01264 772851 The Rack & Manger, Crawley, Hampshire. Second Wednesday of each month 7:30 pm onwards
West of England (7) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Post Vacant. Paul Walker. tbc tbc tbc
Yorkshire (16) Contact: Tel: Location: When: Time:
Post Vacant. Paul Walker. tbc tbc tbc
Kim Hollings. 0161 480 7096 Mobile: 07831 541245 The Railway PH, 1 Avenue Street, Portwood, Stockport. Second Wednesday of each month 8:00 pm onwards If you would like to form your own Local Section of the Discovery Owners Club in any area not covered in those listed above, contact Paul Walker or any of the Local Section Representatives on the Committee who will be pleased to advise and assist you.
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