Land Rover: The Great British Classic

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In Praise of Patina

We all love a showroom-spec Landy. But there’s nothing quite like a Series I that wears its heritage with pride Series I, II/IIA and III • Pre-Defender 90/110 • Early Range Rover and Discovery Restored, preserved, modified: Classic Land Rovers still doing what they do best

PLUS What to pay for every classic Land Rover Cover WITH SARAH.indd 1

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Classics live forever

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Because a true classic deserves to live forever.

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Contents 12

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WHAT MAKES A CLASSIC?

How do you define the difference between an old Land Rover and a classic?

It wasn’t an easy job…

FLAME - GRILLED SERIES I

Old Landies have been brought back from all sorts of states. Not many have literally risen from the ashes

ELTON JOHN’S RANGEY

There’s no such thing as a Wood and Pickett Classic that’s not noteworthy. When its first owner was the Rocket Man himself, though, you’re looking at something very special indeed

G4 FREELANDER

It takes something to make a Freelander collectible. The rare G4 Challenge Edition may be the one to go for

PRODUCTS

From hard-to-find spare parts to unique accessories and the sort of tools every classic owner needs, your shopping list is about to get serious…

ADVENTUROUS SERIES III

There aren’t many Series III 109” Hi-Cap Pick-Ups in the world. Finding one that’s been restored as a latter day camping wagon is a rare thing indeed

DOUBLE THE IIA

It took Land Rover a long time to hit on the idea of building a double-cab. So when you see a Series IIA that’s been turned into one, you know you’re looking at a particularly unusual kind of classic

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Vehicles 18 68

42 REVIVED 90SV

The 90SV was the original bling Defender, and only 90 were ever made. Smashing one to bits in winch challenges was not the way to win friends…

90

46 ORIGINAL DISCO

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50 107” BEAUTY

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The Discovery is seen as the vehicle that turned Land Rover’s fortunes around. So Dunsfold’s prototype is treasure indeed

The patinated Series I Station Wagon on our front cover is one of the most perfect examples you’ll ever find of a real-world classic Land Rover

56 HOME-MADE CLASSIC

Does a hybrid count as a classic? We’d argue that it can – and one of the best 100” work trucks ever made is here to prove us right

60 IIA SURF WAGON

Restored from a rusty shed but with its bodywork left the way it was, this lovely little IIA is the definitive rat-look Landy

64 COOL 110

Who says 110s are practical but only 90s can be cool? Here’s ample proof that a LWB classic can rule the beach

66 HIGHLAND HERITAGE

Sold only in Scotland, the Braemar edition is one of the rarest ever examples of the P38 Range Rover

68 ULTRA-RARE DISCOVERY

Land Rover Special Vehicles built a total of 15 Discovery ambulances. Feast your eyes upon the first of the few

70 RESTO-MODDED V8 90

Original V8 Defenders are treasure now.

So how do you go about restoring one that’s already been chopped about for off-roading?

76 IIB FIRE ENGINE

From the team that brings you…

01283 553243 alan.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.thelandy.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

SHEER ROVER

Many strange conversions have cropped up in the life of the Range Rover. The luxury wagon that is the Sheer Rover is one of the strangest of the lot

Founding Editor Alan Kidd

PROTOTYPE 110

Contributors Mike Trott, Paul Looe, Dan Fenn, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Adrian Willis, Tom Alderney, Frank Frogly, Gary Martin

Dating from 1980, another classic from the Dunsfold collection heralded the new era of coil-sprung Land Rovers

ORIGINAL WAGON

The Series I Tickford Station Wagon was seen by some as an ugly duckling – but as a concept it was about half a century ahead of its time

100 RESTORED WITH LOVE

You know you’re in luck when your other half offers you a galvanised chassis for your birthday…

102 COASTGUARD CLASSIC

Restorations can take many forms – and if you don’t want to blend in with the crowd, why not recreate the look of a Land Rover designed to be noticed?

106 RANGEY OR DISCO?

When you end up with a rotten Disco and a Range Rover that won’t run, you have the opportunity to create a classic Landy like no other

114 EX- MOD LANING

A group of Soihull veterans from the British Army get together to explore the rights of way at the top of England

120 OVERLAND LIGHTWEIGHT

People tend to use Defenders and Discos for overland holidays in Morocco. But you can still keep it very real instead…

124 BUYERS GUIDE

Has all this whetted your appetite for joining the realms of classic Land Rover ownership? All you need to do now is choose which kind is for you…

A very special relic from the heyday of working Land Rovers – the Series IIB fire engine by Bates of Evesham is a truck among trucks

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Art Editor Samantha D’Souza

Photographers Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm, Richard Hair, Vic Peel, Nick Dimbleby, Jasper Mowatt, Tom Wilkins, Peter Sawford, Ian Jackson, Paul Devine, Russ Dykes, Peter Middleton Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Subscriptions Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to The Landy, or renew your subscription, call 01283 553243 Current price for 12 issues: UK £30 The Landy is available from newsagents, priced at £2.99 a copy, and free through selected Britpart dealers Every effort is made to ensure the contents of Land Rover: The Great British Classic are accurate, however Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these When responding to any advert in Land Rover: The Great British Classic, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract.

The publishers take reasonable steps to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred as a result of responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC-BY-2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org Land Rover: The Great British Classic is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House 1.08, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby DE15 0YZ

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2022

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80 ORIGINAL FREELANDER

Land Rover launched the Freelander 25 years ago – and with it, a whole new era dawned. This is how we found the new vehicle on a five-day, 1700-mile first drive

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When is a Classic

On the face of it, defining what makes a Land Rover classic ought to be easy.

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efining the difference between a classic car, and one that’s merely old, has always been the stuff of debate among enthusiasts. There are notional cut-off points (officially, in the UK at least, a car becomes ‘classic’ on its 40th birthday) but no hard and fast rules – it’s very much the case that one man’s classic is another man’s shed.

Obviously, if you’re talking about a 1920 Rolls-Royce or a Stutz Bearcat once owned by Eisenhower, no-one’s going to argue. But as cars get modern, and less elevated, they get harder to categorise.

Round our way, for example, there’s no shortage of twenty year old Passats going about in various states of rottenness. Classics?

Some might say so, but most would call them cheap old stinkers. If one of them was a pristine low-miler, on the other hand, the balance might tilt. And if another had the rare 4.0-litre

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W8 engine under its bonnet (two-thirds of the famous Bentley W12, since you asked), it might not need to be all that pretty for many car nuts to consider it a worthwhile piece of motoring history or, if nothing else, an interesting historical curiosity.

So, when is a classic not a classic? The answer is about as clear as mud.

And on the subject of mud, when is a classic Land Rover not a classic Land Rover. A hard job just became harder. And muddier.

It’s a job we had to take on when we got down to work on this publication. Writing about classic Landies is easy enough – but deciding what should and shouldn’t be included is far harder. And the lack of clear boundaries is more apparent than ever.

Obviously, there’s no such thing as a Series I that’s not classic, right? Probably… though if it’s one of the very many Series Is that have been

given a later engine, later gearbox, later axles, brakes, servos and so on, does that make them less classic, a different kind of classic or not classic at all?

Or maybe it doesn’t matter, and a classic ‘un is still a classic ‘un. After all, classic status is all about history, and history is all about telling the story of a time. And in the world of Land Rovers, owners modifying their vehicles IS the story of that time.

Does that mean a hybrid can be a classic?

The very mention of such an idea might cause a concours judge to have a fit, but hybrid building was a huge part of the scene for a couple of decades. If you want to tell the story of Land Rover’s history – not just from the far side of the factory gate, but from the workshops and driveways of the people whose devotion made the marque what it is – at the very least you can’t ignore it.

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not a Classic?

But the more you think about it, the more complicated the business becomes…

Similarly, few would argue that a Cuthbertson, a Llama or a Forest Rover is anything less than a fully fledged classic. But what about an early Range Rover that was given the treatment by Overfinch or Wood and Pickett? We know what we think, but the question is rhetorical…

More controversially, it’s generally held that all Series trucks are classics (the last of them don’t yet tick the 40-year box, but let’s not be distracted by the official line). But when you see an old 88 plodding around a farm, just the same way as it’s been doing since its owner’s grandad bought it back when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister, is that a classic? Or is it just a very fine piece of machinery still doing what it has always done?

Obviously, age has a pivotal part to play in making a classic a classic. So too does provenance – if the first owner of the aforementioned 88 happened to actually be

Harold Macmillan, things would change. Any Land Rover with a story to tell automatically becomes more interesting – or, since that’s all of them, any Land Rover whose story is documented and there to be told.

And since we’re talking about stories, the biggest and most classic of all is the story of Land Rover itself. That’s why the original centresteer prototype would be the ultimate barn find, if ever it was to be uncovered. But it’s also why there are so very many seemingly innocuous vehicles which have real meaning – a place in the company’s history which might only be a footnote but, to a true enthusiast, makes them part of Solihull’s DNA. You might, for example, feel that the P38 Range Rover is yet to take its place at the classic table. But you might also feel that when it does, the original Holland and Holland model, or the Bordeaux edition, or the vehicles created to

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celebrate Land Rover’s 50th anniversary in 1998, will already be there.

And what of the Defender? Some Land Rover fans will swear blind that anything with coil springs is by definition not a classic. Others will give the nod to vehicles from before the Tdi era, and therefore the Defender badge. Yet others will argue that the Tdi engines were the best Land Rover ever made – and therefore vehicles fitted with them deserve access to the club.

Others, meanwhile, will say the same about the Td5. And at the opposite end of the scale to the leafers-or-it’s-not-a-classic brigade, you could even construct an admittedly rather liberal case for saying that the day the production line came to a halt in 2016, every original shape Defender automatically became a classic.

Given what has happened to their value since, you might not be pushing the point, either.

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It’s pretty much self-evident that any Series truck is a classic these days. But there are classics and there are classics, and almost every vehicle will have elements to it that make it more worthwhile in some people’s eyes and less in others. The Series IIA seen here, for example, has been restored to a pristine level – though under that gleaming paintwork, a V8 engine and automatic gearbox would confound a purist’s senses. The Series I in the middle is clearly a lot rougher, but you can’t put a price on the patina only time gives a vehicle. And the Series III to the right, which has been rebuilt without trying to pull any sort of concours stunts, is particularly notable for being a very rare High-Capacity Pick-Up model So, having digested all of this and more, where did we draw the various lines in the sand (note the classic Land Rover joke, there) that define what is a classic and what is not?

The answer is that we’re firmly in the liberal camp. If a vehicle is capable of being considered classic by its owner, as far as we’re concerned who are we to argue? Having said that, though, we’re human beings and therefore hypocrites, so we’ve called it on the 90/110/127 at the point where they became known as the Defender.

Except in the case of the sort of very special vehicles that have their own place in Land Rover’s history. You’ll see what we mean as you leaf through the pages that follow.

Moving back in time to the early days of Land Rover, despite what we said a few paragraphs back we are indeed very much of the opinion that if there’s a leaf spring anywhere to be found, it’s a classic. Series anything, Lightweight, 101, it’s all good. And it certainly doesn’t need to be factory-original to qualify.

Similarly, there’s no such thing as a Mk1 Range Rover that doesn’t deserve to be called a classic. So many of them have been bobtailed,

pick-upped, hybridised or otherwise chopped to pieces, yet even these creations are still part of the vehicle’s story. We wouldn’t include a beaten-to-death playday wagon in a publication like this, but perhaps that’s wrong of us? It’s unlikely you’ll ever see a modern Rangey getting treated like that, however old and dog-eared it gets, so the very fact that it was built with the right stuff to be battered round quarries is key to why the original was, to the eyes of most Land Rover enthusiasts, the best.

The Mk2, though, is that a classic? It doesn’t seem like long since we were sneering at the idea of the dreaded P38 gaining this elevated status, but their values have started to climb and that’s a sure sign something is up. For now, in our view this is in the same place as its contemporary the Discovery 2 – it’s becoming a classic but it’s not fully there yet.

Thus we’d perhaps not include a P38 or Disco 2 that’s simply a nice everyday one, the way we might if it was a first-generation example of either model. However a significantly early or late vehicle, or, as mentioned above, one from the select ranks of special editions that

represent footnotes in the Land Rover story (and in some cases whole chapters of their own), certainly do warrant inclusion. The time will come when the P38 is a full-on historical vehicle rather than a fearsome old bag of electronic nightmares, and one day the Three Amigos will go back to being nothing more sinister than any other Steve Martin film, but that time is not quite with us yet.

In the same way, the time is coming (and it might not be as far away as any of us would expect) when people start thinking about the Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport in the same way. The L322 Range Rover, too, first saw the light of day two decades ago, so classic status can’t be far away.

And much as this will be anathema to traditionalists, these vehicles so tell their own part of the Land Rover story. It’s the part when Solihull turned its back on the engineering on which it had built its fame and embraced a mixture of independent suspension and electronic traction aids instead – and much as many of us might hate the idea, when the Land Rover historians of the 22nd Century look back

You’d probably argue that a Mk1 Range Rover with an officially approved Carawagon conversion by Searle deserves to be considered a classic. But what about a bobtail built by an individual Land Rover enthusiast? As far as we’re concerned, while the latter vehicle would be less likely to be featured in a publication like this one it IS still every inch a classic. Without enterprising owners and their homespun engineering, the Land Rover story would be a very different one indeeed – and vehicles like bobtails, pick-ups and hybrids absolutely are part of that

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While planning this publication, we had to make various decisions as to what qualifies as a classic and what doesn’t. Typically, this involves vehicles that fall into what could be called the classics-in-waiting category. The P38 Range Rover, for example, is certainly old enough to be considered a classic (the last one was made more than two decades ago) and its values have started climbing, but there are still enough of them around in everyday use to keep it in the merely ‘old’ camp. A special model like the Holland and Holland edition, on the other hand, definitely qualifies – as does the 50th Anniversary 90 from 1998, even if you agree with us that the cut-off point for classic status is, for now at least, when the 90 and 110 gained the Defender name and the Tdi era began at the company’s development that will make them more relevant than even the most perfect 1948 Series I. Which brings us to one other vehicle whose place in any list of classic Land Rovers always kicks off a debate. The Mk1 Freelander is not very fondly remembered – but if there’s a modern equivalent to that centre-steer Series I, it’s probably the infamous old Maestro Van whose body was plonked on top of a road-going prototype as Solihull prepared to launch its new lifestyle car.

Crazy? It may well sound so. But in 1997, Land Rover’s philosophy of ‘evolution, not revolution’ was sent on a one-way trip to the bin. The Freelander was the revolution – and one whose

form has been followed by every new model the company has developed since then.

It was on independent suspension. It didn’t have low range. It relied on electronics to get around off-road. A little more than half a decade later, the Discovery 3 was launched and along came Terrain Response. Now, most Discoverys don’t have low range as standard either, and even the Defender is a high-tech festival of computer control sat on an all-independent platform. What was once utterly unthinkable is now reality – and it was the Freelander that started it all.

When you look at all those decades of Series trucks, and all those early pre-Defender 90s and 110s, Solihull’s revolutionary move away from its

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traditions may seem reassuringly recent. Yet the Freelander was launched in the company’s 49th year – and with 25 years having passed, you can see how much of the Land Rover story has been told since then.

To us, this means the Freelander cannot help but be considered a classic Land Rover. You might not like the fact any more than you like the vehicle itself, but its place in history is clear.

So, Series I/II/III, Lightweight, 101, 90/110, first-generation Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander and notable examples of the P38 and Disco 2. No two people will have exactly the same view, but that’s ours. For now. Land Rover’s story goes back a long way – and there’s a whole lot of it still to be written.

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RISEN FROM THE

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ASHES

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When this Series I survived an explosive fireball, it needed a gentle, caring environment in which to complete its rehabilitation. Step forward Will Goodyear Words and pictures: Mike Trott

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ccidents happen. It’s a fact of life and these accidents can vary from knocking over your granny’s prized china to going the whole hog and having a car crash.

Naturally, no-one means for these things to happen, which is why they’re called accidents.

But we have to accept that they will, and can affect me, you and anyone else.

Perhaps this is all a little serious, a bit morbid for some light-hearted Land Rover-themed entertainment – so just picture this. While writing this very article I attempted to open a pot of yoghurt. There’s no masters degree required with this sort of thing so I felt the situation was in good hands.

The yoghurt pot had other ideas though, as evidenced when I eased the lid back and that small release of air also set about releasing what seemed like half a pot of black cherry gloop onto my trousers. Splendid.

I’ve seen this sort of thing happen to colleagues before, admittedly taking great pleasure in their misfortune. That’s the thing, though, you never think it will happen to you.

Now, however, I’m resigned to opening yoghurt pots with added anticipation and unease for the rest of time.

The Land Rover in this story (you thought I’d forgotten about those crazy vehicles, didn’t you?) doesn’t have anything to do with yoghurt - or trouser accidents. But it does relate to burning, both in a passionate sense and the literal sense.

‘It was quite an unfortunate set of events really,’ says Andy Goodyear. His son is called William, or Will to you and me, and he’s the proud proprietor of this Series I. But before he became to be so, there was a bit of an accident, almost mimicking the tumbling of dominoes in a string of calamitous happenings.

‘Basically, the previous owner had removed some hot ashes from his fire and, well, they obviously weren’t as cool as they needed to be before he put them in the bin!’ Andy explains.

‘So, the bin fell over, which then caused the nearby caravan to catch alight, and that led to a gas container exploding. Unfortunately, not only was the house on fire, but the Series I had its driver’s side melted!’

Even though the area was fenced off, apparently some kids got over the fence and set

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about smashing all the remaining windows in the vehicle with a brick. Bloody youth.

Seemingly doomed, the Series I looked very sorry for itself once the final embers had been extinguished. It needed rescuing, it needed some attention and it needed a young man called Will.

Interestingly, the owner at the time hadn’t insured the vehicle, perhaps perceiving it to be out of harm’s way. Either way, it meant that as Will and his dad came in to start the rescue mission, there would be no category A, B, C etc rubbish to contend with on documents.

Will had grown up with Land Rovers lying around the yard and had waited long enough to get hold of the car of his dreams: a Series I Landy, the epitome of the Green Oval. Hell, Will had previously even tried to persuade Andy to part with his own 1949 80” but Andy managed to resist the sweet-talking.

‘My dad said I will eventually have it, but until then, it’s a no,’ smiles Will. In the meantime, he’s been preoccupied with this relic. It’s a 1956 88” Series I, which pleases Will immensely.

It was acquired a few years ago and the first thing Will and Andy did was take it back to the workshop.Andy runs Central 4x4, going some way to explain the numerous Land Rovers lying around during Will’s upbringing. It also explains why Will wasn’t worried about the state of his Series I – he knew he and Andy together could mend the stricken Landy.

‘We stripped it down to the chassis and performed a part rebuild,’ says Andy. ‘It took us 12 months to rebuild it,’ recalls Will, ‘With my dad rebuilding it while I was studying at college and then I would get my hands dirty once home or if I had some spare time.

‘I would like to thank my father for helping me restore it, mainly because if he hadn’t, I’d probably still be working on it now!’

Given the state of it after the blaze, it’s remarkable that all this was done in 12 months. A

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breeze it may appear to have been, but the axles needed work, a new loom was required, as was glass for the windows; and the clutch plate had welded itself together following a hosing down from the fire brigade.

‘The problem with fires is that they can do a whole lot of damage very quickly,’ rues Andy. ‘We managed to get the build finished in time for the Classic Motor Show at the NEC, though, and even had the vehicle on the Series I stand.’

‘The hardest bit was simply getting parts. The back tub, for example, half of it was destroyed, and at the scrapyard we only found half a tub too. So we took the good half of the original and joined it to the new half!’

They had more luck with the bulkhead, though.

These are like hen’s teeth for Series Ones, but happily the fire had failed to distort it – so after having it shot-blasted, it was virtually mint. This 88” still possesses its original chassis, although new outriggers were summoned and the shocks

were changed, although the springs were found to be like new having been preserved in that ‘old plumber’s rag you used to get,’ says Andy.

This is a Series I that has gained a few scars, but lost none of its dignity. It has been put together again with common sense in mind. The rear lights, for example are supposed to be the old-fashioned ‘pork pie’ style – but at £400 a set, Will and Andy stuck with what was there.

And having an individual style is something Will relishes. ‘I prefer driving a Series I. People say, “Oh you can drive a car now,” but I always tell them, no thanks, I’ll stick with the Land Rover!

‘I like that they’re different. I was brought up with them and they have been a part of me since I was a baby – they run in my blood. I always wanted a Series I, they’re just the original.’

While this Land Rover may have been through tough times following the blaze, Will is thankful that such a Land Rover came along to set his world alight.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:10

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11 19/04/2022 19:52

Goodbye black tarmac There’s no such thing as a Wood and Pickett Range Rover that’s not more special than most. Prior to a major restoration, it spent several crew – but long before that, the first part of its life was lived in the Words and Pictures: Dan Fenn

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c road rare and special. This one, however, is years as a work truck for a tarmac-laying hands of someone very famous indeed…

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lassic Landies can take a number of different forms. They might be factory standard, restored or modified.

They might be rarities. They might be historically significant. They might be work wagons, or they might have an interesting back story tucked away in their past.

This Range Rover is all of the above. You’ll recognise it as a Wood and Pickett, which means it’s a rarity straight out of the box.

Founded in 1947, Wood and Pickett made its name as a coachbuilding company and is possibly best know outside of Land Rover circles for its work on Minis. Its conversions were noted for their extremely high quality and, in particular, for the almost limitless scope of their originality.

Its customers included any number of the world’s wealthiest people, including foreign royalty and a dazzling array of celebrities, and as a result some of its creations were, shall we say, rather narrowly focused in terms of whose taste they appealed to. Limousines and landaulettes, convertibles and 6x6s, stretched wheelbases, Chevy engines, alternative front end styling, wildly lavish interior trims… whereas most specialists perfect the art of turning out ‘individual’ vehicles that are in essence all the same, the variety of the Range Rovers Wood and Pickett created during the 70s and 80s was little short of breathtaking.

If nothing else, then, this is a rare and special Range Rover, and a bona fide classic. But it’s more besides. It’s been restored, but we’ll come to that. It’s also been a work truck, but we’ll come to that too.

First, let’s deal with its early life. You’ll have noticed that it’s red, which has never been the most common of colours for Range Rovers.

Obviously, when you were buying a Wood and Pickett back then you could have it in any colour you wanted, and it would appear that this one was commissioned to match a very famous piano.

‘The story of the vehicle is that it was once Elton John’s,’ says Joshua Harris, who along with his grandfather Eric has owned it for the last ten years. ‘I contacted his management company and had a response saying they remember the vehicle, but Sir Elton is too busy to deal with these type of requests, so I have been unable to prove it. But certain things suggest it’s true.

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‘The colour matches his piano, for example.

And I haven’t touched the paintwork at all, that’s completely original.

‘Also, I found an old box of matches deep in the sun visor from the Beverly Hills Hotel in California, which is one of his favourite hotels – I believe he had his 50th there.’ It’s not conclusive proof, but it’s circumstantial evidence for sure. And while the answer from Sir Elton’s people has more than a whiff of jobsworthiness to it, you wouldn’t mind betting that if the man himself happened upon it, he’d be delighted to confirm the truth.

Another nice bit of evidence, again circumstantial but who cares, is that the Range Rover’s first owner had it fully serviced and stamped up… by a Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealership. ‘No expense was ever spared on this vehicle,’ comments Joshua. Obviously, if you had the money to buy a new Wood and Pickett Range Rover back in the 1970s, you didn’t need to be pop royalty to also run about in Bentleys and Rollers, but Sir Elton was well known for owning many examples of those marques… as well as others including Astons, Ferraris and Watford FC.

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‘We actually took the carpets and rear seats out and used it as a van, and to tow our trailer loaded with aggregates and stone!’

So, we’re happy to believe that this is indeed the former property of the Rocket Man. Joshua says the story, as he understands it, is that it was bought for him as a gift by his record label in appreciation of how well he was doing. Which was nice of them. You may have heard a similar story about Oasis, a Rolls-Royce and a swimming pool, which is Definitely Maybe not true, but whatever your taste in music Elton John is a man who knows a good car when he sees one.

As indeed is Joshua Harris. The good car in question is often a Range Rover (there’s an Overfinch in the family too, but that’s literally another story), with this one being what he describes as ‘a little project which turned into a

massive 10-year project.’ Safe to say that when Joshua and Eric bought it back in 2011, they didn’t know what was coming.

‘To begin with,’ says Joshua, ‘the vehicle actually wasn’t that bad. It drove fine and always passed its MOTs.’ But now, classic Range Rover fans, prepare to shudder.

‘We actually took the carpets and rear seats out and used it as a van, and to tow our trailer loaded with aggregates and stone! In one day, she towed a fully loaded trailer with four men on board all the way to Cornwall for a job, I had that much faith in her.’

Before you ask, no they weren’t building a yellow brick road. But in 2015, he said goodbye

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to it and decided that rather that working his old Classic to death, it was time to give it the full restoration it deserved. And though the Rangey has long since been back on the road, the details are still ongoing today.

During the intervening six years, Joshua reckons he’s spent more than £75,000 on the job.

Eye-watering money, for sure, but what a great way to spend it.

First up, the body came off and the chassis was shot blasted and resprayed. Then, panel by panel, every last bit of rusty metal was cut out from the bodywork and replaced. The axles were rebuilt with performance brakes featuring higherfriction pads and grooved, vented discs, then

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You don’t really need to say much about the Range Rover’s cabin: you just need to look at it. From the overall design to the little details, it’s like a modern Autobiography model would have appeared if they’d been doing them 35 years ago. It’s hard to know what’s more perfect – the walnut trim or the fact that it’s held on by exposed bolts

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the chassis was hung on them using upgraded springs and shocks.

Hence our suggestion that this is, at least in some way, a modified Range Rover. That might be too extreme a word, but it’s been enhanced at the very least – not to turn it into anything it’s not, which would clearly be sacrilege, but to keep it as it was only better. Even better.

Under the bonnet, for example, the original 3.5-litre V8 has been rebuilt using performance heads and a faster camshaft profile. More than that, it’s gained a new electronic fuel injection system as well as programmable engine management and out the back, a stainless steel sports exhaust. There’s a remote start function, too, allowing the engine and cabin alike to be preheated prior to setting off on cold morning.

Throughout the vehicle, every pipe and hose has been renewed. So too has the entire wiring loom, and almost every nut and bolt has been replaced too. As far as the DVLA is concerned, this is a 117,000-mile vehicle approaching its 33rd birthday, but if you know even a little bit of what you’re looking at you’ll know that’s about as far off beam as it’s possible to be.

Elsewhere, the transfer box has been completely rebuilt and the steering pump renewed, as has every bearing throughout the vehicle. As always, there’s no such thing as a finished project – Joshua is still working on the details, and it’s hard to imagine him ever running out of ways to make a good thing better, but the main part of the rebuild has involved turning the Range Rover back into a totally sound, totally roadworthy machine that’s ready to be driven today, tomorrow and as far into the future as

he, and any subsequent owners, might fancy.

Much of this is stuff you don’t see, of course.

But you just need to take one look at the Range Rover’s glorious paintwork, crisp details and immaculate Wolfrace wheels, the latter complete with the correct white-wall striped tyres, to know it’s something special. And that’s before you look inside…

Here, in our view, is where the real magic happens. Every last scrap of leather has been renewed and restitched, all of it by hand, with lush diamond-quilted cream seats and deep red piping. Is it too much to say that the Range Rover mimics the Rosso Corsa body and Crema interior of all those Ferraris Sir Elton used to collect…?

Maybe, maybe not. But we certainly do know which one we’d sooner spend the afternoon aboard. Really, it’s hard to exaggerate how classy this old girl is inside, with matching red leather on her dash top and extensive polished wood detailing on her doors, floor console, steering wheel and more. It’s a fabulously retro design, carried off to the highest standards of today, and it is quite simply sublime.

There’s a new head lining up top, of course, and soundproofing was installed throughout the vehicle as it went back together to keep the

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cabin as refined to travel in as it is to look at. And talking of sounds, Joshua added a 10-speaker stereo with rear subwoofers and built-in Bluetooth for hands-free operation. It has fully customisable programming and is, he says, ‘extremely loud.’ Not All Quiet on the Western Front, then (see what we did there?)

We could try to conclude this story by winding in as many tortured references as possible to songs by Elton John, but instead let’s just stand back, figuratively at least, and admire a piece of work which, irrespective of your taste in music, strikes the perfect note. In fact, even if it were to turn out that the Rocket Man himself never did own this Range Rover, it wouldn’t detract one bit from what a supremely classy, and classily restored, vehicle it is.

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Nuthin’ but a G4 thang The G4 Challenge was never meant to match the extremes of the Camel Trophy. But it spawned a number of special-edition Land Rovers – including an often forgotten run of original Freelanders based on a vehicle whose off-road moment came in the unlikely setting of the Big Apple…

Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

T

he G4 Challenge was a global competition that took place during the Noughties. Two events took place in 2003 and 2006, before a third was scheduled for 2009 but duly cancelled because of the financial crisis at the time.

Focusing on outdoor sports, with a healthy amount of off-roading in between, the G4 Challenge was the successor to the Camel Trophy of the Eighties and Nineties. It offered competitor countries and their representatives the chance for some bragging rights – but mainly delivered phenomenal exposure for Land Rover and its suite of adventure-seeking vehicles.

It won’t come as any great surprise to learn that both the Defender and Discovery were a very common sight on the challenges. But Range Rovers were used in both the 2003 and 2006

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runnings of the event, along with the Range Rover Sport for the latter.

But there was also a role for the baby of the family – the Freelander 1. Admittedly, these were used sparingly in comparison to some of the heavier tackle in the Land Rover range, but in 2003 around 30 of the vehicles were prepared for the challenge. Of these, 28 were used by competitors, predominantly across the first stage in the state of New York.

The Freelanders were called upon once more as back-up vehicles in Australia and South Africa.

They reappeared in the second challenge, held during 2006, though here again their duties were principally set to supporting roles. A few did make it out on to the Copacabana Beach, though.

So where does the Tangiers Orange example we see before us fit into all this? Well, given

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Vehicles from the actual G4 Challenge were powered by the 2.5-litre V6 engine, but this one has a 1.8 K-Series lump under its bonnet. This points to it being an example of Land Rover’s G4 Challenge limited edition – as does the half-leather interior, which is correct for the Kalahari model on which these were based that all participating Freelander 1s used in the G4 Challenge were powered by the 2.5-litre V6 petrol engine, whereas this one has the notorious 1.8-litre K-Series motor under its bonnet, more questions are raised than answered.

It arrived at James William Classics after the company’s proprietor James Beswick bought it on eBay for a mere £600. A bit of a bargain, even if it is still just a tidy orange Freelander 1. The engine pointed to the fact this wasn’t a genuine G4 vehicle, but the paintwork alone was enough to warrant further investigation.

Concrete evidence is in short supply. But after some initial digging, it seems we may have some clues as to what this Freelander actually is – and how it came to exist in the first place.

With the G4 Challenge being the enormity it was, it would be a missed opportunity for any business not to make full use of such an event in terms of the publicity and exposure it draws.

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That’s why Land Rover’s marketing team came up with the idea of creating some limited-edition replicas of the G4 Challenge vehicles.

For the Freelander 1, that meant the production of approximately 600 G4 replicas, with 300 units finished in Borrego Yellow and another 300 painted with the Tangiers Orange you see here.

These were based upon the Kalahari model, with only the Borrego Yellow being applied to the three-door Sport models. This here is a fivedoor Estate – whose half-leather, half-Alcantara upholstery certainly lines up with the Kalahari trim as a base.

There is always the chance that somewhere down the line, one of the previous owners took a shine to the idea of creating their own G4 replica Freelander 1, commissioned a respray and sourced a few stickers.

Either way, it’s perhaps a shame for these vehicles as a whole that they weren’t given the

opportunity to shine as much as they can do when given half a chance. They may not have the attributes of a Defender, and a Discovery will show them up in every aspect – but there is still a Green Oval on the front and plenty of pedigree running through those fuel lines.

After all a Tangiers Orange Land Rover should only mean one thing: rough terrain under the wheels, a cloud of dust pluming from behind and a driver sat smiling at the helm. The G4 Challenge may not have hit the same off-road heights as the Camel Trophy, but Solihull sure knew how to make the most of it – and vehicles like this perfectly aged Freelander are the result.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:29

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19/04/2022 19:47

PRODUCTS

Safety Devices’ military-style roll protection for soft-top 90s available through Britpart

S

oft-top Land Rovers are cool. Well, at times they’re freezing, but even when you’re shivering and/or wet through, they’re still cool.

What’s less cool is the stuff that happens when you go over in one without a roll bar. You do hear

stories of people being saved by their windscreen surround, but if you’re going to rely on that to keep you safe you pretty much deserve what you’ve got coming.

There are various designs of roll protection available for the various designs of Defender, of course.

Some are more compatible than others with a fabric roof, however – but this unit from Safety Devices is intended specifically for use on soft-top models.

Not just any old soft-top model, either. Recently introduced to the Britpart range, it’s a military-style

four-point bolt-in hoop for 200Tdiengined Defender 90s from 19901993. Classic? Over to you to decide, but if you’re in the market for one of these it’s not going to worry you.

Protection comes from a 2” OD main hoop which mounts through the body cappings and into the corner brackets. It’s supported by twin backstays which mount to the waist rail cappings, giving it the strength to keep your vehicle up in most everyday rollovers.

The hoop fits in with a standard set of hood sticks, supporting them but not interfering with the hood itself as it goes into place. Thus your 90 will continue to look as original as always, with a tidily fitted soft-top that doesn’t stick up awkwardly in the middle.

‘We strongly recommend fitting the roll cage padding kit when installing this hoop,’ advises Britpart, and if you’ve ever clobbered your head against one you’ll know why.

Prices typically hover around the £450 mark (make that £550 with the VAT) though as always, a bit of a shop-around will be well worth it. You’ll find the product, and the dealers who sell it, by visiting www. britpart.com.

Transfer case dipstick for Series trucks ROAMERDRIVE IS FAMOUS for its overdrives, but Britpart dealers also stock the company’s Transfer Case Dipstick Kit for the Series I, II, IIA and III. Consisting of a dipstick tube, which screws into the level plug, and a replacement top cover with a filler plug, this allows you to check the oil level in your Land Rover’s transfer case simply by lifting out its centre seat. Expect to pay around £50 plus the dreaded.

GOT A SERIES III in need of a bit of smartening up? Britpart’s new Deluxe Grille looks like a great way to give it back the gift of youth. Supplied without a badge, it should cost in the region of £30-35. You’ll find it at www.britpart.com.

ALSO FOR THE SERIES III, and indeed the Series II and IIA, is this 12-volt starter solenoid from Lucas Classic. It’ll cost around a tenner – again, it’s available via Britpart dealers.

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PRODUCTS

BACK TO THE FUTURE FOR RIMMER BROS’ RANGE ROVER CLASSIC PARTS CATALOGUE RIMMER BROS IS ONE OF the biggest names in the Land Rover parts business. But did you know that the company’s first full parts catalogue was for the Range Rover Classic?

That was in 2000, to celebrate 30 years since the launch of the original Rangey, and since then Rimmer has brought out similar catalogues for the Range Rover P38A, Range Rover L322, Range Rover Sport (up to 2009), Discovery, Discovery 2, Discovery 3, Discovery 4, Freelander, Freelander 2, Defender (up to 2006) and Defender (2007-on). Quite a lot of Land Rovers there, then.

Most recently, the company has brought out its latest collection for… the Range Rover Classic. As if to prove what an enduring vehicle this is, more than a quarter of a century since the last one left the factory it’s still worthy of a new edition containing 210 pages of parts, upgrades and accessories for the original Rangey.

‘Since the early 1980s,’ explains the company, ‘Rimmer Bros has specialised in supplying parts for British cars. In 1982, we started selling Classic Triumph parts and by the mid 80’s were supplying stainless steel exhaust systems for Land Rovers and other 4x4 vehicles.

‘We are now pleased to return to the beginning of the Land Rover parts side of our business by introducing a completely revamped and updated parts and accessories catalogue for the Range Rover Classic, to replace the old catalogue that has served us and our customers so well for the last 21 years. This new catalogue details what has been a continuously growing range of genuine, OEM and aftermarket parts and accessories.

‘Our website also features this catalogue – plus any new products or part number changes.’

You can get your hands on Rimmer Bros’ new Range Rover Classic parts catalogue, or indeed any of the company’s catalogues for other Land Rovers, absolutely free.

Just pay a visit to their website at www.rimmerbros.com, and prepare to do some serious shopping.

MUD-UK’S RETRO-STYLE KNOBS FOR DEFENDERS’ GEAR AND TRANSFER LEVERS: HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANYTHING COOLER THAN THIS? IT WOULD BE HARD TO EXAGGERATE how much we love these Heritage Gear Knobs from Mud-UK. Moulded from 100% bakelite, just like the factory-fitted originals from way back in 1948, these UK-made accessories bring a bit of retro chic to the cabin of any Defender they’re used in – with the option of red and yellow for the diff lock lever offering a clear nod to those used throughout 35 years of Series trucks.

For the primary gearbox, your choice is between the classic mushroom-style Series I/II/ IIA knob or the later ball-shape used on the Series III. In each case, they’re available with the reverse position next to first (to suit the LT77 and LT85 Santana boxes) and below fifth (to suit the later R380).

On the transfer box, meanwhile, the red and yellow options are both suited to the LT230 – as used on all five-speed Defenders (and autos, if you’re the proud owner of a 50th Anniversary or NAS model). For reference, these use an M10 thread, while the main gearbox uses 0.5” UNF. Got a Puma? Sorry. But hey, we’re talking classic Land Rovers, right?.

The knobs, which are supplied with a lock nut to help you line them up perfectly, cost £30 plus shipping directly from Mud-UK. Taste is personal, but as far as we’re concerned these are among the coolest accessories we’ve seen for a Defender’s cabin.

You’ll find them by visiting www.mudstuff.co.uk.

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PRODUCTS

Atkinson Bespoke fabricates a solution for rotten Range Rover crossmembers

L

and Rovers have a certain reputation when it comes to their crossmembers. And it’s not a great one.

Which is why you may frequently find a Land Rover needing a new one – especially at the rear.

Atkinson Bespoke Engineering, of the West Midlands, can help on the Range Rover Classic front. They fabricate and stock their own replacement crossmembers, such as this rear unit for the original Rangey.

It comes complete with the appropriate spot welds and can be purchased by giving them a call on 0121 559 5255.

Modern steel wheels with the original One-Tonne look Britpart’s vast range of bits for Land Rovers has become that bit more vast, with the addition of these extremely cool 8x16” Large Offset Steel Wheels. These are designed in the style of the heavy-duty rims used on the iconic One-Tonne version of the 109” that was sold from 1968 to 1977 – however they’re wider, allowing them to accommodate a more modern tubeless tyre.

The wheels have the usual five-stud pattern and PCD to let them bolt on to traditional Land Rover axles. However they also have an et00 offset, making them suitable if you want to built something with the same four-square stance as the legendary One-Tonne itself.

These are no ordinary Land Rover rims, and this is reflected by a rather hefty typical price of about £190 a pop. You get what you pay for, though. Track down a set by checking in at www.britpart.com

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ONE OF THE NICEST THINGS about driving a Land Rover is that lovely mechanical feeling as you change gear. Unless it’s an old horror with a stick that feels like rummaging around in the dark for the contact lens you’ve dropped in a shag-pile carpet, at least.

If trying to find a ratio, any ratio, is like that in yours, the Slickshift from Syncro Gearboxes might well be the best thing that could happen in your life right now. This is available for the any Defender or Discovery with an LT77 or R380 box, priced at £74.99 plus VAT, and the company says it can be fitted in half an hour.

You just need the minimum of tools (circlip pliers, a screwdriver, 17mm, 13mm, and 10mm spanners) and the ability to follow a simple set of instructions. And once installed, the unit promises to bring your gearbox right back into the modern world.

Syncro says the Slickshift ‘improves gearchanges by reducing sloppiness and minimising travel, as well as neatening shifts giving smoother gear changes.’ In essence, it’s a direct replacement for the standard pivot pin, and it comes with all the hardware you need to fit it – painted steel spacer plates, M8 bolts, washers and a nylon cup.They do a version for Series Landies, too.

Want to know more? Of course you do. That being the case, all you need to do is visit www.syncrogearboxes.com.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:41

KDL GROUP (UK) LIMITED

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC AD spread.indd 101

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PRODUCTS

Machine Mart’s Clarke range of heavy-duty tool chests designed for automotive workshops A BAD WORKMAN BLAMES HIS TOOLS. A really bad workman doesn’t have any, and a still pretty awful workman doesn’t have anywhere to put them.

Since you are none of those things, or at least you strive not to be, Clarke’s range of tool chests and cabinets should be right up your street. This includes the CBB209B 9 Drawer Chest and CBB217B 7 Drawer Mobile Cabinet, both of which are heavy-duty, pro-quality items designed for use in automotive workshops. They’re ideal for keeping your tools tidy – and secure, too, as both are fully lockable.

Features of the chests include: • Extra large drawer pulls • Protective anti-slip drawer liners • Ball bearing runners for a smooth sliding action • Double-wall steel construction and reinforced base • 5” industrial chrome spoked wheels with foot brakes • Extra large chrome steel side handles, fited with rubber grips for easy movement • Safety ‘push-lock’ drawers, protecting against accidental opening when the unit is tilted • Simultaneous locking of all drawers when top lid is closed • Protective top mat, preventing the top chest from moving and providing a non-slip working surface • Full-length piano-hinge lids for smooth opening, security and strength The chests and cabinets are available in a range of colours.

They’re priced at £323.98 for the CBB217B 7 Drawer Mobile Cabinet and £167.98 for the CBB209B 9 Drawer Chest.

If all that isn’t already enough to make you want to jack in your office job for a life on the spanners, the unit can also be built up further by adding 3-drawer step-up cabinets and 2 to 8-drawer side lockers, with prices starting from £94.79.

Best of all, the above prices all include VAT. You can find out more by paying a visit to www.machinemart.co.uk.

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Replacement seat box kit for LT77 Defender joins Britpart range

P

eople are still turning modded Defenders back to standard as values for the vehicles continue to stay sky-high. But Land Rover’s much-loved old warhorse remains a favourite among off-roaders – indeed, we’ve picked up a few signals recently that enthusiasts might be starting to look at them again.

Either way, a common problem on old 90s and 110s is that their seat box frames are falling to pieces. So the replacement kit available from Britpart ought to be an equally common answer.

Suitable for Defenders up to and including the 200Tdi, this is shaped to go around an LT77 gearbox. It comes in pieces – specifically, two ends, two

middle panels, two end panels, a front panel and a back angle.

Britpart says it will take 5-10 minutes to assemble using the included fixings, though as these include two sets of rivnuts and a hundred Type B rivets, we wouldn’t be popping out to the shed to knock it together while leaving anything on the stove.

If you shop around, the kit should leave you a few quid’s change out of £300 when the VAT’s taken care of. To find out more, visit www.britpart.com.

Keep your seat box corners looking classic DEFENDERS ARE TOUGH, but all the ruggedness and four-wheel drive in the world won’t save one from your clumsy great size 12s. Hence these Seat Box Corner Carpet Protector Kits from Bison Auto Design.

Made from thick, high-grade stainless steel, these are laser-cut and come with a classy brushed finish. They screw into the existing holes in the seat box, using a set of self-tappers that’s provided as part of the kit, and once installed they do the job and look the business. You’ll find them at bisonautodesign.co.uk.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:42

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BRITPART ILLUMINATES SERIES II/IIA OWNERS WITH LIGHT LENSES FROM LUCAS CLASSIC

GOT A SERIES II? Then Lucas Classic and Britpart are here to help you see the light.

Actually, they’re more likely to help everyone else see the light. But that will help them see you, which means they’ll see that you’ve got a Series II, which means they’ll respect you as a person of impeccable taste, which means Lucas Classic and Britpart are your friends.

What all this complete gibberish is leading up to is that Lucas is now offering a range of lens glasses for the Series II, in clear, red and amber. The first of these is a correct original-style side light lens for the vehicle, which is better still, and you can also get a matching bezel to go with it.

Now all you need is a Series II to put them on. Which is where we came in. But you’re already sorted with that, aren’t you? Because let’s not forget you are a person of impeccable taste. Pay a visit to lucasclassic.com and these lenses, as well as much more, will await.

DISCOVERY 300 TDI 200 TDI DISCOVERY 300 TDI DISCOVERY 200 TDI CONVERSION DISCOVERY CONVERSION NEW 3 CONVERSION INTO CONVERSION INTO INTO SERIES & 90/110CONVE INTO SERIES & 90/110 DISCOVERY 300 TDI DISCOVERY 300 TDI DISCOVERY 200 TDI CONVERSION DISCOVERY 200 TDI CONVERSION NEW 3 90/110” 90/110” BOLT-ON CONVERSION INTO CONVERSION INTO INTO SERIES & 90/110CONVE INTO SERIES & 90/110 BRACKE 90/110” 90/110” BOLT-ON 90/110 BRACKE MOD 90/110 WECONVERSION MANUFACTURE CONVERSION EXHAUSTS WEBSITEMOD FOR WE MANUFACTURE EXHAUSTS SEE WEBSITE FORSEE DETAILS

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3. LHD & RHD. SEE 110. Engine 2A & 3. LHD RHD. KIT FORand Full SERIES workshop facilities for Servicing and Repairing Defenders 90conversions and conversions orkshop facilities for Servicing and & Repairing Defenders 902A and Engine and 4x4 Tyres •Workshop Manuals • Winching Equipment 4x4 Tyres •Workshop Manuals • Winching Equipment WEBSITE /CONVERSIONS SEE WEBSITE /CONVERSIONS SERIES ring chassis replacements out as well work. as general repair work. For please more information please s replacements carried out as wellcarried as general repair For more information ring

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LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC

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PRODUCTS

Marsland chassis for Defender 110

Y

ou may or may not believe that a 110 is capable of being called a classic yet. But early ones are worth saving – and if you dont believe that, you really have not been paying attention.

Few people would disagree that if you’re going to do a job, you might as well do it properly. And if the job involves bringing an old Land Rover back to its former glory, or indeed giving it a new level of glory its first owners would never have thought possible, startiong with a galvanised chassis very much qualifies as conventional wisdom.

Manufactured by GKN Wheels and Structures, the Marsland chassis is a well known option in this area. It comes galvanised as standard – and better still, its supplied with a GKN Certificate of Authenticity, which is accepted by the insurance industry as confirming that it was constructed using the same materials, processes and quality control techniques as were stipulated by the Land Rover factory at the time of original-equipment manufacture.

The chassis is type-approved, too, and has even been crash tested. The right kind of kit, then. GKN builds them to 2016 type specification, including the rear crossmember and A-frame crossmember.

The chassis is made using pressed C-section main rails made from 2mm steel. This is augmented with 3mm stiffeners which are fitted and spot welded internally for added strength, effectively giving you a good 5mm of material where you need it most.

You don’t need to expect these chassis to be cheap, but you certainly get what you pay for. For example, they’re supplied with a boltin

gearbox crossmember, rear crossmember to body brackets and A-frame to chassis bushes. Power steering pipe, fuel filter, fuel tank and fuel line rivnuts are fitted to the chassis, too, and all holes are drilled and tapped (excluding those for the rear tow pack).

Three versions of the chassis are available – for 110s with V8 and 300Tdi engines, as well as a third which is suitable for

most classic models – those with the 2.5 petrol, 2.5 naturally aspirated diesel, 2.5 TD and 200Tdi. Prices for these units hover around the £3000 mark, including VAT, if you shop around – a good way of protecting a valuable investment and, indeed, a valuable investment in itself.

Britpart’s Cellular Dynamic dampers designed specifically for leaf-sprung Landies BRITPART’S CELLULAR DYNAMIC SHOCK ABSORBERS have been around for a while, as have leafsprung Land Rovers. Stands to reason that you should be able to get one to fit the other, then, doesn’t it?

These shocks have a cellular foam insert instead of the more typical nitrogen gas. This is to stop the oil in the shock from boiling. The foam takes up less room, meaning there’s as much as 50% more capacity for oil. The result is better heat dispersion, which in turn gives the vehicle what Britpart describes as ‘a very subtle but controlled ride that will not fade no matter how hard you push them.’

Yes, this really is leafers we’re talking about. The latest addition to the range offers a long-travel option for both long and short-wheelbase Series Landies. Yes, there are still some that haven’t been restored into hundred-grand classics, apparently. The front shocks measure in at 460mm open and 305mm closed, while at the back it’s 580mm/360mm for short-wheelbase vehicles and a slightly lower 570mm/355mm for long ‘uns.

Sounds like something worth investigating, right?

Finally, there’s something that’s not a shock. Visit www.britpart.com and you’ll find out all you need to know.

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RAPTOR ENGINEERING is well known for its innovative products which make the very functional Defender dashboard more functional than ever. But the company can do the same thing for the Series III, too, as well as older pre-Defender versions of the 90 and 110.

Robustrly made from steel and aluminium, the informatively named Defender and Series III Glovebox is tucked away out of sight and also comes with a lock. The glovebox unit is vented, too, so that air will flow straight through it and into the cab.

Also new for the Defender and Series III are Raptor’s Trim Panels, which are neatly designed to tidy up and strengthen your truck’s dashboard by covering up the gaps. They come powder-coated and can also be drilled to mount switches and sockets, as well as providing a sturdy location for things like cup holders, nav mounts and so on.

Raptor says these items take just minutes to fit, and that they can be removed again just as easily if you want to mount hardware on them at a later date.

The Defender/SIII Glovebox costs £41 including VAT, while the Trim Panels will prove more affordable still.

To place an order, go to www.raptorengineering.co.uk.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:42

Terrafirma accessories are available from over 100 distributors worldwide Wheels, Brakes and Drivetrain

Suspension

Protection

Exterior

Lighting

Interior and Performance

For more information visit www.terrafirma4x4.com email sales@terrafirma4x4.com

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PRODUCTS

MASAI4X4’S REPLACEMENT HEADLINING FITS EARLY DEFENDER 90 AND 110 TRUCK-CAB THE LATEST ADDITION TO THE MASSIVE RANGE of interior trim products available direct from Masai4x4 is a replacement headlining kit for the Defender 90, 110 and 130 Truck-Cab. Hand-crafted from a high-quality plush suede-like material, this is available in a choice of ten colours from Alston Black through to Luna White, with light Sandstone brown the most recent addition to the range. It comes to you, direct from the Masai factory, as a six-piece kit complete with fir tree fittings and colour-matched adhesive covers to keep them discreet.

Masai’s roof linings are made from a special Glass Reinforced Plastic compound. This resists water absorption and is more rigid than the Land Rover original, which is infamously prone to sagging.

The kits can be ordered with or without interior light brackets and matching sun visors, with prices starting at £625 plus VAT. You’ll find them at www.masai4x4.com.

Any 90 or 110 Truck-Cab will be suitable for Masai4x4’s new range of replacement headliners. These promise greater strength and resistance to water absorption than the original, and they’re available in a choice of ten different colours

Lanoguard – a rust treatment that promises to be user-friendly, eco-friendly and ready for action all year round PROTECTING YOUR LAND ROVER FROM THE ELEMENTS is one of those subjects that’s never far from the mind of anybody who owns one. Or at least it might not be right now, but if it’s not it will be soon.

Few things, after all, are an investment the way a Landy is. And like all investments, you need to look after it.

Hence Lanoguard. This is a DIY rustproofing product for your Land Rover’s underbody, and it promises to be user-friendly, easy to apply and, rather topically, perfect for application in cold weather.

‘Our products come with everything you need to care for your whole underbody and chassis,’ says Lanoguard, ‘giving lasting, effective protection against the elements.’

The product’s formula is designed to work by hermetically sealing the surface it’s applied to. Lanoguard says this will ‘displace moisture and oxygen and stop rust dead,’ and that it ‘protects against all salt, acid and alkaline corrosion with a simple barrier coat which stays in place through jet washing, road spray and heat.’ It promises to do the same for bimetallic corrosion, too, which is a particularly big deal if you own a Land Rover of a certain age.

Sure enough, Lanoguard says its products are ‘a great solution for keeping old and new Land Rover chassis’ well maintained and rust-free.’ They’re natural and non-toxic, too, and they’re made by a small family company right here in Britain.

They’re also ‘trusted by thousands of Land Rover owners across the UK.’ Which means you might already have discovered all the above for yourself. If not, a visit to www.lanoguard.co.uk will be the opening salvo in your war against the elements.

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LAND ROVER

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The World’s best accessories for Land Rover Defender Terrafirma Serious 4x4 Accessories: Certified Manufactured to Specification For more information visit www.terrafirma4x4.com www.allmakes4x4.com email sales@terrafirma4x4.com

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PRODUCTS

Mk1 Range Rover lamp lenses from Lucas Classic WHEN YOU’RE RESTORING a classic vehicle, it’s often the smallest details that cause the biggest problems. That’s why the Lucas Classic range is so valuable to Land Rover owners.

You won’t find a galvanised chassis or a spring and shock kit in here. But you will find the sort of parts without which there wouldn’t be any point in starting a project, because you’d never finish it.

Parts like light lenses. Not the sort of stuff you’re going to get hung up on at the outset – but you certainly should, because you soon will if you

haven’t planned for them. That’s why the latest additions to the Lucas Classic range available from Britpart is going to be good news for anyone panning to bring a Range Rover back to life.

The range includes front indicator lenses as well as rear cluster and side assemblies, both with and without the black border.

You’ll be pleased to learn that yes, they do indeed do left and right lenses in each case.

Prices vary depending on which lens you’re looking at, and of course who you’re buying from. As a very rough guide, however, you should budget

something in the region of a hundred quid plus the VAT for a pair of rear assemblies or front indicators, while the rear side lenses ought to cost you a bit less than that. Go looking at www.britpart.com and you’ll find out all you need to know.

A welcome way to lift the tension…

WHAT’S CAUSING YOU TENSION? It can be all sorts of things, some of them not even related to owning a Land Rover, but the good news is that if it’s to do with a lack of tension in the high-tension department, Lucas Classic is here to help.

On sale through Britpart is a range of HT lead sets to suit a range of engines. These include the 2.25 and 2.5 petrol units used in the Series II/III and 90/110 – as well as the 3.5-litre V8, as fitted in the Defender, Discovery Range Rover and 109” Stage One. Available separately, the range includes the single lead from the coil to the distributor and then there’s the four and eight-strong arrays going from the dizzy to the spark plugs.

The only way you can believe how big a difference you can make by fitting a new set of these things is if you’ve done it in the past and seen the results for yourself.

If you want to know more, you’ll find it by paying a visit to lucasclassic.com/landrover. And to buy a set, head for whichever Britpart dealer you favour.

Ignition switches for Land Rovers that are more than just classics THE GREAT THING about the range of items available from Lucas Classic is that they’re not just for rivet counters. With some makes of car, anything more than a couple of decades old is only ever seen in a museum – but in the case of Land Rovers, the overwhelming majority are simply old trucks still being used the same way as ever.

That’s why items like the ignition switch shown above, which is available through the Britpart range of distributors, are about much more than just helping restorers complete the sort of build that ends up with someone footing a bill for more than you spend on your mortage each year. For the most part, they’ll be going on to daily drives, weekend toys and in some cases even trucks that are still working for their living.

The trucks in question are the Series IIA and III – as well as the early 90 and 110. Classic? Sure.

But in a very, very real-world kind of a way. You’ll find them, along with a whole lot more besides from Lucas Classic, at your chosen Britpart stockist.

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PRODUCTS

Lucas Classic is steadily building a wide range of parts for early Land Rovers – and among them is a variety of warning lights to suit the Series I (brass bodied fittings to the right of the pictures above) and Series II/IIA. The latter cover oil, fuel, charge and choke functions but don’t come with bulbs and bulb holders included. To find out more, visit www.britpart.com.

Read all about it!

THE 2022 EDITION of the Lucas Classic Parts Catalogue is out now.

And if you’ve got a Land Rover old enough to qualify, you need it in your life.

A 20-page A5 booklet, the catalogue is an ideal source of reference for the ever-growing range of parts available from Lucas Classic. Like the parts themselves, you can get it from Britppart dealers – though very much unlike them, it’s free.

AMONG THE LATEST NEW ADDITIONS to the Lucas Classic range is a variety of ignition coils to suit historic Land Rovers. These include two similar items, both of them ballasted 12V units for use with a 1.6 ohm resistor – one standard and the other, with the yellow body here, high-performance.

Lucas Classic also now offers a non-ballast 12V coil for Defenders, Discoverys and Range Rovers (1986-on) fitted with the Rover V8 engine.

All three options are available through the Britpart network – you can find your nearest dealer by paying a visit to www.britpart.com.

BRITPART’S DEALERS ARE NOW STOCKING Lucas Classic column switches for the pre-Td5 Defender 90, 110 and 130, operating the vehicle’s headlamps and dip/horn/indicators. Prices vary from stockist to stockist, but whether you’re after a switch or a set of leads it shouldn’t cost more than a decent round of drinks. Track them down at www.britpart.com.

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Hi-cap camping If the weather outside your window leaves you feeling as grey as the sky is overcast, why not feast your eyes upon this Hi-Cap 109” and take inspiration for your next summer adventure?

Words and pictures: Mike Trott

L

and Rovers were always designed to be versatile and practical in nature, in the same way a Swiss Army knife has functionality at its core. However, some Green Oval machines were always going to be more flexible than others. And in this case, size does matter.

Pause on the Swiss Army knife for a second: when I was 10 my grandparents gave me one as a present. I instantly felt cooler, and more prepared, like I’d be able to deploy my Victorinox Climber when required, say, if my Nintento 64 broke and I needed to carry out a full diagnosis. In reality, my index finger sustained two cuts on the first day of ownership – but I still possess and cherish it to this day.

My point is that I was aware of even bigger knives, with more features and more cred. With the Series III Land Rover, if you wanted to become the Mr Practical, there was only one variant suitable for such a man – the Series III 109” High Capacity Pick Up. This wasn’t just an ordinary Series III with an already hardy image, but a pick-up truck that could boast an additional 25% in cubic capacity over the standard 109” truck cab. Not only did more space mean more room for all your manly stuff – a chainsaw and half a forest, perhaps – but the heavy-duty suspension ensured the vehicle

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wouldn’t slump weakly to its knees 50 metres down the road.

If there is one person who can wax lyrical about the usability of this particular workhorse, you might find him at the beach or camping alongside a beautiful vista, made possible by the modifications he’s made on his very own High Capacity Pick Up. ‘I felt this was the ideal base for a camper conversion,’ says Mike Edge as we walk around his fine Land Rover. ‘With the extra space and a little thought and ingenuity, I reckoned it could be turned into a great camper.’

There has certainly been some thought put into how to make best use of that vast loadspace, and the result is a setup that can be used with ease, yet is as solid as the vehicle its situated in.

The framework is credited to steel fabricators CRF UK, based in Shropshire. They’ve rolled out 27mm tubing for the rear hoops – 3mm thick – and used the original mountings to keep an authentic look. Those mounts have been bored out 2mm, though, to account for the thicker tubing, while the height has been increased by 18” to give more room to the people living within.

In the warmer months that’s usually Mike and his partner, Mandy, with the former purchasing the Land Rover in the understanding that their children had reached a certain age, meaning the

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HCPUs received County-spec seats and headlining to ensure the cabin wasn’t completely sparse. It’s still a no-frills Land Rover at heart, though, and was ready to be turned into a camper without fear of compromising any fancy bits pair of them could take off in the Land Rover and do their own thing, safe in the knowledge that the house would have a solid chance of being in one piece upon their return.

But a Land Rover’s load bay can be a pretty sparse environment, even with a frame and bespoke canvas fitted (in this instance a hood from JF Thomas).

‘I’ve insulated the floors using plywood and then rubber matting, while there’s a wooden headboard fitted, giving access to the cabin,’ explains Mike. ‘The sofa also folds down into a bed,

measuring two metres long and 1.2 metres wide.

I have to commend Sue Candlin of VW Camper Dreams for the upholstering. You can remove it quickly to revert back to a normal pick-up, plus there’s a cupboard to retain a washbasin, awning poles and a small gas cooker.

‘It’s a real practical classic; a true multi-purpose vehicle yet retaining its classic Land Rover lines and appeal.’

Arguably, the only problem with the High Capacity Pick Up is that so few were made.

Production only started in 1982 and by then Land

Rover had one eye on its successor when the One Ten and Ninety vehicles would soon replace the old Series motors.

There’s only a dozen or so Series III Hi-Caps left on the road today, but Mike may have one of the best-preserved examples around. Not only did the Hi-Cap have uprated suspension but the HCPUs were also given County spec headlinings and seats, both original features that can be observed in Mike’s pick-up today.

By the early 80s, Land Rover had also gone to some length to improve the 2.25-litre unit, with

‘I bought the Land Rover last year with the | knowledge that it was quite rare. I’m no Land Rover expert, but I like the simplicity’

The wooden headboard at the front of the pick-up bed allows access through to the spacious load bay, in which you’ll find some rubber matting on top of a plywood-lined floor. That sofa also folds down into a more than useful sleeping platform, and there’s a cupboard for all Mike’s camping needs

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Come the early Eighties, Land Rover’s 2.25-litre engines had become stronger than ever, now with a five-bearing crankshaft and Lucas ACR alternator

five bearings now being used instead of three.

These engines also carried the later CAV type fuel pump and Lucas ACR alternator.

But it’s not just the engine that’s strong on this particular old-fashioned workhorse. The chassis has been replaced with a galvanised example and has been treated with Waxoyl to help this Land Rover live on like we know they can. With good, solid maintenance and a bit of TLC, these old Series Land Rovers can outlive most of their owners.

The TLC in this case comes in the form of a respray and a thorough servicing at regular intervals. But seeing as this is a Land Rover, these are acts of kindness the owner can perform themselves with very little trouble.

‘I bought this Land Rover last year with the knowledge that it was quite rare,’ comments

Mike. ‘And I’m no Land Rover expert, but I like the simplicity. I wanted something usable; something I could pull a trailer with, and the pick-up is an all-round vehicle. It doesn’t cost much to run, and there’s no depreciation!’

Mike has shown that even 35 years after being built, while a vehicle’s purpose may change, a practical truck will always be practical.

This Series III may have been a traditional hack in the 1980s, but today it works to give Mike and Mandy a leisurely retreat when the strains of the daily grind

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become too much for them. Like a Swiss Army knife then, you’ll always find a situation where a Land Rover is the perfect tool for the job.

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Doubled Up

Classic Land Rovers took many shapes and sizes when they were new.

But Solihull never made a double-cab until the coil-sprung era came along.

The solution, if you love your leafers? Just build one of your own…

Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

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W

hen it comes to Land Rovers, you’d think Solihull had the whole workhorse thing covered.

The company produced basic machines that were unrivalled off-road – and would destroy themselves upon it. But keeping Series Land Rovers to the fields and farms they were intended for meant you were keeping them to the brief.

These vehicles came in various body styles.

Or at least they did after Land Rover thought it best not to have people driving around with their heads as an impact zone, should the vehicle roll.

There have been short-wheelbase Landies, long-wheelbase Landies, station wagons, pickups, hard tops, soft-tops, whatever kind of top you needed really. But it took Land Rover until the 1980s to ‘mass produce’ anything with a double cab body, and that was only in the form of the rather oversized 127.

With the Td5 era, Defender 110 Double Cabs became commonplace and over the years Land Rover has kept its protagonist updated in a number of guises. But what happens if you wish you’d had a double-cab body for your Series IIA? The beauty (or lunacy) within the community of classic Landy fans we all so dearly love is that there is always someone willing to question the original template; someone believing that they can improve on the manufacturer’s own interpretation. And, well, because the cliché goes that these vehicles are just big Meccano sets, changing a few bits around and making your own ideal Landy, it’s child’s play.

Take Paloma, for example. Nice, isn’t she? She wasn’t born like this I’m afraid, though, because surgery has been necessary to get her to look like this. Imagine a Hollywood actress from yesteryear who is trying to get ‘ready’ for one final blockbuster: a little stretch here, some inflating of

the rear end and finally a bit of a makeover to get the whole package looking more youthful.

For Paloma it has worked well. For Paloma, faith has been rewarded. For some celebrities, it’s a more unfortunate tale/tail ending.

Adam Norton, proprietor of Norton Automotive, discovered this A-lister and has revealed some of the details behind Paloma’s early career.

‘Paloma started her life just as a bog-standard 109” Pick Up and was used by her first owner from 1967 to 2006,’ Adam tells me, as we gaze over in her direction. As a 109” Pick Up, Paloma was used to hard graft and getting her hands dirty; her first keeper used her on a smallholding and registered her as an agricultural vehicle.

If there is one thing that can make a Land Rover particularly desirable, it’s when the word ‘smallholding’ is present. Often, when Land Rovers have only been subjected to light work on smallholdings, their mileage can be minimal.

A nice, tidy interior does everything required of it without wasting time on unnecessary luxuries – though there’s a classic old cabin heater in there, as well as some nicely carried-off carpeting in the doors

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19/04/2022 16:23

Left: The much-loved old 2.25-litre petrol engine is synonymous with classic Land Rovers. It’s smooth-running and reliable, with the same honest simplicity people love so much about the vehicles themselves Below (inset): The signs of surgery are definitely there – it’s body mods Land Rover style, not anything you’d expect to see in a custom car line-up. All part of the charm, you could say – however elegant she might look from a distance, get up close and this is a proper farmer-spec working vehicle

In Paloma’s case, the clock currently only reads 10,000 miles, and Adam has been told that the figure is absolutely genuine.

In a way, it would be unlikely for a lady to have undertaken anything drastically labour-intensive back then, so maybe Paloma has looked after herself all these years. She has a number of assets after all. Her golden heart can also be identified as a 2.25-litre petrol motor, so there’s sweetness on the inside as well as the out.

The manual four-speed gearbox and its shifter reaches out to a six-seater layout with elephant hide upholstery and even a working Smiths heater. All this lying within a Bronze Green exterior and topped off with a Limestone roof.

But she has brawn to match the beauty, this girl.

She’s solid, carrying a chassis and bulkhead in remarkably good order.

‘In 2006, the nephew of the first owner became Paloma’s keeper and that was when the work was done, between ’06 and ’07,’ explains Adam.

40 3pp Norton SIIA.indd 40

‘He must have used a station wagon vehicle as a donor to get Paloma into this state. That’s the thing with Land Rovers – if there isn’t the exact specification of vehicle available, you just build it yourself!’

Following her relationship with the nephew, Paloma found a new suitor in early 2016 who carried out a light mechanical overhaul on her, including a full service, fitting new brakes, a new exhaust, and installing new clutch cylinders and new propshaft.

‘I bought her from the third owner after the gentleman had brought her back up to a good roadworthy condition,’ says Adam.

It’s not hard to see why Paloma caught Adam’s eye.

The more modern, factory-built Td5 DoubleCabs have always looked a little more brutish and aggressive to my eye. But seeing a Series Land Rover in four-door pick-up form throws up an entirely different persona. By their very nature, these older trucks are not as beefy as Defenders – and Paloma is a daintier soul altogether. She’s every inch a double-cab – and every inch an adorable classic.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:23

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06/11/2018 14:06

Extra Special When Jim Marsden bought his Defender 90 SV, little did he know that one day he would drive it to a string of victories in Britain’s top winch challenges.

But even as he was doing so, there was one thing he did know: that the day would come when he turned it back into a showroom truck. It’s just that his idea of a showroom truck was a bit more radical than Land Rover’s…

Words: Paul Looe Pictures: Harry Hamm

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It might be a bit of a jewellery-spec 90 these days, but this is a vehicle that dominated the hardcore winch challenge scene for more than half a decade – as well as being the test bed for many of Gigglepin’s best known products. These included the twin-motor top housing for the Warn 8274, which is now seen on many of the best off-road competition vehicles in Britain and, indeed, the world – so even if it’s not going to be doing any more competitions, it’s still totally fitting that the winch on the bumper is the company’s latest Adventure Series unit.

Behind it is a pair of Odyssey batteries which saw several seasons’ action then sat untouched for many years – before three days of trickle

T

wo decades ago this year, Land Rover made a break with tradition and did something extraordinary. At the time, it was more than extraordinary: it was verging on the unbelievable.

Only 90 of them were made, but the Defender 90 SV heralded what would become a new direction for the company. A batch of 90s was sent to Land Rover Special Vehicles – and with alloy wheels, metallic paint and a black soft-top, what Solihull’s in-house customising operation produced was the first look-at-me Landy. There had been many years of County models by then, but this was the first ‘lifestyle’ model to come out of Solihull.

Dating from the later part of the 200 Tdi era, the SV was still a good, simple Defender under all the bling. Good, simple and possessed of disc brakes on the rear axle, as well as an engine and gearbox that didn’t turn themselves into scrap metal with the same enthusiasm as some of those that came before and after.

This made it ideal for vehicle builders of ten or so years ago, to whom the 200 Tdi 90 struck the perfect balance of modern technology and traditional simplicity. The only problem was that being such a rarity, turning one into a modified warhorse was a good way of earning the wrath of serious Landy sniffers.

That’s exactly what happened to Jim Marsden, proprietor of Gigglepin 4x4, who’s had the rare distinction of receiving hate mail for his off-road activities. His crime was to use a 90 SV in winch challenges: not just use it, in fact, but turn it into one of the most successful competition motors of its era.

Between 2001 and 2007, the SV scored top three finishes in every major UK winch event, winning many of them outright. And for every hater who thought such a rare Land Rover should

be treated like a classic car, there were dozens who appreciated Jim’s efforts not just to improve the truck but to drive it the way a 90 should be driven. Not recklessly, but hard as hell.

During those six years of competing, this Solihull rarity was caned through more mud, bashed against more trees and dragged over more rocks and stumps than a hundred average Defenders put together will see in their lifetimes.

It was the test bed for a wide range of products, including Gigglepin’s heavy-duty suspension arms and now-famous upgrades for the Warn 8274.

Finally, it was retired from action and (worst of all, you might say) spent half a decade untouched by the sun’s rays.

During that time, Jim’s reputation as a top challenge driver was going from strength to strength. His ambitions had outgrown what the UK scene could offer and, behind the wheel of a new competition Landy, he started adding Europe’s top events to his burgeoning list of successes. But he never forgot his 90.

‘I always wanted to rebuild it,’ he says. ‘It’s a car that’s won or been placed in every UK major from 2001 to 2007. It’s a special car and it’s got a lot of memories for a lot of people.’ He even bought a new galvanised chassis, but this too ended up getting mothballed as the demands of running a thriving business and competing at the very highest level took up all his time.

But then, about a year ago, that thriving business gave him exactly the excuse he needed.

‘I knew we would be launching a new winch,’ he says. ‘And we also needed a vehicle to show off Gigglepin’s suspension. I talked to my workshop guys and we decided we could probably rebuild the SV in a nine-week window, if we got on with it’.

When you’re talking about a truck that’s been hammered non-stop through Britain’s worst off-road conditions and you’ve already got a new

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 4pp Gigglepin 90SV.indd 43

chassis waiting to go under it, the question of whether it’s still going to the same car afterwards is bound to crop up. The answer is simple: get talking to him and it turns out that however hard he may have used it, Jim never lost sight of his vehicle’s heritage. In fact, as far as he’s concerned he’s merely been adding to it all the while.

‘I’ve tried to be as sympathetic as possible,’ he says. ‘I didn’t want to replace everything, stick the registration plate back on it and say here’s the same car when it quite clearly wouldn’t be. If you try to refurbish the parts nicely, they’re right for the vehicle and they work, and we’ve tried to do that as much as we can.’

A case in point was the bulkhead – something which often needs replaced on Defenders of this age even if the toughest thing they’ve ever done is pull a trailer full of sheep. ‘I’d had quite a serious roll in Wales one day and I’d damaged the bulkhead quite badly,’ Jim recalls. ‘Also, the rust worms had got in there. So we sent it for shotblasting… and when we got it back, we could have cried.

‘At that point, it would have been easier to pick up the phone and order a new one. But I didn’t want to bin that bulkhead. There were little things on it that to me, make it my bulkhead. So I welded it up and sorted it out. A lot of it’s new, maybe it’s a bit like Trigger’s broom, but it’s back up and running. And it is the right bulkhead!’

The same went for the axles, which needed ‘some serious love’ both inside and out. That’s exactly what they got, however, and once again the result is that the 90 rides on the same parts as when it left Solihull back in 1993.

Perhaps the biggest job of the lot, though, was the rear tub. The original had, in Jim’s words, ‘seen one event too many. The filler neck area was destroyed, and so was the whole of the back. We kept beating it straight back then, but it was dead.’

43 19/04/2022 16:21

Jim ordered a galvanised chassis from Richards some years ago with a view to rebuilding the 90. It was built to SV spec, complete with holes for the roll cage mounts, and modified with a flush-fitting gearbox crossmember, mounts for Gigglepin’s own rear radius arms, stronger steering box mounts and the recovery loops you see here welded to the rear crossmember. When it came to the rebuild, the original proved to be in better nick than anyone expected – saving it would have added to the truck’s originality, but would also have added three weeks to the job, and with the Richards unit waiting patiently it simply made sense to use it He admits that whereas the bulkhead was a labour of love, this was more like just a labour.

‘Land Rover rear tubs are put together with spot welds. So I had to find a way of rebuilding it that wouldn’t mean using hundreds of pop rivets.

‘Luckily, we found a body panel glue that’s absolutely fantastic. So I set about straightening the tub. I spent a long time with hammer and dolly, straightening panels, heat-shrinking areas, going back over panels trying to get the dents out, steam cleaning, sorting everything out and then setting it all up so it would fit with the other panels. It was very hard work.

But I managed to save the cappings on one side – though the other one was, well, most of it was missing…’

What a result, then, that several years previously he had bought a capping from his local Land Rover dealer. ‘You can’t get them

any more, all of them are gone. But I’d bought a genuine SV capping and it had been sitting on the shelves for years.’

All good, and it got better still. You’ll shake your head in awe at the man’s luck, but get this. ‘I never competed in it with a full canvas on, but even so the original hood she came with was destroyed.

So way back, years ago, I phoned up my local main dealer and asked if they still had one.

‘He said “you’re not going to believe this, we’ve got one on the shelf. We ordered it in for a customer years ago and they never collected it.

We’ve looked at Land Rover Parts and they haven’t got one either.” I said I’ll have it, and how much do you want for it, in that order! I couldn’t not have it!

Last SV hood in the world!’

Told you you’d shake your head in awe at his luck. But read on: ‘So when we were doing the rebuild I was very cocky, got a brand new canvas

for it, not a problem. So we got the canvas out of the bag one day, laid it out on the floor… and saw that the mice had wanted it even more than we did. There was a hole, more than a foot square, that had been gnawed in the front edge. I could have cried.’

At least this meant he had a template, though, so off he hood went to Kim at All Wheel Trim.

‘Now, the original SV hoods had these poppers on them which were forever coming undone, and a pain to fit, and there are better systems on the market now. But I wanted it to look right – I don’t like it when they don’t have the right catches and stuff. So against Kim’s advice, he thought I was mental, we fitted poppers on it. And all credit to his hood, it’s that good that they fit bang on.’

Elsewhere, it was a case of moving through the vehicle and rebuilding everything that needed it.

And everything needed it. ‘You wouldn’t believe

The 90 was the test bed for Gigglepin’s rear radius arms. These are longer than standard and have a stronger design combining a tubular arm with a box-section shroud.

They were originally fitted using rose joints, which Jim found were wearing out at a fearsome rate. Having discovered Currie Enterprises’ now-famous Johnny Joints, however, he was an instant convert

44 4pp Gigglepin 90SV.indd 44

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:21

‘If you keep your car clean, your car will love you.

It’s that simple. If you keep an exhaust clean, you will not believe how much longer it will last’ how many parts those seat boxes are made from!’ says Jim, having rebuilt them piece by piece to look if not new, then certainly original, and he even managed to make the battery boxes go again. ‘I was gobsmacked that such a rusty old mess was salvageable, to be honest, let alone into a good enough condition to be galvanised.’

However easy it would be to replace things, Jim reused them wherever he could. The intercooler pipes went away to be passivated, and details like the bonnet catches and wing mounts were brought back from the dead. The wiring harness was unpicked and re-loomed, using conduit to keep it tidy, and even some of the brake lines were able to go again.

How can this possibly be the case on a truck that’s had such a hard life? Pay attention, because here comes an answer worth listening to: ‘I was always quite religious in getting the car clean. If you ever want to buy your Land Rover a special treat, buy a decent cleaner. If you keep your car clean, your car will love you. It’s that simple. Even something like an exhaust: if you always keep an exhaust clean, you will not believe how much longer it will last.

‘So things we were expecting to be rotten and destroyed, we were finding they were actually

4pp Gigglepin 90SV.indd 45

in pretty good order. Bolts came out when you wanted them to.’ This last statement alone should be enough to convince you.

And don’t look away now, either, because here comes some more good advice: ‘The timing belt, it’s meant to be changed at 60,000 miles. I did it every six to eight months, religiously. Water gets in, it goes for the idler bearings and it’s just not worth taking the chance. Anyone using one in anger every weekend, change that belt as often as you can. Commonsense I think is the word…’

And guess what? The 90 is still running perfectly well on its original engine. It’s on its original gearbox, too, and Jim thinks the same goes for the transfer case. At twenty years, six of them in death-and-hell winching action.

Get the point?

Getting towards the finishing touches, Jim had that new winch to fit. ‘It’s one of our very latest Adventure Series winches. That fits with what the car’s about, which is moving on and trying things.’

The winch sits on a competition height bumper from Devon 4x4, custom made with non-tapered ends and stainless steel loops: ‘just a really nice bumper,’ says Jim, and you can tell that just by looking at it.

Really nice, but not really original. So, would those Landy purists who hated seeing Special Vehicles’ best being winch-challenged be any less horrified at the way it’s been restored? You’d like to think so.

At the very least, you’d hope they would accept that if nothing else, this is a 90 that’s been used the way Land Rover intended – and will be again.

‘I love it,’ says Jim. ‘Grin factor ten. It was the family car when I first bought it. My girlfriend and I, we took it everywhere. We’ve travelled all over Europe in it, and that’s what I want to do again.

We’ve got some great memories, some great stories…

‘People say it should be back to concours.

But to me, every Land Rover leaves the showroom and then, only then, takes on its personality.

And that 90, as it stands now, in my eyes that’s how the SV should have left the showroom.

Bigger tyres, a little suspension lift, decent winch on the front, good lights… that, to me, is how it should be, that’s my own interpretation of the SV. That’s why it’s my special vehicle.’

19/04/2022 16:21

An unexpected classic…

Way back in 1989, the original Discovery was a classic case of playing the percentages. Who could have foreseen that one day, Land Rover’s answer to the rising tide of Japanese SUVs would become a classic in its own right?

Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Mike Trott and Nick Dimbleby

W

hen a vehicle leaves the factory with its gleaming new paintwork, zero miles on the clock and its new owner pacing somewhere, like an expectant father in a maternity ward, at that point the vehicle is only concerned with fulfilling one role.

This usually coincides with whatever the vehicle has been marketed as. In 1989, when the Land Rover Discovery first appeared, this was Britain’s answer to the Japanese in the battle of who could make the ultimate family vehicle. The Disco was designed as an affordable middle-of-the-road

Dunsfold Disco 1.indd 46

SUV, ideal for the middle-of-the-road family. You could seat all of the 2.4 children, and more, plus you had the usual Land Rover capability and adventurous spirit in tow.

I wonder, though, just how many owners doing the school run with a wagon full of children in 1992 would have foreseen the Discovery 1 becoming a collectible vehicle?

Perhaps this would have been harder to predict, because unlike the sort of sports cars and luxury vehicles that are often pampered throughout their entire lives, the Discovery is a machine that has always had a duty to fill. It’s an

all-weather, all-terrain do-it-all motor and few can argue against its work ethic over the years.

Let me elaborate. Many of the Discoverys that were bought in the Nineties would have been used for all of those domestic chores: the carrying of the offspring and the loading up of the car for that mini-break down to the caravan in half term.

Towing has become another of the attributes synonymous with the Land Rover Discovery, and if Discos weren’t found lugging, they were more than likely doing a bit of mud plugging. How many Tdi Discoverys have you seen lifted up by a hand-

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:27

ful of inches, dressed up with huge mud-terrain tyres and wearing enough chequer plate to make you question whether this was a vehicle created

by RoboCop? Versatile the Discovery certainly is. Even today you see cheap and worn examples being used in 4x4 response units to help out communities when the weather gets bad. So it makes it all the more astonishing that such an immaculate version of the Disco 1 can be found within the Dunsfold Collection, almost thirty years after it was first built.

Now, think back twenty-five years or so and you’ll find yourself in the early Nineties. Scary

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC Dunsfold Disco 1.indd 47

19/04/2022 16:27

The arrival of the 2.5 Tdi engine was a watershed moment for Land Rover. Prior to this, the company had tried and failed to make a diesel version of the 3.5-litre V8, following which the Range Rover was fitted with VM’s 2.5-litre Prima unit, but the idea of the Discovery using any of the four-pot units from the 90/110 of the time was unthinkable. The Tdi ticked every box – and ushered in a new generation of engines and vehicles which was to last almost a decade.

These Discos and Defenders (and indeed Range Rovers) continue to be seen by many people as the best vehicles Land Rover has ever built

thought. In the charts you had the likes of Nirvana and REM, while The Simpsons was still a relatively new TV programme.

A lot has changed since then: Dave Grohl is no longer a mere drummer, but the frontman of one of the world’s most celebrated bands. Michael Stipe looks like George Bernard Shaw and Bart Simpson is more famous than either of them.

The Land Rover Discovery fits in here somewhere too – trust me. While the Foo Fighters have come out with some fantastic tunes, and The Simpsons is still something I’m happy to watch when I get home from work, do these really compare to masterpieces like Find The River, Smells Like Teen Spirit and the early screenings of our beloved American family?

These are classics – and so too is the Discovery 1. Yes, newer versions of the Discovery have come along and boasted more technology, just like the sound or picture quality you get on newer songs or programmes, but the Disco 1 is still a relatively

permanent object (apart from when you’re talking about its body panels).

The great thing about Land Rover is that because their vehicles evolved so slowly, particularly from the outside, it means you can use the finer details to point to an older model, whether you’re looking at the type of seats fitted inside the cabin, or the decals adorned across that bodywork.

Tweaking rather than making wholesale changes can sometimes be seen as a negative on new vehicles – but when you look back through history, it’s the sort of trait that can aid a vehicle’s transition into being a classic.

This Dunsfold Discovery was first registered on 7 June 1990, a time when the Disco was still only available in three-door form. It was part of the early band of Discoverys that would play a huge role in saving Land Rover as a company – just another day’s work for the Disco.

I mentioned that finer details can be put under the magnifying glass when looking at these clas-

sic vehicles, and it’s the same with this Discovery.

The Windjammer Blue exterior may be nothing unusual, but the block decals across the sides and the small Discovery and Tdi signatures along the flanks all highlight the age of this vehicle.

Inside, the Terence Conran interior harks back to the engineering of the late Eighties. Let’s face it, who would have a Sonar Blue plastic interior to-

It looks fearsomely dated now, but the Discovery’s interior was nothing short of iconic in its day. Land Rover had engaged Terence Conran to design a concept for it, though production realities meant taht what ended up going into production was a long way from his original idea. Still, it was at once cool and practical – and, famously, it was blue. The Disco was a seven seater from the word go, too, even if the last two wouldn’tbe considered worth of the name by today’s standards

48 Dunsfold Disco 1.indd 48

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day? What often makes a car distasteful against new vehicles, though, is actually what encourages an object to be more collectible. It’s like a trip down memory lane, such as walking into a 1970’s kitchen – it’s retro and from a time when the ideas were the same, but executed differently.

But how did this Discovery escape the abuse of the domestic and off-roading scene? Well, this Disco first landed with an owner in Kent; a GP who had traded his 1972 Range Rover for what was a revolutionary new Discovery at the time.

He must have really wanted one too, because most of the options on the list were ticked. This had an alarm, sun hatch, dog guard and tow pack,

plus seat and spare wheel covers, wheel arch extensions and side rubbing strips. Again, it’s a sign of the times when you consider options on the Discovery 5 include whether or not you’d like an in-built fridge…

Part of the mystery as to how this example has remained so in tact is down to its usage. It was clearly used sparingly, with a mere 51,000 miles being run up on the clock, and that was between when the gentleman bought the vehicle and 2014 when he eventually parted company with it. The condition of this Discovery is quite simply remarkable. If there is a better example of a three-door Discovery out there, I would love to see it.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC Dunsfold Disco 1.indd 49

Most of the early Discoverys that were produced will have lived a full life and either be a shadow of their former selves, or worse, no longer with us thanks to the ease in which they rusted.

But if there is one single thing which this particular Discovery highlights, it’s that no matter what a vehicle may be built for initially, even the most versatile and hard-working of vehicles can become classics.

This Discovery is one of many treasures held within the Dunsfold Collection. Should you wish to find out more about the charity and its numerous rare and exotic Land Rovers, head over to www. dunsfoldcollection.co.uk

49 19/04/2022 16:27

The test of time

After being around for the best part of sixty years, you’d expect your body not to be quite the spring chicken it once was. And it’s the same with Land Rovers. Dennis Wright, though, is more than happy with his truck being a little bit lived-in around the edges…

Words and pictures: Mike Trott

4pp Wright 107.indd 50

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T

here comes a point in every man’s life when things reach their peak. And then, inexorably, they start to deteriorate in the general direction of downhill.

Sometimes surprising quickly, too.

The boyish, youthful and fresh-faced looks, for example, and the ability to move quickly under the power of what you consumed earlier at breakfast time. Our hair, our fitness and the general upkeep of our bodies takes a bit of a back seat while we’re out enjoying life, running round after offspring and focusing on our careers.

There are very, very many Land Rovers out there that can relate to this sort of thing. While there may be a select few Green Oval motors that are pampered and worshipped long and deep into their later years, the majority of Landies – probably the type that you or I have parked outside our window right now – are old companions which are just part of the furniture, and a constant slightly imperfect presence in our daily lives.

Dennis Wright has quite an unusual companion, in the shape of a Series I 107 Station Wagon. It’s a

vehicle that is rather rare and was only ever made in Solihull for a few years before being replaced by the 109.

But while the Series I 107 may have only been produced for a short period of time, Dennis has owned his particular 107 for the last 41 years, making it a very memorable and much-loved member of the Wright household.

‘I take it out occasionally and I’ll have the grandkids come along with me for the ride,’ smiles Dennis. ‘This was one of my first ever motors. I had an old Hillman Minx at the same time, though.’

If there’s ever proof that Land Rovers stand the test of time and cars like the Hillman Minx don’t, this is surely it.

‘I bought this from a local guy in Skegby, and actually for £425 – he was struggling financially at the time and kind of needed to sell it,’ reveals Dennis.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 4pp Wright 107.indd 51

‘The thing is, I’d seen it on the forecourt; then it disappeared. It turned out he’d parked the 107 back at his own home because he didn’t want to sell it!’ he laughs.

While most of this Series I’s life has been fairly unremarkable, it has managed to grab a few moments in the spotlight throughout the six decades it’s been alive.

For instance, should you be the owner of a Haynes manual entitled Land Rover Series I, II and III Purchase and Restoration Guide, then turning to page 21 should reveal Dennis’ 107.

And if you do happen to find said article, you’ll probably be confused as to why the 107 there is in the shade of limestone and the pictures we have for you here are showing a 107 in grey.

‘It came out the factory as grey, but I bought it in the limestone colour,’ states Dennis.

‘The guy I bought it from changed it to limestone, but when I went to turn it

19/04/2022 16:07

back to grey eight years ago, I realised he’d never changed the details on the car’s documents.’

Dennis does have plenty of documents, though, showing how much has changed in the motoring industry over the years. The original logbook has got various stamps in from the Rover company and the dates when this vehicle was first registered: 3 April 1958 – just days before the new Se-

ries II was unveiled to the world.

‘There was a chap who had an 80” near to where we used to live and I used to work on it with him when I was at school,’ Dennis reminisces.

‘I thought that they seemed to be relatively easy to work on; you didn’t need any specialist tools, and you could take them apart and put them back together again like a big Meccano set.’

It’s the same reason the majority of us have found refuge in this messy hobby; the same reason we have these old relics lying about in our garages and fields and workshops.

Like many of us, Dennis has also exhibited his competitive side in the past.

‘I have to admit I am very competitive. I used to trial all over the country and have managed to win the league a few times – most of our trophies (he’s a member of the Peak and Dukeries Land Rover Club) have had my name on,’ he says.

He’s very humble about his achievements and even his position as club president. You’d imagine Dennis wouldn’t be the type to shout or brag about winning to his friends, nor does he show off and treat his 107 any different to if it was an old farmer’s 90.

Dennis was actually fancying a short wheelbase Land Rover when he came across his 107, but something obviously swayed his heart into chasing the purchase of it. Perhaps it was the camping possibilities or the fact it could seat ten people with legs!

‘It was very tidy back then – but then that was 41 years ago,’ he laughs while looking back at some old photos of his Landy. ‘They do last, don’t they,’ Dennis adds rhetorically. ‘Usually you get rid of motors because they rust to pieces or have some serious mechanical issues. They’re pretty adorable really, aren’t they?’

52 4pp Wright 107.indd 52

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Like the vehicle itself, the 2.0-litre petrol engine under the bonnet remains original – albeit with a few of the scars and patches that come with the passing of time. For all the oil stains, surface rust and gaffer tape, though, it’s as trustworthy as ever

‘It was very tody when I bought it – but then, that was 41 years ago! They do last, don’t they? Usually you get rid of motors because they rust to pieces or have serious mechanical issues. They’re pretty adorable really, aren’t they?’

I tend to agree, particularly when looking back at the Series Land Rovers and how their simplicity and foibles often make them some of the most characterful vehicles ever to be seen travelling down the world’s roads.

They do last as well, albeit because we help them to. Dennis’, for example, is on a galvanised chassis just like many of these old Series vehicles now are. And quite rightfully so.

These vehicles may have become part of the furniture for us. But wouldn’t it be great if in another few decades’ time, they’re still lolling about on our driveways, making people smile and giving us all that messy hobby we fettlers love so much?

I for one, will be counting on it.

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A real-world classic It could be argued that a 100” hybrid has no business calling itself a classic Land Rover. But to a true enthusiast, it’s a perfect embodiment of the DIY spirit that has for many decades been making the Landy scene what it is – and for that reason, it’s a bona fide part of the marque’s glorious history Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: Steve Taylor

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hen I was a kid, I used to imagine what it would be like to be able to build anything I wanted. If I hankered after a new bike, for example, I’d dream of spending the afternoon in the garage and knocking one up. On occasions I’d even get as far as trying to build something before realising, after hours spent fiddling, that I didn’t have any of the right tools for the job and that even if I did, I’d have no idea of what to do with them.

So I’ve always been somewhat in awe of people who do possess these abilities.

I remember when my neighbour decided his house was too small and set about constructing a new one in the garden with more bedrooms and a bigger kitchen.

I could see the project taking shape from my bathroom window and would spend hours every day sat on the toilet, staring in wonderment at his ambitious project.

Eventually it was finished and I realised that I was living next door to the embodiment of my dream. My neighbour had decided he wanted a new home so, rather than going down the conventional route of visiting estate agents and moving, he went ahead and built one. Just the way he wanted.

It’s a similar story with Jonathan Fearn. He found himself wanting a Land Rover to suit his job as a tree surgeon, which meant one big enough to carry his tools but small enough to manoeuvre between trees.

There was no shortage of 90s and 110s ready and willing to take up the mantle. But the former didn’t have enough loadspace – and the latter were too bulky to get around in the orchards where he plied his trade.

So he did the obvious thing and built one, with a 100” wheelbase that would give him the best of both worlds.

Now, you may well be wondering what this has got to do with classic Land Rovers. We are after all talking about a truck Solihull never made. But bear with us.

Back in the early days of 90s and 110s, few people could actually afford one (a state of affairs that’s come back around, but that’s another story). So in a classic case of supply and demand,

they started building their own. Range Rover chassis were cheap and plentiful, Series II and III bodies and panels were practically worthless – and so putting them together became the poor man’s way of creating a Defender.

As you can imagine, these varied wildly in everything from their purpose and their design to the quality of everything from their paintwork to their welding. The best were, and still are, a case study in how good a Land Rover can be.

The worst were, well, not.

Again, though, what does this have to do with classics? Just this. Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the hybrid scene was absolutely colossal. Every lane trip, every playday, every trial and every comp safari would be crawling with them. People used them as everyday cars, work trucks, the lot.

For the best part of two decades after the original 90 and 110 were first brought to life, it may feasibly not be an exaggeration to say that the majority of coil-sprung Land Rovers in enthusiast hands were hybrids.

That’s why, we’d argue, hybrids have a place in the classic lexicon. Not the concours side of the game, obviously, but in the real-world they’re as relevant as anything else.

Having said that, Jonathan’s 100” is unusual in that its wheelbase is not one Solihull ever used for the Defender. Most hybrids were 88s, with a smattering of 80s for hardcore trialling.

Yet people often say the 100” Defender is the best vehicle Land Rover never made. And while many of the everyday, competition-focused hybrids have long since been battered to death, a disproportionate number of these more grown-up examples of the breed have survived into old age.

So we’d argue that such a vehicle now counts as a historical marker in the Land Rover story, just as surely as a rarity from beyond the factory gate. And Jonathan’s would be a good example to look at.

He built it in the early noughties, which means that he had to get it through the SVA test.

Introduced in 2001 and nowadays known as the IVA, this covers safety characteristics, emissions, interior design elements and adherence to construction and use regulations, among other things. It’s kind of similar to the test all new massproduced vehicles undergo in order to receive

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Type Approval; it’s often credited (somewhat unfairly) with sounding the death knell for hybrid building – though as Jonathan demonstrated very effectively, if you were doing it properly you had nothing to fear.

What the test did do was significantly raise the level of preparation needed to register a hybrid.

This put a lot of people off pursuing their own builds – though in many cases, those were the people whose Land Rovers you wouldn’t want to see coming in your direction, so perhaps it was not such a bad idea after all.

‘Any vehicle built or radically modified after 2001 needs to undergo the test,’ explains Jonathan. ‘It is hard work but I reckon it must be a positive thing. After all, it gives a sure-fire way of ensuring that your vehicle doesn’t pose a threat to you or other road users.’

It’s hard to know whether the demise of hybrid building was down to the introduction of the SVA/IVA or the drop in 90s’ and 110s’ values.

Both happened at around the same time, so it’s probably a combination of the two – though the subsequent skyrocketing rise in what Defenders are worth hasn’t been accompanied by a resurgence in hybrids, which you can make of what you will.

Anyway, back to Jonathan. The phrase ‘make of it what you will’ in this case referred to a 110 chassis, and what he made of it was a 100”. The ‘classic’ hybrid, if such a thing, was a Range Rover with Series panels, so this one was a bit out of the ordinary, but a lot of the engineering was the same. Starting with a Rangey would mean not having to shorten it, but what you gain there you lose in having to replace the rear crossmember.

‘I actually think it’s as difficult to fit a Defender body to a Range Rover as it is to shorten a 110,’ Jonathan told us. ‘The bodywork outriggers on the Range Rover are in the wrong place, so you’d need to weld regardless.

‘Besides, I’ve probably got a stronger chassis as a result!’

He’s not joking. While the chassis was going back together, he sleeved it internally with steel box before welding it up then adding more plates around the outside. Then he punched holes through the chassis and spot-welded them to make the assembly stronger than ever.

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Enough welding now? Not likely. Did we mention that as well as a work truck, his Land Rover was to be an off-road toy? We did now.

So he bobtailed it, cutting 6” from the rear to create a truck with the right balance of load space, manoeuvrability and, well, even more manoeuvrability. The 110 was a fine thing but with the best will in the world it was a bit of a bus compared to the 90; with half the difference taken out of its wheelbase and a rear overhang much more in keeping with the latter vehicle, we’re very much looking at the best of both worlds here.

A common theme among tales of hybrid builds is that you can very quickly get them to the point where they look close to complete but then it takes forever to do the little jobs to finish them off. For Jonathan, however, who built the truck on his driveway and in a friend’s barn, once the welding was done the rest of it flew together.

Well, mainly. He was adamant that it was to be powered by a 200Tdi engine, seeing this as ‘much stronger than the 300Tdi or 2.5 Turbo-Diesel,’ and

few would disagree that it’s a superb choice. But like most people building their own Landies back then, he got one from a Discovery.

‘There are a lot of early Discoverys around that are completely rotten,’ he remarked. ‘But their engines are sweet as the day they left the factory. Defenders of that era, on the other hand, are more often than not still going strong.’ Many years have passed since we did our interview, and there are a lot less Tdi Discos left now, but the number of Defenders from back then that have been scrapped rather than rebuilt can probably be counted on the fingers of one hand.

What this means, anyway, is that he now needed to do all the usual work in order to make the Disco engine fit – turbo, oil filter, you know the drill. So it’s a big job, albeit more time-consuming than particularly challenging if you’re good with the spanners. Which Jonathan very clearly is, and he professed to be delighted with the results.

The engine is mated to a standard LT77 fivespeed manual gearbox, behind which Jonathan

fitted the transfer case from a 110 – chosen because it has lower ratios in first and second than one from the 90. This comes in particularly useful when the vehicle is towing heavy loads, not least because the nature of its job means doing so in tough off-road conditions.

Talking of shifting heavy loads, up front there’s a PTO-driven Fairey winch. This is very much the opposite of the competition winches people buy for unbelievable amounts of money to give them an edge in challenge events – it’s slow but extremely strong and can be used all day without overheating, making it perfect for heavy-duty forestry work.

The nature of the vehicle’s job meant it was always going to need mud-terrain tyres, but Jonathan also had to spec it with a lot of road miles in mind – around 25,000 a year, give or take. The answer? Rather than trying to avoid the inevitable, he decided to roll with the punches and fit a set of 235x85R16 Colway remoulds.

‘Whatever tyres I use will wear quickly on the road,’ he commented. ’So I may as well keep costs as low as possible by using the remoulds, even if that means I have to replace them more regularly.’

In actual fact, he told us he had found that the Colways weren’t wearing significantly faster rate than more expensive tyres – and, no small matter, by using remoulds he was happy to be doing his bit for the environment.

Which, to be fair, he already was by the very fact of driving a classic Landy. There can, after all, be very few better ways of reducing your carbon footprint than by keeping an old vehicle alive, and turning it into something you can use every day, decades after lesser designs have been scrapped.

And like every good Land Rover, Jonathan’s hybrid was built to last. Not just as a pampered classic, either, but as a traditional tool. He fitted it with a heavy-duty steering guard and fabricated his own jackable sills from 2” box, and rather than tarting it up with a fancy colour scheme he handpainted its shortened 110 bodywork in NATO green which he could touch up whenever the inevitable tree scrapes leave it looking tatty.

The front bumper is solid but not showy, and the PTO-driven mechanical Fairey winch on it is the kind that will pull and pull all day long, slowly but very surely, rather than the sort of blindingly fast comp job you see on a different kind of modified Land Rover. Steep cable tells a certain story here, too – as does the number plate, whose Q prefix says the vehicle’s age or identity is in doubt (or to put it another way, that the DVLA doesn’t fancy putting in the effort it would take to properly understand its history)

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The 200Tdi engine has achieved legendary status and Jonathan chose it without any hesitation, firmly believing that it’s much stronger than the earlier 2.5 Turbo-Diesel and also the 300Tdi that replaced it. This particular example started life beneath the bonnet of a Discovery, which saved a lot of pain when buying it but added plenty when it came to installing it

Jonathan also told us that he likes to change his shock absorbers regularly, which explains why he kept them standard when speccing the truck. They were mated with +1.5” heavy-duty Bearmach springs – not to turn it into a big monster of a thing, but simply to counteract the weight of that winch.

Elsewhere, the suspension was rebuilt using polyurethane bushes throughout and the power steering that came with the 200Tdi engine was pressed back into service to help keep that front winch bumper from routinely molesting the contents of other people’s orchards. Jonathan told us he reckoned his truck had a better turning circle than it would if he’d based it on a Range Rover, which we’re not going to argue with when he has that other great benefit of building your own Land Rover on his side – to wit, knowing every nut and bolt in intimate detail.

There’s yet another benefit of doing it your own way, too, of course. As Jonathan put it when we spoke to him, this Land Rover cost him a significant amount of money to build – but nothing like as much as he’s have done on buying a second-hand Defender and speccing it up to the same level.

Of course, he wouldn’t have had the nightmare of dealing with the SVA test. But then, he wouldn’t have had the satisfaction of getting it through the SVA test. It all depends on the value you place on your own time – and, of course, on how confident you are in your own skills.

And, of course, it depends on whether the Land Rover you really want actually exists at all.

Which brings us back to where we started – and reminds us of why, in its own left-field way, this one-off machine does have the right to call itself a classic.

One of the favourite statistics all Land Rover fans like to trot out is that 75% of all the vehicles the company has ever made throughout its history are still on the road today. The actual number may change from person to person (hey, it’s a statistic, it’s not meant to be accurate) but the point behind it is sound.

And if you know anything about Land Rovers, you know that the reason for the vehicle’s

phenomenal durability is that down through the years, resourceful individuals like Jonathan have been fixing, adapting, rebuilding and sometimes cannibalising them as ways of keeping them alive. Alive and, in this case, thriving. And that community of fans, with their sleeves rolled up and spanners at the ready, is every bit as ‘classic’ as the vehicles themselves.

That makes Jonathan Fearn a classic Land Rover owner – as well as being the owner of a classic Land Rover. It might not be a pristine, showroom-standard Series I in the hands of someone who paid a small fortune to a restorer – but if you want a true, real-world representation of what made Land Rover great, this unique homemade work wagon is as good as it gets.

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the twists of fate

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Owning a classic Land Rover is rarely a smooth and straightforward experience. But that’s fine, just so long as your mind-set is to embrace the unexpected and see the challenges as part of the fun.

Which is exactly the approach that paid off for the owners of this wonderful Series IIA Words: Dan Fenn Pictures: Jasper Mowatt and Tom Wilkins

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and Rovers were built to take the rough with the smooth. Which is good, because owning one is normally a very bumpy business indeed.

But that’s all part of the enjoyment, right?

When the unexpected happens, you embrace the challenge and it makes you, and your truck, that much better.

It’s fair to assume that when Tom Wilkins bought Dudley, a 1965 Series IIA Pick-Up, he didn’t appreciate what was coming. But it’s probably equally fair to assume that having rolled with the twists and turns of what became a major restoration job, he’s pretty happy with the way things have turned out.

For starters, he wouldn’t have expected that about three years later, he would now be its coowner. But that’s how it turned out, and in a very positive way.

‘Tom bought Dudley from a chap whose father had bought it from new,’ explains Jasper Mowatt, who’s become the other half of the co-ownership

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team. ‘He began restoring it and I started giving him a hand.

‘The workload became quite a lot when we saw how much was required. So at that point, I bought into it.’

Now, Jasper is not a bad bloke to have on your side in a situation like this. ‘The restoration has been completed as a hobby,’ he says, ‘so is not professional. But I have previously restored Land Rovers, Volkswagens, Morris Minors and Austins, so it has been done to a good standard.’

Of course, there’s the kind of restored classic that looks like it did when it first left the

production line. And it’s easy to see, or at least assume, that those have been done well. But all the work Tom and Jasper have done on their 88 is cunningly disguised beneath a near-perfect skin of patina, the likes of which can only come from decades of real life.

It could have been so different, though. ‘We spent the rest of the summer of 2020 doing the chassis and bulkhead,’ recalls Jasper. ‘But then winter hit.

‘We both knew that we wanted to have him drivable for the following summer. So we decided to skip the paint job and just get him roadworthy.

Over that winter, we redid the wiring, steering, brakes – and in the end we had him on the road

by January 2021.’

Great going. But how did the lack of a paint job go down? ‘Everyone loved him with the patina effect,’ says Jasper. ‘So we decided to keep it.’

How many old Land Rovers down the years have had their character wiped out by over-restoration, you can’t help but wonder. Clearly, anyway, this is not one of them.

Yet just as a slick new coat of paint can hide a shed lurking below, the patina of scars, dents and faded panels can disguise the truth of a vehicle that’s been brought back to better than new. And the more you look at Dudley, the more you see that this is what’s going on here.

Wherever the chassis and bulkhead had rusted, it was cut out and replaced with new metal. After that, the whole lot was properly treated, protected and painted to keep it set for a long future.

But in actual fact, rust apart the guys were starting from a pretty sound baseline. ‘The engine was in great condition,’ says Jasper. ‘So we did not do a strip down, rather just general routine maintenance. ‘He does run a bit rich, and he leaves a few oil drops when he’s been parked up for a while, but no more so than is normal for a classic Land Rover.’

The 2.25 petrol unit also now runs a new Webber carb, and to add some stop to the go the braking system was overhauled and given a full new set of lines.

The wiring loom was also fully replaced, which was no small job. This allowed Jasper to add a modern fuse box, better lights, a cut-out switch for security and, most importantly, a Bluetooth stereo. Just what you need when the cab’s off…

‘We have done our best to keep Dudley as original as possible,’ explains Jasper. ‘But we made upgrades where we felt it would add comfort.’ A new interior featuring leather seats from Exmoor Trim definitely counts as one of these, and Tom and Jasper also invested in a new set of mud-terrain tyres – on black steel modulars, thankfully, which do no harm to the shabby-chic image. Just imagine the havoc they could have wreaked with a set of blingy alloys…

There was plenty of rotten metal to be dealt with in the chassis and bulkhead alike. This was what prompted Tom to bring Jasper in as co-owner of the vehicle and a partner in the project; he’s restored several classics before, so welding is not an unfamiliar business to him. Over time, the rot was cut out and replaced with new steel, then the whole lot was rust treated, prepped and painted in readiness for a long and healthy life to come

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The engine didn’t need major work, but a whole new wiring loom was installed to bring the IIA up to date and allow it to run more modern electrical items

As it is, Dudley looks good whether he’s tooling around on the Dorset lanes, toting a mountain bike or shifting furniture. ‘The tub fits everything,’ says Jasper. ‘We even had a 10-foot book case in there once!’

They used it as a wedding car last summer, too, and there’s not much that can fit the modern-day image of a classic Land Rover better than that.

It’s not quite the same as the 88” Series IIA that starred in Four Weddings and a Funeral (that was a Hard-Top with wing-mounted headlamps, a winch and original wheels), but is it any less cool?

Unbolt the cab and, we’d say, quite the opposite is the case. ‘We’ve mainly used it for beach runs around the south coast,’ says Jasper. And you’re picturing yourself doing just that now, aren’t you?

Would the image be the same if Tom and Jasper had given Dudley a perfect paint job? They would still have ended up with a very special truck – but one with a different character.

If you drive up your local high street in a pristine classic, or a brand new Defender, people may appreciate it, admire it… a few may hate it, in the latter case, or be otherwise jealous, but mainly they’ll be quietly impressed. Do it in a lived-in old

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rat like this, though, and you’ll get wall to wall love. There’s something about an honest, timeworn classic that makes people smile.

But most of all, Dudley is the kind of truck that’s guaranteed to make the person driving it smile.

And after all the ups and downs of a restoration that definitely didn’t always go according to plan, that’s one thing that Tom and Jasper could definitely have expected.

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playing it cool In the eye-candy stakes, 110s are normally fit for purpose while 90s are, well, just fit. But this 110 which proves that a long wheelbase is no impediment to looking like the coolest truck on the beach Words: Dan Fenn

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f you open up the copy of My Big Book of Land Rovers that your auntie got you when you were born, here’s what it says on page one. If you want a Defender to do a job, get a 110. If you want a Defender to look cool, get a 90.

Of course, 90s can do a job too. Making a 110 look as cool takes a bit of doing, though.

But it’s not impossible. And here’s the proof.

Built by a chap called Paul who has the very good fortune to live in the neck of the woods where

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the New Forest meets the sea, it’s got a kind of military chic to it. But there’s a lot more going on with it besides that – in fact, if this isn’t the funkiest summertime pose motor you can think of, you probably design funky summertime pose motors for a living.

It first saw the light of day in 1989, making it one of the last 110s built before the Defender name was introduced. We don’t know what it started off with, but these days it mimics Land

Rovers from just a few months later by running a 200 Tdi. This breathes in through a beast of a snorkel and out through a custom side-exit exhaust, and in between its efforts are aided by an upgraded aluminium radiator and intercooler. Paul also renewed the clutch and PAS box, so this project was about more than just the fun stuff.

Similarly, the body cappings have been regalvanised – matching a sturdy set of rock and

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The 200Tdi engine became standard fit on Defenders just a few months after this one was first registered. We don’t know what was under the bonnet to start with, but it can hardly help but be better now. A nice, tidy back body is always good to see. We’d say the same about waffle boards used as a styling feature, but the word ‘always’ would be a bit false as this is the first time tree sliders and a front bumper which, though it doesn’t currently contain a winch, certainly has the capacity for one. In fact, we’d say a big, old-fashioned upright job would finish the truck off perfectly – though it might end up jostling for space with the Heritage grille, which looks like a late-model unit for vehicles with air-conditioning.

Another fabulous nod to the 110’s heritage (small ‘h’, this time) is that there’s a spare wheel on the bonnet. Yes, ‘a’ spare wheel, not ‘the’. There’s another one at the back, this time mounted on a swing-away carrier.

You know the way car manufacturers started off not knowing what to do with DRLs and used to stick them on in all sorts of ugly, clumsy places, but then after a while started realising that they could be incorporated as a design feature? Well, here’s proof that you can do the same thing with spare wheels. No way does a 110 need two (its 235/85R16 BFGoodrich All-Terrains are among the more rugged tyres you’ll ever see, so it could go decades without copping a puncture) but how groovy does it look with one sat there in front of its windscreen?

As for the one at the back, that looks if anything even groovier. Yes, we’re using the word ‘groovy’ about a 110, but just check it out.

This is unlikely to be the first time you’ve seen a Land Rover with one of Exmoor Trim’s canvas storage bags in place, but has it ever looked

as much like an integral part of a four-wheeled work of craftsmanship before? With the hood sides and back rolled up, the overall image is just wonderfully alfresco – but, unlike so many sorttop vehicles, without even a hint of the up-yours.

You look at it and smile, and it’s smiling back.

Gleaming alloys would look totally unsuitable on such a chunky bit of kit, but Paul didn’t just lob on a set of eight-spokes and be done with it.

He used Wolf rims all round, giving it a stance that looks at once mean yet also modest. Up top, meanwhile, who knew a pair of waffle boards could ever be used as a styling cue?

Inevitably, perhaps, the wing tops and bonnet are covered in chequer plate. There’s none along the door bottoms, though, which we see as a good thing. Frontrunner’s light guards are a good thing, too, and they’re fitted all round – while a particularly interesting touch is a custom sun visor over the top of the windscreen.

It does all go together to create a look that’s perfectly in keeping with the beachfront location

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in which Paul took the photos you see here. In America, people build epic, chrome-laden Jeeps and Landcruisers for posing on the sand; in Dorset, on the other hand, what could be better than this?

It’s not just a looker, either. Paul says the chassis has never needed a repair and is in rock-solid condition, and the same goes for the bulkhead too. It’s on heavy-duty springs and shocks, too, and the suspension is fully polybushed. What it smacks of is a truck whose owner has spent his time and money on making sure it’s totally sorted, rather than going down the age-old path of lashing out on lots of toys and bolting them to a shed.

And yet it looks better than the vast majority of loadsamoney trucks. Which just goes to show that less is more when you’re smart about how you style it up. This is a 110 that proves longwheelbase Land Rovers can be cool too – but also that it’s not just about how big it is. It’s what you do with it that counts…

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Highland Heritage There have been many limited editions of the Range Rover. But few have been more limited than the Braemar – whose entire run of just 25 examples was sold entirely in Scotland Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: Mike Trott

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ay up north in the Cairngorms, about 60 miles west of Aberdeen and 75 north of Edinburgh, lies the village of Braemar. It’s not a big place, even by the standards of some villages; in the 2011 census, its population was recorded at precisely 808.

But of all the little villages in Scotland, Braemar is one of those you’re most likely to have heard about. Not because it has held various records for being cold (though it has), nor indeed because the bones of St Andrew, patron saint of Scotland, once rested in the church there. No, if you’ve heard of Braemar it’s probably because it’s the

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place to go if you want to see gigantic men in kilts tossing the caber. Or, to steer clear of clichés, the longest-established running race in the world.

There are other Highland gatherings. But the Braemar Games is famous among them.

They’ve been going for almost 1000 years – but since 1848, the kings and queens of the UK have traditionally attended along with their families.

The village is only 10 miles from Balmoral, which helps – as of course does the fact that by 1848, the kings and queens of the UK had stopped pursuing a policy of genocide towards the clans who lived in the Highlands. Anyway, Braemar and royalty go hand in hand.

As do Range Rovers and royalty, of course.

Especially the Range Rover you’re looking at here.

In 2002, the P38 Range Rover was coming to the end of its time in production. To help give it a suitable send-off, Land Rover decided to create the Braemar limited edition – and with only 25 of them, this edition really was limited.

Fifteen Braemars were powered by the 2.5-litre BMW diesel engine of the day. The other ten came with, no, not the iconic 4.6-litre V8, but the less bombastic 4.0-litre version of the same unit.

The vehicle before you is one of those ten.

Now, 25 Range Rovers hardly sounds like enough to satisfy the demands of a hungry

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Video screens in the backs of the headrests still make for a pretty exclusive interior today. Twenty years ago, they were very special indeed – especially when linked to a Sony PlayStation

nation. But in another twist of history, the Braemar wasn’t offered across the whole of the UK – appropriately, perhaps, this model was only sold through Land Rover’s Scottish dealerships.

Thus this vehicle spent the first part of its life north of the border. But these days it lives in the West Midlands, in the hands of another form of royalty – the Range Rover kind. Paul Atkinson, of Atkinson Bespoke Engineering, is well known among collectors and restorers as a man who has dedicated himself professionally to supplying the needs of those who spend their time saving old Rangeys from the ravages of time. But he’s a collector himself, too – and as the P38 gains credibility as a classic to follow in the footsteps of the original Range Rover, he knows exactly what a rare example is worth.

‘This one was found down in Oxford,’ he explains. ‘I had a phone call from a friend who said they had seen a Braemar on eBay. I questioned it and thought “no, can’t be”… but I asked him when the auction was going to finish!

‘I watched the auction and people were asking about it, and the fact that it had LPG fitted. I think some weren’t really understanding what the car was and didn’t realise how rare these things are.’

Based on the HSE trim level that topped off the P38 range from launch, but with the added bonus of not possessing a sunroof, Braemar Range Rovers were finished in Blenheim Silver and carried unique badging on their wings to identify them as something special. They were also fitted with a number of extras including picnic tables in the rear, ash leather upholstery, lamp guards, privacy glass… and even a Sony PlayStation to keep rear-seat passengers amused.

You might well be reading that list and thinking to yourself that Land Rover missed a huge trick by using a colour named after a palace in the south of England. Surely an exclusive shade called Balmoral something would have hit the nail on the head? Time to break out the fabled tartan paint, perhaps?

This might have been considered doubly the case as despite being 4.0-litre engined, the Balmoral represented a fairly breathtaking investment in what was about to become obsolete technology. It was priced at £43,000 when new, which is the equivalent of about £75,000 today – and was about the same price with which Land Rover stunned the world when it introduced the L322 that same year.

All the same, the Range Rover’s understated and relatively ordinary appearance all adds to its appeal. This was a special edition, but it wasn’t in-your-face the way such vehicles can be. When Paul bought it, though, it did come with its own set of battle scars – including the really ugly kind that are inflicted by unsympathetic hands in the kind of workshop that doesn’t understand what a classic Range Rover stands for.

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‘A previous owner had placed it on coils and taken off the air suspension,’ says Paul. ’So one of the first things I did was put it back on air.

‘The ball joints were done and I had to spend 18 months looking round for a set of lamp guards for it. It’s not 100%, but it’s getting there.’

Special editions have always been a way of keeping the pot boiling under vehicles as they come towards the end of their production runs – and indeed, we’ve seen it in the last year as the L405 gets set for replacement, with a number of models whose price tags make the Braemar look like small change. But few cars will ever be as rare, or as special, as this right royal work of Highland heritage.

67 19/04/2022 16:35

Siren Call

The 116” Mk1 Discovery Ambulance is one of the rarest Land Rovers in existence. And the original prototype, exhibited by the factory at the Ambex show in 1991, is the rarest of the lot Words: Gary Martin Pictures: Peter Sawford

W

hen you think of overland conversions based on Land Rover ambulances, your mind is likely to go straight to the 127 or 130. There have been all sorts of ambulance builds based on the longest Defenders, both civilian and military,

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which lend themselves perfectly to expedition use once their original job is done.

You might also think about the 101, or any of the remarkable number of converters to have got their hands on the original Range Rover. But would the Mk1 Discovery cross your mind?

It’s unlikely. That’s because only about 15 were ever made. But they did see an active life, having first been exhibited at the Emergency Services Show (Ambex, as it was known back then) in August 1991.

The Discovery Ambulance was made in 3-door and 5-door form, with the former being the model first shown to the trade in prototype form. And this is that prototype. It went on to become one of around six to be operated by Northumberland Ambulance Service before being sold off when the fleet was renewed, and has since then been through a number of private hands.

The latest belong to Peter Sawford. ‘I have owned it since the end of 2019,’ he told us, ‘with the ambition of turning it into an overland camper.

However life somewhat got in the way and as a result I have only put about 600 miles on it.’

This appears to have been something of a theme among the people who have owned the vehicle since it left the ambulance service. In 2011, a well known Discovery enthusiast from Devon called Neil Witt posted a video on YouTube

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Above left: When Special Vehicles pulled a Discovery off the line to be fitted with blue lights, surely to goodness they’d have thought to match them up with the famous blue interior. Perhaps they were worries about patients seeing it and losing the will to live Above right: This gives you an idea of how big it was in the back of the Discovery Ambulance. The interior has been insulated and lined with plywood, but that’s as far as the overland conversion has progressed showing the vehicle in its original livery, complete with functioning twos and blues, with a caption saying it was destined to be turned into a camper – but here it is, a decade on, still destined to be turned into a camper. Or whatever else someone wants to turn it into.

Talking of turning it into something, the Discovery Ambulance wasn’t built the way it ended up. Land Rover Special Vehicles (the same part of the business responsible for, among other things, turning the 110 into the 127 and turning the 90 into, well, the 90 SV) took them off the production line, ran a grinder up the middle of them and welded in an extra 16” of mild steel to create a Disco with a 116” wheelbase. Just a very slightly simplified version of the story, there…

Up top, at least in the case of this 3-door model, the extra length in the wheelbase was taken up by extending the body behind the doors and inserting a much longer window between the B and C-posts. The result was a large treatment area in the back, which was further stretched in the upwards direction by adding the distinctive high roof which also carried high-level blue beacons. Extra tall safari windows are a nice hattip to the design of the Discovery here, too.

Following its appearance at Ambex in 1991, Peter’s Discovery was registered for the road as Land Rover readied it for the world of work. As the original demonstrator and show car, however, it has one feature which makes it distinctive – the Land Rover logo frosted into the offside rear window. When Neil Witt sold Badger, as he had decided to name the vehicle, the website Land Rover Katy quotes him as noting that it was the only one with this feature.

To bring the story up to date, in Peter’s hands the Discovery has done little – though by no means has it been neglected. ‘I have had the bodywork professionally refurbished,’ he says, ‘as it was in a very poor state, and the outside has been covered in a Raptor style coating.’

On the inside, meanwhile, the rear has been extensively insulated and lined with plywood as step one on the road to becoming a camper.

The springs and shocks have been replaced with heavy-duty units, too. The result is what Peter describes as ‘a blank canvas ready to be made into something that you can be sure no one else will have!’

This sounds like the sort of thing someone would say if they were selling a vehicle, and indeed he was doing exactly that when we spoke to him. Don’t expect it still to be around now, though… £14,995 might sound like a lot of money for a first-gen Disco, even one on a mere 39,500 miles, but to a buyer who knows what they’re looking at this was always going to be a lot of truck, and a lot of potential, for their money.

With less than 10,000 of these having been in the last 15 years, this is clearly a Discovery that’s seen very little life. Clearly, most of those miles were put on during its time as a working

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ambulance – when it would have been getting all the services, and oil changes, that a Land Rover could ever ask for. To translate, it might be three decades old – but at that sort of mileage, a well looked after 200 Tdi engine is hardly even run in.

So, what would you do? Turn it into a unique overlander, restore it back to its original condition as a classic piece of Solihull history… or just enjoy owning something totally unique?

If nothing else, with the keys to this bad boy in your pocket there’s no way you’re going to be the sad case wandering around outside Tesco trying to remember where he parked his car. And the height of that roof is your personal passport out of ever having to do anything that involves going into a multi-storey. It might not be a serving ambulance any more, but that can hardly help but be good for your health.

69 19/04/2022 16:35

PIECES OF EIGHT

Of all the many various Defenders Land Rover made during the vehicle’s lifespan, the 3.5-litre V8 was arguably the most charismatic. It was rare, too. So if you can find a factory V8 today, the last thing you want to do it cut it up for off-roading…

Words: Paul Looe Pictures: Vic Peel

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I

f you want to modify a Defender, there’s no shortage of them around. You might need a few quid to buy one in the first place, with prices the way they are, but finding a suitable vehicle is not normally a problem.

It’s when the vehicle you find is a rare and special one that you need to stop and think twice.

Once upon a time, people thought nothing of cutting up an 80” Series I to make a trials motor, but these days that would be like switching off the central heating and keeping your house warm by setting fire to a suitcase full of £20 notes.

Even in the relatively modern world of 90s and 110s, there are models whose rarity makes them very special and worth preserving. Obviously, Land Rover started knocking out special editions as the decades rolled by, and some of these like the SVX, Tomb Raider and 50th Anniversary are highly sought-after now, but there’s still probably nothing with more of a mystique to it than a factory-original 3.5-litre V8.

Perhaps it’s because so many 90s and 110s from the pre-Defender era went on to have their 2.5-litre engines hauled out and replaced by old 3.5s from the SD1 or Range Rover. Or perhaps it’s because so many of these repower jobs were done badly. Either way, genuine V8s have long been numbered among the most cherished examples of the breed.

The vehicle you see here may bear out the above, or indeed it may confound it. It’s a factory V8 with its original engine still in place, however it has been modified more than most – yet despite this, if anything it’s even more desirable than a standard one.

Only showing 77,000 miles, it’s a 90 which, in the hands of a previous owner, was quite extensively modified for off-roading. Some of those mods still remain – most notably, it has ARB Air-Lockers installed in both axles. There’s also a Warn 9.5XP up front, mounted on a Masai winch bumper, and the vehicle sits on a set of ZU alloys shod with BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tyres.

Given the fairly hardcore theme of what went before, it won’t surprise you to learn that the 90 looks a whole lot different now to how it did then.

The man to thank for this is Luke Ogden, who picked it up around four years ago and wasted no time whatsoever in getting stuck in.

‘I bought it, rolled it off the trailer and immediately set about stripping it down,’ he says, which kind of creates an image of the tow vehicle sitting there with its engine still running while Luke

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71 19/04/2022 16:18

Above left: Luke has rebuilt a lot of Land Rovers, and in recent times this has meant that he’s used a lot of Raptor. For this 90, he coloured it grey to create a subtle two-tone image with the gloss black of the wheelarches, door mirrors and so on Above right: Both axles are original to the vehicle – which, this being a factory V8, means they contain the always sought-after four-pin diffs. The front unit seen here is located by Polybushed Qt radius arms, and ahead of it are heavy-duty steering components and a Terrafirma Return-to-Centre damper starts going for it with the spanners. We tend to favour the ‘kettle before everything’ approach to workshop time, but that could reasonably be seen as why we’re writing about his Land Rover and not the other way round.

Anyway, when he says he stripped it down he’s not joking. He took it all the way to a bare chassis, which needed a few repairs (all done by Luke himself) before it went off to be galvanised.

Most people would be happy to leave it at that, but before the rebuild commenced he also sprayed the whole frame with Buzzweld chassis paint. The result is that this is now a 90 that’s got another thirtysomething years ahead of it before anything more in the way of major metalwork ought to be necessary.

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With that done, the axles could go back on.

They’re still more or less as they were, though they’ve been uprated in the stopping department with AP calipers, stainless steel pistons and braided lines throughout. The handbrake, meanwhile is an X-Eng disc job, which is a favourite mod among off-roaders but also very useful on any Defender if you want to be able to leave it parked on a hill.

Also uprated is the suspension – though not in terms of height or flex. Luke used heavy-duty springs and shocks, as well as Polybushes all round, but kept the height standard for the simple reason that he needed it to be able to fit in his garage. See, these are the things that really matter when you’re building a truck to take on the world…

Under the bonnet, happily the V8 engine has never had anything brutal done to it during the course of its thirty-plus years. Needless to say, Luke wasn’t about to change that. It breathes in through a Safari Snorkel and out through a stainless steel sports exhaust, all of which helps it sound nice, but the main thing is that it continues to purr away like an unmolested V8 should. It has the correct LT85 gearbox, with a heavy-duty clutch and arm installed to protect it from what is one of the very few things to be seen as a common problem in these units, but this is a classic case of not fixing what ain’t broke – and indeed of not doing anything you can’t undo later.

The 90’s body, on the other hand, has definitely been taken down a one-way street. Not a huge

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:18

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09/11/2021 19:15:17

The 90’s cabin has been pimped up without making it look like the recovery room in a sex dungeon. The floor has been fully carpeted and the dash lined in suede cloth, but the main attraction here is clearly the leather-trimmed Corbeau buckets.

An extended cubby box, again clad in leather, lives between them, and next to the Momo steering wheel is a new dash panel holding a bank of dials and switches as well as a Pioneer stereo

Above: Now, this is definitely not something you see every day. The 90 has been fitted with a panoramic roof – something Luke bought commercially but which he says he’s never seen on any other Defender. Together with the panoramic side windows, it floods the cabin with light, giving it an ambience that’s nothing like any other 90 we’ve ever sat in Below: You can argue all day long about the merits of updating classic Defenders to a more modern spec, but given what we now know about the safety of side bench seats it’s very hard to argue against Exmoor Trim’s front-facing conversion. It turns a six-seater into a four-seater, but they’re seats you’d actually be willing to trust with your loved ones so that’s well worth it

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LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:18

‘Welding, dismantling, engine rebuild, spraying.

Everything on this vehicle was done by myself’ problem, of course, with panels being interchangeable the way they are, and this is where we get into the stuff that makes this Land Rover so unique.

Where will we start? The two-tone colour scheme, let’s try that. This is more than twotone, actually, it’s two-texture – thanks to the use of grey Raptor all the way round down below.

Famously strong and scratch-resistant, the Raptor finish has become increasingly popular over the last few years, both as a way of treating high-impact areas and finishing entire vehicles.

There’s almost no limit to what you can do with the stuff in terms of tinting it – we’ve even seen vehicles on which it’s been successfully blended with glow-in-the-dark paint for astonishing signwritten finishes – and when it’s done right, there’s perhaps no other vehicle better suited than the Defender to its tough but sophisticated image.

You don’t normally see Raptor being used to create a contrast with highly polished, smooth black surfaces, on the other hand. Though once more people have seen Luke’s handiwork here, you might. This 90 is an absolute show-stopper, and one look is enough to show you why.

It’s not just the black painted roof, wheelarches and door tops that do it, either. The latter flow backwards into a pair of panoramic side windows

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– always guaranteed to look sensational, and the way they contrast with the texture of the Raptor-coated panels beneath them makes this 90 unique.

Actually, that’s only partly true. There’s something else on the vehicle that makes it unique, too… at least, Luke says he’s never seen another one like it, and neither have we so there you are.

It’s not very obvious from outside the vehicle (we tried taking a photograph, so we should know), but from inside the cabin it’s absolutely clear as day. Literally. A huge glass panel floods the interior with light, giving it an ambience that’s completely unlike that of any other 90 we’ve seen.

Even on a relentlessly wet, grey afternoon, Luke’s Defender felt fresh and bright inside – look up, from your perch in one of the a la Puma forward-facing rear seats, and all you see is the sky.

Ask Luke what he likes most about the vehicle, and the glazed sides and roof are what he’ll point to. He’ll express his doubts as to whether the 90 is still really suited to off-roading with so much glass surrounding its occupants (the manufacturer he used says it’s EU approved 4mm automotive-grade toughened safety glass, and the roof panel is both double-glazed and mounted in its own alloy frame, so he ought to be alright), but he’ll also tells you that he absolutely loves it.

His other favourite mod is the 54” LED bar mounted just ahead of the top of the windscreen surround. This is a proper Cree array, not the kind of cheap knock-off from you know where: Luke is very definitely not a man for doing things the wrong way.

Interestingly, he is a man for getting someone else to fit his windscreens. That and the galvanising are the only two jobs he farmed out: ‘Welding, dismantling, engine rebuild, spraying,’ he says, ‘everything on this vehicle was completed by myself.’

Even though the build spec looks like a shopping list from your wildest dreams, then, this is a Land Rover that fits proudly into the ‘built not bought’ category. It’s a very well specced off-roader that comes on like a street machine and has the interior of a 90 you could drive all day. And being a low-mileage factory V8, a future owner could probably add value to it by doing a project of their own to take it back to standard.

One day, perhaps. For now, it would be a crying shame to see this 90 as anything other than a world-class example of fun on four wheels.

There’s no shortage of Defenders out there waiting to be modified, after all – but when you find a rare and special one, it deserves to be cherished the way a Defender should.

19/04/2022 16:18

Water on the Smoke There has always been a Land Rover for every task, even if the vehicle has to be built specifically for it. Not that that always happened in Solihull itself…

Words and pictures: Mike Trott

A

s they get older, Series Landies are getting rarer. This means special edition or low production models are scarcer still – like the 86” Series I or Carawagon, for example. But when it comes to rarity within the Land Rover world, this 109”-derived, Forward Control Fire Engine is in a whole different realm of paucity. So rare, in fact, that there are gaps in its history through which it could be driven.

I’ve rarely paid any attention to fire engines, aside from moving out of the way when they appear in the rear-view mirror – but I’ve never come across one quite like this before. Background information on this machine is scarce at best; the mystery was consuming and I needed answers.

I recently greeted the owner, Rob Kirby, in the shadow of the engine in the forecourt of his business, Kirby Commercial Vehicles. It’s difficult to ignore the titan when it’s peering down above you in all its awe.

‘Bates of Evesham were contracted in 1972 to make Land Rover Fire Engines for the Northern Ireland Fire Service.

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‘I can’t find much information about it.

There is one article from the Evesham Journal displayed in the local museum, dated 19 April 1973. It says that the Northern Irish fire force commander came to Evesham to take delivery of the Bates fire engines,’ Rob states.

The article in the Evesham Journal wasn’t long, but did shed some light on the situation.

Bates of Evesham was commissioned to make some lightweight, manoeuvrable fire engines for the Northern Irish Fire Brigade in late 1972.

With the tumultuous landscape of the country at the time, a Forward Control Landy was an ideal template for a rapid response fire engine. It was big enough to carry a four-man crew with all of their equipment, was half the weight and size of a fire engine of that era and could outmanoeuvre them. But, Land Rover had just stopped manufacturing Forward Controls earlier that year.

Rob goes to a cabinet in the corner of his office and on his return, places the spoils of the trip on to the desk before me. It’s an aged envelope; A2 in size and bulged with tattered edges. An official British Leyland postal sticker addressed to Messrs F.I. Bates & Sons Ltd. sits

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19/04/2022 16:05

The cabin is as functional as you’d expect from a forward-control Land Rover, and with the engine living under a basic metal cover in the cab it’s unlikely to be what you’d call refined either. But what it does have is the endless usability and flexibility of Solihull’s best

front and centre, above which a hand-written scrawl reads ‘Chassis Drawings’. Inside, the envelope holds letters sent from Solihull to the Bates firm in December 1972, describing the prototype chassis and the parts they had used to adapt the One-Ton base. On large blue sheets, faded technical drawings and instructions show how to fit the parts – or at least they did once upon a time.

‘An antiques dealer was trying to sell it for the Bates family,’ explains Rob. ‘They contacted us because they didn’t have the experience in selling vehicles like we do. I couldn’t believe it when it had all of the paperwork and the blueprints – they make it even more interesting.’

The letters revealed that the first prototype Fire Tender was built on a 109” One-Ton chassis and used the 2.6-litre, six-cylinder petrol engine. The front road springs were taken from a 110” Forward Control, as were the remote controls for the gearbox and transfer box.

However, it seems that things changed a little after the initial attempt. All subsequent vehicles were based on a standard 109” chassis that was still being produced over in Solihull. These were adapted to be more suitable for the job, with the addition of a host of modifications using both custom and Land Rover parts – most of which were unsurprisingly at the front end. Anti-roll bars were fitted to the front and rear axles, with the only modification being that the links were shortened by one and a half inches.

From there, much of the work was brake related, with new mounts required for the pipes and gaiters needed to avoid interference with the

roll bars. The letters and drawings also reveal that the chassis was bolstered by the addition of stiffening plates on each sidemember in front of the second crossmember. The 2.6 straight-six remained the same, as did the body design by Ken Rhodes.

The Bates fire engine bares a front end that resembles that of a Series III, an interior that is essentially stock and is mid-engined like a FC. With roof-mounted ladders and copious storage behind the steel sliders that are synonymous with all fire engines, crews aboard a Bates wagon were fully equipped for the job. The production run totalled 52 vehicles – 44 of which went on to report for duty in Northern Ireland.

In the Evesham Journal, Northern Irish Fire Force Commander George Morrison referred to the engines as ‘world beaters’, which sounds to us like he was pretty much taken with them. Later on in the same article, it states that the Land Rover Fire Engines succeeded in cutting the callout time from two and a half

minutes to ninety seconds, and saved lives in the ‘no go’ regions of Belfast.

This is one of the eight fire engines that never left for Northern Ireland, meaning that it took on a unique history.

‘It was registered in 1975 to the Bates family.

It had two owners in the family, but the third is unknown,’ says Rob.

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19/04/2022 16:05

‘It clocked up the miles it has working at an airport somewhere in England, although I’m not sure which one. It’s been well looked after, though. Aside from replacing the clutch master cylinder, we’ve serviced the engine and the pump and given it a wash. That’s it – and it runs fine.’

Walking around the vehicle it is plain to see that it has been well cared for. The emblem on the door is still crisp and clear. The hoses and fittings are all well and present. The paintwork is as red as the day it left the workshop in Worcestershire. Even looking underneath at the suspension and beneath the engine cover at the 2.6-litre straight-six it is a vehicle that doesn’t look its age.

Inside, the cockpit is like that of a Forward Control, but for a few vital differences. Centrally on the dash sit a row of four switches, embedded on a metallic silver dash insert. They’re labelled as ‘Locker’, ‘Beacon’, ‘Spot/Fog’ and ‘Reverse’, then out to the right on its own, as if in the doghouse, sits ‘Horns’. Beneath the plethora of switches, a radio is mounted to the dash, and aside from the switch for the searchlights above the windscreen, the interior is standard.

Behind the rear slider is the all-original pump system that complements the collection of hoses and fittings. ‘I haven’t used the hoses, but we have emptied the tank, so we know the pump works. There’s also all sorts of attachments, like the filter you’d drop into a lake to take water from there; those kind of things,’ says Rob. Kindly, he offered to take it out for a run and open it up. Despite what you might think, it doesn’t feel like you’re in a big red fire engine, packed full of heavy attachments on a modified chassis. It doesn’t feel like that to drive, either.

‘It feels like any other Forward Control to drive,’ shouts Rob. ‘Obviously it’s loud in here, and you’re higher up but other than that it’s like

any normal Series Land Rover to operate. The controls are still heavy and the bigger tyres make it a bit harder to steer. But it’s still great fun to be in.’

After the drive, Rob explains that the business has held and sold some fire engines before, but not as unique as this one.

‘We like to have a go with something a bit different, have our fun with it before selling them on. We’ve had six-wheeled Carmichael Range Rovers before. But nothing like this at all.

‘When I first saw it, I thought it was just fantastic! The plan is to sell it on, obviously, but in an ideal world I’d absolutely love to keep it.’

While this pristine example doesn’t have the battle scars that its brothers and sisters undoubtedly accumulated in Belfast, its less stressful career makes it the perfect poster boy for the Bates engines. In addition, not only is it

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a symbol of yet another way in which Land Rovers have proved their worth in the emergency services – but also, complete as it is with all that paperwork, it’s the messenger of the family – and without it, we’d know half what we do now.

21 19/04/2022 16:05

Children of the

Twenty-five years ago, Land Rover was in the final stages of getting ready for century of traditional off-roaders, the Freelander tore up the rule book in a way on sale, our editor was part of a team from Off Road and 4 Wheel Drive who the roads and trails of Britain in a bid to see whether this radical new vehicle

N

o chassis. No beam axles. No low box.

Precious little ground clearance.

Could this really be the stuff of a new Land Rover?

That question has been exercising our minds since rumours about project CB40 started leaking out more than two years ago. And now, at long, long last, we have an answer.

That answer is most definitely yes. CB40, now known as the Freelander, is a Land Rover all right. Forget the rumours that Solihull doesn’t care about what it’s like off-road. Forget the rumours that it’s going to be bland. The Freelander is every inch a Land Rover: engaging, clever, quirky, infuriating. It’s like nothing Land Rover has ever built before, and yet it’s like everything Land Rover has always built.

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We’ve discovered this, three months before the Freelander goes on sale, because Land Rover lent us a couple of them for a week. Five non-stop days and 1700 miles later, we had found out a lot about why it’s is going to be a huge success, not just in sales terms but as living proof that whatever Land Rover builds, it will always be a Land Rover.

The two vehicles in the pictures represent the dual-pronged approach Land Rover has taken to aiming the Freelander at the market. What we have is the family vehicle, with five doors, five seats and an estate car design, and the out-andout fun truck, with three doors, four seats and a detachable canvas top.

In the red corner is the XEi 3-door Softback with the petrol engine – a 1796cc four-cylinder,

16-valve unit producing 118bhp at 5550rpm and 121lb.ft at 2750rpm. As for the green machine, this is a di Station Wagon whose 2.0-litre directinjection, turbo-diesel engine produces 96bhp at 4200rpm and 155bhp at 2000rpm.

For the first time ever in a Land Rover product, there’s a car-like element to the Freelander’s appearance, with a bulbous front spoiler and plastic trim around the wheelarches enhancing the impression of low ground clearance. The 215/65R16 tyres are lower-profile than you’d expect on a 4x4, adding further to this image, and the accessory range lets you go all the way down to 225/55R17. A ‘fast windscreen leads up to a roof that looks lower than it actually is: on the Station Wagon, this is kicked up at the rear, in a manner redolent of the Discovery.

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 19:30

Revolution

what will forever be seen as the greatest revolution in its history. After half a that has never been seen before or since – and three months before it went took two very early production models on a five-day, 1700-mile test drive on deserved to be called a real Land Rover. This is what he learned…

Keep looking and you see some other familiar Land Rover cues, such as the round lights at the rear and the castellated clamshell bonnet.

The Freelander has been described as the ‘baby Range Rover,’ and its appearance from the front does indeed resemble a sort of teenage incarnation of the current Land Rover flagship.

This is of course exactly what the company is after, as it will be wanting to move Freelander buyers up to the Range Rover once they’ve thrown away their Oasis CDs and taken up golf.

Under the skin, the Freelander is based on a monocoque shell incorporating box-section elements. The result is three and five-door bodies which Land Rover says are ‘the stiffest of their type ever built by Rover Group’ while weighing much less than a traditional chassis.

The vehicle’s unladen weight is 1380-1580kg, depending on engine, body and options – but not on wheelbase, because despite appearances both models are the same at 101”. A trace longer than the Discovery and Range Rover, then, which is something to get your head around.

The engine’s output goes to all four wheels, though the intermediate reduction drive (IRD) governing it only sends 5% to the back. This is driven by the five-speed manual gearbox and incorporates the front diff, as well as a 1.41:1 reduction gear and 90-degree bevel drive for the rear prop.

This in turn accommodates a viscous coupling which ensures the preset torque split between the front and rear axles is maintained in normal driving conditions, but locks solid when a wheel

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 8pp Freelander launch.indd 81

at either end begins to spin. Thus all Freelanders have a baseline level of off-road ability – which you can build on by specifying an optional package of ABS, ETC (traction control) and Hill Descent Control (HDC). These all operate on a system using 262mm ventilated front discs and 254mm rear drums – which in another departure for Land Rover are also operated by the handbrake.

If abandoning transmission handbrakes was a big step for Solihull, letting beam axles go was epoch-making. The Freelander’s independent wishbones are controlled by MacPherson struts and coil springs at both ends of the vehicle, with an anti-roll bar at the front. The wishbones are mounted on steel subframes, in such a position as to enhance wheel travel and minimise the

19/04/2022 19:30

risk of grounding, while the steering uses the longest possible track rods in an attempt to eliminate bump steer.

Before moving inside the vehicle, first you have to get into it. You might expect this to be a simple matter, but no. Someone had to go and prove to the world how clever they are.

So you press the button on the fob once to unlock the driver’s door. You press it again to unlock the passengers’ doors. You press it and hold it down for a second to open the tailgate window (where fitted), gaining access to the boot in the process. Then when you’re done, you press it again to lock everything up… and the locks all clack open and shut like a hungry ferret as the horn sounds to remind you that the tailgate window is open.

So you stand in the rain, put the key in the tailgate, turn and hold it and watch as the window slides closed. Alternatively, you can get inside the vehicle, turn on the ignition and use the button on the control panel to shut the window, pressing the unlock button again to gain access if you happen to be going via the passenger’s door and had only pressed and held it once in the first place.

You know how central locking is meant to be a convenience? We got used to a lot during

our time with the Freelanders, but this was still getting on our nerves all the way up to the time we gave the vehicles back.

Inside the vehicle, the design and layout bear many Land Rover hallmarks while achieving a character that’s totally new and unlike anything the company has done before. What’s most familiar is the excellent seating, which provides you with a commanding driving position in which you can sit in comfortably for hour after hour – aided by an excellent height-adjustable steering wheel.

Where it could be better is in the field of cabin ergonomics, where the indicator and wiper stalks are rather far forward from your hands’ position on the steering wheel – obscuring a number of the controls located at either side of the instrument binnacle. The horn buttons need too much deliberation as you search for them, too.

Beneath the wheel is one of the vehicle’s undoubted quirks, a driver’s-side glove compartment which won’t actually open fully when someone’s sitting in the driver’s seat but instead comes down to rest on their shins. Inside this is the fuse box, along with a small storage space, so it’s a graceful enough way of hiding an essential but ugly part of the interior from

view – but, bizarrely, the lid of the box features two recessed cup holders.

Quite why this extra but ridiculous item of interior storage had to be included is unclear, because the Freelander keeps up the Discovery tradition of giving driver and passengers alike a range of stowage opportunities so comprehensive they’ll run out of possessions to fill them up with.

Further inspection of the two vehicles’ interiors illustrates some of the differences between the three and five-door models. These appeared not to have anything to do with spec levels – our five-door, for example, had elasticated cup holders incorporated into its door pockets. which were absent on the higherspec three-door. This had us baffled, because they are a brilliant idea. Likewise, the five-door had a useful three-way interior light cluster between the sun visors, whereas the three door had an unfinished looking plastic box serving no obvious purpose.

The interior light on this vehicle was positioned in the ceiling behind the front seats, making it hard to get at. Not as hard as the front seat belts, however, which require you to really crane backwards. Unlike on the five-door, they didn’t appear to be adjustable.

‘You could say diesels work hard and petrols play hard, but from what we’ve seen this diesel engine does both while the petrol just puffs hard’

8pp Freelander launch.indd 82

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2022 Yearbook Footers 73

09/11/2021 18:49:56

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ARB are the first to break cover with their accessories for the new Jimny SO WHO HAD ARB in the firstnew-Jimny-mods sweepstake, then? The Australian 4x4 accessories giant has unveiled its Project JBOX demo vehicle, sporting a range of off-road items which, while they are all still prototypes at this point in time, will become available to buy in the near future.

Suzuki’s Australian importer worked with ARB by giving the company’s engineers access to a pre-launch vehicle, allowing them to start work early on developing a range of all-new and adapted accessories. In addition, ARB was able to test-fit existing products to confirm they would work on the new vehicle – and the great news for Jimny fans looking to build a serious off-roader is that these include the legendary Air-Locker.

Among the new products ARB has developed for the Jimny is the smallest ever version of its Summit bull bar. This will come complete with a winch mount, which on Project JBOX has been used to house an 8000lb Warn Magnum.

Underneath the vehicle is a new suspension system. ARB doesn’t quote the size of the lift it gives the Jimny, apart from to say it’s ‘suitable for a set of new muddies and improved off road ability’ – which could of course mean anything. Safe to assume, however, that it’ll be in the usual commercial range, which means it can be expected to be in the region of two inches.

Further metalwork will come in the shape of steel rock sliders and a tubular roof rack. You’d need to be doing pretty extreme stuff with a Jimny to put its sills at risk, especially after lifting its suspension, but for any sort of long-range travel a roof rack would certainly be a must-have way of overcoming the limited luggage space that’s an inevitable consequence of the vehicle’s small size – or putting the little Suzi to work.

With this and the bull bar adorned with LED lighting, some underbody protection bolted on and a gear reduction transfer case mod to take care of the bigger tyres you’ll surely want, ARB is already well on the way to being able to kit out a new generation of super-Jimnys. How long before it all becomes available to buy? We don’t yet know – but it’s surely shorter than the waiting list Are you crazy about Defenders? Dotty about Discos? Does the sight of a classic Series for an actual vehicle. To keep tabs on progress, visit www.arb.com.au.

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The 1.8-litre K-Series petrol engine is less sprightly than we'd have hoped for. But there’s nothing wrong with its waterproofing – you could do this kind of thing all day (which we did) without it missing a beat While we’re on the subject of seat belts, Land Rover deserves commendation for giving all three rear-seat passengers full three-point restraints. Too many manufacturers (like, er, Land Rover, on some other models) fob off the person in the middle with a lap belt, which might stop them going through the windscreen in a big impact but is likely to virtually cut them in half at the same time. Actually operating the belts is another matter, as they need to be pushed home with more force than on any other vehicle I’ve driven – it’s something you get used to, but more often than not I found the buckle being dragged back across my waist after thinking I was fully belted up.

Seat belts will hold you in place in a crash, of course, but they’re not necessarily what you want in the rough and tumble of off-roading.

It’s okay for the driver, who has the steering wheel to hang on to, but for passengers there is a distinct lack of grab handles. The five-door has the standard set of car-like items above the door apertures but the three-door has nothing at all and several passengers commented on this.

Another comment related to the pattern of the interior trim. This was lined up perfectly everywhere it was used, except on the front door panels where it was squint.

So, with the interior critiqued down to its minutest detail, we were finally able to fire up our brace of Freelanders and go for a drive.

This immediately led to further criticisms of the interior, or at least of the view from the interior, especially in the five-door, where the centre rear seat headrest obscures almost everything you ought to be able to see in the mirror.

At the other end of the vehicle, the A-posts are very wide, meaning they can obscure your vision when cornering. They’re so far forward, in fact, that you end up sighting through the side window on sharp bends, but the blind spot they cause is rather worrying – not least because you’re not constantly aware of it.

Getting back to firing up the engines, this took a bit longer in the five-door as the diesel unit needs a few seconds’ pre-heat before the coil light goes out. Once you get it going, however, which you can do without it producing any noticeable smoke, it’s as quiet inside as a Tdi is noisy.

You could fool yourself into thinking it’s a petrol engine, in fact, and not just because of the lack of noise – it’s brisk, willing and, despite redlining at 4500rpm, revvy enough to let you stir the vehicle along to a claimed top speed of 96mph that looks rather conservative.

Considering the diesel unit was charged with the task of hauling around the heavier of the two test vehicles, the similarity between them was startling. Indeed, on the second leg of our test drive, from Worcester to Rhayader, my colleague in the petrol motor reckoned he was having difficulty keeping up with the pace I was setting in the diesel.

The trouble seemed to be in the distance between gears. Accelerating away from corners, especially uphill, the choice was to leave the vehicle some way below max power in third or change to second and leave it bashing its head against the limiter.

For a 1.8-litre engine, you have to say that a vehicle the size of Freelander is a lot of work. And though the scope of the gearbox means the, K Series unit, which is best known as the power plant in the MGF, can pull it up astonishingly steep inclines off-road while also cruising comfortably at fast motorway speeds, it doesn’t allow the Freelander to feel sprightly on a fast B-road. If you’ve driven a Toyota RAV4 and expect the petrol-engined Freelander to be as much of a blast, you’ll be disappointed.

The diesel exceeded our expectations, but the petrol fell well short. And when you’ve got two engines doing the same job so similarly that you can hardly tell the difference between them – except at the fuel pump, where the diesel’s combined consumption figure of 36.6mpg is more than 30% better than the petrol’s – the choice seems too obvious for words.

This is particularly true if you want to pull a trailer, because only the far torquier diesel feels as if it is up to the job of hauling around the indicated 2000kg maximum towing weight.

Without the help of low box to get you moving, even this would be likely to involve a bit of clutch slip, but it’s hard to imagine the petrol engine pulling that much weight up a hill without holding up the traffic.

If you want to use the Freelander for towing, and almost without exception the people we’ve spoken to most certainly do, the diesel engine is even more of an automatic choice than it was already. You could say diesels work hard and petrols play hard, but from what we’ve seen this diesel engine does both while the petrol just puffs hard.

That doesn’t mean the Freelander is no fun, because on the contrary, it’s great fun. Even allowing for the lack of zest from the petrol engine, you can have a whale of a time in it,

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 8pp Freelander launch.indd 85

and that’s largely down to the sea change in Land Rover philosophy that allowed the design team to build it with all-independent suspension. Continuing the comparison with the RAV4, when that vehicle was launched people said it was the best-handling 4x4 ever. Be that as it may, put it up against Freelander and there’s no contest: Land Rover has got this bit absolutely right.

The Freelander doesn’t just handle like a car.

It handles like a car that handles. It steers with feel and precision and stays flat in corners, with superb damping and, of course, abundant grip.

Yes, damping is superb, and this is a Land Rover. Fling it from side to side, as if to admire the fact that it’s just not going to get away from you, and when you stop, it sits straight back down as if nothing happened. Imagine that from a Discovery, anti-roll bars notwithstanding – the people who lobbied for the Freelander to have beam axles, and I, ahem, might have been one of them, should be eating the humblest of pie right now, with a huge jug of humble custard poured all over it for good measure.

If there’s a criticism, it’s that since the vehicle sticks so well, they might have built a bit more oversteer into it for a laugh. And if that’s the best criticism I can muster…

In practice, you get a trace of understeer in really tight corners, but it’s already gone before you have time to back off. Accelerating through longer, tightening corners is most fun, because

19/04/2022 19:30

it sticks like glue, leaning just enough to avoid feeling as if it’s going to topple over, then allows itself a quick puff of oversteer which once again sorts itself out before you have to start winding in any opposite lock. You can tell this comes from the same people who did the MGF – not because they handle the same, obviously, but because each is absolutely outstanding for what it is.

Passengers appreciate all this as well. Because when you’re not used to a vehicle that rolls as much as a traditional Land Rover product, being in one with a driver who knows what he or she is doing can be a pretty scary experience. I took the three-door Freelander out with a full load of passengers and gave it enough to get the tyres howling with protest – and the only complaints I got were from the pair in the back, who said they felt cramped and couldn’t see anything.

Had that been a Discovery, they’d probably have thrown up on the back of my head.

What makes the Freelander so rewarding to toss around is that Land Rover’s efforts to eliminate bump-steer and wander really have paid off. Its steering is smooth and immaculately balanced and, try as you might, you just can’t provoke it to come up with any nasty surprises.

It could cope with lots more power, and hopefully before long it will get to.

Once you stop playing the hooligan and go for a serene cruise up the motorway, the same elements in the suspension ensure a smooth ride, all the way up to the sort of speeds you don’t tell your mum about. And if you see a traffic patrol car up ahead, braking is every bit as assured – even if you were to bang in the ABS, you still won’t wander out of your lane. You can tell Land Rover knew they had to get this right, because they’ve obviously spent a lot of time on it.

What’s surprising, then, is that on good old Great British bad roads, the vehicle starts behaving like an excited puppy, bouncing over the sort of broken surfaces you’d expect it to flatten out with ease. There’s even a tendency to pitch, which is extraordinary in a 101-inch motor weighing this little. This is really the only aspect of its handling that doesn’t do it any favours – and even under these conditions, it doesn’t succumb to bump-steer.

8pp Freelander launch.indd 86

That’s what the Freelander is like on the road.

Under-powered petrol engine apart, it’s all good news. And that brings us to the big question: what’s it like off-road?

Land Rover argues that even though people won’t buy a Freelander for the specific purpose of going off-road, it still has to be able to do the business if you want it to. Which sounds fair to us. It’s got the Land Rover badge, and that means it’s got to be the genuine article.

Some months ago, I wrote that in order to be a sales success, Freelander had to be brilliant on-road, end of story. I know people who’ve gone to main dealers to buy a Discovery and, on asking what the second gearstick’s for, been told ’don’t worry, sir, you’ll never need that.’ But Land Rover’s policy, which is based on longterm preservation of its core values, does have a point. Buyers may have no intention of using the vehicle’s off-road ability, but they have to be convinced that that ability is there. The challenge for Land Rover was to give them a vehicle with demonstrably enough ability to make them think it was a real off-roader, but in such a way that its capabilities on the road were compromised as little as possible.

We’ve already mentioned that the Freelander’s transmission is governed by a central viscous coupling, which effectively locks the front and rear together when they start turning at significantly different speeds. This takes the place of a lockable central diff – it’s something Land Rover has tried before, with the old-shape Range Rover, and there can be little doubt that it’s a powerful tool.

The next two pieces of hardware that are missing are beam axles, and this loss (off-road, it definitely is a loss) is compensated for in a number of ways.

First, there’s the ground clearance problem.

Independent suspension doesn’t inherently equate to low clearance, obviously, but it doesn’t work the same way as a beam axle to lift the vehicle clear of uneven ground. And if you’re designing a vehicle to be good on the road, you want to get it as close to the ground as you can get away with.

In order to cope with this, the Freelander has impressively solid steering and sump guards protecting its lowest-slung and most vulnerable

components. This might prevent damage from ground fouling, but it won’t stop the fouling from happening.

The other problem with this particular independent suspension set-up is that although the wheels’ vertical travel is excellent considering the standard of on-road handling the vehicle exhibits, it’s still mediocre compared to that of a traditional Land Rover. You’d be hard pushed to find a place where you could get an old-shape Range Rover from the days before anti-roll bars to lift a wheel, and that level of axle articulation was and still is a Land Rover trademark. But just as Freelander doesn’t have the axles, it doesn’t have the articulation. either. and that means cross-axling is a potential pitfall.

The answer to this was to develop the traction control system from the more recent Range Rover, extending it to all four wheels instead of the rear two to which it is limited on the larger vehicle. This operates through the ABS, automatically braking a spinning wheel so as to send torque to the opposite end of the axle.

The final and most revolutionary solution is of course the hill descent control, which is also a function of the ABS. This was developed in answer to the lack of a low-ratio transfer box and gives the driver the option of using a button on the gearstick to engage the ABS, keeping the vehicle to a maximum speed of 5.6mph or, in conditions deemed sufficiently severe by the sensors, 4.4mph. It only works in first and reverse and is disengaged if you press the throttle or brake, so the effect is not unlike engine braking.

But get this. If you’re climbing a hill, realise you’re not going to make it and have an idiot attack, flooring the clutch, so long as the yellow button is engaged the system will come straight in and control your descent.

It will also keep working if you panic on the way down a hill and floor the clutch. You do feel the vehicle speed up a little when you do

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‘If you’ve been off-road in a 90, you’ll soon work out that it’ll go places a Freelander couldn’t hope to reach . But if you’ve never been off-road at all before, the Freelander will do things you don’t currently believe even a 90 could do’ this, showing that there is some engine braking going on, but given that the Freelander is liable to be bought by a lot of people who haven’t a clue about off-road driving, HDC will be a friend indeed to those who do decide to venture on to rough terrain.

Since no-one has made anything like HDC before, how are you actually supposed to use it?

Do you engage it as soon as you go off-road, like low box, or do you simply reach for the yellow button when you come to a hill? The instructors at Land Rover Driving Experience seem to be recommending the former approach; since the vehicle has no low box, you’re going to be in first gear the whole time anyway, so you might as well keep the yellow button depressed and let the ABS act as a reduction gearbox even when you’re not going down steep hills.

You might as well also carry a spare set of brake pads in the boot, we suspect, particularly if you do your off-roading in quarries.

You can override the system by simply pressing the brake (it reminds you what you’re doing by sending a noticeable thump through the pedal) in order to slow the vehicle to even lower speeds where traction is available. This is not a technique that will be familiar to British off-roaders, whose use of the brakes is likely to be limited to covering the pedal gently to retard the vehicle in certain situations.

Here, the brakes are already on hard when you go for the pedal, so you’ve got to push it right down to have any effect, something you might want to do if you’re climbing down over rock steps or something similarly uneven. It’s a leap of faith if you’re used to being in low box but, with the vehicle’s gearing being so high, you can give it loads on the brake without stalling the engine.

The verdict on HDC must therefore be that it’s as brilliant in execution as it is in conception.

No, it’s not as good as low box: but yes, it’s a very competent substitute in a vehicle like this.

At the other end of the scale is the traction control, which is as unconvincing in the Freelander it is in the Range Rover. You hear it clicking away, as you do with the HDC, only this time to no apparent effect. On one occasion, we had parked one of the test vehicles on a wet, grassy slope. The only way off was to reverse back up, as there was a river at the bottom, but with enough revs to stop the engine stalling all I got was two spinning wheels on the uphill side.

The two wheels on the other side of the vehicle remained totally still, as did the vehicle itself, until a towing strop was slung between it and the other Freelander.

This points up another problem with the lack of low box, one which no amount of electronic wizardry can overcome. There are times when

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you do have to slip the clutch to get the vehicle moving, or to encourage it over certain obstacles, and you can tell by the smell that you’re doing it a lot of no good.

By and large, if the vehicle has already got some momentum, it will also have enough torque to get over the sort of obstacles it won’t actually ground out on. But starting off can be a pretty painful affair. Once you are up and running, the Freelander will tackle obstacles that would defeat everything else in its class and indeed some things that ought to be better.

The HDC system is a reassuring safety feature, but even if you don’t use it – or are driving a model that doesn’t have it – you can keep the vehicle moving with a judicious combination of throttle, brake and, most importantly, good route planning.

What you will get, and this applies to all Freelanders, is regular graunching noises from underneath. The steering guard is strong enough to take major impacts (we gave it some) but you hear all about is as it scrapes along the ground. Any sort of ruts will do this, as will straddling outcrops of rock.

The point here is that although it sounds bad, it’s not doing any harm. What you do need to watch out for is the exhaust, which is vulnerable on sharp breakovers. The tailpipe is well enough tucked away, though like all standard systems

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it could always suffer an unlucky impact, but the catalytic converter would have been wiped out completely had we not entertained serious doubts that it really was the sump guard we could hear grounding out.

The sump guard of the three-door we tested certainly grounded out somewhere along the line, as the bolts retaining the rear of it were both been pulled away leaving it hanging from its front mountings. It was rigid enough not to be dangling much below the position in which it had previously been secured, but having suffered thus far, we took extra care not to wallop it for the remainder of our five days with the vehicles.

Even so, the two Freelanders we tested certainly showed themselves to be competent off-roaders. You have to learn the limitations of a vehicle like this – but once you know them, you can get round them.

If that means buying a 90 instead, so be it. But for anyone at all who is realistically considering a Freelander, its level of competence off-road will be a bonus, not a turn-off.

During the course of our five days with the two vehicles, we met a good many people who said they were indeed looking at a Freelander as their next vehicle. One owned a RAV4, but every single one of the others – Land Rover take note – were Discovery owners. Time after

time, they made the same comments, bringing up their current vehicle’s collapsing reputation for reliability (though none had suffered major problems themselves) and hoping that Land Rover had got it right this time.

Almost without exception, they brought up BMW in this context and all were impressed by the price range of £14,000 to £20,000 being forecast for the vehicle ahead of its launch.

What these comments highlight is that for the Freelander to be a success, Land Rover needs to get the vehicle into the market at the right price – and it needs to get build quality right on the button. If the evidence of our test vehicles is anything to go by, this is indeed a well puttogether product – though these two, which came from very early indeed in the production run, were not without their glitches.

In the three-door the catch of the driver’s-side glove compartment came off in my hand. In the five-door, fuel leaked from the filler cap and was pushed along the side of the vehicle by the wind as we drove along. Neither of these are major faults – but if, as time goes on, Freelander buyers find lots of things like this happening to their vehicles, Land Rover’s customers may be less willing to shrug their shoulders than they have been with Discovery.

Encouragingly, Solihull is already changing one aspect of the vehicle that has proved inadequate. This is the frame holding the rear of the softback cover, which goes towards making its operation enough of a hassle to put you off. Land Rover likes to talk about the Freelander as a user-friendly 4x4, so making it easier to remove the fabric hood would be a welcome step.

You have to assume that in a vehicle aimed so squarely at a market in which the leisure lifestyle image is crucial, a significant number of Freelanders sold will be Softbacks. But our brief spell with the two was enough to convince us that from an objective point of view, the

This picture wasn’t faked – the di Estate did genuinely need to be recovered. It either stalled or spun its wheels while trying to reverse on the wet grass, with traction control doing precisely nothing to help, and going forward wasn’t an option as it would fall in the Afon Elan. It could have been worse, though – this is about half a mile from the start of the Monks Trod, and even in 1997 if we had tried to tackle that particular lane in these vehicles they’d probably still be there now

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Station Wagon is the better vehicle. Not only is it quieter at speed (you don’t notice the noise in the Softback until you’ve been in the Estate for a while), it is generally better appointed, even in lower-spec form, and it gives its rear seat passengers a fair deal.

Our other major conclusion is that if you’re going to buy a Freelander, you might as well go for the diesel. This is a recommendation I would make to anyone, including the ‘I hate diesels’ brigade. As a matter of fact, one of our driving team is very much of that view, but even he ended the week saying that it’s the option to go for. It drives like a petrol and sounds like a petrol, at least from inside the vehicle, but it doesn’t drink fuel like a petrol.

So it’s hard to see why anyone would plump for the 1.8-litre engine. That’s because the petrol unit, good though it is at hauling the vehicle around once it’s up to speed, simply doesn’t have the get-up-and-go to put a big, silly grin on your face the way the 2.0-litre unit in the RAV4 does. The little Toyota goes like a rocket and is a hoot as a result. The Freelander is a far superior vehicle in very many ways but it doesn’t have the instant fun factor, and that’s something Land Rover should be concerned about.

Rumours have been flying around for some time that Rover’s 2.5-litre V6 will be going into the Freelander some time down the line and as far as I’m concerned, the sooner they do it the better. If you absolutely must have a petrol engine, I’d say hold your horses.

Given the huge departures Land Rover has made from 49 years of history in the development of the Freelander, it seems ludicrous to be criticising them for being too conservative. But a dose of ’what the hell’ in the engine department, where the company is notoriously timid about overdoing it, especially in the UK market, would maybe have resulted in the petrol-engined Freelander being a match far the RAV4 in every way, not just most of them.

It seems especially strange, when the Rover Group has so many good engines in its stable,

that the V6 isnt being offered from the start.

Perhaps they’re keeping it for a second burst of publicity later on. Talk is cheap but I’d have liked to see them use it now and, if they want to make headlines this time next year, bring out a version with the 4.0-litre V8 from the Range Rover.

Well, why not? It would surely fit into the huge space available, the vehicle’s structure ought to be able to cope and, let’s not forget, Jeep uses a similarly sized engine in the Wrangler. It would of course be an engineering challenge, but people have successfully mounted the Rover V8 transversely before now and you’d like to think that if anyone can do it, Solihull can.

While those of us in Land Rover land who’ve long since gone chronic dream about a Freelander capable of reaching escape velocity, those of you who’ve read this article because you’re thinking of buying a Freelander should start dreaming about the new year, when you can take delivery of your new motor. Because if

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you are thinking of buying one, then it definitely is the vehicle for you.

Don’t be put off by the fact that it can’t do as much off-road as a traditional Land Rover. The fact is that if you’ve been off-road in a 90, you’ll soon work out that it’ll go places a Freelander couldn’t hope to reach. But if you’ve never been off-road at all before, the Freelander you buy in January will do things you don’t currently believe even a 90 could do.

Trust me when I tell you, the Freelander is remarkable. It’s inspiring in many ways, annoying in some ways and baffling in a few ways. It will sell by the bucketload, people will do amazing things in it and while I very, very much hope I’m wrong, I have a nagging worry that when they reach middle age they’re going to start going wrong in ways not even a Discovery owner would believe possible. It might not be a traditional Land Rover – but the Freelander is, in every way, a Land Rover.

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Sheer Street Converting Land Rovers into extraordinary one-offs is no longer unusual. And some of the creations we see emerging from Britain’s vehicle builders are very special indeed. Few have ever been as full-on wacky, however, as one of the earliest examples of the art – the utterly fabulous oddity that is the Sheer Rover…

Words and pictures: Mike Trott

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ere, right now in the present day, seeing a Land Rover that’s been the subject of a custom build seems as normal as seeing yet another reality TV programme appear on your normal 55” telly.

They’re absolutely everywhere and in many cases there’s very little to separate them, both in terms of Green Oval and TV shows. However, when it comes to the latter, while the likes of Geordie Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the dreadful Love Island have all taken the limelight in recent years, you need to remember that these were far from pioneers of the genre.

You will all remember the programme, Big Brother, I imagine, a show that simply filled a house with the widest spectrum of people the producers could find and then we sat back and threw away our summer evenings gawping at people who were learning to cook an egg for the very first time, or people who were able to put on a tantrum so ridiculous that even a three-year-old would roll their eyes.

In essence, seeing people being equally ridiculous on your TV screen today is nothing new. And it’s the same thing with Land Rovers being put through custom builds.

So many ‘enhancement houses’ have come on to the scene in recent years to try and put their stamp on how they feel a Defender, Range Rover of Discovery should look – companies like Kahn Design or Twisted spring to mind. But while each is creative in its own way, none of these are pioneers in Green Oval customisation.

Back in 1983, Spandau Ballet released their album True, while Luke Skywalker (spoiler alert) was getting more acquainted with his father Darth Vader. And in the world of Land Rovers,

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an outfit called Wood and Pickett were making a name for themselves by taking Range Rovers and morphing them into extremely weird and (arguably) wonderful machines.

The Sheer Rover was a Wood & Pickett creation and with them being built in so few numbers, there’s a good chance that what you’re about to see has never filtered into your line of sight before. And in about five seconds you may wish it had stayed that way.

Customisation is a funny game. In principal, the idea is that something is altered or modified in order to improve upon the current specification. However, customisation is a very subjective entity, meaning everyone won’t always see the changes as improvements.

And while you feast your eyes upon this example of a Sheer Rover, you may well wonder just how intoxicated the designer was when they pencilled down the bodywork for it.

It’s almost as though the designer’s dream car was a Ferrari 365 GTB4 (otherwise known as the Daytona), but he wound up working with Land Rovers instead of Italian sports cars and tried to find a way in which to amalgamate these two machines. The interior is interesting, too.

But first, some background for you. This 1983 Sheer Rover recently came into Vitesse Engineering, based near Aylesbury, after coming back into the UK from an extended hiatus out in Kuwait. In the same way the Middle East is a huge market for custom automobiles today, it was a lucrative region for car builders even 35 years ago.

Owner of Vitesse Engineering, Graham Hope, tells us the story: ‘The conversion was done back in the 1980s, before it was shipped over to the Middle East and then was hardly ever driven. It

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Obviously, what this interior needs is to be more red. You really could murder a lot of people in here without anybody ever noticing. It’s safe to say that the Sheer Rover was equipped to what was a very high standard in its day (that’s a high standard of consumables, obviously, if not of taste). You’ve got to admire the practicality of a televison so big it could be lobbed out and used as a ground anchor, though… but still, just in case you find this too upsetting to look at, we’ve kept all the text off this page so you can fold it over and keep reading without having to suffer

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sat in a garage for years before making its way back over here.’

It really didn’t travel far, as this Sheer Rover has only covered 2000 miles in its entire life. So why has it decided to make such a long voyage back home at this stage of its life?

Graham continues: ‘The current owner has brought it back over here and they sent it into Auto Audio for a bit of work. They’re a specialist company in Park Royal, London, focusing on custom builds and jazzy interiors.

‘If you want a pink diamond-encrusted interior for your Bentley, or you want your latest Ferrari wrapped in velvet, these are the guys for you.

They’re heavily involved with clients from the Middle East – places like Dubai, Saudi Arabia etc.’

Auto Audio will be giving it a fresh paint job and the interior is going to be re-trimmed, whilst most of its insides will go through a modernising process, despite the toys being state of the art back in the 1980s. More on that in a sec…

Graham’s role is more mechanical.

‘We’ve serviced it and generally recommissioned it back into a good working order,’ he explains. ‘Anything that mechanical Auto Audio don’t want to do, particularly when there’s a Land Rover badge on the front, they send over to us to sort out.’

It was while Graham was ‘sorting’ the Sheer Rover that we came to see what the height of customisation was like back in 1983. Huge stacks of money have been spent on this vehicle, but I for one could never call it attractive. As part of the Sheer Rover transformation, the Range Rover Classic was given new bumpers and exterior design features, such as the clear lower tail-

gate. Other Sheer Rovers experienced wheelbase changes or grew extra wheels, but this example focuses very much on the aesthetical changes to a standard Classic platform and harbours no notable mechanical differentiations.

If you’re not a fan of the outside, then the inside is unlikely to bring you around to the Sheer Rover’s way of thinking. I like Simply Red, but not when it comes to interiors. With the sheer volume (see what I did there) of red in this cabin, along with the shade of red they’ve chosen to adorn the space, it looks like someone has re-enacted the chainsaw massacre inside and then decided they quite like the mess it left behind.

The seats are at least comfortable, though, with sporty Recaro numbers located in the front and back of the Sheer Rover. Plus, not only will all passengers be well-seated, but they can all enjoy a touch of Spandau Ballet coming through the speakers situated in the headrests. Remember, this was the Eighties, so this cabin would have seemed more akin to a space pod at the time.

There’s more, too. That hefty centre section where one might fit a cubby box actually houses a TV. Again, it was the Eighties, so this was a TV that came with its own postcode. I like the microphone that sits alongside, which presumably was installed for those spontaneous karaoke moments you sometimes have on a longer journey.

The 57 ashtrays dotted around the vehicle also further instil yesteryear’s idea of luxury.

As with most Sheer Rover conversions, there’s a lot of tree and a lot of cow in here, whilst a few unusual dials come into vision from the driver’s seat. The Monroe ride leveller meter will indicate to you if you’re trying to pilot the Sheer Rover

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along on its roof, and the vacuum performance dial gives you various bits of information on how heavy your foot is – presumably to keep you from boredom while those in the back reap the thrills of karaoke.

Companies like Kahn Design and Bespoke are known for their custom projects, but replacing dull Solihull interiors with lairy cowhide has been going on for decades. This Sheer Rover is a classic example of what can happen when people have too much money and a taste palate that doesn’t come in equal proportion.

It’s a great illustration of just how blank a canvas these machines provide, and Land Rovers and Range Rovers alike are still being welcomed into custom outfits with open arms in 2018, decades after predecessing models were setting the trends for rich and wealthy customers all over the world.

The Sheer Rover is a reminder of how design is always changing, and how one man’s meat is another man’s murder. And, most of all, of how customisation doesn’t always improve on the original recipe.

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After 30 years of Series trucks, Land Rover reached the 1980s needing to stop relying on postwar technology. The result was a quantum leap forward that redefined what a Land Rover was Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

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a great leap forward

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ere we go then. The year is 1980.

Margaret Thatcher is still a novelty, the sixpence is still legal tender and punk is still dangerous. The decade will be remembered for some very good things: the music, the hair (arguably) and… hmm, come back to me on that.

It wasn’t all rosy, though. Britain was gripped in the worst recession since before WWII, strike after strike was witnessed through our boxy TVs, England got completely annihilated time after time at cricket and we managed to get involved in yet another political war.

It was a decade of revolution – and not just in society at large. The same can be said for Land Rover, too. Having seen the Series I evolve over the course of three decades, the machine that epitomised the Solihull outfit was in need of a whole new start, both mechanically and visually.

The vehicle you see here is the first preproduction machine to carry the 110 name – and as a result, was the first road-going Land Rover created to resemble the modern-day Defender.

This was Land Rover’s second wind, if you like, on its way to establishing the icon that was eventually christened in 1990.

Yes, Defenders and the 110 and 90 before it were still the replacement models for the Series III, in much the same way the P38 was a replacement for the Range Rover Classic. But Series Land Rovers and Defenders have often been categorised as separate individuals – and this vehicle was the first ever to illustrate why.

It was the long wheelbase variant, the 110, that emerged from the assembly line at Lode Lane first, not the famed 90. The example we have here was put together in 1980, three years before the official launch of the Land Rover ‘One Ten’ on British roads.

The body colour is typical of a horrible paint scheme from decades gone by, in this case something reminiscent of a hearing aid or a Werther’s Original. However, the vehicle itself is more than just a fashion disaster.

This was one of about 25 pre-production 110s made in 1980 to help with the development of the Series’ successor. Many of its styling cues

were adopted from the Stage 1 V8, with the flush front end and headlight surrounds providing an upgraded exterior, and setting the standard for what would come on the Defender in the following years. It was a clear attempt to segregate the new era from the Series vehicles, with rebadged models and the deserting of that famous grille. This was never going to be the Series IV. However, for initial production the 110 and 90 still had to make do with the 2.25-litre petrol engine carried over from the Series III. It was about as ideal and well-suited to the vehicle as I am to being Prime Minister. Fortunately, the new range of Landies only had to wait until the mid 1980s for the 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated engines to appear, although neither the 2.5 NA petrol or diesel have gone down in the history books as masterpieces. This pre-production 110 still has a 2.25 petrol motor, but it is not the original one that was first installed by Land Rover.

Having been given permission to leave the engineering fleet back in November 1983, this beige 110 moved on to pastures new. But its engine was retained by Land Rover along with many of its particulars, such as the gearbox, propshafts, wheels, doors, exhaust and radiator.

According to The Dunsfold Collection, with whom this vehicle resides, a scrap dealer mistakenly sold the chassis and the body of this early 110 when they were supposed to be whisked off to the great scrap heap in the sky.

Following a break of 25 years, whereby the 110’s remains had been kept in dry storage under lock and key with a Land Rover specialist, the Dunsfold Collection took ownership of this important artefact at the end of 2005.

While you can see the restoration was successful, and they managed to keep many of the 110’s original details, Dunsfold is still looking for its original engine, which went by the numbering of 24FRF17. If any of you reading this happen to know the whereabouts of this particular engine, I’m sure I can think of a party who would be keen to take it off your hands.

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This pre-pro 110 bears the chassis number F19. A fighter jet it is not, though, especially in terms of its technology. What wizardry it does call upon is the amazing coil spring. The Range Rover was the Green Oval’s only other recognised model in the 1980s and it utilised those for its suspension. But for the Series’ successor to ditch leaf springs – that was quite a leap.

Of course, today all Land Rovers have fully independent suspension and many of the models call upon air to achieve those sumptuous ride dynamics. But in 1983, the coil spring setup provided that improvement in ride quality, while the 110 and 90 also ended up adopting the Range Rover’s permanent four-wheel drive system too. In our sandy-shaded steed we have here, though, it adopted more from the Range Rover than anticipated. Let’s just say the steering wheel doesn’t say ‘110’ on it.

This pre-production Land Rover is now one of only five remaining survivors that initially wore the new wave of Land Rover updates. They were all made by hand. The inner wings and wheelarch eyebrows were shaped by the limbs of men, not robots. This model also has exportspec side windows, although many other body specifications were tested in those early months.

Inside you can see the ‘fresher’ interior with the five-speed manual gearbox and cabin closer to that of the Defender than the Series III. No heater in this example, though.

What makes me like this car so much, however, is that it defines a pre-production vehicle. It’s still a little rough around the edges, and if you go over it with a detailed eye – past that milky tea shell – you can see why it isn’t the polished article. But rather than be jealous of all those 110s that followed, it stands proud and wears its inaccuracies with pride. Just like any old Land Rover should do.

Thanks to the Dunsfold Collection for the availability of the vehicle. If you would like to view the entirety of the collection, or donate to the charity, visit www.dunsfoldcollection.co.uk

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TICK TALK

Mike Rivett is a serial collector of Series Land Rovers. He has been accumulating these machines for decades and has managed to become the owner of some rare and unusual models – including one of the best examples of the coachbuilt Tickford station wagon Words and pictures: Mike Trott

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ollecting things can be a great way of passing time, assuming one has that much time to pass. It could be your main hobby in life and something that is a part of you from your younger years to the days when you start getting old and crumbly.

To be honest, if you’re just looking to pass time then there are probably more interesting ways to do so than to collect things like toys.

Actually, we don’t mind collecting toys, providing they’re not the sort with synthetic fur and set on proclaiming their love for you whenever you’re in the vicinity.

However, there is one type of collecting that we certainly can get our heads round; one that we praise and actively encourage. In fact, I’m even fairly sure that it’s been scientifically proven that collecting machines with the Green Oval on the front makes you live longer and more prone to bankruptcy.

The collecting of Land Rovers is actually a bit of an epidemic. We come across hundreds of cases each year, often reaching beyond the

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shores of the UK, and we go out of our way to catch the disease ourselves.

Many of you are likely to be reading these words remembering the first time you contracted the illness yourself. Perhaps it was when you decided to take your mate’s old Landy off his hands. Or was it at a show and you saw something you just had to own? Or, perhaps, the realisation came to you when you were sat in your underpants, accompanied only by your laptop and a mug of stone-cold coffee, bidding on a racked-off piece of Solihull history at 4.30 in the morning.

It’s a shuddering thought but, sometimes, needs must.

One chap who’s had to carry this condition for many years is Mike Rivett. He has been an avid collector of Land Rovers for more than two decades – and his services to the hobby have really started to show dividends. Among the many Solihull motors now in his stable is the one you’re looking at here – a coachbuilt 1951 Tickford Station Wagon.

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Soon after the original 80” Series I was launched, customers started to realise it was a bit, well, basic. Talk about stating the bleeding obvious. Anyway, people liked the idea of having a Land Rover with at least some form of luxury added – like having exterior door handles, for example, or a roof.

Consequently, Land Rover turned to Tickford of Newport Pagnell and instructed them to design a Station Wagon variant, which would see the model use the old-school method of coachbuilding for the body.

It didn’t really work, though, and after three years of production only 650 Tickford Land Rovers had actually been built, making it a pretty rare piece of the brand’s history.

The main issue was that it was just too expensive. The coachbuilt body forced a premium and, because it was no longer classed as a commercial vehicle, owners were subject to Purchase Tax too. And let’s be honest, using wood to build a car is so 19th Century.

Nevertheless, sometimes a company’s failings and the product’s resulting rarity is what captivates the eye of a collector. ‘I acquired the Tickford around early 2001,’ says Mike. ‘It was advertised in a Land Rover mag and they were after telephone bids. Luckily my dad was up there on holiday, so he did a detour and went to go and view it.’

Many of you who actively collect will know that some of the acquisitions you’ve admitted to owning or hope to own have come through chance and seizing an opportunity. Mike is well aware of this.

But this Tickford had already had a colourful life before it found its way to Mike. And like many of its brothers that were successfully conceived, it was exported overseas – in this instance, to West Africa.

‘The Tickford was exported to Ghana when new, before returning to Wales and re-registered,’ reveals Mike. ‘Then, only a month later, it went to Scotland and was re-registered again! This was back in the Sixties and then it stayed up

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Like many Series Is out there, Tickford or regular, the original engines were often ousted from the engine bay and in place the larger 2.0-litre four-cylinder unit would be fitted.

There wasn’t a huge hike in power – if any at all – but there was some much needed additional torque in Scotland throughout its ownership until I purchased it.’

Mike continues: ‘The Tickford is considered a bit of an ugly duckling in the Series I world, but I like it, even though I prefer the look of a standard Series I.’ It’s easily distinguishable from ordinary Series Is and, with the one we have here, we can really point out the differences because of how original it has stayed over the years. Yes, the 1.6 4cyl petrol has been ousted for the higherpowered 2.0-litre petrol, a common substitute across all early Series Is and especially with the Tickford, because, as Mike explains, ‘The 1.6 was underpowered and the 2.0-litre was much better suited to help counter the extra weight. Other than the engine, the rest of the running gear on this is original.’

It wasn’t only the Station Wagon shape bringing added weight, with its materials and technology, but also those luxury perks. Leather on the seats, for example, and the comfort of a heater – there was even some attempt at trimming out the interior, which will have delighted the six other passengers you were able to transport.

One classic tip for spotting a Tickford is when looking over the spare wheel cover; a tin-plated item painted in the same Bronze Green as the rest of the vehicle.

Because the Tickford was designed with comfort and passenger wellbeing in mind, you might think that Mike is more likely to drive this lavish Landy.

‘The Tickford is not just a garage queen, it gets used on many occasions and it has been

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The Tickford might have a reputation as being a bit of an ugly duckling, but everywhere you look there are details to be found which make it, in its own way, a thing of absolute beauty to Belgium on a holiday weekend (as part of the annual Charity Land Rover Run). I take it on car runs and it’s been to Goodwood a couple of times,’ says Mike.

‘I already had one Tickford before acquiring this one, so two in the garage was good to look at,’ smiles Mike, ‘But I then sold the first to help pay for the Pre-Pro…’ That’s a story for another day, folks.

As for the Tickford, it seems like Mike is one of the very few people not to have been put off by its failings, nor does he discriminate against its unconventional figure.

‘I like the fact that it’s not good at being a Land Rover or a plush car, and it was trying to tap into a better market for Land Rover even though it didn’t ultimately work, because of all the costs.

‘That all but put an end to the Tickford and in fact only two more were made after mine.’

Thankfully, the recipe for the core Series I was appreciated by a wider range of palettes, meaning there were many more units built in the following decades. More Land Rovers to go around for us to collect then really!

The Land Rover and Tickford relationship, however, may have been fruitless on the whole,

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but these quirky derivatives of the Series I are still part of Land Rover’s long and glorious history. And any vehicle that makes up the history of Land Rover, whether a success or failure, should still be appreciated.

99 19/04/2022 16:12

It’s a Gift…

What are you hoping to get for your next birthday? Chances are a galvanised chassis is not an option – though perhaps it should be…

Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Ian Jackson

I

f you’re familiar with burning the candle at both ends, fettling away into the night on rusted metal, stubborn engines and rotted bodies (the vehicular kind, not the neighbour you buried in the garden last summer), well, it’s all in the pursuit of happiness.

In any case, it’s good to have a supportive spouse. Someone who can pat you on the back for the hard work you’ve been putting into a Landy which may be no nearer to chirping into life than six months ago. But they don’t mind because it’s what you love doing.

Happily, there are some partners out there who go to extreme lengths in showing their support.

Like Mrs Jackson, for example.

Mrs J’s husband Ian has loved Land Rovers for almost as long as he’s loved his wife (could be longer, but we’ll play it safe). A few years ago, Ian hit the big 4-0 and was presented with a dilemma for his birthday.

‘I was given the choice between a galvanised chassis or a watch,’ explains Ian. ‘I think I was very lucky to be offered either!’ If you’re not

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thinking something similar too, safe to say the rest of the world is jealous of you.

Needless to say, as any self-respecting, sane person would, Ian went for the chassis. This special gift was placed on to his 1960 Series II. Even before this, the Landy already had a couple of notable features of its own – including a very big one located in the engine bay.

‘The engine is a Rover V8, originally fitted to a Range Rover. It has been fully rebuilt with a reground crank, new camshaft, new valves etc. It’s also running twin SU carburetors with a custom stainless steel exhaust.

‘I’ve had this vehicle for about ten years. She has been repaired, upgraded and restored; she’s a very pretty vehicle now and gets a lot of attention wherever I go.

‘The chassis was replaced with the galvanised one. And the bulkhead and front panel have been repaired and galvanised too.’

Is Mrs Jackson as appreciative of the Series II as Ian? We may possibly have to put this one to the jury.

‘My wife is very supportive of my hobby. She knows where I am and can see the results. But she’s not a fan of the Series’ ride quality – and the first time I took her out in it we got a puncture, then the second time the fuel pump packed up in the middle of a green lane. Needless to say, she’s only been in it a handful of times since! We also have a Freelander 2 and a P38, and she much prefers the comfort of riding in either of them.

‘My son, however, loves it and has been on a couple of green laning trips. He’s seven now and is starting to get the car bug. Hopefully, I’ll be finishing a Toylander for him shortly.’

Going back to the adult-sized version, there are a few more elements to the vehicle worth mentioning. To keep that V8 in check, Ian has fitted the brakes from a Stage 1 V8. He’s also swapped the standard diffs for Rover P4 units, giving the vehicle more civilised road manners.

The Polybushed suspension and 205x16 Bridgestone radials complement this further.

The Series II has also received a new Autosparks wiring loom, and has a genuine Land

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 16:03

Rover seatbelt bar fitted. Ian is particularly proud of the original Lucas headlight units too, which took him two years to find. He’s since fitted HID bulbs in them.

As original as these lights may be, though, there is clearly one thing that stands out for Ian above all else. ‘There is nothing I don’t like about her,’ he explains. ‘But, as a petrol head, I’d have to say the sound is my favourite part. The custom stainless steel exhaust makes a lovely rasp and sounds superb. People hear the noise and aren’t sure where to look. They don’t expect it to come from my Land Rover, especially when you go past them at 70mph on the motorway!’

Unfortunately, this is where the story doesn’t drive off into the sunset and live happily ever after. ‘I’ve got too many toys, really. I want to build a kit car and I have been given an ultimatum by the wife.’

Thou shalt giveth and thou shalt taketh away… or whatever ye olde English saying is. It seems a man can have too many toys, at least when he starts running out of room to keep them anyway.

Renting a field or a hangar could be beneficial, but then so is a trip to Barbados.

Not that anyone’s going to struggle to find a new home for a Series II like this. It’s got a galvanised chassis, you see, and those ones always sell easily. Smart move, Mrs J…

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Coast A moment's distraction while shopping online ended up with Paul Devine becoming the owner of a Series III in need of refurbishment.

What he didn't know at the time was that he had got his hands on an old Coastguard truck – but when the truth dawned, the die was cast for where the restoration was going to take him Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Mike Trott and Paul Devine

E

veryone loves the seaside. You have the piers that look like they’re about to collapse at any moment, the seagulls that are dive-bombing you so they can feast upon your delicious fish ‘n’ chips and the freezing-cold sea that is just waiting to give you hypothermia. Brilliant.

Of course, outside of the UK, the seaside can swell up images of hot beaches, marinas filled with yachts not dinghies, and lobsters swimming outside restaurants awaiting your pointy finger.

Okay, so it’s not really that bad here in the coastal resorts of old Blighty – at least not in June anyway. There are other scenes we see at our own little rivieras, too, like children with ice creams as big as their heads, grown adults competing against each other in the bucket and spade competition and me spending time with my own kind… aka riding a donkey.

This is all very well, but sometimes we forget about Land Rovers. Yes, those Land Rovers that drop those dinghies into the harbour, the Defenders that the Lifeboat heroes use to pull us from trouble or maybe just those that HM Coastguard uses to patrol our shorelines. The first Land Rover was conceived on a beach, so it’s only natural that they’re found so close to the sea.

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in the Machine

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But let’s put that aside for one moment and introduce you to a fellow called Paul Devine. He was innocently scrolling through the Gumtree website when curiosity got the better of him.

‘I wasn’t exactly looking for a Land Rover, but while I was on Gumtree doing some research for my job, I dangerously flicked over to the Land Rover pages’ confesses Paul. ‘I saw this Series III on there and moments later I was phoning the owner, who told me the vehicle had only been listed for ten minutes!’

So while driving home in his new Landy, Paul started dreaming of all the possibilities this slightly impetuous purchase could lead to. Since then, a lot about the vehicle has changed.

‘Even though I hadn’t been looking to buy a Land Rover, I fancied a bit of a project and thought about just returning the vehicle to a

reasonable standard,’ recalls Paul. Some of the task ahead was going to be largely simple, while other elements were going to need a greater deal of attention.

What sort of elements would these be? ‘The front wings looked like they’d gone three rounds with a gatepost,’ laughs Paul. ‘And the doors had given up and taken early retirement!’

But before addressing all the bodywork issues and getting the vehicle back into its ‘reasonable state’, this Landy had some explaining to do.

A friend of Paul’s sailed over and put in to port to see his new toy – and was faced with a perplexed Paul, questioning why the roof of his Series III appeared to be of the yellow nature. An inclination in Paul’s mind told him he could be looking at an ex-British Telecom Land Rover, as they were very much renowned for being pasted in a bright yellow livery.

However on closer inspection, Paul’s friend identified that this Land Rover was in fact an

ex-Coastguard vehicle – something that would have called upon both yellow and dark blue.

Ironically, the exterior at the time was finished in Marine Blue, although it wasn’t that shade of blue that pointed to the coastguard history – it was the dark blue aura washed around the interior of the Series III. With this new development in the story of Paul’s Land Rover, the cogs started turning and he had a brainwave.

‘I had a flash of inspiration and thought, “What if we take her back to how she would have been while in service?”’ says Paul enthusiastically, as he relives the moment in his eyes once more. ‘It was the first time I’d really paid any interest to the coastguard Landies, but I wanted to see what she would have looked like in 1984.’

It’s a vehicle that has been sympathetically restored and Paul has always maintained that the aim was never to make it concours. While this ’84 Series has had two brand new front doors and one new door top, the nearside front wing is

There’s nothing quite like a capstan winch to give a Land Rover an authentic period feel. Paul assumed it would be dead as a dodo when he went to view the Landy, but it turned out still to be in full working order – and it scrubbed up a treat Right: Various items of equipment in the cabin may or may not be original, or indeed faithful, but they all help with the general image

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‘I had a flash of inspiration and thought “what if we take her back to how she would have been while in service?” It was the first time I’d really paid any attention to the Coastguard Landies’ a couple of years old and the offside wing has received a new side and front panel.

That coastguard blue exterior comes courtesy of four coats of coach paint, all applied by hand, although the graphics that help mimic its service roots were professionally layered on by a local company to Paul.

‘I haven’t really had to play about with it too much. I prepped it for painting and my son gave it a service, but I haven’t touched the mechanicals other than fitting a new exhaust manifold on it as the old one had given up and broken in half!’ states Paul.

‘The original chassis is sound, though. Apparently, the Land Rover was used as a training vehicle, so it wasn’t one that got continually dipped into the sea.’

It would explain why a vehicle living close to the sea for so many years was able to walk away with its particulars very much intact. As an added bonus, Paul’s coastguard Land Rover is still on

its original engine and has only covered 63,000 miles. But that could change quite easily, the way Paul is going.

‘I’ve used it every day and have done since I finished the work,’ smiles Paul. ‘I thoroughly enjoy driving it. My normal car hasn’t been out in two to three weeks! I’ve always felt that old vehicles should still be used, though. That’s what they were created for after all.’

It seems that Land Rovers come to find Paul rather than the other way round. Not only did this Series III weave its way through the web to him, but the very reason he got into Land Rovers appears to be down to fate.

‘It was mainly down to my son as to why we got into this whole Land Rover business. It was when he was looking for his first car and he said he would buy the first one he saw where someone would take a cheque (a while ago now) – and it just happened to be a Land Rover,’ explains Paul.

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From that moment on, Paul has been unable to escape the Green Oval marque. But then he wouldn’t have it any other way.

As for his Coastguard Series III, nobody would have it any other way. A lovely classic Land Rover, it’s been given the opportunity to be someone’s first mate once again – and to spend its retirement once again dressed in the livery it wore in its pomp.

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TWO INTO ONE

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L

The first-generation Range Rover and Discovery are both bona fide classics. And both can be bona fide headaches, too. When Paul Wood found himself owning a Rangey with a dead engine and a Disco with a rotten body, he hit on a novel way of combining them into one unique Land Rover that’s a hybrid, and off-roader, a daily drive – and still every inch a classic Words: Paul Looe Pictures: Harry Hamm

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and Rover likes to go on about its vehicles’ breadth of capability. And it’s right. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, you can’t deny that there are few manufacturers anywhere in the world whose vehicles can do so many different things well.

It’s been that way for a long, long time, of course. Consider the Mark 1 Discovery, for example. It was stylish, well equipped and practical. It could master any road, and it was unbelievable off-road. It could tow like a champ.

It could do almost anything.

Like rust. Boy, could it rust.

The Disco 1 had a chassis that could survive anything, be it the trials of off-road action or the test of time. But its body? Lower your head, avoid eye contact and back away slowly.

That’s exactly what Paul Wood’s mate Johnathan Wharmby didn’t do when he found an old 1995 3-door Disco going cheap and picked it up to use as a runabout for a while. ‘It had several months’ MOT left,’ says Paul, ‘so it didn’t seem a bad buy at the time.’

Not that this is the story of someone going into it without knowing what they’re looking at. Both these guys are well seasoned in the 4x4 game – Paul alone has owned about six Discos, a couple of Rangeys, a Defender, an SJ and a Frontera before this, so he’d had plenty of experience of old off-road machines.

Johnathan bought the Disco after an interesting experience involving not one but two semi-retired Range Rovers. One was running and had a Brooklands body kit on it (yeuch), while the other had spent the previous eight years laid up in a barn, and he struck a deal at the right money to take them both off their owner’s hands.

The one with the bodykit ran well, so Johnathan set to work on fettling it for the MOT. Like any person of taste would do, he started taking the kit off… only for the body to come with it.

Was it as crumbly as the Disco? Maybe, maybe not. But once again, getting it back on the road would have cost way more in welding time than the vehicle was worth. It was fit only for being broken and sold as spares, so that’s exactly what happened to it.

Which left one other Range Rover, sat in the corner covered in mould. The reason it was kicked into the barn in the first place had been that the owner bought the other one, so the guys assumed that it must have been worse.

But when they went at it with the jetwash, something remarkable happened.

‘We couldn’t believe how clean and straight it was,’ says Paul. ‘We found no rust or rot anywhere on it. The sills, inner wings and boot floor were spotless.’

Now, that’s definitely not normal for an abandoned Range Rover. But there was a reason. ’As we were going through it,’ continues Paul, ‘we discovered paperwork showing how it had had a full body-off restoration which was completed just before it was MOT’d and then parked in the barn.’ So recommissioning it was a piece of cake, and soon it was MOT’d once more and back on the road.

19/04/2022 19:36

1

4

2

3

5

1-4] You can lift a Discovery, or a Range Rover, using Bearmach +3” springs and +2” Pro-Comp shocks, and it turns out you can do the same to something that’s a bit of both. The shocks are located on -2” drop mounts, and it’s Polybushed throughout – bump stops included 5] Droop at the rear is aided by double-cranked trailing links, which are also Polybushed. A set of dislocation cones does no harm, too All went well, for about six months. But then they stopped going well and went phut instead, when what turned out to be a completely

5pp Wood.indd 108

unidentifiable electrical fault cropped up and killed the engine stone dead. ‘We did checks on the engine, loom and everything,’ Paul explains

of the sorry scene, ‘but we could not figure it out. Several people came over to try and help, but without any success.’

So, two Range Rovers. One has already been stripped, the other is rock solid but doesn’t run. Enter stage left, the Disco.

Johnathan used it as his daily driver for a few months, all the while wondering what he was going to do with the beautiful Range Rover that was sat on his drive and steadfastly refusing to fire up.

As it turned out, the answer was waiting for him to uncover. And all he and Paul had to do was get in there and start doing a few pre-MOT checks.

They’d already seen that a few panels were going to want replacing, so as part of the job they stripped off the old ones.

And that was when they saw the truth.

Johnathan’s original intention had been to replace the Discovery’s grotty panels, but as it so often the way it wasn’t until they stripped the truck down

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1

2

1,2] With the same chassis and body mounts under both the Disco and Range Rover, swapping the bodies was as straightforward as any hybrid job will ever get. The trigger for the project actually came when a pre-MOT check revealed that the Disco’s body was only being held to its chassis by one sound mount…

3

4

3] Up front, an easy solution to the whole Discovery-chassis-and-Range-Rover-body thing was to do away with the original bumper and replace it with a heavy-duty item shaped in thick steel tube. A perfect example of how the off-road element of the project solved the problems there’d have been if Paul had been trying to keep it looking as factory-fresh as possible

5

4] The bumper doesn’t exactly flow down into the steering guard, but they definitely work as a team. Not a lot’s going to get past them 5] That there’s a Range Rover body – with a Discovery rear bumper under it. Unlike at the front, where he was making his own heavy-duty job anyway, Paul had to adapt the Disco unit to fit

that the extent of the rust around the whole of the shell became obvious. ‘It only had one good body mount holding it to the chassis,’ says Paul. ‘The boot floor was gone all the way round and the inner wings front and rear were nonexistent, as were both rear seatbelt mounts.’

So, one good runner with a wreck of the body, and one good body with a wreck of an engine.

Sounds like time for a heart transplant, right?

The guys did look at that idea. But then they had a better one. ‘Why not just swap the bodies over from the Range Rover to the Disco,’ says Paul. ’They are after all the exact same chassis.

And the Disco’s chassis and running gear were mint, with an all new suspension lift kit on it.’

This was back when the bureaucrats whose job is to stop everyone from doing everything were yet to realise such clever thinking was possible and therefore ban it. No doubt these days it would involve more paperwork, more time and, of course, more admin fees, but back then all it took was a call to the DVLA (something else you can’t do now, at least not if you want to have a grown-up conversation with an intelligent adult) and they were reassured that yes, what they were proposing was fine.

The job itself was a lot less remarkable than what came before, because it was so straightforward. Off came the old body (something you could just about have done by sneezing on it) and the whole plot was thoroughly cleaned and prepped. Then it was a case of splitting the Range Rover from its chassis, lifting it into the air (a big thumbs-up to the guys on the farm next door for dropping

by with a telehandler) and wheeling the Disco frame underneath it.

The trickiest bits, both of which should make you shudder, were relocating the Disco loom and dashboard into the Range Rover. The latter required a lot of trimming and test-fitting before it would finally marry up to the new bulkhead, but by taking it slowly the guys got it spot-on – the result being that it feels like it was always meant to be there.

Paul and Johnathan took the chance to fit a wading kit while the body was off, then plumbed in a snorkel and modded the original bumpers to work with the combination of Disco frame and Range Rover body. And that was it, job done. Now, instead of a shot-through Disco

and a non-running Range Rover, Johnathan was the proud owner of a sound, solid and very much functional truck with a brand new MOT and, after a bit of wrangling with VOSA, a V5 describing it as a Range Rover Hybrid.

Well, he was the proud owner, but it won’t have escaped your notice that he’s not anymore.

‘After such a lousy year, he decided to sell up,’ says Paul. ‘Well, I couldn’t let it go after all the hard work I’d put into it was well!

‘I can honestly say I know every nut and bolt on the vehicle. So I sold my own Disco to pay for it and started to make it my own. Since owning it, I’ve made a few changes, like bigger tyres and +3” springs instead of the +2” ones we put on. I’ve had it for four years – it’s mainly

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a green lane toy, as well as my daily driver and tow vehicle.’

That’s not to say he doesn’t get in there too.

In fact, he’s currently scratch-building a 100” challenge truck for the really hardcore stuff – and being Chairman of Trans Pennine Off Road Club, he gets plenty of chance to do that. ‘I was getting ribbed by my mates in TPORE for not using this one at our pay and plays, so I went for

a trundle round Holymoorside to show them that it is a capable off-roader. I got stuck three times in there and damaged the wing a bit… It wasn’t too bad considering it’s not what it was intended for, but my mate Joey Handley found it hilarious as he pulled me out each time with his Pajero!’

As well as the off-road machine he’s building, Paul is currently restoring a 3.9-litre V8 Range

Rover on LPG – which will eventually replace this one as his all-rounder, tow barge and lane machine. He’s talking about giving it more lift and bigger tyres this time, which along with the engine will address the only real regrets he’s got about this one.

So once again, he’s working on two trucks at once. This time, they’re not going to end up as one on top of the other.

Above left: This is the first thing that would alert the average Landy spotter to the fact that there’s something odd going on. Those doors are pure Range Rover – check out the wood trims if you really want to get your anorak on – but the dash console is that of a late Mk1 Discovery. Fitting it to the Rangey’s bulkhead was one of those jobs you don’t want to do more than once – trim, dry-fit, trim, dry-fit, repeat, repeat some more, etc…

Above right: Here’s the result of all that painstaking work. Range Rover seats and doors, Discovery dash… and it all looks like it was made to fit together. As you can tell from the state of it, Paul didn’t build the vehicle with hardcore off-roading in mind – but it’s an extremely competent lane wagon and an everyday 4x4 that’ll do whatever he asks, be it work, play or towing

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111 19/04/2022 19:36

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DEMOB HAPPY

W

um-wum-wum-wum-wum-wumwum-wum… The beating of a helicopter’s blades grows louder and louder in my ears, filling the air. Before long, the sound of Noel Gallagher’s lead guitar bursts into my bedroom and, before I know it, Morning Glory is in full swing.

I’ll try and bring some context to that… and attempt to divert you away from the image of me with various issues one may experience in the

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very early hours. It’s a Saturday morning and I’m waking up in the sleepy Midlands at an obscene time of day (night, really) so that I can be in Northumberland for 9am.

Specifically, I need to be at a lay-by on the A697 opposite the Heighley Gate Garden Centre, just north of Morpeth, in order to rendezvous with my platoon for the day’s reconnaissance mission – namely the exploration of byways in north Northumberland.

Pace is brisk with traffic thin, and my arrival is greeted with the wonderful sight of several military Land Rovers – plus one civilian 110 – all lined up on parade and beautifully presented, ready for the day’s action.

I’ve been suitably drilled prior to enrolment on to this most delicate of assignments, being instructed that I will be well catered for and need only bring some decent weather with me. I’d like to think I haven’t let the side down. Temperatures

LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 19:42

The classic Land Rover scene takes many forms – and one of the most popular involves ex-military vehicles. It’s not just about going to shows and dressing up like a soldier, either – these living relics with a glorious past, and the right way to enjoy them is to use them the way Solihull intended Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

push 20˚C on this sunny springtime morning, and by my recollection it’s the best day of the year so far. Which, I feel, it’s going to be in more ways than one.

Moments before we embark on our day’s recce, I meet with personnel and the drivers of each unit. Colonel Godward had been my contact in the weeks running up to my link up with the squadron and he will be heading our convoy in an R-WMIK Defender.

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‘The vehicles are veterans themselves. People are so complimentary towards them – it can be a real trip down memory lane for them’ Lieutenant Bailey, aka Trevor, will be rolling out in his restored Lightweight. Major Wood is piloting his ex-Cyprus Wolf 90 and also responds to the name Wayne, while Captain Scott Connal has the joyous task of ferrying Cadet Trott for the day in his ex-military Hard Top 90. Oh, and there is some bloke called Shaun with his civvie 110 too. Only joking, Shaun is a top guy and has since joined the ranks with a Wolf 90 of his own.

This really will be a day of reconnaissance for some of the troops, though. My captain, or

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Scottie as he tells me to call him, is completely new to the green lanes of Northumberland.

‘This is only my second time out with my 90,’ says Scott. ‘The first was in February in the Lake District. I wasn’t going to do anything like this originally – I was a bit precious with it and had planned for it only to be used for road driving.’

How things can change. Northumberland will provide a test for the 90. But as the group concurs later on, the type of lanes on offer here are non-damaging and instead encourage the appreciation of your surroundings.

We make our advance through the market town of Morpeth before engaging with our first lane. If all lanes are going to be like this today, then I’ll quite happily stay in Northumberland and never return to the Midlands. Rocky in nature, but nothing a standard Land Rover can’t breeze, we spiral down to the side of a river and wait for the Colonel’s signal to encroach into the bubbling stream: ‘Proceed!’

In single file, the vehicles tip-toe their way through, climbing up some minor rock steps and twisting round a hairpin to head back out of the little valley. In winter, the river we’ve just crossed could be a raging torrent, but on the finest of spring days it’s serene.

Captain Scottie is proving to be a character and today his enthusiasm is clear. ‘Now I love cars, I’ve got a nice car, an Audi, but when I get into this… Somehow it always puts a smile on my face when we’re in a military convoy – you do get some looks!’

There’s another reason why Scottie loves his 90 so much. For starters, he was in the military himself previously, just like the 1987 standard FFR 90 in which we’re spending the day. In fact, his 90 went into service the year before Scottie and they served in the same unit together.

Forgive me for a moment, because I did say this 90 is standard – and it’s not.

A Discovery 200Tdi engine lies under the bonnet and there’s power steering fitted, making this one friendlier 90 to operate. Imagine a rifle with a cushion behind it for extra comfort on the recoil and you get the drift.

‘They have a different look and feel and of course the vehicles are veterans themselves,’ enthuses Scottie. ‘The reaction to them; people

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‘I’m an engineer by trade and by nature, and with military vehicles they are the pinnacle of engineering. They were designed with function over form, built for a purpose regardless of looks. That’s the attraction’ are so complimentary towards them and sometimes the military registration plates get recognised and people come up to you and say, “That was in my unit!” It can be a real trip down memory lane for them.’

Today’s expedition will definitely live on in memory. It’s not only the lanes that provide an experience to treasure, but the villages and

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hamlets you pass through and the sweeping, wonderful roads you use along the way.

Rothbury, Snitter and Netherton are all despatched before a quite incredible lunchtime halt. I thought I would be in good hands, but the spread on offer is truly remarkable. Not only has Major Wood remembered the pork pies and Lieutenant Bailey the scotch eggs, but real Army

ration packs provide a paella in a pouch for main, chased up with a chocolate brownie in a pouch for dessert. All this while observing the local sheep and taking in some April rays.

It also gives me a chance to speak with some other members of the task force to see what it is about military vehicles and Northumberland that makes a day like this so brilliant.

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The Colonel chirps up. ‘For me – and I think it’s a common theme – I’m an engineer by trade and by nature, and with military vehicles they are the pinnacle of engineering. They were designed with function over form, built for a purpose regardless of looks, that’s the attraction.’

‘They’re genuine vehicles and often unmolested,’ says new recruit Shaun, who has recently bought Andy’s Wolf 90 from him. ‘I don’t like things that aren’t used. You know, really we are custodians of them, they will be historical at some point. They are rare and essentially artefacts that need preserving. But what I love about them is you can drive them, show them, and you can use them off-road as intended.’

Artefacts they may be, but as I watch Trevor’s Lightweight bob up and down on the afternoon trails with a vista that stretches for what seems like dozens of miles, it feels like the Land Rovers are thankful not to be tucked up in some museum with recirculating air, miles from their natural environment.

‘With Northumberland, it’s the open expanse, you know, there’s a lot of sky up here,’ comments Shaun in awe. ‘The lanes are really quite gentle; easy to drive, non-damaging, but interesting

as well with some amazing scenery.’

‘It’s not a particularly hard place to off-road, it’s more about the scenery than technique,’ elaborates Andy.

‘For Trevor and Scott, they haven’t done much laning previously, so it’s a good place to break in the trucks. You can be off the beaten track for hours.’

Somewhere high up in the hills of Northumberland, we hold position on a trail that seems to give us the picturesque landscape from a Lord of the Rings film and let our vehicles take a breather. The Captain’s 90 is overheating slightly, but these are all valuable miles over which to assess teething problems.

Scottie explains: ‘It’s a gorgeous area and I would say if you’re looking for something not too arduous, it’s the ideal way to run in your vehicle. There’s three things I will remember from this trip: the scenery, the weather and the company. It’s the first time I’ve seen Northumberland in

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this depth, and it’s been a brilliant way to take in the county.’

I couldn’t agree more. As we move towards our final lane, finishing in even grander style than we started, there’s another river crossing waiting for us. Like a platoon reaching the border to safety or a band of brothers touching down on British soil after fleeing Dunkirk, the Land Rovers successfully navigate the channel and reach the day’s finish.

Northumberland has mesmerised before, but this time it’s taken it up a notch. The lanes have been blockbuster, the company exceptional, and it has been a privilege to witness such scenes in artillery of such calibre.

As the sun starts to dip ever lower, the squadron must disband back to normality… and I have a four-hour drive home during which to debrief myself on the day’s events. And, possibly, to try and calculate how much I’d have to set aside every month to pay for a Wolf of my own.

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FIRST-CLASSIC TRAVEL

What kind of vehicle would you choose for a long-range overland trip? Most of us would go for a highly prepped Defender or Discovery with all the home comforts – but who needs all that when you can keep it real aboard an old Series III Lightweight?

Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Russ Dykes and Peter Middleton

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O

verland travel is not for the faint-hearted.

It’s a serious undertaking which requires plenty of planning – you can’t just head off on your tod in the misty-eyed belief that owning a 4x4 is enough to turn you into a worldly wise global explorer with the knowledge of David Attenborough and the survival skills of Ray Mears.

Having said that, there is no denying that planet Earth is now smaller than ever. Today, we can traverse continents in hours rather than days.

Even regular mortals like you and me, indeed, can have a pop at pretending to be a poor man’s Ranulph Fiennes.

Overlanding is becoming a much more accessible way of seeing the world, and it’s no wonder when you consider the prevalence of companies promising to package everything up for you into a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary. You just need to show up in your 4x4 then tag along and enjoy the ride.

Plenty of people get their overlanding fix this way. Most of them these days do it aboard either pick-up trucks or late-letter Defenders, though there are those who’ll buck the trend by choosing to see the world aboard a Discovery 3 or 4 or even a modern Range Rover. What all these vehicles have in common, of course, is that they’re all relatively new.

But you can still raise a few eyebrows with the vehicle you bring along for the adventure. Come join us in Morocco, for example. This is a place featuring a variety of challenges, from the heat and relentless dunes of the Sahara to the high, rocky passes of the Atlas Mountains.

Clearly, a vehicle can’t afford to wilt here.

Which is exactly why people choose big, tough, modern trucks in which to explore the place.

Andy and Karen Warwick, though, decided to do things differently.

Like so many British overlanders, they embarked on their trip to Morocco in a Land Rover. But this one was a 1978 Series III Lightweight – a forty-year-old classic that you’d

be more likely to see in a museum than in Morocco.

But this is not just any ordinary Lightweight.

Andy takes up the story.

‘This Lightweight came with a 200Tdi engine when I bought it,’ he says, ‘which was something I was after. It was one of those eBay things really.

The truck was up for £2500 and I liked the look of it, but no one had bid on it. I didn’t know much about them other than it was one of those funnylooking military ones I remember seeing when I was younger.’

‘I looked at the prices elsewhere and decided to ring the chap up. It turned out to be just a bad advert, because once you looked beyond the paintwork the body was very straight. It had the Tdi engine I was after, but all the work since has been carried out by me with the fabrication and welding jobs being done by our eldest son, Daniel.’

The ‘work’ is extensive, to say the least. But it all adds up to make this Lightweight more usable over longer distances. Like when overlanding through Morocco, for instance.

As well as boasting a more potent Tdi unit, this ex-RAF Lightweight houses a hybrid turbo and a Shogun intercooler, situated in front of the oil cooler and radiator. The original gearbox and overdrive were worn, so an LT77 short-nosed Defender gearbox has been substituted in and mated to a Discovery transfer box.

‘I’ve fitted an Ashcroft selectable 4WD kit, Bailey Morris custom propshafts, Range Rover diffs and Rocky Mountain parabolic springs,’ adds Andy. Those diffs certainly make cruising easier, as does the addition of power steering – which was taken from a P38 Range Rover and uses a shortened TDCi Defender upper column.

Throw in some Defender seats, a GPS speedo and split-charge battery system to help keep the beers in the fridge cool, and you’re looking at an expedition vehicle that possesses all the character of a classic Land Rover – but without the physical hardship when you come to drive it.

‘My son is a great fabricator,’ says Andy. ‘I can tell him what I want and he just makes it.’

It’s good when your children can help around the house, but even better when they can help around the garage.

But the Lightweight has been adapted to spend as much time out of the garage as possible, and Morocco was an adventure Andy and his wife, Karen will never forget. ‘We went to Morocco at the end of October last year, spending a week in Spain before meeting up with the rest of the tour,’ expresses Karen. ‘The tour

‘I didn’t know much about Lightweights, other than that it was one of those funny-looking military ones I remember from when I was young’

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lasted about fifteen days with two of the nights being in the Atlas Mountains.’

The good news is that if you fancy doing something similar, tour organiser Russ Dykes is ready and waiting to help. He’s the man behind Ardventures (note the spelling), and he’s one of the best in the business.

Andy and Karen had travelled with Russ before. Though first time, they actually booked the trip by accident…

‘I used to get some of the Land Rover mags and had a few lying about the place,’ starts Andy.

‘I saw an article in one previously about going through the Pyrenees into Andorra. Karen and I had been to Andorra by road before and the scenery was brilliant, so we thought going there off-road would be even better!

‘We both liked what we saw, and I’d spotted an advert in the back of the mag advertising a

similar sort of trip, so I said to Karen to ring the advert and see what they were saying. Anyway, she actually rang Russ by mistake as I’d meant another ad. But it created a great deal of laughter around the campsite when the topic came up in the Pyrenees!’

The couple visited the Pyrenees in 2016 and, having smoothed things over with their guide, they made the enquiry as to whether their old classic would be able to hack Morocco. Normally Russ would have reservations about older Land Rovers – but being so impressed with the Lightweight, the decision was simple.

‘Following the Pyrenees, we knew the vehicle was well screwed together,’ says Andy. ‘And we’ve always been quite nosey and wanted to look at other aspects of life other than sitting on a beach. You look at some people who just go and do things and you want to be them.’

Karen chimes in: ‘I’m happy to go along overlanding in the Land Rover too – we both sing from the same hymn sheet. I’m quite handy at passing over the spanners or oil anyway! I’ve done my share of driving too, and in Morocco it’s like a lunar landscape at times. The dust can get a bit much, but it’s an authentic experience.’

Andy adds: ‘There are bits in Morocco where it’s like driving on a film set. You can drive for hours with just a track or two, or sometimes none in front of you at all. It’s quite inspirational, and takes you back to a time when few people would have ventured here.’

In a Lightweight Land Rover, of course, there’s even more reason to feel a sense of nostalgia.

And with a driving experience that doesn’t numb you from the environment around you, is it any wonder you’ll feel like you’ve (quite literally) breathed in your surroundings?

Morocco is about as westernised as it gets in North Africa. But vast parts of the nation, particularly when you approach the northern fringes of the Sahara, are still largely as they have always been

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It’s not all about the ubiquitous dust and lunar landscapes, though.

‘It’s like two separate worlds,’ comments Andy.

‘There are a lot of contrasts in Morocco. Out in the desert and off the beaten track, you won’t see anyone, but in some of the towns it’s like Middle Eastern madness – it can test your comfort zone!

‘Tyre fitters on one side of the street, people splitting carcasses on the other. But head down the alleyways and you’ll come across leather and weaving workshops and it becomes more atmospheric. Sometimes it’s like Disney does the Middle East.’

In a spectacle not too dissimilar to the opening scenes from Aladdin, on one occasion in Marrakesh the Warwicks found themselves in a chaotic square. Snake charmers were doing

their thing, monkeys roamed around the place and here you could buy items such as a tortoise, rather than just a bunch of bananas.

‘It’s the type of place where you pass vans with sheep on top,’ laughs Karen. ‘No one there ever seems to have come across the term health and safety before!’

At one point, Andy was taken to one side by Andrew, one of Russ’ tour leaders. ‘He pulled me over to look at a zebra skin. “I’m not sure if I should buy one or not, what do you think?” he asked me. So I said to him, “To be honest, I think it looked better on the zebra!” It was just one of the many crazy stalls in the souk!’

Away from the busy streets and souks of the cities, though, the Lightweight was able to take centre stage. With the Ashcroft selectable 4WD system in place, and a dab hand at the wheel, there were no issues for this travelling veteran.

‘We didn’t even need to engage four-wheel drive as much as I’d thought we would,’ says Andy.

‘I once read somewhere

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that a well-driven Lightweight can go virtually anywhere a Defender can, and so it proved. It just hops along like a little mouse, over the rocks, one at a time.’

There’s plenty more rocks yet to be conquered, too, with Andy and Karen keen to continue their ‘nosey nature’ and resist the urge to pass away the time by lying on a beach.

‘We’ve got other trips in mind we’d like to do, some more crazy than others,’ says Andy. ‘Maybe we could do South Africa… or another mad one would be to head to Alexandria, mimicking the trail from the film Ice Cold In Alex.

‘Another option could be to go across Holland, Denmark, Sweden and the North Cape into Finland, then through Russia and down through Estonia, Latvia and the Baltics.’ Any one of these trips would be something to be proud of even in a new Defender, let alone a Lightweight. Maybe leave Russia for a while, though.

Karen adds: ‘The older you get, the more you realise there’s a lot less time ahead of you than behind.’ Andy concurs, continuing: ‘If there is a mountain, I’ve always wanted to know what is on the other side. I want to climb it and crest it, just for the pure curiosity of it all.’

That’s a great way to approach seeing the world – and even if a classic military 4x4 isn’t the most obvious choice of vehicle in which to do it, so what? A Lightweight may not be the typical overlanding companion. But Andy and Karen (with the help of their son Daniel) have shown that with a few tweaks and a bit of planning, even Land Rovers from the distant past can go the distance in the future.

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Insurance for your Land Rover

Series I (1948-1958)

£5000-£75,000+

I

f you want to be the owner of a vehicle that oozes heritage like no other, then surely a Series I Land Rover is the way to go.

The Land-Rover, as it was known until the Series II came along, is the most sought after Land Rover for purists and collectors alike – particularly in its original 80” guise.

Its 1940s’ engineering gives it a real charisma, but consequently, parts aren’t as readily available as they once were. Restoration

projects require deep pockets, but then a finished example will fetch mega bucks.

Gone are the days where you could use a Series I as an actual Land Rover, because with restored and cherished examples now retailing where they’re at, preservation is the aim of the game.

The rarer and earlier the vehicle, the higher the price tag gets. But it’s a rock-solid investment – and one that will put a smile on your face.

Pros: Heritage, charm, a true classic, the original Land Rover Cons: Availability of parts, price tag on early 80s

Series II/IIA (1958-1971)

£2500-£40,000

I

n 1958, the second-generation Land Rover was born and along came the barrel sides which we continue to recognise on even the very last Defenders.

Today the Series II or IIA is a more affordable prospect than a Series I, yet it still carries much of that early charm that makes it a hit with enthusiasts.

Prices have been on the increase for years, however, as these 50-yearold vehicles continue to come into

their own as a collector’s item. A 2.25 petrol 88” would be our pick, as the diesel engines, certainly the 2.0-litre diesel, were underpowered and noisy.

The Series II/IIA carries a wider stance than its predecessor and adds an extra (albeit thin) layer of refinement over the Series I. While the engines have excellent longevity, however, they do need to have been maintained properly. Be thorough in your checks.

Pros: As a resto it’s a sound investment. Almost as charming as a Series I as a hobby vehicle Cons: Bulkheads very prone to rotting, check suspension leaves for seizing

Series III (1971-1985)

£2500-£30,000

F

ollowing on from the Series IIA, the Series III emerged in 1971 with a few cosmetic tweaks to freshen up the model.

Headlights were shifted out to the wings in-line with new legislation and the dash received a bit of padding to hide the new safety bar across the top of the bulkhead – not sure it’s a five stars on the Euro NCAP scale, though.

The Series III wasn’t too dissimilar to the Series II in mechanical

terms, keeping the same 2.25-litre engines throughout its production, although in 1980 the 2.25 motors switched to a more durable five bearing setup.

The transmission also received syncromesh on all forward gears, which helps make it that bit easier to live with.

They still carry the simplicity of earlier Land Rovers, but can be obtained for a bit less money... though that is changing fast.

Pros: Most affordable way into Series ownership, still has the Series pedigree, parts still widely available Cons: Not as desirable as earlier Series models

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Series IIA/IIB FC (1962-1971) £2500-£15,000

F

orward Control Land Rovers are a cult within a cult. In fact, with the later 101 getting most of the attention, the Series IIA and IIB are a cult within a cult within a cult.

They’re a genuine rarity, too – with all the cachet, pride and immense awkwardness that comes with this status.

By ‘rare’, we’re talking about less than 2500 Series IIA FCs in total. And they tended to have a very hard life, so not many have survived to tell the tale.

Forward-Control models differed from everyday Series IIs by having heavy-duty ENV axles, but engine-wise they had the familiar 2.25 petrol and diesel lumps in addition to the later 2.6 petrol unit.

There’s an awful lot in the way of unique parts here, though.

So, don’t expect Foward Control ownership to give you an easy time in the workshop. If you’re up for it, though, the pleasure you’ll get from owning one of these classic old trucks is off the scale

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Pros: A Land Rover like no other Cons: Especially brutal to drive, and to find parts

Lightweight (1968-1984)

£3500-£22,000

P

ossibly the ugly duckling of the Series Land Rover family – but that doesn’t mean to say you’ll struggle to find any love for the Series Lightweights.

These military-derived vehicles can be easily distinguished from the regular Series Land Rovers, with visibly more angular wings and a frontal appearance that does divide opinion on occasion.

To mimic the Series machines from civvy street, the SIII Light-

weight – built from 1972 onwards – also had its headlights switched out to the wings.

The Lightweight used to be popular for trialling, as it’s narrower than a standard Series II or III. Today, though, they’re classics – whose military heritage adds an extra dimension to Land Rover ownership.

It means you get a Land Rover that could have a few more stories to tell – and you have something that stands out from the crowd.

Pros: Not like all the other Series Land Rovers out there, military background, 2.25 petrol is lovely and reliable Cons: Styling isn’t to everyone’s taste, can be pricey owing to their rarity compared to other Series IIs and IIIs

101 (1972-1978)

O

nly ever sold to the Army, the 101 became a cult vehicle when the time came for demob.

They were flogged off at what now looks like throwaway prices and mainly turned into knockabout offroad toys – definitely not something you’d do with one today, given the rarity and classic value they’ve taken on.

Compared to the IIA/IIB FC, the 101 is more fun thanks to its

£7500-£26,000 V8 engine and more sopisticated chassis. They used to be popular as expedition trucks, too, with all sorts of DIY conversions to be found.

This is still a military tool, though – which means some still have fixtures and fittings from their Army life, something that can be a real talking point. This is definitely a vehicle for enthusiasts – with costs that are sky-high even by classic Land Rover standards.

Pros: Master of the road. Lovely V8 soundtrack. Everybody who sees one loves it Cons: Monumental running costs. Expensive to buy, too

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90/110 (1983-1990)

£3000-£24,000

T

he icon of the 4x4 world. This is Land Rover at its best: a no nonsense workhorse that can also take you just about anywhere in the entire world.

Early examples of the Ninety and One Ten are worth keeping hold of, providing they’re in good condition – but you’ll be searching far and wide for examples that are.

This was the birth of the Defender, despite not being christened officially until 1990, and as such these

Land Rovers had coil-sprung suspension, new engines – although they were still terribly underwhelming – and off-road capability that has still yet to be matched today.

A very early 2.25 petrol 90 is a rare thing, and a beautiful one too.

But perhaps try for a 2.5TD with low miles and good history. They’re robust and simple in their design.

The naturally aspirated 2.5 diesel is simper still – while if you find an original V8, you’ve struck gold.

Pros: Good ones are now worth saving, same ability as Tdiengined Defenders Cons: Engines underpowered, not many left in good condition

127 (1985-1990)

£7500-£25,000

T

he 127 was built on a special production line in Solihull which took 110 chassis and stretched them. It was designed for military and commercial users and came in standard form as a high-capacity double-cab.

These days, it’s very rare to find a 127 that hasn’t been hammered, restored and/or converted, or all three. People looking for a work truck tend to go for a later 130, so the 127 is more of an enthusiast’s

motor. It’s popular for home-brewed overland conversions, too.

The 127 pre-dates the advert of Land Rover’s Tdi engines, meaning they were either TD or V8 powered and therefore excruciatingly slow or cripplingly expensive. As a result, almost all have had an engine conversion by now, too.

Overall, then, there’s a lot to be wary of when buying one of these.

Do so wisely, though, and it’s a whole lot of truck for your money.

Pros: Enormous size means limitless character and potential. Perfect for turning into your overlanding dream home Cons: Unwieldy. Sure to have had a colourful life

Defender 200/300 Tdi (1990-98)

£4000-£40,000

T

he Tdi engine was a watershed moment in the Defender’s life.

They’re on the cusp of becoming classic, perhaps – though if you can find an original one, it will already be priced at collector’s-car money.

This applies whether it’s straight or semi-derelict. Even an identity is worth good money, especially for a 90: think of it as a building plot with planning permission.

As for the vehicles themselves, the 200Tdi is less refined than the smoother 300. It’s favoured for its

simplicity and lack of electronics, though. The 200 was mated to the LT77 gearbox, with its famously heavy clutch, while the 300 came with the much friendlier R380.

It was during the 300 Tdi era that Land Rover started making the Defender available with metallic paint and alloy wheels. Obviously, anyone can replicate this now, and almost all 90s and 110s have been modified or rebuilt in the decades since they were new – a big issue is simply knowing what you’re buying.

Pros: Strength and simplicity. Engine still very basic compared to what followed it. Perhaps the definitive Defender Cons: Sure to be very different to when it left the factory

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Discovery 1 (1989-1998)

£800-£18,000

T

he earliest version of the Discovery was aimed purely at providing a middle ground between the Defender and the luxury, upper-class Range Rover.

With underpinnings that made it just like a 100” Defender, it carried much of that model’s capabilities.

But it built on those with more refinement and a driving experience more suitable to families. What it didn’t have, though, was a Range Rover price tag.

Blessed with the same wonderful Tdi engines, the Discovery saved Land Rover and hit back at offerings from other nations by being an affordable all-rounder. And that still holds true even today.

Early Discovery 1s in fine condition are now classics and will continue to appreciate. We would recommend trying to find a tidy and later 300Tdi example, but watch out for body rust – the boot floor, arches and wings etc.

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Pros: Almost as good as the Defender off-road, but cheaper to buy, nicer to drive and more practical as an everyday car Cons: The body rusts like it’s been doused in sea water

When it comes to 4x4 insurance, Adrian Flux have got it covered.

Our 4x4 insurance policy benefits can include: M Limited mileage discounts M Modifications M Off-road & green lane cover Plus much more

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Range Rover (1970-1996)

£5000-£265,000

T

he Range Rover Classic is one of those vehicles that you could theoretically still use everyday in the 21st Century.

If you’re running a V8, however, that may not be such a wise idea.

Classic Range Rovers still provide a relatively refined and great drive today, but they can be thirsty if you’re not in one of the various turbo-diesel examples.

That said, if you own one and it’s in good condition, look after it, as it

will only appreciate. These vehicles are popular with collectors, and values are going up all the time.

Unfortunately, however, many have succumbed to corrosion or have been abused off-road to the point of no return – and parts have started becoming a problem.

Still, while an early 70s Classic may not be attainable for everyone, tidy examples of the late four-door versions can make for an equally tidy investment.

Pros: Most usable classic Land Rover, V8 power, ride quality Cons: Rust (again), availability of parts for early models, V8 thirst

Range Rover (1994-2002)

£1500-£25,000

M

any people believe the P38A Range Rover to be a bit of a menace – and often it’s completely justified. Lights on the dashboard, air suspension failure, head gasket failure... the list can really continue.

Still, it’s not all doom and gloom with the P38. In fact, if you find one in good working order, it’ll be sensational. While it remains that way, at least.

Service history is a must, and if you’re going to own one then some

diagnostic equipment is going to be a better companion than a spanner.

Avoid the diesel variant. The engine was adopted from a BMW saloon and isn’t anywhere near up to the task of the extra weight a Range Rover carries.

Go for a 4.6 HSE, or a special edition with the same engine. It’s actually more economical than the 4.0 V8 and you’ll get all the toys.

They might not be working, but at least you’ll get them…

Pros: Luxury, price, a Land Rover that doesn’t rust. Could even P38 prices rise soon?

Cons: Electrics. Nuff said

Freelander 1 (1997-2006)

£400-£5500

W

e haven’t always held the Freelander 1 in the highest regard here. But as market prices constantly change, so too can our opinion on certain vehicles.

With examples attainable from as little as £500, the Freelander 1 represents a cheap gateway into Landy ownership.

There are plenty of issues to be aware of, though. The viscous coupling is expensive to replace

and can be upset by simply having mismatched tyres on your axles.

The 1.8 petrol used to be notorious for head gasket failures, but today’s replacements are much more robust.

The V6 is thirsty and the 2.0Di is gutless, so opt for a TD4 – but check the condition of the injectors first. Buy an FL1 and you even get a Landy that’s decent off-road and doesn’t rust after five minutes.

Pros: Cheap to buy, no major rust issues, surprisingly good off-road Cons: There are better Land Rovers out there, FL2 showed the FL1 how it should have been done

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LAND ROVER THE GREAT BRITISH CLASSIC 19/04/2022 17:25

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