FREE EVERY MONTH FROM YOUR LAND ROVER SPECIALIST ‘I was gIven the choIce between a galvanIsed chassIs or a watch’ The perfect birthday present? When it’s a new life for your Land Rover, it’s a gift that keeps on giving…
LANDY
OCTOBER 2014
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OVERLANDING: IN A 90!
We all love a nicely done Series I. And up in Scotland, Autoecosse has just done one very nicely indeed… Full story: Page 20
It’s still rare to see Mk2 Rangeys being used off-road. But a few have been built up for action – and Paul Goldring’s is one of the best. Full story: Page 22 Which Land Rover would you choose for expedition travel? It might be a 110 or 130. Maybe a Disco, or perhaps even a 101. But Gareth Griffiths had other ideas. He wanted to build himself an overland truck – based on a 90. You won’t see a Landy like this coming out of any of the big travel prep companies. And it’s all the more interesting for that… Full story: Page 30
Staffs and Shrops LRC’s Medlicott trial has a special place in the club’s heart. Because when the driving’s over, everyone jumps on a bus to the Bishop’s Castle Beer Festival… Full story: Page 42
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk
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range rOver number One tO be auctIOned
YVB 151H comes up for sale after quarter of a century – but could be lost to Britain
Mike Trott YVB 151H is an instantly recognisable registration to thousands of Land Rover enthusiasts. This is the first ever Range Rover, with chassis number 001 – and after a quarter of a century in the same hands, it’s about to find a new owner. The Range Rover is due to be sold at the Salon Privé Sale, hosted by Silverstone Auctions, in London on 4 September. Silverstone estimates that it will fetch between £100,000 and £140,000 – though few would be surprised if it exceeds that. YVB was built between 24 November and 17 December 1969, before finally being registered on 2 January 1970.
This was almost six months before the Range Rover’s official launch, so it was inevitable that its first owner would be a Land Rover insider. In the event it was Michael Furlong, producer of the two promotional films for the Range Rover at the time, who bought chassis number 001. He sold it on in 1975 – by which time it had been resprayed in Bahama Gold and given a registration change. At this point, 001 was ‘lost’ for several years. In the end, however, it found its way to a friend of Peter Garside – founder of the Land Rover Centre in Huddersfield. ‘Peter’s friend did all the restoration work, which took a few years and was
completed about 25 years ago,’ Sales Manager Mark Griffiths told The Landy. ‘There were seven prototype vehicles, which were followed by this first pre-production model.’ The restoration was a six-year ground-up job, with the body and mechanical components alike returned to as-new condition. The vehicle was returned to its original Olive Green colour as well. Despite the extent of the work done back then, the Range Rover has managed to keep hold of its ‘matching numbers’ (the chassis, engine, gearbox and axles) as well as the original aluminium bonnet and body shell. From 1997, the DVLA had reissued
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chassis 001 with its original registration plate, so by this time it was known as YVB 151H once again. Having owned such a treasure of a car for 25 years, why has its owner chosen now to sell it now? ‘Peter has owned it for the last 25 years or so,’
Land Rover already has a firstrun Range Rover in its collection - though its history is a bit different to number 001’s. Built 15 cars later in the initial production run, YVB 166H is famous as the car in which Land Rover entered and won the first Senior Service Hillrally. It was driven by none other than Roger Crathorne – who retired earlier this year after more than half a century with the company.
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however, it is still on track to go to the highest bidder come 4 September. Speaking of the sale, Silverstone Auctions MD Nick Whale said: ‘It’s wonderful to be able to offer this iconic British model for auction at the UK’s finest concours event. These cars are incredibly popular and we expect a significant amount of interest when it goes under the hammer.’ While the auction does raise the possibility of this British icon being
Mark told us. ‘But he’s in his sixties now and feels he’s had it long enough, and that it’s time for someone else to have a play with it.’ Could that someone else in fact be Land Rover itself? The Land Rover Centre says it hasn’t approached Jaguar Land Rover (‘We figure they will know where it is if they want it,’ said Mark), but the company’s interest in acquiring vehicles important to its own heritage was made clear in July when it bought the James Hull collection, which had been valued at £100 million.
Speaking at the time, JLR’s John Edwards said the company’s objective in buying the collection was to keep it in British hands, and the sale of YVB 151H at auction does raise the possibility of the first ever Range Rover ending up abroad. When we asked Land Rover why it has decided against buying this piece of its heritage, the company declined to comment. This issue of The Landy goes to press two weeks before the auction, meaning there will still be time for the Range Rover to be sold prior. At present,
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lost to the UK, the funds it raises will at least be ploughed back into the Land Rover Centre’s ever-increasing collection of classic Landies. ‘It’s been an on/off idea for the last four or five years,’ Mark Griffiths told us. ‘Values have been good previously, but nothing amazing. Now is perhaps the best time. Peter has had a think and feels the money would be better off elsewhere. We could get five or six top Land Rovers for the money.’
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk
Invictus Games makes sporting heroes out of war heroes – with help from Land Rover
Jaguar Land Rover has unveiled the British team for the Invictus Games, a new international sporting event for wounded servicemen and women. The British Armed Forces team will compete against thirteen nations in nine sports and a competitive driving challenge once the Games open in London on 10 September. Help for Heroes and the Ministry of Defence have been supporting members of the Armed Forces in their training. British captain Dave Henson lost his legs in Afghanistan. ‘When I was injured I thought that was it, my life was over,’ he said. ‘The confidence boost that sport gave me was huge and to be selected as part of the British team is a huge honour. It’s going to be a truly inspirational event.’ Daniel Whittingham, who has also been selected, said: ‘After finishing the Dakar rally last year with Race2Recovery, I was keen to explore further ways to focus my recovery. Having the chance to compete with other servicemen and women, who have been through similar hardships and who have come out on top despite all odds, is a massive personal honour. ‘There has been so much effort behind the scenes, not just in training but also in adjusting to daily life with our disabilities. I am proud to represent the British team and look forward to the Games in September.’ Over 400 injured and wounded servicemen and women will get their chance to shine in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Lee Valley Athletics Centre, courtesy of the Mayor of London, the London Legacy Development Corporation and the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. ‘We have been inspired by the passion with which Prince Harry has championed this visionary idea,’ said JRL CEO Dr Ralf Speth. ‘We’re also exploring ways of enhancing their employment prospects and those of other service personnel when moving into civilian life to create a lasting legacy from the Games.’
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60 years of Red Cross LRs Land Rover celebrates six decades of co-operation with lifesavers around the world
Land Rover and the British Red Cross recently celebrated their 60th year of working together. And the Green Oval continues to play a pivotal role today in helping medics deliver more first aid around the globe than ever before. The relationship started in 1954, when Land Rover donated a Series I to a Red Cross team in Dubai. That was the first of 120 vehicles given away at the time, and Solihull says it has now helped the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
(IFRC) to directly support more than 900,000 people. Land Rover itself only celebrated its 60th birthday back in 2008, of course, At that time, 60 vehicles were donated to the British Red Cross which now carry out their duties around the world, providing vital supplies and aid to those in need of it most. There have been many memorable projects during Solihull’s history as a Red Cross supporter, none more so than one of the most recent – 2012’s
‘Journey of Discovery’ expedition. This saw a convoy, including the millionth production Discovery, undertaking a gruelling 50-day, 8000-mile expedition from the UK to Beijing – with the purpose of raising money for the Uganda Red Cross’ sustainable water and sanitation projects. The epic voyage broke its target of raising £1 million and, in the process, increasing awareness of the important work being done by the IFRC in the areas of water and sanitation. Seven
new boreholes have been created using money donated as a result of the journey, which also funded essential education in personal hygiene and sanitation as well as training volunteers and publishing information material. Such a project will give direct help to more than 45,000 people and indirectly benefit a further 66,000. So it’s definitely not just about responding to disasters – these days, the IFRC’s work is very much about preventing problems from happening in the first place, too. Global Brand Experience Director Mark Cameron said: ‘We at Land Rover are proud of our long association with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Earlier this year we committed to continue our support of the excellent work it does to bring help and relief to people in need by extending our partnership for a further five years. ‘By working together through Jaguar Land Rover’s new Global Corporate Social Responsibility Programme, the IFRC is contributing towards the creation of opportunities for 12 million people in our local and global communities by 2020. ‘With the use of Land Rover vehicles we are also able to help the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies access remote territories that would otherwise be hard to reach. This is often where the most vulnerable people are and therefore need support.’
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SVR posts Nurburgring record High-performance Range Rover Sport is fastest-ever SUV around the Nordschleife Land Rover’s most powerful production vehicle yet has set a blistering time around the infamous Nürburgring – to become the fastest production SUV ever to lap the circuit. The Range Rover Sport SVR lapped the Nordschleife circuit in Germany in a rip-roaring 8 minutes and 14 seconds during its latter stages of development. A Land Rover test driver clocked the time while testing what will be the final production version that goes on sale next year, kick-starting a wave of performance machines from Jaguar Land Rover’s new Special Vehicle Operations team. After stunning the crowds of the Goodwood Festival of Speed in June on its first public outing, the SVR made its way to the 13-mile circuit surrounding the village of Nürburg to continue its extensive development schedule. Using an enhanced version of Land Rover’s supercharged 5.0-litre V8, the Range Rover Sport SVR will put out an
It wasn’t a performance model in the same was as the SVR, but the new vehicle’s spiritual ancestor was the Mark I Range Rover Sport HST. This added an aerodynamic bodykit and an electronic auto-locking rear diff, as well as various styling and luxury cues. It was popular with footballers, apparently.
asphalt-melting 543bhp. That’s a lot of power for any vehicle, even if it weighs in excess of two tonnes. Bear in mind that to lap the Nordschleife in less than eight minutes, you need to be driving something like a Ferrari, Porsche 911 or Chevy Corvette. Many modern performance vehicles are developed for production around the Nürburgring and the SVR has been thumped round to tackle the undulating ‘Green Hell’ - as it is sometimes labelled – to achieve the best handling characteristics possible. Mike Cross, Chief Engineer Vehicle Integrity, said: ‘The Nürburgring is a benchmark for vehicle development and testing, and cars become stronger, more durable and faster over its 13 miles and 70-plus corners. We wanted to see whether an SUV could behave like a performance car in this challenging environment. The results are spectacular and the Range Rover Sport SVR has demonstrated outstanding performance capabilities.’ While the vehicle has been designed to pioneer a series of new fire-breathing JLR vehicles, the SVR will still retain the characteristics and attributes a Land Rover should always have. The usual class-leading all-terrain capabilities will be ever-present thanks to the latest version of Terrain Response – and despite its performance focus, the SVR remains a true Range Rover with a twin-speed transfer case and 850mm wading depth.
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk
Comment
Perhaps this has something to do with being Scottish, but I’ve always identified with underdogs. As a kid, I wasn’t interested in Celtic or Rangers: it was Meadowbank Thistle (aka ‘Meadowbank Nil’) for me; I always wanted to see the little guy win, whether it was in sport or politics, in the movies or whatever. Peter Sellers was in a film once called The Mouse That Roared, and I loved it for its name alone. Of course, one of the things about always rooting for the underdog is that you normally see him lose. Without wanting to get all political, I suspect that’s something we’ll see during this copy of The Landy’s time on the shelves, when Scotland votes on independence. And it was driven home for me in heartbreaking style when my club, Meadowbank Thistle, was put to death by a businessman who wanted to make money by moving them to another town. What does all this rambling have to do with Land Rovers? Well, a leaf-sprung Lightweight going headto-head with the cream of the winch challenge circuit in their state-of-theart machines has got to count as a David-and-Goliath sort of tale. Yet that’s what Willie Davenhill did, back in the days of the Argyll and Tay Forest Challenges. His Lightweight wasn’t very standard, with a V8 engine, auto gearbox and portal axles, but it did still ride on leaf springs. And over the course of five seasons, it was never out of the top two places in the most demanding of winch challenges the UK has seen. Actually, of course, it wasn’t really an underdog. The Lightweight may have been a leafer, but it had been developed and developed until it was ready to take on the best. In the process, Willie demonstrated just how much can be achieved with the humble leaf spring – something the Americans know well but us Brits tend to overlook. Willie’s Lightweight was a truck that should inspire every Landy fan. It wasn’t a mouse: but it sure did roar. Alan Kidd, Editor
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More than a quarter of a century after it was built, this time-warp example of a V8 90 CSW has just come up for sale. With two owners and just 22,500 miles on the clock, it’s got to be one of the best preserved 90s on the face of the earth Mike Trott Keeping a vehicle in showroom condition is easy. You buy it, store it in a nice heated garage, put a cover over it and in twenty years time it’s still the way it was when it was new. That’s all very well if you’re a reclusive billionaire with a passion for owning Ferraris you never drive. But in the real world, there’s nothing better than turning up a Land Rover that’s stood the test of time so well it’s still as good as new – despite having been in regular use. The word ‘treasure’ is bandied about a bit too much when it comes to old relics like this, but we defy you to come up with a better description of the gem of a 90 which has just cropped up at the Land Rover Centre in Huddersfield. It’s for sale at £24,995 – almost as much as a brand new example, and if all the 90s in the world were marked on a map, this could well be the X that marks the spot. This 26-year-old beauty has only had two owners from new, and between them they’ve only put 22,500 miles on it. And those numbers certainly show, too. Its white paintwork is as bright as a tube of Aquafresh, and the interior looks as pristine as your house
does after your mum’s annual spring cleaning frenzy (it’s not just mine that does that, right?) It also manages to make the Defender’s classic 1980s’ interior look like it’s actually a nice place to be. Classy, even. This factory-fresh 90 has been used sparingly – which is pretty obvious, with its total mileage being so low. But it’s been used regularly, too, not locked away in a barn for twenty years then rolled out to do 20,000 miles in a few months. ‘We’ve got all the MOTs back to 1992; it’s averaged just under 1000 miles a year and was actually over-serviced by the first owner,’ says Mark Griffiths, Sales Manager at The Land Rover Centre. ‘The last owner only serviced it every couple of years because of the low miles and only had it done when things needed doing with it. It has effectively been someone’s toy for the last 26 years.’ As toys go, this is one you’d be more than happy to put on your Christmas list (and happier still, not to say fairly stupefied, to see emerging from within Santa’s sack). It’s rare enough to come across a pre-Defender 90 in good condition, let alone an original V8 Station Wagon which even today would
To come across a Land Rover of this age in such a clean, unmolested condition is extraordinary. For it to have been in regular use throughout its life and still be as-new is truly staggering dwarf the newest of Land Rovers with its immaculacy. ‘The second owner, who sold it to us, went on to a 50th Anniversary V8 he got from Japan, and they’re pretty rare anyway,’ continues Mark. ‘But this old 90, I can’t imagine another one in the world like it. ‘It’s totally original inside and out. The only thing that has changed slightly is behind the driver’s seat,
where a bit of the bulkhead has been chopped. I love these vehicles personally – if fuel was 50p a gallon we’d all be driving around in them.’ We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Maybe in another couple of
dozen years’ time, when this vehicle has an anniversary of its own, we’ll dig it out of whatever treasure chest it’s been stored away in. By then, it might even be time to see how the next 20,000 miles have panned out…
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk
NEXT MONTH
A LIFE ON THE TRAILS Living in a Landy is something you dream of doing for a couple of years. But when you’ve done it for 20, you’ve got a story to tell… PLUS
In the never-ending battle to build the blingiest Defender, we think we might just have found a new candidate… Cutting up an old Rangey to go off-road would now count as butchering a classic. It’s a different story with the Disco 1, though – but what happens when your everyday lane truck develops a mind of its own…?
DON’T FORGET – THE LANDY IS FREE EVERY MONTH! Pick up your copy of our Nov 2014 issue from 26 Sept – it’s available
from Britpart dealers and free to read online at www.thelandy.co.uk 01283 553243 • enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk • www.thelandy.co.uk • www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Editor Alan Kidd Assistant Editor Mike Trott Admin and Editorial Assistant Gemma Pask Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Dan Fenn, Robbie Ronson, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Paul Looe, Vince Pratt Photographers Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm
Advertising Sales Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Production Tel: 01283 553242 Publisher Sarah Kidd Email: sarah.kidd@ assignment-media.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure that the contents of The Landy are accurate, however Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor
the consequences of actions made as a result of these
nearest Britpart dealer can be found at www.britpart.com
When responding to any advert in The Landy, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for any losses incurred as a result of responding to adverts
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Issue 8: October 2014
The list of things people like about Land Rover Defenders is almost endless. It contains a lot of things. But ‘headlights’ doesn’t tend to be among them. Hence Ring’s new 7” Complex Surface Reflector headlamp, which is available as a simple upgrade. The bulb directs light towards the back of the headlight, which is then reflected and concentrated into a beam pattern providing better visibility. To improve the light output even further, the lamps come fitted with Ring’s award-winning XenonUltima performance bulbs. These produces 120% more light compared to a standard bulb, helping you pick out road signs more easily – and, indeed, spot hazards if night-time off-roading’s your thing. The crisper and whiter light coming from the headlamp helps modernise the truck’s look as well. Ice Blue sidelight bulbs have also been added, no prevent these lights from producing an ugly yellowish light. The headlamp units come as a pair, as you’d expect. Both have the XenonUltima bulbs and IceBlue sidelights fitted and have full dip and main beam functions. The headlights come with a three-year warranty and carry a RRP of £69.99. www.ringautomotive.co.uk. There’s no shortage of options in the world when it comes to selecting a steering guard for your vehicle, but Invision 4x4’s new INV4x4-001 unit is a bit different in that it was created to be stylish as well as functional. Designed specifically for the Land
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Also new from Ring is a range of 95mm signalling lamps designed as an upgrade for Land Rover Defenders. These use LEDs to provide longer-lasting and more efficient lighting – and being 20mm wider than standard, they’ll be better at catching the eye of the guy behind you too. Despite the extra size, Ring says the lamps are easy to fit – you just use a 95mm surface mount base. The reason for creating the 95mm lamps is that recent Defenders now have reverse and fog lamps of this size. To stop them from looking mismatched, the company made all the other tail lights in this size too. The range of lamps includes units with red and amber reflectors, specifically for brake/tail and indicating. And if you’re after a more uniform style, the range also includes all the signal functions with clear reflectors. The 95mm lamps can be used as front indicators, too. Suggested retail prices for the 95mm range start at between £8.99 and £9.99. Definitely an interesting alternative to going down the NAS route. www.ringautomotive.co.uk.
Rover Defender market, it might have a bit of an uninspiring sounding name – but that doesn’t stop it looking very cool indeed. The guard’s basic design is familiar enough, with a pair of chassis brackets supporting a protective plate
that’ll stop rocks and tree stumps from leaving your drag link and track bar looking like that pesky driedon bit of spaghetti you find welded to your plate while stacking your dishwasher the morning after. But between them, the two brothers who founded Invision 4x4 styled it to complement the range of original and aftermarket grilles you can get, giving the Defender a more distinctive front-end profile. Getting down to the nitty-gritty, the mild steel guard is constructed from 6mm protective plate braced using 8mm legs, all of it crafted using a precision laser cut design. All the radii and folds were made using a 100-ton press, allowing it to retainin a one-piece construction that provides increased torsional strength. As standard, the guard is finished in a satin black powder coat, but as you can see from the picture on the left there are other looks available. It retails for £169.95 – and if you quote The Landy in your order before the end of October, you’ll get free UK shipping thrown in. www.invision4x4.com.
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We’re writing this in mid-August, but already we’re hearing the dreaded words ‘winter promotion.’ So it must be time to start avoiding X-Factor and fetching out the Christmas decs. The promo in question is from SIP, whose Price Avalanche covers more than 680 products. These include several new additions to the company’s line-up, ranging from floodlighting to heaters and, as always, lots of choices in the field of welding kit. This features a number of new transformer-based units as well as wheel-mounted Autoplus MIGs designed for use on thin body panels. The promo also covers SIP’s Force range of professional hand tools, which carry a lifetime warranty. It’s enough to make you want to go looking for jobs to do, just for an excuse. www.sip-group.com
XCP Green One is a new alternative to WD40 that’s made from more than 99% bio-based materials. The company claims it will out-perform the old favourite at freeing off rusted-up bolts – and that it’s less flammable. ‘As much as people want to use environmentally friendly products,’ says XCP’s Scott Sutherland, ‘many believe that they simply don’t work as well as “traditional” products. We invested years of research and development to prove that you don’t have to compromise by using a high-quality environmentally friendly product.’ Green One’s is available on Amazon and in your local DIY shed, with a 400ml aerosol can currently retailing at an introductory price of £4.00.
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk
Hawke Styling has some new nuts for you to sample. These aren’t the KP variety you’re used to scoffing in the pub, though. You certainly wouldn’t want to get them confused, either. Because biting down on one of these would taste rubbish. And earn you some expensive dental work. That’s because they’re constructed from steel with aluminium caps. And they’re designed to replace the standard nuts on all genuine Land Rover wheels from 2006 onwards. You’d need to be pretty keen on making a statement for this to matter to you (and the statement wouldn’t be ‘I do trialling’), but a set of wheel nuts could just be the finishing touch your Defender is looking for. All the nuts in the Hawke range are finished in satin black, with a set of 20 for the Defender costing £120 including VAT. Nuts for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery will cost you £94 for 20. Black locking nuts are also available (except for the Defender), with a set of four plus the key priced at £70. Wheels from older trucks require a slightly smaller shank on the nuts, which is why these are only sold as being suitable for the later models. www.hawkestyling.com
You see people at shows wearing T-shirts saying ‘Mine’s a Series I’ and so on, but here’s something for people who really, really like to winch. Warn has launched its own range of gloves – complete with Kevlar reinforcements, pull-tight straps and, of course, Warn logos to go with the one on your winch. ‘The new gloves are designed specifically for the harsh challenges hands face when winching,’ says Warn’s UK importer Arbil. ‘The gloves are designed to add valued protection whilst still remaining breathable.’ Two sizes are available, Large and XXLarge, and the gloves come with an ID tag to prevent confusion breaking out in the back of your truck. Prices start at £20; per pair, we’ll assume. www.arbil.co.uk/4x4
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If the Land Rover in your life is the kind that could be described as an SUV and doesn’t currently ride on off-road rubber, chances are your thoughts are turning to winter tyres. These were all the rage a couple of years ago, on account of Britain actually having had a winter worthy of the name, but thinking of them as snow tyres is a common mistake as their main feature is that they’re designed to work in lower temperatures – irrespective of what’s on the road. Anyway, a recent addition to the market is the Toyo Open Country W/T, whose newly developed silica compound promises ‘excellent handling and performance on wet and snowy road surfaces.’ In particular, Toyo claims that the tyre can help you achieve shorter braking distances, particularly on vehicles equipped with ABS. The tyre’s tread combines wide circumferential grooves to expel water, long lateral biting edges for traction and an extensive pattern of sipes to enhance stability and wear resistance. Sipes are also credited with helping tyres grip when winter gets serious, as they hold on to snow – which is what grips to the snow on the surface of the road. In effect, it’s the opposite of self-cleaning – which is one reason why hardcore off-road tyres aren’t nearly as good in snow as people who’ve got them often assume they’re going to be. Back to the Open Country W/T, sorry. The tyre’s tread compound gives it a wide operating temperature range from minus 15 to 23 degrees, so it’s suitable for more than just the depths of winter. It’s available in T, H and V speed indices and in sizes from 15” to 20”, so there’s not an awful lot of Land Rovers it won’t fit, and it features a high rim strip to protect your alloys from the effects of any kerbrelated indiscretions. Best of all, the range starts from about £80 each. Prices will climb as you go up into modern Disco and Range Rover sizes, but this could still be a very good investment. www.toyo.co.uk
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what’s your definition of the perfect wife? how about one who buys you a galvanised chassis for your birthday…
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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.
The engine, which came from a Range Rover, has been fully rebuilt and now runs twin SU carbs. You could eat your dinner off the bodywork around it
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,’ says Ian. ‘I think I was very lucky to be offered either!’ You may well be thinking something similar too. 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 have to put this one to the jury. ‘My wife is very supportive of my hobby – she knows where I am (if not all the money I’m spending) and can see the results. She’s not a massive 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 a handful of times since! She much prefers the comfort of our Freelander 2, and also the P38. ‘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 compliment this further. The Series II has also received a new Autosparks wiring loom, and has a genuine Land Rover seatbelt bar fitted. Ian is particularly proud of the original Lucas headlight units too, which took him two years to find and have HID lights installed. 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
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This £20 million development off the M6 north of Coventry is about to become home to the most exclusive vehicles Land Rover has ever produced…
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. Ian’s Series II is up for sale. ‘I’ve got too many toys really. I want to build a kit car and have been given an ultimatum by the wife.’ Thou shalt giveth and yet 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. And you know which one even the most supportive other half would rather invest in. ‘I will be very sad to see her go. I’ve done most of the work on her, with the machining work done by Evenden Engineering. I tried to stick to the same philosophy of the original looks, but with more modern running gear to make it easier to live with. This could be used everyday and will be a great Land Rover for somebody. ‘There is some work still to be done. The back body could do with a little attention – there has been some filler work done previously, but it needs redoing now. I’ve put a new swivel on the one side, as the previous one had pitted. The body has been partly resprayed, but the rear section will soon be painted to match the front. ‘Mechanically, she’s in great condition; just needs the last finishing touch.’ It may not be the fairytale ending for Ian and his Series II, but for someone it’s going to be the start of some great new adventures – with a V8 providing the theme tune. Meanwhile, Ian can get started on another project. And we doubt it’ll be long before his Series II finds a new home. It’s got a galvanised chassis, you see, and those ones always sell easily. Smart move, Mrs J…
Jaguar Land Rover has announced that Prologis Park in Ryton will be the new home of its Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre. The new facility, close to the M6 on the north side of Coventry, will become the company’s global centre for developing highperformance and super-luxury variants on its model range, as well as bespoke creations for its wealthiest customers. And that’s very wealthy. A total of 150 Jaguar Land Rover specialists will be based at Ryton, with around 100 of those being new positions for highly skilled engineers and technicians. Construction is set to start in the next few months, with £20 million being invested into the installation of specialist equipment and a commissioning suite for customers. The Special Vehicle Operations project was first announced in June this year, with John Edwards at the helm. The Technical Centre will be Land Rover’s blue riband engineering facility, working on the company’s most prestigious vehicles – such as the forthcoming Range Rover Sport SVR (see page 8), which was presented to the public for the first time at America’s exclusive Pebble Beach Concours shortly after Prologis was confirmed as Special Vehicle Operations’ home. The VIP customer-commissioning suite will be used for tailored services and an area for premium personalisation. Also included will be flexible workshops, inspired by Formula 1, and a specialist paint studio. ‘We are excited by the capability and potential that this new facility will give us,’ commented Edwards. ‘We will be creating truly iconic vehicles
that reinforce the global reputation of both Jaguar and Land Rover brands as we expand our product portfolio and fulfil our ambitious plans.’ This 150-strong team of specialists will help to produce these ‘halo’ vehicles at the Oxford Road location, further extending the investment Jaguar Land Rover has made in the Midlands over the last decade. This Special Ops unit will be in addition to the company’s design and testing facilities at Whitley
and Gaydon, together with a new Jaguar Heritage workshop at Browns Lane in Coventry and the company’s advanced manufacturing facilities. Jaguar Land Rover is set to continue investment over the next five years into its various growth plans, including an input of £1.5 billion towards the all-new advanced aluminium vehicle architecture expected to underpin the Discovery Sport when it goes on sale in 2015.
SUPER EXCLUSIVE: The Range Rover Sport SVR will be the first Land Rover to get the SVO treatment. With 550bhp and handling to match, it’ll get close to supercars in terms of both pace and price.
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A heAvyweIghT AmOng
‘you just can’t break a halfshaft, no matter what you do’
lIghTweIghTs Ten years ago, what looked like an unassuming Lightweight had just embarked on a spell of dominance in top-level off-road competitions that was to last half a decade. And it did it on leaf springs – albeit with some very clever tricks behind them. Not to mention two very special axles… words Gary noskill Pictures steve taylor
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here’s something special about Lightweights that makes them appeal to everyone. Whether you’re into classic Landies, military motors or just good old leafers, they tick all the boxes. Off-roaders have long coveted them for their narrow, trials-friendly bodies. Hybrid builders loved putting them on Range Rover chassis. And if you’re a rivet-counter, each and every one has a unique and interesting story to tell. But they don’t come much more unique than the remarkable Lightweight which once dominated the top end of the extreme off-road scene. Over the course of five years, from
2004 to 2008, Willie Davenhill’s animal of a Land Rover won three times and finished second twice in the Argyll and Tay Forest Challenges – precursor to the Scotia, and generally held to be the toughest off-road events in Britain. And it did it all on leaf springs. Not that it was by any means standard. In fact, this was one of the most radical Lightweights of all time. Not so much for its springs as what sat under them – a pair of portal axles from a Volvo C303 Laplander. Prior to these going on, Willie ran a set of Series axles with Ashcroft 4.1:1 diffs, 24-spline shafts, a rear Detroit Locker and an ARB up front. That’s
a tasty set-up already, but he kept grounding out his diff housings on terrain more modern Landies were covering with ease. Research told him that the Volvo conversion is popular in Malaysia – no great surprise when you learn that the C303 was made under licence there for military use. And that’s where he sourced a set to ship home. Combine them with the 35” rubber the Lightweight was able to wear after the portals went on, and you get a total of 17” clearance beneath the diffs – even with those tyres running at just 6psi. That’s good going by anyone’s standards – and when Willie says that the work turned out to be a lot easier
to do than you might expect, it looks better and better all the time. Easier? Surely not. Well, the Laplander’s axles are about the right length to go under a Lightweight, so long as you don’t mind extending its wheelarches a bit. The diffs are on the same side, too (approach with caution here, though, as they weren’t all made the same in this respect). But what Willie found really amazing was that the propshafts married up exactly – all the way down to the bolt holes on the flanges, which aligned perfectly. Adding an extra 5” to your ground clearance is obviously the main attraction of taking the portal route,
but it’s not the only one. C303 axles run ultra-low 7.1:1 diffs, which is ideal for slow off-road work and leaves plenty of room in the truck’s overall gearing for tyres far taller even than those 35s, and front and rear units alike have mechanical diff-locks as standard. On the original vehicle, these were vacuum-engaged, but Willie modified them using brake cable from a mountain bike. A pull of the cable and bang, locked: a flick of the springloaded lever and click, open again. One drawback with the C303 axles compared to using limited-slip diffs, ARBs or similar is that they need to be turning for the teeth in their locking
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Above: Pivot mounts on the front springs rock from side to side with the movement of the axle, allowing it to articulate without binding the springs themselves. They can be locked off for road use to keep the vehicle’s handling from getting too wayward. Right: At the back of the rear springs, Revolver Shackles from Teraflex open out as the wheel drops with the terrain and fold up as it comes back. Adding greatly to the axle’s droop, this is basically the leaf-sprung equivalent to dislocating suspension Bottom: As you can see here, the Volvo portal axles add several inches in ground clearance - as well as creating more room under the wheelarches for taller tyres. Another advantage in situations like this is that they come complete with locking diffs, which Willie rigged up to be operated by the tug of a mountain bike brake lever mechanisms to engage. Another is that they’re drum-braked as standard, and converting them to discs costs enormous money. If you’re planning a portal build, you should also bear in mind that the C303 was leaf-sprung. That played right into Willie’s hands in this case, but using them on a coiler adds a major chunk of work to the job as you have to strip them and weld on all the brackety to locate them. They won’t bolt up to Land
Rover wheels without an adaptor either, which means widening their track further still if you want to run tubeless and beadlocked. On the plus side, their very rugged nature and simple design means there’s very little in them to go wrong – and this is backed up by the whole axle’s immense strength. ‘They are practically impossible to destroy,’ Willie explains. ‘You just can’t break a halfshaft no matter what you do.’
However good your axles are, however, they won’t help much if they’re not pressed to the ground. And a major secret of the truck’s success is that while everyone’s being blinded by the mere fact of it having portals, the really clever stuff is in the suspension bolted to them. As we’ve already mentioned, this Lightweight’s successes were all the Continued overleaf
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The Lightweight came into the world with a 2.25 petrol beneath its bonnet, but a 3.5-litre V8 is better suited by far to the rigours of heavy-duty winch competition. However, the truck was built in the days before events like the Monster Race and King of the Valleys, when challenge comp meant torturing your vehicle in yards-deep water while event organisers took sadistic delight in watching your winchman slowly succumbing to hypothermia, and there’s nothing a V8 hates more than water. To help keep it going in the wet stuff, Willie took advantage of the air compressor he already had on board and ran a line into the body of the distributor cap – after that, all he needed to do was always remember to flick the switch in the cabin before going for a wade, and the pressure inside the dizzy would keep it completely dry. Another point to make about V8s is that they don’t give you the sort of engine braking you get from a diesel, especially not when they’ve got an auto box bolted to the back of them. Converting to portal axles would be rather a drastic solution on its own, but 7.1:1 diffs sure fix the problem more remarkable as it achieved them on leaf springs. TI Console Parabolics, to be precise, giving it an extra 2” of height and, in combination with 32” Pro-Comp ES9000 shocks on custom upper and lower mounts, vastly improved articulation. To make the most of this potential, Willie hit it with everything he could get his hands on to free up wheel travel. Up front, pivoting mounts (also known as spring rockers, though you’ll see them with various names) were fitted to counter the natural bind you get in a leaf pack when the axle articulates – allowing them to move more freely with the terrain. At the back, a set of Teraflex Revolver Shackles was used to a similar end. These open out as the terrain drops away beneath the wheel, allowing greater droop – basically, the leaf-sprung equivalent of dislocating suspension. Between them, these tricks also had the benefit of allowing a substantial increase in travel without requiring a giant suspension lift. The centre of
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£4000 Typical asking price for a good pair of Volvo portals with disc brakes and full off-road prep gravity that goes with this is something you definitely don’t need when there’s already a pair of portals beneath you. All this extra height and articulation meant the original propshafts had to go, with custom jobs going on to replace them. How does 9” of travel at the sliding joint sound? No messing. The result of all this? ‘I think I take the wheel travel a little bit for granted nowadays,’ Willie jokes. ‘Maybe I should drive a standard coil-sprung 90 for a while by way of a reality check!’ Talking of reality checks, there’s a carbed 3.5 V8 under the Lightweight’s bonnet. Willie built the truck in the days before speed became part of winch competition, so most of his rivals were Tdi or Td5 powered, and you know which you’d prefer in water. Or do you? He already had air on board from his ARB days, so he ran a line from the compressor to the distributor cap – allowing him to pressurise it at will. This does rely on the driver not forgetting to hit the on switch before entering water, which
you can imagine happening in the heat of competition, but if Willie’s haul of trophies is anything to go by, that’s not a problem he’s often suffered. Also of note is what’s bolted to the back of the engine. Willie stuck with the Lightweight’s original four-speed manual at first, but found that he kept stalling – until one day when, having had an off-road drive in an automatic Range Rover, he saw the light. In went a Borg-Warner 66 three-speed from a Jaguar, mated via an Ashcroft converter to a Series transfer case.
The old V8-and-an-auto combo means you can just steer and drive, and the box is your first line of defence against wheelspin, but it’s famous for giving you the engine braking of a sledge. Famous, that is, among people who don’t have 7.1:1 diffs in their axles. ‘It’ll more or less stand on its nose,’ says Willie. ‘It’s probably still not quite as good as a diesel, but it’s not far off.’ Following its all-conquering heyday, Willie sold the Lightweight to a buyer down south. It was subsequently broken up, with its axles living on beneath
another top-class winch vehicle. There was a lot more to it than just those Volvo units, though - we’ve not even mentioned that it only weighed 1800kg, nor that it did so despite having two hardcore winches and batteries, a cage and a custom chassis made using higher-gauge steel plate. Inevitably, despite all of this, Willie’s truck is remembered on the off-road scene as ‘the portal Lightweight.’ There’s something special about the old Air-Portable cutwing, alright – and this one was very special indeed.
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‘my pleasure came from watching the vehicle come back to life and to its former iconic glory’
When professional restorer Richard Lawson found himself with a collection of Land Rover parts lying about his workshop after finishing a job, he knew he had to put them to good use. So he went looking for a Land Rover to put them on – and ended up creating one of the most beautiful Series I resto jobs you’ll ever see Mike Trott As things become older, little remains in its ‘prime’ state. Your favourite comfy sofa becomes lumpy and collapsed; great actors switch to cameos and move away from the characters that won them all those Oscars in their younger years; a house falls to neglect and becomes outdated, unloved and unwelcoming. Come to think of it, I’d say it’s only whisky and wine that seem to get better with age. And cheese… until it goes bad, and then how can you tell? This doesn’t have to be the case. Everything will undoubtedly age, but with a few touch-ups and a sprinkle of attention, the results can be astounding. Best to just bin the cheese, though. Up in Scotland, beyond the ken of most of the UK’s population, there is a place where old Land Rovers are given a new lease of life. Like giving your grandpa a tiny blue pill before bedtime, some might say… Richard Lawson is the man behind Autoecosse Autobodies. Based in Broughty Ferry, just outside Dundee, the company does the usual sales and servicing stuff as well as accident repairs and the bit we’re interested in: restoring classic cars. See, they don’t come much more classic than this. The days are long gone when people would cut up a Series I to build a
trialler or plonk on top of a Range Rover chassis. It’s still the case that the 80” is the classic among classics, but any example of the original LandRover (note the hyphen) counts as a collectable rarity now. And the one we’re looking at here is definitely a rarity, if for no other reason than it’s been rebuilt to such a high standard. ‘I have personally been an avid classic car enthusiast for many years and owned a Series I Station Wagon some years ago,’ says Richard. ‘We had also restored a Series I Hard Top around ten years ago, which turned out to be an original Post Office specification Landy. ‘Our restoration business was undertaking a number of projects last year and we had a number of components left from the Post Office project. So I was seeking a chassis and parts to undertake a new Land Rover project with, when I spotted a number of rolling chassis for sale on eBay. ‘One of the sellers had a new chassis and also a complete Series I, so we packaged up the lot and 2773 HK came to Scotland.’ This particular Land Rover left the factory in December 1957. Richard’s research showed him that it was an early diesel version, but it had been converted to a petrol engine at some point during its life.
‘In reality, it has had very few owners in its life and I would love to hear from anyone who may know more about this Series I. It looked a genuine example when we were buying it, and was complete apart from the missing hood, but it was in running order. ‘The photographs did perhaps overglamorise the condition. The seller did say it had been hand-painted, but when we got her home it was evident that he’d neglected to add the word ‘badly’! However, the rest of it was sound, especially the chassis – apart from the rear crossmember which had to be renewed. The bulkhead was complete but showing the normal signs of corrosion and the rest of the panels had various dents, again as one would expect.’ Once back at the workshop, the fun could begin, first by removing the engine and gearbox, then by stripping down of the body and chassis. The rear crossmember was renewed and the chassis shot-blasted and powder-coated. Next up were the body and panels, to be stripped to bare metal with the bulkhead removed to effect repairs. ‘All the panels and tub were painted as individual components, as they would have been when the vehicle was originally built. We sent the engine to Agra Engineering in Dundee, which I’ve been using for a good many years
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Richard was only looking for a chassis, so imagine how pleased he was to find one for sale along with a whole Series I. Autoecosse did all the work in-house, restoring the supremely hard to replace bulkhead as well as all the other bare metal parts, with the exception of the engine. This was sent to a specialist in Dundee, who rebuilt it prior to a visit to Richard’s paint shop as it was nursed back to concours quality and is a leading expert in classic and vintage engines.’ Then came the task of reassembling the old girl, bit by bit. As they did it, Richard’s team made sure every component was in the best possible condition. ‘Any parts requiring replacement were purchased from Land Rover specialists – items such as brake drums, brake cylinders, springs and hoses were all renewed.’ The guys in the workshop then re-installed the bulkhead, and slowly the jigsaw came together. The glossy panels reappeared, with galvanised items being stripped and re-galvanised, before finally on went a new canvas top. ‘We have a team of very dedicated technicians who love working on these older vehicles and take great pride in the work they do,’ says Richard. ‘My pleasure came from watching the vehicle come back to life and to its former iconic glory.’ We’re not surprised he sees so much work, either, with a 15,000 square foot facility to play with – complete with paint ovens and areas to allow all the cosmetic elements to be completed in-house. ‘Our own team of mechanical and panel technicians and paint specialists undertook all of the work, except for the engine rebuild.’ So, how did the work go? ‘The bulkhead is the challenge on early Land Rovers. As new bulkheads are almost impossible to source in a short time, you have to be prepared to invest a lot of hours in rebuilding this key component. The rest of the technology is quite straightforward, but attention to detail is critical and there can’t be any shortcuts. Overall, though, there is minimal complexity.’ Richard says most parts are relatively easy to source – apart from the dreaded bulkheads, of course. A good tip is to know that the Series I Club is a useful source of information. And what does this lifelong admirer of classic vehicles in general, whose workshop is a treasure trove of marvels,
make of the venerable Series I? ‘I think they epitomise the era of the post-war period. They demonstrate a new and unique development of four-wheel drive – perhaps in a very basic format – no luxury, but a robust and wonderful workhorse that revolutionised the ability of off-road vehicles and was unprecedented in its day. It took decades for anything else to come close. ‘They also provided the platform for so many uses, from agricultural duties to ambulances, from military to postal and even AA roadside assistance. I think the other key point is that the Series I was the beginning of an era stretching for more than 60 years, with
the basic design staying true, in many ways, to the original.’ Today’s Defender has indeed stayed true to the original recipe, certainly more so than some other legendary names. But it’s because of the likes of Richard and his team that this Series I, along with others, are as original and as jaw-dropping as they were in those post-war years. Old actors might get sloppy with age, old wine might mature and old cheese might simply be best avoided. Old Landies, on the other hand… well, they certainly grow to ask for more love. But when you give it to them, they respond by getting more desirable than ever.
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Issue 8: October 2014
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FUN FOR ALL THE
‘i never knew it would be such an expensive road to take…’
FAMILY
You don’t see many P3s getting the off-road treatment. That’s one reason why Paul Goldring decided to give it a go – and having accepted the challenge, he’s created a top toy his whole family can enjoy
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e decided that a P38 would be a challenge,’ says Paul Goldring. ‘It was an unknown area in that I didn’t know anyone else who had modified one to this spec. Mind you, I never knew that it would be such an expensive road to take!’ Really? A P38, expensive? Who’d have thought it. Yet Paul didn’t build this vehicle as a clueless beginner with more bravado than brains. He’d already owned several 4x4s including a lifted 90 and a Range Rover hybrid, so he’s a man who knows what Landies are about. He’d even had another P38, in the shape of a 1997 2.5
DSE which he’d owned for five years before finally getting rid of because it had so many faults. Despite this, he went out and bought a 4.6 Vogue with 116,000 miles on the clock, determined that this was to be his next project. A brave move to go from a 90, which you can lift without it even waking up, to a vehicle with so many sensors that it knows what colour underpants you’re wearing. Paul was well up for doing his own spannering, though – at least as far as was possible. ‘I have tried to do as much as I can’, he says. ‘But I have needed professional help at times.’ [Insert joke of choice here.]
words Gary noskill pictures steve taylor The professional in question was Pete Silvester, of Silvester Engineering, who you only ever hear good things about. That’s not about to change here. The suspension and body got four-inch and three-inch lifts respectively, the latter thanks to a set of relatively simple box-section spacers. Relatively simple? Compared to a P38, the moon landings were relatively simple. Take the suspension height sensors, for example. These had to be extended, and you just know that’s a recipe for trouble. So let’s keep talking about the suspension. No, stop pleading, we must. This is definitely one of the darker areas
Things you don’t often see on the dashboard of a hardcore off-roader… Actually, it’s a toss-up as to which you choose first, but the height control for the suspension is an obvious candidate. Extra buttons to its right are inked up for the front and rear diff locks
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The axles are pretty standard aside from their KAM diff-lockers, but what’s above them is anything but. All four air springs were replaced with Arnott Gen III units, and their lower mounts are extended by 4” to put a huge chunk of lift under the vehicle. The bump stops have been enlarged to a similar degree, and panhard rods have been extended to re-centre the axles of the P38a, and Paul did think about binning the air springs in favour of coils. But he actually likes being able to alter the ride height – one reason being that he removed the anti-roll bars. ‘It rolls like a boat on corners,’ he says. ‘It’s very scary!’ Now, what you’re about to read next may make you wonder a bit. When we spoke to Paul, he had broken three air springs in the preceding year. This in
£1995
You’ll get a late 4.6 on low miles, or a high miler with FSH, for that
spite of the fact that he’d replaced the originals with Arnott Gen III units, which are crimped at each end and don’t come apart on full extension. He reckons he’d have broken more if he’d stayed standard, so it was worth the upgrade. But if you’re still wondering about the overall wisdom of not converting to coils, you may well not be alone. Other things Paul had broken when we met included two CV joints and one halfshaft. Given that the drivetrain starts with a 4.6 V8 and finishes with a set of 35” Simexes, and that the axles contain 4:1 geared KAM locking diffs, that’s not a bad tally. Despite the height of the lift, Paul discovered that the propshafts didn’t need to be changed. The splined joint on the steering column had to be
extended, though, as did the panhard rods, without which this would be the world’s biggest crab. The only resemblance to a crustacean of any description, indeed, is that the Rangey has a tough carapace. Well, steel bumpers and rock sliders, at least, fabricated once again by Pete Silvester and wrapped very tidily indeed around the vehicle to keep its overhangs as neat as possible. Each of those bumpers has a Warn XD9000 on it, juiced by a combination of Odyssey 1400T battery and the Range Rover’s own factory-standard 150-amp alternator, Continued overleaf
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though from side on you’d not know they were there. And what about the stuff that’s not been modified? Well, that would be the chassis, and most of the body (save obviously for the plastic bumpers that made way for Pete’s metalwork, and the wheelarches, which have been opened out to clear those 35” tyres). The engine is as it left the factory too, as is the gearbox – start playing with those, and you really will have an army of sensors on your case. Not that Paul doesn’t anyway. ‘There are always issues. With the complex electrical system, water is always a worry and not a week goes by without something new showing on the display! The main problem is the air suspension, which does have a mind of its own – apparently it’s a Range Rover thing!’ Once again, you may be beating your fists on the table in front of you and screaming ‘COIL SPRINGS!’ at the top of your voice, but despite these concerns Paul is a happy man. ‘It’s great. We have comfort, space, lots of toys, a smooth ride and it’s a head turner. Oh, and my son loves it if I take him to school in it!’ You really can’t say fairer than that, can you? Playdays have included a near-vertical winch run up the waterfall at Seven Sisters – and the Range Rover turned them into a family affair, with Paul’s wife Sue, their children Ronnie
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Pete Silvester made the bumpers, and you can see why Paul’s so happy with the guy’s work. Approach and departure angles aren’t compromised at all, despite there being identical Warn XD9000 winches hidden away at each end and Frankie, and labradors Sid and Jake all pitching in. Paul told us that the dogs prefer laning, however, as they get to run alongside the vehicle. Of course, everything about this P38 could have been achieved using a less frighteningly complex example of what Land Rover does best, but there’s never any shame in being a pioneer. This isn’t a project that’s been plain sailing from the word go – but back when the Mk2 Rangey first came out, people
said no-one would ever be able to do anything like this with them, and Paul has proved those people wrong. There is, however, one last dark secret lurking on the dashboard to put you off ever building a Landy like this yourself: an on-board fuel consumption gauge. Let despair be your eternal lot. On one occasion, Paul says, he got the reading all the way down to 3mpg. See? When he said it was an expensive road to take, turns out he was right.
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DISCOVERY 3:
‘the way lr moved forward from the d2 to d3 was great’
WORTH THE RISK? The Discovery 3 was a revolutionary vehicle in Land Rover’s history. Early examples are now temptingly cheap – but frighteningly expensive to maintain. We asked the experts if there’s any way to buy an affordable Disco 3 without it coming back to bite you words mike trott
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ike us humans, vehicles go through phases. Sometimes we might fancy a cheeseburger (especially if we’re American): sometimes we might fancy an alcoholic beverage. On other occasions, we might fancy several alcoholic beverages. In a way you could compare some vehicles and their appetite for fuel to the way some people consume alcohol… Take the G-Wiz, for example. This teetotal vehicle is secure and reliable, and also about as entertaining as a cowpat. A Land Rover, on the other hand, is like the drunken life of the party – until it all goes wrong, as most ‘social’ drinkers at some point discover.
Pictures steve taylor One Land Rover which has often been branded as troublesome is the Discovery 3. At the time of its launch, this vehicle was a revolutionary step forward, not just for the company but also for the entire 4x4 industry. People talk about how the Td5 engine was so much more complex than the Tdi, but even this was nothing compared to the next-level Disco 3. This vehicle introduced many of the features with which we are now familiar on modern day Land Rovers – in particular, of course, Terrain Response. The Disco 3 also followed suit from the L322 Range Rover and had air-sprung independent suspension, although the
entry-level model was only equipped with coil springs. Whether that was a positive or a negative, you decide. The reason for bringing up this mixed bag of opinions is that prices for these vehicles – the first of which are now pushing ten years old – have been drifting steadily downwards, to the point where the lush in the corner is starting to look like a cheap date. You can own a D3 for as little as £7000 now – though at this price, it’s likely to have been around the block a few times. Even so, good examples on sensible miles are found sub-£10K. But should you buy one at this sort of money? We got hold of a few people
If all you want of your Land Rover is the ability to plough through hardcore mud, a Disco 3 would be an odd choice. Give it the right tyres, though, and it’ll put on a game performance in conditions like these – even if it does rely a lot on electronics where previous models were 100% mechanical
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Issue 8: October 2014
We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk It’s almost ten years since the Disco 3 was launched, and its interior packaging still puts many of its competitors to shame. Both the second and third rows of seats fold flush to the floor to create a van-like cargo area that makes the most of the Disco’s boxy proportions to let it carry a staggering 2558 litres, and when they’re raised up it’s a true seven-seater capable of carrying a full complement of six-foot adults in a level of comfort you’d barely believe. That alone would be enough to make it the right vehicle for many people, but it’s also a sensational towing vehicle, a superb executive car and a totally robust way of getting about on and off-tarmac. Its complexity and (in some areas) fragility mean you must approach with caution, but this really is the ultimate do-anything car who know the Discovery 3 inside out and have to deal with their quirks on a daily basis. People like Chris Osborn of Keith Gott Land Rovers: ‘These Disco 3s make for a great work hack,’ he says. ‘They’re a good size and practical, particularly with the
‘I have seen major blow-ups from the TDV6, but often it’s not through any fault of their own. A lack of servicing and maintenance is often to blame, but if you look after them properly they’ll hold their own and you can get more than 200,000 miles from them. Off-
low arms will start knocking, anti-roll bar bushes disintegrate, handbrakes are a pain and tyre wear is bad. When you change the cam belt, you’re likely to have to change the oil pump with it, otherwise you’ll have more problems.’ Having said that, Terry would still recommend them. ‘At the end of the day, it’s a three tonne plus car and big cars mean big maintenance. But they are comfortable, good off-road and, provided you drive sensibly like one of my customers did, you can get up to 45mpg if you’re on the motorway cruising at 65mph.’ On a vehicle that’s basically a Range Rover Sport on dressdown Friday, having to lumber along in the slow lane just to keep your fuel use tolerable might not be seen as acceptable. But you don’t need to look far to find other people queuing up to praise the Disco 3. ‘I think the Discovery is the best model Land Rover has ever made,’ says Stuart Oakden, owner of LR Servicing in Nottingham. A bold statement, but then if anyone should have a valuable opinion on the Discovery through the ages, it’d be Stuart. The man has owned every Discovery ever made and thinks the Disco 3 is a ‘marvellous piece of kit.’
‘I bought a Disco 3 five years ago and ran it for three years. I spent a bit on getting it right, but after that it was fine, and I sold it for only £1000 less than I’d bought it for’ seven seats, and they have a great towing capacity. The 2.7-litre TDV6 is very popular as well and the auto box is smooth too.’ ‘On the down side, however, the maintenance bills can be pretty high. Some of the problems involve the wheel bearings, the suspension components and air compressor. They’ve since released a modified compressor from AMK, though, which replaces the original Hitachi ones.
road, it’s a good all-round vehicle – no Defender, of course, but the Disco 3 is a vast improvement on the Disco 2 and has actually got a sensible-sized engine.’ Chris isn’t the only one to argue that the vehicle is far from perfect. Terry Fones, owner of Ultimate 4x4 Specialists, explains why he’s come to consider it the problem child of Land Rover’s recent history. ‘There is a list of problems you’re likely to encounter,’ says Terry. ‘The
Continued overleaf ‘I’ve always said you don’t service Land Rovers, you maintain them’, says Stuart Oakden of LR Servicing in Nottingham. And what you’re looking at here is the reality of maintaining a vehicle like the Discovery 3. Diagnostics had become an integral part of looking after vehicles by the time the D3 came along, and with many faults your first move needs to be to plug the vehicle in to a laptop. That said, there’s no shortage of dirty and oily jobs to keep you busy too – the timing belts, which come up just after 100,000 miles, are infamously awkward to change and painful to pay for. Owners who know what’s coming will go as far as to get rid of their vehicles in the mid-90,000s, just to avoid being the one who has to shell out for the work Pic: Klaus Nahr @ flickr.com, CC-BY-SA
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‘It’s a good all-round vehicle – no Defender, of course, but the Disco 3 is a vast improvement on the Disco 2’ ‘I thought it looked like a Transit when it came out, but it has grown on me. I bought a Discovery 3 five years ago and ran it for three years. I spent a
bit on getting it right, but after that it was fine, aside from pads and tyres, and I sold it for only £1000 less than I bought it for.
Left: The Disco’s interior isn’t just practical – it’s very stylish. Light colourways like this might be prone to looking a bit grubby after a decade in service as a family wagon, but the design remains as bold and impressive as ever. Material quality is excellent, and the view from the driver’s seat is as imperious as ever
‘It’s a very comfortable vehicle, much quieter and quicker than the Td5, and has great pulling power. It’s a cracking engine. We offer a remapping service which boosts power from 190bhp to 240bhp and improves fuel economy! ‘Don’t get me wrong, it’s not for the DIY man – you need some kit to set the servicing lights right and they can be expensive to run. But I’ve always said you don’t service Land Rovers, you maintain them. I’ve had that same view for 28 years. Even so, I’ve only replaced a dozen air suspension bags and I’ve done a few turbos as well. Generally, it’s a great all-round vehicle.’ Bob Jackson is the owner of Metal Monster Junk, who break Disco 3s for parts. He’s also a member of the Disco 3 Owners Club and is no stranger to using them as a daily drive. ‘The way Land Rover moved forward from the D2 to D3 is great,’ says Bob. ‘It has a lot more in common with a Range Rover P38 than a D2.’ Bob has concerns about the TDV6 engine and suspension, though. He reckons this is because Land Rover, at the time, was using components not developed by the now thriving JLR group. The engine, for example, also cropped up in the Peugeot 407. Like Chris, Bob is another fan of the AMK compressor. ‘It’s a far better design and more reliable. We sell a lot of conversion kits and strongly advise customers to upgrade for the extra £150 to the ‘fit and forget’ AMK model. ‘The TDV6 engine is prone to oil pump failure,’ Bob continues. ‘People replace the pumps thinking they’ll be safe, but don’t replace the pulleys or bearings at the same time. The problem then is that these go and the crank or bearings die – which will end up costing you around £3500-4000 for a
Look under the bonnet of a Discovery 3 the way Land Rover wants you to view it, and you’ll see lots of plastic but precious little else. The 2.7 TDV6 (above) and 4.4 V8 are very different beasts, however – not just in the way they behave but in the way they’ve matured as the vehicle gets older. The diesel unit is exceptional, but many of the Disco’s most fearsome idiosyncracies are peculiar to it. The V8 is of course thirsty beyond belief – and beyond the pale for most people. But with a quality LPG conversion at its back, fuel costs are much more affordable – and being part of the Jaguar AJ-V8 family, rather than yet another act of blind faith based on the by-then prehistoric Rover V8, it’s as reliable as it is smooth and powerful
reliable, reputable garage to supply and fit a replacement engine.’ But Bob needn’t worry about that, because he’s always run a 4.4-litre V8
HSE. So, no real problems. Apart from the fuel bill, surely? ‘You can fit a Prins LPG system for around £1800,’ he says. ‘You’ll recoup
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Above: ‘Stadium seating’ is one of those gimmick names that make you want to be sick – but when you climb in the back of a D3 and see the view it gives you, it’s actually the perfect description Below: For such a high vehicle, the rear lip is surprisingly low – no small matter when you can put so much stuff in it
that within around six to eight months if you do enough miles, then after that they’re pretty damn cheap to run. On top of that, V8s tend to be cheaper to buy and are almost always top-spec. ‘For around £9000, you can buy a nice HSE V8 on LPG. You’d be looking at that or more for a lesser-spec TDV6.’ So the Disco 3 isn’t a drunk at the party after all. Get yourself the 4.4-litre V8 model, tag it with an LPG kit and an AMK compressor and you won’t have post bail for its antics so often after all. Fact is, you can have a seven-seat, leather-clad, cheap to run, loud and proud V8 Land Rover that really works off-road. The Disco 3 really can be all things to all men – secure, reliable and certainly no cowpat at a party all at once. The TDV6 is a top engine – but as time rolls by, its drawbacks are looking more and more like a brilliant excuse…
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SHORT AND
‘iF i DON’T LiKE iT, OR iT NO LONGER WORKS, i JUST CHANGE iT’
SWEET
First rule of prepping a Land Rover for overland travel? Don’t buy a short-wheelbase. Except that’s exactly what Gareth Griffiths did – and he was totally satisfied with the results Words Olly Sack Pictures Steve Taylor
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e’re a fickle lot, us human beings. We’re forever changing everything, from the ringtones on our mobiles to the style of clothes we wear. Just about the only thing you can be sure of with Modern Man is that you can’t be sure of anything. When it comes to trucks, us blokes like nothing more than to find one we like, get it the way we want it… then change it for another one. Gareth Griffiths is the exception. The 90 in these pictures was only the third he had owned when we took them: some Landy-loving types have been
known to buy that many all in one go, let alone in a lifetime. What makes this 90 rare, however, is that when you buy a Defender to prep for overland travel you tend to go for a 110 or 130. The 90? It’s just too small. Gareth’s previous Landies were a IIA Lightweight and an earlier 90, but for his expedition truck he wanted something with power steering and a more reliable engine. What he got was a 1996 300Tdi County Hard-Top with three previous owners. ‘The vehicle was bought from new and owned for most of its life by a lady who wanted something to take her dogs
about in,’ he explains. ‘I still have the original receipt. Dealer maintained and serviced, and only genuine parts fitted, it then went through two chaps in the space of three or four years who didn’t use it much but looked after it well – at which point I bought it.’ That was in May 2008, and Gareth didn’t waste any time in getting to grips with his new truck. Before the engine had cooled down, he’d stripped off the roof rack, side steps and County decals – and by October of that year, he took his first solo trip to Morocco. Gareth says he started learning a lot about fixing Land Rovers very soon
An instrument panel from Mud-UK piggy-backs on to what qualified as a dashboard on the 300Tdi Defender. The original clocks are relocated here, next to carling switches for the spots, worklight and air compressor. To the left of the console, a 10” Hewlett Packard tablet runs Memory Map, Garmin Mapsource, Autoroute and Fugawi navigational software, works as a games machine and DVD player and even plays music through an external hard drive
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You don’t need a dog for a dog guard to come in handy. As well as protecting the crew from attacks by over-enthusiastic luggage, it provides a handy home for various go-to items – including the bug-out bag, which is what you grab for survival when you’re abandoning ship after buying his first 90, which is something a lot of people will be familiar with. It might make him sound like a bit of a driveway dreamer, but nothing could be further from the truth. Aside from the roll cage, which was made and fitted by Whitbread Off-Road, everything on the 90 was put there by Gareth himself. Having replaced the original springs and shocks with a two-inch Terrafirma lift, he was able to slide a set of 255x85R16 BFGs on Wolf rims under the wheelarches, and he followed this up with a modified Warn M8000 on an ARB front bumper. ‘The internals,’ he Continued overleaf
While received wisdom says you shouldn’t modify an expedition vehicle any more than you have to, fitting a raised air intake is absolutely crucial. You can get them to fit vehicles with and without roll cages: steady mountings are important, and you also want to try and avoid sharp elbows like this which will interfere with air flow
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Above left: Conventional wisdom has it that you should keep an expedition truck as standard as possible. Gareth’s 90 is lifted by 2”, which is as far as you’d want to go, with D44 towers locating the springs and shocks up top Above right: Twin fuel tanks are a must if you’re serious about covering long distances, but this Y-piece filler turned out not to be as good an idea as it looks. Directing fuel to the auxiliary tank proved tricky, and it could flow from one to the other on steep hills Right: Various storage boxes, and an Engel fridge, are mounted on Mantec load slides and separated by a shelf mounted on aluminium channel. Gareth lined the sides of the load area with plywood and marine-grade carpeting continues, ‘all happened around these and continued after.’ And what would those internals be? ‘You name it, we carry it!’ Here, we’re getting into the reason why 110s are a much more common sight than 90s on the overland trail. But Gareth is happy with the mods he’s made, insisting that the shorter vehicle has enough space to be a fully functional home-from-home. As is always the case with real-world expedition vehicles (as opposed to the kind you see at shows with millionaire price tags on them), it’s not all pretty, or in any way high-tech, but it’s very much about fitness for purpose and making the most of every scrap of space. Hence the dog guard behind the seats, which is home to a 300-Watt inverter, first aid kit, fire extinguisher and bug-out bag. Wot-out bag? A bugout bag is a self-contained survival kit for proper emergencies. If your Land Rover’s on fire, under water or being driven away by gorillas, a bug-out bag is the thing you grab as you’re running for your life. Its job is to ensure that by escaping the immediate threat, you’ve not just consigned yourself to a slower fate instead. Less likely to save any lives, but equally valuable in their own way, the original seats have been re-foamed and then trimmed with Outlast fabric from
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Miles by road from Dover to Morocco. Just sayin’
Exmoor Trim. The cabin is further augmented by a 14-inch Mountney steering wheel, while a Mud-UK dash console and Mobile Storage Systems cubby box look after extra gauges and general oddments respectively. Strapped to the dash is a Hewlett Packard tablet PC which runs various
mapping packages, and plays music, DVDs and computer games – ideal for those long nights under canvas. Out the back, there’s a neat storage system made up using Mantec load slides, with a shelf mounted on aluminium channel to just clear a slide-out Engel fridge. Gareth finished
off the sides using plywood and marine grade carpeting, adding extra cargo nets at the same time. Up top, another shelf carries a pair of loudspeakers and everyday clothes. The recovery kit lives in a pair of canvas holdalls, electronic equipment is stored in Peli cases, camping gear
goes in a pair of Zarges boxes and everything else is housed in a variety of heavy-duty Plastor containers. With so many different sizes and other options being available, he points out that this setup is infinitely adaptable to suit every expedition: ‘As we use a boxed system over fixed drawers, we have an
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‘The vehicle was owned for most of its life by a lady who wanted something for taking her dogs about in’ adaptable approach to each trip and so don’t carry any unnecessary weight.’ He doesn’t take any unnecessary risks, either. Protecting it all, which is essential when overlanders are all too often seen as easy prey, is a set of MSS window grilles. As you’ll have worked out by now, Gareth’s 90 is very much a home-grown expedition truck. The way it’s been put together is what makes it unique, with all its owner’s quirks and preferences built in. Ask even the best expedition prep specialist to build you a chequebook overland vehicle and however hard they try, that’s something you’ll never get. You’ll not get a 90, either, unless that’s what you specifically ask for – in which case you’ll receive an attempt to talk you out of it. But Gareth has no regrets at all about his choice of base vehicle, and there’s nothing significant he says he’d do differently. ‘If I don’t like it now or it no longer works for me,’ he says, ‘I just change it.’ Us humans may be fickle but, if ever there were such a thing, that’s definitely Landy Loyalty.
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A MONTH ON HOLIDAY IN AUSTRALIA? N
DOWN UNDER
THE LAND ROVER WAY
Words and pictures Ruth Smith
What would you miss most in a month away from home? Family? Friends? Pets? Your local pub? Fortunately, if your answer has anything to do with your truck, the famous hospitality of Land Rover fans worldwide is waiting to come to your rescue… When we booked to go on holiday to Australia last year, my husband Richard decided he wouldn’t be able to make it through a whole month away without a fix of Land Rover action. Being members of the Midland ROC, though, we knew exactly what to do – so he contacted the local equivalent, the Land Rover Owners’ Club of Sydney. Landy fans are a hospitable lot the world over, especially where each other is concerned, and sure enough LROC
President Greg Stuart invited us to join one of their social weekends. This was being held on the shores of Lyell Reservoir, near Rydal in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. The Blue Mountains are so called because of the extensive Eucalyptus bushes growing there. These give off eucalyptus oil from their leaves, especially in hot weather, some of which merges with the atmosphere to create a distinctive blue haze.
Now, what’s the worst thing that could happen in these circumstances? After extensive research, and much to Richard’s disgust, we found we couldn’t hire any form of Land Rover locally. Instead, we ended up with a Nissan. This was okay, but we found it to be much like driving your dad’s car: grey, slow, steady, boring and gutless, and with the personality of a dead wallaby. (I’m assuming your dad never owned a TVR here.)
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T WITHOUT SOME LAND ROVER ACTION!
Left: Julian Seal is a British expat – and when life as an immigrant involves blazing trails aboard a G4-spec Discovery 3, it’s easy to see why people choose it Above: There’s no such thing as a campsite that isn’t idyllic when all the vehicles in it are Land Rovers, but on the banks of Lyell Reservoir it’s even better Right: With its air-con and modern suspension, Herve Maurin’s Discovery 4 was an obvious candidate when the authors were asked whose truck they wanted to ride in Being in a Land Rover would have made the journey better for us, of course. But, again just like your dad’s car, the Pathfinder worked fine and got us there (yes, my previous comment
motorway, all of which added an exotic dimension to the spectacular scenery encountered en route. The meeting place was just under 100 miles inland from where we were
driving misdemeanours. The fines they dish out, however, are anything but… But no, that wasn’t going to work. Greg replied he would much prefer it if we could get there before 9am, as they wanted to take us four-wheeling for the morning. So no lie-in, then. By 8.30am, we had arrived at Lyell Reservoir and found Greg and his Australian club camped right on the edge of the water. We were surprised to note that their motors were all long-wheelbase, with no 90s in sight. Talking to the guys, they told us that long-wheelbase vehicles are much more practical for them as they can pack so much more stuff into them. It’s a completely alien concept for us, but in Oz it’s quite feasible to go into the Outback and not see another soul for a week or more. Thus the concept of off-roading is different – it means
We drove for several hours along dusty tracks cut into the sides of the hills and up rocky, tyre-shredding steps, winding our way upwards to the top of the mountains about TVRs still applies). And to be fair, as journeys go it was pretty special – we spotted wild kangaroos in people’s gardens and flocks of white cockatoos with yellow crests sweeping across the
staying in Sydney, so we told Greg we were expecting to arrive around midday. We weren’t going to take any chances - speed limits are low in Australia, as is the police’s tolerance for
In Britain, one of the first things you’ll learn behind the wheel of a Landy is how to keep moving in mud. In Oz, it’ll be how to climb an everlasting hill of rough, loose stone and rock. Here are Yorkie’s
carrying enough fuel, food and water to last for your entire trip, because stocking up at the next petrol station or supermarket just isn’t an option! Greg told us they planned to take us out into the mountains for the morning. It turned out to be very much like our green laning back home, but on hard, dry, mainly gravel tracks with some very interesting steep rocky climbs thrown in for good measure. We were asked who we would prefer to climb in with and, taking into account the temperature, which was forecast to be in the low 30s, and the rocky terrain, Richard made a beeline for a Discovery 4; the best suspension and the most reliable air-con, he later told me! It was being driven by Hervé Maurin, an Australian who had followed a girl over to Oz from his native France twenty or so years ago and never made it back home. Hervé’s motor was well kitted out, with two spare wheels mounted on the rear bumper and an additional fuel tank in the space this freed up underneath. It also had a winch and, very necessary out here even if they’ve gone out of fashion back home, a bull bar. Most of the 4x4s we saw in Oz have bull bars fitted. Here, though, fashion has nothing to do with it. Wild kangaroos and wombats come out and sit on the road at night, and if you hit one it’ll wipe you out. We were surprised by the size of wombats – they’re about three feet long and weigh 20-35kg (45-80lb). When you consider that a pigeon can take out your radiator you can see how necessary it is to protect your vehicle against them with some heavy metal. Hervé was using an iPad as his satnav, a brilliant system with the added bonus of a big viewing screen. It uses an Australian version of our detailed OS maps, complete with contours and so on, downloaded and set up so that the car’s position is precisely shown
on the map. The only downside is that unlike conventional sat-nav, you can reach the edge of your map. We drove for several hours, along dusty tracks cut into the sides of the hills and up rocky, tyre-shredding steps, winding our way upwards to a triangulation point on the top of one of the mountains where the views were tremendous and, strangely, we were surrounded by a flutter of butterflies. Watching from outside the vehicles as the guys piloted them up another treacherous rock climb, they put on an impressive display of tyre-lifting. Even Greg and his passenger Chris, in a 200Tdi Defender 110, weren’t immune, nor was Yorkie in his TD5 Disco 2. Brit Julian Seal and his girlfriend Louise in their G4-spec Discovery 3, and of course Hervé in his D4, might have been expected to rely more on traction aids and less on articulation, but for all four Landies the steep, jagged and, at times, stepped terrain really did make for a very hair-raising ‘green lane’ trip! The only minor casualty of the day was Julian’s Discovery 3, which lost something plastic from underneath its nearside rear quarter. Cue five minutes of head-scratching and much mickey taking – no great difference to how it is back home, then! We finally arrived back at the campsite five hours later, after an absolutely fabulous day out with one of the friendliest clubs we have had the pleasure to meet. We’ve invited them over to Britain for the 2015 ALRC National, which our club the MROC is hosting at Eastnor Castle, and it would be great to return the favour. Quite what they’d make of all the 80” triallers, though, is anybody’s guess! With thanks to the Midland Rover Owners’ Club, of which Ruth and Richard are active members. The club’s site is at www.mroc.co.uk.
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• 01332 631213 •
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Series I (1955). Completely rebuilt with a Buick 3.5 V8 engine. Estimated to have cost £20,000 to build. Very fast, noisy, road-legal. Tax and MOT exempt. Leighton Buzzard area. £7750 (firm), 01296 668339
a beautiful marine blue Series IIA 88” soft-top. In excellent condition, fully serviced recently, newly repaired starter motor and 10 months’ MOT. No need for road tax! £4295 ono. 07966 242402, eccure@gmail.com
SERIES II
SERIES III
Land Rover Series IIA (1969). 2.25 petrol. 48,389 miles. This is
Foundry 4x4 Ltd
Cast Iron Quality & Service
parts@mcdonaldlandrover.co.uk • 01691 657705
LAND ROVERS FOR SALE
SERIES I
South Wales
Series III Lightweight, 1981, RHD. 31,625 miles. 2.25 petrol/
LPG, galvanised chassis, MOD green and black. Ex air support signals regiment, originally FFR but converted to 12-volt by a previous owner. Five new wheels and tyres (originals also included). Recon box with complete new clutch. Two new petrol tanks. Newly Polybushed. New rear halfshafts and drive members, rear shocks, brakes all round (new front drums) and exhaust. Canvas in good condition. All receipts are with the vehicle. Currently on SORN, MOT May 2015. £5000 ono. jufion@btinternet.com Series III, 1973. Tax exempt, MOT Nov, FWH, overdrive, rock sliders. Slightly rough. Exmoor. £1350 ono, 07791 790920
90
2000 (W) Land Rover Defender TD5 Truck Cab. 2” suspension lift kit, new condition black modular wheels with Insa Turbo Special Track tyres, snorkel, heavy duty front winch bumper, CD player, grey techno cloth seats (3), PAS, towbar and alarm. Excellent condition. New cylinder head/water pump and all cooling hoses fitted due to cracked fuel
lane. Custom tub cover and swing away spare wheel carrier. Straight through S/S exhaust. Driven daily, hasn’t been off-roaded... yet! MOT April 2015, tax September 2014. 70,880 miles. £7950. Falkirk, Scotland. shanks188@ btinternet.com.
Defender 90Tdi. Late 1994. Pick-up with Truckman top and 5-speed gearbox. Low milage, new MOT. Nice condition throughout. £4995, 01420 473470
Defender 90 Heritage. Much loved but rarely used. Heavy tow pack, non-smoker, very well kept, good for insurance, reliable. Four owners. MOT Oct. Part service history. Manual sunroof, air conditioning, MP3 player, leather trim, folding rear seats, spare wheel (full), PAS, traction, alarm, immobiliser. £13,000. Call Pete on 07834 763919 or email pete.barlow@salixrw.com.
Defender 90 TD5 pick-up. 139,100 miles. 12,000lb winch (cost £500, new 2 months ago from Gigglepin), Devon 4x4 winch bumper (£800), rock sliders, snorkel and diff breathers, diff guards, front and rear sump guards, bucket seats, light guards all round, dislocation cones, fully Polybushed. Cubby box, full chequer plate, rear bump guards, CD stereo with Alpine head unit and aux lead. Great truck with strong TD5 and solid chassis. Last serviced in January, MOT 04/15, tax 03/15. £6750. andydownes13@hotmail.co.uk
Defender 90 TD5, 2002. Drives exceptionally well with lots of power, great gearchange and transfer lever action. 2” Britpart Super Gaz lift kit fitted. Boost Alloys (including spare) with Hankook Dynapro MT tyres. 30mm wheel spacers. Electric windows, remote central locking, heated seats, heated front and rear windscreen. Winch bumper with Warn winch, Kenwood CD stereo with aux input. Seats in good condition. NAS lights all round. Must be seen! £8295. joshbaker_uk@yahoo.com
Limited edition 90. Over 40k worth of receipts for work carried out and professional mods. Bespoke tuning, K&N air filter, Allisport intercooler, Hayward and Scott stainless straight-through exhaust, hybrid turbo. Recaro race seats (heated), uprated roll bars, lowered suspension. Boss wheels, LED lights, Alpine sound system, Bluetooth, sat nav, uprated cubby box. Brand new 13,000lb winch and front bumper. Momo wheel,
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Issue 8: October 2014
We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk upgraded brakes. FSH. £20,950 tonyackerman2000@yahoo.co.uk
A12 HJP. 300-series front and headlights. In very good order. Bargain at £1475. Tel 01920 464540 or 07828 735145, john.c.pavey@hotmail.co.uk
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Recently built 300Tdi trayback. Very high spec. Only done one event since build. Custom interior, GP winches, Mach 5s, Ashcroft shafts/CVs. Please get in touch for full specification and work done. Hundreds of pics available. Offers around £13,000. 07841 193027
Discovery TD5. 1999. 2” lift, new Maxxis mud tyres. MOT Nov 14, tax end April 14. New heavy-duty bumpers, new Superwinch. Excellent condition. £4995 ono, call Adele on 01772 682137.
110
Range Rover
110 2.5 petrol/LPG, C-reg. 121,000 miles, on SORN. Solid chassis, spot lights, chequer plate, rear worklight, tubular side steps, roof rack, fog lights. New alternator Feb 2013. Engine rebuild Feb 2011 including new valves, bearings and piston rings. MOT May 2014. This Landy is 27 years old and does have a few marks. £2600. cotton13@hotmail.co.uk
Range Rover Vogue SE 3.9 V8 Auto Pick-Up. Professionally converted. Tan leather electric seats, lockable pick-up cover on gas struts. Engine rebuilt with Viper Hurricane performance cam, polished and ported heads, K&N air filter. Milltek Racing stainless exhaust with tubular manifolds. 1” lowered suspension. Mountney hardwood sports steering wheel, custom headlining by Nationwide trim, 5 new Goodyear Eagle GT+4 235/70/16s on fully refurbished alloys. Bull bar and spots, rear light protection, full tow bar kit. West Midlands. £4500, 07734 599399, mikehayes_1@msn.com.
Specials Defender 110 300 Tdi twin-cab pick-up (1996). Front winch, Four new tyres, new brake pads all round. Very well maintained. Excellent runner. Five alloys. Cam belt changed at 165,000 miles. MOT 05/15, tax 09/14. £5950. digroot@btinternet.com
Defender 110 XS Utility. Warn winch, full roof rack, steering guard, full set of Land Rover seat covers and mats, seats like new under covers. New tyres. Leather seats, heated front seats, air-conditioning, electric windows, CD stereo, traction control. MOT and tax November 2014. £15,500+VAT cwdm@ hotmail.co.uk
Discovery
Discovery 200Tdi Auto. 174k miles. MOT and tax to September. New tyres, 7-seats. Number plate
Land Rover 109 200Tdi. Twin tanks, body-off refurb, chassis checked and no welding required, HD military style crossmember, new bespoke bumperettes, 3 coats of Shutz to chassis, tub and wings, galv bulkhead and front panel, Defender front wiring loom, professionally wired rear, new LED standard style lights, high level brake light, LED camping/reverse lights and internal strip lights, Pioneer CD, Toro overdrive, P38 PAS box on 12mm plate welded to chassis, safari roof, 5 General Grabber 235/85R16s, head skimmed and crack tested, timing belt changed, electric fan. Viewing essential. Must go to a good home. £6500 ono. Call Mat on 07908 582133 or email gondolamat@aol.com. Land Rover 109” Dormobile. Genuine 1970 Factory Conversion. 200 Tdi. Series IIA gearbox with overdrive, 3.54 diffs. 6-pot engine and gearbox available separately. Body-off rebuild completed 2010, including repaired chassis and
bulkhead, new brakes, Autosparks loom, 5 new doors, front door mirrors, all new window runners and side frames. Sympathetic paint job. Swing-away spare wheel carrier, side sun shade, repro wardrobe, kitchen. New roof window seals, seats reupholstered, oil pressure gauge, and wheelarch altered under wardrobe for Porta-Potti storage. ‘Canvas’ is original and has a few pinholes at the top at each end, but does not leak. Roof vent replaced. Engine received new rings and bearings prior to installation; returns 30-34 mpg and is happy at 65 mph. The vehicle is missing its table and there are signs of wear and tear inside and out. A rare Land Rover that has
been recently rebuilt and sympathetically upgraded to make it a comfortable home for two whose reliability has been proven over the last few years. Tax exempt, £100 per year insurance. OIRO £7500. Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. 01484 682496, 07799278578, alexanderbywaters@gmail.com
is still alive? It was a red 300Tdi hard-top originally, and started out as a project vehicle in Land Rover World magazine. It was sold to a French guy in Chorleywood in mid-2000 but hasn’t been heard of since then. Very grateful for any info. 07968 960619 Series I or II for restoration. Anything considered. Preferably pre-1960. Private buyer. Cash waiting. Steve, 07970 102651, stephen.kuzio@live.co.uk
Parts Wanted M146 HPL Defender 90 Tdi. Does anyone know if my old 90
Discovery clutch pressure plate (part #FTC575). Brand new, still in box. Herts area. £offers. 01992 465721.
Advertising your Land Rover for sale is 100% FREE for private sellers. Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242
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Issue 8: October 2014
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Discovering new lanes – thanks to GLASS Manchester Off Road Club make the most of Trailwise on a mission to Northumberland Justin Brown After much preparation, planning and late nights of route deliberation, the Manchester Off-Road Club were finally ready for their first excursion northwards to Northumberland. A night’s camping in Penrith provided the base before setting off on the morning of 9 May, heading north-east in the direction of Alston. Our first lane was around a ten minute drive away, but with no user evidence to be found on Trailwise we had no choice but to head in to it blind… I was in the first truck on the road and led the way up a very scratchy, tight lane. There had been rain overnight and the ground was soft, proving to have been little used in previous weeks. After the first two of five vehicles had ventured up the track, the third, a Disco, tried a different line to keep away from the clawing undergrowth but only managed to end up stuck. Thirty yards up the track, two sizeable trees were blocking the lane. Beyond that, a muddy section showed use from another access point. We decided to remove the trees with our chainsaw and manoeuvre the first two cars, while the others turned back. Quite an eventful start, then! As we continued for Alston, the weather was poor, but fortunately the bulk
of the day’s lanes were solid-based. An exception was the lane known as ‘Moscow’: to save complications, as suggested by Trailwise, we drove this one downhill. That night, there seemed to be no room at the inn, with no camp sites willing to take us. We eventually found one, although ground conditions were not what you’d call ideal. Saturday morning started with another bout of chaos. Steve Southward, who had joined up with us on the Friday evening, suffered a complete wheel bearing collapse, meaning our first task was to source and fit a new one. A mercy dash to Hexham and a small fortune later and we were back on track. You know what they say – nothing that’s worth it is ever simple! With that job done, we were heading north once more by 11am, by which point even the weather had perked up. There are some cracking lanes in this part of the country and everyone seemed happy to see us. The rest of the day was spent following Hadrian’s Wall to the east. Again, we encountered some roads less travelled, but all of them boasted stunning views nonetheless. One lane of particular note started by taking us across a grassy field (little evidence of use here either) in full
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk view of a number of farm buildings. I couldn’t help but think: ‘Here we go, someone will be out moaning while we drive a pointless lane.’ I couldn’t have been more wrong. The lane carried on through a couple of gates before coming to an unexpected hairpin and a sudden descent at what looked like a 30-degree angle. A couple more hairpins greeted us as we ventured down into the valley, where we eventually came to a rocky ford. This lane turned out to be another gem – the river crossing was very uneven, with a severe climb out at the other side and more hairpins to get us back to the main road.
Our third night was spent in relative luxury compared to the previous two. We stayed at a campsite just outside of Consett, where the owners welcomed us with open arms and made us feel totally at home. We headed south on the Sunday morning with sunshine leading the way, picking up another excellent selection of lanes. Some were rough, some were easy, and some we could only navigate using GPS. Northumberland turned into Durham and Durham turned into the Yorkshire Dales National Park. As we went along, we made notes on our paper maps (remember
GLASS – Get Involved!
As well as laning actively with my friends in the Manchester Off Road Club, I am a rep for the Green Lane Association (GLASS). It only recently dawned on me that prior to joining GLASS, I was entirely reliant on other people for advice about where to drive my 4x4. Over the years, our club have been driving trusted lanes that we have used over and over again, generally in North Wales, the Lakes and the Dales. We never really ventured anywhere else, because we didn’t have the knowledge on where we could go. But since we joined GLASS as an affiliate club, we will now venture anywhere! GLASS is dedicated to protecting Britain’s network of green lanes. If necessary, it will go to court to fight lane closures that we feel are unjustified for whatever reason, but the association also works with councils to repair and protect lanes. GLASS is also regarded by most as a sort of governing body. It has a code of conduct that we encourage all members to adhere to and we can also offer legal advice if required to any member that needs it. In my opinion, though, the main benefit of being a GLASS member is the resource that is Trailwise. This is a database that lists almost every green lane in the country, stating its exact position and status. Trailwise normally describes the lane’s condition and notes which council ‘maintains’ it. GLASS members are encouraged to fill in user evidence forms on Trailwise after each laning trip. This makes life easier for other users doing research and also acts as documentation proving use should a lane ever come under threat of closure. Had GLASS been bigger in 2006, when the NERC Act was implemented, we might still have many more lanes to drive today. If we’d had more evidence of users driving old lanes prior to 2006, maybe we wouldn’t have lost as many when RUPPs were turned into restricted byways. GLASS is keen to increase its membership and also recruit new area reps. The bigger we are as an organisation, the more powerful we can become and the better we can fight to protect threatened lanes. Besides, with more people registering on Trailwise, research can be made so much easier. Personally, I love Trailwise. Without it, the Manchester Off Road Club wouldn’t have had the three fantastic days in Northumberland described on these pages. It’s an area I had never visited before, but with the information gained from Trailwise the trip was a dream and passed without incident. If you consider yourself a keen laner, you will never make a better move than joining GLASS. You can do so as an individual or possibly join a club that is affiliated; either way, there’s a vast amount of information available to members through Trailwise, and the support and fellowship that comes from being involved is enormous. You can find out more about GLASS by visiting www.glass-uk.org, and Trailwise is at www.trailwise-uk.org. If you love exploring Britain’s lanes as much as I do, reaping the benefits of being a member is a must! Justin Brown GLASS West Yorkshire Rep
those?), jotting down information on the general track surface conditions or other memorable points about the lanes. I have a great deal of user evidence to fill in, but it’s worth it to make life easier for future users and, more importantly, provides evidence of use if ever required. Our visit to the north provided us with no end of great lanes, great countryside and wonderful people – it’s a brilliant place to go all in all. It left us looking forward with eager anticipation to our next ride out – a seven-day stint along the Welsh coast, during which we’ll be trying to squeeze in as many lanes as possible.
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Viking 4x4 brings Valhalla back to Northamptonshire
Blue-riband winch challenge returns to Weekley Woods and Deep Scar on 1-2 November Pictures Pavel Frackowiak and Pip Evans The UK’s leading challenge crews are more than happy to travel far and wide to compete in top-level events. They’ll head up North for the Scotia, down South for the De-Cider and way out to the West for the Welsh Xtreme. Now, however, an event has arrived to match the most extreme tests of man and machine – and it’s slap bang in the middle of the country. This year’s Goodwinch Valhalla Challenge takes place at not one but two venues not far from Kettering, Northamptonshire, on 1-2 November. The event had its first run last November – and was so well received that a repeat was a cert. The Valhalla’s organisers, the Viking 4x4 Club, also run the LRS Challenge series, meaning they have a wealth of challenge event knowledge to apply to this extreme event. And if last year is anything to go by, they’ll certainly pull out all the stops to make it something spectacular. Unlike the LRS Series, though, the Valhalla is open to trucks with all kinds of modifications. So, no 37-inch tyre limit or ban on portal axles – this one’s made for modded Landies and super-trucks alike.
To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk The format pairs trucks up into teams of two, with the first day’s action taking place at Weekley Woods and the second at the adjacent Deep Scar. Day one is likely to consist of 20 timed special stages, with the daylight stage drawing to a close at 3pm. The evening section will kick off just an hour later, on account of those early winter sunsets, with teams facing another five timed sections. These will be less extreme, for obvious safety reasons, but driving around the woods in the dark is sure to get the adrenaline pumping regardless. Last year, the organisers aimed to get the crews watching each other in action during this part of the event, but accepted that what looked like a good idea on paper didn’t really work in practice, so there’s been some fine tuning to get it running more smoothly this year. After a well-earned evening meal in the marquee (or in the case of last year’s winners, dished up in the pits where they were fixing their car), day two consists of a straightforward punch challenge. The venue, on the other hand, is anything but straightforward. Deep Scar, home to Viking’s LRS Series, is a relatively new off-roading venue – and it’s known for the extreme tests it sets those who venture into it. For the Valhalla, the punches will be located in places which live up to its name – The Hall of the Slain. And if that’s still not enough to get your heart racing, last year’s event saw challenge champions Allen Sharp and Duncan Smith steal a win, but only by the narrowest of margins – and a total of just 18 punches collected out of a possible 50. Allen, who has previously reigned at the Scotia, De-Cider and Welsh Xtreme, gave the Valhalla rave reviews, commenting that the next is destined to be even better. As chairman of Viking 4x4, Allen will have a firm hand in designing the layout of the event, so it promises to be more than a little bit tough. And of course, being sponsored by Goodwinch means there’ll be a whole host of the company’s much-coveted goodies for the top three teams. The Valhalla is shaping up to become one of the must-do events on the extreme winching circuit, so if you’re yet to enter you should definitely check it out. For all the info you need, or to download an entry form, pay a visit to www.viking4x4club.com.
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Issue 8: October 2014
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Fancy dress triallers are only here for the beer! Next time someone tries to tell you trialling is dull, point them to the Staffs and Shrops Land Rover Club’s annual Medlicott weekend. Which just happens to coincide with the Bishop’s Castle Beer Festival…
Words Matt Farmer Pics Triple Effect Photography The annual Medlicott trial is a firm fixture in the Staffs and Shrops LRC’s calendar. Why? Because it coincides with a superb beer festival held in the nearby market town of Bishop’s Castle, that’s why… Every year, the trial brings out a crowd of club members, all of them eager for the beer bus trip from the site. Fancy dress isn’t strictly necessary to have a good time, and nor for that matter is beer, but put them together – which the guys and girls from the SSLRC are very good at – and you’ve got a recipe for a very sociable day out! The good thing about the festival being a daytime thing is that everyone’s
still fit and well to go trialling on the Sunday. Which is just as well, because Clerk of Course Neil Medlicott had found plenty of new runs and gullies to
add to the steep banks, sticky mud and mountain water the site’s known for. The trial comprised 10 sections set out for RTV and CCV classes.
The latter was so well subscribed that drivers were split into two groups before setting off for six sections on the valley floor.
These were set out with wide gates to allow all competitors a good day’s motorsport, but the early scores illustrated that their length had resulted
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in a few competitors getting lost and missing the odd gate – simple but costly errors, as would be revealed at the end of the day when the results were added up. The morning session progressed well under clear blue skies, with only a few recoveries required. By lunchtime, Steve Blackham was leading the way on just four penalty points, but John Grice and Keith Dwyer were close behind him on six. The afternoon saw the groups move to the upper parts of the hilly Shropshire site for the last four remaining sections – which would provide a last-minute shake-up in the running order. The heat of the day did start to have an impact on some motors – in particular Gill Medlicott and Carl Glover, who chose to give their vehicles an afternoon siesta by allowing them a brief nap on their sides! All emerged safe and sound, though, and navigators surprisingly obliged to rejoin their drivers for the rest of the day! The afternoon’s scores showed that Martin Skidmore, Richard Rowley, Martin Smith and John Grice were all driving consistently and matching each other’s scores, but it was still Steve Blackham out in front. The trial had also brought out two trialling legends, however, in Bob Whetton and Mick Dobbs, who slugged it out between each other all day in their 80” leafsprung motors and again proved that power and coil springs are not always required in the world of trialling. Section 10 was to be the real game-changer of the day. The start of the section comprised of a relatively innocent gulley crossing – but between group one passing through and group two arriving, it had become a deep mud hole with limited options to pass across. It was at this point in the proceedings that Steve Blackham seriously dented his scorecard – and he wasn’t alone in becoming a victim of gate 10. It
was Richard Rowley who found a way across, ultimately proving decisive. When the results were checked, it became apparent that Martin Smith and Richard Rowley were tied on 11 points. This meant a count-back to the first clear of the day – which is what tipped the scales in Richard’s favour. Martin was duly placed second, with John Grice third.
The club’s thanks, as always, go to all the marshals, Brian Machin for running the RTV and, of course, the landowners for their kind permission to allow the event to run. The Medlicott weekend proved a raging success with a great mixture of real ale, fancy dress, a guest appearance by Kylie Minogue and some great motorsport. More or less in that order.
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Issue 8: October 2014
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Dorset LRC launches Green Lane Initiative
Land Rover drivers take responsibility by reaching out to local authorities and fellow users Words Andy Wilson Pictures Andy Wilson and Graham Glover With rights of way throughout England and Wales under constant threat, the Dorset Land Rover Club has chosen this year to launch a new green lanes initiative. Championing the cause of ‘Responsible Rural Recreation’, the club has resolved to work with – rather than against – the local County Council. The initiative was launched by club Rights of Way Officer Jim Welch (who is also the Dorset GLASS representative) and Green Lanes Officer Rob Elliott, at a meeting attended by almost half the Dorset LRC’s members – as well as special guests from Dorset County Council and the British Horse Society. The club wants to keep Dorset’s lanes open, and by showing that its members want to drive them responsibly – by offering to help with their maintenance and recording usage whenever they are driven – the DLRC has won the approval of the Rights of Way Department at DCC (with whom
all the reports and photographs are shared). The club hopes this will help secure the future of Dorset’s BOATs and UCRs. On Green Lanes Day in July, three small convoys set off from opposite corners of the county with the purpose of driving along and recording no fewer than forty lanes, and this was achieved. Once the reports have been sifted, hopefully the few lanes that are theoretically open, but which proved to be impassable, can be brought up to the required standard. The three routes converged on Ibberton Hill, where, just over a quarter of a century ago, the first meeting of the then Dorset Land Rover and Range Rover Owners Club was held. The perfect place to round the day off with a barbecue! The DLRC firmly believes that this proactive approach, involving all stakeholders and taking a multiagency approach, is the way forward in preserving Land Rover owners’ long-held right to drive in beautiful rural areas, but the members are also firmly aware that they have to show how responsible they can be. An example of this was the club’s
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self-imposed ban on green laning in the unusually wet weather at the start of the year – another stance that impressed the County Council’s Rights of Way officers. The DLRC hopes that the approach its members and officers are taking will be picked up by other clubs, helping to safeguard green lanes in these uncertain times. Rights of Way Officer Jim Welch said: ‘By working
with highways at county level, and with GLASS and other user groups, and by keeping records of legal use and reporting obstructions, we hope that we can show a positive side to our recreational driving.’ Green Lanes Officer Rob Elliott added: ‘We all enjoy green laning. And if we want to continue to do so we’ve got to take responsibility now, before it’s too late.’
Marsden leads home the Land Rovers at King of the Valleys
Jim Marsden finished second at King of the Valleys, the third round in the 2014 European Ultra4 series, in his hugely modified 90. The Team Gigglepin man, who earlier this year won King of the Glens by an enormous margin, consistently posted times within touching distance
of the winner, America’s Levi Shirley. But one bad run was to be his undoing, with a maximum time giving him too much to do. Marsden was, however, fastest on the final lap of the event – his reward being a move from third to second as France’s Sylvain Bessiere slipped up.
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Cruising in the Midlands All sorts of Landies converge on Worcestershire 2014 Midland Land Rover Run
Some clubs like to go off for green laning trips around the country. Others like to warm up their competitive muscles by hosting trials, comps, winch challenges and so on. Yet others, however, prefer simply to drive their Land Rovers from one place to another, showing them off to as many eyes on the way as possible. This was the exact aim of the Series III and 90-110 Owners Club recently, on its 2014 Midland Land Rover Run. This year’s parade saw a mixture of Series IIIs, 110s, Lightweights, Discoverys and Range Rovers descending upon a car park in Pershore, Worcestershire. The two dozen vehicles eventually rolled out on to the open road to showcase their wonderfulness. A wet start dissolved into a dry and warm
day, which perfect for a bit of cruising through the glorious UK countryside to Hartlebury Castle. The 31-mile journey crossed a couple of fords along the way, with front runners Frank and Marjorie King nipping ahead to take photos of the convoy. Although Frank asked his twin brother to meet them at a further point, photos can’t have been at the top of his agenda as he stayed at home and got some extra shut-eye instead! The job of leading the group had by now fallen to Dave and John Clarke. The day went without incident – apart from when the engine died in Dave’s Range Rover and he forgot that, being an automatic, it had to be in neutral to start up again! After the last vehicle had passed, Frank and Marjorie drove on towards
the next point of the route – during which, funnily enough, they got held up behind a convoy of Land Rovers… The clan eventually made it to Hartlebury Castle, even with a detour to miss the second and deeper ford. For some, that is. Others couldn’t resist plunging into the water and one six-cylinder LWB took a turn for the worse after having attempted to navigate it. A spray of WD40 was
reported to have fixed the issue very quickly nonetheless. ‘I enjoy the runs,’ said Frank, which is definitely the idea. Assuming it’s still the Land Rover Run he’s talking about, obviously. Next year’s event will be held in Derbyshire: if you’re up for getting involved, becoming part of the club by visiting www. thelandroverclub.co.uk would be the perfect way to start.
A new site for Bonkas4x4Wales – but still just as muddy as ever! Pretty much the opposite of a gentle day’s road run in the Midlands was Bonkas4x4Wales’ latest playday. This visited what was a new site for the club, near the Rose and Crown in Abertridwr – but though the venue might have been unfamiliar, the mud was anything but. Organised by Tony Vincent, who knows a thing or two about putting on a good do, the playday had everything you’d expect from a Welsh off-road site – in the club’s words, ‘rolling mountains, forests, beautiful views, sheep and MUD, lots of it.’ You can pretty much tell what the theme of the day was going to be, can’t you? Sure enough, the soft ground made life hard for even the most capable trucks from within the club’s ranks. Alex Duncan’s bobtail Disco, for example, was romping around – aided by dumper tyres and a welded-up rear diff – until finally the land got the better of him and he buried it up to its chassis. We’ll spare him the embarrassment of saying what he was recovered by… …except that it was Ross Miller’s Suzuki. Ooops. Not to worry, his Disco wasn’t the only big truck to come out on the end of Ross’ rope. Andrew Binding, meanwhile, went one better in his Range Rover by not just getting stuck but putting it all the way over on to its side.
Steven Casey, though, showed that you don’t need big mods to nail the wettest bits – just lots and lots of stickers. Another casualty was Josh Landeg’s 90, after he found a hole big enough to snap its front drivetrain. Lee and James teamed up to pull him out – via a trench Andrew had kindly dug earlier on in exactly the wrong place. That’s what you call teamwork, Bonkas-style…