The Landy September 2015

How this 1987 Range Rover came to look – and sound – like nothing else on the surface of the earth

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IN AT THE DEEP END Everyone in Britain wanted a NAS 90, but they all crossed the Atlantic.

Well, almost all… this one found a home in the Dunsfold Collection Full story: Page 30

Sourced in Belgium and brought back home to the UK, this Minerva just needed recommisioning. And it came complete with a special optional extra, too…

Full story: Page 22 Most people start off with something simple when they first get into Land Rovers.

A nice 88, perhaps, or an old Rangey without too many trick bits.

But Glen Hodgkinson started big. With a 101 as his first ever Landy, he started very big indeed…

Full story: Page 16

No-one really knows what to expect when they set out on an expedition.

Three years on, Neill and Julie Bird have just about worked it out…

Full story: Page 34

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

Land Rover unveils ‘Defender 2,000,000’ We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

Mike Trott

After 67 years of non-stop production, Land Rover has celebrated the building of its 2,000,000th Defender.

This epic milestone, arrived at by combining all Series and Defender production, was reached at the end of June as a bespoke 90 Station Wagon rolled off the Solihull production line The vehicle appeared in the shape of a one-off special, aptly named the Defender 2,000,000.

And this historical Land Rover could be yours – if you’ve got the cash to splash. Because in December this year, just as the production line is due to fall silent for the last time, it will be sold though auction at Bonhams.

All the proceeds from the sale will be shared among two of Land Rover’s longstanding charity partners. These are the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Born Free Foundation, whose work in the humanitarian and conservation fields is legendary.

Dr Ralf Speth, JLR Chief Executive, said: ‘Over 67 years, the Series Land Rover and in turn Defender has been the transport of choice for explorers, charity organisations, farmers and even royalty. Throughout history it has helped pioneers to reach the unreachable. What started life as an agricultural workhorse has transcended the automotive world to become a worldwide design icon. I was honoured to join the production line team in Solihull to

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original Land Rover first saw the light of day) engraved on the wing and the embossed into the leather seats.

There’s plenty of badging, inside and out, to let everyone know which number Defender this is, with the exterior also boasting Indus Silver satin paint and Santorini Black for the wheels, wheelarches, roof, door hinges, grille and mirror caps.

The driver’s seat plinth carries an aluminium plaque signed by all involved in the making of the Defender 2,000,000. And the registration, S90 HUE, is an instant recognisable reference to the first production Land Rover, HUE 166.

Above and below: Being as this is a Land Rover of significant meaning, the company hasn’t missed the opportunity to remind you of that while you’re in the cabin…

help build this unique vehicle. It was a special experience which will no doubt become a fond memory.

‘The auction of this milestone vehicle is an opportunity to own a piece of Land Rover’s history, as Defender enters its final phase of manufacturing in Solihull. Giving people the chance to buy this truly distinctive Defender to raise funds for the IFRC and Born Free Foundation is a suitable way to celebrate the role Defender has played in supporting our humanitarian aid and conservation partners.’

The Defender 2,000,000’s design was finalised after a group of lifelong De-

fender fanatics were invited to Solihull to express their input in creating this bespoke machine, at an event attended by the likes of Virginia McKenna OBE of the Born Free Foundation.

Since then, this special Defender has been showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and will go on to make several other ‘outings’ before being auctioned off on 16 December at the Bonhams auction house in New Bond Street, London.

The Defender 2,000,000 has numerous distinguishing features, including a map of Red Wharf Bay (part of the Isle of Anglesey near to where the

4GSF competition helps get late w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

Issue 19: Sept 2015

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father’s truck back on the road Mike Trott The winner of a competition run by GSF Car Parts has seen his late father’s Land Rover returned to the road – in time for the tenth anniversary of his father’s passing.

James Butler, a 33-year-old HGV driver from Banbury, was the lucky winner of the ‘Get Your Motor Running’ competition, launched by leading car components and consumables supplier GSF Car Parts.

James won £1500 worth of free parts and repairs, enabling him to get his father’s 1972 88-inch Series III back on the road, in time for the commemorative day.

‘It was my father that got me into Land Rovers,’ said James. ‘He had one identical to mine, cream with seven seats and the safari roof.

‘I’ve got really good memories of going on caravan holidays to France in the Land Rover. It was always an epic road trip, going down at 45-50mph all the way.’

The prize has helped James hugely in his project, with the 88 benefitting from new parts including front springs and outriggers, body mounts and a new fuel tank – as well as plenty of welding on the chassis and suspension, plus a full brake overhaul.

Classic car specialists Village Garage in Northamptonshire were the faces

behind the welding masks. ‘It was a long job list with lots of welding involved,’ said joint owner Mark Stokes.

‘But the end result is worth it.’

Now that this Landy is finally back on the road, you can be sure that James is going to be putting it to good use –

and not just for family vacations and car shows either.

‘As a volunteer for Northants 4x4 Response,’ he said, ‘I carry meals on wheels and drive district nurses to where they are needed during the winter months. So it will be great to

give my car a new lease of life for the next batch of snow!’

GSF Car Parts is a national network supplying a full range of car parts and accessories for all makes and models.

The competition James won, which was a joint venture between the firm’s Leicester, Leamington and Banbury stores, saw a total of £15,000 worth of prizes given away.

The GSF chain includes a total of 75 stores, with a Click and Collect service available for home delivery via its website at www.gsfcarparts.com. It also offers a trade counter service from Monday to Saturday – and, as James discovered, a lot more besides!

Above: James Butler (right) now has his late father’s Land Rover back on the road thanks to GSF Car Parts

Workshop

Clubs

Defender enters Hall of Fame The Defender and Discovery Sport have been praised in this year’s Auto Express Awards, with the former being the first vehicle welcomed into the Auto Express Hall of Fame.

As the lights dim on the Defender’s time in the spotlight, cue the special editions, one-off bespoke models and a raft of awards floating its way.

Auto Express has honoured the Defender with a ‘lifetime achievement’ award and given this 67-year-old piece of Land Rover heritage a spot in its Hall of Fame.

The Defender’s new brother, the Discovery Sport, was also given special recognition as it was named Best Compact SUV in the Auto Express New Car Awards.

Auto Express’ Editor-in-Chief Steve Fowler said: ‘We’re delighted that the Defender is the first car to ever be inducted into the Auto Express Hall of Fame. It’s a car that has enriched so many lives around the world for such a long period of time, but best of all, it’s an example of British engineering at its finest.

The first car launched back in 1948 was so clever and so right, that very little has changed between then and now – it’s an outstanding achievement and it’s still an outstanding vehicle today.’

Jaguar Land Rover’s engineering director, Nick Rogers, said: ‘It’s an honour to be accepting this award on behalf of everyone at Land Rover.

Defender has always been an inspiration for our future products, and we continue to pioneer in the same way our founders did.

‘Defender’s longevity is a reflection of its appeal as a global motoring icon having explored the world many times over, so the nameplate remains a key part of Land Rover’s future product strategy.’

Those last few words will be some form of comfort to Land Rover fans, despite the Defender going on a sabbatical once the year is out.

The Discovery Sport has been gathering its own accolades in its short lifespan, now adding Best Compact SUV to the collection.

‘The new holder of our Best Compact SUV title stands out as the very best in a hugely competitive market,’ said Fowler. ‘It has been cleverly conceived with SUV users in mind, so it does the family things brilliantly, is great to drive, has awesome off-road ability and plenty of tech on board. It’s also a super-stylish SUV, completing the appeal.’

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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ELRC gives thrust to Essex Air Ambulance Land Rover to recall 65,000 vehicles

From left: Penny Garwood, ELRC Treasurer; Theresa James, Essex Air Ambulance volunteer; ELRC Chairman Karl Reilly The Essex Land Rover Club has been busy raising money for the Essex Air Ambulance – and have now handed over a cheque to the organisation for a generous £2300.

Club members have been reeling in the donations through a number of different fundraising events, most commonly through their attendance at country shows throughout Essex, where they provide passenger rides in their Land Rovers.

This allows them to demonstrate the vehicles’ capabilities via custom-built

obstacles such as ramps and seesaws, in exchange for a donation towards their cause.

Combine this with the club’s raffles, Easter competitions and Christmas meal and they’ve managed to stack up a rather substantial figure for their county’s Air Ambulance service.

Club chairman Karl Reilly said: ‘We would like to thank Lookers Land Rover Chelmsford. Their sponsorship has enabled the club to get insurance cover for the public rides at events, making this fantastic donation possible.’

It’s not just the Essex Air Ambulance that benefits from this Land Rover club’s efforts either. The club supports a number of fundraisers around the county, including Race For Life events in Harlow, Brentford, Basildon, Chelmsford and Epping and a Parkinson’s Society walk also in Chelmsford.

Various cycle rides are run in aid of the J’s Hospice and Action Medical Research, too, while the club also helps out in the Essex Police charity 4x4 day, with members helping to marshal the events.

Over 65,000 vehicles are being recalled by Land Rover after the manufacturer identified an issue with door latches.

The fault affects Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models produced from 2013 on. The problem surrounds a software bug which affecting the operation of opening and closing the vehicle’s doors.

A spokesperson from Land Rover, said: ‘Land Rover is conducting a voluntary safety recall following the identification of an issue with the operation of the door latch on certain 2013-16MY Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles.

‘Land Rover has established that a software issue on these vehicles may lead to the doors being unlatched, with no warning of this on the dashboard.’

The spokesperson continued: ‘The modifications made to affected vehicles will be made free of charge and every effort will be made to minimise inconvenience to the customer during the short time required for the work to be carried out.’

Currently, there have been no reported incidents or accidents involving the software fault on the affected vehicles.

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Comment

I’m not sure how confident you can be that the 2,000,000th Defender to roll off the Solihull production line really was number two million. The figure includes Series models, so you could argue all day long about the presence of things like Lightweights, Stage Ones and IIA/IIB Forward Controls in the total.

That’s beside the point, however, unless you’re a sucker for a good story (and when Defender 2,000,000 is auctioned in December, we’ll see how much of one somebody is). What’s far more important is that in a world of relentless change, this simple old farm truck has endured. It’s changed far more than the spin game would have you believe, but when all’s said and done it’s still an off-road workhorse at heart, with all the same important bits at its heart as it ever had.

You could actually make a case for saying that the Defender has changed more in the last ten years than it did in the preceding half a century. Back in 1994, my first ever company car was a bog-standard 300Tdi 90 van: I climbed aboard this brand new machine with a feeling of wonderment, then drove home with a feeling of horror: I had to ensure three years of driving THIS? These days, I’d have had it easy. I’d have been sitting behind a dashboard, for starters. Depending on how rich my employers were feeling, I’d have had driving aids and even luxury kit to ease me on my way.

But the stuff beneath the floor would have been the same. Engine, gearbox, transfer case, live axles, ladder chassis… that’s the basic design that made the Defender great.

And it’s also the basic design that means people are able to restore them now, which is no small thing.

So anyway, having driven home wondering how I was going to get through three years of driving this loud, lurching shed on wheels, I proceeded to fall in love with it. So much so that I bought it when I left my job, kept it for years and, when the time came, cried actual tears to see it go. Just one of the two million, but I loved that truck. And nothing has ever been able to replace it.

Alan Kidd, Editor

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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Land Rovers will soon be reading your mind Gemma Pask Researchers for Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘Sixth Sense’ projects are working towards developing new road safety technology which would decrease the numbers of accidents on the roads through monitoring of the driver’s awareness, concentration, movement and health.

A selection of pioneering projects are in progress, including Mind Sense, which suggests that by monitoring a driver’s dominant brainwaves through the use of an on-board computer, a drop in focus could be identified.

Dr Wolfgang Epple, Jaguar Land Rover’s Director of Research and Technology, explained: ‘If brain activity indicates a daydream or poor concentration, then the steering wheel or pedals could vibrate to raise the driver’s awareness and re-engage them with driving.’

Another idea is the Wellness Seat, a medical-grade sensor embedded into the seat which monitors the driver’s well-being and stress levels in order to detect issues which could distract or incapacitate the driver.

Dr Epple said: ‘As we develop more autonomous driving technologies, there will be instances when the autonomous car needs to hand control back to the driver. To do this safely the car will need to know if the driver is alert and well enough to take over. So our research team is looking at the potential for a range of driver monitoring technologies to give the car enough information to support this decision.’

As JLR develop elements such as the touch-activated infotainment screen, safety is at the forefront. Researchers are looking into technologies which would analyse the driver’s hand movements mid-air to predict which button is about to be pressed, in order to reduce the time spent looking at the screen and away from the road.

‘Our research is looking at how we could take a current infotainment screen and increase the speed and efficiency of the interaction to minimise the time the driver’s eyes are away from the road and their hand is off the steering wheel,’ said Dr Epple.

Finally, JLR’s research team is exploring a haptic accelerator pedal, which would alert the driver to haz-

ards by means of vibrations or pulses passed through the foot. This technology could warn the driver if he/she is breaking the speed limit, or of the proximity to a vehicle in front when crawling through traffic.

Dr Epple explained: ‘With our haptic pedals research we are investigating non-visual ways to communicate which would enable the driver to make smarter and faster decisions and reduce the potential for accidents.’

This cutting-edge research, which utilises technology already employed in the fields of aerospace, sports and medicine, to enrich the driving experience as well as increasing safety on our roads.

Les Ratcliffe, JLR’s Head of Community Relations, said: ‘We’re delighted to host the first ever world finals in Coventry, UK, close to Jaguar Land Rover’s headquarters, and show the students around our Solihull plant during the programme. Huge congratulations to Vertical Horizon for winning the inaugural Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge World Final.

‘Launching the hugely successful Land Rover 4x4 in Schools competition globally will help us engage two million young people in our education programme by 2020 and will intro-

duce even more young people to the exciting world of engineering. Students have built skills, experiences, friendships and memories during the three day programme which will stay with them throughout their lives.’

On winning the contest, Land Rover presented the Vertical Horizon team with the Arkwright scholarship, a £1000 scholarship for Harper Adams University and the glittering Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology World Challenge trophy. They also took the honours for Best Engineered Vehicle and Best Verbal Presentation.

Worcester students win LR challenge A new global education challenge, set up by Land Rover, has been won by students from The Kings School in Worcester.

The Ricoh Arena in Coventry hosted the event, which saw a group of 16 year-olds crowned Land Rover 4x4 in Schools World Champions.

Over several months, teams have been designing and constructing their very own remote-controlled 4x4 vehi-

cles to tackle a number of demanding off-road tracks as part of the challenge.

The team from Worcester had to compete on a regional and national level before coming together with national champions from the likes of Australia, United Arab Emirates and Brazil, to compete in the first ever World Final.

Team Vertical Horizon impressed judges during their admirable driving

challenge on the test track that saw their vehicle take on a rope bridge, water dip and rock crawl, while negotiating through and around a (real)Range Rover.

Launched in the UK in 2007, the Land Rover 4x4 in Schools Technology Challenge has reached over 100,000 young people since its inception, with the Challenge being rolled out on an international scale to fifteen countries around the globe.

Vertical Horizon’s team manager Ben Weaver commented: ‘I’m delighted we won, it’s beyond anything we dreamed of. I think we were successful thanks to 1,000 hours of hard graft, team work and perseverance as well as attention to detail. We also developed a unique suspension and focused on quality craftsmanship, engineering and design throughout the project.

As a result of the Challenge, we are all now inspired to become engineers.

It’s been a great experience and we proved that if you put the effort in, you can succeed.’

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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Defender set to survive into 2016 Mike Trott

Reports have emerged that Land Rover is planning to continue the production of its legendary icon, the Defender, into 2016.

Earlier this year, Land Rover had announced a year-long celebration for the Defender, with production previously scheduled to conclude in December 2015.

The Solihull firm even launched three special limited edition Defenders back in January as part of one last hurrah for the legendary Land Rover, following 67 years of production in various guises.

However, it now looks as though the UK’s largest car manufacturer has been forced to extend production beyond the end of the year – in response to unexpected demand for new vehicles as people scramble to get one last slice of the real deal.

A Land Rover employee based at the Lode Lane facility, as reported in the Birmingham Post, said: ‘It (Defender production) is going to be extended until at least the end of February.

‘We have had a glut of orders and are going on until then. Although I’ve

been told that February is the definite cut-off date, someone else has said it could possibly go on until April.’

The Defender is being forced out of existence by ever-more restrictive legislation handed down by Europe, with the cut-off date of December 2015 being imposed by new emissions limits coming in to force at the end of this year. However, production is allowed to continue in response to orders received while the previous regulations are in place – so, while the production lines will continue to roll into 2016, you won’t be able to buy one by then.

We asked Land Rover to a comment on these reports, and received official confirmation from the company that production will continue into 2016 – albeit only briefly: ‘Defender production in Solihull is now entering its final phase. We have not confirmed an end date for UK production, however we do not expect this to continue past the end of January 2016.’

It’s also understood that Defender production will continue outside the EU for some time after the end of 2015. The best way to get a new one will remain, however, to place your order before the end of this year.

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NEXT MONTH

Wacky Wagon: The story of Matt Manders’ Series II LWB – where those last three letters stand for Long Wonderful Bonnet. This is no average Landy…

PLUS

It may be pink, and it may have been christened, Fanny, but this Defender shows why it’s not diamonds that make for a girl’s best friend any more

These babies are getting harder than ever to come by now – so it’s nice to see this early 80” fall into the hands of the Land Rover Centre Huddersfield, so they can do what they do best with it

NEXT MONTH’S LANDY IS PUBLISHED ON 31 August You can pick up your copy of our October 2015 issue from

newsagents or Britpart dealers – or read it 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, Gary Noskill, Paul Looe, Mark Bailey Photographers Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm, Neill and Julie Bird

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

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nearest Britpart dealer can be found at www.britpart.com

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Can hydrogen make your life cheaper?

GETTING LAND ROVERS’ engines to use less fuel is the modern equivalent of turning base metals into gold.

Everyone wants to work out how to do it, people are convinced that cracking the secret will make them rich and, as it turns out, the best answer normally turns out to be to just buy some gold (otherwise known as a newer Land Rover) in the first place.

To put it another way, making Land Rovers’ engines use less fuel is something Land Rover is very good at – just take a look at what a modern Discovery or Range Rover gives you compared to one from 20-odd years ago. But among all the potions, additives, magnets, gadgets and trick ancillaries that have been wheeled out promising to make your Landy sip fuel like a supermini, precious few have ever produced the results to back up their extravagant claims.

One thing they’ve all got in common is that the moment they raise their head above the parapet, all new fuel-saving technologies get instantly rubbished by know-nothing forum jockeys acting clever to impress their adolescent friends. We, however, being professionals, have always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt.

‘Be sceptical but not cynical,’ as any good journalism school should tell its students and no doubt so would ours if we’d ever been to one.

Anyway, that’s why the eyebrow we raised when 4Most 4x4 told us about its new HHO fuel cell kits was interested, not jaundiced. Produced

by Eco H2Go of Kidderminster, this is based on a system that company has been selling into the commercial vehicle market for a while, and 4Most 4x4 has been appointed its sole dealer for all 4x4 applications.

Put simply, the system works by feeding hydrogen into the vehicle’s air intake, in effect boosting the octane level of the fuel. The result is a much cleaner, more efficient burn, allowing the engine to do its work while using less fuel.

This is good news for your pocket, obviously, and also for the quality of the air in the immediate vicinity of your truck. The waste gases coming out of your exhaust will be cooler and very significantly cleaner, if the proponents of HHO are to be believed – we’ve seen pictures of a clean cloth placed over a vehicle’s exhaust pipe before and after a system was fitted, and what was black with thick soot has become as good as unmarked. Again, be sceptical, but Mike Foster of 4Most 4x4 says he was too – but that’s he’s managed to replicate that test since fitting a kit on his Discovery.

HHO, by the way, stands for oxyhydrogen. This is a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gases which is used as a fuel in, for example, gas torches and NASA rockets. Lively stuff, then. In the Eco H2Go fuel cell it’s created by combining potassium hydroxide and de-ionised water, neither of which needs to be topped up at anything more than occasional intervals. The system can be switched on and off while the engine is running, and Mike told us that the effect on his Discovery’s 194,000-mile TD5 engine was immediately obvious, running more smoothly the moment the button was pressed. It also appeared more responsive, he told us, though it needs to be stressed that these are just initial impressions with the vehicle on a rolling road.

The HHO kit is new to the 4Most 4x4 line-up of products and is only just undergoing testing now. The company’s own Discovery is the first vehicle they’ve fitted with one, and Mike stresses that he’s approaching it with an open mind.

Be as sceptical about that as you need to be, given that his company is selling the things, but don’t be put off be your own or anyone else’s cynicism.

A common criticism you’ll hear coming from nay-sayers is that on vehicles which (unlike this Discovery) have an O2 sensor in their exhaust, the ECU will interpret the cleaner emissions

New life for old bulkheads You know that old joke about manmade objects that are visible from the moon? Well, the light coming through the holes in an old Defender’s bulkhead aren’t man made, strictly speaking, but you get the idea.

Anyway, almost everyone who’s owned an old 90 or 110 has had to face the truth at some point. These things rust. Oh, how they rust. You’re that much more likely to have to deal with the fact, too, because while galvanised chassis are pretty common nowadays you’re far less likely to see a bulkhead that’s been given the treatment.

Leave it long enough and the only answer will be to fit a whole new bulkhead, but if you’ve caught it in time Britpart’s new repair panels might save the day. These are handed, obviously enough, with separate parts

with the hydrogen cell running as a symptom of diesel starvation, and respond by brutally over-fuelling the engine – not exactly the result you were going for. As Mike says, though, while this is plausible you just need to talk to the vehicle and tell it to calm down.

Commercial vehicles fitted with the system have thrown codes pointing to a blocked particulate filter when it’s switched on – the answer is simply to plug in Autologic and reassure it that nothing’s wrong.

Interestingly, manufacturers of similar systems in the Philippines (where, Mike told us, this one’s designer got his inspiration) say that after a period of weeks with a cell, engines will run with much lower emissions – even with the HHO system switched off.

The conclusion is that the hydrogen is conditioning the engine by burning off the carbon deposits inside it.

The Filipino manufacturer claims up to an 82.1% improvement in fuel economy, and that this figure is the result of testing by the DOST (the local equivalent of the DfT). That’s an eye-opener, but we’re more given to believe the same company’s report that a 200Tdi Discovery saw economy climb from 25 to 30mpg.

That alone is an improvement you’d be happy with, though with a kit costing £550 plus VAT delivered or around £660 including VAT installed,

numbers for nearside and offside units. Whichever you need, expect to pay around £35 plus the VAT. Not too expensive, then – which is good, because chances are you’ll need both… www.britpart.com

you do need to cover a few miles for it to pay for itself. Factor in the smoother running, along with cleaner emissions and longer engine life and, if all the claims made for this technology are sound, you’ve got a very tidy package of benefits indeed.

For now, 4Most 4x4 is still testing its Discovery and has promised that once it has obtained some data, the facts and figures will be made available whatever

they say. We’ll be reporting on these as soon as they’re available.

It’s easy to be a know-all about technologies like these, but if there’s a chance that the Eco H2Go system does what is says it can you’d be a fool not to keen an open mind about it. As Mike says, ‘you’ve got to experience it before you rubbish it.’ Whatever his company’s involvement, those are wise words. www.4most4x4.com

Britpart dealers are now selling Land Rover’s own manuals for the 19992006 Defender TD5. Two volumes are available, ‘Workshop’ and ‘Electrical’ – buying both is unlikely to leave you any change out of a hundred quid once the VAT’s added on, but if you’ve already got the spanners and want to know how to use them that investment will have paid for

itself before the day’s out. www.britpart.com

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Colourful spanners to brighten up your workshop…

You know those ‘why didn’t anybody think of that before?’ moments you sometimes have in life? Well, this is a story about multi-coloured spanners.

It’s possible that there may be a reason why spanners have always been the colour of… well, spanners. And it’s very, very hard not to snigger when you clap your eyes on one of Sealey’s Multi-Coloured Combination Spanner Sets, which assault your senses with more hues than the rainbow. But actually, once you’ve got past the fear of what your mates will say when you show up to work toting one of these under your arm, what you’re looking at here could actually make a good bit of sense.

After all, how often have you been lying under your Land Rover with three or four spanners on the go at once and no way of knowing if you’ve just picked up the right one? If one size is yellow, another’s red and still another is blue, life will get easier.

And prettier, too. Which is nice.

There are two sets in the range, each of them containing 12 pieces in a dozen different colours. Your choice is between combo and ratchet spanners – in each case, your spanners are made from hardened, tempered chrome vanadium steel finished with a chrome plated finish. They might not be the sharpest tools in the box, but they’ll certainly be the brightest.

Both sets come with a lifetime warranty, and as always seems to be the case with tools they’re currently available as part of a promotion.

Sealey’s summer promotion, to be precise, which sees the S01074 Combination Set drop to £41.94 from £59.94 while the S01075 Ratchet Set comes down from £119.94 to £71.94.

These prices include VAT in each case. www.sealey.co.uk

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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Under-seat storage for Defenders Most Land Rover owners rank practicality among the important things they look for in a vehicle.

Trucks like the Discovery have incredible amounts of practicality built in, but even after all these years the Defender is still basically a box on wheels – making it a true blank canvas on which an enterprising owner can work his magic.

That’s just what Garrison Outfitters have done, by providing a neat solution for storing the sort of little items you’d normally throw in the glovebox or ram down into the door pockets.

Garrison’s Under Seat Storage Cases are designed with Defender seat bases in mind. These durable semi-hardshell holders sit tucked out of sight and provide you with a useful area in which

to keep basic first aid items, emergency tools or those bits and pieces that are just too big for your pockets.

There are two different models available. The XD features a rubberised shell, while the SE has a 600-denier polyester exterior. Both use YKK zippers and have a luggage capacity of just over 1.5 litres.

Made in the USA, the cases are suitable for all Defender and 90/110/130 models from 1984 on. As if to prove the point, they’re also supplied complete with a lifetime guarantee.

A mesh pocket gives you somewhere for your maps and guidebooks, while the case itself can be installed under your seat in a matter of minutes,

needing no tools but just the fasteners and straps provided. The XD case is priced at around £70, while the SE costs approximately £50. www.garrisonoutfitters.com

New from Exmoor Trim – floor mats for 80” Series Is Floor mats and Series I Land Rovers go together like Godzilla and ballroom dancing, you might assume. But Exmoor Trim has just launched a set of mats designed for exactly that vehicle, and they’ve done it with the help of no less a luminary than Roger Crathorne, Mr Land Rover himself.

Exmoor’s 80” Floor Mats are suitable for all 80” models produced between 1948 and 1953. They include the classic Land Rover logo and need only a few simple steps to prepare for installation – these depend on whether your vehicle is left or right-hand drive, and whether it has the early chain-pull mechanism for the locking centre diff.

Priced at £31.50 plus VAT, these mats could certainly add a very useful element of practicality – while at the same time deadening a little of the noise you get coming through the floor of any Series I. Anything that makes driving your old classic better has got to be good – so that’s just what they are. www.exmoortrim.co.uk

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Header tank that’s cool in every sense

There’s nothing quite like a bit of polished aluminium to light things up in a Land Rover’s engine bay.

Obviously, though, it only counts if it also has a function. But that’s fine, because Britpart is now carrying an ally header tank for the Defender TD5 and TDCi. A direct replacement for the plastic original, which has been known to split (and looks about as exciting as a lettuce sandwich), this is made from high-grade lightweight alloy and TIG-welded by hand. It’s designed with an integral mount making it a straight fit, with no mods required, and uses the pressure release screw cap from the original.

Britpart says the tank is ideal for motorsport or overland use – we’d add hardcore playday fun and prolonged laning to the list, too. And of course, it looks cool. A few quid over the ton with the VAT included if you shop around – you’ll have paid more to get less in life. www.britpart.com

Rebuilding a gearbox? Good luck. If you’re ready to try your hand at one of the jobs most likely to make a DIY spanner man run a mile, Britpart’s Gearbox Bearing Kits mean that at least the money shouldn’t be what breaks your heart. They’re available for the Series IIA and III, plus three incarnations of the LT77 and two of the R380, priced from not much more than a tenner to not much less than a ton. www.britpart.com

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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A Beast of Beauty ‘i have a smile on my face every time i drive it’

Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

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e live in an era that embraces the big, bold and brash.

Look at our architecture: we want the tallest, largest and most expensive buildings possible. The smartphones that each and every one of us now carries around in our pocket has gone from being a battle between Japanese technology firms trying to make the smallest device imaginable, to iPhones and Samsung Galaxys competing to be the first to burst the seams of your trousers.

Is that a banana in your pocket? No, it’s just a phone the size of my house.

We want bigger TVs, bigger salaries and, once unthinkable, society is now even telling women that the bigger derrière is in fashion. Even

Bigger isn’t always better: but more often than not, it is. And being big is in fashion at the moment – whether it’s smartphones or the size of your behind.

So Glen Hodgkinson took on one of the biggest trucks of them all – as his first Land Rover!

Land Rovers, which were already large vehicles as a rule, have become more fashionable in recent years thanks to aftermarket companies (and Solihull itself) fitting them with alloys so large they can be seen from space. Or they could be, if only there wasn’t a bodykit the size of Hadrian’s Wall obstructing your view.

Some Land Rovers are bigger still, however. And when you see them coming down the road towards you, small, insignificant Euro boxes will scarper to the undergrowth.

A Land Rover 101 Forward Control is a pretty big chunk of metal, for example. And the one in these pictures is one that Glen Hodgkinson is particularly proud of. In fact, this 101 is the first ever Land Rover that Glen

bought. Nothing like jumping in at the deep end!

We should probably reveal that Glen has owned this goliath for over 12 years now, so it’s not like he’s still getting to know the thing. But, even so, to get this Landy to where it is today, Glen has needed the time.

‘It wasn’t in the best condition when I bought it, but was okay. The previous owner was a farmer and it had been used for carrying a lot of stone around for walls up in Yorkshire,’ explains Glen. ‘That’s why it has lots of chequer plating in the back, so they could just lob the stuff in.

‘There was a bit of rust underneath,’ he recalls. ‘It had a 3.5 V8 from an old Range Rover in it at the time, had an LPG system that had been badly

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 installed and the wiring loom was shot.

Apart from that – great!’

In the long run, it didn’t matter.

Glen drove the 101 back from the seller in Settle, got it safely to its new home and set about stripping it down for its rebuild. Over the course of the next two and a half years, the 101 started to take shape, first with Glen sorting out the rust and giving the beast a new rear crossmember, before it received a brand new bespoke wiring loom which now runs through relays.

Add to that the alarm, two immobilisers, a new hood and a fresh paint job to replace the old army livery, and soon Glen and the 101 were ready to start spending time together off the driveway and on the highways – and byways – of Britain.

‘I’ve brush painted it because I expect it to get damaged,’ exclaims Glen.

‘It’s a Land Rover, not a Lamborghini!’

He’s got a point, but he’s also got a 101 and he’s not afraid to use it. Glen is a member of the Loughborough Land Rover Club and happily goes laning in the 101, even if it does attract a few branches along the way.

There’s something else you should know about Glen – other than the fact he has a big blue Land Rover. He knew 12 years ago that big would be the ‘in’ thing – because, for a while, Glen served in the Territorial Army.

‘I got to drive some 101s during my time in the TA and I decided I wanted one once they were demobbed in the mid ‘90s. This one was a GS (General Service) model and previously a lefthand drive version until I swapped it over,’ he says.

Another piece of information we should disclose is that at the heart of this brute lays not a 3.5-litre V8, but a 3.9-litre V8 which, according to Glen, puts out around 220bhp.

To be fair, I don’t doubt him – it might be big, but this truck shifts. And when you’re sat in the cabin and Glen opens up the throat of the V8, the sound resonates through the loadspace off the chequered plating and can only be described as being like a Range Continued overleaf The 101’s original 9.00x16 tyres set it apart from everyday Land Rovers; these Cooper STTs are altogether more modern and do the job on the lanes. The hub step is an iconic part of the 101’s design

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Above and right: You can tell Glen is a fan of blue, because even peeping through one of the engine access points in the wheelarches reveals that familiar shade. The heart of this beast ticks away to the sound of a 3.9-litre V8 – giving Glen over 200 horses to unleash

‘It’s big, in your face and thirsty, but great fun’

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Rover on steroids… that’s decided to take up opera singing.

‘I started putting the 3.9-litre in just over two years ago and finished the job in February this year,’ says Glen. ‘It was the completion of its second rebuild, if you like.

‘The old 3.5 wasn’t passing its MOT anymore and a friend of mine, Stuart Armson, who runs Rocket Sled Tuning, provided the new engine and did most of the engine fettling, and in return I went to a few shows with him and promoted his handiwork.’

A lot of the grafting went into working out how to shift as much of the torque down into the bottom end and middle of the rev range. Judging

by Glen’s face when he steps on the gas, the objective would appear to have been achieved.

‘I’m really happy because I’ve got a brilliant engine from it at a bit of a bargain price! This 101, it’s quite special – I’m very lucky. These days I’ll just take it out because it puts a smile on my face.

‘It’s not practical, not sensible… but it’s great!’

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Apart from a few alterations – and that engine – Glen’s 101 remains a fairly original piece of kit. The few changes he’s made, such as the Cooper tyres, the location of the spare wheel, the lockers and the installation of an overdrive, have all made the vehicle a little easier to live with and more capable when laning.

Glen won’t be putting power steering on this giant, though, as he feels it would taint the driving experience.

‘It does breathe quite well,’ he chuckles. ‘Obviously, the 101 is quite a thirsty beast. It’s big, in your face and thirsty, but great fun. I love the V8 sound that follows you everywhere.

The sound is quite a nice, mellow bellow and I just find myself having a smile on my face every time I drive it.

‘There’s no monetary value I could put on this 101 anymore.’

The idea of taking on the challenge of a 101 as your first Land Rover might sound daunting. But as Glen demonstrates, without a big risk you don’t get big rewards.

As they say there days… Go big – or go home.

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A Sound Classic Issue 19: Sept 2015

Defenders have become pretty flashy at times over the last few years.

But here is a Range Rover that proves its brother isn’t the only one that can boast a smart new look. And this particular Rangey has got something else hiding in its boot, too – worth over £3k

Words Mike Trott Pictures Dan Wastnage

P Above: This Range Rover Classic was built in 1987 and at this time the 3.5-litre Rover V8 was still being utilised. Although, by the late Eighties these engines had gained fuel injection from Lucas, such as the one we have here

utting ridiculously large stereo systems into the rear loadspace of your vehicle and accompanying them with subwoofers is something that is usually carried out by youths who spend their evenings looking ridiculous at fast food restaurants.

These vehicles are often crummy little hatchbacks that have seen their wheels rotated far more than they appreciate, and in a previous life were owned by the youth’s doting grandmother who passed them on with the idea it would allow the apple of her eye to transport him/herself into being a respected member of society.

The respect, however, is not so forthcoming when these Vauxhall Corsas, Citroen Saxos and other small boxes of metal become lowered and painted in

such disgusting colours that it makes the underside of a McDonald’s bin look inviting.

Happily, we Land Rover enthusiasts have more taste. And when we set out to do a job, we don’t go off half-cocked like some soon-to-be delinquent.

Nevertheless, customising is something for which you’d put the Defender’s name down first, based on the market at the moment for lavish interior enhancements and more glossy and flash exteriors, whereas a Range Rover Classic remains usually one of two things: either a carefully restored throwback to the 70s when the two-door Rangey first displayed how an off-road vehicle could deliver style and luxury for the people inside, or a hugely modified four-door version that often gets transformed into a playday toy.

The idea of ‘flashiness’ on a Range Rover would normally lead you to

think about the top-spec new Range Rovers that dealers ask over six figures for. We at The Landy, however, have found an exception to the rule.

Here we have a Range Rover that clearly looks a little different to ordinary, and things get even weirder by Land Rover standards when you move round to the rear of the vehicle and take a look inside.

Three grand spent on a 1987 Range Rover would normally be put towards a new chassis and/or giant amounts of welding to the sills, arches, floor and so on. Or, indeed, just giving up in despair and buying a whole new Range Rover altogether!

But opening up that split tailgate reveals a different kind of purchase.

Sitting there right before you is £3k’s worth of what was (probably) the best stereo around in 1985.

It’s a lot of money on a system that now looks like it has the same techni-

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Above: A 28-year-old Range Rover that was ahead of its time, having TV screens in the front seat headrests. And a vehicle that has been very well kept, judging by the lack of creases in those seats Left: This stereo system may be from a different era, and looks substantially more archaic than an iPod dock, but it still cost the previous owner around £3000. Ideal for your summer cruise… cal brilliance as a cassette player. But this hasn’t been the only area of the Range Rover to see some cash sprayed upon it.

By now you may have noticed that the bodywork is in rather admirable condition, although it’s not just a carefully applied lick of paint that’s made it look a touch more… muscular.

‘It was previously owned by a body specialist who created a one-off body kit for it,’ reveals Dan Wastnage, the current owner of this entirely unique Range Rover.

Those wheelarches were handcrafted by the previous owner and are just one of the areas of detail on the vehicle that hints at how much time was spent on it during the car’s lifespan.

‘It’s been in my possession since February this year,’ continues Dan. ‘For me it was a bit of a no-brainer to buy this Range Rover. The amount of work, and the quality of the work on this vehicle, is excellent. There’s obviously been a lot of time and energy spent on it.’

This metallic dark blue Range Rover is one of the later four-door models, Thanks for providing the photos of this unique Range Rover to its owner Dan, who also runs Creeksea Classics.

Dan and his company focus on the restoration of classic vehicles, among which two-door Range Rover Classics regularly appear. If you’d like to own this four-door Classic or want to keep an eye out for their latest projects, pay a visit to www.creekseaclassics.com

but not so late that it came equipped with the 3.9-litre V8. Beneath the expanse of that blue bonnet lies a 3.5-litre V8. But it’s one of the engines produced after 1986, which means this piece of eye candy boasts Lucas electronic fuel injection.

‘The engine is lovely – it starts on the button every time,’ says Dan truthfully. ‘Underneath the Classic is really good, it has none of the usual Range Rover rust!’

I would imagine that the only rust about this Range Rover might be the sort of tunes that must once have issued from within that remarkable stereo system. But, to be honest, who doesn’t relish listening to a good ol’ classic every now and again?

Taking this Classic out on the odd occasion is exactly what Dan does, as he claims to only really use it on those sunny days where going for a cruise is the perfect scenario in which to open up a favourite playlist from yesteryear.

And in order to give this Rangey the ‘feel good’ factor as much as Dan experiences, the vehicle has been given

some mechanical attention to get it going as well as it looks.

‘I’ve had it all serviced and the vehicle has been given a new throttle body so it’s running really nice at present,’ claims Dan. ‘The suspension has been lowered slightly as before it was running just a little too high. The new standard springs have helped put it back to a silky-smooth ride.

‘It’s quite the eye-opener, this Range Rover,’ he adds, and again you can’t argue. ‘The body kit and wheelarches have made it look right – not horrible.

It’s been modified rather tastefully.’

This is a Range Rover that doesn’t conform to all the generic chart music that simpletons think everyone should listen to. Instead, this Classic is happy playing to the tune of its own genre and laughing in the face of the ordinary.

It’s also a Range Rover that impresses on the eye as well as the ear. And maybe, just maybe, it gives a defiant two fingers to its brother, the Defender, in showing that Land Rover doesn’t just make one model that can get away with being the peacock of the zoo.

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Belgian Souvenir

Words Mike Trott Pictures Mike Trott and Peter Wales

Seeing this Belgian beauty for the first time while rain trickled on to Peter Wales’ head could have got these two off on the wrong foot. But when Peter realised just how much more life this Minerva had to lead, he soon gave it a passport home…

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elgium is known for many things: chocolate, for example, and strong beer. And its capital, Brussels, is the HQ for that group of weathered politicos that seems to be constantly in the news – the European Union.

I’m sure some of you will know that it was partly down to Britain’s loyalty to Belgium that our nation joined World War I back in 1914, thanks to the Treaty of London of 1839. And it was after the other World War, in 1951, that Britain stepped in to save their bacon (or beer) once more.

At that time, the Societe Nouvelle Minerva SA was finding its feet again, having been a luxury car maker before

WWII began – at which point fancy four-wheeled motors had taken a back seat to the need for bullets, guns and military vehicles.

To cut a long story short, Minerva wasn’t particularly flush in the early 1950s. Rover, however, was looking to increase its export options for the now successful Land Rover.

So, a deal was done between the two where Rover would supply completely knocked down (CKD) chassis and other parts to government-backed Minerva company, and the Belgian Armed Forces would have the light military 4x4 they were after.

Several thousand of these Minerva vehicles were produced, mainly to

carry out the same sort of simple military duties Britain’s Series Is were used for in the post-war era.

Some, however, must not have seen very much action at all. Instead, they fell into disuse and were rendered surplus to requirements, left to gather dust as their brothers and sisters continued in their place.

Peter Wales often finds himself over on the continent, partly because he is the organiser of the annual Land Rover Charity Run, which takes place every June. Earlier this year, though, one of his trips to Belgium became a little more memorable than most.

Minervas were only produced for a few short years, yet in January at the

All the numbers match up on this Minerva, with corresponding military codes on the spare wheel, bonnet and even jerry cans for fuel

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We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk start of 2015, a 1952 example clocking less than 15,000 miles stood before Peter in the wintry rain.

It must have been quite a moment for Peter. Though it wasn’t exactly love at first sight if you listen to his tales.

‘The thing hadn’t run for ten to fifteen years and I wasn’t that sure initially,’ reveals Peter. ‘The battery was flat so we had to jump start it, the indicators and lights needed work, the fuel was stale and it was running like an absolute pig!’

Sounds like Peter was ready to walk away, doesn’t it? And you’d struggle to blame him. But then the little voice in his head must have reminded him that the dial still sat on only 15,000 miles.

The fact that this Minerva came complete with an authentic Bantam trailer can’t have done any harm, either. Anyway, eventually, the pendulum swung and now Peter claims that it’s probably the best money he’s spent this year. Having said that, however much he invests in beers for his mechanic, Jeff, is money well spent too.

Together they brought this 63-yearold relic back to its original roots here in the UK. And with a touch of TLC and a few hours of their time, Peter

and Jeff have managed to transform this spluttering, croaky old truck into a peppy and pristine show vehicle.

‘It’s had a full service and been recommissioned, with a new condenser, coil and replaced carburettor, but we haven’t touched the brakes at all,’ continues Peter. ‘It really is running so sweet now. The clutch is a bit fiery, but I know that will loosen up with time.’

The 2.0-litre petrol engine really does make its pistons dance on the bonnet and it sings along country lanes with that Bantam trailer in tow, like a bee buzzing around its hive while making sweet honey.

While the Minerva may have shared the engine and 80-inch wheelbase with the Series I, there were some major differences that set these cousins apart.

Firstly, all Minervas were left-hand drive, as you would expect for the Belgian market, which gives this estranged Landy its continental pedigree.

More crucial, however, is the difference in the bodywork. While Land Rover is famed for its used of aluminium, the Minerva’s panels were made entirely from steel. There are more Continued overleaf

Above: 22,000 kilometres showing on a 63 year old vehicle – that equates to about 220 miles a year!

Left: Decals are hand-painted, layer by layer, to the extent that you can feel the height difference with your fingers. The signs also make reference to where the vehicle was stationed and what the region is potentially famed for

The 2.0-litre petrol engine was taken from the Series I, but the red block colour-codes this one as have been destined for a Minerva

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A perfect picture straight from the Belgian countryside. This photo was captured by Peter the day he picked up his new show and tell vehicle! Peter’s friend, Yves, sourced the Minerva for him – this is near to Yves’ house on that memorable day noticeable alterations at the front, too, with the wings angled diagonally either side of that almost familiar grille. No Land Rover badge here, but you don’t need to know much about vehicles to be able to see the family resemblance.

The alternate front end isn’t the only place full of detail. There are flashes of red about the exterior on the wheel hubs and engine block to indicate in which nation this machine was actually put together.

Military numbers and even special decals on the side denote where this particular Minerva may have been used. Those decals are hand-painted layer by layer – something you can confirm as you run your fingers over the ripples in the bodywork.

Even the jerry cans located on the rear have unique serial numbers with which to match the vehicle, and that

Bantam trailer adds a nice accompaniment to the truck. In reality, it must have had a major part to play in sealing the deal.

‘I was looking for one of these when I came across this Minerva,’ says Peter.

‘It just so happens I seem to have come up with one of the best ones out there!’

‘This will be my main show vehicle from now on. It’s something a bit different and such good fun to drive. I’ve got my own business so I spend most of the week working, but then I have this waiting for me at the weekend.

‘It’s a hobby and interest, and gives you another circle of friends too.’

Don’t be surprised if you see Peter adding to his collection over the next few years – he’s already got a 1952 80” Series I and 1959 Series II within his classic repertoire and clearly has an eye for the older machine.

As for the Minerva, it will always have a special place within Peter, knowing this is a vehicle that comes with a lot of history and not just four wheels and a steering wheel. It is a reminder of bygone times and how British engineering used to wow the world with its inventions and ideas, so much so that every military force around the world craved the genius of Maurice Wilks.

Yes, it may look a little different, and the builders of this vehicle may have spoken in a different tongue, but its heritage and roots stretch back to the same grain of sand that the original Land Rover was conceived upon. And for that reason, the Minerva is more than just a curiosity. It’s an important piece of Land Rover’s history – and a fine example what was created on the back of that brilliant, British idea.

Peter was looking for a Minerva, and also for a Bantam trailer. What he found was a Minerva on low miles and one of the best trailers out there. So naturally he stood in the rain and thought long and hard about it before deciding to take the plunge

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

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A Bedder Disco

Sometimes, having any old Discovery on your drive just won’t allow you sleep easily at night.

We all know the dangers of window-shopping on eBay and where it can lead you‌ Fortunately, the owner of this Discovery ended up with the different Discovery he was after, and a bed, all in one neat package

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We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

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ost of us enjoy a good sleep and, ideally, a bed would be the best place to carry out this daily necessity of relaxation. The thing is, though, that sometimes people take the need for a bed too far. I mean Andy Ivins, for example, likes beds so much that he bought a Land Rover with one on the back… even if it is a bit hard and flat!

Okay, so it isn’t the latest model from Dreams strapped to the back of his Discovery. But having a flatbed instead opens up your options as to what you can do with a machine like this.

‘It’s a 200Tdi Discovery 1 with a flat bed on the back – or as they like to say in Australia, a ute,’ says Andy. ‘I’ve had this Land Rover for around two

years now –it’s one of numerous Discoverys and Land Rovers I’ve owned over the years.’

Yes, yes, we’ve all seen plenty of modded Disco 1s in our time, most of which have now either disappeared or are looking a little worse for wear and could do with a bit of beauty sleep themselves, to be honest.

Andy’s flatbed, however, is a different story – mainly because this Disco is just so different.

‘I was pulled over by the police before while driving this as they were carrying out red diesel dip tests on random vehicles,’ recalls Andy.

‘The police officer came up to my window and said, “Ah, I recognise this vehicle!” and he’d remembered where I lived purely because he’d seen the car before!’

And while Andy stays clear of red diesel, his Disco flatbed does have an unusual red colour to it and that’s because the exterior is actually the same Chilli Red as you get on a Mini.

As I said, it is different, but not just because of the paint scheme. You’ll have seen plenty of traybacks before, but a flatbed is another vehicle entirely.

It’s something Andy has found useful over the last couple of years; proving to be a very practical solution at times, while he maintains that this is still very much a vehicle you can have fun in.

Andy continues: ‘It’s been used as a laning truck on several occasions and it’s so much lighter now; it’s unbelievable how much weight you save by taking off the roof, rear body and the Continued overleaf

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The cabin used to be brown, which a) gave away the truck’s age, and b) was brown.

Andy freshened it up with a black interior, but the mud’s still the same old colour

Above: If you think this Disco has been modified simply to make itself more of a useful tool, then you’d be wrong. The two-inch lift and dislocation cones mean it’ll work hard and play hard. The rear trailing arms have also been upgraded to heavy-duty cranked items, so it’s making the most of what it’s got Right: A rear of a Disco like you’ve never seen before. This flatbed will carry just about anything you strap on to the back of it: hay bales, bags of sand, noisy children…

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seats. The engine really pulls you along now, too.

‘It’s the type of vehicle now, though, where no amount of money will really compare to the amount of time and skill put into the work previously. It’s definitely not been bodged; you can tell the work is professionally done.

There’s several months of work poured into this.’

Andy bought this flatbed off eBay from a guy in Newcastle upon Tyne who runs his own Land Rover business. He’d carried out the majority of the work for another customer, only to find they couldn’t pay out at the end, so the vehicle was sold to cover the gentleman’s wages and Andy happened to be the buyer who was browsing eBay by coincidence that one day.

‘I was looking for something a bit different in general to be honest and had decided against a Defender, because they tend to be that bit more expensive and still targeted by thieves more too. Even some of the better Range Rover Classics are gaining value now,’ remarks Andy. ‘The Discovery seems to represent better value at the moment.’

Having bought it as a three quarter-complete project, Andy had a few bits of fettling to do himself before the Disco really looked the part. The welding had all been done prior to reaching him, which took care of one of the more time-consuming elements of the build. Andy was left with the final tweaks of the lights and tidying up the rear loadspace, while he also gave the Disco a new lease of life with a fresh head gasket.

At the front, this Disco may be one of the earlier 200Tdi models, but the facelift has revitalised it up to 300Tdi spec and that’s before you find out that the engine, which has an uprated intercooler, has covered a genuine 93,000 miles. Just nicely run in, then.

Underneath, as well as being turned into a useful work tool, a two-inch lift with dislocation cones at the rear means this is a truck that can scale mountains as well as moving hay bales.

Andy’s a big fan of BFGoodrich, and that company’s All-Terrains feature here – wrapped around a distinctly retro style of Wolfrace rims

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You’re looking at a 200Tdi Discovery, but with the face of a 300Tdi The Safari snorkel and heavy-duty cranked rear trailing arms are nice additions too, as are the BFG All-Terrains and retro Wolfrace 15” rims.

‘I do like to get a good tyre,’ states Andy. ‘I was once on a forum and I read a comment from another guy on there who said “The only problem you’ll ever get with BFG tyres is that they will probably out live your motor.”

It’s so true! The ATs on this Disco have been on another couple of my Land Rovers previously and must have covered about 40-50,000 miles by now, yet they are still going strong.’

The tyres may have plenty of life left in them and it would seem that there is the potential for a lot more practical use to come out of this Discovery yet, too. Just maybe not for Andy.

‘The truck would make the perfect tool for a farmer or logger, especially if you put some sides on the rear loadspace so you could lob a load of logs or other heavy stuff on the back,’ says Andy. ‘It’s all been done using cut and shut steel, none of this weak fibreglass material. The rear window is taken from the rear side of a Defender as well, so it looks the part.’

While Andy’s practical requirements have shifted towards the need for more space inside a cabin, this vehicle will grab the attention of someone who will only be using it with themselves in the truck. You don’t see these everyday; a vehicle that has actually had a project of several months carried through and finished like the idea that first appeared on the drawing board.

It’s a great off-road toy, this, a great workhorse and, more importantly, a great example of how there is a Land Rover out there for everyone. It might be on eBay, or it might be in your mind. But it’s out there…

This unique Discovery is currently for sale. If you’re interested, contact assistant editor Mike Trott on 01283 553243 or michael.trott@assignment-media.co.uk and he’ll pass it on

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The one that didn’t get away…

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There was a lot of jealously going around when Land Rover created the NAS 90… and didn’t sell it in Britain. But while this coolest Defender was destined only for America, at least one stayed at home. And now it’s very much at home, in the welcoming arms of the Dunsfold Collection Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

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T

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he Americans always seem to get all the best things. They get to live in places like California, Vail, Vermont, the Hamptons or a chic apartment in the Empire State Building. They look out their back windows and see not pigeons and squirrels but raccoons, armadilloes and brown bears. In America, you’re born with a perfect suntan, you grow up driving a classic open-top Corvette or Thunderbird, Yellowstone is only ever an hour’s drive away and the girl next door always looks like Taylor Swift. Fact.

So please, tell me why we Brits gave the USA and Canada our precious Land Rover Defender as well? And not just any old Defender either – no, we handed over a soft-top version with cool alloy wheels, nice paint and a splendid 3.9-litre V8.

Was it not enough that we’d given the Americans television, the World Wide Web (oh yes we did) and the Range Rover? Did they not have enough V8 beauties waltzing around their vast expanse of land already?

I’m not a bitter person… honest.

But to me, giving the Yanks what we’ve come to know as the NAS (North American Specification) 90 is a bit like grilling a piece of prime fillet steak better than you ever have before, and then giving it to your neighbour.

No doubt said neighbour would appreciate the gesture, but realistically some things are just best kept for your own pleasure.

There is some good news, though.

Because while Land Rover decided to shift a few thousand of the things over to North America, there’s a couple still lurking around on our shores. Presumably someone forgot to put them on the boat.

One of these state-bound Defenders has found its way into the Dunsfold Collection down in Surrey. The Collection is made up of many strange and special Land Rovers, so seeing this soft-top 90 lined up against the likes of the 1965 OTAL (One Ton Amphibious Land Rover) and 1947 Centre Steer replica makes it seem a little… average.

But this is not an average Defender. Nor will the inhabitants of North America have been disappointed once they got to the port and collected their new Land Rover.

Picture this: you have just picked up your NAS 90 from San Francisco Bay; it’s 10am and not a cloud in sight. Your destination is Huntington Beach in South LA and you fancy taking the scenic route – the Pacific Coast Highway.

The deep blue ocean runs with you along the weaving coastline, greenery bursting at you from the hills as you glance to the left and the presence of the V8 plays away in the background, providing the flawless background Continued overleaf

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symphony for your moment of picture-perfect bliss.

Rays of warm sunshine trickle through into the cabin, with a gentle cooling breeze whispering around your neck thanks to the removal of that desirable soft-top behind.

Admittedly, cruising down the coast of California and then milking the attention on the promenade of Long Beach is going to be a significantly different experience to trundling down the seafront at Skegness. Even so, it

would have been nice for us Brits to have had the option. We do lead the way as Europe’s most eager consumers of soft-top vehicles, after all.

Unfortunately for the Americans – but fortunately for us – this Dunsfold Defender never got the chance to taste American soil.

Needing to cover their own backs, Land Rover held back this particular 90 in case there were any warranty disputes to contend with. It’s one of the later NAS 90s produced, but inter-

estingly the prototype cubby box has given substance to the idea that this could be one of the very first automatic models, although Dunsfold are still working to get confirmation on this.

Initially, in 1993, only the Defender 110 was offered to North America, with the 90 getting its boarding pass from 1994. These earlier exports were fitted with the 3.9-litre V8 and a five-speed manual transmission.

The Defender shown here has the later 4.0-litre V8 engine, as used in the UK’s own 50th Anniversary 90. And of course there are two big pedals in the footwell to go with the four-speed auto box – again, as used on the 50th Anniversary model.

It’s a little sad to think that this 90 never got the chance to stretch its legs down some deserted back road in the Mojave or, as was the case with most US 90s, pick its way up a rocky trail following a programme of imaginative and spectacular modifications.

Instead, Land Rover had some serious work for this Defender. The vehicle being used for emissions testing – as evidenced by the unusual tailpipe and disassembled wiring harness.

Dunsfold have also discovered that this 90 was used on a rolling road and

tested out new sensors for fuelling during its work life. Previously it had been stored outside – perhaps the vehicle yearned for a life across the pond like its brothers and sisters – although it didn’t do it any good. The original hood disintegrated, which is why it carries a Surrey top at the moment.

The North American Spec 90s would indeed go on to provide the general platform for the 50th Anniversary Limited Edition 90, which emerged

in 1998. In the same year, changes in regulations for the now necessary installation of driver and front seat passenger airbags put the nail in the coffin for the exportation of the Defender to North America, as the cost of redesigning it to meet these requirements would have far outweighed the vehicle’s sales potential.

So that was it for the NAS 90. After a short but glorious moment in the California sun, this most stylish of

Defenders came to the end of its life all dressed up with nowhere to go.

There’s a silver lining, though. The NAS 90 was in there at the start of a revolution that saw the Defender take its first steps away from its agricultural heritage and towards becoming the style icon it is today. It was a very serious off-roader, but unlike almost anything the UK had seen it was cool, too. And Britain’s Defender owners have been imitating it every since.

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Birds of a Defender Words: Gemma Pask Pictures: Neill and Julie Bird

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When Neill and Julie Bird set out on their overland expedition in a 110, they didn’t quite know what to expect.

But they ended up on the road for almost three years before the dreaded dollar drought ordered them home. If only money had been no object, who knows where these two Birds would have been now…

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ot many people go from knowing so little about Land Rovers that they’re not even sure what colour the oval is meant to be, to traversing the globe in a Defender 110 County Station Wagon which they single-handedly fixed up.

Then again, not many people get to take a three-year long overlanding trip, visiting the likes of Europe, Africa and the Americas. Perhaps some people just have all the luck.

Luck isn’t what Neill and Julie Bird would put it down to. The Doncaster-born couple (aka the ‘Overland Birds’ – get it?) are far more likely to cite careful preparation, generosity and karma as the reasons they were able to take part in this life-changing adventure. And also partly two blokes called Ewan and Charlie, perhaps.

The trip commenced in October 2011 and ran for a grand total of 974 days. But it was in the works long before that. Two years before Neill and Julie set off, the third member of their team joined – and perhaps even planted the seed.

‘We bought the Defender in 2009, a year before we decided to go overlanding,’ Neill explains. And why a Defender? ‘It was inexpensive to buy, and parts are available almost everywhere.’

‘Instead of buying a brand new vehicle, we decided to buy a cheaper one and use the excess money to fix it up.’

Neill goes on to explain that the Carnet de Passage was another motivator in buying a cheaper vehicle. Alongside the document itself (up to £225) and the refundable deposit (£350), country specific payments are also applicable. As the highest risk country Neill and Julie were visiting was Egypt, the security risk rate was 800% of the car’s value. ‘A £25,000 new car costs £200,000 in carnet and an old £1500 car costs £12,000,’ says Neill. It makes sense, once you get your head around it…

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That, at the time he bought the vehicle, was more or less the extent of Neill’s knowledge. ‘I had no tools, no Land Rover knowledge,’ he continues. ‘I did have help from people on internet forums, but I was mainly self-taught.

I taught myself how to weld and completely rebuilt the Defender – I replaced nearly all main components, fitted heavy-duty suspension to cope with

had a decision to make. It was watching the adventures of Long Way Down and Top Gear that really got them thinking about overlanding around the world.

So that’s what they did.

Aboard Matilda, Neill and Julie travelled across Europe, through Syria, Jordan and Egypt (good luck trying that now), down the east side of Africa, and across southern Africa, then headed to

the weight, rebuilt entire axles, even rebuilding the transfer box, and installed a fridge, a cab heater and a bed.’ Not bad for a Land Rover rookie…

In all, Matilda spent 662 days on the drive. Ah yes, that’s her name.

There’s no complicated story behind it, however. ‘Julie chose the name because she always said it’s what she’d call our daughter if we ever had kids; Matilda is like the child we never had. Oh, and we like the film!’

Matilda was officially christened in Botswana, by means of a shiny sticker Neill and Julie had made for her. One of the first 300Tdi Defenders, she had 195,000 miles on the clock when Neill and Julie first got her – these days it’s more like 300,000.

So, with a good-as-new Defender on the drive and some savings they had accumulated over the years, the Birds

South America, travelling through the likes of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Panama, El Salvador and Mexico, before entering the USA in Texas and visiting probably every state known to man. They then continued into Canada and finally came to a halt in Alaska. As if you hadn’t already guessed, that’s one heck of a journey.

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So it’s little wonder Matilda encountered a few setbacks en route. When we say a few…

Neill takes up the tale: ‘She had a spare turbocharger fitted in El Salvador, got her one and only puncture in Kenya, the shock absorbers broke and the windscreen wipers never worked properly. We changed the springs in Tanzania to 130 double springs, had a new gearbox fitted in America that only lasted 14,000 miles, and the transfer box came out more times than we care to remember…

‘We had no air-con, either, and we were travelling through Ethiopia in 45° heat… We had the windows down constantly for 12 months. And when the floor gets hot it’s like putting your feet on a radiator. Eventually we bought a fan, probably the best addition of all!’

The question is, what do you do if your Defender encounters a problem in the middle of nowhere – say, a smashed wing mirror in the remote Kenyan market town of Maralal?

‘We’d been off-roading for four days and one of the wing mirrors smashed when we were in the North end of Kenya. We were in the back of beyond and thought there’d be nowhere to get it fixed, but we were told of a local shop that sold wing mirrors. We went in and asked, and the guy behind the desk disappeared and returned holding a blue Britpart box containing a replacement.’

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What is the Carnet de Passage?

Still confused? Us, too. There’s a fair load of figures and percentages involved. But if you’re thinking of going overlanding (and especially if you’re planning on visiting any of the ‘higher risk’ countries), it’s essential knowledge. But it just might take you a couple of decades to get your head around it first. Happily, the RAC do a decent job of putting it in layman’s terms, which you can view here at www.rac.co.uk/pdfs/ driving-abroad/carnet-de-passage-information.aspx

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 Either Britpart is everywhere or Neill and Julie really do have all the luck.

Except with transfer cases, obviously.

It may sound like the best part of the three years was spent repairing Matilda, but that’s certainly not the case. The Defender 110 suited them nicely in the grand scheme of things.

‘We liked sleeping in the car more than a bed in a hotel,’ says Julie. ‘We could camp almost anywhere and it just looked like a parked car. We camped in the VA Waterfront Mall in Cape Town, along the Nile in Aswan and even on Broadway in New York and we had no problems. You just need to choose the spot.’

‘Mechanically the car is good,’ adds Neill. ‘We didn’t have a single failure that really stopped us and in fact not a single failure other than the gearbox that meant we couldn’t go. Most things I fixed right there and then. Although things like the shocks were broken, we could still have driven.’

The trip sounds like something plucked straight from a 4x4 enthusiast’s daydream, but there were some tough times, too. Towards the end of 2011, there was significant unrest in Syria – at the same time that our trio crossed its borders. ‘We put pawprint stickers on the side of the vehicle to stop it from looking like an army vehicle,’ says Neill.

Neill and Julie are big believers in karma and ‘paying it forward’ – that is, doing something good for someone in the hope that it will inspire them to do something good for someone else, and so on and so on. ‘Rescuing and helping others is the way,’ says Neill. ‘We passed some remote areas and bad roads and if we saw someone stuck or broken down we stopped and helped for as long as it took to get them moving.’

And nor did their heroic endeavours stop at vehicle rescue. Having come

across an Italian couple in a Land Cruiser who needed a new car battery, it turned out that they’d accidently deleted a third of their pictures from Kenya. ‘It took me well over a day to recover them sat in a café on Lake Gondor,’ Neill recalls. ‘They also had the slowest internet in the world.’

‘Both Italians cried when I recovered well over 80% of their photos. The guy wanted to kiss me. I declined…’

Well, let’s hope karma will indeed come back around and in return they’ll get the chance to get back on the road sooner rather than later.

‘We had to come home because we ran out of money.’ The immortal spanner in the works. ‘But we’re saving up again and are planning on heading back out within the next five years.’

‘In South Africa, we met a wise man named Coen and his wife Trudy (we piggy-backed with them for a while because they had an ice machine in their camper and a pre-booked camping spot!) One of the things Coen said to us was “there’s no time, only money” and it’s very relevant – staying in many of the places we visited was relatively inexpensive, but moving around is

what costs. You can have all the time in the world but it’s money that gets in the way.’

Having said that, there’s an interesting breakdown of fuel costs on the Overland Birds’ website, showing prices ranging from £1.33 per litre in Germany down to just 12p per litre in Egypt.

We know a fair few Brits who would like the sound of the latter.

Nonetheless, Neill, Julie and Matilda are back home and prepping for their next adventure. ‘Matilda is getting a full rebuild,’ says Neill. ‘Everything is going to be changed again.’

So there you have it: proof that in the space of a few years, you can go from being a complete Land Rover newbie to an overlanding pro with a cabin full of memories. And if you’re ever in Africa and lose a wing mirror, head for Maralal – they’ll no doubt have plenty.

There’s nowhere near enough space here to recall all of Neill and Julie’s adventures, much as we’d like to. So for many more stories and photographs, plus advice for those considering doing something similar, head on over to www.overlandbirds.com

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38 USED LAND ROVERS FOR SALE w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

Series I

dry-stored for several years but is now outside and in need of a new home. £4750. Beccles, Suffolk, 07544 147066 06/15

Series II Series I double-cab (1955). Not for Landy purists (who I have the greatest respect for), this truck is fitted with a 200Tdi engine and PAS. This makes it easy to drive, and it has seat belts fitted throughout. I am selling in order to buy a one-owner, original, 1948 Series I – no other reason. £12,995. Rye, Kent. Email tor@assignment-media. co.uk, quoting box number L07/15/001 07/15

88” Series I hard-top (1957).

For Restoration and Repair. SWB hard-top with windows. 2.0-litre petrol – engine is partly dismantled and not running. Chassis and bulkhead rusted. Original logbook and V5. In present ownership for more than 20 years.

Possibily ex-Civil Defence. Good, non-transferable number plate.

No tax or MOT needed. Has been

Series II 109” (1963). MOT May 2016, tax exempt. Unique long-bonnet conversion, with bulkhead moved back the length of the front doors and rear doors from a station wagon fitted with the tops removed. Chassis and bulkhead stripped down and welded where required then prepped for rebuild. Bonnet fabricated using 2 bonnets and some extra aluminium, front wings elongated to match. The steering drag link was manufactured by a local engineering firm to cater for the extra length required. Rover P5B high-compression V8 and LT95 gearbox, with new clutch pressure and friction plates and release bearing. Points removed and electronic ignition system fitted, with a new Distributor Doctor coil and electric fuel pump. Fully Polybushed suspension. Axles from a 6-cylinder 109” with new brake shoes and wheel cylinders, and new flexi hoses and copper pipes throughout. Steering wheel refurbished, wheels shot-blasted and sprayed black, fitted with

4 very good General Grabber tyres and a different spare. All new lights, including halogen headlights. New bikini hood.

Body painted with synthetic black which has been flatted back lightly to give a matt finish.

Speedo and one wiper motor not working and need attention.

There’s more that could be done, or you could just use it the way it is. £5000. Ilminster, Somerset, 07977 556967

Series IIA 88” (1962). 30,500 miles. Fairey overdrive and safari roof. Tax exempt. I don’t have any history, but it’s apparent that the vehicle has had a body-off renovation, with the chassis and bulkhead restored to a high standard. The Fairey overdrive is fitted and working, and the gearbox parts to remove it are also present. The engine is a 5-bearing 2.5, but fitted with the original carburettor. I think it’s ex-military, as it has oversize drum brakes and a servo. The brakes really work well. It starts well, with a push-button starter (ie no solenoid), dynamo, good battery and all 5 tyres. This is a very

GUMTREE 4x4 SpecialiStS in land rover, range rover, diScovery, freelander and all 4x4s servicing, repairs, conversions, rebuilds & chassis replacements. performance and off road modifications. established in 1981, located in mid-sussex

tel: 01444 241457 info@gumtree4x4.co.uk

good IIA restoration with some subtle upgrades which make it very functional as something for actual use. I’ve only owned it for a month, and am only selling because with 3 other Landies there’s no room on the drive!

Photos of the chassis etc available on request. £5500. Bridgwater, Somerset, 07768 057585

Classic Series II 109” pick-up (1964). 97,500 miles. Tax-free, with MOT. Perkins engine in excellent condition. Comprehensive restoration with chassis repairs, new brakes, wheel cylinders, brake and clutch master cylinders, rad, recon injectors and pump, new battery, lights all round, new starter motor, top-quality seats.

FWH and draw bar. £6000. Stanton Harcourt, Oxon, 01865 883208 or 07769 824913 07/15

Series II 88” (1961). Perkins 4.203 diesel with overdrive. MOT May 2016, tax exempt. Bought three years ago, fortune spent

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since on giving it sound underpinnings. New radiator, starter motor, battery, electric fan, injectors, fabricated manifold, front bumper, propshaft, front springs, dampers, swivels, brakes and halfshafts, plus fully recon Fairey overdrive, Disco diffs and recon gearbox plus new clutch.

Drives really well, starts first time every time in the summer and has hot (flame) start in winter. Does 60mph on the motorway, also has freewheeling front hubs. The body has dents, paintwork needs attention and door frames have rusted out. The Land Rover also comes with a radiator muff, spare wheel, new rear mudflaps with the logo, a tailor-made canvas divider to help keep the front of the cabin warm in winter and, subject to sale price, two aluminium door tops. £4950 ono. Southampton, daryl@agcl.com

Series III

Series III 88” pick-up 2.25 petrol (1977). Extremely good vehicle, but engine seized so for sale as a project. Was in use as a daily driver until a top end bear-

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ing went on the previous engine and the cheap one I bought to replace it turned out to be a dud.

I no longer have time to spend on it, however the vehicle would be ideal for a turbo-diesel conversion as everything else on it is perfect, much better than most Land Rovers you see. I would swap for another interesting vehicle so don’t hesitate to ask. The Land Rover is still taxed, insured and MOT’d, and has 4 brand new tyres with inner tubes which have done less than 200 miles. £3500. Stroud, Gloucs, 07742 918994 07/15

Series III 109” 24V FFR (1983).

Winterised ex-military 2.25 petrol. 24,000 miles. Fully rebuilt and first registered in January this year – only done 205 miles since then. Demobbed 17 years ago and sat unregistered in a farmer’s field ever since until I bought it to restore. I’ve fitted full new fuel, brake and clutch systems (every last component in each is new).

Repainted, full engine service, new wiper arms and blades.

Engine now runs nicely and never fails to start. Being a winterised model, this Landy has a massive heater between the seats which

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keeps it really warm. I have its Forces history along with a letter proving the date of build, which helped me get it registered. So this really is a 1983 Land Rover with one owner in the logbook! I can’t justify keeping it sat on the driveway as an ornamant (plus if I am honest I rather enjoy the rebuilding, so when this is sold I will be buying another project).

This is a 33 year old Series Land Rover so will need regular maintenance, but as any Landy owner knows that is the norm! £3000.

Nottingham, 07969 724374

Series III 109 (1973). Complete one-off – quite simply one of the best Series III 109s for sale. Fully rebuilt on a heavy-duty military chassis, with every component new or reconditioned. Only the best materials used throughout.

2.5 petrol Turner Engineering engine (just over 4000 miles on it), fully reconditioned 4-speed gearbox, new Fairey overdrive.

Hand-made coachbuilt body panels in 3mm alloy, all flawless with not a single dent anywhere.

The rear is pretty much a blank canvas, all done in stainless steel with built-in lockers on either side and ready to be customised to suit. Custom alloy safari roof, stainless steel sills, side steps, seat bases (with Mercedes seats) and custom front bumper with spotlights. Fully rewired. Exmoor Trim carpet set and door cards, custom alloy dash with LED lighting, custom storage boxes in driver’s and passenger’s floors, rear bulkhead removed. Brand new wheels with General Grabber TR tyres. This is the best restoration I have ever seen – the attention to detail and workmanship are exceptional, and it drives better than any Series vehicle I have driven. Serious offers considered. £14,999. Glenrothes, Fife, 07463 507099

Lightweight

Series III Lightweight FFR 24v (1984). 34,000 miles. 11 months’ MOT (no advisories). First issued to 40 Royal Marine Commando and stayed until decommissioned in 1999 (I have paperwork to prove this). This Lightweight has been upgraded by the military as it was issued to special forces, with Wolf wheels and bigger front brake shoes. It also has an overdrive gearbox. It drives great, all nice and tight on the road.

The camo baskets on the bonnet were only put on special forces forward operating vehicles. The

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engine is fitted with waterproof HT leads, distributor cap etc.

Paint has flaked with jet washing, showing original colours below including desert paint, and the vehicle is also fitted with a Land Rover desert sun visor. It comes with canvas, jerry cans, water can, hoops, union flag as issued by the Ministry of Defence. £3195.

Wirral, Merseyside, 07598 689135 07/15

Series III Lightweight (1980).

Galvanised chassis in 2010, LPG with certificate, just had full respray and body renovation.

Reconditioned engine 6000 miles ago. Overdrive, Parabolic springs, Rocky Mountain shocks, FWH, Arctic heater, brake servo, La Salle headlining with speakers and stereo, rear seats and belts, Exmoor Trim front seats and full matting set (sound deadening covering seat box, tunnel and floors).

4 new tyres, new door tops, twin fuel tanks. Big bundle of receipts. £6995. Guisborough, Cleveland, 01287 654333

Lightweight hybrid (1969 / 1980). This is a V8 off-roading beast! Road-legal and MOT’d.

Range Rover engine and auto box.

Grizzly-Claw tyres (with the usual off-roading cuts and cracks).

I’ve had so much fun with this Landy, but work commitments means it’s time to go (sadly). It has been an off-road toy for me so please don’t expect it to be clean, polished and dent free! This is a fantastic off-roader – a great bit of cheap fun. Some will use and abuse as it as is, others will want to iron out its wrinkles. £3250.

Stafford, 07880 715028

Minerva (1952). 80-inch. MOT and tax exempt, V5 present and correct. Amazing original 1952 chassis, never needed and repairs.

Good bulkhead, small amount of rot in right footwell, bodywork solid with just the odd bit of filler (nothing to worry about). Stars and runs very well, taken out every weekend for a spin with no dramas. Engine very smooth with no milky oil or rainbow effect in the water, small amount of choke to get going then once warm runs well all day. Gearbox tight and working fine. Wipers working along with all electrics! Tyres fair, hood, tubes and door tops all

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk present (currently off vehicle but will be supplied), matt paint looks good for age of motor. Speedo cable needs to be connected under the gearbox. £5295.

Melton Constable, Norfolk, 07880 700636

90

Defender 90 TD5 (2000).

110,000 miles. MOT 2016.

Very good, reliable truck with stunning metallic paintwork. New heavy-duty, powder-coated rear crossmember – after this was fitted, chassis was fully Waxoyled.

Strong TD5 engine with EGR removed (otherwise standard).

Parts fitted in last 2 years (all OE and professionally fitted): new clutch kit and associated parts, new in-tank fuel pump, new brakes all round, new shock absorbers and bushes. Full service every year with MOT. New OE injector wiring loom with plug drilled to prevent oil from contaminating the ECU. Choice of big off-road tyres or road rubber on alloys. £6500. Bristol, 07791 838129

Defender 90 200 Tdi (1992).

69,000 miles. 12 months’ MOT at sale. ARB Air-Lockers, +4” Terrafirma life with dislocation cones, tubular shock turrets, cranked arms, steering guard, big uprated intercooler, silicone hoses, disk handbrake, Qt diff guards, rock sliders, winch bumper and winch, rear winch plate, 35x12.50R15 BFG Mud-Terrains on deep-dish modulars, straight-through side exhaust, internal roll cage mounted to chassis, Safari Snorkel, wading kit, LED front bar, side and reversing lights.

Qt bucket seats and harnesses, Raptor dash, CB, removable steering wheel, on-board air compressor, fire extinguisher, high-lift jack. Private registration included. Family car forces sale. £9000 ono. Birmingham, 07473 054953

Defender 90 2.4 TDCi County Hard-Top Overland Edition 1 (2011). 30,150 miles. Santorini Black. Huge Spec includes Style Pack, Convenience Pack, Exterior Pack and Roof Appointment Pack.

Full Overland Edition 1 conversion comprising 160bhp performance upgrade, Black LR Overland badges, KBX Premium Grille in bright silver, 18” BFGoodrich tyres on gloss black Boost Sport alloys, front and rear RDX white light kit, halogen crystal headlights

with HID bi-xenon bulbs, privacy glass, Twisted Performance alloy steering guard, chequer plate kit, NAS rear step with towbar and electrics, Goodwinch front winch on heavy-duty bumper, Momo Evo 350mm steering wheel, sound deadening in rear hub, panelled and carpeted load area, Alpine audio with Bluetooth phone prep, rear seat conversion with Genuine Span Modus cloth seats and belts. Serviced by Land Rover. £19,000 (£15,833 plus VAT). Bradford, 07770 995017

Defender 90 TD5 (1999).

93,441 miles. Chassis, bulkhead, footwells, door bottoms all sound. Bodywork generally good, with minor dings and a small dent in nearside front wing but good all-round condition. Battery, starter motor, fuel pump, rear shocks, crank sensor, EGR bypass, steering damper, front bumper (with rubber corners), track rod ends, window rubbers, door seals are all new. It also has a new immobiliser with fob, rebuilt ECU and all engine harness has been removed and checked for the common wear and damage. 5 alloy wheels, 4 almost-new tyres, new CD stereo with Bluetooth, new cubby box, retrimmed front seats, all new lights (except headlights) plus additional rear lights on top corners, fog lights to front and additional brake light to rear door. The vehicle also has central locking on the front doors and an alarm system. It has had a recent full service, including new oil in both diffs, and in the time I have owned it I’ve tried to eliminate all the usual things that go wrong. Bought a year or so ago but lack of use forces sale. £6995.

Launceston, Devon, 01566 451360 or 07990 558959

Defender 90 300Tdi Winch Challenge Truck. MOT Dec 2015.

Manual. Full cage and challenge wings. Front Warn 8274 Winch with GP uprated motor and mainshaft, brake rebuild kit just fitted, bigger drum with winch rope and air freespool. Rear TDS 9.5c winch with rope and air freespool. Winch controls inside and out. ARB Air-Lockers front and rear, 4.1:1 diff ratios, 5x 37” Maxxis Trepadors, hardened halfshafts, CVs and drive flanges, HD steering arms and uprated damper, tree sliders, X-Eng disc handbrake with new pads, LED lights in cab and rear, quick-release QT bucket seats. New cam belt kit and timing cover fitted, new alternator, just had front diff rebuilt and new short front shaft

by Ashcroft. Comes with waffles and ground anchor. Some battle scars. Poss part-ex for Freelander 2, Discovery 3, cool road car, race car, WHY? £6300. Herts, 07905 112836

Defender 90 TD5 (2004).

139,236 miles. Good, clean condition. Must sell as no longer required. £6500 plus VAT. Staffs, 07977 383598

Defender 90 200Tdi (1989).

145,000 miles. Galvanised chassis, new doors with Rocky Mountain tops, Mach 5 wheels, leather seats. Excellent condition. £8900. Galmpton, Devon, 07905 696626

Defender 90 V8 (1986).

107,500 miles. MOT April 2016.

Manual. Includes extra set of wheels with road tyres and two front wings. New clutch, rear calipers and petrol tank. Fully armoured, plus roll cage. Fantastic off-roader. Part service history. £4200 ono, offers welcome.

07889 984084

Defender 90 TD5 XS (2002).

107,400 miles. MOT Feb 16. Engine runs really smooth and has plenty of power the TD5 engine is real bullet proof. Transmission works all good no issues with brakes, chassis is in really good condition also. Electric windows, heated half-leather seats, heated front and rear screens, air-conditioning, CB, CD stereo, Skytag vehicle tracker (can be transferred to new owner). Engine chipped and EGR removed, with silicone hoses and stainless de-cat exhaust. Ashcroft gearbox (still under warranty) with heavy-duty bearings and Discovery 5th gear for better MPG. Heavy-duty clutch. Terrafirma +2” shocks and springs. Terrafirma trailing arms, front top shock mount and steering damper. Bearmach heavy-duty steering arms. Twin batteries and T-Max split-charge system, with Anderson outlet and custom plug-in leads. Warn 9.5 front winch on bull bar bumper with Land Rover spots. Warn dual-beam roof lights. Mantec rear window grilles. LED bulbs.

Rock sliders and body protectors.

Patriot aluminium roof rack and ladder. Brush wires. NAS rear bumper. Towbar and electrics.

Metal snow cowls both sides.

285/75R16 BFG Mud-Terrains just fitted, with wheel spacers and locking nuts. Recent front screen

rubber, engine belt and adjuster pulley, batteries, alternator, braided brake pipes, handbrake cable. Will come with a number of new spare parts. Owned for 6 years and maintained to a high standard, with most work done

by Ayton Land Rovers. Great fun and very reliable. £11,500.

Sherburn, Malton, North Yorkshire, 07768 682803

110

Defender 110 200 Tdi HardTop. 101,000 miles. MOT June 2016. Lots of receipts. Recent oil and filter, fuel filter, air filter, alternator belt and PAS belt.

Original 2.5D replaced with an early Discovery Tdi (well done conversion) with new radiator and intercooler, also a new heater matrix and all pipework. Fuel pump slightly tuned to increase performance, and has K&N air filter fitted. LT77 box with short-shift kit, 1:6 transfer case, Salisbury rear diff. Immaculate chassis (just one small hole in rear crossmember). 2” suspension lift, General Grabbers AT2s with huge amount of tread left. Exterior in fair condition for its age with a few bumps and scratches. Door bottoms rebuilt and protected, door and bonnet hinges replaced.

Carpeted inside, ply lined in back.

Mountney steering wheel, Sony CD player with aux and Bluetooth.

Spares to come with the truck include a 50” LED light bar mounted, two LED spotlights, four halogen spotlights, four original steel wheels with good tyres fitted, a pair of brand new rear bench seats, NATO tow hook and spreader plates, plus all nuts and bolts, and a A-bar. I’ve owned this Land Rover for two years and just used it to potter around the village. £3750. South Petherton, Somerset, 07508 852467

Defender 110 Hi-Cap 300 Tdi (1998). Nice original unspoilt truck. Drives nicely. Usual scratches for age but this is a

good honest Landy. Bed is in a really good solid condition for its age. £2650. Somerset, 07798 802102 07/15

Defender 2.4 TDCi 110 XS (2007). Twisted Performance one-off. 80,000 miles. FLRSH, 11 months’ MOT. Modified in 2008 with remap, performance stainless exhaust, K&N air filter, de-limited, Gale Force air intake vents, stainless side indicator guards and hand-stitched leather seats, cubby box and steering wheel. Baton DVD head restraints in front and rear seats,

Advertising your Landy for sale is FREE for private sellers.

Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242

39

hooked up to Alpine console with sat-nav, DVD, MP3 and iPod (detaches for use as a hand-held sat-nav). Electric sunroof, heated front seats and heated windscreen. Steering and front diff guards, full chequer plate option including rock sliders, privacy glass, towbar with permanent and switchable feeds. Maintained with no expense spared; has had all rear bushes replaced, brand new turbo and all gaskets fitted

by Land Rover and all brake lines replaced. Still as capable as any Defender, but you can do it in much more comfort! Five Range Rover wheels available at extra cost, complete with Continental tyres, hub adaptor spacers, locking wheel nuts and mirror-finish spare wheel cover. Reluctant sale. £16,750. Ripon, North Yorks, 07496 579542 07/15

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w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

News

Issue 19: Sept 2015

Products

Vehicles

STOCKIST DIRECTORY

Where to pick up your copy of The Landy FREE every month

South-East England

Importers, Exporters, Wholesale Distributors & Retailers of Winches & Accessories

TDS Goldfish Winches - The Best!

East Foldhay, Zeal Monachorum, Crediton, Devon, EX17 6DH Tel: 01363 82666 • Fax: 01363 82782 • www.goodwinch.com • sales@goodwinch.com

South Wales

Foundry 4x4 Ltd

Cast Iron Quality & Service The Old Bakery, Rear of Vale Terrace, Tredegar, Gwent, NP22 4HT

www.foundry4x4.co.uk

info@foundry4x4.co.uk • 01495 725544

North West England

Adventure

Workshop

Defender 127 / 130 200 Tdi Quadtech (1991). 44,000 miles. Deluxe cab. Fully restored in 2011 with all the aluminium replaced on the rear Quadtech box. The roof comes up so you can stand up and walk around in the back, which contains a workbench with 12v, 24v and 240v electrics – and it all works!

Rear diesel heater, TD5 axles front and rear (rear Salisbury with disc brakes), anti-roll bars, new drop links, new cambelt kit, new doors, wings and bonnet, brand new R380 gearbox, new shocks all round and turrets, new Wolf rims with G90 tyres. There’s nothing this Land Rover has not had done – it’s mint, you won’t find a better one! £9250 (no VAT to pay).

Hairfield, Middlesex. 07807 844703

Range Rover

East Midlands North East England

Gumtree 4x4 “Independent Specialists in Land Rover, Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander.”

Unit C17, Ditchling Common, West Sussex, BN6 8SG

www.gumtree4x4.co.uk admin@gumtree4x4.co.uk • 01444 241457

www.island-4x4.co.uk Online Land Rover Part Specialists Offering Worldwide Mail Order

West Midlands

* Free Mainland UK Delivery Over £50 * * Delivery France, Germany and Belgium £10 unlimited weight and parcels *

sales@island-4x4.co.uk

South-West England

Classic Range Rover 3.5 Efi 4-door auto (1987). 78,000 miles with history to prove. MOT June 2015. This Car has had a lot of love, time and money spent on it. I bought it from a well known body restorer with a very good name, who styled it with a completely unique body kit of his own. The paintwork looks fantastic. The chassis and underneath are in very good order, together with all inner arches and sills. Interior is excellent with grey leather and perfect headlining. Fantastic looking wheels with excellent tyres.

Toolkit in its own compartment in the back. It comes with a state of the art Alpine stereo system with DVD Player and screens set in the rear of the headrests, which sounds fantastic. Engine bay is nice and clean. It runs very nicely and goes through the gears very smoothly. Throttle is responsive and, with a twin stainless exhaust system, sounds great. The Range Rover has had seven previous owners. It has just undergone a mechanical check and service, and had all gearbox levels checked and the engine tuned. £8995. Essex, 07771 896798 07/15

North East Scotland Range Rover Classic Vogue SE (1993). Nissan 350 FD Tdi engine conversion. 119,000 miles.

MOT Jan 2016. Converted to coil springs. Nissan engine is more powerful than a Tdi and gives approx 35mpg. Grey cloth interior in tidy condition. Recent bills for £2000 covering new steering damper, clutch master and slave cylinders, ABS, anti-roll bar links,

Clubs

bushes, foglights and top-quality welding of front arch and inner rear door frame for the MOT. Genuine Range Rover boot tray, working cassette player, all handbooks and manuals present. Electric glass sunroof which works and doesn’t leak.

Nearly new General Grabber tyres. Dual battery conversion.

Towbar with working electrics.

This is an excellent Range Rover, not a pristine show vehicle but a reliable, comfortable, economical workhorse or family SUV in very good mechanical condition with no expense spared on maintenance. Selling due to downsizing, so open to swap or part-ex for a car or smaller 4x4 with cash either way. £2950. Salisbury, Wilts, 07867 750152 07/15

Range Rover TD6 Vogue (2003). 101,000 miles. Full service history. This is the most comfortable car I have ever driven. It’s perfect and drives like a dream. Comprehensive Warranty Direct Warranty, costs £700 per year and transferable for £50 (currently paid to July). £7450.

Hastings, East Sussex, 07886 201398 07/15

Range Rover 4.0 HSE Auto LPG (2000). 209,000 miles. MOT May 2016 (no advisories). Very nice inside and out, drives superbly with no issues. All electrics work fine.

Recent new trabsfer box, ECU, oil cooler, front diff, air suspension compressor, ball joints, exhaust, heater and alternator. One owner for last 10 years, maintained regardless of cost. If you want a very nice example, this is the one!

Any inspection welcome – any mechanic will confirm that this is a nice example. £2000. Worksop, Notts, 0844 4827122

Range Rover Vogue SE 300 Tdi auto (1990). 92,000 miles.

Born with a V8, however during its life this has been replaced with a 300 Tdi and auto box.

Registered on the V5 as 2500cc Heavy Oil. Looks well and sits up and drives as it should. Tow bar, electric windows, central locking, 3 keys. All the usual welding work has been complete and no further work is required. Work done includes body mounts, boot floor, inner wings, chassis rails, crossmember, inner sills , offside and nearside floors. This Range Rover will not need any structural work for a very long time – a massive undertaking now done.

New calipers fitted front and rear, brake pads, discs, pipes etc.

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

Issue 19: Sept 2015

We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

41

Listings on this page are FREE for private sellers and existing advertisers. Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242 Full MOT. Very small split in the driver’s seat piping, which is an easy fix. There are 3 small areas of surface rust on the tailgate, but these will be sorted prior to sale. £4650. Lincs, 07960 870446

Range Rover P38 4.6 Vogue (2001). 139,939 miles. LPG converted, runs on petrol and gas.

MOT June 2016. Lovely condition.

Recent new radiator, thermostat, water pump and tyres. Tow bar fitted. Radio and sat-nav not working due to disconnecting the battery – they were fine before this, not long ago, so I assume it just requires to be reset. Selling the vehicle as we have purchased a newer model. £2950. Tehidy, Cornwall. Email tor@assignment-media.co.uk, quoting box number L07/15/001 09/15

Discovery

Discovery 2 TD5 7-seat.

137,000 miles. 12 months’ warranty. Full service prior to sale. Very clean inside and out. £2750. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787 Trade

Discovery bobtail off-roader.

39,750 miles. Transformed over 5 years of ownership and just been

through a complete rebuild and full repaint from body to springs!

Disco 1 body bobtailed 10” and roof cut back to C-pillar, all properly sealed and finished off with a 90 rear window. Spec includes fully serviced 80,000-mile 3.9 V8 with injection, ZF 4-speed auto box and LT230 transfer case; rear 24-spline Air-Locker; fully rebuilt front axle; X-Brake; Scorpion props; HD +3” suspension on 2” spacers; Scorpion castor-corrected front and rear arms, adjustable panhard rod, -2” shock droppers and dislocation cones front and rear; 34” Ziarelli Extreme tyres (brand new, used once) on Mach 5 rims; full ARC-spec cage plus custom wings; steering guard, rock sliders, and HD rear bumper; 42” LED light bar; Southdown snorkel; +2” wide arches; Warn XP 9.5 front and Superwinch rear winches with 11mm Plasma and internal controls; Optima Red-Top; Cobra buckets with cage-mounted harnesses; custom 48-litre alloy fuel tank with high-pressure pump. The vehicle has not been body-lifted, but has had the arches modified to accommodate the tyres. £5795.

Dunstable, Bedfordshire, 07718 303908 07/15

Discovery 300 Tdi Auto (1995).

160,000 miles. MOT November.

Hundreds of pounds’ worth of welding just been done to the underneath, sills and arches, so nothing to worry about there for years. Engine is extremely strong, as are gearbox and transfer case, with no problems. It still pulls really well, and fuel consumption is about 25-30 mpg. Fully off-road ready with BFGoodrich ATs on 16” alloy rims, proper solid rock sliders, heavy-duty roof rack and

nudge bar. I’ve just fitted a brand new exhaust system and the EGR plate has been done too. JVC CD stereo, sunroofs work and don’t leak. Front seats are leather but back seats are cloth, carpets and paint aren’t brilliant and there’s a few dents and dings but nothing to bother about. I’ve only just bought this to use for off-roading, but now a job in Canada means it’s got to go. £1750. Bolton, Lancs, 0781 555 8935

Discovery TD5 GS (1999).

219,000 miles. High mileage but uses no oil or water, runs well and can achieve over 30mpg even when towing a caravan! Bought in June 2013 and has been used as a family car, generally good but with usual age-related marks.

Interior in good condition apart from the driver’s seat being worn.

Good tyres all round. Reliable with coil spring conversion and ACE system deactivated. Land Rover rubber mats throughout.

Both sunroofs have been sealed with black tape as they were leaking. The harder outer case wasn’t re-sealed but this cured the problem. £2100. Cardiff, 07718 995375 07/15

Discovery 300 Tdi. In good condition but has obviously been used off-road. Lift kit, steering guard, tank guard, diff guards, snorkel, Insa Turbos on modular rims. CD stereo. All wiring present for a CB. Engine overhauled with new piston rings, head gasket, shells etc and runs great. All necessary welding done, and

strengthened so no more needed at all. £2000. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787 Trade

Discovery 200 Tdi 5-door manual (1993). 134,872 miles.

4” lift (2” springs, 2” body), Insa Turbo Special Track tyres on modular wheels with spacers, wide arches, diff and steering guards, twin batteries, snorkel, bucket seats (very worn, but comes with original seats). Body has dints and scratches, as is to be expected for this type of truck! Starts and runs great, had no problems. I’ve owned this motor for four years and am selling as I’ve bought something newer and more practical. £1500 ono. Ripley, Derbyshire, 07584 086086

Discovery 3.9 V8i auto (1996).

120,000 miles. MOT January.

Ex-Police, so well looked after all its life. Age-related body and interior – don’t expect a new car, but it runs very well and with a little TLC would be great. Would also be ideal to turn into a serious off-roader, but personally I think it’s too good. £1100. Denstone, Staffs, 07791 534444

Discovery TD5 XS auto expedition vehicle (2003). 118,000 miles. Built up last year with rip-stop Tuff Trek 6ft roof tent and awning, both with rooms; black powder-coated wrap-around roof rack; snorkel; bush cables; LED

spots and bars; HID headlamps; light guards; 5 AT tyres (now on about 3000 miles); de-cat exhaust; rear power supply; carpeted MDF storage system. It was also well serviced at the time, and now has coils on the back with the air springs removed. Gearbox and engine are very strong, with no smoke or rattles, and it doesn’t use any water or oil. The chassis is solid, never welded and needs none, with just some light surface rust. This is an amazingly capable and comfortable vehicle, and I have a genuine reason for the sale – if I didn’t I really wouldn’t think about selling it. £7495.

Folkestone, Kent 07450 986710 07/15

Discovery 300Tdi (1995).

198,000 miles. 12 months’ MOT (no advisories). Modded with +3” springs and shocks, 265/75R16 AT tyres (only been on for 6 months), wheelarch extensions, modified front end for more clearance, HD winch bumper (no winch), sump and diff guards, Safari snorkel, axle breathers, bucket seats, straight-through exhaust, dual 5T jate rings, light bar with 4x 50W floods, roof ladder, CB with 2m HAM antenna, Defender front light clusters. Newly fitted timing belt and back bearing, water pump, thermostat and temp sensor, 850cca battery, starter motor, Sony CD stereo with aux, bias plate and bucket seats with fabricated subframes. The truck starts every time and the transfer lever works correctly with no wear on the linkage. It has a very distinctive look with its cut-down front bumper and Defender clusters, and turns plenty of heads.

A few dents in the wings, syncro a bit worn between 1 and 2 (you need to double declutch at high

revs), rear sunroof sealed up and no longer leaks, only the driver’s electric window works. I bought the truck for laning but it’s mainly been used for radio expeditions, carrying kit and to weigh down antenna ground plates. It’s served me well but is for sale as I don’t have time to use it. £4000.

Brecon, 07983 146665

Discovery 200Tdi ute (1992).

96,100 miles. MOT April 2016 (no advisories). Built at a cost of thousands of pounds by a professional fabricator. Superb engine, pulls really well, doesn’t smoke unduly and doesn’t use a drop of oil or water. Fuel pump has been tuned just enough but not wound up completely, so the engine hasn’t been harshly abused and never overheats. Uprated intercooler, K&N lifetime air filter and Safari Snorkel. Gearbox has no issues and no leaks. Good chassis and body, with no rot and no welding needed (had all its welding done when it was turned into a pick-up a few years ago, and sills were replaced with heavy-duty box).

Has been undersealed correctly in the past as well. This is not a shiny new showroom stunner. It has the odd mark, chip or dent but looks tidy enough and is useable for work or off-road without having to worry too badly about scratching it. Flat-bed body made from box-section with trailer wood boarding and could be modified to fit sides. Off-road accessories include +2” heavy-duty suspension, extended brake pipes, rear dislocation cones and heavy-duty cranked trailing arms, and it has a straight-through centre exhaust pipe that sounds great. 15” retro-style Wolfrace wheels with 31x10.50R15 BFGoodrich All-Terrain tyres. This is a 23 year old Land Rover and has its few quirks,

but it is also a reliable vehicle that has never let me down! £3250 ono, Ashbourne, Derbyshire, 07891 573087

Freelander

anything even slightly suspect being replaced. Due to work I never comped it, the vehicle has been used off-road so there is the odd minor dent. Also, the front inner arches have been modified for oversized extreme mud-terrain tyres. £3800. Birmingham, 07468 904986 07/15

Specials Freelander Td4 GS (2001).

136,534 miles. New flywheel, clutch, slave and master cylinder and propshaft bearing in 2015.

New battery, rear brake shoes and glow plugs in 2014, and head removed and cleaned. All fluids and filters changed recently (including transmission oils and pollen, crank case and turbo filters).

Tyres in good condition. £2000, amyowen114@btinternet. com 07/15

Freelander Td4 challenge/ comp safari off-roader.

117,000 miles. Owned 5 years with no trouble. Bought as a Cat C write-off, with water ingress ruining the interior (which I was going to strip out anyway) but no other damage. Spec includes Safety Devices MSA roll cage, 2” lift, Cobra bucket seats, 30mm wheel spacers, Allisport full-size intercooler, silicone hoses and stainless pipes, Mantec sump guard, modified intake system and induction kit, raised air intake (not plumbed due to modifying intake), strut brace, light pod, recon gearbox, Synergy 2 tuning chip and BMW Vortex crankcase breather, all new when fitted except the seats and box. Has been regularly serviced twice a year by a Freelander specialist, with

300 Tdi Tomcat 88”. 620 miles only! Tomcat reinforced axles and radius arms, ARB Air-Lockers and tyre inflator, HD steering arms, 12” remote-reservoir Fox shocks, Allisport intercooler, Zeus timing gears, X-Brake, wide-angle props, Superwinch EPi9.0 front and X9 rear winches, both with Plasma, stainless fuel tank, bucket seats with 4-point harnesses, heated windscreen, race steering wheel, Tomcat captive engine and gearbox mounts, Tomcat gearbox crossmember, Brantz trip computer, 235/85R16 Special Tracks, Exxide dry-cell battery. Owned for about 18 months and only done one CCV in it – it’s just too good for me to bash round quarries!

Based on a Disco, professionally built. Drives spot-on, soaking up all the bumps, and went straight through its MOT with no advisories. Chassis is still painted everywhere and all bushes are tight. It has had a mild fuel pump tweak to make it nicely useable but ensuring it remains totally reliable – you could take it a lot further if you wanted. Comes with extras including a standard ARC-legal front bumper, halfshafts and CVs and 2 spare Special Tracks, and is ready to drive away. £8000. Guiseley, West Yorks, 07725 139888 07/15

42 USED LAND ROVER PARTS FOR SALE w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

News

Issue 19: Sept 2015

Engine

Discovery 2 TD5 turbo intercooler. Removed from a Discovery 2 TD5 2002 model. In good working order. £72.50.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Coolant header tank for Defender and Discover 200/300 Tdi. Used, in fine condition and good working order. This is a genuine factory item, Land Rover part number PCF101590. £27.50.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

TD5 10p engine. Taken from a Discovery. Bare engine, has been heard and seen running with no nasty knocks or bangs. 60-day warranty. £895. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Axle & Diff

Defender fuel sender. Taken off a 90. £20. Wirral, Merseyside, 07598 689135 07/15

Discovery 2 TD5 exhaust manifold. Removed from a 2002 Discovery TD5 engine in good working order. Original Land Rover part number LKC 102030. £85. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Transmission

Genuine Land Rover intermediate gear shaft cluster. Part number FRC9460 OR IEH000120.

In new shop-soiled condition.

For 22D 1:410:1 transfer box.

Fits models from 1986 to 2007.

Usually more than £200 from Land Rover, even pattern ones are not available for less than £100, so grab a bargain! £72.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Defender Salisbury front axle.

The diffs in these are pretty much unbreakable! Removed from my 200Tdi Defender 90, which was used on-road and off – other than replacing the bearings and seal, I didn’t have a problem with it. Diff has had new bearings.

Good chrome balls, one swivel weeps slightly. No noise from CV joints. Good drive flanges, good discs and pads (surface rust on discs due to storage). Comes with calipers and EBC Green Stuff pads, a heavy-duty track rod and ARB armoured diff cover (if I get full asking price). Please note this is for collection only, from GL54 2EY. £900. Lower Slaughter, Gloucs, 07814 071771

Discovery 3.54:1 differential. Late 300 type. Good used condition. This is the type fitted to the later Discovery Mk1 models, with a rubber joint on the rear of the rear propshaft going on to a 3-cornered flange. The halfshafts to suit this diff have 24 splines on the inboard end. £95. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457

Discovery 2 TD5 turbo heat shield. Original Land Rover part. 1999-2004, removed from a 2002 Disco TD5. Good used order. £25.75. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Unimog 404 axles. Taken from a 404 model and therefore have locking diffs. One is complete, the other has been partially stripped in preparation for a disc-brake conversion. Ideal for building the ultimate Land Rover! £1000, offers invited. 07968 960619

Suspension Defender 110 rear axle radius arm. Genuine Land Rover part.

This item was removed from a Defender TD5 110. The bushes might need replacing. £39.95.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Steering

Discovery 300 Tdi steering column. For late vehicles with airbags, complete with ignition lock and 1x key. Land Rover sticker still in place, showing part number ANR3654. £60.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 2 V8 Auto rear propshaft. £38. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

TD5 15P crank pulley and damper. To fit Defender or Discovery 2. Genuine Land Rover part number LHG 100580. Removed from a 2002 Discovery 15p engine in good working order. £137.50.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery 2 4.0 V8 air flow meter. In good working condition. £28. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 300 / TD5 rear propshaft. Genuine Land Rover part, 3-bolt flange type, part number FTC 3705. Removed from a Discovery 300 Tdi, but also fits the Disco 2. In good working order. £22.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery 300 Tdi R380 gearbox. In working condition. £145.

Wirral, Merseyside, 07598 689135 07/15

Power steering reservoir for Defender, Discovery or Range Rover, Classic. Fits all models. £12.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade Land Rover front and rear axles. Complete with bars, diffs and calipers. Need a clean but in good solid condition. I can deliver – please ask for a quote. £210.

Sheffield, 07974 657030 07/15

Defender rear Salisbury axle with ARB Air-Locker. Removed from my 200Tdi 90 after the pinion bearings collapsied due to a bad rebuild (pinion nut wasn’t done up!) Locker is in good working order and has had a new air ring and pipe so it seals well and locks when required. The axle does need a rebuild; included in the sale is another part-stripped axle to make one good one. However the ARB armoured cover in the picture is not included in the sale as I need it for my 110. Please note this is for collection only, from GL54 2EY. £400. Lower Slaughter, Gloucestershire, 07814 071771

Vehicles

Adventure

Workshop

than any other Classic. £475.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Trade

Freelander 1.8 manual gearbox. To fit 1997-2006 Freelander 1 models. Used item, fully tested and in working order. £60. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Products

Body

Clubs

Set of 4 Land Rover Tornado alloys. 16” wheels, Defender fit.

All are in a good, clean condition. £80. Stafford, 07913 021857 Discovery 300 Tdi dash switches. Eight in total. £15.

Wirral, Merseyside, 07598 689135 07/15

Defender TD5 aluminium bonnet. Suits 90, 110 and 130.

Taken from a 2003 vehicle. In good general condition, with some scratches in the paint and a dent on the left hand front. It also has holes from previously fitted checker plate. Virtually no corrosion. Fits all Defender Td5 models. £45. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Defender front left-hand passenger door. Good general condition with minor corrosion and dents, plus some minor scratches in the paint. The door comes with window glass and runners, and the door latch striker mechanism is also included. £175. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Interior

Defender TD5 seat box. Various colours available, with and without carpets. Some minor blemishes, dents and corrosion, but all are in good used condition and you can take your pick when collecting. £80. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Off-Road Range Rover Classic offside front outer wing panel. Early exposed-hinge type. Right-hand (driver’s) side. Good used condition. Removed from a 1980 2-door. It has some rather ghastly ‘styling’ trims fitted which could be removed with care, but is a lot better than many we reuse these days. £45. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Series I roof. Hard-top roof for an 86” Series I, overall length approx 84”. It has been lined with carpet to reduce noise, I think, but this could be removed. Please note that the ‘cat flap’ door is missing and not included with the roof. It is ONLY the main roof panel and the sides (including widows) that are for sale. It has been taken apart for easy transport – I moved it on a roof rack. £75. Exeter, Devon, 07722 104796 07/15

Discovery 2 TD5 nearside front window regulator. Full mechanicsm and motor. £18.

Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Defender footwell insulation and soundproofing. 1998-on.

Rubber insulation mats to cover left and right footwells.

Good used order. Sold as a pair. £87.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery 300 Tdi rear window mechanisms. Left and right available. £15 each. Wirral, Merseyside, 07598 689135

Set of 4 BFGoodrich KM2 Mud-Terrains. 265/75R16 109Q. All in very good condition, no repairs of any kind, no cuts etc.

All have 11mm of tread across their width. Two have slight wear to outer edge. Excellent tyres, couldn’t fault them. Selling as I have now got All-Terrains due to covering more miles. £425.

Telford, Shropshire, 07882 379602 07/15

Breakers Series I roll bar. Was fitted to an 86” Series I but has now been removed. Has what seems to be a high-lift jack carrier. The bar is pitted in places and needs a good paint but seems very solid and strong! £40. Exeter, 07722 104796 07/15

Land Rover Defender heavy-duty front winch bumper. Brand new and never been used. Heavy-duty to suit Defender 110 or 90. Heavy-duty recovery points, ready painted with POR15. Collection only from Mansfield, Notts. £125. stig@ exup1000.co.uk

300Tdi 90 parts. Removed from a vehicle I’ve refurbished.

Includes chassis, in need of some welding but has had new rear crossmember a few years ago; 4 springs and shocks in good condition; complete exhaust; radiator; one seat frame; door frames; and various other bits and pieces. Buyer collects. Available separately or in lots to suit you.

Priced depending on what you’re after, offers welcome. Evesham, Worcs, 07795 447184 Discovery 2 (1999) rolling chassis. Complete with TD5 engine and automatic box, axles, propshafts, fuel tank, ACE and air suspension, five 18” alloys with tyres (two as new, two very good). Chassis rusty at the rear. Complete with V5 logbook. £900 ono. 07788 535957, Essex 06/15

07/15

Wheels & Tyres

Hard-top for Series II or III 88”. With side panels. Rear door possibly also available if required, please ask. £145. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457

Discovery 200 Tdi or early V8 door mirror. Early electric driver’s door mirror for Mk1 Disco from 1990 to 1994, in good used condition. £24. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Trade

Range Rover Classic LSE roof assembly. Good used condition – some small marks but way above average and better than a damaged or dented one. These are ultra rare as they are unique to the LSE model, being longer

Discovery 2 nearside headlight. Passenger’s side. From a 2000 model, so pre-facelift. One of the light fitting clips has been removed. These are a simple job to change with a small screwdriver. £34. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Matching set of 5 tyres.

235/85R16C. Road-going pattern, reasonably chunky but nice and quiet. Removed when I fitted off-road tyres. As new. £275.

Chichester, 01243 788811 Range Rover P38 wood and leather steering wheel.

Lightstone finish. In good general condition and full working order, with radio and cruise control buttons. This item was removed from a 2001 P38 Vogue model in full working order and all functions were checked prior to removal.

There are minor blemishes on both the wood and the leather, but the leather is not torn and the stitching is in good condition.

The leather could be re-coloured to make it look like new. £225.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Breaking this 90. Call with requirements. £18. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Listings on this page are FREE for private sellers and existing advertisers. Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242

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

Calendar

Off-Road Playdays Frickley 4x4

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Slindon Safari

Fontwell, West Sussex

Trans Pennine Off Road Events Holymoorside, Chesterfield

29 August Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs Dates are apt to change, so always check with the site before travelling

30 August Kirton Off Road Centre

25 July

9 August

Kirton Off Road Centre

4x4 Wthout a Club

31 August

26 July

Boxgrove

Cowm Leisure

Cowm Leisure

Whitworth, Lancashire

Essex, Rochford and District 4x4 Club

Hill ‘n’ Ditch 4x4

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Frickley 4x4

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Devil’s Pit

Frickley 4x4

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Hill ‘n’ Ditch 4x4

Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Slindon Safari

Fontwell, West Sussex

2 August Bala 4x4

Bala, Gwynedd

Harbour Hill, Aldermaston Chichester, West Sussex

Rayleigh, Essex

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Hill ‘n’ Ditch 4x4

Mouldsworth, Cheshire

16 August Explore Off Road

Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

Muddy Bottom

Minstead, Hampshire

Mud Monsters

East Grinstead, West Sussex

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Whitworth, Lancashire Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Thames Valley 4x4

Avon Dassett, Warwickshire

6 September Bala 4x4

Bala, Gwynedd

Devil’s Pit

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Dundry Off-Road Dundry, Bristol

Dundry Off-Road

North Yorks Off Road Centre

Muddy Bottom

Muddy Bottom

Parkwood 4x4

North Yorks Off Road Centre

Tong, Bradford

Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks

North Yorks Off Road Centre

23 August

Parkwood 4x4 Tong, Bradford

Picadilly Wood

Devil’s Pit

Picadilly Wood

Dundry, Bristol

Minstead, Hampshire

Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks Bolney, West Sussex

Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Minstead, Hampshire

Bolney, West Sussex

Green Lane Convoy Events 29-30 July

8-9 August

14 August

4x4 Treks Galloway

Waypoint Tours

UK Landrover Events

1-2 August

9 August

16 August

UK Landrover Events

UK Landrover Events

UK Landrover Events

3-4 August

10-11 August

17-18 August

4x4 Treks Galloway

4x4 Treks Galloway

4x4 Treks Galloway

5-6 August

12-13 August

19-20 August

4x4 Treks Galloway

4x4 Treks Galloway

4x4 Treks Galloway

Galloway Forest

Wiltshire

Forrest Estate, Galloway

Galloway Forest

Wiltshire

Tynedale

Forrest Estate, Galloway

Galloway Forest

Tynedale

Durham Dales

Forrest Estate, Galloway

Galloway Forest

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Issue 19: Sept 2015

News

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Sloshing with SSLRC

Above: Willy Wonka was clearly quite happy with her choice to let the Oompa Loompas have a night off to roam Bishop’s Castle – and the same can be said for the Oompa Loompas, too. We hear Wonka’s Beer Factory could be opening soon…

Ann Cooper There is one thing that no-one can say about us at Staffs and Shrops Land Rover Club, and that is that we are not sociable. In fact we have a letter to prove it! Therefore, it figures that one of the most anticipated weekends away for us is the trip on the Beer Bus. This takes us from the farm at Medlicott belonging to one of our members to the Bishop’s Castle Beer Festival – held on the second weekend of July each year.

Saturday morning sees everyone hurrying round, getting ready before the bus arrives at midday – made more exciting because for the second year running we have made the trip fancy dress for those up for it.

Two trips of the bus take the group on the half-hour ride to the lovely town of Bishop’s Castle, where we meet in the Three Tuns Inn courtyard – the locals wondering what exactly is happening when we pile out dressed in our various attire. Included in the group were Willy Wonka and ‘her’ five Oompa Loompas, the 118 Guys, the chairman dressed as the Granny from The Kumars, King Arthur, Alice in Wonderland meets the White Rabbit and Queen of Hearts, a Pink Lady, a pirate, a vicar, a highwayman,

retirement champion, Warwick Davis riding a dinosaur, and a life-size Whoopee Cushion!

Luckily we could keep an eye on most of the others, as a fair few of them were sporting the infamous ‘There Ain’t No Party Like an S&S Club Party’ T-shirts. So once everyone had arrived and got their stackable Beer Festival mugs filled (emptied shortly after by some), we headed off to The Castle.

The excitement of the jazz band playing at The Castle got too much for Bert Bullough in particular, so we moved on down the High Street to The Vines. The Vines always holds special memories for one S&S couple, as it is where Darryl Key proposed to the then Helen Medlicott – the romantic atmosphere clear to see as we head out the back where a rock band is in full flow!

After a pit stop for photos with a hen party, next we staggered to The Kings Head, the weather holding nicely, so we go to their outdoor area.

By this point, various wigs were being swapped and lipstick applying starts (Kevin Stubbs does love a red lippy, I tell you). By now, Jeff Bazeley was complaining that he had spent more money on batteries keeping his dinosaur looking pert than he had on beer!

We moved to The Six Bells – passing the well known brightly painted

Zip and Jigsaw houses that have been widely reported this year. The Six Bells didn’t disappoint once again; always busy with another band playing – to their relief or shock (I’m not sure which) the S&S crew joined them on the stage – with my fellow Oompa Loompas particularly enjoying themselves, wouldn’t you say Lisa Walters?

Dancing and laughing was the order of the day here, the band going down a storm – even getting Father Peter

Roberts up on stage, joined by some of the other beer festival goers. At 7pm Neil Medlicott, who as a local had kept himself in disguise all day behind his Dick Turpin mask, rounded us all up for the journey home.

Fun and frivolity ensued on the bus trip back, with King Arthur kissing Alice in Wonderland’s feet for some strange reason, which really just summed up another thoroughly memorable annual S&S beer bus trip.

Above: A little reminder to those of you out there that may be thinking the SSLRC are just a bunch of sloshies. Yes, they like their beer, but on most weekends they do this…

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

Peak Temperature

Words Mike Trott Pictures Frank King Following a week of Spanish weather with the Sun scorching the surface of the UK, July arrived to the sound of crisping skin, sizzling barbecues and yowls from the application of after sun lotions to sensitive body parts.

The first weekend, on July 5, would be one of the Series III & 90-110 Owners Club’s annual runs throughout a picturesque part of the UK. This time we were in the Peaks, with the town of Ashbourne providing the start and finish of our 35-mile adventure.

This event has previously been staged as the Midland Run, but from

this year onwards it has being renamed to reflect the area we were visiting as oppose to just the general direction people were headed. So what was the Midland Run was now known as the Peak District Run. A 22-strong parade of Solihull’s finest metal could be seen meandering the South Peak District roads, taking in the sights of Ilam, Alstonefield and Thor’s Cave before pitting for a comfort break at the public convenience block in Wetton.

As it was such a wonderful day, local residents appeared from the bottoms of their gardens, walking over to chat to the people in the vehicles. They were pleased to hear that the club’s charity

is the Royal British Legion and after further conversing, they waved us on our way as we started to roam back towards Ashbourne.

In the Peak District, country lanes are tight and narrow. Consequently, if you happen to come across a herd of cows while you’re travelling down said lane, don’t expect to move past them within a few minutes – as some of the club members found out!

No one should be in a hurry, though, when the climate resembles something not dissimilar to Marbella.

Windows down, your Land Rover singing away – what’s not to love about the Peak District Run? Until next year…

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SROC runs beta test Issue 19: Sept 2015

Words Mike Trott Pictures Sharon Baitup

This trial competition May have taken place a couple of months ago now. Get it? May…? Moving on…

The Southern Rover Owners Club hasn’t featured between our covers before, but its trial scene has proven that the club knows how to put on a show – and can make its sections as awkward to deal with as any.

Copford Farm provided the backdrop to this early May bank holiday event. This is the venue for next year’s ALRC National – and this spring’s trial was therefore a perfect opportunity for competitors to get a decent grasp of which areas of the site could provide them with their greatest tests during the 2016 annual extravaganza.

An RTV and CCV were run over the weekend, among the gentler Tyro, Bike and JTV trials, so competitors could choose how much of a thrill they wanted while driving and spectators would have loads to chew on over the course of the weekend.

In the everyman RTV class, a heavily fought battle between Michael Leonard and Dave Powell ended with the latter losing out by just a single point. While Dave wasn’t the overall winner, however, he managed to secure the honours in his own Standard Short Wheelbase Class.

In the showcase CCV, it was another closely contested fight for the top step of the podium, with Jamie Croft eventually emerging as the victor in the 22-man field and racking up just four points over the nine sections.

The runner-up, George Baker, made sure the CCV was every bit as gripping as the RTV, pushing his opponent all the way but, like Dave in the RTV, falling short by just a single point.

Claiming the third and final rostrum place was the duo of Ron Baker and Simon Barden, who emphasised that there was nothing to choose between them after mimicking each other’s scores through every single section of the event.

The club’s flagship event of the year is just around the corner, which is attended by competitors from across the country. This two-day CCV event is held on the first weekend of August each year and 2015 marks the 21st year of this contest.

For more information on the club and its events, visit www.sroc.co.uk

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All roads lead to Cartmel for 2015 War of the Roses Pictures North Wales LRC For the majority of the time, the only thing historic about Land Rover events comes from the age of the vehicles themselves. But the War of the Roses competition has become a legendary date in the calendar – and not without reason, for this unique off-road event is closing in on being able to celebrate three decades since its first running.

The War of the Roses has been called the original challenge event. That’s a little misleading, as it’s not about winching as such, but the idea of challenging a set of multi-vehicle teams to get around a series of awkward tasks

designed to make them think as well as drive originated here long before anyone ever thought to turn recovering yourself into a sport.

This year’s even was hosted, as usual, by the Red Rose Land Rover Club in Cartmel. Up in the Lake District, this is the sort of off-road site dreams are made of – or for those of you into your hot and sticky substances, it’s the home of sticky toffee pudding.

But there was to be no time to waste on gorging upon sizzling sugar.

Instead, teams of six, each using three Land Rovers, would participate in a variety of timed challenges organised for the day, with penalties being

dished out for dangerous moves, breaking rules, standing in exclusion zones an so on.

There was also the usual array of trialling activities set up throughout the course of the weekend, and it meant that everyone involved, through from the boisterous teenagers to the gentle elders, were kept busy.

It’s a good-natured competition, with teams coming from across the north to take part in the fun. In keeping with the creative nature of the event, there was even a welly throwing competition! Now if that’s not in the next Olympics, we’ll be having words with Lord Coe…

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Above: All’s fair in love and war, as they say. But at least in this conflict the militias are armed only with Land Rovers. Below: Nice of Tom Cruise to drop in (geddit?) while filming the latest version of Mission: Impossible