The essential annual for Land Rover owners and enthusiasts
Land Rover
2 020
YEARBOOK 10 £7.99
the year’s pages of cts for u best prod over R d n a L r u yo
FUTURE PERFECT?
How is the new Defender shaping up to be your next Land Rover? Finest Range Rover?
LWB excels in every way
HOMECOMING HERO
The Series 1 that came in from the cold
ON TEST
✔ Enhanced ✔ Restored ✔ Preserved ✔ Modified
One great Land Rover after another inside
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VETRUN 180
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Contents
Features NEW DEFENDER
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At long last, you can buy a new Defender. But the question is, should you? The answer is probably not as clear as you might assume
NEW EVOQUE
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4
The replacement for the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time needs to be good. It’s certainly a lot more like a Range Rover than it used to be…
RANGE ROVER LWB
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Can you get too much of a good thing? The stretched Rangey turns out to leave us wanting yet more…
PRODUCTS
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Prepping a Landy for off-roading? Bringing and old one back from the dead? Making it better as an everyday car? Whatever your project, here are the bits, pieces, tools and more to help you get it done
136 BUYERS GUIDE
If you don’t currently own a Land Rover, this magazine will make you want one. And the good news is that we’ve also got a treasure trove of info to help you scratch that itch without making yourself bleed
Workshop 70
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DEFENDER BRAKES
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It’s an area you don’t want to neglect – and the good news is that looking after your brakes needn’t be a bind
100 TD5 SERVICE
Everyday maintenance on a modern-ish Defender
104 DISCO 2 TRANNY SEAL
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66
If those words strike fear into your heart, you’re not wrong…
108 BAD VIBES
Our 90 has a case of the shakes… time to get under it and look for the cause
90
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Vehicles 34 FUTURE 0, DEFENDER 1 Diesel will never die, right? Not if the mob in city hall have their way… in which case, JE Motor Works’ latest engine conversion might make for a future-proof Defender
38 MADDEST P38 EVER
A slammed Range Rover double-cab hot rod. Because, obviously…
40 HOME FROM HOME
A 6x6 Defender with a house on top – complete with its very own full-sized front foor. Nothing small about this thing…
44 CUMMINS TO GET YOU…
Want a better engine? Here’s why more and more people are opening their eyes to the might of Cummins
48 HOMECOMING SERIES I
If you’d sold the Landy your dad taught you to drive in, but then years later you saw it up for sale, you know what you’d do. Dad was in for a surprise…
52 DORMOBILE DELIGHT
A Series IIA with one of the smartest conversions ever done to a Land Rover still makes a smart holiday ride today
56 TEEN DREAM
Man gets car he dreamt of as a kid: not a very unusual story. It’s a Series IIB: an entirely unique story…
From the team that brings you…
60 THE BEST-EVER 90?
Does an ex-Army Wolf make for the best Defender money can buy?
66 PRISTINE DISCO 1
There aren’t many good 200 Tdis left. Here’s a low-mileage, one-owner example that’s very good indeed…
70 PHASE ONE FIND
Many people have bought old Range Rovers not totally sure what they might be getting. Only a few have turned out to have stumbled on a super-rare Phase One
74 DEAL OR NO DEAL?
Noel Edmonds’ company tried to create the ultimate (by 1990s’ standards) in modern, connected transport. The result was a P38 that cost £450,000…
78 LIFE’S WORK LANDY
David Bowyer promised himself one last build before he retired. And it was going to be the best Defender he could create
86 MIGHTY DISCO
Even today, a Discovery on 37” tyres is a pretty radical concept. Back when they were new, it was a show-stopper
90 RACE ROVER
Even in the early days of off-road racing, a full-bodied Range Rover was still a rare sight on the stages. Rare, but very special
01283 553243 michael.trott@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.thelandy.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Founding Editor Alan Kidd Editor Mike Trott Assistant Editor George Dove Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Paul Looe, Dan Fenn, Gary Noskill, Olly Sack, Stephen Pell, Jenny Bright, Gavin Lowrie, Noel and Marilu Peries, Raymond and Nereide Greaves, Photographers Vic Peel, Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm, Phil Masters, Gavin Kaps Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising and Exhibition Sales Executive Abigail Cooper Tel: 01283 553246 Advertising Production Sarah Lowe Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Manager Catherine Martin
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Subscriptions Assistants Emma Emery, Kay Tunnicliffe, Abi Dutton Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Lowe Email: sarah.lowe@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to The Landy, or renew your subscription, call 01283 553243 Current price for 12 issues: UK £28 The Landy is available from newsagents, priced at £2.75 a copy, and free through selected Britpart dealers Every effort is made to ensure the contents of The Land Rover Yearbook are accurate, however Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these
Adventures 112 PERU AND BOLIVIA
Sensational landscapes and awesome driving in the heights of the Andes – and the legendary Salar de Uyuni
118 LIVING IN YOUR LANDY
Real-world advice on expedition travel – how to turn your truck into home without driving yourself mad
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124 AFRICA BY L322
One of the bravest travel stories you’ll ever read – trusting a Rangey-full of electronics to get you across Africa
130 VETRUN 180
A Landy adventure with a real purpose – to help ex-servicemen cope with the crippling effects of PTSD
When responding to any advert in The Land Rover Yearbook, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable steps to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred as a result of responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC-BY-2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org The Land Rover Yearbook is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House 1.08, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby DE15 0YZ
© Assignment Media Ltd, 2019
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DRIVEN
RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
All-new version of Land Rover’s posh kid feels like a proper Range Rover at last, and is vastly improved to drive –but is frighteningly thirsty in petrol form ON TEST Evoque P250 First Edition
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and Rover hit gold with the original Evoque. With its combination of class, equipment and concept car styling, it became the fastestselling model ever to wear the green oval badge, proving beyond doubt that Land Rover had entered the premium car mainstream.
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As has been the case with other premium car makers in the past, however, what the Evoque demonstrated was that people will eagerly splash their money for a badge – irrespective of whether the vehicle itself is actually worth it. The original Evoque was a looker, for sure, both inside and out, but it was
cramped in the back, low on practicality and average to drive. It might have had classy trim and premium kit to go with its iconic styling, but there was precious little about it to justify being called a Range Rover. It says much that the new Evoque is so similar in appearance to the old one. People who fell in love with its styling then will still love it now. In fact, you’ve got to look carefully for the differences. But under the skin, what we have here is an all-new model. Based on Land Rover’s new PTA platform, it’s 13% stiffer than before and has a
21mm longer wheelbase – despite being only 1mm longer in the body. All Evoques equipped with four-wheel drive are hybrids, with a 48-volt electric motor aiding the engine during acceleration. This brings down emissions, but it doesn’t make the Evoque a fuel-sipper – the mid-range petrol model tested here quotes WLTP figures averaging 29.5mpg. You get a return of 249bhp and 269lbf.ft for that, from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot that’s dubbed the P250 in Land Rover’s model range. We’re testing it here in First Edition form, priced from £50,400 on the road; our Evoque was unusually low on optional extras, with only Adaptive Dynamics and Configurable Dynamics added
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with an easy one-shot motion to add length. We’d like to see them dropping flatter, but there’s no step to get over when you’re loading long and heavy items and the tailgate lip is nice and low. So it does enough without dishing up any full-on wonders, and the same is the case with oddment stowage – you won’t grumble, but you certainly won’t be wowed by how clever it is either. The big story inside the Evoque is definitely how cool, slick and modern it is – just like the old one, you might say, only this time the stuff that really matters hasn’t been left behind in the rush to stay classy.
DRIVING The Evoque’s cabin is finally that of a true Range Rover, with the bulk of its infotainment and control systems taken directly from the full-fat model costing twice as much. Material and build quality is outstanding, and so too is the driving position. Another advance on the old Evoque is that rear-seat accommodation is now suitable for tall adults to the already rich mix, and would cost you £51,120.
CABIN AND PRACTICALITY It feels like a Range Rover from the moment you climb aboard. That’s a very good start, and by and large the Evoque keeps it up. The dash is attractively laid out and presents you with a mixture of leather, highquality plastics and slick looking touch-screen control panels, giving it a pleasingly minimal appearance that’s tidy without looking sparse. The controls are universally excellent to touch and operate, and ergonomics are similarly good. We found that the gear selector baulked at being flicked quickly between Drive and Reverse during brisk three-pointers, and the menus on the two touch-screens needed more learning than some, but it’s very tidy and pretty logical overall.
It also has a seating position that’s worthy of the Range Rover name. Despite the fairly shallow windows, you get an excellent view ahead, to the sides and even over your shoulders – there’s no such thing as an SUV without a cluttered rear three-quarters these days, but the Evoque is above average here. Not that it matters much when you get an excellent high-res reversing camera and sensors, but still. The seats themselves are pretty good, too. There’s plenty of support all round, and loads of adjustability; we did find ourselves needing to pump up the lumbar cushion to prevent aches on a long journey, but they manage to strike a pretty fair balance between being soft and supportive. The leather in our model didn’t strike us as feeling as nice as it looked, but one of the good things about Land Rover is that it offers various other premium materials as well. In the back, the old Evoque let itself down very badly. And aided
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by that longer wheelbase, the new one is massively improved. Land Rover says rear legroom has been improved by 20mm, but it feels to us like a lot more – with deep recesses in the backs of the front seats, one six-foot adult can now sit comfortably behind another. Headroom is on the tight side here, and the view out is compromised by a rising waistline and sloping C-posts, but it’s like chalk and cheese compared to the old Evoque. Tall adults might not want to sit in the back for hours on end, but for short and medium journeys it’s more than adequate. A very welcome surprise. It’s a decent load-lugger, too – though without setting any new standards in the class. Land Rover claims a 10% increase in capacity, which sounds handy until you consider how poor the old one was, but again the improvement goes way beyond what the numbers suggest. It’s spacious enough when the seats are up, and they fold
The new, stiffer platform on which the Evoque is built makes its presence felt from the word go. It’s smooth and beautifully composed to drive, whether at speed on twisting B-roads or around town on the jagged mess of broken tarmac that’s our typical lot in this country. Ride quality is impressive, with not even the 285/50R20 tyres on our test vehicle preventing bumps in the road from being kept at arm’s length. You do feel the body being moved on its springs, but without any harshness at all. It has to be recognised here that our test vehicle was on optional dampers, however – but given that they add so little (everything’s relative) to the overall price, we’d not hesitate to recommend its overall dynamics exactly as we found them. In particular, the balance of ride and handling is excellent. It’s smooth and fluid in low-speed corners, then at speed it becomes taut and agile, allowing you to make the most of the engine’s not insubstantial output. This comes with a lively snarl that adds a bit of theatre to the occasion – and perhaps reminds you of what you’re doing, which is no bad thing as this is one of those vehicles in which a brisk overtaking manoeuvre can very easily result in you glancing at the dash to discover that you’re busting the speed limit by 50%. Certainly, twisting roads become very entertaining – with torque vectoring to back up all the good stuff from the steering and suspension, corners are taken with great confidence, and body roll is minimal however hard you push it. Our impression was that we’d have liked a stronger feeling of
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Tight Fit
What do you do when you’ve tuned your Defender’s Td5 engine as far as it will go but you’re still hungry for more? Why, you shoehorn in a 5.9-litre straightsix Cummins engine, of course!
WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT
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ngine tuning is commonplace in the world of enthusiast motoring, but it’s even more natural to find it in the Land Rover fraternity when more power is often high up on the wish list of many owners. Yes, we may be the butt of social media memes with clips of Green Oval machines being overtaken by snails and other notoriously sluggish sentient beings, however, we are no strangers to making the odd speed tweak. The Defender is always a case in point. As fantastically brilliant off-road as they may be, when it comes to making progress on the open road, you’ll find that even the clouds above you appear to be moving at a quicker rate of knots. That is unless you encounter a Td5-propelled Land Rover and the type of motor that need only a sprinkle of remapping and a few twists of the spanner to get it ramped up and feeling a whole lot more purposeful out on the blacktop. Daniel Levine knows all about turning up the wick on a Td5. The only issue is that last year he finally came to the conclusion that there was nothing more he could do and found himself
at a dead end. So, in which direction did Daniel choose to go next? ‘I went as far as I could with the Td5, so I thought I would give the Cummins engine a go,’ reveals Daniel. When Daniel says ‘giving it a go’, he actually means trying to squeeze a 5.9-litre straight-six diesel lump into a space that previously only housed a 2.5-litre five-cylinder power plant. There’s potential for head scratching here. While the engine swap may sound ambitious, Daniel was spurred on in the knowledge that his brother is a motorsport engineer, plus there’s always someone else attempting to make your dream a reality elsewhere. ‘I took a bit of inspiration from the Cummins Facebook page, as a guy was doing one at the same time as us, although he was going further and taking the whole vehicle back to the chassis,’ continues Daniel. ‘Me and my brother were just dropping one in and trying to do the best job we could.’ Shoehorning a 6BTA Cummins engine into a Defender is always going to be like taking a canal boat through a lock: you’re going to need every
last millimetre. But then this isn’t just some lardy car engine. The straight-six Cummins has been used in a number of applications over the years, most notably in the DAF lorries and the Dodge Ram between 1989 and 1998 (a 24-valve version replaced the 12-valve motor from hereon out). It is therefore a very adaptable engine and relatively easy to come by, while the workhorse nature of the unit suits a truck like the Defender down to a tee. ‘The Cummins was always going to be less complicated than trying to place something like a Mercedes engine inside the vehicle,’ says Daniel. ‘You could tune it up quite a bit as well with plenty of parts to choose from in the States. ‘The size of it is one thing, but half the challenge of putting it in is just the sheer weight of it. We managed to get the engine, gearbox and transfer box in, all as one unit!’ That takes some doing. Imagine Luke Skywalker weaving his X-wing through the Death Star’s trenches and you start to get the picture. In order for the drivetrain to fit properly, the bulkhead
‘The Cummins was always going to be less complex than trying to place something like a Mercedes engine inside. You could tune it up quite a bit as well with plenty of parts to choose from in the States’ LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 3pp Levine Cummins 110.indd 45
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A Lifetime’s Achievement After a life spent in the Land Rover business, David Bowyer thought he’d put his expertise to use and finally get round to doing a project he’d always promised himself. It’s been well worth the wait…
WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT
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ou know those jobs you’ve been meaning to do for, well, ever? Like putting up that shelf and starting that diet you harped on about as a New Year’s resolution? Imagine how smug you would feel if you could finish them all and marvel at your accomplishments. There is one person out there, though, who knows what that feeling is like after completing his ‘ambition’. The man in question had dreamed
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for many years of fully restoring and rebuilding a Tdi Land Rover 90 – but this isn’t any ordinary rebuild, dear reader. Of course, it would be only right to let the man himself explain to you why that is. So away you go, David Bowyer. ‘Anything that hasn’t been galvanised on the Defender is stainless steel or has been sheradised, which is an old Black Country preservation method!’ smiles David. ‘The thought was there
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five years ago, and it all started with a roll cage I bought at Billing. “What vehicle is it for?” they asked,’ says David. ‘I told them, “It will be for a special project… when I finally get round to it!”’ At the time of writing, David reckons the 90 may be about 98% complete (he’s been saying this for a while) and just has a few more bits and pieces to add. It’s like eating out at one of those Chinese buffets. It starts so innocently until you get to
the point where you’re thinking, ‘Just one more prawn cracker… just one more spare rib…’ and then before you know it, all the staff are having to wrestle you to the ground for fear of being eaten out of business. No? Just me then. We’ll get to the finishing touches later. And they’re worth the wait. But first, if you’re going to spend two and a half years rebuilding a vehicle, you need to make sure it’s the right one! For David, it had to be a Tdi 90.
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BUYERS’ GUIDE
Series I (1948-1958)
Versions: 80” (‘48-’53), 86” (‘54-’56), 107” Pick Up (‘54-’56), 107” SW (‘54-’58). 88”, 109” Pick Up (‘56-’58). 1.6 4cyl petrol (‘48-‘52), 2.0 4cyl petrol (‘52- ‘58)
£7000-£75,000+
I
f you want to be the owner of a vehicle that oozes heritage like no other, then surely a Series I Land Rover is the way to go. The Land-Rover, as it was known until the Series II came along, is the most sought after Land Rover for purists and collectors alike – particularly in its original 80” guise. Its 1940’s engineering gives it a real charisma, but consequently, parts aren’t as readily available as they once were. Restoration
projects require deep pockets, but then a finished example will fetch mega bucks. Gone are the days where you could use a Series I as an actual Land Rover, because with restored and cherished examples now retailing where they’re at, preservation is the aim of the game. The rarer and earlier the vehicle, the higher the price tag gets. But can you really put a price on such an icon?
Pros: Heritage, charm, a true classic, the original Land Rover Cons: Availability of parts, price tag on early 80s
Series II/IIA (1958-1971) Versions: 88”, 109”. 2.25 4cyl petrol (‘58-’71), 2.0 4cyl diesel (‘58-’61), 2.25 4cyl diesel (‘61-’71), 2.6 6cyl petrol (‘67-’71 (109” only))
£3500-£35,000
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n 1958, the second-generation Land Rover was born and along came the barrel sides which we continue to recognise on even the very last Defenders. Today the Series II or IIA is a more affordable prospect than a Series I, yet it still carries much of that early charm that makes it a hit with enthusiasts. The prices are on the increase, however, as these 50-year-old vehicles start to come into their
own as a collector’s item. A 2.25 petrol 88” would be our pick, as the diesel engines, certainly the 2.0-litre diesel, were underpowered and noisy. The Series II/IIA carries a wider stance than its predecessor and adds an extra (albeit thin) layer of refinement over the Series I. While the engines have excellent longevity, however, they do need to have been maintained properly. Be thorough in your checks.
Pros: As a resto it’s a sound investment, some examples now MOT exempt, more desirable than SIII Cons: Bulkheads very prone to rotting, check suspension leaves for seizing
Series III (1971-1985) Versions: 88”, 109”. 2.25 4cyl petrol, 2.25 4cyl diesel. 2.6 6cyl petrol produced until 1980. Stage One V8 used detuned version of the 3.5 V8 (‘79-‘85)
£3000-£25,000
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ollowing on from the Series IIA, the Series III emerged in 1971 with a few cosmetic tweaks to freshen up the model. Headlights were shifted out to the wings in-line with new legislation and the dash received a bit of padding to hide the new safety bar across the top of the bulkhead – not sure it’s a five stars on the Euro NCAP scale, though. The Series III wasn’t too dissimilar to the Series II in mechanical
terms, keeping the same 2.25-litre engines throughout its production, although in 1980 the 2.25 motors switched to a more durable five bearing setup. The transmission also received syncromesh on all forward gears, which helps make it that bit easier to live with. They still carry the simplicity of earlier Land Rovers, but can be obtained for a fraction of the price... for now.
Pros: Most affordable way into Series ownership, still has the Series pedigree, parts still widely available Cons: Not as desirable as earlier Series models
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Lightweight (1968-1984)
£3500-£18,000
Versions: 88”. IIA (‘68-’72), III (‘72-’84). 2.25 4cyl petrol engine
BUYERS’ GUIDE
P
ossibly the ugly duckling of the Series Land Rover family – but that doesn’t mean to say you’ll struggle to find any love for the Series Lightweights. These military-derived vehicles can be easily distinguished from the regular Series Land Rovers, with visibly more angular wings and a frontal appearance that does divide opinion on occasion. To mimic the Series machines from civvy street, the SIII Light-
weight – built from 1972 onwards – also had its headlights switched out to the wings. The Lightweight used to be popular for trialling, as it’s narrower than a standard Series II or III. Today, though, they’re classics – whose military heritage adds an extra dimension to Land Rover ownership. It means you get a Land Rover that could have a few more stories to tell – and you have something that stands out from the crowd.
Pros: Not like all the other Series Land Rovers out there, military background, 2.25 petrol is lovely and reliable Cons: Styling isn’t to everyone’s taste, can be pricey owing to their rarity compared to other Series IIs and IIIs
Forward Controls (1962-1978) Versions: Series IIA (‘62-’66), Series IIB (‘66-’72), 101 (‘72-’78). 2.6 6cyl petrol engines for IIA/IIB, 3.5 V8 petrol for 101
£8000-£35,000
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nly serious enthusiasts need continue reading here. Ownership of any Forward Control is not for the faint-hearted. These leviathans are expensive to run and trying to get hold of some of the parts can be, quite frankly, a bit of a nightmare. Clubs can help here, though, as is often the case with any Land Rover. There were two distinct models of forward-control Land Rover. The Series IIA and IIB were work wagons built for the civilian market and powered by a 2.6-litre petrol
engine, while the 101 was an army truck with the 3.5-litre V8. These vehicles offer substantial payloads if that’s the sort of thing you’re after, but will also tick the boxes for huge, unnecessary and hilariously addictive fun. If you’re going to go the whole hog, the 101 means you have the feted V8 engine harping away underneath you (literally), and driving any forward control gives you a lofty view over the roofs of ever other vehicle n the road. Surely that’s reason enough to buy one?
Pros: Soundtrack, presence, exclusivity Cons: Fuel bill, fuel bill, parking conundrums… fuel bill
Ninety/One Ten (1983-1990) Versions: Ninety (‘84-’90), One Ten, 127 (‘83-’90). 2.25 4cyl petrol (‘83’85), 3.5 V8 (‘83-’90), 2.5NA 4cyl diesel (‘84-’90), 2.5 4cyl petrol (‘85-’90), 2.5TD (‘86-’90)
£5000-£13,000 The icon of the 4x4 world. This is Land Rover at its best: a no nonsense workhorse that can also take you just about anywhere in the entire world. Early examples of the Ninety and One Ten are worth keeping hold of, providing they’re in good condition – but you’ll be searching far and wide for examples that are. This was the birth of the Defender, despite not being christened
officially until 1990, and as such these Land Rovers had coil-sprung suspension, new engines – although they were still terribly underwhelming – and off-road capability that has still yet to be matched today. A very early 2.25 petrol 90 is a rare thing, and a beautiful one too. But perhaps try for a 2.5TD version with low miles and good history. They’re robust and as simple as they come.
Pros: Good ones are now worth saving, same ability as Tdiengined Defenders Cons: Engines underpowered, not many left in good condition
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