TripReport
by Todd Vess
Importing Two Land Rovers
This article is part 3 of a 3 part series. The first two parts, which were printed in the previous Solihull Society newsletter, documented the process of going over to the UK to select the vehicles , getting them prepped for shipment and loaded onto the container. – editor Each passing day got more and more painful. Thankfully, we had the worst snowstorm in Colorado history, which helped keep my mind off the Rovers, though I wished I had them home so I could drive them in the snow. Frustrated and really wanting my trucks, I emailed the agent in New Jersey who’d arranged shipping. Around 10 a.m. that morning, Lisa called me at work. “Don’t pee your pants or anything, but your Rovers are in Denver,” she said. “The lady just called and will be calling you in a little while to arrange delivery.” YES! Though they weren’t home yet, they were close. The phone at the fire station rang and it was the lady from the towing company. She explained that they wanted to bring both up at once, but didn’t have a truck or trailer large enough to accompany the weight. So, they’d have to bring one up the next day (Thursday) and another on Saturday. We made arrangements for Effie to be delivered first, as I figured it would take more time to clean her up than Annie, who had gotten a $400 bath just a couple of weeks prior.
Above: A year in the making, the big day finally arrives– unloading Annie at the house. Annie gets a bit of TLC at the firehouse. Photo by Todd Vess
When I got off work the next morning, I cleaned out the garage and sat at the front window waiting patiently for Effie to arrive. Finally, I heard a truck coming down the street. I went to the window and saw the flatbed with Effie on it I had my digital camera with me and snapped a photo through the window before running outside to greet the tow truck. Effie looked no worse for wear. She was filthy, had shipping stickers on her and all four tires were flat, but other than that was just like I’d left her in England. Even all the I’d put inside her were accounted for. After checking the fluids, I turned the key and she fired up, the sweet sound of 6 British cylinders firing away. Two days later, Annie arrived in the same fashion. She, however, did not survive the trip as well. There was a large scrape down the entire passenger side and the rear end had been hit, but the license plate took most of the impact. Unlike Effie, Annie would not start. The ignition had been left on and the fuel pump had fried itself and the battery was flat. My first Series Landie project. . . and certainly not the last. I hopped into Effie and the tow truck driver handed me the keys. “The key is really hard
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to turn,” he said. Looking at the key ring, I explained that he had the keys to the pickup, so no wonder they wouldn’t work. I went downstairs, grabbed my extra set and set to work
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getting Effie started. First I put a couple of gallons of fuel in her. Then, I made sure the carb vacuum line was plugged, a lesson we’d learned in London. I turned the key and she didn’t sound