Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i Land Rover Monthly

BRILLIANT APPRENTICE IT TOOK me a while, but I took the plunge and finally subscribed to LRM. I had been reading for a while, anyway, but the increasingly delayed postal services put me off subscribing to any magazine. I’m glad I did and it has coincided with a better postal system around here. I found Graham Nash’s account of his apprenticeship at Rover (LRM, July) to be utterly compelling stuff. There is no substitute for anecdotes. I am glad this was the first part of a series and I look forward to hearing more. And, technical details aside, I also learnt something! Rover had a works police force? I had no idea. I haven’t been reading LRM for as long as some have, so I have no idea if you…

PRICE: £29 HANGING OUT The lightweight Frieda Hammock is made from strong and durable parachute silk nylon fabric. The included strong ropes and hooks make the set-up process a fairly simple affair. The Frieda can carry up to 150 kgs so you might just be able to fit two adults into one. It comes in a neat sack which doubles up as a pocket or beer holder when in use. www.outhausoutdoors.com PRICE: £17.99 SHOTS ALL ROUND There’s nothing like celebrating the end of a Land Rover adventure with a shot of your favourite tipple. The Stanley Adventure Shot Glass set consists of one hammertone green stainless steel vacuum flask (with screw top lid) and four stainless steel shot glasses. Then, when you get home you can just throw the whole…

“Hercules had been used in the Bond film The Living Daylights” With about 130 vehicles in the Dunsfold Collection, you might think I’d never be short of something to run around in. But, of course, these historic vehicles belong to the Collection, not me. While I will occasionally give one some gentle exercise to keep everything lubricated, there’s no way I can use them for my own daily driving. So I have to buy my own Land Rovers for everyday use. For the last few years I’ve been driving Discovery 4s. I just love them: they are perfect for towing – the Discovery 4 can legally pull 3500 kg – and you can sling an engine into that boxy rear load area. I’m worried what the Discovery 5 will turn…

"The Defender can be anything, and can do anything " "In a society where everything defines us – our accents, where we live, how we dress, what we do – a Defender is classless and I like that. People can’t look at you and say ‘ooo get you with your Land Rover’ – it’s not like a Bentley or a BMW.” Wise words indeed… It was something that Ben Fogle said to me when we photographed his Icon 90 soft top back in February for the April issue, and the classless observation is no doubt one you’ve heard before, whether it’s from a motoring journalist or a Defender owner. And that’s because it is a vehicle that has a certain ambiguity to it – a Defender can look at home…

"What we are doing with these youngsters is opening a window to a world that is otherwise hidden" "The forest is your friend,” claims the softly-spoken Ray Mears to the 25 youngsters keenly watching his every move out here in the East Sussex wilderness. We are at Woodlore, Ray’s School of Wilderness Bushcraft, where since 1983, he has been teaching bushcraft and survival skills. Today Ray is respected throughout the world as the voice of authority on these subjects. We are in luck, the sun is out, the birds are in a chirpy mood and it feels as if the start of summer might be here for real this time. The 25 youngsters here are the cream of Premiership Rugby’s HITZ project, of which Land Rover is a proud partner.…

"They looked similar to a Jeep but were obviously different even to a young lad like me" This story begins close to the end of the second world war, when my father, a soldier, met an American soldier who had a wooden model of an American Jeep. It was about six inches long, had rubber tyres and an imitation canvas roof covering. In the back were three packets of American sweets, similar to our old Spangle sweets (older readers may remember them). The American told my father that he had made it for the son of a Dutch girlfriend, but when he had returned to Holland she had disappeared and he couldn't find her. He asked my father if he was interested in buying it. Dad thought it was so…

"There are no canes, winching or prizes. This is off-road driving for fun" The annual East Anglian Off-Road Show, staged by the Breckland Land Rover Club, is a prime destination for anyone who likes getting their car muddy. Staged at the CITB training site at Bircham Newton, Norfolk, where trainees in the construction industry are taught to drive and operate earth-moving machinery, every year – for one weekend only – it becomes a vast playground for men and machinery of a very different kind: mainly Land Rovers but with a smattering of other marques too. Every year, thousands of tons of sandy soil are shifted around to create an exciting array of obstacles and challenges, from vertigo-inducing hill climbs to treacherous axle-twisters and deep mud runs. Happily, there are…

Most Land Rover fans can only dream of what it must feel like to take a ride in a Defender Challenge truck. Mission Motorsport, the Forces’ charity, will be offering rides in their Defender Challenge truck at the 2016 Billing Show. So now you too can experience the rip-roaring 170 bhp and 450Nm of a Defender Challenge truck. The rides will be taking place on a special track located in the same area as the popular off-road course. Rides will be on a first come first served basis. Helmets to be provided. All proceeds go towards Mission Motorsport. For more details go to: www.missionmotorsport.org. If you would like to the the chaps in action on the Defender Challenge the next round is on July 16-17 at the Walters Hill Rally…

TREVOR CUTHBERT CONTRIBUTOR LAND ROVER 88” YEAR: 1990 MILEAGE: 49,849 ENGINE: 3528cc V8 on twin SU carbs POWER: 158 bhp TORQUE 210 lb-ft There are exciting plans afoot for my V8 Land Rover, which I have owned now for almost twenty years. Very soon, my friend Dan Dew and I are going to carry out some major re-engineering work on the Land Rover to make it more usable for my current needs. However, on a recent run out with Greenlane Donegal – organised by Shane Greenlane himself – some of the events, comments and admiration for the Land Rover have got me doubting if I am doing the right thing. In its heyday, the Land Rover was used monthly for off-road events with the Northern Ireland Land Rover Club (NILRC).…

DEFENDER RATIO OPTIONS Q A recent LRM article got me thinking. I have a 1998 300Tdi Defender with 127,000 miles on the clock. I rarely tow or carry heavy loads, but I do use it on motorways. Am I right in assuming my Defender should have a transfer box with a 1:1 ratio and that the Discovery transfer box has a 1:2 ratio? Also, are the transfer boxes interchangeable? Assuming the above is correct, if I fitted a Discovery transfer box in my Defender, then would it improve the top end speed and the diesel fuel consumption? Neil Runciman A If your transfer box has not been previously replaced, it will be an LT230 type with a high ratio of 1.41:1. Discoverys also have a version of the LT230 transfer…

We hear a lot about driverless cars of the future, but there’s currently no intention to delete the driver from vehicles operating on public roads. Driverless cars do exist, as test vehicles helping develop autonomous systems but, in the real world, the driver will be needed, if only to deal with malfunctions and unpredicted driving scenarios. It’s analogous to an aircraft flying safely on autopilot – we still need the pilot on board, overseeing the aircraft’s progress. An autonomous vehicle is simply one that has inbuilt systems that can respond to live information, and can thus advise the driver and/or take some control of the vehicle. Some autonomous systems will be selectable by the driver to enhance safety and reduce the driving effort, while other systems will automatically take control…

BACK IN April, NFU Mutual revealed that costs for theft of Defender vehicles rose to £1.8 million in 2015, an increase of 8 per cent since 2014. Since production discontinued in January the iconic off-roader has become a prime target for thieves. The North East is the highest claiming region with NFU Mutual’s customer insurance claims for stolen Defenders reaching a whopping £760,000. One such victim was a 75-year-old retired farmer from Spalding in Lincolnshire. Chris Clark woke up one morning to find the wire that runs under his 2014 Defender had been cut in an attempt to disarm the alarm, and that the bolts from the door hinges were lying on the ground. Chris takes up the story: “I had got up at 1.15am to make a cuppa and…

"There can't be many 1989 truck cabs that turn as many heads as Gary's creation" In a world seemingly full of people modifying Land Rovers, we reckoned we’d seen it all. But just when you think every avenue of Defender modification has been explored, along comes Gary Hennessy with his custom car-style Ninety. There can’t be many 1989 truck cabs that turn as many heads as Gary’s Candy Apple Green creation. And the most remarkable thing about it is he did it all himself – albeit with a lot of help from his friends. In these days of quick fixes, with a Defender modifier seemingly around every corner, it is sort of reassuring to know that it took Gary (and his mates) eight years to complete his labour of love.…

You own a Defender. What are your thoughts on the much-anticipated new one? I’m very excited to see what they do with the new Defender because it definitely needs updating. Everybody is nervous because the new one is so important for Land Rover. If I were saying something to management, it would be that the whole brand is built upon the Defender, whether they like that or not. We all know the Defender’s flaws and faults, this is a great opportunity to update it and improve the steering and comfort. It needs to be a design for the modern age without losing its sparkling robustness. I think that it would be cool if it came out with the option of modular boxes for storage, very much like the standard load…

"It's one of the most exciting off-road courses in the country" The Billing Show – the world’s oldest and most famous Land Rover show – has reinforced its reputation as the family-friendly event on the calendar by moving to end of July to coincide with the kids’ school holidays. Staged at Billing Aquadrome, with its own funfair, the show has been the all-time family-favourite from its very beginnings, back in 1991. And just to reinforce its appeal to families, this year under-12s get in free! Show manager, Tom Siddall, of Live Promotions, says: “Billing is seen as the family-friendly show and we felt it important to encourage as many families and young children as possible to come along and join in the fun – especially as the event now sits…

JUNE 24 - JULY 2 Albania - Drive Albania North Albania 4x4 Tour www.drivealbania.com JUNE 24 - JULY 10 Scandinavia - Atlas Overland 4x4 Adventure Tours Scandinavia Tour Denmark, Norway and Sweden www.atlasoverland.com JUNE 25 - 26 Classic Land Rover Show British Motor Museum Gaydon www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk JUNE 25 - 26 Freelander Owners Club Freelander Fest Sissons Farm, Peterborough https://www.facebook.com/groups/416797525127746 JUNE 25 - 26 Land Rover Series One Club Down South National Rally Plumpton Racecourse, East Sussex www.lrsoc.com JUNE 25 - 26 Hants & Berks Land Rover Club RTV Trial Aldermaston, West Berkshire www.hbro.co.uk JUNE 25 - 26 North Wales Land Rover Club Birthday Weekend Harlech, Gwynedd www.nmlrc.co.uk JUNE 25 - 26 Nottingham Land Rover Club Off-road Weekend Holymoorside, Chesterfield www.nottslrc.co.uk JUNE 25 - 26 Peak & Dukeries LRC Novice Trial…

DAVE PHILLIPS EDITOR DISCOVERY 1 YEAR: 1996 MILEAGE: 151,000 ENGINE: 300Tdi POWER: 111 bhp TORQUE 195 lb-ft MPG: 25 NINETY YEAR: 1984 MILEAGE: 163,000 ENGINE: 2.5 diesel POWER: 68 bhp TORQUE 113 lb-ft MPG: 30 Just before I left for my tour of North Norfolk in my Ninety (see page 54) a courier dropped off two large parcels. They were from SP 4x4 and contained two new doors for the Ninety. As my trip to Norfolk would include a visit to my mate and ace mechanic Nigel Hammond, I threw the box in the back, fired up the naturally-aspirated diesel and headed east. The laws of physics were never my strong point at school – and it shows when it comes to adjusting car doors. Not only do you have…

ED EVANS FEATURES EDITOR SERIES III SOFT-TOP YEAR: 1984 MILEAGE: 162,000 ENGINE: 2.5 diesel POWER: 68 bhp TORQUE: 113 lb-ft MPG: 30 FREELANDER 1 YEAR: 1997 MILEAGE: 134,000 ENGINE: 300Tdi turbodiesel POWER: 111 bhp TORQUE: 195 lb-ft MPG: 25 DEFENDER 110 TD5 YEAR: 1993 MILEAGE: 142,000 ENGINE: 200Tdi turbodiesel POWER: 111 bhp TORQUE: 195 lb-ft MPG: 32 RR SPORT TDV6 YEAR: 1993 MILEAGE: 142,000 ENGINE: 200Tdi turbodiesel POWER: 111 bhp TORQUE: 195 lb-ft MPG: 32 I’ve recently spent a lot of time on my 110, attempting to make the central locking that a previous owner installed from various bits, actually work. But I couldn’t, so I asked my local garage to have a go. They found a broken wire that I’d missed, fixed it, but the system still didn’t work,…

TREVOR CUTHBERT • Tools: General workshop tools, vacuum brake bleeder TIME 2 DAYS COST £6731 SO FAR DIFFICULTY RATING The original 1983 Range Rover was driven in to my workshop many months ago with a body that was deteriorating under the skin with rust, and a tired, underpowered engine that had caused disappointment to owner Andy Webb. The plan to simply re-power this classic Range Rover and convert it to right hand drive, has been a much longer road than we ever expected – due entirely to deciding to carry out the extensive repairs and preservation work that we have now completed. A major breakthrough in any motor vehicle project is always the point that the engine is running again for the very first time after the rebuild. This is…

GARY STRETTON • Paint, wet and dry paper, cutting compound, masking tape, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – see Work Safely panel TIME 6 HOURS COST FROM £12 DIFFICULTY RATING Colour matching new paint to existing paintwork after fitting new panels was once a hit-and-miss affair. Simply buying a tin or aerosol of a standard paint colour based on its name or manufacturer’s code is rarely enough for a satisfactory blended repair. Spraying smaller panels such as a door, bonnet or sill pieces is a realistic DIY proposition, assuming you have the space and correct environment to do the job – the trick is in getting the new paint to exactly match the existing old paint on the adjacent panels. I began the process of matching new paint to the existing…

Where does your love of classic cars come from? It all started when my dad had two white Rover P5Bs when I was very young. I maintained a general interest in cars right through my teens and early 20s, but it was about five years ago when my friend bought a Reliant Scimitar as a resto project that started to rekindle a love for classics. A Series seemed the obvious choice! Where did you find this Series IIA? A friend mentioned there was an old Land Rover rotting away in a shed just off a back road near where he lived. I went to have a look, and it was on bricks with no wheels in a shed that would have collapsed around the Landy in the next stiff breeze!…

1. After a great day of laning, Shayne Ford likes to take his Defender 90 for a chassis clean 2. So you thought that the Indonesia Offroad Expedition was only for Defenders? Tell that to the driver of this Bowler EXR 3. Maroun Feghaly says that if you want rough mountain tracks and plenty of snow, Lebanon is the place to go 4. Buy a Land Rover and go camping they said, which is exactly what Peter Montgomery did. Here his daughter Poppy enjoys breakfast while Arthur, the family Labrador, keeps a lookout 5. Mateata Clair loves the beach lifestyle in Tahiti, which is why a no-frills Defender is his Land Rover of choice 6. Farming can be fun, especially if it’s in North Wales and you drive a 300Tdi…

“The two and a quarter is a tough old all-iron engine” I very nearly got badly caught out when a petrol Series IIA 109 came in to the workshop for a minor service. The owner mentioned that the vehicle was suffering from an intermittent misfire which got worse when the engine warmed up. That sounded to me like a failing condenser, which is common on old petrol Land Rovers with contact breaker ignition. As it was new to me I thought I would take it for a short test drive just to see if I could spot any obvious problems before I started working on it. So I fired it up, noted that the fuel gauge appeared not to be working, and set off on a three-mile circuit of the…

Norfolk has always thrived on its splendid isolation from the rest of the country. Transport links to, and particularly within, my home county have always been notoriously poor. Even today there are no motorways and it takes two hours to travel by train from London to Norwich (99 miles) – about the same as it does from London to Paris (210 miles). Within Norfolk, the narrow, twisting B-roads and dusty, single-track unclassified roads make this the ideal countryside to explore in a Land Rover of a certain age. An average speed of 50 mph is something to aim for in these parts. So that’s why Billy the puppy and I are here in North Norfolk this week, behind the wheel of my 32-year-old Ninety, which is powered by a naturally-aspirated…

Scotland’s capital is steeped in history. The earliest Mesolithic campsite dates back to 8500 BC, and traces of later Bronze and Iron Age settlements have been found over a wide area. This includes the extinct volcanic rock that towers majestically over the city, and is known locally as Arthur’s Seat. Arthur’s Seat is the centrepiece of Holyrood Park. Overlooking the palace and Scottish Parliament, this tranquil oasis is situated right in the heart of the city. The giant rock rises to a height of 822 ft (250.5 m), and dominates the skyline for miles around. The rock’s rugged cliffs and crags are the remnants of an extinct volcano, dating back 350 million years. In more recent times it has gained the affection of visitors and locals alike, and is one…

Live Promotions, the team behind the Billing Show, are running the first big Land Rover show north of the border when they stage the Scottish Land Rover Show at the Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh, on the weekend of July 2-3. Event organiser, Tom Siddall, says: “The Scottish Land Rover Show will be the first of its kind to run in Scotland and the reaction from enthusiasts, clubs, owners and trade has been superb. “There will be hundreds of Land Rovers and club displays, a jam-packed main arena action, fun and games and evening entertainment to ensure there’s something for all the family. “You can also search for that elusive part or spare in the autojumble or browse the latest Land Rover accessories. New products and services will be on display…

The Yorkshire Off Road Club (YORC) has a wealth of challenge event experience. For years they organised the Muddy Truckers Trophy Challenge, for example. But unlike many clubs running challenges that have become extreme winching events, the YORC have gone back to basics with club challenge events. Everyone can enter and even win these events, no matter how well equipped their vehicle is. In fact, you don’t even need to have a winch to enter, with class 1 being a non-winch class, class 2 a single-winch class and class 3 for multi-winch vehicles. Their first challenge event of the year took place in a disused quarry site, overgrown with trees, allowing for easy and more difficult sections to be set out. The club believes challenge events should be about navigation,…

CHARLIE THORN CONTRIBUTOR DISCOVERY 1 YEAR: 1996 MILEAGE: Unknown ENGINE: 3.9 Efi POWER: 181 bhp TORQUE: 230 lb-ft MPG: 22 RANGE ROVER YEAR: 1978 MILEAGE: Unknown ENGINE: 3.9 Efi POWER: 181 bhp TORQUE: 230 lb-ft MPG: 19 Had a bit of a drama recently when I dropped a friend off. Then I topped the Discovery up with LPG and went back to the office to wait for my mate. It was then I noticed a whiff of LPG. I’d got a gas leak. The Discovery was in a safe place, not over a drain, and the wind was blowing the gas away from a nearby building, but I sent for the Fire Brigade to make sure. The guys soon showed up, ran out a hose reel and stood by until…

PATRICK CRUYWAGEN DEPUTY EDITOR DISCOVERY 2 GS YEAR: 2001 MILEAGE: 120 000 ENGINE: Td5 POWER: 136 bhp TORQUE: 232 lb-ft MPG: 28 I have a confession to make. When Ray Mears was otherwise occupied during our recent interview, I had a rummage around the back of his Discovery 4. Guess what? I found wet wipes in the rear storage box on the right. Yes, Mr Survival uses wet wipes, like me. In fact, there isn’t much difference between what he has in his Discovery 4’s storage boxes and what I have in mine. Our simple basic needs are exactly the same; all we really want is a brew and a comfy chair. The only difference is that I don’t have any implements for cutting and chopping wood or gutting animals.…

ALISDAIR CUSICK • Tools: MIG welder, angle grinder, cutting and grinding discs, flap disc, gas cutting torch. Spanners and socket set, Nomex insulation and cable ties, G-clamps, set square, metal bars TIME 2 DAYS COST £294 DIFFICULTY RATING The military 101 Forward Control has some similarities with other Solihull products, particularly the Range Rover derived V8 engine and driveline. Yet is totally different in other respects. Looking unlike anything else from Lode Lane, it is no surprise to learn its chassis is very different to the Land Rovers we usually see. All other Land Rover chassis have gentle curves front and back for the axles to fit underneath. The 101 Forward Control however, shares more in common with a truck chassis, being a flat ladder design, rather than curving in…

ED EVANS • General workshop tools, angle grinder, lifting equipment, crow bar TIME ONE DAY COST TIME ONLY DIFFICULTY RATING Last month in part 1 of this series looking at how to dismantle a utility Land Rover, we stripped the soft top roof from my Series III and a hard top roof from a Ninety, then went on to remove the rear body tubs from each type. That gave a good view of the rear chassis – the part that usually suffers most of the corrosion. We’ll be re-visiting the subject of chassis corrosion and replacement in the future but, right now, we’re continuing with the body removal and concentrating on removing the front panels and the bulkhead. And, because this job went fairly smoothly (and it’s impossible to predict…

CHOICE LOTS at the Classic Car auctions June sale at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre included a rare 107-inch Series I, built in 1957 and restored in 2014. Bearing chassis number 34, it was deliberately left in its bare metal state during its restoration two years ago, which included all the mechanicals, transmission, and the suspension. The exterior aluminium body panels are in superb order for a car that is 59 years old. The engine is the period correct six-cylinder petrol variant. The car will be offered with a Land Rover Heritage Certificate and was estimated to fetch £12,000 to £15,000. In the same sale, a 1951 Land Rover Series I 80 manual that had been with the current owner for the last 13 years was expected to fetch £18,000 to…