Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Land Rover Monthly

lAnD RoVeR has launched a new visitor attraction at its solihull home, which celebrates the story behind the world’s greatest luxury suV – the Range Rover. The interactive exhibit coincides with the opening of Velar manufacturing tours at the plant and takes visitors on a time-travelling voyage that starts with its inception in the mid-1960s. Roger Crathorne, aka Mr land Rover, who has been heavily involved in the creation of the exhibition said: “At the time i began my career in 1967 as a Technical Assistant on the Velar Team, the intention was never to build a luxury vehicle. over the 50 years since, the Range Rover has come a long way and this exhibit tells that incredible story.” To book a tour go to solihull.landroverexperience.co.uk/manufacturing/range-rover-story.html.…

I enJoy Philip Bashall’s Dunsfold Diaries. And with reference to his father’s black and white photographs of the early Range Rovers, these vehicles were built without any name letters on the bonnet. Certainly none of them were given the name Velar. The photograph shows the early vehicles in the assembly shop. Behind them is a Federal specification P6 destined for north America. Cannot be precise as to which number the vehicles are, but probably close to the front end. These pre-production vehicles initially went to directors and senior managers for assessment. Also, different departments each got a couple of vehicles. For example, two vehicles went to the Service and a further two went to the Publicity department. Two vehicles went to the Reliability department within Quality Control. The two senior…

THE DUNSFOLD Collection Open Weekend is dead; long live the Dunsfold Collection Land Rover Show! That’s a rather over-the-top way of announcing that our traditional Open Weekend, which is held every two years at the Springbok Estate just a few miles from Dunsfold, has been renamed. It’s now officially the Dunsfold Collection Land Rover Show, to reflect the way the event has grown over the years – and this year we’re partnering with a professional events management company to host it. In the past we have relied on our band of ever-helpful volunteers and the trustees, but to be honest as the show has increased in size and complexity it really cannot be managed without professional help. The trustees thought about this very carefully and have chosen to team with…

It’s the year 2000, and the new millennium hasn’t really brought many changes so far. Tony Blair is still in No 10 Downing Street, and Bill Clinton is hanging on in the White House, although he will be replaced by George W Bush before the year is out. Eminem and Britney Spears are riding high in the music charts both sides of the Atlantic. BMW still owns Land Rover (but is already having talks about selling the company to Ford). Meanwhile, in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, teenager Jason Hollick is about to leave school and start work as an apprentice motor mechanic at a local garage. And in Stroud, Gloucestershire, a man drives away from the town’s main Land Rover dealer in his dream car – a new Discovery 2. The…

The original Range Rover had a remarkable production run of over 25 years. By the end of that quarter of a century, Land Rover’s capable engineers knew everything there was to know about the model which, by then, was known as the Range Rover Classic. No wonder, then, that the very last 25 Range Rovers off the line were extra special. And no wonder Ed Sheeran fell in love with one. Back in the early 1960s a pop phenomenon swept the world that was so great they had a name for it: Beatlemania. Now, more half a century on, even the achievements of The Beatles have been overshadowed by a shy, red-haired lad from Suffolk whose thoughtful, self-effacing songs have struck a chord with a new generation. At the time…

Turning 18 in South Africa is a pretty big deal. It’s the age when you can legally order an alcoholic drink at a bar or drive a car without your mum or dad in it. Provided you have a licence, of course. It’s also the age when you leave school and go to the army, university or take up formal work. It does not matter whether you call it adulthood or the coming of age, what does matter is what you do with the grown-up challenges that life will inevitably throw your way. Africa in the 1950s was very different to the rest of the developed world. Large parts of it were still pretty wild and undeveloped. To explore these bits, you most definitely needed a Land Rover; they say…

After a few days in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, it's time to get back on the road. We’re at 3600m altitude, but now we’re going to head even higher. After a few days of driving through beautiful villages, we arrive at the visitor centre for Mt Everest (known locally as Qomolangma). The road that takes us from here to Everest Base Camp is a brand-new ribbon of tarmac snaking through the vast plateau with passes, taking us even higher than the base camp itself. We catch glimpses of Everest all the way along this road. From one viewpoint, we can see four of the world’s top six highest mountains, all of which are over 8000 m. The weather is perfect, with a high pressure giving clear, chilly, rich blue…

The Shire Land Rover Club kick-started their 25th Anniversary year with a record Play Day turnout at the Mannington Quarry site, near Ringwood, in Hampshire. Shire LRC welcomed a grand total of 75 vehicles through the gates, with many new members signing up on the day. Despite the cold the event was a roaring success, and everyone had a fantastic time. The club ran a raffle on the day, with prizes donated by Bearmach and RR Parts Ltd. Some members won club merchandise, while one lucky soul also won a free entry to another Shire LRC Play Day. In total, the raffle raised £130 for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, a worthy cause indeed. As an extra special treat, the 25th member to sign in on the…

ALISDAIR CUSICK • Tools needed – torch, spark plug socket and socket set. TIME 3 HOURS COST TIME ONLY DIFFICULTY RATING Now that I’ve bought this lovely relic, the first job is to bring it back to the workshop on a trailer. As tempting as it is to see if the car will run, I did not want to try getting it to run where it was found. Before actually driving a vehicle, quite a few elements need to come together. For a start, the engine needs not only to fire, but also to run and rev up, and then you need the clutch not to be seized. The brakes need to be free, the steering box, swivels and ball joints all need to be in a state of free…

ED EVANS • General workshop tools, heat gun, drills TIME 3-4 HOURS COST NONE DIFFICULTY RATING THANKS TO: Steve Grant and Britpart Having already completed most of the mechanical work, we are now ready to tackle the Ninety’s bodywork, and the priority here is to find why water ingress into the rear body section had been such a problem in the past. The joint between the roof sides and the rear tub had been copiously packed with sealant, and the previous owner had gone to the extreme of putting duct tape all along the joint on both sides of the car. But it was still wet inside. The only way to sort leaks like these is to take the roof and the rear side panels off and fit new…

Isn’t this the famous Series III from the Rosemary & Thyme TV series? Yes – that’s why I call her Rosie. I bought it on a whim off eBay. The only problem was that it was a very long way from where I live in Hampshire. Fortunately my friend ‘Tractor’ Jim had purchased a car trailer only a few miles away from the seller and so we used it to transport Rosie back to her new home. I paid £2100 and gave Jim £100 for his efforts and fuel, as it was a nine-hour drive to get there and back. What sort of condition was it in? Jim was totally shocked at its sorry state and said that I was wasting my money. On the way home I told him…

Founded by ex-Formula One senior manager and Ferrari commercial head Dany Bahar, ARES Design majors in unique, high-performance vehicles, and its take on the Defender, is just that. Its dedicated production facility in Modena, Italy, is taking care of the interior, which will feature an abundance of luxury materials such as aluminium, carbon fibre, hand-crafted wood and Italian leather, while JE MotorWorks is concentrating on the performance side of things – with a 282 bhp and 325 lb ft of torque Rover V8 mated to a six-speed tiptronic auto gearbox. They will also fit a specially-designed exhaust system, uprated driveshafts, differentials and two inch lift suspension, winches, roof bars and sidesteps, as well as exclusively-designed wheels. JE have made major investments in both equipment and a skilled team in order…

1. Sue Moore and partner Bill Drinkald playing with their Defender 90 in the snow at Cow Green reservoir in Upper Teesdale, on the County Durham/Cumbria border. 2. What a job! Driving around in a Defender and helping (or arresting) people. For security reasons the name of the driver with great job satisfaction has been withheld. 3. They say that Land Rovers are rather versatile – as shown here by James Worth, who is using his 110 to tether a hot air balloon at the Dubstock music festival near Bristol. 4. When the cold weather moves in Rob Eames likes to put a radiator muff on his Ninety. 5. Spotted in Transylvania. Does this 110 belong to Dracula? 6. Harry Monsoor from Port Lincoln, Australia, has everything he needs: namely…

“It’s amazing how busy roads become when you have a mechanical problem” In general I don’t collect or deliver vehicles, but I have a small number of long-standing customers for whom an exception can be made. One of my customers lives out in the Fens and has two Land Rovers: a nice old Series III diesel and a Defender 200Tdi, both of which I have been looking after for eight or nine years now. Every year around the end of March I drive out to his farm, have a chat and a cup of tea, leave my car there and take the Defender home, service and MoT it, then swap it for the Series III and do the same to that. The two vehicles don’t cover a huge mileage between…

THE BEST thing about Land Rover ownership is knowing that your car can take you across deserts and mountains, if you so desired. so why not make this the summer when you do just that? summer and Land Rovers go hand in hand – and no wonder. After all, this is the time of the year to go out and enjoy the great outdoors and no other vehicle is better suited for it. A capacious Land Rover will carry a whole family, dogs, camping kit and cooking gear without breaking into a sweat. And once you arrive at your destination, it will go the extra mile by taking you down green lanes or even onto sandy beaches that would be no-go areas to drivers of lesser vehicles. In this feature…

Spring is in the air as the early morning sun filters through the dew-laden canopy of fresh leaves. Most of the world is asleep, but Richard Pope is already stirring, woken by the deafening dawn chorus of the wild birds in the chestnut coppice that surrounds his home. He gets up, boils a kettle for a cup of tea and smiles. The life of a forester is a hard one, but he wouldn’t want it any other way. “I love my job, which is just as well because it’s all I’ve ever done,” says Richard, 66. “I’ve worked in forestry all my life and I couldn’t do anything else. I’m probably unemployable. I certainly couldn’t work in an office.” Richard has the weather-worn complexion and hardened hands of a man…

Planning an adventure in your Land Rover this summer? Well, only a couple of hours on a ferry across the Irish Sea will give you access to the wild and rugged western seaboard and one of Europe’s most unusual National Parks. On this trip, we will be exploring the Burren National Park, one of six such regions in Ireland. The park, with its unique and highly distinctive moonscape, is located in the southeastern corner of the Burren in County Clare, and covers approximately 3700 acres. This section of the Wild Atlantic Way offers a very different and unique coastal experience, and is packed with great attractions including the towering Cliffs of Moher, a maze of green lanes inside the park itself, stunning beaches that are very popular with surfers, plus…

DAVE PHILLIPS CONTRIBUTOR NINETY YEAR: 1984 MILEAGE: 166,000 ENGINE: 300Tdi diesel POWER: 111 bhp TORQUE 195 lb-ft MPG: 30+ I don’t need much excuse to head for my home county of Norfolk – especially with summer around the corner – but this time around I didn’t need an excuse. Mechanic Nigel Hammond’s inspection before the recent MoT test on my 1984 Ninety had revealed that the front suspension turrets were in a parlous state, so I was back at Nigel’s workshop near Fakenham to get them replaced. I was replacing them with truly excellent galvanised replacements from Britpart in a kit that also included bottom retaining plates and all the other fixings required. Why Land Rover didn’t themselves dip the lot in zinc is a mystery, but at least…

LOUIse MILLer Contributor Discovery 1 Year: 1998 Mileage: 195,800 engine: 300Tdi Power: 111 bhp Torque: 195 lb-ft My name is Louise. You may have read about me, because at time of writing I’m the fiancée of LRM’s Land Rover-mad deputy advertising manager, Steve Miller. I’m writing this just two weeks away from getting married and I’ve bought a new car, having sold my beloved Toyota Auris Hybrid. I say new car very lightly as it is, well, not new. It’s a 1998 three-door Discovery 1, fitted with a 300Tdi engine. My Toyota had been a thorn in Steve’s side for over three years since we first met. The seating position gave him a bad back to the point where his moaning became intolerable. The visibility was reduced because of the…

A bench vice is a necessity for the pro and keen enthusiast. Holding work securely while it is being drilled, hammered, dismantled or assembled is the difference between getting the job done easily and safely or making a mess (with a trip to A&E!). Bench vices come in all shapes and sizes, so finding just one to suit your needs can be difficult. I think every DIY enthusiast should have more than one type, if possible, to cover all eventualities. Professional engineers’ vices costing hundreds of pounds are precision-made tools, allowing for fine incremental use and adjustments compared to the simpler, everyday use bench vices which are best thought of as a safe pair of strong hands. Swivel base vices are ideal for use in confined workshops and garages…

DAVE BARKER • General workshop tools, including 8 mm and 6 mm hex key, Torx-star T27, torque wrench and a suitable hacksaw or pry bar TIME 2 HOURS COST SEE PANEL DIFFICULTY RATING The six-speed ZF automatic gearbox fitted to the Discovery 3 and 4, Range Rover Sport 1 and L322 Range Rover is renowned for reliability and smooth gear changes. Other than checking the oil level and topping up at regular services, the ZF automatic gearbox is almost maintenance free. The 2005 Discovery 3 automatic featured here, with 157,000 miles on the clock, no longer had that typically smooth gear change. Instead, it was juddering when changing up or down in every gear. The owner was concerned after reading advice on internet forums suggesting the Discovery would need the…

price: £155.23 DAMAGED NUTS? We’ve all been there – trying unsuccessfully to remove worn, rounded-off or damaged nuts and bolts. Not so if using this set of damaged nut or bolt removers. The set of six sockets (27, 30, 32, 33, 34 and 36 mm) are manufactured from high strength SCM440 grade alloy steel with a HRC45-48 hardness rating to withstand repeated use. lasertools.co.uk price: £109.99 CANCUN TRANSPORTER The Cancun Transporter is a great way to conveniently carry all the goodies you buy at your favourite Land Rover show. It only takes a few seconds to setup from its compact storage carry bag. The transporter has puncture-proof rubber wheels so technically you could take it off-road. Available in three colours. Only weighs 10 kg and can carry up to 80…

A question that I am quite often asked is “How can I tell when my Land Rover engine was made?”. Usually the questioner is wanting to ship a vehicle to a country such as the United States, where the engine has to be over a certain age to qualify for exemption from various emissions laws. Each engine has its own serial number, but without access to factory production records this can only give you a very rough idea of its age. However, most four-cylinder engines can be fairly accurately dated by reference to the date code cast into the side of the block. I am not sure exactly when Solihull started using these codes, but I believe that all engines built since the early 1970s have them. The date code…

The quintessential British summer road trip scene goes a little something like this: classic cabriolet (think Porsche 911 or a Mercedes-Benz SL350) cruising along a pretty piece of road with the hood down, of course. Well, that is precisely what I’m doing now except we are in a classless classic and globally-desirable Defender 90 soft-top. This Cornish Cruiser is one hot-looking Defender. While the sun might be out it’s still cold enough to freeze the brass balls off a monkey. Thank goodness our classy black leather Exmoor Trim Elite Mk2 seats are heated. When I’m in my own hard-top Defender with the standard grey cloth seats and things get a little cold or breezy, then I normally reach for my olive green Stanley flask and not the black seat warmer…

Sitting in my office one Monday morning I was surprised to get a call from a chap called Jinkyu Kim, who said he was from Microsoft in America. He said he’d read about my Land Rover Series III, which had been advertised for sale, and claimed that he wanted to photograph it for a Forza Motorsport game. This sounded very much like a scam – particularly when he said he would fly over from the States for a day’s photoshoot. However, I became more reassured when he explained that Jaguar Land Rover had insisted any game vehicle must be largely original – and that he’d been impressed with the originality of my example. A few weeks later, Jin turned up at AB 4x4s Cleveland at the appointed time, complete with…

April 27 – MAy 6 Australian – 2017 Variety 4WD Trek Beach to Barossa Portland, Beachport, SA www.variety.org.au/VIC/Events/Motoring-Events/4WD-Trek April 28 – 30 Championnat De France Des Rallyes Tout-Terrain Terre du Gatinais, France www.ffsa.org April 28 – MAy 1 Salon Du Vehicule d’Adventure 4x4 Adventure & Travel Show Vendee, France www.salon-vehicule-adventure.fr April 28 – MAy 1 Yorkshire Land Rover Owners Club CCV/RTV Trial Helmsley, North Yorkshire www.ylroc.co.uk April 29 All Terrain Tours Rural Ripon & Reeth Relaxed & Scenic Tour Ripon, North Yorkshire www.allterraintours.co.uk April 29 UK Landrover Events Eden District Tour Cumbria & Yorkshire www.uklandroverevents.com April 29 – 30 Buchan Offroad Drivers Club Weekend Event Drumclog, Scotland www.bordc.co.uk April 29 – 30 Midland Rover Owners Club CCV / RTV Trial Baden Hall, Staffs www.mroc.co.uk April 29 – 30 Protrax Overland…

davId lIllyWhIte editorial director range rover p38 YEAR: 1995 MilEAgE: 120,528 ENgiNE: 4.6 V8 PowER: 221 bhp ToRquE 280 lb-ft MPg: 17 The P38 story continues, though of course the cost has gone way past the £1000 I paid for it – but it still feels like a remarkable bargain. The most urgent tasks (other than replacing the worn tyres with spanking new BF Goodrich Urban Terrains) were to change the faulty O2 sensors and to fit a new offside front anti-roll bar drop link, which had disappeared at some point during our greenlaning expedition, I think. The O2 sensors (pictured far right) screw into the exhaust manifolds, one for each bank of the mighty 4.6-litre V8. A diagnostics check at Bishops 4x4 had revealed that they were faulty, and…

DAVE BARKER CONTRIBUTOR FREELANDER 2 XS YEAR: 2013 MILEAGE: 30,000 ENGINE: Td4 POWER: 148 bhp TORQUE: 310 lb-ft MPG: 32 to 42 After writing about another trouble-free year of motoring and my Freelander’s recent MoT test, I made the comment: “So here’s to hopefully a year’s trouble free motoring in the Freelander.” Sadly, I spoke too soon. Just a month later, I was enjoying a couple of days away on the Northumberland coast, enjoying the drive along the coast road near Seahouses, when I noticed a great big red warning exclamation mark in a triangle come up on the dash along with the words “Restricted Performance” – better known as the dreaded limp-home. After three years or so of trouble-free motoring the Freelander had gone into restricted performance mode and…

TREVOR CUTHBERT • General workshop tools, bench vice TIME 2-3 HOURS COST SEE PANEL DIFFICULTY RATING When Land Rover launched Discovery 2 in 1998 it was equipped with anti-lock brakes (ABS) and electronic traction control as standard. Hill Descent Control is also a feature of Discovery 2. Such was the quality and capability of these systems, Land Rover decided that a centre differential lock was no longer necessary for the type of work a Discovery 2 would do. It was a controversial decision at the time, but the traction control system does work very well. However, the transfer gearbox fitted to these early Discovery 2 models still had CDL capability; it simply lacked an operating mechanism. Later vehicles had the capability removed from the transfer gearbox as a cost-cutting measure.…

Jaguar Land Rover enjoyed a huge sales boom in March as buyers of new cars rushed to beat the deadline for the hike in VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) that came into effect on April 1. JLR reported an all-time record for the month, with one new car registered every 30 seconds – which included 22,283 Land Rovers. The month also saw Discovery Sport overtaking the Evoque as the fastest-selling Land Rover of all time, retailing 7239 vehicles. But while the continuing success story of the marque is cause for celebration for all Land Rover enthusiasts, there’s no escaping the painful truth that from April onwards ownership of expensive cars is going to cost a lot more – and it is going to have a far-reaching impact on the secondhand market…