Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Land Rover Monthly

IN the month that we celebrate 30 years of the incredible Discovery, allow me to take this opportunity to reflect. The first Land Rover story that I covered was the African leg of the inaugural Land Rover G4 Challenge. As journos we were ferried about in Discovery 2s, wild camping our way along the touristy Garden Route. It was an adventure of epic proportions, a week of Land Rover overload. I was hooked and that it is how my Land Rover story began. Thanks to the Discovery 2 it is a story that has gone on for over 15 years now and will hopefully continue for another 15, and then some. While most of the Land Rovers that I have owned have been Defenders, I did have a Discovery 2…

DID you know that women make up just 11 per cent of UK automotive industry engineers? And as a result of that gender gap it’s no surprise that recent research by Women in Engineering shows just a quarter of girls aged 16-18 would consider an engineering career. With a passion to change gender attitudes, which are established at an early age, Jaguar Land Rover visited a group of primary school children to mark International Women in Engineering Day. The youngsters were delighted to meet 27-year-old Charlotte Cooper, who worked on the Range Rover Sport SVR, and was keen to show them the value of challenging their assumptions. During her visit Charlotte, who is an innovation lead in SVO for JLR and a member of the company’s Women in Engineering &…

I feel I must write something about three letters I just read in the August edition of LRM, all from readers who seem to be shocked and disgusted that the new Defender will be built in Slovakia. They never seemed to mention or be concerned that the current Discovery is already being built there. Then they go on about Britishness and that they will, and everyone else should, boycott the new Defender – of course, forgetting that it was designed in Britain and has major components like engines made in Britain and put together in Slovakia. Then the last letter states that they would buy the new Grenadier when available. So it appears in their anger they are blind to the fact that the Grenadier is German-designed (design house of…

“AT least the new gearbox works perfectly.” That was how I concluded last month’s story about replacing the broken gearbox in my newly-acquired Discovery 200Tdi with an R380 from a scrap 300Tdi. If you describe anything on an old Land Rover as “working perfectly” you are just asking for trouble, and about a week after I filed my column I noticed that first and second gear were starting to become a bit stiff and awkward to engage. There was also an issue with the gear lever not self-centering in the fourth/fifth plane as it should, making it just as easy to select fifth as third. I took the top cover off the gearbox, fiddled about with the bias springs to no great effect, then realised there was a bit missing:…

LAND Rover fans are a special breed. While the rest of the population use their smartphones and laptops to play games and argue with friends about soap operas, we can be seen scouring the classifieds looking for bargain Land Rovers and parts. “The advert says 327,000 miles but that must be a mistake, right?” It was on one of these scours when this Range Rover popped up. It stood out from all the others because it was priced below the £10,000 search limit, but was a good few years younger than the others in that price range. It was also in Autobiography specification with the desirable 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo diesel, in a tasteful colour with a sensible selection of options. Full service history and one owner? Check. HPI clear, with…

Twisted Open Day The annual Twisted Open Day takes place on Saturday July 27 at Twisted Automotive's headquarters in Thirsk, North Yorkshire. Twisted intend to have some of their full and mid-build newly-released 45 Defenders available to view along with their premises and workshops. Alongside the display of Twisted Defenders there will be the usual music, food and family entertainment. Details on Twisted Automotive and how to find them can be found on their website and information on the Twisted Open Day is available on their Facebook page. twistedautomotive.com facebook.com/events/twisted/open-day-201…

Leafers at t’Pit The annual Series-only Land Rover weekend, Leafers at t’Pit, takes place during its now traditional date over the August Bank Holiday weekend (24 to 25). However, this year's Leafers at t’Pit has a new home and will now be held at the Apedale Valley Light Railway and Heritage Centre at Chesterton in Staffordshire. As in past years everyone is invited to bring along their leaf-sprung Land Rover and join the line-up to be in with the chance of winning one of their fabulous trophies, or to just come and look at all the vehicles on display, browse the autojumble and enjoy meeting like-minded enthusiasts. Camping pitches are available on site but are limited and must be booked in advance. Details can be found on the event's website…

IT was MoT time, so I took my 1984 Ninety for a jaunt across to Norfolk to get my mate Nigel Hammond to do the business. I was expecting this to be little more than a formality – just an annoying rear diff seepage to sort out and, on the way over, I noticed the windscreen wipers were past their best. On the way across I made my usual detour via Breckland to drive a forest track and take Billy for a walk through the trees. It was a beautiful morning and, on an east-facing open ride, a clump of dewberries (low-growing brambles) were in full flower and getting the benefit of the rising sun. Some insomniac butterflies were taking advantage of this nectar-rich breakfast and among them was a…

BACK when I had started my search for a South African Defender 90 with the 2.8i six-cylinder BMW petrol engine, LRM Editor Patrick Cruywagen told me about one that was located on a driveway over in Stirling, Scotland. In fact, this particular one had been featured in the Work in Progress section at the back of the magazine a couple of years ago. I duly made contact with the owner, only to be told that the Land Rover was definitely not for sale. “Not for sale, but keep in touch”. And I did – Jason (the owner) and I corresponded numerous times over the following two years. At one stage, finding myself in Scotland – taking my son to begin his first year at university – I even visited to…

THE downside of having solid van sides on a Defender is that there is an expansive blind spot area when pulling up to a junction to make a right turn – the vehicle must be at 90 degrees to the main road, in order to see through the passenger door glass for oncoming traffic. The lack of rear quarter lights also has an impact on visibility, particularly when reversing. And, in my opinion, rear quarter lights are part of the iconic form of Land Rovers. It was due to the blind spot issue that this 110 came to me to have side windows fitted. There are many window options including Genuine Parts sliding window units. However, the owner of the 110 liked the look of the bonded, tinted panoramic windows…

How did you find this project? Exactly how you shouldn’t! I spent years working on various custom car projects including an A60 Cambridge, Mini and a Chevy Camaro Z28. Eventually, having sold them all, I got fed up of having no project car and so I figured that as I didn’t have a garage a Land Rover was the ideal solution. All parts available, cheap to buy and work on, and everything simply unbolts. Sounded easy. After looking at a couple, including a nine-hour round trip up north to view one that was described as original and in good condition, but which was rotten and literally held together with string, I found one on eBay. I didn’t bother going to look at it. The seller had little and very poor…

Send us your shot  email patrick@lrm.co.uk to feature your photo in LRM…

EVERYONE loves a Lightweight but none more so than 72-year-old Robin Cunningham from the walled city of Derry in Northern Ireland. He has owned Lucy, his 1983 Series III Lightweight, for eight years now and five of those have been spent turning Lucy into his dream car: a more user-friendly Lightweight. Robin had his first Land Rover experience when driving trucks in Australia as a 23-year-old. Back then he bought an early Series II before joining the New South Wales Land Rover Club. Once back in the UK Robin went Land Roverless for several decades as family and work demands took their toll. Eventually wife Christine relented and allowed Robin to again pursue his Land Rover dream. He soon acquired an early Discovery 1 300Tdi as the family runaround. “It…

LAND Rover shows are funny things. They come, they go, they reinvent themselves and they come back again. The recent Land Rover Spring Adventure held at the Driffield Showgrounds and presented by Live Promotions, most definitely falls into this category. Some of you may remember there was a Land Rover show held at this very same venue several years ago. Now it was back again, at the expense of the Scottish Land Rover Show which ran for three years. There is definitely the demand for a Land Rover show up north. As this was a May Bank Holiday weekend, there was another Land Rover Show on at the same time, the Land Rover Legends show at Bicester Heritage. Though if truth be told the two shows are really aimed at…

Convoy Tour The Green Oval Convoy Club’s main event of the year, the Tour of Britain, runs from July 25 to 28. In past years the event has taken place in the West Country and the Lake District, but this year the tour will be of Mid Wales with camping sites located on the Welsh/ English border close to Hereford. The tour will follow a similar format as in past years with staggered departure times on the Friday for the convoy as it travels through South and then into Mid Wales. Further information and details on how to buy tickets can be found on the Green Oval Convoy Club’s website. greenovalconvoyclub.com…

NOT having confidence in your Land Rover is not a good thing. While breakdowns are part and parcel of the fun of owning an old Landy, when they become the norm, then you start to consider selling or you might even ask yourself what am I doing here? The only way to gain confidence in your ride is to pile on the miles, do regular checks and services. You can also drive it on a long memorable journey and repeat several times. If you are able to do that without any drama then it is sure to put a smile on your dial. I recently took my Defender 110 to Woburn 4x4 for its annual service, a good friend Mark Dilks, who drives a D4 and new Range Rover Sport,…

THIS is going to be an unusual rebuild project right from the off, because the subject vehicle is not the typical barn find, rather it’s more of a smart clean kit of parts that looks like it’s ready to assemble. Of course, we all know better than that, including Britpart’s Paul Myers who bought this lovely 1949 Series I as his personal project. All the messy work of dismantling and cleaning the major components had been done by the previous owner prior to restoring the chassis and working on the body and axles. But real life gets in the way of so many of these projects and, when it happened in this case, the main parts were loosely re-assembled and the machine was put up for sale. But that ground…

SERIES and Defender door panels are well known for their ability to corrode, both inside and out. Defender’s steel internal door frame can rust away behind the door card, while similar rusting is openly visible on Series models. Externally, the aluminium door skins corrode along the lower edge and along the upper edge close to the window, producing unsightly white deposits as the aluminium slowly crumbles. Repair sections are available for the steel door frames, but there’s little point in repairing those if the outer skin is corroding – a notoriously difficult problem to cure. The only real option is to fit a complete new door assembly – either a standard replacement, or one with a galvanised frame which could potentially put an end to the corrosion issue for many…

I will admit that I was among the doubters when the Range Rover Evoque was revealed, back in 2011. It was hardly the sort of car to enthuse enthusiasts, with Victoria Beckham attending the glitzy launch party and claiming to have helped choose the soft furnishings. Here was a car aimed at drivers never likely to venture off-road – four-wheel drive was an optional extra – and one based on the Freelander 2 (but much more expensive). What was there to like? Luckily for JLR, I was wrong. Although the Evoque wasn’t my sort of Land Rover, it most definitely was the sort of model to lure plenty of people to the marque for the first time, including many arriving from BMW and Audi. And the quality and reliability of…

IF you live near Thirsk and looking for something to do on Saturday July 27, then Twisted Automotive are holding their annual open day. Their limited edition ‘Remake History’ collection will be on display, and it provides a great opportunity to find out more about the business, with members of the Twisted team on hand to give tours of the workshop and answer questions about the build process. The event is free to attend without a ticket and it promises to be a great day out for all the family with food and drink, a DJ and entertainment throughout the day. Twisted Automotive managing director Charles Fawcett said: “We relish this opportunity to bring local communities together, providing a wonderful day out for all the family while celebrating automotive excellence.…

I’VE been reading LRM for a number of years and always look to it for information and inspiration. I just wanted to let you know I’ve taken editor Patrick’s advice and over the next week and a bit we will be doing the NE250 that you highlighted in the magazine last year. I got my Defender 90 in February and there have been a few modifications to make it more comfy, as I tap on my phone it sits in the car park at the pub in York where we are staying until we head north tomorrow. We come from the Isle of Wight so it made sense to split the journey. I will be keeping a diary and taking some photographs so I may well let you know how…

100-PIECE SOCKET SET PRICE: £125 CONTACT: halfords.com This set is perfect for throwing in the back of the Landy when heading off on an expedition. Unlike your Landy it has a lifetime guarantee. PERFORMANCE EXHAUSTS PRICE: From £546 CONTACT: demandengineering.co.uk Not all exhausts are created equal. The boys at Demand Engineering are used to working on classics and race cars, so a performance Land Rover Defender exhaust from them just has to be good. Our own Trevor Cuthbert has one fitted to his straight-six Defender. It’s an all-stainless construction and comes complete with stainless nuts, bolts and gaskets. Best of all it has a lifetime warranty. SLEEP SOUNDLY PRICE: £315 CONTACT: robens.de The reason why Serac 900 recently won an Outstanding Outdoor label is thanks to its superb insulation to…

THERE are many memorable milestones in life but, for the petrolheads among us, the day we passed our driving test is among the best. Some of us carry fond memories of the car we learned to drive in and even hanker after tracking it down years later, or at least one like it. Sadly I’m not among them, because I have no ambitions whatsoever to find the Austin Metro I passed my test in, let alone own it, although its insipid yellow paint job and blue British Telecom stickers probably have a certain retro appeal these days. Things might be different had they handed me the keys to the 110 in the motor transport yard, but they didn’t. One enthusiast who has no such doubts about the desirability of his…

THE Land Rover Story is not your first book. Tell us how you became a writer and the other books you’ve written over the years. Most small kids dreamed of being professional footballers, train drivers or fighter pilots. My ambition, from the age of nine or so, was to be a writer. I wanted to write books, but there weren’t many 16-year-old authors, so I blagged my way into newspaper journalism, which I saw as the next best thing. I was also a keen angler, so for many years I combined my two loves by writing about fishing. My first bylined article was in Angling Times, in 1972. The first book I contributed to was Pike Fishing In The 1980s, in about 1978. It was written mainly by my long-time…

PLYMOUTH Hoe is a grassy field overlooking Plymouth Sound and is best known as the place where Sir Francis Drake insisted on finishing a game of bowls one afternoon in 1588 before sailing out to defeat the Spanish Armada. But to Land Rover fans it is also where the motoring press were first allowed to test drive the Discovery, almost exactly four centuries later. For it was here, in the autumn of 1989, that Land Rover rolled the dice and hoped that the new vehicle it had unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show – a month earlier, on September 16 – would be a success with the influential hacks. If it wasn’t, the prospects for the troubled company were unthinkable. The fact that Plymouth was known as the City of…

Charity Land Rover Tour The Land Rover Charity Events club are holding a Charity Land Rover Tour of Dorset and Somerset running from the August 17 to 26, and they invite anyone with a Land Rover to join them and explore the counties like never before. The cost is just £60 per Land Rover for the entire tour or any part of the tour. Camping is available at various locations allowing you to go sightseeing and explore the natural beauty of the area. Owners of all models of Land Rover are welcome. This year the Charity Land Rover Tour is in aid of Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance, Freewheelers Emergency Voluntary Service and Julia's House Children's Hospice. Full details can be found on their Facebook page or by emailing them…

I can pinpoint the exact moment it happened, and the blame rests solely with Gary Pusey. Last year, while setting up our cars at the Land Rover Legends show one morning, Gary casually mentioned something about not really washing his Series I a great deal. In fact, he added, he was working on cultivating a look of not quite grubbiness, but certainly that of the vehicle having been used. I have to say this is something I’ve never done before, or even considered. I’ve always kept my cars clean and shiny. However, standing next to the two Series Is - his in matt paint, rubbed theatrically through to alloy on the corners, mine in 60-year-old paint, faded from UV damage, dinged and scratched here and there from a life working…

THE two main forms of cooling on an engine are simply air forced through the radiator by vehicle movement, and the viscous fan assembly. The viscous fan assembly comprises a set of fan blades mounted on a hub which is, in turn, fixed (in the case of this Range Rover Classic V8) to the coolant pump. The coolant pump is driven by the ancillary drive belt from the crankshaft, and the hub of the viscous fan assembly turns with it. When the engine is sufficiently cool and no fan cooling is needed, the fan (via its viscous coupling) is uncoupled from the hub and is not driven by it. As the engine coolant temperature increases, the viscous coupling reacts to the heat and engages drive to the fan to cool…

THERE was a time in the not so distant past when power inverters were both very expensive and had a whiff of the dark arts about them. That’s no longer the case and they are now both affordable and commonplace for leisure activities involving the outdoors and 12v battery power. The aim of this test is to see if it’s possible to use an inverter to power up more than just a laptop or charge a phone. A USB port or auxiliary socket can achieve those, albeit at a slower rate perhaps than a 230V AC supply. Would it be possible to power halogen lights or a power tool such as an angle grinder? The output range on test is from 600 W to 1100 W, so you can assume…