Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i Land Rover Monthly

WANT a free tip for life? Take care when picking your Land Rover mates. A week ago, I was in the south of England interviewing a rather interesting former British army general about a Land Rover trip he did in the 1960s: all will be revealed in a future issue of LRM. On the drive home I stopped off to visit my friend Rob Tasker (aka Capt Ratty on insta); steak was cooked and future adventures discussed. Towards the end of the meal I popped the last bit of steak into my mouth, swallowed, and it got stuck in my throat. No problem, I’ll wash it down with liquid. Said liquid had nowhere to go, so my breathing problem had now become a drowning one. The liquid did a hasty…

THIS year marks the 30th anniversary of the first of the Billing Show’s Off Road Courses. While some LRM readers will be too young to remember – or not even born – in 1991 the decision was made to have a Land Rover Show, hosted by Billing Aquadrome in Northamptonshire. But the venue was lacking an off-road course. Richard Arrowsmith was approached by the show organisers to build a course for them, which he did using his experience as an historic racing driver and engineer, and his personal knowledge of the land to guide him. Within just a few months – and in plenty of time for the 1992 show – the legendary Riverside Off Road Course had been mapped out and built. Around five years later, Richard built the…

Send us your shot Email your pics to patrick@lrm.co.uk and you could see your Landie in LRM…

IT used to be a story you heard all the time. The enthusiastic teen, saving up odd-job money, buying a Series I for £100, then spending years restoring it as his first car. More than just cheap motoring, it was often the genesis for a lifetime’s enthusiasm for the brand. In 2022, the Land Rover landscape is totally different. Series Is are expensive and no longer a cheap way in to Land Rover ownership. As L P Hartley famously said: “The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.” Step forward Series I owner Henry Anderson, of Henley-on-Thames, who bucks that trend and has done it the traditional way. He bought a 1955 86-inch aged 13 as a project, already stripped and in boxes, and then restored it…

IT’S not every day that you’re asked to cover your eyes when you reach the end of a journey, but as the property I was going to visit was in an obscure and somewhat unexpected location, its owner, Ian Duddy, preferred me to not to know exactly where I was. I had an idea of what I was going to see, but after literally being led up the garden path and being told that I could open my eyes, I was simply stunned. Here, in the middle of a quiet residential area of Melbourne, is what is probably the largest gathering of Suffix A and B classic Range Rovers in existence. Admittedly, not all of them are in the best of shape, but as they’re all pretty much original, it…

I think that if the Land Rover company of today could rewind the clock until just before it first launched the old Defender, it would be a very different looking and working vehicle. The headlights would shine brighter than the light from a single candle, the doors would close, those in the second row would be able to see properly. I could go on and on. Which is why Defender owners like me are constantly upgrading bits on our old cars. One of the best improvements I’ve ever made to my Defender was when Andy Wise from Twinwoods 4x4 professionally installed Optimill’s upgrated screen washer system. The puny pump on the standard system means the 13-inch wiper blades are fighting a losing battle, as there just isn’t enough water coming…

THE Freelander 2 from the 2009 model year is fitted with the Generation 4 active on-demand coupling (otherwise known as the Haldex unit) mounted on the rear differential. This is an improved design over the previous couplings, and its role is to distribute torque to the rear wheels when front wheel traction is lost. This allows normal front-wheel only drive for economy, but switching into four-wheel drive by also driving the rear wheels when needed. This Haldex unit active on-demand coupling provides seamless transition to four-wheel drive and is a self-contained hydraulic and mechanical unit which sits between the rear driveshaft (propshaft) and the rear differential. The only service requirement for the rear diff (which shares its oil with the Haldex) is to renew the oil every 150,000 miles or…

IT’S been a long time coming but Twisted has finally unveiled its first-ever fully electric offering – which it’s calling the city-ready EV Defender. Last year was a bumper year for electric car registrations, which accounted for 27.5 per cent of the total market, a trend reflected in Twisted’s own data – 20 per cent of enquiries now relate to electric vehicles. Deciding to strike while the iron’s hot, its electric Defender is the culmination of thousands of hours’ development and is now ready for customers to experience. Engineered from the ground up, the Twisted EV system has also been designed to be completely modular and is available to suit all 90, 110 and 130 models of Defender. Twisted’s founder, Charles Fawcett, reveals that the “fully electric Twisted has been…

DEFENDER SILLS PRICE: From £514.99 CONTACT: uproar4x4.com These Titan Defender sills are the same shape and dimensions as the originals. However, unlike the originals they are thicker and stronger (made from 5mm-thick stainless steel). They also protrude from the door by 10mm for extra bodywork protection. BE COOL PRICE: From £22.99 CONTACT: outwell.com This tough new cooler bag from Outwell has been designed with Land Rover adventures in mind. It’s made from rugged polyester with easy-to-clean PVC lining. Available in three sizes: 25-litre, 15-litre and 6-litre. SOLDERING IRON PRICE: £32.98 CONTACT: eBay.co.uk Great for quick-fix jobs on your Land Rover, this Laser Tools rechargeable, cordless soldering iron features a battery charge level indicator and in-built LED. It’s powered by an 1800mAh Li-ion battery that provides usage time of approximately one…

THE fun of the fair – the sounds, the colours, the lights and music. For many it reminds them of a childhood treat that ended with post-waltzer dizziness and sticky candy floss fingers and it is these memories that have been rekindled for the last 40 years by Berkshire-based Carters Steam Fair. Anyone familiar with the Carter’s ensemble rolling into town will know only too well the heavy-hitters that move the collection of classic rides from one location to the next: Scammell, Atkinson, Foden, ERF. But at the centre of it all is a humble Land Rover Defender. John and Anna Carter began collecting vintage fair rides in the late 1970s and it soon turned into a full-time love affair and business. These days, the fair is largely run by…

WHEN mainstream tourists go to Scotland for a memorable road trip they normally do the North Coast 500. If going to the Republic of Ireland these same folk would probably do the 1000-mile Wild Atlantic Way. I have done the former in autumn and was just blown away by the landscapes, definitely some of the finest in all the world. Would I do the same trip at the height of the summer school holidays? Probably not. Because the older I get the more I crave wide open spaces and being surrounded by my nearest and dearest. Which is why when in Cape Town, South Africa (SA) for the recent half-term holidays, all of my focus was on my family where my 8-year-old son Isaac used this precious time to get…

WHEN this Defender 110 Td5 arrived back with me, after many of the damaged body panels had been sold and removed, more of the bulkhead was visible than before. I could see lots that pleased me about it and this was one of the key deciders that made me embark on a rebuild of the Land Rover – the bulkhead appeared in largely good condition. Although what I could see of the bulkhead was good, I have been around Land Rovers long enough to know that there are often hidden issues. Rust problems can be concealed behind the dash panels, engine bay components (the heater unit, for example) and under various seals, such as the door and screen seals. The only way to be completely sure of the condition of…

LRM’s first event of the year, the 4×4, Land Rover & Vintage Spares Day, held recently at the Malvern showgrounds, was an unprecedented success. It had double the number of trade stands compared with last year’s winter event, while attendance was up by a whopping 100 per cent. The fact that the sun was shining brightly certainly helped the success of the day. Most attendees pre-booked their tickets online which meant a saving of £2.50 per ticket, with the added benefit of no standing in line. Definitely the way to go if you’re thinking of attending any of the four LRM events coming up later this year. While the first two halls were full of 4x4 and Land Rover bits, the third hall was occupied by the Tractor World Parts…

How did you find this project? Hours and hours of scouring the internet and then lots of cups of tea, of course. Is that not how your readers find their Land Rovers? What’s the story so far? I bought her stock as a rock back in 2019. Since then, I have spent every spare moment and penny working on setting it up exactly as I want it. The key design brief was simple before I started: it had to be futureproof. It had to be something that would evolve as our family did. I am pleased to report it most certainly has in the three years that I have owned it. How is the engine running? Sweet as a nut, I’m happy to report. These 2.7 TDV6 engines sometimes get…

VETERANS in Action, a charity that helps veterans who suffer the after-effects of war, is embarking on a new project and LRM will be on the frontline reporting every step of the way. The project is called ‘Defender Transition – Project Steve’, and the aim is to take a broken, former military Defender 90, strip it down and transform it into a vehicle that can serve a fresh role in the civilian environment. After returning home from war, veterans may be coping with depression, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), anxiety or other mental conditions, as well as debilitating physical injuries. These issues affect not only the service member, but also their family. The challenge in transitioning to civilian life after active duty is something all too familiar to Billy Macleod MBE.…

Grenadier fan mail I’ve just read with great interest Gary Pusey’s article on his impressions of the Grenadier in the April 2022 edition. I understand why the article was placed in the Writers’ Rovers section and not the main body of the magazine. My impression after reading the article is that this is now a contender or alternative for prospective purchasers looking to get a vehicle similar to the old Defender. I understand that the final production vehicles are yet to be released (along with the price tag) and only then will you see what you can actually buy and, just as importantly, see how complex they are. I’d like LRM to have a similar article at the time to report on exactly that. James Stapleton PATRICK REPLIES: I’ve had…

‘ONE owner, low mileage’. Buyers have always been happy to pay extra for a car that has done relatively few miles, ever since cars were first fitted with a device to record the total mileage travelled. Prior to that I suspect low-mileage horses were much in demand. There is a certain amount to be said for buying a vehicle that has not done a huge amount of work. Quite apart from the engine and drivetrain, smaller items such as switches, hinges, door latches and controls all wear with use, and on a high-mileage vehicle quite a lot of components will be well past their design life. I had a Series III in for servicing a while ago where the foot pad on the clutch pedal had worn so thin with…

IT was so effortless, I almost barely noticed. We’re on a main road in the Welsh borders, in evening commuter traffic. On an extended incline one lane briefly becomes two. We move to the outside lane and accelerate, then accelerate some more. Commuters get picked off as progress becomes beyond what you might be accustomed to. There is no wince-inducing harshness from an over-stretched engine, laying a smoke trail like the Red Arrows as gears are snatched one after another. Instead there’s just a steady, relentless push, in one gear, until we are at quite a lick. Yet we aren’t in a sports car, we’re in a Defender 130, on huge tyres, powered by a highly tuned BMW straight-six diesel. To explain, we have to rewind slightly. The driver is…

1983 was an interesting year for Land Rover. It was the year that Solihull introduced the coil-sprung One Ten. The new vehicle would sound the death knell for the leaf-sprung Land Rovers that had been in production for the previous 35 years, the last knockings of which were the late production Series III 88-inch vehicles like the one you see here. The 88 would itself be officially consigned to history the following year when the coil-sprung Ninety was introduced as its successor, although the truth of the matter is that leafer production took a little longer to die. In fact, the story of the final demise of the Series III might well be one of the most protracted model deaths in automotive history. Despite the introduction of the One Ten…

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“IF you are calling about an existing enquiry, press 1. If you are asking for a refund, press 2. If you…” You get the picture, I’m sure. If there’s one thing to get your teeth gnashing, it is the multi-option phone switchboard. Then there is the music – the music – sibilant, painful, and repetitive. I can vouch for this first-hand because of my travails with the DVLA and my Series I. If you missed it, basically, I hadn’t had a tax reminder, so checked online, only to find no details for the car, and a note to call the DVLA. This I did, to be told the car had a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) registered against it, by online application in January. Only a registered dismantler can apply for…

THE second-generation Range Rover P38A is one of the most affordable entry points to Land Rover ownership. So if you own one, it’s likely you’ll be maintaining it yourself to some extent. Equally, if you’re considering ownership, you may be wondering how much you can tackle yourself. Thanks to their relatively proven engines and drivetrains, P38As are some of the simplest models to service at home. The same doesn’t perhaps carry for diagnosing and repairs, thanks to the pioneering use of a Body Electronic Control Module (BeCM) which every electrical item routes though, from the engine to the door locks. Diagnosing an issue and pinpointing the cause can be a little tricky, as the BeCM itself can fail too, and is coded to the car. Don’t let us talk the…