Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2025 i Land Rover Monthly

WELCOME along to a brand-new issue of Land Rover Monthly. You might notice a few changes this month – most obviously, the lack of the Land Rover Life section. Worry not: due to popular demand LRL will be returning as a standalone publication and sold with LRM throughout the coming few months. Also new is the modelling section of the magazine. No, not that kind of modelling… Scale Matters launches this issue, headed up by Peter Gray, a stalwart of the radio-controlled industry and previous editor of Radio Race Car International, which was a favourite of mine when it was in publication. Scale Matters will no doubt evolve and change, but we aim to bring you the latest Land Rover model news, building tips, reviews, event reports and loads more…

TOP TAILGATE KIT £599.94 website: sp-4x4.com Top tailgates – also known as cat-flaps – have long been sought-after for Series Land Rovers, with even scabby examples changing hands for stupid money, but very few people have fitted them to Defenders. This kit comes with everything you need to fit a cat-flap to your Defender or Series Land Rover; if you don’t already have a lower tailgate you can buy a kit with all you need to fit that too. SERIES II/IIA WINGS £491.40 website: paintmanpanels.co.uk These replacement wing assemblies are built-up with the top, inner and front panels joined (each part is also available separately), speeding up the build of the front end. Versions are available for the standard Series II/IIA with headlights in the grille and later Series IIA/III…

HAVING owned Land Rovers in both the UK and Australia, I often find myself comparing the two experiences. And what better way than through my faithful old 1964 Series IIA? She’s been with me since my teenage years in Cornwall and, about eight years ago, she was packed into a container and shipped across the globe to join me in sunny Brisbane. Back in Cornwall, I loved taking the soft top off and cruising those narrow country lanes. Trouble was, the British weather rarely cooperated. And let’s be honest: once a Land Rover soft top is off, the thought of wrestling it back on in a drizzle isn’t terribly appealing. Many times I opted to leave the roof on rather than spend an hour wrangling canvas and door tops. Fast…

IT’S a warm, bright morning with clear blue skies in the Welsh countryside and the service paddock is alive with the clatter of impact guns and laughter as the teams enjoy getting ready for a day of high-speed runs. Bowler Defenders, their sharp silhouettes instantly familiar and unmistakably purposeful, sit lined up with mud-splattered flanks and BFGoodrich tyres ready to take on the stages. Some competitors sip coffee, others make final tweaks, but everyone shares the same joyful energy: another stage, another chance to push themselves and progress. This is the Bowler Owners Rally Championship, a one-make series that takes the latest Land Rover Defender and transforms it into a rally-ready warrior. But this isn’t just about racing. It’s about building a community, creating a progression pathway, and ultimately giving…

IN 2007, three unique Defenders set off on a world-first expedition. “Our objective is clear, our spirits are up, and in the pouring rain, in a massive act of solidarity in the fight against malaria, 347 Land Rovers of every shape and vintage escort us out from the Cape,” wrote famous explorer Kingsley Holgate in his book, Africa – Dispatches from the Outside Edge. Firing up the engines at the southernmost tip of Africa, the humanitarian explorers of the Kingsley Holgate Foundation would drive their Defenders through 33 countries in 449 days, tracing the outline of the African continent, by four wheels and inflatable boats. The boldest expedition ever undertaken in support of malaria prevention. “We say goodbye to the massive convoy and head up the coast. Now, it’s just…

THIS year the V8-powered 101in Forward Control is celebrating its 50th birthday, but if Rover’s product planners had got their way, the vehicle could have looked very different indeed. Instead of the familiar, boxy shape of the 101, the British Army might have been driving the vehicle you see here, the 3.0-litre ¾-ton Land Rover nicknamed the Big Lightweight, for fairly obvious reasons. To my eyes, it is one of the ugliest Land Rovers ever made. The earliest record of it that I can find is an internal Rover document dated 18 November 1965, which summarises the planners’ perspectives on what was required. ‘The current War Department long-wheelbase Land Rover is due for replacement during the next few years’, it reads. ‘Its successor is required to have better mobility, increased…

I’M clearly in the wrong place; a street of late Victorian terrace houses with no industrial buildings in sight. I turn into a side road to be greeted by an unexpected building – a large brick-built factory with metal gates and signage that states Aquarius Manufacturing and Euro Extrusions. Making my way to the office here in Great Harwood, Lancashire, all becomes clear on the strange location of the factory. Over a cup of coffee, I chat to Simon Whigham and daughter Lauren Whigham. “The factory was originally a cotton mill, built in 1911,” Simon explains to me. “In fact, the terrace houses you drove past were built shortly after the cotton mill, to accommodate the workforce. By the time they were all completed, the mill was landlocked by them.”…

EXMOOR TRIM CANVAS DOOR CARDS £69.66 exmoortrim.co.uk Tested by: Helen Tait Wright Owned for: Five months (including a desert rally) I have long admired these for their cool, retro looks and after we gave Purdey, our 110 rally car, Series doors, I was impatient to get my hands on some. The construction and fabric quality is very good and they are a practical and aesthetically pleasing addition to our truck. However, having to make holes in the fabric to attach them to the door made me wince. I suppose it gives each individual user freedom as to the position and type of fixing points, but I just feel that some eyelets would finish the cards off and preserve the integrity of the fabric structure. We have found them to be…

I have been an avid reader of LRM since I was in year 10 (a while ago now as a 34-year-old!), and lover of The LRM Podcast. I was drawn in to the world of driveway-drippers by a cousin with a J-reg 110 with huge speakers in it; he let me take it for a drive the day I passed my test and I was in love – also somewhat bemused by how bad a gearbox can feel… Anyway, I just wanted to share with someone, anyone, my current level of elation, and I think only this community gets it. A few months ago I was given the green light in the form of, “Okay, just go and bloody buy one then!” I’d spent the last five years poring over…

THE TDCi is arguably the Defender model with the best engine. It also has the best gearbox, even if that’s only because it’s a six-speed unit that helps slightly with fuel consumption. It’s also easier to move the gearlever when driving, partly because it’s a shorter stick, and partly because the selection mechanism is slicker and more precise than on the earlier Tdi and Td5 Defenders. That’s a benefit for anyone who has difficulty with the long gearlever travel and iffy engagement of the earlier models. But for owners troubled by the relatively heavy clutch pedal of all Defender models there has never been a factory answer: Land Rover didn’t offer an automatic transmission for the diesel models. That’s always surprised me because an automatic tackles the majority of off-road…

THE lower collapsible steering shaft links the upper part of the steering system to the steering rack. It comprises an inner triangular shaft which can slide within an outer hollow shaft, helping the assembly telescope in the event of a frontal collision. The lower end of the inner shaft carries a flexible coupling which absorbs vibration and off-road shocks and, below that, is a universal joint (U/J) that connects to the steering rack. This U/J can become stiff over the years, causing heavy or sticky steering – though the joint is not the only cause, as we’ll come to later. I was aware of the steering problem on my own Range Rover Sport featured here. It wasn’t so much heaviness, but a reluctance to fully self-centre after cornering, which spoilt…

ACCORDING to an article in The Guardian, Keir Starmer, Britain’s Prime Minister ‘cannot have an electric Range Rover because of a bomb threat’. Jaguar Land Rover claimed its EVs do not offer adequate bomb protection and that the PM’s armoured Sentinels will need to be petrol-powered for the foreseeable future following written responses to a government consultation on EV sales rules. The documents were obtained by Fast Charge and detailed how JLR and other car makers lobbied the UK government to weaken targets requiring them to sell more EVs each year. JLR said that armoured cars should be excluded from the targets as it ‘does not see any workable engineering solution to the challenges surrounding an armoured BEV, primarily because of the required safety and blast protection cannot be achieved’.…

FOLLOWING a cyber attack on the last Sunday of August that resulted in JLR pausing production in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil and India until 24 September, the company has been dominating the headlines. JLR has been working alongside third party cybersecurity specialists to restart its global applications in a controlled and safe manner and with this coming at a critical time of year for the UK car market during the September nameplate change, JLR will want to get the matter resolved and systems back online as soon as possible. Some sources, however, say that the disruption could continue until November or beyond. Before the shutdown, JLR was producing around 1000 vehicles a day – 700 of them in the UK – generating around £70m-£75m in daily revenue and about £5m…

HAVE you been following the JLR Classic visit to the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in Monterey, California? The company attended last year with ten Land Rovers and Range Rovers associated with the Royal Family, and this year was back with ‘a curated collection of some of the most iconic expedition vehicles’ representing The Great Expeditions: 75 Years of Land Rover Traversing the Globe. It’s wonderful to see the company showing some interest in its heritage again, although I think it’s a far cry from the things it did in the past, such as celebrating World Land Rover Day, or commemorating anniversaries in great style with convoys on the Goodwood circuit and up the hill climb. Do you remember the Range Rover 50th birthday event that JLR’s PR man at…

THERE has been a storm in the teacup of our local village Facebook group this week, all caused by a Discovery II. The 1999 Td5 has been a regular sight on the High Street for at least the last five years, but as there are several houses without driveways, I was never sure quite who it belonged to. It was also not the most interesting spec, in a non-descript shade of dark blue – possibly Caledonian – with some aftermarket rear tints for the windows and stick-on side vents to make it look like a Range Rover Sport. I used to casually observe it while my dog sniffed the adjacent lampposts, noting when it had its annual clean or the newly jaunty angle of the spare wheel cover – complete…

FOR Miles, Director of Williams Classics, the Bowler Defender was never just another machine – it was a natural progression. Having bought and sold Bowler products for years, he knew first-hand just how exceptional these vehicles were. So, when the chance arose to not only join the Bowler network but also get behind the wheel in competition, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. For Miles, Bowler ownership has become more than just a business move – it’s a passion that fuels both his professional and personal life. The results speak for themselves. From taking the UK Championship crown to storming across Iceland in 2023 with a first-in-class Defender finish and an impressive third overall, Miles has proved that the Bowler Defender isn’t just a capable rally machine,…

“Originally designed as an auxiliary water tank mounted inside the left rear quarter panel of the Defender’s tub, we soon realised that it would be better served as a secret ‘Captain’s Tank’ that could hold over 40 bottles of adventurous fun, in the form of dark rum. The tank, which had to be refilled on occasion, survived the punishing journey across 33 countries, 64,327km (39,979 miles) and countless drainings by expedition members, its delicious alcoholic contents sometimes turning to stricky treacle in the heat of the sun-baked continent,” remembers Ross Holgate.…

110/1: No military service number issued. Pictured in the 1966 BMVEE catalogue. Registered as VXC 100F in November 1967 to owner Rover Triumph, Lode Lane, Solihull. Acquired by Dunsfold around 1972. Sold or traded in the mid-’70s. Owned by M J Fews Ltd by 1983, when it took part in the One Ten launch event at Eastnor Castle. Registered Q675 FAD in November 1985. Acquired by Christopher Heath, Tuffley, Gloucestershire in June 1987. Subsequently returned to M J Fews Ltd, possibly in a part-exchange. Reacquired in 1990 by Dunsfold. Original registration number VXC 100F reissued by DVLA in 2004. Restored. 110/2: Service number 02SP53, FVRDE wing number 7341. Took part in the military trials. Sold at Ruddington MOD sale in 1971. Registered with Hampshire number ROU 198M in November 1973.…

FIRST, a little introduction: I’m Peter Gray. Officially I’m retired, and unofficially I’m working more than ever, just doing things I truly love. Like building, running, competing with and reviewing radio-controlled vehicles of all shapes and sizes; running a coffee brand; wrenching on and modifying full-size cars; and now doing a bit of writing in these very pages. I was an engineering modelmaker, making patterns for things like Foden trucks, working in companies that made turbocharger casings, bespoke cylinder heads and blocks for motorsport and the like. I then became a shoe designer and worked for many companies, making shoes for productions and even had a pair of my boots used in the Hollywood movie, Star Trek: First Contact. I moved on to become a tech journalist and radio-controlled industry…

I can’t believe it’s as far back as the May issue of Land Rover Monthly that I kicked off the issue by proudly announcing I’d bought a crusty, leaky old 110, but here we are. Time flies when you’re having fun, and an awful lot has happened since I parted with some money and the V5 logbook arrived in the post. The 110 has been getting some fettling in the Tech pages of the mag, gracing the airwaves of The LRM Podcast and racking up some views on our YouTube channel, but I thought I’d share the story of how it came about, what’s been happening, and my plans for the Big Blue Bus in the future. It all started back in January, when I got invited along to a…

Packed with greenlaning adventures, expert reviews, restorations, buying guides and unbeatable technical advice – all in one place. Start your subscription today bit.ly/lrmadventure25 or call 01778 392 033 quoting LRM/adventure25 SCAN ME Subscription offer is £20 a quarter after your first three issues. Offer open to UK residents for a limited time.…

RUST – it’s something most Land Rover owners have to deal with in one way or another. On a 90, 110 or Defender, the most commonly affected areas of the steel chassis are those that are in the firing line of the road wheels – the rear crossmember and the area we’re dealing with today, the bulkhead outrigger. The job of the bulkhead outriggers is to support the Land Rover’s bulkhead at its outermost points. Each one comprises a hollow section, which branches off the upper and outer chassis rail and tapers down as it heads outboard, to a sturdy tube through which the bulkhead mounting bolt passes, and to which the bulkhead foot is clamped. Because of their position on the chassis, directly behind the front wheels, the bulkhead…

DISCOVERY WHINES ON OVERRUN I have a 1998 Discovery 300Tdi auto and recently bought a wide-angle propshaft and the multi-spline flange and four bolts. Having replaced the parts, I now find that when I take my foot off the accelerator there is a loud whine. I stripped it a second time, replacing the flange seal and ensuring everything was immaculately clean, but still the whine. I have my Controle Technique next Tuesday and I am certain it would be a fail – another €65 down the drain. [The Controle Technique in France is similar to the UK’s MoT test – the first test is done when the vehicle is four years old and subsequent tests every two years. Ed] Rodney Fox MARTIN DOMONEY REPLIES: Thanks for getting in touch. Of course,…

How long have you owned it? I have owned it since January this year. What made you want to buy this particular Land Rover? I already have a 1994 300Tdi CSW that I have owned since 2019 and have carried out a lot of modifications and upgrades. I really like pick-up Land Rovers and soft top cars generally, but I had gone too far with upgrades to revert the 90 to a truck cab, so I was on the look-out for another Land Rover. I didn’t want anything too similar to the Defender so decided to start looking at Series vehicles. What’s the story so far? One December afternoon an LRM email arrived with highlights from the classified ads and there was Wallace, at a really good price. Better still,…

THE Midland Rover Owners Club (MROC) is proud to announce it has been awarded the Motorsport UK People Accreditation, recognising their commitment to creating a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment across all its events and activities. This accreditation is part of Motorsport UK’s broader initiative to support clubs in developing best practices around safeguarding, training, equality and volunteer support. This award is a testament to the dedication of the club’s committee, marshals and members who go above and beyond to make MROC a standout club within the off-road and motorsport community. If you’re a Land Rover owner and enthusiast in the West Midlands region of the UK (most of its club activities are within an area 50 miles west and south of Birmingham), and enjoy socialising, greenlaning or competing via…

Wheely good Thanks for your excellent October issue; in particular thanks to Richard Hall for his spot-on article on wheels and tyres in his ever-informative Norfolk Garage column. My own 1994 Defender 300Tdi County Station Wagon came with Rostyle rims, but the CSWs had 6.0x16 rims, still with 205 R16 tubed tyres. I replaced them with Michelin AT 225/75 R16 tyres and tubes. The Rostyle rims are stamped TT for ‘tube type’. Later on, I had the same thought-wrangling over tubes in tubeless tyres etc, and decided to upgrade to (year-correct) Freestyle-type five-spoke 7x16 alloys and 235/70 R16 tubeless tyres: all of the above tyre sizes have the same static laden radius and rolling circumference. Present tyre choice is General Grabber AT3, very capable, quiet and good on wet roads.…

A little mission to shift logs from north to east London opens with Lukas messaging to suggest high-vis jackets will be useful, accompanied by an image of a Michael Bublé World Tour 2019 jacket. To either my pride or shame, beyond the name sounding vaguely familiar, I am otherwise unacquainted with this particular songster. Due to the vagaries of London parking restrictions and rush hour traffic, I had decided to turn my outing into a two-part venture, driving in and parking up at Lukas’ place in the morning, then heading into town via public transport to do some bits and pieces, before reconvening at dusk to collect the logs. I top up with petrol to avoid having to track down a garage in the city and cruise on into town, in…

Pop-up cat flap AS I type these words it is just over a month before I have to leave the workshop where I have been looking after old Land Rovers for the last ten years. It does not seem too long ago that I was working out of a semi-derelict dirt floor barn in the middle of the Suffolk countryside, being bitten by stray ferrets and having to stop work every time the wind got up because the barn doors were too fragile to risk opening in a high wind. This little unit in Banham is my fourth workshop and undoubtedly my favourite: it is warm and dry, and there are hares in the field across the road. I will miss it. I have been steadily working my way through…

WHEN this Series IIA pulled up alongside me at the Rover Social’s summer gathering at Dunsfold in July, I was instantly smitten. Obviously very original and beautifully patinated, I promised myself that once my shift checking tickets on the gate was over, I would seek out the owner and find out more about it. I’m glad I did, because it is an exceptional vehicle and one I’d love to own. Somehow my gate duties continued until early afternoon, when Rover Social founder and host, Simon O’Leary, and Dunsfold’s Philip Bashall reminded me that they had to select three prize-winning vehicles whose owners would receive their awards just before the event closed. Handing over my guest list to another volunteer, I happily joined Philip and Simon as they inspected more than…

Background and motivation PETER: What inspired you to build a 1/10th scale Boom Racing BRX02 Series III to mimic your real vehicle? FRED: I have owned my full-size Land Rover Series III 109 for almost ten years and have been using it as a daily driver. My Land Rover was purchased by the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) in 1984 and was shipped to Hong Kong in the same year. It was used by the Queen’s Gurkha Signals Regiment and the Hong Kong Information Team respectively over several years of service and eventually retired in 1988. Subsequently the car was sold to the civilian market at an auction. To me, keeping this Land Rover alive and driving it around is like preserving a slice of history. The Series III 109…

When the post arrives and the envelope has ‘urgent action required’ in red on the front, then it must be important. But the last thing I expected it to be was a safety recall from Land Rover on a 14-year old Discovery. Well, it didn’t say it was from Land Rover, rather it said JLR. Anyway, this particular recall was the ‘N923 tow ball retaining bracket kit’, and the accompanying letter says there is an ‘inadequate warning of the risk of using the tow ball incorrectly’. Investigations had identified that if owners failed to comply with instructions to remove the removable tow ball when not in use, it may cease to operate adequately and cause ‘in-use detachment’. JLR says instructions in the owner’s manual specify that when not in use…

Call for a free quote on 01480 484 803 October 12 LAND ROVER MONTHLY LAND ROVER, 4x4 AND VINTAGE AUTOJUMBLE Ripon Racecourse, North Yorkshire landrovermonthly.co.uk/information/events TEA ON THE TAILGATE INTERNATIONAL MEET AND CAMP Watergoed in Valburg, Netherlands teaonthetailgate.co.uk/events S&S PAPPLEWICK COMP SAFARI Open CSC Round 7, Papplewick, Notts saslrc.co.uk/events/ October 19 CROSSHILLS RTV/TYRO WITH RED ROSE Crosshills Trials Site, Cross Hills, Keighley, West Yorkshire ylroc.co.uk/events TEA ON THE TAILGATE SOUTHERN 1st ANNIVERSARY MEET Army Flying Museum ///sulk.airfields.gigglesarmy teaonthetailgate.co.uk/events October 25 – November 2 OFF THE BEATEN TRACK 4x4 EUROPEAN TOUR A Pyrénean adventure offthebeatentrack4x4.co.uk/event-dates-1 October 26 LAND ROVER MONTHLY LAND ROVER, 4x4 AND VINTAGE AUTOJUMBLE Malvern Three Counties Showground landrovermonthly.co.uk/events/land-rover-4x4-and-vintage-autojumbles-2025-dates-for-your-diary/ October 31 NORTH YORK MOORS ROUTE A Halloween Evening Drive uklandroverevents.com/events.htm November 2 RRLRC GYMKAHANA FAMILY FUN DAY 4X4 EVENT…

THE factory fitted transmission in a Defender TDCi – comprising a six-speed manual gearbox and an LT230 transfer box – is located in the chassis slightly differently from the earlier transmissions in order to align it with the TDCi (Ford Puma) engine. The assembly is rotated so that it sits a little higher on the left side, and the transfer box is at a steeper angle. So when converting the Land Rover to automatic transmission, the left side of the ZF automatic gearbox will become too close to the transmission tunnel for the shifter lever to operate, and to accommodate the X-Y switch. This means the transmission tunnel needs to be modified, but the solution has been well thought out by Ashcroft Transmissions and is really quite easy to achieve.…