LAND ROVER FORWARD CONTROL

Engine cc        :  2.6 petrol  

During the early 1980s, the Ministry of Defence in Britain announced a contract to replace its ageing land rover 101 gun tractors. The new vehicle would have to be capable of hauling the heavy filed gun and carrying up to two tones of ammunition and supplies cross country. There was no way that Land Rover was going to ignore this new, potentially lucrative opportunity to sell more vehicles to the British army.

The problem was that it didn’t have a vehicle that could do the job. The company’s fertile drawing board department was given the task of coming up with something quickly and preferably not too expensive to develop, either. In the past, this had meant rearranging as many existing components as possible and the Forward Control project was no different in this regard, apart from one major exception the cab.   

LAND ROVER FREELANDER 2004

The changes include a new interior and major external revisions, including a new face and tail. The front bumper headlamps and front grille adopt the distinctive family face pioneered by the latest Range Rover. The new, twin pocket clear lens headlamps are similar to those of the Range Rover and provide a higher light intensity than on the outgoing model Improvement. The bumpers are restyled and now body coloured. An alloy sump guard continues to protect the freelander in severe off road conditions, and the front wings are still made from thermoplastic which means they can shrug off minor knocks and remain undamaged. At rear, the bumpers and lights are new. The bumpers are body coloured, and tail lamps have been repositioned higher on the rear bumper, improving visibility and reducing the likelihood of them being obscured by road grim or off roading dust.

Meanwhile, inside, the cabin of the 2004 freelander has been comprehensively restyled, to improve comfort and to generate a feeling of luxury, with a new facia, instrument s, switchgear, door trims and seats that offer better body and under thigh comfort, plus there is an update range of upholstery fabrics. Price are expected to be affected little by the revisions.

       

LAND ROVER SERIES I GEARBOX (PARTll)

More detail for series I gearbox, if you are determined to fix your gear lever by combining parts from two levers’s it should work. Try heating the joint if it’s a shrink fit you may be able to pull the rod out of the lower section. Failing that it’ll be a matter of cutting and drilling. Just a point on joining upper and lower parts welding is strong but weakens the surrounding metal, so do the minimum. I wouldn’t even go to all that trouble, though. You could just build up blobs of weld over the wear facets on your existing gearlever and grind them back until the original profile is restored.MIG welding would be harder than before so may eventually wear the selector shafts but I am guessing you won’t be doing a sufficient mileage to make this a possibility.

Alternatively, you might look at swapping to later gearlever completely. The S llA lever I examined would fit on to your gearbox, and I am told that Slll lever fit as well. Assuming the rubber ring was still in place you get a quieter gearlever. But the gearlever wouldn’t look just the same as an early version soon after the change to Series ll models levers became longer and more sharply cranked.        

Land Rover and Suzuki

I found nothing here to push our off roaders to their limits, serving only to reveal that the Land Rover was well able to keep up with the Suzuki jeep regardless of its lack of low range gearing. The trail were still very well worth exploring, even if only to keep them open we came across one that had obviously not been driven for years. It can was a fairly unexciting stretch on its own, but it linked a number of other trails that included some spectacular views of the countryside, as well as a couple of interesting water crossings.

Had the condition been more testing the jeep would have emerged. The clear off road winner with its easily selectable four wheel drive system, low range gearing and reasonable ground clearance. But a V6 powered Freelander would not have been far behind since it has better overall axle articulation and traction control, with plenty of engine power and the torque boosting effect of the automatic transmission to help overcome the lack of low range. It comes as no surprise to discover that the Freelander has the most refined quality of ride. The Land Rover has all independent suspension, the macPherson struts all around soaking up bumps with total composure. The spring and damping are quit firm, so every little ripple in the road surface can be felt, but there’s no harshness or thumping to disrupt speedy progress. What’s even more impressive is the Freelander’s taut, crisp handling. The steering is higher geared than the Suzuki, and has better feel.  

EASY OFF ROADER

Electronic have crept into the Frontera’s 4WD system too. Like most part timers it now offers shift on the fly its engagement sequence starts with the transfer case. Not the hub clutches as other do. Once the front propshaft is turning the hub units are then engaged. All the driver need knows about this highly complex set up is that at any speed below 60mph you merely push a facia mounted switch and a couple of seconds later you have 4WD. It combines freewheeling hub economy.

The transfer lever is only charged with the task of the selecting low ratio. It’s a desert reduction too, and off road the Frontera feels well at ease. The ground clearance might be a concern, but the suspension travel off the coil sprung rear axle is impressive enough and this one has the optional limited slip differential too, which helps in those cross axle moment it’s no substitute for a mechanical lock, no electronic traction control. Despite the indifferent accelerator feel, the Frontera crawls along rocky tracks easily enough and is much more responsive in low ratio. 

The driver position is free too, with height adjustment for the wheel and driver’s seat, twin airbag are standard and this example has the optional ABS, which change its program in 4WD          

THE DEFENDER200 TDI ENGINE

The 200 TDI engine is virtues reliable, long lived good off road and for a Land Rover fairly economical. About 30 mpg tends to be the norm and they’ll cruise at off road and motorway   speed, without drama. Acceleration won’t to be blistering modifications and aid to make them a bit livelier. There wear, of course, other engine options. The V8 shear the Range Rover’s 3.9 liter unit. Generally a reliable lump but rather on the thirsty side. For this reason. Bargains can be had and if you find one already converted LPG, it can be almost as cheap to run as a diesel version. Most V8 will be autos a great combination for burbling around but the manual ones are enjoyably nippy.

The 2.0 liter petrol a rare beast in 200 engines from isn’t the good choice if you want to tow. But it’s perfectly nice to drive if you‘re not in a hurry and its cheap even and Defender and Discovery 1 standard.