THE LAND ROVER CAMEL TROPHY

The old One Ten station wagon struggles to get a grip slides sideway a bit, and then its skinny Michelin 7.50s cut down through the rotting foliage and they have slowly forward. No wheelspin? What with a two and a quarter engine? But who wants wheelspin? The early’ 80s naturally aspirated diesel has low down torque, and that’s what we need.

You’d think only tracked vehicle would get out of here, but they plough up through the undergrowth, shrug aside a few saplings and lurch back on to the dirt track. Even though competitors is an experienced off road driver it’s the vehicle that impresses. There’s a feeling of smug satisfaction as the One Ten prove it’s still up to the job.

And if that up and out ability is necessary here in Yorkshire, think how much more essential it must have been in 1984 when this vehicle was new. Back then, the One Ten was doing the same thing, hacking its way through a forest.  

DISCOVERY 1 AND SERIES III HEAD TO HEAD

Things have change recently. The Series III has for a long time been the cheaper way on to the Land Rover scene, but just look at how the early Discovery has crept up on its blind side. You can pick up a useable 200TDI for well under value, if you’re feeling brave, you can pick up an MOT failure for cheaper or less. That’s deep into Series III territory.

Granted, they are totally different. The Series III owes much to 1958’s Series I. this is a basic, rough and ready, milk the cows then head to the market Land Rover. The Discovery is very car like very 1980s car like, but anyway, with underpinning derived from the original Range Rover. Performance and refinement are on a different planet to the old Series III but the Discovery loss out on durability and some  would say character and driver enjoyment. But which one is better for you? Let’s take a good look at two typical examples.   

FOR AND AGAINST

The 88 inch Series III makes a brilliant first Land Rover for young drivers you learn basic mechanics quickly, they’re fun to drive both on and off road, and parts are cheap. If you have a family, they aren’t ideal although different seats, soundproofing, overdrives and engine transplants make a difference.

The Disco is a bargain and it’s easy to find ones even cheaper than our two grand examples. It’s hugely practical, family friendly and, underneath the skin, essentially the same as a Defender or Range Rover so it’s also cheap and easy to fix. But it doesn’t age as well dents, dings and faded paint can be shrugged off the Series III, but it makes a Discovery look a bit of a shed.

However, unless you love welding, this s not a Land Rover for life. The Series III will continue for years with the odd anti rust waxing and a service here and there. An old leafer is the safest best you can get with Land Rovers.

WHAT ABOUT VEGETABLE OIL IN A TDI

Yes your 200 TDI will run quite happily on vegetable oil, but it may not start in cold weather, as it may be too thick to pump easily. So you still need diesel. You can have two fuel tank and turn on to diesel a couple of minutes before you stop the engine, so that it has diesel in it to start. Warm up the vegetable oil with heat exchange so it’s nice and thin. Put a t piece into the heater pipes and run the fuel through a double pipe to warm it. You must pay duty on your vegetable oil.

You can get your old injector pump reconditioned. Look for a local specialist in under diesel fuel injection. Using a secondhand chassis on a rebuild is legal but the DVLA’s leaflet INF 26 the Registration of Rebuilt or Radically Altered Vehicles and kit cars explains it all. The situation is very clear, if a secondhand chassis body shell has been used, the vehicle will be automatically allocated a registration.   

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE

There is a very little to choose between the two engines. Both are very reliable when properly maintained. Although faults have appeared in the past, most, if not all engines, will have been subsequently modified. The 200TDI used to suffer head gasket failure on number four cylinder, but has since received a revised gasket. The 300TDI suffered timing belt failure which was big news at the time, but, I’d be surprised to hear of any engines still running that have not had the timing gear modified. But not all engines were affected.

Specification and performance are similar. In the Defender models, for example, the 300TDI engine produce 111bhp at 4000rpm compared to the 200TDI’s 107bhp at 3800rpm. The 300TDI gives 195lb ft maximum torque at 1800rpm compared to 188lb ft, at the same engine speed, on the 200TD. Some late 300TDI Discovery model have electronic diesel control EDC which make them slightly less accessible from a DIY viewpoint. 

THE V8 DISCOVERY STILL SUFFER DESPITE SO MANY CHECKS

There seem to be several different faults with this engine the first issue is idling performance. To tackle this you need to have a fairly methodical approach. Check that you do not have any air leaks on the manifold take off pipes, etc. also, check that you have the correct voltage on the throttle potentiometer and that your emissions are no higher than 2.5 per cent CO with the HC also less than this it may be worth looking at the air flow meter and trying another one of possible.

The final check is fuel pressure in the fuel rail. This needs to be checked to determine that your pump and regulator are working correctly. If all of these items check out okay I would be tempted to change the idle air control valve. However, as the exhaust is covered in black soot, then this suggest that your engine is running far too rich.

BLOCKED FUEL PUMP

Petrol pump are fairly simple to take apart just undo a few crosshead screws and it comes to bits. Nothing startling appeared and we being to put the pump back together, quietly resigned to removing the fuel tank and then we found a curious object. A small brass countersunk rivet was lying amid the pump bits. Problem solved.

Cheered by this thought, we took our pump outside to reattach it. The engine spluttered into life for a few seconds, before cutting out again. Time and again it repeated the same process. The problem was that the tube dryed out and petrol needed to be coaxed through. It time running until new tuned it off. 

STIRRED BACK TO LIFE

I think the person who designed the Land Rover must have been very tall or at least presumed that everyone buying them would be. Being only 5ft 7 in I had to stand on a block of wood before I could get enough leverage on the nuts.

Disconnecting the fuel pipes requires the undoing of two ½ inch nuts, one of which is easy to get at and unwound without a fight. The other is situated just out of reach, near the bulkhead. This also has an inconvenient pipe and bracket where the spanner needs to be. It was thus time to employ the age old art of delicately bending said bracket with a steel bar and a hammer. The job looked quite straightforward now two more nuts holding the pump to the engine plate and it would be off. 

AND FINALLY

The last job I got round to going was fitting a pair of LRX Hi – Force wing top air intakes to complement the front grille and headlight surrounds. Looking like Sydney Opera house from the side, the intakes are more stylish than my old ones and even my friend was impressed. The nearside one feeds the heater, but the offside one goes nowhere. We currently working on a cunning plan to use the old nearside scoop and mount it under the offside unit. Then I’ll run an intake pipe from the scoop into the air filter housing, through the dump valve.

It’ll cause a problem if I go wadding, but as I’ve yet to take the 110 fully underwater and the dump valve is perished, it won’t really be a problem. And for normal driving it will allow the engine to draw air from a combination of places. I’ve just got to get round to doing it and you know how long that will take me….

PUMPING THE BRAKES

Another thing requiring attention was the axles. I hadn’t driven the 110 for about a week so it was noticeable that the brakes required a slight pump to get full pressure. It has taken awhile, but I’ve finally got it into my thick skull that this, on a disc braked vehicle mean that the wheel bearings require adjustment.

The last time I had to pump the brake was on the Discovery when the wheel bearing collapsed big time the lock nuts disintegrated, so the only thing holding the wheel on was the brake caliper. This time, we were at garage and plenty of time. We’ve replaced the rear bearing about 15,000 miles ago, so I checked the front wheel first, which were fine.

The rear ones both required adjustment, taking up a bit of slack. The workshop manuals for older models, like our Series III A, show the procedure for adjusting the bearings, but this is omitted from the 110’s manual. Maybe the bearings should be fit and forget I’ll watch them and replace if necessary as long as they don’t suddenly fail. 

TIME IT TAKE

We still had 8, 6 and 7 to do. We missed 8 again, managed to get 6 and 7 to before going round again and getting 8. If you are used to the process, it’s probably simple. It took us nearly an hour to get them all done. But at least we did.

Setting the clearance was the easy bit, although I did have to buy another set of feeler gauges I’ve lost more of those than any other tool for some reason. The difficult bit was removing the ratchet and socket that I had been using to turn the engine.

Sandwiched neatly in between the crank pulley and radiator cowling, there wasn’t enough room to pull the ratchet, off backwards. And I couldn’t detach the socket as the ratchet locks to it. After cursing it, I realized that if I swung the ratchet round to clear the cowling, the fan’s fins would probably have enough give to allow me to slide the socket off the bolt. And, as fortune would have it, it did.  

TAPPET ADJUST

I manned the crankshaft pulley while my friend calls when the appropriate rocket was down. I used the rule of nine procedures when number 1 is down, number 8 is closed and can be checked and adjusted. When 2 is down 7 is checked and adjust and so on. We aimed to start with number 8 valves, but that was on the way up, so it would have to be number 6.

Or at least we would have, if we had been paying attention. To be fair, the last time we had helped me check valve clearances was 12 years ago on the Lightweight, so we can forgive he for forgetting the drill. So we started with number 6, then number 4. We missed 7 and worked our way through 1, 3, 5 and 2. Working out when the valve was fully open was hit and miss. When my friend said the rockers had stopped moving, I ran the feeler gauge through the one needing adjustment there was plenty of slack on each one, meaning it was at the right point.   

TAPPET DANCING

For some reason I was flicking through the 110’s service record the other day. It’s bit of rear event as I do all the servicing myself, so don’t generally look at it. The last time it had visiting a mechanic was at 67,000 miles when I head gasket replaced. Now at 99,000 miles, I’ve gone 32,000 miles without adjustment the tappets.

Well you’ll be glad to know that I bothered to do something about it and dug out the workshop manual and tool kit. Unless you have an intricate mirror set up, adjusting tappets is really a two person job. One person need to be watching the rockets nodding while the other turns over the engine.

It’s essential to make sure the ignition is off when you are hand turning the engine. Also you should really remove the battery earth and disconnect the fuel feed to the injectors, just in case the engine fires when you are turning it over. 

THE LAND ROVER SHOP

And this isn’t about Land Rovers, either (well not really). There was a Land Rover book I wanted on the website of a shop selling lots of Land Rover stuff. After several frustrating attempts to get the book mail ordered, I checked the shop’s details and found that it exists geographically as well as in cyberspace, about 30miles from where live.

It would be quicker to drive over than keep trying the website, I reckoned. And that’s how I found myself taking a look at the outer reaches of Land rover enthusiasm.  I mean, we like our Land Rovers, we like things to do with our Land Rovers. But in this shop there wasn’t any actual Land Rover stuff, no genuine parts, no parts of any kind. There wasn’t even any non Land Rover Land Rover kit, such as huge tyres or acres of chequerplate or roof tents or high lift jacks.

NEW METAL FOR SERIES

Like the majority of series Land Rover, our series I plimsoll (PSL 193) has been fixed and patched dozens of times during his life. Even so I still maintain that he’s original this proud boast is the source of much ribald comment from assistant editor Watson, it’s 50 years old yard broom that’s had nine head and six handles.

How original, is the best reply they can come up with he never tires of pointing out that the engine and gearbox have wiring harness, the offside bulkhead outrigger is new and so on. Clearly, original means different things to different people.

The original with regard to Plimsoll means that most of him, as he currently is, left the factory at the same time on the same day he’s not a collection of parts from several vehicle. We haven’t scraped the chassis and fitted a shiny galvanized one or shoehorned in a TDI both crimes that Watterson is guilty of with his series II A. 

SAVILLE’S TIME TRAVELS

In 1985 they created a completely new facia for Defender they used full size rendering and moulding but the project was stopped because they didn’t have enough resource to work on that and the Discovery 1

He was really disappointed. But Defender was being planted in 2004 memo was asked to design a new facia for it and he based his latest ideas on those near 20years old concepts. When they heard that the new dash 

was finally going into production, it was very happy indeed. What and amazing story.

Memo still love his job. After more than quarter of a century designing Land Rovers, he has no plant to stop. At the present time they still working passionately on Land Rover products. With the Land Rover legend going from strength to strength, if they ever lived his life again he would still like to work as a designer at Land Rover. 

MADE LAND ROVER PERFECTLY

When they built the first prototypes, they made aluminium eyebrows, and the first day they drove them at Eastnor this tripped them off in the rust’. Memo chips in they remember that one because they brought it here and said they had to redesign it and they said “fine let’s have a go’.

The idea of deformable eyebrows come from another design project that pre dated the One Ten stage 2 called SD 5. This vehicle’s body was made of a deformable material that remembered its original shape and sprung back after minor knocks. Fewer than three years after Memo began working on the first sketches for the face lifted Series III that they now know as the One Ten the vehicle was in production, and there the story ends…. But not for long

Memo then fishes out another really interesting photograph that’s it, above right that causes us to pick up the story again.

MORE INFORMATION

These days it’s just a sketch and that’s it but back then there was nobody else to work out your ideas. Everything went through to production very efficiently and quickly they didn’t mess about. As soon as they decided, yes that’s the one they did it.  I Still like to take a job from A to Z, from sketch to engineering drawings, they not A to B designer. There’s nothing nicer than seeing your idea making it through design and production, and seeing it finished.

Apart from the One Ten’s new face, the other distinctive changes to the Land Rover’s external appearance are the rubber eyebrows. Roger Crathrone, an influential Land Rover engineer who’s now the company’s technical communications manager, take ups the story.

If you look at a Series I then a Series II, you’ll see that the Series II is four inches wider. Stage 2 the One Ten is for inches wider still a full eight inches wider than a Series I. this came about because they used Range Rover axles. Without eyebrows, the wheels would have thrown up mud and muck all over the body sides.   

THE LAND ROVER THE BEST

Land Rover has always been the result of engineering needs. Even now, the always reminding the staff that, ever since 1948, the Land Rover has always been an engineering solution, not a styling solution. It has to keep its functionality.

Even the number of louvers in the radiator grill was worked out after various tests to determine how many there should be and at what angle not just because a certain number of slats looks good. In those days, and weekends, too. It was so exciting they were doing so many different jobs within the same company interior trim design, exterior graphics and badges, engineering jobs, technical drawings. The job description was to create design sketches and turn them into technical drawings for production with isometric views. They needed these drawings to brief the clay modelers and workshops, so they had to be right. Without them, they couldn’t get the job done. 

STORIES THE LAND ROVER

The first change (stage 1) was to bring the grille section forward to accommodate different engine, one of which was the petrol V8 in the Series III stage1 V8. They started the redesign by bringing the grill forward to the headlamp position. There were looking at other car designs with single piece headlamp and grill section but, because the Land Rover wasn’t a monocoque design, they couldn’t combine the headlamps and grill in a single section. Bringing the grille forward gave us the look they wanted.

The first design with the forward grill still used the original Series III headlamp bezels and split screen. Moving the grille meant that they had to lengthen the bonnet, of course. The single price windscreen came later, following legislation changes in Europe regarding visibility of high mounted traffic light signals. At the time they use very big drawings because they didn’t have clay. They were cut photograph of the Hi Cap Pick up on the left.  

DAWN OF DEFENDER

Three decades ago, the utilitarian Series III Land Rover looked very defender from today’s incarnation of the Defender. The Series III appeared almost unaltered from the earliest Series II. In fact, it still bore an unmistakable resemblance to the first Series is but this was all about to change.

Land Rover styling director David Bach had just memo Ozozturk, a young designer he was to play a major part in the facelift of the Series III. It was his first job as a senior designer under David Bach and Tony Poole the chief designer in the Land Rover design department recall Memo. He had a passion for Land Rover vehicles, which he still have to this day in 1979 they set up their own Land Rover design studio, separate from Rover Cars and he carried on working on the Series III facelift that eventually led to the One Ten.

IT’S PROPER BRILLIANT

A proper Land Rover it’s a phrase I’ve heard many times over the years to describe a whole range of different vehicles. Indeed, I’ve often said it myself. But what does it mean? Depends on your view, I guess for me, this is every inch a Proper Land Rover. Scruffy paintwork that shrugs off scratchy green lanes, headlights in the middle, SAT pattern tyres, fruity exhaust note marvelous.

Some would describe it as a rat’. Don’t think that that Land Rover is a bit of a shed, though underneath that work worn exterior is a vehicle every bit as well restored as the best of the concurs restoration you see on the shows circuit. That’s just the way we like it. We bought the 1965 88 inch for a very good reason, as I explains. I like them!!!

CAN I DRIVE OFF ROAD

The show features an off road course at a nearly site, designed by Land Rover’s off road team. Who has been running off road courses at event for many years? Slots depart every half hour although note that the course takes longer than that to drive. You can also order a four hours off road super pass. Choose red or green routes depending on the capability of you and or your vehicle, the red route is not for the faint hearted and will test driving skills and vehicle to their limits. The green route is suitable for all vehicles.

The Land Rover show has everything you’d expect from a world Land Rover exhibition, trade stands, 60^th celebration, arena action, off road course and camping. As a bonus, the famous Old Sudbury Sortout is a Sunday highlight entry’s included with your show ticket. 

BODY ARMOUR

Heavy duty bumpers front and rear will fend off impacts, reducing damage to the panels and lights and helping maintain its roadworthiness. Bumperettes on a Defender or series rear cross member will protect rear lights from parking impacts. Even a roof rack can help reduce damage to the vehicle’s shell if you slide into a tree or get hit by a lorry.

There’s a real plethora of armour available to keep your Land Rover going through thick and thicker for year after years. Diffs are the lowest item and usually the first to hit something. Rocks and other solid objects can damage the axle casing causing the diff to stop suddenly or lose its lubrication, both of which are bad.

Rear Discovery 1 axles are particularly susceptible to damage and often rust through. Luckily, you can buy replacement diff pans which prevent the problem re occurring.

ON GUARD

Guards to prevent damage to light are also a worthwhile addition if you drive where stones are regularly flicked up. The grilles fitted to older Series Land Rovers look the part and withstand impacts well, and some are available for the current range of vehicles. Another solution is to use moulded Perspex protectors, which clip on to the lights and diffuse impacts from flying objects.

The steering and fuel tank can also sustain damage, and a wide variety of guards are available for all Land Rovers from the advertisers in Land Rover. When fitting accessories you’ll also need to consider the rest of the vehicle. A light bar on a Discovery roof is unlikely to cause problem on a chassis requires a decent base to start with. And a winch looks great on the front of a Land Rover but first time you use it, the winch and bumper will part company with the rest of the vehicle.

MAKE YOUR LAND ROVER FOR EVER

Land Rover last longer than just about any other vehicle, although there’s no scope for complacency. They’re still vulnerable to damage, they’ll rust if left unprotected and they’ll seize up if left but you can bestow immorality on your Land Rover with no more than a bit of thought and light maintenance. And as well as preserving it, you’ll be increasing its relative value. In other words, while you’ll be taking the time to increase the lifespan of your Land Rover there are other owners who won’t be which would you rather buy

It doesn’t even have to be a pristine vehicle. Faded paint adds character to some Land Rovers, but not new ones stripping patches of paint off a Range Rover sport definitely won’t enhance its resale value. But where should you start? Is it worth stripping a vehicle back to components and then protecting them for life? Some would argue yes but for those of us who drive our Land Rover every day it’s impractical. So long as you bear longevity in mind whenever you’re driving and maintaining your Land Rover you should increase its lifespan.

THE STATION WAGON

A 109 station wagon nay be a big job but it’s just another to add to the list around here. There’s the double cab to be unearthed and rebuild completely the 4x2 is another major project and have plenty on their hands with the existing fleet.

That lovely Westlake 3.0 litre isn’t quite as lovely as together there’s a knock on it so we’ll have it out and rebuilds it we’ve got all the parts. And there’s the crane on the back of the Forward Control. It’s demountable and very useful. But it’s not very powerful I’ve been thinking about putting a hydraulic crane on it. And we need to get Defender finished and sold.  Not forgetting the Hillman Imp, of course and the 1960 short wheelbase project.  Looks like thing are going to be busy in Series II haven for quite a long time. 

THE POWERFUL BEAST

A commanding of bits “n” pieces from the Range Rover Empire, stirred together it might be wonderful or it might be desperately bad. Start up, and enjoy the quintessentially okay. Getting up to a decent cruising speed is fuss free and there’s plenty of clear space around us normal traffic keeps a wary distance from this thing.

What’s most staggering is the Westlake headed six on 900x16 tyres, it pulled away from 500rpm in fourth gear and uphill if, you can believe that. If the bottom end power is incredible, so is the midrange and it comes in much faster. This is pure torque, and it takes a while getting used to it.

This engine came from a Rover p5 MKII coupe a top executive’s car in its day. And that’s exactly the way it feels, delivering barely raise an eyebrow and I’m past you power. That’s very seductive. A couple of times around the block isn’t enough I’d like to get this on a dual carriageway and nail it. And that’s not a thing you often say about a Series Land Rover, is it 

THE NEXT BIG JOB

The old five doors aren’t on the road. In fact, with a disintegrating front dumb iron, it’s barely on its chassis. But, with a block of wood between axle and chassis to prevent collapse, can drive it in the yard. On start up there’s a frenzied rattling from the Rover six. Force down the clutch pedal, ignore grating gears and we’re rolling. I’m struggling with the wooly steering when we hit the first pothole, and the wood block sprung chassis slams us off the seats and sideways. Eyeballs re focused to find the yard end wall dead ahead. Stamp on the antique servo’d brakes and they grind to a stop.

A mere seven point turn late, the start the return run risking spinal damage in the hope of topping 15 miles an hour. There’s more excitement driving this at 15 than driving a normal Land Rover at 60. But a couple of runs is quite enough, thanks very much.

THE LOAD SPACE ON WHEELS

In the UK it’s a dropsied pick up but the prefer its Australian name tryback. They’re quite often aftermarket bodges built to use up a Land Rover that’s had something nasty happen to the back end, but this one’s a proper, genuine chassis cab.

Compared to a standard Land Rover, it’s huge at the back. I’d thought that might it feel unwieldy on the road, but there’s no problem. The weedy but willing two and a quarter diesel makes plenty of clattery diesel noise but pulls us along nicely, and everything her feels ready for work. It known where it wants to go too straight ahead, but once you’ve got over that, it’s quite a nice thing to drive. It’s pleasure to be in , too pretty much as it was in the early 1970s, and in that 70’s colour. What useful thing, too just          think how much stuff you could get in it.

  

SERIES II HEAVEN

Bit overgrown that’s all. We think it’s probably a factory built one. You know when someone’s converted something? Well it doesn’t look like that, it’s properly done. It could be a good coach built job, perhaps but it looks more like factory.

Would you like to see a probably factory Series II double cab, but unless we get out the gardening tools actually a flamethrower might be better. I’m not going to see one today. So things are crowded, even though they have cleared up a bit because our visit. You should see the mess around here sometimes grimaces. Pointing at brushes and no fewer than four shovels hanging on the back of the big workshop’s door. It’s not second one, they have a load of tyres to fit which was going to cost us a lot. We looked on some wed site and found that old tyres fitting machines don’t cost much. Then when they got on to 900x16 tyres, the machine wouldn’t do that size. So they sold the first one and got this bigger one.

THE TIMEWARP

Every time they get into a dark green Series Land Rover, they think how dark it is inside but it seems to suit this 1960 vehicle. Do you remember the 1960 proper summers, proper darkness at night and proper winters shoveling snow every morning? Everything was harder, simpler, and more physical. Slam the door there’s that timewarp, metal to metal clang. Strip up and we’re rolling having a spare on the bonnet doesn’t help with forward visibility, and that’s bit of a timewarp, too it’s not allowed on currently produced vehicles. There’re running on LPG but we can’t tell the difference everything produced vehicles.  They run sound normal up front. Gear changing’s, no fuss steering, no fuss. In fact this veteran feels right and drives right it’s exactly as it should be.

Currant Land Rover still has the same body shape, so this Series II somehow doesn’t look particularly old but it’s nearing its 50^th birthday. All those winters on slippery roads, all those hot summers working hard if only Land Rovers could talk. And all for price of a secondhand overdrive. 

THE LONG DELAYED PROJECT

If you’re into Series IIs you’ll probably be in the Series II club and the one thing you’ll know about Mark Ramsey is that there’s a project vehicle he’s been working on for how long is it? Getting on towards 20 years, it seems.

Here it is. But unlike most mere mortals, mark hasn’t given up. When he can do a bit at it properly, it gets done and when it can’t be done properly, the dust sheet stays on. This Land Rover isn’t going to get slammed together to meet an arbitrary deadline doing a good job is more important than doing it fast. So it may not be finished but what’s been done is to a lovely standard. Its short wheelbase Series II, and you may think there are plenty of those about but being a 1960 model market it pretty early and there are very few as nice as this one, which Mark is keeping hidden away. The nasty dirty chassis and below work is finished now, so it’s all downhill. 

THE ONE MOST OF US DREAM ABOUT

Let’s face it; a Forward Control isn’t the most useable thing. But if you’re seriously into Land Rovers you’ll want one. A II Forward Control is thin on the ground, but diesels? I had no idea what to expect, what with not much more than 60bhp. Just to raise the bar a bit Mark and land have the back filled with tyres, too.

We’re off and not very fast, with this low ratio transfer box. But the lighthouse keeper view from up here does compensate you can see traffic coming and encourage all this steel and aluminium to be in the right place at the right time. It work well expect for the roundabout on a slope, that is , when it starts to feel just a bit too tall up here. But what the heak A Forward Control isn’t about being sensible, it’s about having fun, being different, standing out from the crowd, going wow as you climb back out. And you know what? A diesel Forward Control puts a big, firm tick in all these boxes.  

PRODUCTION TEST

When I rebuilt my Series IIA I used a new, galvanized chassis, even though it was more expensive than the painted versions available then. We’re getting to the stage where it’s perceived to be wrong if you spend money on something. I could have lived with the original Land Rover seats and done without the galvanized chassis but both have gone, in order to make my life more comfortable.

The Range rover is similar you could have numerous vehicle parked outside your house, ready for each occasion the daily drive, the off roader the two vehicle and the holiday car. The Range Rover as a vehicle are that the design is starting to look a little dated now, and I do wonder why the centre rear view mirror isn’t electrically adjustable like everything else. But if these are the only complaints I have, then it can’t.

ENJOY TO DRIVE RANGE ROVER

I’ve driven the cars where even the kids have complained there’s no legroom and, when it come to fitting in an especially big weekly shop, I’ve nearly had to make two journeys with other cars. But the Range Rover just does everything right. Okay, it’s big and expensive, and some people suggest that wanting or driving a big car is morally wrong.

But I disagree. Buying one to show off that you’re rich is wrong but simply wanting a vehicle that ticks all the boxes? How can you object to that? When it come to accessories for Land Rover or home life, we won’t best we can afford. For example we spent the best part of Waxoyling and upgrading the interior of our Defender when we brought it on the grounds it would make life more comfortable and the vehicle last longer.

QUITE TRUE WATTY

Since it’s gone back, I’ve realized just how slow Defender is and how little elbow room I have. The kids are missing watching DVDs from the six disc changer as we drive along, and struggling to climb up into the Defender after being spoiled by the Range Rover dropping to its access height on the air suspension to let her almost fall into the big sumptuous seat.

You see, it may be a luxury vehicle, but underneath all the trim is a highly talented vehicle that’s easy to drive and live with and that’s what cars should be I remember driving a relative’s Austin Metro years ago and finding the steering wheel and pedals offset so far as to be uncomfortable. We took a test drive in a Volvo XC90 and couldn’t work out how to release the parking brake. 

RANGE ROVER AS WELL

I’d been musing for ages about what to write on the 2009 Range rover Vogue. The first thing I’ve got to mention is that, no, I haven to the Lotto and, yes, I’ve had to give it back. But what exactly to say? I had the same dilemma a couple of years ago when I drove the 2006 Range Rover. Quite simply, it’s just a car.

How can I say that about a vehicle that sells for much more than my mortagge Easy I Can get into a Range Rover and just   drive it. I don’t have to work out where the controls are. I don’t have to struggle with the steering. I don’t have to worry whether I’ll actually get up to speed when joining motorways and I don’t have to worry about it getting struck on a greenlane. 

THE LIVING WITH DISCOVERY

Same as for the series III, but you have more chance of joy at main dealers. Both vehicle can be very cheap to repair and maintain if you DIY and shop around for prices and don’t forget the massive supply of secondhand parts.

Resale value: unless you buy mint one, don’t expect prices to appreciate. We bought a rough one with a few weeks. In a few years time, expect nice once to be sought after, as has happened with Range Rover Classics.

Luggage capacity: Surprisingly enormous again the family car credentials are boosted by the huge boot, and if you fold and tumble the seats, they make excellent vans. Bikes, for example, will go in upright. They become increasingly plusher as the years went by, but this K reg example has a sensible bare minimum diff lock, electric windows, remote central locking and the seven seater option. Depending on what model you’re looking at, you may encounter twin sunroofs, cruise control and headlamp washers. 

LIVING WITH SERIES III

Spares prices and availability; all the big parts advertisers in Land Rover offer genuine and pattern components. It’s getting hard to find some genuine parts but it’s still amazing that you can buy nearly everything to build Series III from the ground up.

Keep in to the road and there’s no reason you shouldn’t sell it for what you paid. Good, tidy, original is Series IIIs are appreciating in valve; don’t expect to get back any money you spend on repairs, though. Luggage capacity: Believe it or not, the official payload for an 88 inch is just 406kg. The load is is usefully, but not an ideal size. And you lose seating capacity.

Heater, door locks, three seats in the front and this example is no exception. The parabolic springs one our example are a desirable aftermarket addition and it also has Fairey freewheeling hubs if nothing else, these save the front axle from pointless wear when running in two wheel drive on the road. 

STAYING SMART

Just as when the vehicle was new the blinged engine bay will get dirty again, spoiling the results of your hard work. To keep it smart, use a degreaser spray every few weeks then rinse off. When the engine is dry again, spry everything lightly with WD 40 to prevent the dirt, oil and mud building up and stop rust and aluminium corrosion taking hold. It’ll also keep electrical fittings corrosion free, helping ensure electrical reliability.

It’s as easy as that to keep an engine bay permanently smart a little, and often. And if any serious oil leaks develop, you’ll see exactly where they’re coming from. Carburetor, rocker cover, coolant transfer pipe and clean spark plugs start to build the contrast in the overall engine view. It’s the clean details and neatness that makes the job look striking ignores these, or paint sloppily, and it’ll look like a botch job. 

DIFF LOCKS WHAT ARE THEY, THEN?

In each axle of your Land Rover, the differential transmits drive equally to both wheels. The problem is, when one wheel and you get stuck. So a diff lock such as the air actuated ARB locks both wheels solidly together, so that they receive full power equally at all times even when there’s one wheel up in the air.

Compared to some, it’s not a actually that bad on the road the tyres are noisy, as you’d expect, but it handles and goes well enough for me. The tweaked pump helps as well as the low 1.6 ratio transfer box that was lifted from an early diesel 110.

The Defender however, built primarily to be very capable off road. And it succeeds. With the immense traction offered by the Simex tyres and locked diff, it makes easy work of any obstacle we put in its way. It’s also incredibly stable. 

THE SILTY MUCKY GROUND

The 8274 is complement by one of Good winch’s Goldfish 12,000lb submersible winches mounted in the rear cross member. The only spot of rot in the chassis was at the back, so putting the winch in there did us a favor. The winch is accessed by a neat hatch in the rear floor.

Bodywork is mostly standard 90, with a few bits cut away to clear the tyres. However, ditched the one piece Defender doors. Total rubbish they’re heavy but with thin skins so, if mechanism breaks. Series doors are much better.

Wrapping the exterior of the 90 is the substantial roll cage, built by a local firm specializing in saloon car cages. It not o0nly protects the vehicle we’ve had three roll over’s, with zero damage. Because they often take their kids off roading with them. 

THE CAMP SIDE

We didn’t take the touring caravan this time, but settled for a static on a site with a direct path through to the beach ideal as the forecast was for changeable weather. Yala (in Sri Lanka beach side) is great as it has fine, sandy beaches, ideal for the kids to build sand castle on. The only problem is that when the tide goes out, it really does go out this is, after all, one of the longest beaches in all of Sri Lankan. This doesn’t really matter if you’re just building sandcastles but, if you want to fill the moats as well, you won’t to be able to get any water to fill them. 

They say elephant never forget. While I’m sure there’s substance to that supposition, I’ve no way of proving it. Monkeys on the other hand, are another matter. I’d managed to find time to sneak on the holiday before the kids new school term started and as it would be tied into me being the Land Rover, I decided to find somewhere relatively local near a beach. So, off we headed to near the sea. 

WORKS AND ITS DEAD STRONG

The diffs themselves are both fitted with ARB air lockers. With both of these locked in, the 90 is pretty much like a tractor. On the front of 90 sits the winch challenge favorite, a fast super sturdy Warn 8274 electric winch. This is housed in a Scorpion Racing bumper with some improvements.

Scorpion told us an 8247 wouldn’t fit. I’m saying to my friend set to and fabricated his own winch cage out of some seriously thick plates. It’s probably a bit of old boiler plate or something. The winch Dyneema Bowrope Goodwinch’s own brand of synthetic winch rope. The ground condition and type of recovery we do means that we need the best rope possible explains my friend and fellow off road. Even so we have to wash the ropes off after every winching session the silty, mucky ground just tears the ropes and alloy fairleads apart.

THERE’S NOTHING ESPECIALLY HI TECH

Under the bonnet, everything is more or less standard. Everyone says to me we should fit a 300 TDI check out the 2.8 have you thought about this or that modification but there’s no need this 200TDI is bombproof. We had tweaked the injector pump and it pulls like a train. It has just the right amount of power I had old TD5 Idex off road racer for a while, and it had so much power that everything kept breaking.

We had taken measures to ensure this doesn’t happen with the 90. Ashcroft Transmission has built up the entire drive train from gearbox to drive flanges with its uprated components. It’s all 24 spline, heavy duty stuff it has to be for the things we do with it. It’s been superb we’ve broken just one diff in three years, and that was repaired and back in the 90 within three days.

SPRIT OF DEFENDER 90

My boss is found this 90 a 1991 200TDI single cab. It was totally standard and had s really solid structure. The engine needed work, so we rebuild it and I did the deal. My boss is a total perfectionist, taking after his late father they rebuilt two traction engines and our workmanship is second to none.

He’s probably done 90 per cent of the work you see here. Straight away started on the modifications. We brought a set of 35 inch Simex Extreme Trekker tyres and modular wheels, and fitted the 90 with orange and green 110 springs. It gave it a lift, but didn’t really work that well. In fact suspension has been very much to an effective set of components, including Muddy Bottom’s own parts that have been developed on members vehicles.  

THE MUD TRAIL

Living on a farm with Land rovers and all manner of agricultural machinery at our disposal, we soon become a friend hand at off road driving. When I was 23, I went out to Safari in the jungle in the work on the sky slopes. One of my jobs was portal from the site in a Series III. I had a scare moment on the mountain roads, but it really got the off road and Land Rover bug biting me. For a decade pursued other interests.

I was really into water sports, but I smashed myself up too much and had to give up. My friend got fed up with me moping around on Sundays so, one day; we popped over to a local Land Rover club trail. That was it the obsession returned. My friend brought Range Rover (downed soon after at an off road site) that was followed by his first 90. It was an old MOD diesel a real dog. We put a roll cage, suspension lift and stuff on it and had fun, but the chassis was rotten.

THE MUDDY BOTTOM 90

We are going to run muddy bottom 4x4 a club based around their fantastic off road site deep in the New Forest. The club has branched out into making its own suspension components and off road accessories, and is even opening an independent Land Rover garage, specializing in off road preparation.

The 90 are kept busy on driver training duties, site maintenance and marshalling on the numerous play days at the site. We get through a set of wheel bearings once a month. The Land rover does work hard but, at the same time, we enjoy every single minute of it. I had been around the Land Rovers for a long time. I grew up on a safari and I’m proud to say I learned to drive in a 101 and a Series I, which my cousin gave me when I was about 15 it was a 101 Series 107 pickup, no less.

THINK OF 90

A typical extreme Land Rover you know the sort you see at off road sites, taking part in winch challenge or posing in the pages of this very amazing. It’ll be 90, no doubt, probably powered by a TDI. Winch? Usually two, one at end plus eye popping suspension travel, chunky tyres (Simex is de rigueur) and a roll cage.

Defender 90 ticks all of these boxes, and more. A healthy mix of off road the shelf trick parts, fabricated one offs, and tried and tested upgraded components, the 90 differs from most highly tricked up Land Rovers in one important detail while most sit around between events on driveways or in workshops, our workers are living. Not, as you might imagine, as a daily drive to the office, or maybe a builder’s truck. What you see in the picture here are what we do every day.  

THE BEST VALUE SECONDHAND DISCOVERY

It’s not all good news, though. Discovery has a lot of sophisticated electronic kit to give it the edge over its rivals, so it’s vital to make sure that everything works properly on the one you buy. If you really want to do all your own servicing and maintenance, you’ll need some specialist electronic diagnostic equipment.

So Discovery makes an excellent choice for the families that wants to get into gentle off road or explore non scratchy greenlanes, as well as do the weekly shop or commute to work. It really is that versatile. Price are becoming very tempting, and there are thousands of them out there so take your time and buy the best you can’t afford to buy a worn out shed that’ll cost loads in repairs. 

FAMILY OFF ROADER YOU CAN BUY

Discovery 2 makes an excellent choice for the families that wants to get into gentle off roading or explore non scratchy green lanes, as well as do the weekly shop or commute to work. It really is that versatile. Price is becoming very tempting, and there so take your time and buy the best you can find. You can afford to be choosy but you can’t afford to buy a worn out shed that’ll cost loads in repairs.

Check chassis thoroughly for sign of oil and fuel leaks, repairs and rust damage. Exmine air suspension closely, checks for leaks at the base of airbags. Soggy carpet in the loadspace. Rear doors often leak, so bend the top in to cure. A particular problem with earlier model is front hub sensor failure. Water pumps can leak. Check for white pink crusty deposits at the pump’s base.  Early turbo commonly fail. Smokes are not a good sign. 

DISCOVERY 2

Since Discovery 2 first hit the streets in 1998, it has attracted thousands of buyers, both new and secondhand, and it’s easy to see why. The huge, friendly body with its smiling face is ideal for carrying everything you need for a family day out, including the Labrador and kitchen sink.

The drive train is just as rugged and almost as capable as a Defender, although it won’t wear dented panels with quit the same amount of pride, but then few Discovery 2 owners are hard core mud pluggers. In fact, many buyers are more interested in lugging the caravan or boat rather than shifting mud from one off road centre to another. In many ways, they’re missing out, because the Discovery 2 is an ideal vehicle for exploring the back of beyond thanks to powerful diesel engines. Low range gears and proper beam axle.  

SOME BRAKING POINT (DEFENDER 90)

Some Defender 90 TD5 has done 56,000 and them not happy with its brake power on the rear axle. During testing, the rear axle was poor so changed the brake fluid and pads but it made no difference the 56,000 mile rear disc pads looked new. Is there pressure reducing valve (PRV) with a different ratio to modify the braking balance?

There are many difficult pressure reduced valves out there but we have to bear in mind that Land Rover spent a great deal of time and money ensures that the brake distribution on your vehicle is correct and safe. Anything you do to change this may well make the vehicle unsafe.

The fact the rear disc and pads look like new mean that the rear brake is working correctly if they were not, then the rear disc would have a lot of corrosion on them. The rear brakes are designed to have very little power going to them unless you are either towing or braking very hard. Many owners will brake heavily once ever week or two just to ensure the rear disc keep clean because normal braking does not do this. 

TD5 SHAKES WHEN SPEED THINGS UP

Your Discovery TD5 vibrates at the rear, which occurs when driving between 60-70 mph? It’s most noticeable when going downhill on overrun and applying the accelerator gently. The vibration seems to appear when the engine has picked up to the same speed as the foot off the throttle and put it back on again, the vibration reappears.  

You’ve had the transfer box and various other parts changed but the problem persists. The vehicle has done 32,000 miles and is due its first MOT. It is extremely difficult to diagnose a vibration problem; however, we would concentrate my efforts on the rear propshaft and propshaft coupling. If all of these are regarded as normal, then the rear differential would be next on my list for checking. I am assuming of course that you have already checked the tyres and wheel bearings.

OILIN THE WIRING HARNESS SPOILS TD5 DREAM

You have a large fleet of Defender TD5s on the island and have quit a few problems with them oil making its way down a wiring harness into the ECU leading to failure, which is a common fault. This may not to be too much of a problem on a fleet vehicle, but this would concern you if it happened to your Land Rover. Is there a cure for this problem, or a way to stop it getting to serious?

Oil moving down the engine wiring harness is quite common on the TD5 vehicles. You can reduce the likelihood of it happening by changing the injector harness inside rocker cover as these are now better sealed than the earlier ones.

Have never heard of oil getting into the actual ECU it is only a harness problem and not too difficult or expensive to fix. Even if this does happen to your vehicle it generally manifests itself as poor running rather than no running. It was very skeptical about the reliability of the electronics on the TD5 but we have now had mine for three years and covered nearly 30,000 miles with complete reliability.

LOST LAND ROVER

Ever since the birth of the Land Rover in 1947, it had earned a very special place in the affection of Falkland Islanders not least because there were no proper roads on the islands and no other vehicle was capable of getting from A to B across the treacherous terrain, which consisted of rocky crags and deep peat dogs, with little else between.

The British forces knew that Land Rovers would be invaluable in the conflict ahead, so hurriedly placed an order at Solihull.  Who at the time was Land Rover’s military product planning manager, recalls We got in an order for more than 600 emergency Series III vehicles. They were made       to a reduced spec called CL, which stood for commercial.

The problem was that most of them went aboard the merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor, which was struck by an Argentine Exocet missile and they all ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic.

THE MOST POPULAR DEFENDER

Defender 90s are good I drive one myself but those who want to go off road will usually fit big mud terrain tyres, with 33x12.5x50R15 the most popular size because it gives flotation on top of the deep peat. Many also go for a suspension lift and steering guards.

Winches are not that popular here because of the lack of trees to anchor to, although I have one fitted. I also carry bridging ladders and a high lift jack. But the basic vehicle is perfect for the condition here   plenty of clearance and, of course, solid bumpers at both ends, which help when you get carried away and hit a ditch a bit hard.

It certainly our choice. Like many of the islanders, off roading is a passion as well as a necessity and me regularly goes forays into the bleak wilderness. 

LAND ROVER AT PEACE

Land Rover was the only brands of vehicle represented in the Falkland Island from the 1950s unit a Mitsubishi dealership was set up in about 1994. The importer throughout that time has been the Falkland Islands Company, founded in 1851. Land Rover remains the biggest seller of new vehicles about 100a year.

The Falklands is one of the few markets in the world that still takes new 300 TDI engine Defenders, although they are due to be phased out late this year.  The most popular model in the Falklands is the Defender 110 station wagon with a 300TDI engine.

People here value it for mechanical simplicity many owners do much their own maintenance and the simple fact that nothing will touch a Defender off road in the Falklands. Land Rover is still the vehicle of choice over here.                         

COST FROM TO AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE

Retaining the range Rover’s original registration is achievable. If you use the original unmodified chassis and two other component, suspension, axles, transmission, steering, assembly, engine. You should be able to keep the original registration number.

Were it becomes tricky is defining unmodified. Technically, it’s as soon as any part is changed, so removing a redundant outrigger would redundant outrigger would render the chassis as modified   but simply bolting a new structure to it, or just leaving the outrigger in place, won’t.

If the new vehicle has a new chassis, like the MEV, and all of the parts come from one donor vehicle, you will be allocated an age related registration number. The vehicle will have to pass a SVA (single vehicle approval) test which the MEV is designed to sail through. The SVA looks at areas like seatbelt anchorages and installation, impact protection, steering, noise and silencers, emission and brakes basically making sure that the vehicle is safe to be on the road.  

REBUILD CLASSIC RANGE ROVER

Now with of this talk about junking the rotten bits of vehicles, traditionalist and those who love Range Rovers as they left the factory might feel I’m suggesting that making a toy is the only route to preservation.

Sure, I believe in keeping old vehicles running as long as possible. If the bodywork is tired, way shouldn’t you transform it? But, then again , with many parts available, no least from people who are turning their range Rover into something else, there’s never been a better time to run a Classic.

Land Rover Classic Parts has a huge range of replacement spears available including panels, trim and other hard to get bit. So keeping old Range Rovers on the road is quite easy, and bringing them back up to scratch isn’t too difficult, either. The Range Rover Register has members with all sorts of Range Rovers and Range Rover based specials from the first Velars to the very latest vehicles. If you’re having difficulty with   a rebuild, or just want a little technical advice, someone is bound to know the answer

LAND ROVER THROUGH THE AGES

During 1979s, Land Rover was increasingly under attack from foreign competition, especially the Japanese. Overseas customers wanted more powerful engines and the company itself was desperate to expend production.

Following Government intervention, Land rover was finally able to satisfy both needs, the first step was the series III stage 1 V8. This superb vehicle giving the company a short breathing space before stage 2 delivered the One Ten and Ninety.

Maximum vehicle weight 5976lb, minimum unladen 3396lb. Another very distinctive change that came in with the Series III stage 1 V8 was the increased choice of colours. Who can forget Java Green, Inca yellow or Masai Red.? These eye catching paint jobs were as a result of repeated requests, particularly from South American and Caribbean customers, and they proved extremely popular. Transmission Four speed, permanent four wheel drive, lockable centre differential. Brakes Vacuum servo assisted, drums all round (11inx3in front) 

THE TESTING TRAIL

Once they had a few prototypes, they went off on initial testing, which was road and trailer work around the off road at Motor Industry Research Association in Leicestershire. They had a proven engine and other proven components that existed already; it still put the vehicle through a full trials program.

In 1979 the Series III stage 1 V8 became the first Land Rover to have its press launch at Eastnor Castle, according. The vehicles at the press launch were all left hand drive, Swiss space machines. They went on a two week European tour demonstrate the vehicles. The demonstration fleet was then used for a long time at eastnor castle, until a batch of right hand drive vehicles become available. 

THE STORY

One way of saving time was to get the prototype part built on the standard production line at the weekend, when the line wasn’t too busy. They built as much as possible from standard parts and then wheeled it round for us to put the V8 bits on. We built all prototypes completely from scratch.

We were very excited when we tested the first prototype. The V8   put out around 90bhp a dramatic improvement in power and torque over the old 2.25 petrol. Remember when we were testing one of the first vehicles, on a downhill section of the M6 being able to pass and almost harass other cars.

One incident particularly remembers was in the outside lane. In those days Land Rovers never appeared in the outside lane, and there almost pushing a car to get out of the way. The engines were unrestricted and they were a bit hairy at 90mph, especially on the three inch wide front drum brakes.