The Landy July 2014

FREE EVERY MONTH FROM YOUR LAND ROVER SPECIALIST ‘everyone got covered from head to toe by the v8 disco’ What happens when a Landy-loving couple get married? The dress is in serious trouble, that’s what…

LANDY

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PICTURE PERFECT! Alex Engineering is currently restoring this ex-BBC Series I.

Among the most iconic of classic Landies, the 107” wagon is instantly collectible in any state.

This one’s had a bit of a chequered past, in use and in the workshop.

But it wears its scars well. We’re glad we saw it before the restoration makes it look like new. Every one of those dents has a story to tell.

Honours were spread far and wide at this year’s ALRC National. So was the rain.

The slippery surface didn’t stop the Rover clubs’ best drivers putting on a show, though. And there was a turn-up when an unknown name managed to clear an entire trial…

Full story: Page 34

Full story: Page 18

Jim Marsden posted one of his greatest ever results this month when he won King of the Glens by more than three and a half hours.

But what became of his old comp car? The man from Gigglepin 4x4 used to do winch challenges aboard a super-rare 90 SV. He’s treating it better these days – though it’s still likely to make purists seethe.

Full story: Page 14

rise of the discovery 2

Why the last live-axled Disco is much more than just a cheap alternative if you can’t afford a Defender

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Issue 5: July 2014

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new top-of-the-range Freelander: £35,995

Most expensive Freelander ever signals the beginning of the end as Disco Sport approaches

Mike Trott

There was a time when the word ‘Metropolis’ was the opposite of everything Land Rover stood for. But then the Freelander came along.

Now the Freelander name is soon to be retired. And Land Rover has unveiled what may be the vehicle’s final edition before it’s replaced by the Discovery Sport next year.

And yes, it’s called the Metropolis.

It’ll be the most luxurious (and

expensive, natch) Freelander ever to hit the road, too, succeeding the already sumptuous HSE Lux model.

With a list price of £35,995, the top Freelander costs twice what some Discos did 20 years ago. So you’ve got a right to expect plenty for your cash.

You get it, too. The Metropolis gives you front seats which are electrically adjustable (eight-way for the driver and six-way for the passenger) and

immersed in Windsor leather. Xenon headlights are another feature, along with a panoramic sunroof, heated steering wheel, reversing camera and touch-screen satellite navigation.

Should that not be enough to get you down to the nearest dealer (or possibly your nearest bank, with a gun), the Metropolis has an 825W Meridian surround sound system, 19inch diamond-turned wheels, luscious

metallic paint and a gloss black interior.

Each Metropolis model is individually signed by Fritz Lang. Okay, we made that one up.

The rest of the Freelander range is also in the line for improvements, with new SE and SE Tech trim levels replacing the old GS and XS. Power trains receive minor alterations, too.

The result of these moves is that SE becomes the entry-level spec, which is

ironic because when the first Freelander was launched it was the name for the top one. These days, it includes front fog lights, a heated windscreen, centre armrests front and rear and 18-inch 10-spoke alloy wheels.

While we’re at it, you also have heated leather seats, climate control, electric folding door mirrors, Bluetooth and rear parking sensors. Quite a lot more at the base of the market than you used to get at the top, then, so in a way it’s quite appropriate that the SE name has moved there.

The SE tech goes that extra mile with automatic headlights and wipers, 19-inch alloys, touch-screen navigation (same as the Metropolis) and an uprated 380W Meridian sound system.

Finally, the TD4 engines are now only available in manual spec, with the SD4 unit mated to an auto unit..

Sales of compact SUVs were already booming when the first Freelander came out and it’s been one big success story ever since. With the Evoque now pulling the same trick in the Range Rover line-up, soft-roaders have come to play a major role in Land Rover’s march towards world domination. The Freelander 2 may be on the way out, but with these new models it’s set to go out with a bang.

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Bursary award supports landslide mapping survey We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

Defender 110 will support ‘hexacopter’ mapping in ground-breaking Alpine traverse

The seventh annual Land Rover and Royal Geographical Society Bursary has been awarded to a project studying landslides in the Alps. The Grand

Alpine Tour expedition will see a trio of scientists using new technology – from aboard a Defender 110 which has been specially modified for the purpose.

The expedition is named after a 17th Century tour covering 6000 miles along the entire length of the Alps. It will take in France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, with the 110 frequently leaving the road to transport the team’s equipment into the field.

Geomorphological data will be recorded using time-lapse photography and scanning techniques, employing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or ‘hexacopter’ to enable threedimensional mapping from above. The expedition’s Defender 110 has been fitted with a specially designed roof platform, featuring a pattern to allow the UAV mapping software to use as a reference point.

Images captured by the UAV will be digitally stitched together to create high-resolution models, which will be compared with historical artwork of the Alps to identify areas in which landslides have occurred – a coming together of art and science which the team hopes will help them document how the Alps have changed. Findings from the research should help scientists predict landslides in the future. In the alpine environment, these can be very damaging, not to mention dangerous, so more understanding of the patterns in which they happen is valuable.

The recipients of the bursary are Northumbria University geographers Mark Allan, Thomas Shaw and Dr Mike Lim, who research geomorphological activity in alpine landscapes.

Travelling from the Royal Geographical Society headquarters in London, the expedition will take the team to Trieste in Italy and along the entire length of the Alps. To prepare them for a trip which will include a high level of off-road driving, they have been receiving instruction from the Land Rover Experience centre in Eastnor, Herefordshire, to ensure they are ready to handle the unpredictable landscape and weather conditions they will face.

Mark Cameron, Jaguar Land Rover Global Brand Experience Director, Land Rover has been working with the Royal Geographical Society for more than 25 years.

The Bursary, which offers funding and the use of a Defender in field studies, was inaugurated in 2007: each year, it’s awarded to geographers looking to undertake ‘a journey of exceptional challenge’ in which the Defender ‘is an integral part of the expedition.’

commented: ‘I am delighted that the Grand Alpine Tour Expedition Team are the successful recipients of this year’s bursary. They have really captured the essence of the bursary, which will showcase how science, geography and art can work together to map changing landscapes. The Land Rover Defender 110 will enable the team to reach the extreme areas required to complete their study of the landscape.’

Paul Rose, RGS-IBG Vice-President for Fieldwork and Expeditions, added: ‘The Grand Alpine Tour is an innovative, challenging and educational expedition. Not only do the team hope to unlock the mystery of small, frequent landslides, but they are also making great efforts to share their findings with wider audiences and with schools throughout the UK.’

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Love is in the air and so is lots of mud, as a happy couple of Discovery owners head to Tong for very much the opposite of a white wedding…

Words Olly Sack Pictures Steven Knighton Gemma Huxley sounds like most Land Rover fans’ ideal woman. Not only is she into off-roading – she doesn’t mind getting her wedding dress completely covered in mud!

Gemma and her fiancé John Gittens have known each other for 10 years, but they only became a couple in 2010. He popped the question on New Year’s Eve 2013 – by which time they had bought themselves a Discovery, joined the Discovery Owners Club and become regulars at the off-road events organised by their new friends.

‘They’ve all been very helpful showing us how to off road properly,’ says Gemma. ‘We are both keen to drive off-road and both fight for the steering wheel. We’ve not had any major arguments yet, though, but there’s still time!’

Now, you might think that the photos you’re looking at, which were taken at Tong by ace local snapper Steven Knighton, depict an actual

wedding. Gemma and John are well up for getting muddy, however, but they stop short of being actually mad. Can’t imagine the bridesmaids being too excited about the idea, either – though maid of honour Becky Hall and best man Jonathan Healey were game for joining in the fun too.

‘Doing a wedding-themed off-road day was a joke at first,’ says Gemma.

‘But we both become very keen, so we arranged it on the Discovery Owners’ Club forum and set a date of 10 May with Rebbecca at Parkwood 4x4, who was very helpful.

‘We then searched the charity shops for wedding dresses.’ No, it’s not the actual one she’ll wear on 12 July when the big day itself arrives; as we said, she’s brave but she’s not mad.

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‘We arrived on the day not knowing if anyone would turn up,’ Gemma continues, ‘but praying someone would. To our surprise, the Discoverys kept arriving – we were overwhelmed by the amount of people who wanted to join in our day. Every car was decorated and a lot came dressed up to join in the fun with us. Also to our amazement, the photographer Steven turned up and offered his services.

‘We drove into the wood and lined up everyone’s Discoverys and, after a group shot of everyone together while still looking clean and dry, we got down to some serious action!’

‘I have photographed some very nice weddings,’ Steven says, ‘however this has been one of my favourites!’ It’s not every day you get the chance to shoot a blushing bride and her maid of honour pulling a Discovery up a hill with a rope while the lads large it in the front seats, after all…

‘The photoshoot came to an end after we posed in a large, deep puddle and everyone got covered from head to toe in muddy, cold water when a V8 Disco came driving through,’ says Gemma. It sure beats confetti.

‘We had an absolutely amazing day.

I knew I was going to get muddy, but I didn’t think I’d get quite as wet – a few of the club members took great pleasure in wetting us through!

‘It’s something we won’t forget for a very long time,’ concludes Gemma.

‘The actual wedding has a lot to live up to now!’ See, told you she’s a Landy man’s ideal woman. Congratulations from all of us to the wet, muddy but most of all very happy couple.

Thanks to Steven Knighton for the use of his photos. His photography business, Shot By Ste, is on Facebook at www. facebook.com/shotbyste

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Issue 5: July 2014

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Landies are like buses…

Nothing new in ages at Gumtree 4x4 – but then four classic Land Rovers turn up at once

Mike Trott We’ve written about Gumtree 4x4 quite a few times recently, but it just goes to show how the guys there are always up to something interesting.

The company’s workshop is constantly abuzz with servicing and maintenance work but proprietor John Bowden always likes to have at least one longterm project on the go too, just to keep the boys entertained during the quieter moments.

John earns his living by looking after vehicles for his punters rather than doing a lot of buying and selling. But even so, if you spot an interesting old Landy on eBay you can be sure he’s checked it out already.

Months can go by without John bringing anything into the company’s always-busy yard. But like buses, you can wait for ages and then they all come along at once – which is what’s just happened.

These are no mere buses, though.

John and his team can work on Landies of any age but he loves the old stuff – even if, sometimes, he’ll buy a vehicle without really knowing what he’s going to do with it. That’s been the case with the latest crop of classic Landies to appear chez Gumtree – no less than four of them, each with its own story to tell the world.

‘We’ve recently acquired a few vehicles,’ confirms John, with regards to the quartet. ‘Depending on what offers

we get for them, we may sell them on or we may decide to work on them as long-term projects.’

The vehicles in question (pictured) are a Range Rover Classic, an ex-MOD Series IIA 88”, a Series III Lightweight and a 1982 Series III 2.25 petrol 109” Hi-Cap 109”. That last piece of Solihull history is particularly notable as it’s one of only 12 left in existence.

‘A couple of the vehicles came to us from local customers but we actually got the Lightweight and the Hi-Cap from eBay. We always like to have at least one long-term project on the go, so that if it gets a bit quiet the lads have something to fall back on.

‘If we decide to keep any of them as a project, it will mostly likely be the Series IIA that gets the treatment first.

It would probably be the quickest and easiest to do as it hasn’t been mucked about too much. With the summer coming up, I may even decide to use it myself for a bit. If not, then we’d expect around £1500 for it.’

‘For the Lightweight, I reckon it could fetch around £1250. It has a good bulkhead and is partially reassembled.

It’s done 68,376 miles and is declared manufactured in 1980. With the HiCap, I’d expect a bit more because of the rarity, so maybe £1750. There’s 43,670 miles on the clock, which we believe is genuine. It would make a useful working classic for someone or could be rebuilt to new spec if they wanted to do that.

‘The Range Rover is a 1982 3.5-litre V8 with a four-speed auto gearbox, which has been converted from the original three-speed at some point.

It’s got the rare one-piece tailgate, bull bar and loads of original period fittings.

It’s basically original and a bit too good to break up for parts. I price it at around £750.’

It’s not so much a case of which one you like the look of as which one you like the look of the most. You could do great things with that Rangey, whether along off-road or classic lines, and Lightweights never fail to please the crowd. As for that 109” Hi-Cap, well, one of a dozen left and yours for less than the price of a leggy old Golf…

Somehow, we don’t think all these vehicles are going to be around long enough for John and his team to restore them all. You might well see that Series IIA getting a refresh in the coming months (especially if you keep checking back in on The Landy) – but in the meantime, if you fancy taking on one of these old Solihull treasures for yourself, give John a call on 01444 241457 and say hello from us.

To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

Comment

I came to Land Rovers from the off-road side of things. I learned how to drive in low box aboard an assortment of different motors and I’ve owned all sorts. Mainly Land Rovers, but a couple of Jeeps and a few Japanese things too.

So I ought to have been right in my element at the ALRC National, where these days it’s all about the offroading. The trials and comp safari continue to attract excellent numbers, making for a thriving event.

It was the same a couple of decades ago when I went to my first National.

But there was one big difference.

Back then, the concours d’elegance was thriving, packed with a variety of superbly restored and preserved machinery from throughout Land Rover’s history.

These days, the concours is a bit of a sideshow at the National. This year, it was contested by some very fine vehicles. But wall-to-wall SWB Series Is? Is that all there is?

Interest in preserving old Landies must surely be growing. It stands to reason that the more time passes, the more models become classic. They’ve even got their own magazine now (and very good it is too).

But for some reason, the classic side of the Landy way of life doesn’t seem to have kept up with the National. Maybe happy-scrappy triallers and cheerful rivet counting just don’t mix but, to be honest, I’m not sure I buy that. I don’t know even one Landy owner, however mudcrusted, who doesn’t go weak at the knees at the site of a 107” wagon or smart two-door Rangey.

Maybe there’s room in the calendar for a classic Landy show. Sort of like the Goodwood Revival but in the real world. I was going to make a crack about it having less celebs but I actually think there are plenty of people from every walk of life who appreciate classic Landies. No vehicle has ever crossed class divides quite like the basic Land Rover, after all.

And that in turn is why honouring their history is so important.

Alan Kidd, Editor

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Issue 5: July 2014

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LANDIES TAKE THE CLASSIC WAY TO FRANCE Cystic Fibrosis Fund the winner as 2014 Charity Land Rover Run makes tracks for Le Touquet

Mike Trott Early on Saturday 10 May, the 41 classic Land Rovers taking part in the 2014 Charity Land Rover Run to Le Touquet began to assemble at the Battle of Britain Memorial at Capel le Ferne, just outside Folkestone.

The impressive line up of vehicles showcased the older generation of Land Rover between the years of 1948 and 1975. Gathered by the cliff edge, overlooking the English Channel and Folkestone harbour, they created quite the spectacle.

Following an 8am departure, the convoy headed along the coast to

Dover to catch the ferry to Calais. Once on French turf, though, the damp and windy morning didn’t give them the warmest of welcomes.

By the time the convoy reached Wimereux for lunch about an hour later, the weather was looking up. And it stayed dry for the rest of the weekend – proving that the sun really does shine on the righteous.

At Wimereux, the convoy joined up with good friends Yves, Seppe, Mathias, Nele and family from Wervik in Belgium. Yves was in a nice Series I recovery truck and picked up the ‘Most Original’ Land Rover trophy at the end of the event.

The convoy left Wimereux at just after 3pm and headed to Le Touquet.

On arrival, just after 4.15pm, the entrants retired to their hotels before enjoying some free time to sample the many bars and restaurants in the resort that was once known as ‘Paris Plage’ – literally, Paris Beach.

On Sunday morning, that beach was taken over by Land Rovers. Afterwards, the annual auction saw Richard Beddall hosting the proceedings – and presiding over yet another huge success. The total raised during the auction alone was £1966.25, whilst at time of press, including £2391 via the event’s Virgin Giving page, it now

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It’s a cross-Channel jaunt for the Brits on the Charity Run, but classic Land Rovers are a big deal in Belgium too. At the end of the weekend, Yves’ Series I recovery truck went home bearing the ‘Most Original’ award stands at £4358. And that’s before individual sponsorship is included in the amount.

The event is therefore on track to break the organisers’ £5000 target this year. This will take the total raised during the past five years for the chosen charities to more than £25,000.

After a successful couple of days, attention turned to getting the Landies back to Britain, with the convoy leaving Le Touquet just before lunch and heading cross-country, via some pretty French villages, back to Calais.

The convoy included Pollyanna, a 1949 80” that was previously owned by author Barbara Toy. Pollyanna has travelled round the world twice, so this little excursion to Le Touquet and back was nothing but a stroll in the park for her!

Event organiser Peter Wales said: ‘A big thank you goes to Tom Pickford for lending us Pollyanna. If you would like the

opportunity to drive Pollyanna in 2015, send me a sealed bid as we are holding a silent auction. All proceeds will go to the 2015 Charity Fund.

‘Another great trip, and you have all done us proud. A big thank you to all concerned on behalf of the Cystic Fibrosis Holiday Fund.’

The 2015 Charity Land Rover Run will be destined for the Belgian town of Brugge, whose centre is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Planning will get underway this autumn – and there couldn’t be a finer reason to spend the next year in your garage getting your classic Landy ready for a big adventure!

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In 1950, travel writer Barbara Toy was arguing with friends in a pub about how feasible it would be for a solo woman to travel overland to Baghdad. To prove the point, she went out and did it.

Her chosen vehicle was an 80” Land-Rover, which she bought second-hand and quickly christened Pollyanna. Together they travelled across North Africa and into Iraq; Toy was the first woman in history to do such a thing.

Now something of a celebrity, Pollyanna’s owner drove her back to the UK in 1951 before setting out again the following year, this time to Libya. More expeditions followed, including not one but two trips around the world, in 1956-57 and 1990 – by which time Toy was 81 years old.

After the first of these epics, Land Rover (now a sponsor) forced Toy to trade Pollyanna for a 109” Series IIA Dormobile. The 80” could easily have been lost but, having been saved and restored by an enthusiast, it ended up back in its original owner’s hands in time for her second trip around the globe.

Today, Pollyanna is owned by Tom Pickford, who loaned the vehicle to the organisers for this year’s Charity Run. He’s doing so again next year, too – when you can bid for the chance to drive this iconic piece of Land Rover history in a silent auction.

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£750,000 – and counting!

Help for Heroes Rally donations break new ground – before this year’s has even happened

The annual Help for Heroes 4x4 European Rally has reached a significant milestone in its fundraising efforts. This year’s event, which runs on on 14-26 June, had already raised more than £120,000 before a single ignition key had been turned – helping to take

the total donations pledged since the rally’s inception four years ago past the £750,000 barrier.

First run in 2010, the rally has become the largest independently organised event supporting the Help for Heroes cause.

Organiser Tim Price-Bowen said: ‘I have nothing but praise for the efforts of the rally crews that have taken part in the rallies, and for the Great British public’s generosity in supporting the Help for Heroes charity. We are very proud of what has been achieved and are also truly grateful to our partners for their involvement and support’.

With 2014 being the 70th anniversary of D-Day, and also the centenary of the start of WWI, this year’s rally will follow in the footsteps of the Allied troops as they liberated Europe. A 2000-mile route starts in Berkshire before visiting the sites of the Normandy landings, Ypres and the Somme, Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge. Participants will also visit the Maginot Line and Dachau, before the tour finishes at Hitler’s ‘Eagle’s Nest’, at Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps.

The Rally’s rapid growth is illustrated by the fact that total donations only reached the £500,000 mark last year – and now it’s already halfway to the million mark. For more information on the event, visit www. h4hrally.co.uk.

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NEXT MONTH TALES FROM THE REAL WORLD If silly-money builds and restos leave you cold, this 110 is just for you You’ve got the ideal vehicle for heading into the hills. Wherever you live in the world, Landy-based mountaineering means adventure need never be far away…

Another real-world build: a 300Tdi Disco that’s not even lifted – and for a very good reason. If you want inspiration for a daily-driver you can enjoy at the weekend, don’t miss this!

DON’T FORGET – THE LANDY IS FREE EVERY MONTH! Pick up your copy of our August 2014 issue from 18 June – available

from Britpart dealers and free to read online at www.thelandy.co.uk 01283 553243 • enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk • www.thelandy.co.uk • www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Editor Alan Kidd Assistant Editor Mike Trott Admin and Editorial Assistant Gemma Pask Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Dan Fenn, Robbie Ronson, Olly Sack, Malky Styles, Paul Looe, Vince Pratt Photographers Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm

Advertising Sales Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Production Tel: 01283 553242 Publisher Sarah Kidd Email: sarah.kidd@ assignment-media.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure that the contents of The Landy are accurate, however Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor

the consequences of actions made as a result of these

nearest Britpart dealer can be found at www.britpart.com

When responding to any advert in The Landy, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for any losses incurred as a result of responding to adverts

Where a photo credit includes the note CC-BY-SA, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence.

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Issue 5: July 2014

News

It doesn’t take much in the way of a larger-than standard spare wheel to turn the back door of an old Defender into a thing that sounds like it’s coming apart at the seams. Our own editor used to run a 300Tdi 90 van on (gasp) 235/85s, and after a couple of year the cabin was filled with an ever-present cacophany of cracks and rattles.

Now that 90s and 110s routinely tool about on much larger rubber than that, swing-away spare wheel carriers are a common sight. This latest design from 4x4 Overlander won’t change that, either.

With a braced arm and stainless steel construction, the carrier uses a single pivot that takes all the stress off the rear door hinges. These take tremendous punishment when the door is used unsupported to mount a heavy spare tyre, and the 4x4 Overlander carrier bypasses the problem altogether.

The unit is fitted without needing any holes drilling in the bodywork. All you need to to is enlarge the two 8mm holes in the rear crossmember to 10mm to allow the required clearance.

The carrier will take a tyre of up to 33” in diameter and is compatible with a NAS rear step. Its design features two stainless steel ball joints in the connecting arm, and it’s supplied with a stainless steel fitting kit and anti-seize paste to prevent cold welding of the stainless nuts and bolts.

Prices are £570 with a black powder-coated finish, or £525 in naked stainless, in each case including VAT. www.4x4overlander.com Available for the Defender 90, MM4x4’s new Expedition Roof Rack sits on heavy-duty legs to make sure you don’t end up with a large, expensive tent sledging down your windscreen first time you get on the anchors.

Its steel tube construction will stand up against everyday knocks and bumps and there are removable bars in the front section to allow for versions of the Defender with a sunroof fitted. It’s the perfect home for spotlights. As well as the steel option pictured, it’s available in a black powder-coated finish.

The rack costs £396 including VAT. www.mm-4x4.co.uk

Britpart has started stocking a range of Truck-lite LED headlamps, including these replacement units for various Land Rovers. These project pure white light from a pair of LED arrays per unit and have a multi-volt design suitable for use with both 12V and 24V systems.

Fully ECE and ROHS-approved for use on road-going vehicles, the sealed-beam units have tough polycarbonate lenses and promise up to 50 times the life cycle of a halogen headlamp. ‘Spend it once, spend it right,’ and all that.

Talking of spending it, Britpart’s RRP for the lights is £525 per pair. Not exactly cheap, but when depending on the number of standard headlamps your Landy goes through in the course of its life you might do the sums and decide they add up. A three-year warranty won’t do any harm there, either, and with so many dealers after your money it won’t be a struggle to get them cheaper.

The lights are available for Series Landies, as well as the 90/110/ Defender and Range Rover Classic. www.britpart.com

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We told you last month about Extreme 4x4’s new range of top-end shock absorbers.

The company’s launch programme is far from over, either, and here’s a choice of steering dampers to go with them.

These are designed to reduce vibration, bump-steer and snatch when you’re driving off-road – something we’ve all experienced, whether behind the wheel of a vehicle old enough not to have a steering damper at all (watch those thumbs) or one on which huge tyres mean huge feedback. And it does.

These race-proven dampers are designed around a solid 20mm S45C steel shaft, which is chrome plated for extra long seal and shaft life. Talking of seals, these are Hallite jobs all round, with a Teflon piston seal topping off the spec list.

Supplied with a white powder-coated finish, the dampers are available with an optional return to centre (RTC) spring kit. This adds a coil-over spring which helps the steering to return to the straight ahead position – something that’s necessary when using heavy, over-sized tyres whose weight is too much for the vehicle’s natural self-centring.

The springs are progressive at each end and feature black anodised billet alloy fittings. They come finished in a black powder-coat and can be used in any combination with the pin-to-pin and pin-to-hoop designs of damper.

The units are available for the 90, 110, Discovery 1 and Range Rover Classic.

The dampers cost £42 each, including VAT, with the spring kit adding £41.40. www.extreme4x4.co.uk

To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Warn has introduced a range of hooks and shackles coated with Cerakote, which provides maximum protection and reliability against wear and abrasion – and also gives them a really funky looking finish.

The hook is available in three varieties, depending on winch capacity: up to 5000lb, 12,000lb and 18,000lb respectively. They’re priced at £75, £58 and £39 respectively, including VAT. As a bonus, you could even have a beer while winching (no, mother, not really) as the hook also features a builtin beverage opener.

Warn has also launched the Premium Winch Shackle, also coated in Cerakote and designed to let you link looped cable ends, straps and snatch blocks, with a threaded pin for easy removal and fixing. The shackle is available in two capacities, 18,000lb and 5000lb, retailing at £42 and £28. www.arbil.co.uk/4x4

Warn’s Pullzall Sling is made from a durable nylon construction with reinforced stitching, and it’s perfect for shifting large heavy items. The sling is designed to work with the Pullzall itself, a portable lifting and shifting device designed to help when you’re moving heavy machines, engine blocks and so on around your workshop.

Having been leant on by neighbours to use our trucks’ winches for grubbing out tree stumps in their garden, we could see it working well there, too.

The sling can be used in a variety of rigging configurations, allowing multiple uses with its exterior straps.

It has the same lifting capacities as the Pullzall itself, giving it safe working limit of 1000lbs (454kg).

The Warn Pullzall is available in both corded and non-corded varieties, retailing for £285 and £530 respectively (inc VAT) and the Sling costs £100. www.arbil.co.uk/4x4

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Djebel has launched a number of new options in its range of roof tents. All are made to the same material spec, which the company reckons won’t be beaten for a combination of quality and value.

The tents come with a 100% waterproof double roof, made from a 50:50 combination of polyester and cotton at a weight of 280gsm. They’re double-sealed to allow a free flow of air between the two canvas sections, thus combatting heat and humidity.

Bases are high-density foam lined to a depth of 60mm and all the openings have mosquito nets to keep your bed bug-free. Both things that ought to count towards a good night’s sleep. The tents’ frames are made from a mixture of 19mm and 16mm aluminium tube, their covers are made from Ripstop 500d and their YKK zips and fastenings are all galvanised.

A one-year warranty, meanwhile, helps you sleep soundly even when you’re not in it.

As a guide to the tents’ pricing, the 180 T-Top model, whose internal dimensions are 240 x 180 x 130cm, costs £805 including VAT. Like all the company’s tents, it’s designed to be compatible with any vehicle, and it can be installed on roof racks with its openings to the side, front or rear of the vehicle. www.extreme4x4.co.uk

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A VERY

‘that’s how the sv should have left the showroom’

SPECIAL VEHICLE Words Paul Looe Pictures Harry Hamm

When Jim Marsden bought a 90 SV, little did he know that one day he would get into trouble with purists for using such a rare Defender in winch challenges. But even when he was driving it to a string of successes at the highest level of the sport, there was one thing he did know: that the day would come when he turned it back into a showroom truck.

It’s just that his idea of a showroom truck was a bit more radical than Land Rover’s…

J

im Marsden has the rare distinction of having received hate mail for his activities aboard a Land Rover. No, not from ramblers: from Land Rover fans.

His crime was to use a Defender 90 SV in winch challenges. He didn’t just use it, either – he turned it into one of the most successful competition motors of its era.

Successful or not, it was a 90 SV. One of only 90 ever made. And not only was the SV rare, it was meaningful. Land Rover had long been making County versions of the Defender, but a full-on

leisure vehicle had never been on the cards until this eye-catching soft-top came along. With alloy wheels and metallic paint, by the standards of its time the SV was a stunner.

It was still a good, basic Defender underneath, though – and between 2001 and 2007, Jim scored top three finishes in every major UK winch event, winning many of them outright.

During those six years of competing, this Solihull rarity was dragged over more rocks and tree stumps than a hundred average Defenders will see in their lifetime.

Jim had ordered a galvanised chassis from Richards Chassis some years ago with a view to rebuilding the 90. It was designed to SV spec, complete with holes for the roll cage mounts, and modified with a flush-fitting gearbox crossmember. In addition, mounts were welded on for Gigglepin’s own comp-spec rear radius arms, which combine a tubular arm with a box-section shroud so that one can bend without the other being affected

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‘In late 2004,’ says Jim, ‘I switched over to the Gwyn Lewis +4” suspension using Land Cruiser shock absorbers, which basically have 11” of travel. And we were blown away by them, absolutely stoked. I’d say to anybody that was buying a 90 and wanting to use it offroad, fit those. It’s a really good budget solution – you’ve got to spend a LOT of money to better it’ The 90 was also used as the test bed for a range of products made by Jim’s company, Gigglepin 4x4, including its heavy-duty suspension arms and upgrades for the Warn 8274. But with an eye to competing abroad, in 2007 he built a new 90. For half a decade, the SV sat untouched by the sun’s rays.

Those five years saw Jim become one of Britain’s most successful motorsport exports. But he never forgot his 90 SV. ‘I always wanted to rebuild it,’ he says. ‘It’s a special car and it’s got a lot of memories for a lot of people.’

Around the start of 2012, he finally made the time. ‘I talked to my workshop guys and we decided we could rebuild the SV in a nine-week window if we got on with it’.

Jim might have hammered the 90 in its comping days but this was to be a pukka rebuild. ‘I’ve tried to be as sympathetic as possible,’ he says. ‘I didn’t want to just replace everything.

If you try to refurbish the parts nicely, they’re right for the vehicle, and we’ve tried to do that as much as we can.’

A case in point was the bulkhead.

‘We sent it for shotblasting… and when we got it back we could have cried. It would have been easier to order a new one – but I didn’t want to bin it. There were little things on it that, to me, make it my bulkhead.

‘So I welded it up and sorted it out.

A lot of it’s new – maybe it’s a bit like Trigger’s broom. But it’s back up and running. And it is the right bulkhead!’

Continued overleaf

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Left: It might be a bit of a jewellery-spec 90 these days but this is a vehicle that dominated the hardcore winch challenge scene for more than half a decade. So even if it’s not going to be doing any more competitions, it’s still totally fitting that the winch on the bumper is Gigglepin’s latest Adventure Series unit. Behind it is a pair of Odyssey batteries which saw several seasons’ action then sat untouched for many years – before three days of trickle charging brought them back to life Above: One of the most visible differences between the 90 in its old and new guises is the more subtle light bar it now carries. Back in the day, it wore a big, bulky unit fitted with four equally big Lightforce spots which a friend had very bravely brought back from Canada in his hand luggage. These new Lazer LED lights are a great deal smaller, however, so the bar mounting them is similarly trim. ‘The technology is just mind-blowing,’ says Jim. ‘Good lights, you just can’t get enough of.’

The same went for the axles, which needed ‘some serious love’ to remain original. Perhaps the biggest job, though, was the rear tub. ‘The filler neck area was destroyed, and so was the whole of the back. Land Rover rear tubs are put together with spot welds, so I had to find a way of rebuilding it that wouldn’t mean using pop rivets.

‘Luckily, we found a body panel glue that’s absolutely fantastic. So I spent a long time with hammer and dolly, straightening panels, heat-shrinking, steam cleaning and setting it all up so it would fit with the other panels. It was

very hard work. But I managed to save the cappings on one side – though the other one, well, most of it was missing.’

What a result, then, that several years previously he had bought a capping from his local Land Rover dealer. ‘You can’t get them any more. But I’d bought a genuine SV capping and it had been sitting on the shelves for years.’

All good, and it got better still. ‘I never competed in it with a full canvas on, but even so the original hood was destroyed. So way back, years ago, I phoned up my local main dealer and asked if they still had one.

‘He said “You’re not going to believe this, we’ve got one on the shelf. We ordered it for a customer years ago and they never collected it. We’ve looked at Land Rover Parts and they haven’t got one either.” I couldn’t not have it! Last SV hood in the world!’

‘So when we were doing the rebuild, I was very cocky about it. But we got the canvas out of the bag one day, laid it out on the floor… and saw that the mice had wanted it even more. There was a hole, more than a foot square, that had been gnawed in the front edge.

I could have cried.’

Some years ago, Jim had a huge stroke of luck and stumbled over the last genuine 90 SV hood in the world at a local main dealer.

When he came to fit it, his luck had run out and it had been eaten by mice. So he sent the remnants to All Wheel Trim, who recreated it so expertly that even the original-style poppers fit perfectly

At least this meant he had a template, though. So off the hood went to Kim at All Wheel Trim. ‘Now, the original SV hoods had poppers on them which were forever coming undone, and a

they were actually in good order. Bolts came out when you wanted them to.’

Here comes some more good advice, too: ‘The timing belt, it’s meant to be changed at 60,000 miles. I did it every

‘If you keep your car clean, it will love you. It’s that simple’ pain to fit, and there are better systems on the market now. But I wanted it to look right – I don’t like it when they don’t have the right catches and stuff.

Against Kim’s advice, we fitted poppers on it. And all credit to his hood – it’s that good that they fit bang on.’

Elsewhere, it was a case of moving through the vehicle and rebuilding everything that needed it. ‘You wouldn’t believe how many parts those seat boxes are made from!’ says Jim, having rebuilt them piece by piece. ‘I was gobsmacked that such a rusty old mess was salvageable, let alone into a good enough condition to be galvanised.’

However easy it would be to replace things, Jim reused whatever he could.

The intercooler pipes went away to be passivated, and details like the bonnet catches and wing mounts were brought back. The wiring harness was unpicked and re-loomed, using conduit to keep it tidy, and even some of the brake lines were able to go again.

How can this possibly be the case on a truck that’s had such a hard life?

‘I was always quite religious in getting it clean. If you keep your car clean, your car will love you. It’s that simple.

‘So things we were expecting to be rotten and destroyed, we were finding

six to eight months, religiously. Water gets in, it goes for the idler bearings and it’s just not worth taking the chance. Anyone using one in anger every weekend, change that belt as often as you can.’

And guess what? The 90 is still running on its original engine and gearbox. That’s at twenty-plus years, six of them in winch comps. Get the point?

So, would the purists who sent Jim hate mail be more approving of the way his 90’s been restored? At the very least, you’d hope they’d accept that he understands the value of its parts’ originality.

And he’d definitely used it the way Land Rover intended – and will be again.

‘I love it,’ he says. ‘Grin factor 10. It was the family car when I first bought it. My girlfriend and I, we took it everywhere. We travelled all over Europe in it.

‘People say it should be back to concours. To me, every Land Rover leaves the showroom and only then takes on its personality. And that 90, as it stands now, that’s how the SV should have left the showroom. Bigger tyres, a little suspension lift, decent winch, good lights… that, in my eyes, is how it should be, that’s my interpretation of the SV. That’s my special vehicle.’

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shades of Land Rover…

Words Mike Trott Pictures Steve Taylor

e see a Series I every now and again that look’s almost identical to the moment it rolled out of the factory all those years ago. These wonderful Land Rovers have been restored, fixed,

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fettled and tampered with to cover their wounds and hide the scars of time. You could even compare them to Hollywood stars…

There are some Land Rovers out there, though, that don’t want to hide their past. They might not shout about

Aside from the 80” itself, there’s nothing like the 107” Station Wagon for making Land Rover fans come over all nostalgic. Rare, beautiful and hugely desirable among collectors and restorers, it’s special even by normal Series I standards.

Especially with a Safari roof and faded BBC signwriting to add to the mystery… it but it’s there in plain sight. And that is precisely what we have here.

Only 7001 Series I 107” Station Wagons were ever made. The passage of time was no kinder to this model than to any other but for some reason it passed into classic status far earlier than most. Maybe it was its rarity, maybe the wonderful elegance of its looks, maybe the fact that its size meant it wasn’t much cop for trialling; either way, people were looking to preserve the 107” SW long before even cutting up an 80” had become a criminal offence.

This particular 107” is in the early stages of a restoration job. Normally we’d expect to feature a vehicle after the work was complete but we reckon this old lady deserves a look now because doing so illustrates how appealing one of these can be, even in a dog-eared state.

The restoration is being done by Dave Walker at Alex Engineering, along with his brother Andy. These two are best known for restoring

customers’ Land Rovers but this one’s in the family now – having belonged to one Mark Brown, who had owned it for the previous 12 years.

‘I sold it on to Dave because I wanted some spare money,’ Mark admits.

‘It was being kept in my Dad’s back garden and I was being hassled to get it out. Dave had always had his eye on it anyway!

‘I originally bought it back in 2002 from a retired school teacher. I saw it in an advert and couldn’t afford not to buy

7001 107”Station Wagons built from 1956 to1959

the truck. It had been rigged out as a camper a long time ago, probably back in the ‘80s. I used it as a camper for a couple of years; it had a sink and a little cooker on the nearside, but not much else. You could fit a half-decent double bed inside as well.

‘To be fair, the guy who had it previously had done a really good job of it. He was obviously a good woodworker. The truck was that heavy, though, it must have had half a ton of chipboard in the back! But it made you feel confident – you could load as much weight as you’d like on the roof without worrying about it toppling over. Not like my Peugeot van, which is like a shopping trolley!’

In comparison to that, the 107” much have felt like wresting with the Titanic on the daily commute to work.

Yes, you heard that right: Mark really did use it for commuting for a while, and indeed over the course of those 12 years he racked up around an impressive 50,000 miles in it.

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If you don’t know your Land Rovers, you might think this interior looks unattractive. To anyone with a scrap of knowledge, or any kind of soul, this is the cabin of a hugely appealing working classic ‘For a vehicle of its age, I’ve always been impressed with the leaf-sprung Land Rovers and this one seemed to drive nicely too. Sometimes you get people saying “Oh, it’s a little light this steering,” or “It’s a bit on the heavy side,” but this was just right. It was such a practical vehicle as well.’

So this was a proper working classic, not a pickled museum piece. And like all working Land Rovers, it saw some changes down the years. Since starting out with the standard 2.0 four-cylinder petrol motor in 1958, in fact, it’s been through three different engines.

Moving from the old four-pot power plant, a 2.6-litre straight-six petrol was roped in to replace the original 52bhp engine. After that, a V8 was then installed prior to Mark getting his hands on the truck.

‘It cruised along nicely with the V8 and was a bit more cheeky at times, though I’m generally quite light-footed behind the wheel. I was only getting 18-19 mpg though, so I opted to fit it with a Perkins 4203 engine for better consumption.’

Perkins-engined Landies are famous for one thing, as it turned out here. So in went a set of Range Rover diffs to try and counter the engine’s unbelievably low-revving character. ‘It had no top end otherwise and was screaming on the revs,’ Mark explains, and anyone who’s driven a Land Rover with one will nod in agreement.

It wasn’t just the engine that saw major changes. ‘My Mum bought me a new chassis as a birthday present one year,’ says Mark. Most of us just get Michael Palin books and T-shirts in the wrong size: he’s a lucky son.

‘The truck has had a new bulkhead made of galvanised sheet steel, too.

The old components were in a really

bad condition – they had rusted completely away. I’m not that brilliant a Continued overleaf

Putting a Perkins in a 107” Station Wagon would count as a felony these days, but this one’s been in place for a long time. It replaced a variety of Land Rover engines: the original 2.0 four-pot gave way to a 2.6 straight six, after which a 3.5 V8 found its way under the bonnet. That’s what it had when Mark bought it; having fitted the Perkins, he quickly discovered that a set of Range Rover diffs was necessary to bring its overall gearing back

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Above: However old and classic it might be, the 107” Station Wagon is still a big, useful wagon that can still do a job of work today.

When Mark bought it, its previous owner had kitted it out very skilfully as a camper Right: BBC signwriting went on top of the original green, but since then the truck has seen at least two more coats – a blue and another shade of green. Alex Engineering intend to return it to its original colour, complete with replica signwriting welder and to be honest I couldn’t face the work.’

It’s not just in the realms of heavy metal and dirty oil that the 107” is showing the scars of time, though. Take a look at its bodywork and you’ll see more character than you can shake a stick at.

As the faded, peeling paintwork shows, for example, this is an ex-BBC Wales vehicle. Its duty was to transport

equipment - most likely camera crews and their gear - and along with its fellow SWs in service with Auntie at the time, it proved its worth time and time again. The Station Wagon could seat up to ten people and a closer look at the vehicle reveals a few clues as to what it may have been used for.

Take David Attenborough for starters. The vehicle has a twin-layered Safari roof, which was specified by the

BBC back then on trucks which went to Africa to shoot wildlife documentaries.

Sir David took just such a Land Rover with him in 1960 when filming one of his many shows around Madagascar.

There’s no record as to whether this one found its way to such an exotic location but no doubt the first of its many scars was inflicted on Beeb duty in the early years of its life. Too close for comfort with a lion, perhaps?

Either way, you can see the different personalities people have given it over the years. The original forest green, a coat of blue which was applied by some students who went travelling around Morocco, then another green which has also made an appearance.

Dave and Andy intend to give the paintwork on this piece of British heritage a proper makeover and to have the gold lettering redone to make it

sparkle again. The interior is also something that will require a bit of attention: having been converted back from a camper over the course of Mark’s ownership, its internals could do with some finishing. But with the space available, even at this age, the vehicle’s potential is there for all to see.

As for Mark, he may have to drive a ‘shopping trolley’ to work these days but he still has a few other Land Rovers in his possession. These include an original IIA, which he has since the age of 17 (he’s now 51, so that’s exactly twothirds of his life to date).

‘I’ve always had Land Rovers,’ he says. ‘The shiny stuff doesn’t do it for me though. I bought a new Land Rover once, kept it for about 18 months and then sold it, losing a fair bit of money in the process. Ever since then I’ve kept on driving the old stuff.

‘One thing I miss now I’m driving the van is just how many people stop and ask you about your vehicle. With the 107” you were never short of people asking you about it, whether it be at the petrol station or the shops or wherever.

Even the kids, they still love to go to school in the Land Rovers.

Still, driving a shopping trolley has its pros to go with its cons. ‘I’m still getting used to having a radio I can actually hear and a heater that works…’

Who knew you could now do your weekly groceries with Heart FM filling your ears, eh? Scant consolation for driving a classic Landy but there you are. And when it’s a 107” SW, there’s nothing under the sun that could really make up for the experience.

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DISCO 2: THE TRUCK WHOSE TIME HAS COME Issue 5: July 2014

With Defender values showing no sign of easing off, many Land Rover fans are looking for an alternative.

The supply of Range Rovers and Discovery 1s has dried up now – which means interest in the Disco 2 is growing fast. Is the last live-axled Discovery a sensible choice?

T

he Discovery 2 marked the introduction of Land Rover’s electronic future at the family end of the market in 1998.

With its seven-seat layout and the new Td5 engine, it is a motor which still divides enthusiasts 15 years on.

However, with Defenders still holding on to their value like a baby holding on to your thumb, the Disco 2 is at an age in its life where people are starting to recognise its potential. It’s not going to break the bank and there

are numerous benefits to owning a Discovery over a Defender. The question is: should you?

Richard Scribbings of CWS4x4 has certainly noticed a move towards the second-generation Discovery. As time goes on, it’s becoming clear that for many people, choosing this as your next truck makes perfect sense.

‘The Discovery 2 is very simple to work on. It’s affordable motoring, it’s comfortable and can fit your whole family in seven seats,’ says Richard.

‘The Td5 is a lovely engine, whereas the V8i motor can cause you a few more problems.

‘Defenders are dearer at the moment and the Disco 2 is a cheaper option.

You do get some problems, though. The rear chassis can be a bit of a troublesome area, as people reverse trailers into the sea with them and the salt from the water speeds up the corrosion.’

Also at the back end, something that puts a lot of people off the Disco 2 is the air suspension that was standard on seven-seat models. On the Range Rover P38A, the very thought of air springs is enough to put many people off, but while conversions do exist the experts tend to agree that the system on the Disco is far less troublesome.

‘We don’t find the air suspension too much of a problem,’ says Richard, ‘though you do find a lot of people doing coil-spring conversions. Generally it’s a much more affordable option these

days, and a reliable one (with the Td5).

There are less electronics to go wrong on them compared to the newer Land Rovers, too.’

Word on the workshop floor is that while the Defender is still the Landy of choice for extreme use, the Disco 2 is becoming the go-to choice for a growing number of off-roaders. Chris Hammett is Parts Manager at MM4x4 and runs a D2 as his daily driver. Over the last few years it has been used as a test bed for various products.

‘The Discovery 2 is getting more affordable and more readily available.

A lot of people are starting to spend money on them, partly because they are easy to modify,’ says Chris.

‘The Td5 engine is superb. You don’t get as much rot as was the case with the first generation Discovery – it’s much

The Disco 2 was the last of its kind with live axles, so it can achieve great flexibility over extreme terrain. Most were supplied without a locking mechanism for the centre diff, however, in the belief that the standard-fit traction control would eliminate the need for such a thing. To be fair, to a great extent it does – the Disco 2 can maintain traction in situations where you’d always be reaching for the transfer lever if you had one. You can buy retro-fit kits to add a locker should you really want one, but try getting used to your Discovery before committing yourself to spending the money, as it might surprise you

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The Disco 2 was a lot more mechanical than the vehicle that came after it, but it still featured various complexities you’d sooner do without today. Much was made at launch of the ACE (Active Cornering Enhancement) system – basically an anti-roll bar with a hydraulic ram controlling it at one end. You can debate its merits ‘til the cows come home, but these days if you want to lift a Disco 2 as part of even quite a mild off-road project, it’s nothing more than a sheer menace more reliable. With the Disco 1 you would get problems with the doors, the sills, the floor and the inner wings, but the Disco 2 is a better car all round. It really is an everyday vehicle.

‘We’ve had this particular Disco for about four years and it’s definitely proved itself to us over that period.

We’ve done it all with this Disco, trying out products before we roll them out to the public, but a lot of people are modifying them now. We’re having some winch bumpers fitted on ours at the moment, which will be good to see once its finished. Body-wise, it’s a lot better than the Disco 1 and it’s an absolutely ideal vehicle.’

By this point, wallet in hand, you might well be a few seconds away from giving a lump of cash to some guy who’s spent the last twenty minutes talking up the vehicle you’re currently looking at…

But is it really worth saving the cash up-front by slumming it in a cheaper D2 rather than going the whole hog and buying a Defender? Sure, it may cost more, but as we all know the Defender holds its value like nothing else.

And who needs seven seats, anyway?

Depending on your answer to these questions (and for an increasing number of people, that answer is to go for a Disco 2 come what may), it may be relevant to ask what else you should look out for as well as that potentially Continued overleaf

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Left: If you’re going to be doing stuff like this with a Disco 2, the good news is that there’s plenty of choice on the market when it comes to buying heavy-duty bumpers and other items of protection. Better still, the standard items can make a pretty penny after you’ve taken them off, especially if your Disco is in a common colour like silver.

After fitting Extreme 4x4 bumpers on the Disco 2 we built a few years ago, we put the standard units on eBay and made £700 from them – that’s about 15% of what we spent on buying the truck in the first place Above: A kicked-up rear roof line and trademark ‘Alpine’ windows are distinctive signatures of the Disco’s design. Take one green laning in the wrong part of the country, and they’re also a recipe for broken glass all over your back seats

crusty rear chassis. Ralph Lambourne of Mansfield 4x4 can tell you all you need to know about a Discovery 2, solve every problem you may encounter and provide an insight which should clarify whether or not you hand over that wonga.

‘The early versions had a problem with the oil pump bolt coming undone, due to not having a locking agent applied to the bolt at the factory,’ Ralph explains. ‘The resulting lack of oil

pressure will destroy the turbo bearings almost instantly and the rest of the engine within 20 seconds of the oil light coming on.

‘Another point worth mentioning is that early models didn’t have a diff lock fitted to the transfer box, Land Rover having decided that the traction control was adequate. Earlier vehicles had the diff lock fitted in the transfer box but no means of operating it.

However, Land Rover did give in to

customer demand eventually towards the end of production and fitted the system.’ Retro-fit kits are available to add a conventional centre diff lock to any Disco 2 that doesn’t have it, but in our experience it’s worth trying the vehicle on traction control alone before spending the cash, as it’s more effective than you might expect.

Ralph also mentions some of the more commonly documented issues, such as the sunroofs – which are

extremely prone to leaking. Look for stains in the headlining around the top of the A-pillars, where water migrates once the drains from the sunroof surrounds are blocked.

‘The door latches are electrically operated and can fail within a few years,’ continues Ralph. ‘Keys and alarm faults are also well known. The tail door handle still sticks, like the earlier model and is cured, once again, with a spray of penetrating oil.

‘Turbo wastegates are known to seize, causing a lack of power, which sometimes deceives the owners of autos into thinking the gearbox is faulty, as the lack of power affects the gearshift.’

Turbo problems only affect the Td5, and of course diesels are a lot more expensive to buy than the equivalent V8.

It’s still money well spent, though – as well as using a truly shocking amount of fuel, the 4.0-litre petrol engine is far less reliable. Coolant loss is a prolific killer, but don’t rule out big end trouble either. Another point in the Td5’s favour is that although its electronics make it less DIY-friendly than the earlier Tdi, unlike that engine it runs a timing chain rather than a belt.

So, is that Disco 2 still sounding as sweet now? It’s important to remember that even the newest is already a decade old. Where does Ralph see its redeeming features?

‘The Discovery has always been a popular choice for off-roading, proving to be a capable vehicle but a lot cheaper to buy in comparison with the Defender,’ he says. ‘It’s also a good, all-round family car, so for a lot of owners it can be considered to be dual-purpose. It’s an economical

vehicle in its diesel form as well and is very tuneable.’

Challenger 4x4’s Keith Rayment echoes Ralph’s views. Yes, the back third of the chassis is going to be one of the main things to look out for and the Td5 isn’t as easy to work on as a Tdi – ‘the last of the easy engines’, as Keith labels it – but it still holds many merits.

‘It’s a capable vehicle,’ says Keith, ‘and you get nice armchair seats. It’s a good vehicle for overland trips and the Td5 is a more refined engine. The tunability and power also make it popular, even for challenge trucks.’

There’s an awful lot going for the Disco 2, then. Choose carefully, and it offers a solid base on which to work for a lot less money than a comparable Defender. It’s much nicer on the road and, if you find the 90 too short to be practical and the 110 too big to be wieldy, its 100” wheelbase sits nicely in the gap.

There are niggles, to be sure, but knowledge is power – both as a buyer and an owner. If you can find one, search out a late Td5 model with no sunroofs or air-suspension, and you’ll be laughing all the way.

The best low-mileage Disco 2 diesels from towards the end of production tend to be priced in the £6500-£8500 bracket nowadays, but you can get them for an awful lot less. There’s no end of choice, and so long as you steer clear of boat-haulers with barnacles on their chassis, the chances of finding one that’s actually been off-roaded are slim to none. And whatever you turn up, there’s always a good question to ask yourself: what sort of Defender would I get for this money…?

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w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

Issue 5: July 2014

STOCKIST DIRECTORY

South-East England

South-West England

East Midlands

South Wales

Foundry 4x4 Ltd

Beadles Land Rover

Brookwells Land Rover Parts

“To continually exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Your Online Land Rover Parts Specialist

Derby’s Newest Independent Land Rover Specialist

Cast Iron Quality & Service

143-145 Main Road, Sidcup, Kent, DA14 6PB

Brookwell House, Pottery Road, Bovey Tracey, TQ13 9DS

Unit 14, Dunton Close, West Meadows, Derby, DE21 6XB

The Old Bakery, Rear of Vale Terrace, Tredegar, Gwent, NP22 4HT

www.brookwell.co.uk

www.derby4x4.co.uk

www.beadles.co.uk/land-rover • 0843 383 4010 •

Gumtree 4x4 “Independent Specialists in Land Rover, Range Rover, Discovery and Freelander.”

Unit C17, Ditchling Common, West Sussex, BN6 8SG

www.gumtree4x4.co.uk admin@gumtree4x4.co.uk • 01444 241457

• 01626 833848 •

Importers, Exporters, Wholesale Distributors & Retailers of Winches & Accessories

TDS Goldfish Winches - The Best!

East Foldhay, Zeal Monachorum, Crediton, Devon, EX17 6DH Tel: 01363 82666 • Fax: 01363 82782 • www.goodwinch.com • sales@goodwinch.com

West Midlands Howe Engineering

Derby 4x4

• 01332 631213 •

DLS Derbyshire’s Number 1 Independent Land Rover Centre Water Lane, Wirksworth, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 4AA

North West England LR Centre Ltd

The Specialist in Refurbishing Land Rovers

“We Live and Breathe Land Rovers.”

www.howe-engineering.co.uk

Valley Farm, Valley Road, Earlswood, Solihull, West Midlands, B94 6AA

Bridge Industrial Estate, Speke Hall Road, Speke, Liverpool, L24 9HB

steve@howe-engineering.co.uk • 01763 289521

www.liveridge4x4.com

www.lrparts.net

info@liveridge4x4.com • 01564 703682

sales@lrparts.net • 0151 486 8636

McDonald Land Rover Ltd

Steve Parker Land Rovers Ltd

Land Rover Parts, Accessories and Servicing

Servicing, Repairs, Spares and Conversions

Unit 18, Mile Oak Industrial Estate, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY10 8GA

Lloyd Street, Whitworth, Rochdale, Lancashire OL12 8AA

Stones Cross, Hare Street, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, SG9 0DY

www.island-4x4.co.uk Online Land Rover Part Specialists Offering Worldwide Mail Order

* Free Mainland UK Delivery Over £50 * * Delivery France, Germany and Belgium £10 unlimited weight and parcels *

sales@island-4x4.co.uk

SERIES I

Series I (1955). Completely rebuilt with a Buick 3.5 V8 engine. Estimated to have cost £20,000 to build. Very fast, noisy, road-legal. Tax and MOT exempt.

Leighton Buzzard area. £7750 (firm), 01296 668339

SERIES II Series II 88” soft-top. Galv chassis. Solid and reliable after a

North-East Scotland Caldwell and Dempster

www.dls-uk.co.uk sales@dls-uk.co.uk • 01629 822185

Liveridge British 4x4 Ltd

“An Independent Family Run Vehicle Service, Repair and MOT Garage.”

www.foundry4x4.co.uk

info@foundry4x4.co.uk • 01495 725544

www.mcdonaldlandrover.co.uk

www.steveparkers.com

parts@mcdonaldlandrover.co.uk • 01691 657705

info@steveparkers.com • 01706 854222

Silverbank House, North Deeside Road, Banchory, AB31 5PY

• 01330 824444 •

To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242

LAND ROVERS FOR SALE

2009/10 rebuild. Improvements include enhanced electronic ignition, Weber carb and servo brakes. Petrol engine (no leaks).

New battery, 70A alternator, Clayton heater, stainless exhaust.

Seven seater with new seats and belts in the back plus a seatbelt roll bar in the front. Recent hood, rock slider sills, toolbox trays, electric cut-out switch and DAB radio CD player. Superb condition.

Tax Exempt, MOT 08/14. £6200, chris@solidairmedia.co.uk

SERIES III

Series III Lightweight, 1981, RHD. 31,625 on odometer. 2.25 petrol/LPG on galvanised chassis, in MOD green and black. Ex air support signals regiment, was FFR but converted to 12-volt by a previous owner. Five new wheels and tyres (originals also come with the vehicle).

Reconditioned gearbox with complete new clutch. Two new petrol tanks. Newly Polybushed.

New rear halfshafts and drive members, rear shocks, brakes all round (with new front drums) and exhaust. Canvas in good condition. All receipts for above are with the vehicle. MOT May 15, on SORN. £5000 ono. jufion@ btinternet.com

full chequer plate, rear bump guards, CD stereo with Alpine head unit and aux lead. Great truck with strong TD5 and solid chassis. Last serviced in January, MOT 04/15, tax 03/15. £6750. andydownes13@hotmail.co.uk

90 Defender 90 TD5 pick-up.

139,100 miles. 12,000lb winch (cost £500, new 2 months ago from Gigglepin), Devon 4x4 winch bumper (£800), rock sliders, snorkel and diff breathers, diff guards, front and rear sump guards, bucket seats, light guards all round, dislocation cones, fully Polybushed. Cubby box,

Defender 90 TD5, 2002. Drives exceptionally well with lots of power, great gearchange and transfer lever action. 2” Britpart Super Gaz lift kit fitted. Boost Alloys (including spare) with Hankook Dynapro MT tyres

which haven’t seen much use.

30mm wheel spacers. Electric windows, remote central locking, heated seats, heated front and rear windscreen. Winch bumper with Warn winch, Kenwood CD stereo with aux input. Seats in good condition. NAS lights fitted all round. MOT 07/14 (I’ll put 12 months on if you want), tax 08/14. Great Land Rover, must be seen! £8295. joshbaker_uk@ yahoo.com

Limited edition MAN MADE Defender 90. Upgraded by The Man for Landrovers and TMD East Sussex, with over 40k worth of receipts for work carried out and professional modifications.

Bespoke tuning, K&N air filter, Allisport intercooler, Hayward and Scott stainless straight-through exhaust, hybrid turbo. Recaro race seats (heated), heated door mirrors, uprated roll bars and lowered suspension. Boss wheels, LED lights, Alpine sound system, Bluetooth, sat nav, uprated cubby

box. Brand new 13,000lb winch and front bumper. Momo steering wheel, upgraded brakes. This is a stunning example and must be seen, viewing recommended as the photos don’t do it justice., It has been 100% reliable and never let me down in the snow or floods. Regrettable sale. Full service history. £20,950 tonyackerman2000@yahoo.co.uk

Recently built 300Tdi trayback. Very high spec. Only done one event since build. Custom

To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk interior, GP winches, Mach 5s, Ashcroft shafts/CVs. Please get in touch for full specification and work done. Hundreds of pics available. Offers around £13,000.

07841 193027

Discovery

Issue 5: July 2014

27

110

110 2.5 petrol/LPG, C-reg.

121,000 miles, currently on SORN. Solid chassis, spot lights, chequer plate, rear worklight, tubular side steps, roof rack, front fog lights.

New alternator fitted Feb 2013.

Engine rebuild Feb 2011 including new valves, bearings and piston rings. MOT May 2014. Please remember, this Landy is 27 years old and does have a few marks. £2800. cotton13@hotmail.co.uk

Utility Defender. 4 Owners, part service history. Heavy-duty winch and tipping alloy back.

Rugged, reliable workhorse. Suit tree surgeon, forester or estate/ shooting requirements. Uprated throughout. Waxoyled and new bed in tipper. Secure locker box.

New driver’s seat. MOT 03/15, tax 07/14. £4500. rupertcorner@ hotmail.com

Defender 110 300 Tdi twin-cab pick-up (1996). Front winch, 4 new tyres, new brake pads all round. Very well maintained.

Excellent runner. 5 alloy wheels.

Cam belt changed at 165,000 miles. I am happy to answer any questions so please feel free to ring me. MOT 05/15, tax 09/14. £5950. digroot@btinternet.com

Defender 110 XS Utility. Warn winch, full roof rack, steering guard, full set of Land Rover seat covers and mats, seats like new under covers. New tyres. Leather seats, heated front seats, air-con, electric windows, CD stereo, traction control. MOT and tax 11/14. £15,500+VAT cwdm@ hotmail.co.uk

Discovery 2.5 Td5 ES 7 seat 5dr.

Great example. Top-spec, with 6-CD changer, 12-speaker sound system, twin sunroofs, front and independent rear air-conditioning, cruise control, leather seats in excellent condition, heated front seats, 18” alloys with General Grabber AT tyres (low wear), Warn winch bumper, air suspension overhauled Sept 2013, recent services at BLRC. Spacious multi-purpose family car. MOT and tax 08/14. £4650. jennycbelfast@gmail.com

Discovery TD5. 1999. 2” lift, new Maxxis mud tyres. MOT Nov 14, tax end April 14. New heavy-duty bumpers, new Superwinch.

Excellent condition. £4995 ono, call Adele on 01772 682137.

Specials

Land Rover 109” Dormobile.

Genuine 1970 Factory Conversion.

200 Tdi. Series IIA gearbox with overdrive, 3.54 diffs. 6-pot engine and gearbox available by separate negotiation if needed for export.

Body-off rebuild completed 2010, including repaired chassis and bulkhead, new brakes, Autosparks wiring loom, 5 new doors, front door mirrors, all new window runners and side frames.

Sympathetic paint job. Swingaway spare wheel carrier, side sun shade, repro wardrobe, kitchen.

New roof window seals, all seats re-upholstered, oil pressure gauge fitted and wheelarch altered under the wardrobe for Porta-Potti storage. ‘Canvas’ is original and has a few pinholes at the top at each end, but does not let in any water. The roof vent has been replaced. Engine received new pistons rings and bearings prior to installation; returns 30-34 mpg and is happy cruising at 65 mph, though being 44 years old the vehicle is a bit noisy at speed.

The vehicle is missing its table and there are signs of wear and tear inside and out; what you are buying is a rare Land Rover that has been recently rebuilt and sympathetically upgraded to make it a comfortable home for 2 whose reliability has been proven over the last few years. No road tax, £100 per year insurance.

Offers in the region of £7500.

Holmfirth, West Yorkshire. 01484 682496, 07799278578, alexanderbywaters@gmail.com

SELL IT WITH SUCCESS!

If you’re a private individual, advertising your Land Rover for sale in The Landy is COMPLETELY FREE! Just send your advert to us at tor@assignment-media.co.uk – and we’ll do the rest!

You can also advertise by messaging us via our Faceboook page. Find us at www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

28

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Issue 5: July 2014

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Massive win for Marsden at King of the Glens

Ultra4 victory for Team Gigglepin – by a margin of more than three and a half hours

Picture: Andy Thomlinson / Ruftraks UK Ltd

Jim Marsden was the runaway winner of the first King of the Glens, the opening event in 2014’s newly expanded European Ultra4 race series.

Driving his newly rebuilt Land Rover special, co-driven by Mark Birch, the man from Team Gigglepin 4x4 mastered an 18-mile course combining rocks, bogs and dense woodland in conditions that left many of Europe’s best racers posting maximum times for one or more runs.

The extent of Marsden’s dominance is illustrated by the margin of his victory, with almost three and a half hours between him and second-placed Jaap Betsema. To put that in context, it’s half and hour more than the time separating the entire rest of the field.

Team Gigglepin also came in fourth, with Jerry Hunt finishing a few minutes behind third-placed Nicolas Montador. But for a broken radius arm on day one, it could conceivably have been a Gigglepin one-two. Montador, meanwhile, had been Marsden’s closest rival at the end of day one, but a maximum time on the first run of day two cost him any chance of challenging for the lead – as well as allowing Betsema to overhaul him with his own best time of the weekend.

None could come close to Marsden’s fastest times, however, which saw him home in less than two hours on two

To advertise in The Landy, call Ian Argent on 01283 553242 w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk separate occasions. Even his first run, which saw him stop to cut down a tree and pause a number of times while working out the route, was beaten only once throughout the event.

Reliability is the key to success in off-road racing, and the Land Rover’s success was as much down to strength as outright speed – though with a 525bhp V8 engine now on board, it has plenty of that. Having won the prologue by four seconds from Axel Burmann, Marsden was first out the following morning – allowing him to fly round the course while behind him, others were rolling, breaking their cars and getting stuck in bottomless peat bogs.

Having completed his second lap of the day, in fact, Marsden went back out to help recover the many stricken vehicles stuck on the course. The following morning, he was heading out for his fourth and final lap before anyone else had even returned to pits from their third, but even with the task of merely keeping it in one piece to claim a certain victory the terrain almost snared him when, hitting a deep peat bog, the Land Rover sank in and lost its steering belt.

Carrying the right spares is crucial on endurance events, and a well drilled crew knows how to fit them

fast. No surprise then that the Landy was moving again in just five minutes, ready for a combination of 40” Maxxis Trepadors and Gigglepin winches to get it through to the end. There was even time to stop and recover a badly stuck Philon Parpottas en route to the finish line and a crushing victory.

At the other end of the results, Rob Butler and America’s Levi Shirley had an inauspicious weekend which started badly when heavy traffic prevented them from arriving in time for the prologue run and got little better as time went on. Shirley was the first person ever to ship a competition car from the US to compete in a British offroad event last year when he finished third at King of the Valleys, but the Scottish bogs were much less to his liking. Butler, meanwhile, continued to make progress at a blistering pace – even after suffering two flat tyres at once, which ultimately came back to haunt him after an alloy rim broke up and left the caliper in the firing line.

For two drivers with podium-placed finishes to their name to make up the bottom two in the standings shows how unpredictable Ultra4 racing can be.

Both can be expected to come back as the season progresses, though – as can Danny Roderick, winner of last year’s Picture: Spidertrax Off-Road / Thom Kingston

KOV Qualifier but another who didn’t make an impression in Griffin Forest.

With Pier Acerni, twice winner of King of the Valleys, not participating in

Issue 5: July 2014 Scotland, the ease of Marsden’s victory won’t mean he’s going to have it all his own way this year. Results are never to be taken for granted in Ultra4 racing

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– and with another three events still to come during 2014, it’ll be a long time yet before the true significance of the result in the Glens can be fully assessed.

‘It lived up to its name’

Speaking with Neil Whitford, King of the Glens Organiser You’ve run King of the Valleys a couple of times in South Wales now, and the venue at Walters Arena is now well known for it. Griffin Forest already hosts traditional-style winch challenge events, but how easy was it to adapt the site to the Ultra4 format?

For our first visit to Scotland the event went very smoothly and ran on schedule, which is important for us. The course did deteriorate worse than anticipated in some areas and some of the competitors found the boggy ground tough going.

We did endeavour to bypass most of this terrain but in order to deliver the mileage the competitors expect it was impossible to eliminate it completely.

At the end of the day, the fact that vehicles were able to complete the course within the time limit across both days proved it was not undriveable.

The event promised to be ‘Scotland’s toughest off road racing event’ and it lived up to its name.

King of the Valleys and now King of the Glens are part of something much bigger and more international. What does it mean to be a part of something so big?

I’m incredibly proud to be working with Hammerking Productions to deliver the Ultra4 Europe series; it’s a great privilege to be working alongside the people who also deliver King of the Hammers, which has a unique place in off-road motorsport. While we will never have the terrain that is available in the US, we aim to deliver what the region will allow. It’s important to remember though that this is a team effort and there are a huge number of volunteers without whom the event simply would not happen. We need to encourage more people to get involved and are particularly keen to hear from people who can bring specific skills, or take ownership of certain parts of a course for marshalling for example.

Ultra4 racing was born on rocks, but some of the bogs on King of the Glens were so deep you could lose a truck in them. How do you think people are looking forward to the next round after that?

It will be interesting to see what the terrain is like in Italy as it is likely to be a complete contrast to what we have here in the UK. For me, it will also be nice to be at an event without the 100% pressure that comes with being the organiser, but I will be there in an official capacity to ensure that the Ultra4 Europe experience is consistent and that we also deliver updates to people watching the event from home.

What’s your favourite aspect of an event from an organiser’s point of view and from your own?

My favourite part is driving home after an event, with the knowledge that the competitors had an enjoyable, but most of all safe time. Many people watch motorsport for the spills and thrills, but for an organiser these can be the most worrying times.

Knowing the course we planned can be driven is important, so seeing the first car come back over the finish line is always a relief as well.

The first two Kings of the Valleys were won by Pier Acerni, but Jim Marsden’s new truck was hugely dominant in Scotland. Is he now the one to beat?

I think Jim demonstrated the value of a well prepared team, particularly as he had never driven the vehicle in this configuration and had been abroad for much of the build. As I said before, he proved the course was drivable on every lap, which is testament to his team, vehicle evolution, preparation and personal driving ability. It was a very well deserved win and one I am sure he will be looking to capitalise on over the remaining three rounds of the series.

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Issue 5: July 2014

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Sharp picks up the rope to triumph at Deep Scar

Another top driver takes over the winching duties at second round of the LRS Challenge

Words Pip Evans Pictures Pawel Frackowiak

Round 1 of the 2014 LRS Challenge at Coney Green had been well attended.

However, several competitors had expressed concerns that their trucks weren’t quite ready and weren’t expected to be up and running until the second round. Organisers were therefore expecting a bumper entry for the event at Deep Scar.

There had also been some interest in the new entry-level class, so numbers were expected to be further boosted by those wanting to give it a go for the first time. The organisers from the Viking 4x4 Club were therefore surprised to find that only 17 competitors signed on – with, yet again, none in the entrylevel class. Maybe the reputation of ‘The Scar’ had put them off.

Having said this, it was great to see Tim Platt there with his truck, which has recently had its full build featured in The Landy’s sister title Total OffRoad. It was also great to welcome Alex Wilson back to the fold. When Alex had been struggling to find a winchman, Allen Sharp had stepped forward to assist.

Allen has a reputation for winning most of the UK’s top-level challenge events as a driver. But how would he fare as a winchman?

The event was originally planned for September, in order to give the hot summer weather a chance to dry the quarry bottom, until the risk of crop damage at Uplands Coppice prompted it to be swapped to May. There was a

fair bit of water down in the Scar, but organisers had been careful to place punches in places where they would be attainable by driving around the deepest bits. This fact was explained at the drivers’ briefing and competitors were assured that the water was just about manageable – for the brave (or stupid). A new track had been cut through the undergrowth in order to make water avoidance easier.

Due to the long, narrow nature of the site, the entrants were split up. When it kicked off, some classes were fed into the main entrance and others led around to the far end and in through the emergency exit, thus alleviating an initial mad scramble for punches.

Things didn’t start well for Alex Wilson. His truck’s bonnet was up after the very first punch. Luckily the problem was only a poorly adjusted tensioner pulley and this was quickly fixed with a spanner and a handy tree branch to lever it into position. He also faced several other mechanical issues throughout the day, though, and had to replace his starter motor at one point.

Alan Devonport also had problems at his first punch when he broke a CV joint. He then managed to break his gearbox and rear winch while attempting to get back to the pits.

Hot favourite for a win Duncan Smith was forced into early retirement with a roll after attaining the first of the Red category punches. The tubular steel front end protection bars had been slightly rearranged – this was simply straightened into place by winching it from a tree via a snatch block, but the soldered tube to which the radiator hose attaches had been torn out of the rad, causing a terminal failure.

Further into the site, several competitors seemed to have forgotten the warning about deep water. Many crews reported the same observation at the end of the event. ‘We got up to our waists in water inside the truck then looked at each other and said “This must be where the deep water is then!”’

They had all managed to drive through relatively unscathed (and somewhat moist); however, Roger Smith managed to come to a full stop

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against some submerged obstacle, forcing poor Andrew Savage to leap into chest depth water and attach the winch line to something to get them going again. It’s certainly a good job there are no crocodiles in the UK. Long, hard winch pulls were the order of the day and several crews were running out of electricity. At one point, Matt Dilley ground to a halt with none at all. Tom Marrion had recently fitted a second alternator to his Jimny Special in the hope of avoiding this fate but found he had mounted it too high up and had to modify his bonnet to accommodate it.

Tim Platt was delighted with this first test since making major alterations to his truck’s spec, with masses of power from his new motor and no mechanical issues. A brake pipe failure late in the day was the only issue he encountered.

Tom Joliffe reported having a good day but also suffered a brake pipe failure.

Brian Clegg reported that he had taken the slow, steady approach and suffered no mechanical issues at all.

In the final reckoning, Paul Dallyn and Jack MacDonald were second in Class 1 on 1300 points, with Andrew Guest and Ian Scott victorious on 1800. The scores were tensely close in Class 2 with teams Dilley/Robinson and Hickling/Cooper tied for second place on points. Ahead of them, Tom Marrion and Craig Davis took the honours with 3500 points.

In Class 3, Tim Platt and Chris White were third on 1500 points and Roger Smith and Andrew Savage second with a creditable 4000. However, the overall victory went to Alex Wilson and, yes, Allen Sharp – who achieved a massive 4700, regardless of the mechanical problems they faced.

There’s your answer, then: not only is Allen a top driver, he’s a pretty handy winchman, too. Earlier this year, Jim Marsden took up the gloves in the Welsh Xtrem and also put on a fine performance while winching for Jerry Hunt, but victory here shows that Allen’s not a one-trick pony.

The LRS Challenge heads back towards Kettering for round 3 at Weekley Woods. They certainly wouldn’t object to hearing from potential entrants – in particular, if you fancy giving it a stab in the standard class there’s currently a strong chance that there’ll be trophies coming your way by default. To find out more, head for www.viking4x4club.com.

Issue 5: July 2014

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Issue 5: July 2014

Eaton Lodge trial sees high attrition

Spirit of the event wins out as competitors share motors at Leicestershire and Rutland LRC’s Chairman’s Challenge

Section eight was cleared by all remaining competitors, except for Pete who picked up an eight. The last two sections were low scoring apart from a couple of sevens.

At the end, Steve Limb claimed first spot with a score of 27. Pete Measures followed up in 2nd place, also on 27 but with fewer clears. Behind him, Mick Wing completed the rostrum with a score of 30.

The club would like to thank Andy for the use of the site, as well as for his assistance in setting out. Thanks also to Steve for scrutineering and Carol Burland, Kev Liquorish, Eddie Newell and Simone Birch for marshalling.

Words John Osborne Pictures Tony Birch Once again I volunteered to lay out the CCVT at Eaton Lodge, as part of the Leicestershire and Rutland LRC’s Chairman’s Challenge weekend. It’s a site I know very well, having used it for so many years now, but it’s still difficult to try for something a little different.

Help was on hand on the Saturday of the previous weekend in the form of a JCB and driver to scrape out some of the existing holes, as Andy Shipman would say. While it went to work, I put in canes for the first three sections along the railway line towards the road bridge end of site. Andy joined me later to assist with a further two before heading back to the farm.

By the middle of the afternoon, I had completed seven sections – including use of the revamped deep hole, now freshly excavated. Two further sections were completed on Monday afternoon, leaving the final tenth section for Saturday to be laid out in the gulley

after the RTV had run and finished with that part of the ground.

Sunday duly arrived, as did an entry of ten competitors in six vehicles, four being double-driven. Following scrutineering by Steve and pre-event briefings, the day’s trialling got underway. Section one provided a mix of scores from a nine down to a single clear from Rob Parnell. Section two saw Martin Wynne roll into one of the holes, sadly damaging his vehicle and causing himself and fellow driver Simon Watson to retire.

As bad luck would have it, Chris Measom had to retire his vehicle on the same section after bending his roll cage on a tree. Fortunately both he and double-driver Donald Randall were kindly offered a drive in other vehicles, though later on Chris’ next vehicle also retired! The best score for this section was a one from Pete Measures.

Section three was much easier and three managed clears, then section Four saw clears from no less than five drivers of the remaining eight. The best scores

for section five were ones from Pete and Chris. Section Six saw mainly low scores, though seven proved somewhat more difficult with a mixture of scores including two elevens. Also, Stef Allured bent a track rod here and was forced to retire – this was the incident that finally did for Chris, too.

33

TRIALS VETERAN KILLED IN CCV ROLL

The trialling community has been shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic accident the claimed the life of Barrie Murdoch on 3 May. Barrie was competing in a CCV trial at the Claxby three-day event, hosted

by Lincolnshire Land Rover Club over the Bank Holiday weekend, when he rolled his standard Class 1 vehicle.

The 71-year-old is understood to have suffered fatal injuries after his head came into contact with his roll cage as the vehicle went over.

LLRC Chairman and family friend Jim Bradford said: ‘Our club lost a much valued member and a very dear friend at the Claxby three-day event.

Barrie Murdoch joined the club in the early 1980s and his red 80”, with lips on the front, was instantly recognisable.

‘Looking through the many messages on Facebook and listening to people over the past few days, the most obvious thing that shines through this dark and difficult time is how much Barrie was loved and admired.

Everyone knew him and had the greatest respect for him – young or old.

‘He may no longer be with us in person, but he will live on within the club and each one of us. I know the family appreciate all the messages of support they have received and they know that we are here to support them as much as we possibly can. We have been overwhelmed by how our club members (and our friends in Peak and Dukeries LRC) have supported each other too. This is a true testament of a great man. Rest in peace Barrie, we will miss you.’

Barrie, who would have been 72 on the following Saturday, was a respected figure who died doing what he loved most. His tragic loss shook the trialling fraternity, who were quick with their condolences and kind words in memory of a man who was, above all else, one of their own. Typical was this comment from Richard Parry: , ‘I am new to trialling and the Land Rover community. What has struck me is what a close knit community it is and how friendly everybody is. I never knew Barrie, but my thoughts and condolences go to his family and friends at LLRC.’ Our sympathy is with Barrie’s family, and all those with whom he had trialled down the years.

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Issue 5: July 2014

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Stainby downpours can’t stop the National

ALRC pulls together to put on a National Rally to remember in the teeth of torrential rain This year’s ALRC National will be remembered as a wet one, after the spring bank holiday weekend delivered its traditional downpours on the gathered crowds of campers and competitors at Stainby Quarry.

The weather made for slippery conditions, though thankfully the clouds broke as the weekend went on and by the time the RTV trial was ready to get underway there was enough traction on offer from the sandy ground to allow meaninfgul competition. Not that the previous day’s CCVT hadn’t been a massive success, though with the morning’s sections being conducted in ever present torrential rain only Alex Skidmore, of Staffs and Shrops LRC, managed to keep his score in single

figures.The result was a clear victory over Neal Mellish of Lancs and Cheshire LRC – who also finished second in the comp safari, taking home the combined trophy for the two disciplines as a result.

Adding RTV into the mix gave Southern ROC’s Charles Darby his usual popular award for participants in the main three competitions. But at the top of the RTV, the competition was very close indeed – ultimately, Ken Brain of Cornwall and Devon LRC managed to prevail, but only by two penalty points over

Tim Simon and Gary Bull, both of the Somerset and Wiltshire ROC. In total, four drivers kept their scores in single figures – a hugely impressive achievement in a whole day’s RTV competition. But in the Tyro Trial, Huw Jones of Lincs LRC did event better by amassing just one point.

But for the performance of the weekend, you’ve got to look to young Mia Smith, also of the Lincs LRC. In the Under-5 category of the bike trial, she managed to clear the entire event, coming home with no penalty points whatsoever to whitewash the rest of the field.

There was thunderous applause at prizegiving for these and the many other award winners. But none more so than when the Farvis Trophy was given out for Spirit of the Event. Most years, the National is put on by one host club, but this year’s was run by the ALRC itself. And that put a huge burden on Association Secretary Simone Birch – whose efforts were duly recognised by the award, and by the gratitude of all those who had enjoyed a fine weekend’s sport thanks her efforts, and those of the team around her.

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Issue 5: July 2014

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2014 ALRC National Results RTV 1 2 3

Ken Brain Tim Simon Gary Bull

CDLRC SWROC SWROC

6 8 8

Class 1 Class 2 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 9 Class 10 Class 11

Charles Darby Al Reaney Ken Brain Mark Freeman Simon Wise Mark Pycraft Gary Bull Tim Simon Kevin Barnes

SROC PDLRC CDLRC SWROC MROC ELRC SWROC SWROC AGLRC

16 26 6 15 10 29 8 8 38

Club (best average score): CCROC, 16 Team: Simon Day, John Ralphs, Edward Barnes, AGLRC, 39 Taliesin Trophy (standard vehicles): Ken Brain, CDLRC Pirelli Scorpion Cup (lowest score): Ken Brain, CDLRC Land Rover Discovery Cup: David Burley, CDLRC North Wales LRC Diesel RTV Trophy: Ken Brain, CDLRC Carol Roberts Trophy (female drivers): Heather Pycraft, ELRC Lincolnshire LRC RTV Team Trophy: Ken Brain, Peter Alexander, Steve Smerdon, CDLRC Breckland LRC Trophy (average score): Breckland LRC Copford Trophy (highest score): Susan Morrison, CROC

CCVT 1 2 3

Alex Skidmore Neal Mellish Barry Alderson

SSLRC LCROC CROC

8 18 23

Class 1 Class 2 Class 4 Class 6 Class 7 Class 9 Class 10 Class 11

Mick Dobbs Andrew Milne Mark Ambler Simon Wise Matt Wright Alex Skidmore Barry Alderson Mark Coles

SSLRC CVLRC HBLRC MROC CVLRC SSLRC CROC CVLRC

73 92 70 41 81 8 23 77

LROC Rickards Trophy (standard vehicles): Mark Ambler, HBLRC Land Rover Parts Cup (lowest score): Alex Skidmore, SSLRC CDLRC Challenge Cup (special classes): Alex Skidmore: SSLRC Colborne Trophies Perpetual Cup (female drivers): Sue Flanders, AROC Seniors Cup (55+ drivers): Ron Baker: SROC HQROA Pirelli Inter Challenge Cup (nominated drivers): Neal Mellish, LCLRC LROC Total Team Trophy: Tom Stubbins, Keith Lynam, David Summerfield, LLRC Rover Owners Association Interclub Challenge Cup (lowest average score): Somerset and Wilts ROC, 49 Blackwool Farm Spoon (highest score): Ashley Bartlett, HBLRC

Comp Safari 1 2 3

Ken Powell Neal Mellish Wendy Chandler

PDLRC LCROC BLRC

00:41:30 00:41:46 00:46:30

Class 1 Class 3 Class 4 Class 5 Class 6 Class 7 Class 8 Class 9

Charles Darby Hugh Duffett Mark Ambler Steve Carroll Andy Bayliss Mark Woodhouse Neal Mellish Ken Powell

SROC HBLRC HBLRC NERO SSLRC SSLRC LCROC PDLRC

01:15:47 01:13:46 00:58:03 00:57:14 01:15:39 01:09:41 00:41:46 00:41:30

Yorkshire Cup (standard vehicles): Steve Carroll, NERO Crossland Filters Shield (lowest time): Ken Powell, PDLRC John Craddock Land Rover Parts Shield (teams): Arthur Wilson, Ken Powell, Wayne Armitage, PDLRC NFU Mutual Ladies Comp Safari Cup: Wendy Chandler, BLRC

Team Recovery 1 Team Cumbria Ray Fallows, Barry Alderson 00:10:32 2 KPAW Arthur Wilson, Ken Powell 00:12:02 3 MacLimb Steve Limb, Tim Mackley 00:14:12 Rover Challenge Trophy (winners): Ray Fallows, Barry Alderson, CROC

Tyro 1 Huw Jones 2 Tiegen Lillicrap 3 Chris Webster Licenced Unlicenced

LLRC CDLRC LRLRC

1 12 20

Chris Webster LRLRC Huw Jones LLRC

20 1

Land-Ranger Services Cup (licensed drivers) Chris Webster, LRLRC Essex Land Rover Shield (unlicensed drivers under 18) Huw Jones, LLRC

Bike Trial 5 and Under 6-11

Mia Smith Joe Bushell

LLRC ELRC

0 13

Concours d’elegance Rover Sports Register Cup (best overall) Roger Lewis 1951 80” Series I Club David Bowyer Cup (best Series I) Roger Lewis 1951 80” Series I Club Farvis Boilers Shield (working vehicles) Phillip Cunningham 1958 88” SSLRC LR Register 1948-1953 Shield (original working vehicles) Andrew Neaves 1948 80” LR Register

Non-concours d’elegance William Farvis Trophy (Series II/IIA not in concours) Dirk Reiter 109” camper Gill Floyd Forward Control Cup James Boston 101 Tony Hutchins Salver (most unusual vehicle) Mr & Mrs Gregory 200Tdi Ex-MOD Camper

Combined Awards North Yorkshire / South Durham Trophy (CCV/Comp combo) Neal Mellish, LCROC Off Roader Sports Shield (RTV, CCV and Comp combined) Charles Darby, SROC Tony Holder Memorial Trophy (family team in bike, Tyro and RTV or CCV): Lewis, James and Maurice Flanders

Other Awards Farvis Spirit of the Event Award: Simone Birch, LRLRC Tom Barton Trophy (contribution to ALRC) Andrew Cross, Series I Club

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