The Landy November 15

Northern California’s Rover owners head for the Eastern Sierras – and end up cast as heroes

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FANTASTIC FLATBED If you’ve got a Land Rover you love, don’t sell it. You’ll only end up buying another one…

Full story: Page 20

Iceland: need we say more? It might not be easy to get to, but Europe’s wildest outpost is well worth it – especially when you’re going there to explore aboard your Landy Full story: Page 30 This is more than just a tidy late Series IIA.

It came out of a timewarp when it was demobbed by the MOD in 2013, for a start.

And this ex-ambulance has been turned into something unique, too, in the shape of a beautifully crafted, timber-lined flat-bed pick-up.

Full story: Page 24

You don’t normally expect to turn a profit on modifying your Landy.

But when the bits you take off are worth a mint, you can be quids in!

Full story: Page 26

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Issue 21: Nov 2015

An actual bomb-proof Range Rover

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SVO launches the Sentinel – an Autobiography for life in the firing line

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and Rover has announced that the 3.0-litre Supercharged petrol engine from the Jaguar F-Type is to make an appearance in the Range Rover.

But the 335bhp V6 is only available in a particularly unusual version of Solihull’s flagship model. And it will cost you almost £300,000 to buy one.

The Sentinel is a version of the Range Rover for people in the line of fire. Hand-built by Jag Land Rover’s SVO operation, it’s as luxurious, elegant and capable off-road as any other Rangey. But this is, in Land Rover’s own words, a ‘mobile fortress.’

It justifies that lofty claim through the use of a purpose-made, six-piece armoured passenger cell constructed from ultra high-strength steel. The windows are made from multi-laminated armoured privacy glass, too, and QinetiQ has certified the Sentinel to VR8 standard in its resistance to ballistic attacks.

This means it can withstand 7.62mm high-velocity, armour-piercing bullets and shrug off a lateral attack from up to 15kg of TNT. It’ll keep going through a series of DM51 grenade explosions, too, thanks to substantial roof and underbody protection.

Should your enemies try to take a less direct approach, the Sentinel will still throw obstacles in their way.

These include an anti-tamper exhaust and a self-sealing fuel tank, and there’s an auxiliary back-up battery and split-charging system to minimise the risk of being stranded. The 20” run-flat tyres will keep going even if they’ve been cut to ribbons, and you can specify fire suppression systems under the floor and bonnet. The windows around the rear cargo area are made of anti-smash glass, too, and there’s a 100mm slot beside the driver specifically for document deliveries. Things you don’t think of until you’ve actually been at the sharp end…

Needless to say, all this armour adds very significantly to the vehicle’s weight, so there are 380mm and 365mm vented discs front and rear and the suspension and dynamic stability control set-up have been reworked to suit. Once you’re stationary – if your route’s been obstructed in an ambush, for example, and your attackers have also blocked your side doors – an emergency escape route through the back can deliver you into the hands of your minders in the next vehicle.

Obviously, if you’re this worried about coming under attack the last thing you want to do is make a spectacle of yourself. That’s why the Sentinel looks like any other Range Rover rather than a self-propelled panic room. In the

Above: The Sentinel has the full set of Autobiography features, and more besides. That hand console operates a set of emergency service lights, and can be used with the optional loudspeaker to invite your adoring public to kindly stop shooting at you words of Damien Wilson, Senior Programme Manager at SVO, ‘this vehicle should only stand out for being a Range Rover Autobiography, and not for its armoured nature.’

But there are certain countries in which political bigwigs like nothing more than to travel in ostentatious convoys while their minions look on in awe, and this Rangey can dish up everything from a customer-configurable siren and emergency service lights to an external loudspeaker system. Ideal for telling everyone how important you are (or asking them to stop lobbing those grenades at you).

SVO boss John Edwards said: ‘The Sentinel is one of the most extraor-

dinary Range Rovers ever produced.

It has been expertly engineered by Special Vehicle Operations to provide class-leading levels of protection to occupants against extreme attack, while retaining the Range Rover’s luxury and refinement with off-road capability.’

Available in the UK and Europe, plus South America, Africa, and, obviously, the Middle East, the Sentinel is priced at nearly £300,000. That does include specialised maintenance programmes and driver training, though – and most of them will probably be paid for by taxpayers’ money anyway, so Land Rover could probably have put another zero on the end of that figure without losing any sales.

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Dynamic features for new baby Disco Eye-catching new model leads the way as Sport gains new features for 2016 Mike Trott The new Discovery Sport HSE Dynamic Lux was unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show, as Land Rover launched the sportiest version yet of the baby Disco.

The HSE Dynamic Lux version is louder, showier and more garish than before, thanks to Narvik Black details scattered around its exterior, and it looks meaner and more purposeful with its body-coloured mouldings and door claddings.

The Red Sport badge denotes that this is the most involving Discovery Sport you can buy. Until a future Disco Sport SVR comes along, that is…

We think it’s quite the head-turner, if a little vulgar for some tastes – see the 20” Gloss Black rims, for instance.

The fact that it still says ‘Lux’ on the tailgate means this remains a very comfortable cabin to dwell in, though, and of course your mates or offspring can come along for the journey too.

‘The Discovery Sport Dynamic has been created to heighten the design appeal of the Discovery Sport,’ said Land Rover’s design boss Gerry McGovern.

‘Gloss black is a key accent on the exterior, while the use of body-coloured bumpers and door claddings emphasises its on-road, sporty presence. With the launch of the Discovery Sport HSE Dynamic Lux, we are offering our customers greater choice in the look and feel of their vehicle.’

Other enhancements across the ange for 2016 include All Terrain Progress Control (ATPC), a feature first seen on the Range Rover which acts as a form of cruise control for the vehicle while negotiating rough terrain.

This enables the driver to ‘cruise’ off-road between a selected speed of

1mph to 19mph, and also incorporates a ‘Launch’ feature that gets the vehicle moving by minimising wheelspin on low-traction surfaces such as snow or wet grass.

One of the headlines features on the new Sport, however, is its new Active Driveline system. This has the ability to switch between two and four-wheel drive according to the terrain ahead.

The benefits are seen at the service station, because two-wheel drive is sufficient almost all the time on the road – and only calling the rear wheels into play when necessary means less work for the engine.

The system operates through two electronic clutches positioned either side of the rear diff, which are tasked with shifting torque to the wheel with the most grip. This helps with on-road handling, but the rear axle can also be ‘locked’ for the best traction off-road.

The driver can keep an eye on what’s happening under the vehicle through the eight-inch touchscreen display.

Also new are the MagneRide active dampers first seen at the top of the Evoque range (and in things like the Audi R8 and Ferrari 599). These are filled with a special fluid containing magnetic particles, whose viscosity when a magnetic field is applied – thus stiffening or softening the vehicle’s ride as required.

Land Rover says this enhances passenger comfort and driver feedback alike, as well as keeping body roll under firmer check and providing more control on rough surfaces. The Adaptive Dynamics package these dampers are part of also includes a new driver-selectable Dynamic mode

– an option on the Terrain Response system that gives a more involving driving experience.

This delivers quicker responses from the throttle, gearbox and differential, along with sharper steering and ride – all of which should make that B-road stint a more entertaining driving experience. They’re definitely not forgetting the ‘Sport’ element of this Discovery’s name.

Above: The HSE Dynamic Lux model comes with 20” Gloss Black alloys and an Active Driveline which intelligently switches between two-wheel and fourwheel drive

6Land Rover through the looking trailer... w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

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or every Land Rover that gets blinged up, modified into an off-road battle wagon or restored as a classic, there’s probably something like ten thousand that get used for towing. Which means there are that many drivers who regularly grapple with the fact that when you look in the mirror, the thing hooked on to your towball isn’t see-through.

It might be soon, though. Because Land Rover’s latest improbable sound-

ing innovation is the See-Through Trailer concept.

This uses the increasingly common surround-view camera system to provide an image on the vehicle’s display monitor in which the trailer behind it is rendered as being visually transparent. As you might recall, they’ve already done it with the similarly outlandish Transparent Bonnet concept, which was previewed in April last year, so they’ve got previous; in the case of the trailer system, a live video

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feed appears in the rear view mirror automatically once you’re coupled up.

The image is created using information harvested from the reversing camera, cameras on each wing mirror and an additional wireless camera at the back of the trailer itself. Land Rover says it would allow drivers to make safer manoeuvres and provide a less stressful environment for towing.

It could also impose calibrated guidance lines on the image for easier reversing when hitched up.

Below: The eight-inch touchscreen display lets you check the cargo area behind, while the rear-view mirror provides a video feed of the view behind... minus a trailer

• Land Rover has also developed Cargo Sense, which uses a remote video camera and a mat of pressure sensors positioned across the trailer floor to let you monitor your load.

These link wirelessly to the tow vehicle to deliver images and info on the trailer’s contents, giving you early warning of a shifting load before its consequences become disastrous and allowing you to check it remotely when a warning pops up. There’s also

a Cargo Sense app which allows you to monitor your cargo even while away from the vehicle, for example by texting you if a horse becomes distressed in its trailer. ‘Many of our customers tow valuable cargoes for business and pleasure,’ said JLR’s research boss Dr Wolfgang Epple. ’So we are researching a range of technologies that would enhance the towing experience and make it safer – for the driver and even their horses!’

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Comment

I was talking to someone recently about old Volkswagens. I’ve done a bit of writing about those in my time, and some of the creative handiwork you see at VW shows is phenomenal.

It’s not wrapped up with spanners and welding to the same degree as Land Rovers (though there’s plenty of that side there too), but some of the clever ideas these guys bring to making their cars and vans look unique have to be seen to be believed.

There’s always been a tendency for Landy fans to look down their noses at the idea of making your vehicle look nice. There was some level of logic in that when everybody was just building trucks for off-roading, but more and more now people are thinking bling for their next project.

Now, I ended up in Land Rovers via the off-road side. But I think it’s great that people are starting to find ways of bringing out the character in their vehicles without necessarily turning them into hardcore mudpluggers. And I think the attachment people have to Land Rovers, certainly in this country, makes them perfect for a more creative approach.

One of the things you see at VW shows is that while tuning and racing are writ large in the culture, people love modding cars just to look fun.

One thing you really notice in them is a lack of the aggression that comes with so many modded vehicles.

Hardcore Landies can look scary, and I suppose the same can be said about blingers – if not in a threatening way, certainly a bit up-yours. But you can make a vehicle eye-catching without just flaunting your wealth – rat-look motors, for example, always draw them in at shows.

Of course, there’s a difference between rat-look and old shed. And heaven knows, there are an awful lot of Landies that have been allowed to turn into the latter.

These of course are the Landies we all love bringing back to life. Next time you’re starting on one, have a think about where you could take it.

Off-road is great, bling is fine: but if you were to visit a VW show or two, my guess is that you might come back home with some radical new ideas.

Alan Kidd, Editor

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Britain’s best Land

Autumn edition of the Great British Land Rover Show • Sunday 29 November • Donington

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he Great British Land Rover Show is back. And it’s going to be just the event to fulfil all your Landy needs throughout the winter!

Set to round off the season at Donington on 29 November, the show will continue its tradition of offering FREE entry for tickets booked in advance.

And being held on the last weekend before December means it will be the perfect place to shopping for bargains in the run-up to the festive season.

Whether you’ve got Landy-owning friends or want to bring your other half along to fish for ideas – or indeed your Land Rover itself is going to be the recipient of your generosity – you

won’t find a better place to kick off your Christmas shopping!

As before, the show is held indoors in Donington’s exhibition hall, so there’s no need to worry about wintry weather washing it out. And also as before, Bearmach will be back as headline sponsors of the country’s only indoor Land Rover show.

Who’ll be there? In addition to Bearmach, at the time of writing Goodwinch, 4x4 Overlander, Kahn Design, Raptor Engineering, Venture 4x4, Electric Winch Shop and Tune My Defender, plus many, many more, have all booked their places at the Great British Land Rover Show. So isn’t it about time you booked yours?

Readers’ Vehicles Concours Form

Fill out the form below for the chance for your Land Rover to star at the Great British Land Rover Show Name: Address: Phone: Email: Vehicle: Description of vehicle (info, history , mods etc):

I attach a photograph of my vehicle

I have emailed a photograph of my vehicle to enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk

When emailing pictures, please include your name and phone number in the message

If you prefer to email your whole application, please include all the information requested above, along with a photo of the vehicle, to enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk

Closing date for applications: 30 October 2015

Successful applicants will be notified by 6 November 2015

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

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rover show Is Back We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk

Park exhibition hall • FREE Entry when booked in advance • More Land Rovers Than Ever!

The free tickets are limited to one per household.

But don’t panic: it’s only £5 in advance even when you do need to pay, and paying on the day only costs £10. Try comparing that to some other shows where you’re not nearly as well looked after.

Under-14s get in completely free, too, and there’s no charge for parking.

Talking of how well you’ll be looked after, the hall at Donington

GREAT H S I T I R W B O H S R E V O R D N LA ington, 29 November 2015 Don

SORS E SPON IN L D A HE

.com armach e .b w ww

AT H GRE D C R A N SE SH LA BRITI R SHOW ROVE LINE ON

LIMITED FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE

has an excellent cafe and licensed bar, plus winter essentials like heating and toilets that didn’t arrive on a trailer.

And of course there’ll be more Land Rovers to feast your eyes on than you know what to do with. These will include some of the best to have appeared in The Landy over the last six months, as well as our famous readers’ vehicles concours – in which this time, your vehicle could be in the most prominent position yet...

Stay tuned for more details of that one. But in the meantime, why not fill out the form opposite and it could be your Land Rover that steals the show in November.

With more exhibitors than ever, all ready to offer you the finest Land Rover gear, November’s Great British Land Rover Show will surely get the festive season off to a flying start.

All the best Land Rover kit, parts and merchandise. Special show offers and exclusive deals. Find our exhibitor list online at www.greatbritishlrshow.com

THE END-OF-SEASON SHOW THAT’S GUARANTEED NOT TO BE RAINED OFF

FULL IDEAS OF THE F FOR ES SEAS TIVE ON!

APPLY ONLINE TO GET YOUR VEHICLE INTO THE SHOW

REGISTER ONLINE FOR YOUR FREE TICKETS TO THE SHOW*

*Limited to 1 free ticket per household.

Further tickets available at £5 in advance, £10 on the door, 10am - 4pm.

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Join our Facebook page for all the latest news about the show

www.facebook.com/ gblandrovershow

We’ll bring you our very own Show Guide in next month’s issue of The Landy, with more details on some of the exhibits as well as the tastiest Land Rovers with which you can expect to get up-close and personal. Don’t forget, if you act in advance you can get your ticket FREE – see you all there!

Classic and Modified Land Rover Display

www.greatbritishlrshow.com

10am - 4pm

So come along and help us see the season out in style! November’s Great British Land Rover Show is open from 10am to 4pm – all you have to do to book your tickets is pay a visit to www. greatbritishlrshow.com.

24A

Hemington Lockington

DONINGTON EXHIBITION CENTRE

Castle Donington

Kegworth

EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT A453

A453 M1 24

23A

@ Donington Exhibition Centre, Donington Park, Castle Donington, Derby, DE74 2RP. Just off the M1 junction 23a.

Seated restaurant and bar. A fully accessible venue for the disabled. FREE CAR PARKING

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£10,000 Defender toy set for launch Land Rover launched a new Defender at the recent Frankfurt motor show.

Oh yes it did. But no, not the one we’ve all been waiting for.

This is a Defender that isn’t powered by fossil fuels, or electricity. It’s powered by Ready Brek.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, form an orderly queue for the Defender pedal car. On sale next year through Land Rover dealers – at a predicted cost of (sit down) £10,000.

Powered by the legs of children it may be, but this is a hand-built piece of work that mimics the very best of Land

Rover’s heritage. Styled in homage to the earliest Land Rovers, this Pedal Rover will be built in the UK on a rolled–edge aluminium frame.

Said frame has its own chassis number, and you also get a personalised number plate for your ten grand. The vehicle can be pedalled forwards and backwards and has working springs and brakes – including even a parking brake, which is sure to raise a guffaw or two if you own a Defender of a certain age.

You’ll recognise things like chequer plating and cylindrical running bars from many a real Defender, and on the inside there’s an authentic style of dash-

board – though the amount of leather trim on it, as well as around the seats and doors, is more Rangey than Landy.

Rather wonderfully, the horn button works, too, so that your children can increase their popularity with those of lesser means by shooing them out of the way while careering around in their £10,000 toy.

‘This is both a wonderful collector’s piece and children’s toy,’ says JLR’s Director of Branded and Licensed Goods Lindsay Weaver. ‘It demonstrates our ability to produce goods with world class quality and attention to detail that can emulate our world class Jaguar and Land Rover cars.’

Land Rover delivers 450 vehicles for 2015 Rugby World Cup At the time of writing, the 2015 Rugby World Cup is about to kick off – with support from a fleet of 450 Land Rovers. Hosted in 12 different stadia in England, plus one in Wales, the event will also see the 20 teams using a total of 41 different bases – and as Official Vehicle Partner, it’ll be Land Rover’s job

to get the match officials, support staff and VIPs all from A to B throughout.

The specially liveried fleet includes Discovery Sports, Range Rovers, Range Rover Sports and Discoverys. Between them, the vehicles are expected to cover around 650,000 miles during the course of the 44-day tournament.

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

NEXT MONTH

Something’s Cooking: We take at look at why now is the best time to buy a Series Land Rover – and which TV chef owned this Gastrowagon at John Brown 4x4 PLUS

Rob Hallam loves his military vehicles and when we asked him if he’d show us around his WMIK Wolf Defender 110, he was only too happy to oblige

A two-door Range Rover Classic that has over 530,000 miles on the clock and was once used as a promo vehicle for the JPS campaign in the ‘70s – this is one Rangey with a whole lotta history!

NEXT MONTH’S LANDY IS PUBLISHED ON 26 October You can pick up your copy of our December 2015 issue from

newsagents or Britpart dealers – or read it 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, Gary Noskill, Paul Looe, Andrew Fisher Photographers Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm, Dawn Williamson

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.

Details are available at www. creativecommons.org The Landy is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby DE15 0YZ

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Tarox adds greater stopping power to Defender if you’ve got a defender, or something else running Defender axles, Tarox has launched a new range of brake pads and discs just for you. The Italian specialist says these are a direct replacement for OEM units – with ‘significantly greater performance and much less tendency to fade.’

Available for all Defender models, the uprated brakes come in a variety of forms including the spiral-grooved F2000 and diagonally vented G88.

There’s also a basic Zero version available without either of these options – ideal if you don’t want to spend extra money on grooves and vents that’ll be full of hard-packed mud and clay after your first session off-road. Either way, front discs are 298mm in diameter and rears are 295.

Each disc goes through a manufacturing process in which each machining cycle is followed by a session of structural stress-relieving heat treatment. This, says Tarox, increases their durability and ‘massively reduces the risk of warping under repeated heavy braking.’ On a 90 or 110 that hauls heavy trailers up hill and down

dale, that’s less of a luxury than it might at first sound, especially if it also runs bigger than standard tyres. If you’ve never experienced brake fade, rest assured it can be a very scary thing…

Whichever disc you go for, it will have been CNC machine-faced down to a tolerance of 0.015mm. That’s not just to give you an immaculate braking surface capable of optimum performance, but to ‘accentuate the overall look of the Defender.’

Obviously, there’s a whole lot of Defenders in the world whose overall look is one of crustiness, dents and dung splatters, but more and more owners have sussed that Land Rover’s best is actually capable of being ultra cool too. Safe to say that’s who Tarox has in mind with these discs, and with the Strada high-performance pads it offers to go with them.

These, says Tarox, provide ‘the perfect compromise for cars that are driven daily, with excellent cold performance, instant bite and great wear rates.’

How much will all this set you back?

A pair of solid front discs is priced

Britpart adds timing belt kits to fit Freelander and early Defender Britpart has introduced a new range of timing belt kits for the Freelander and Defender. These include the belt itself (an OEM item in each case) along with the relevant tenioners and, in the case of the Defender kit, gaskets.

Kits are available for the 1.8-litre Freelander 1 with the K-Series engine, with options on offer for units with manual and automatic tensioning.

Another kit covers the 2.0Tcie version of the same vehicle, and also of the Freelander 2, while the fifth is for ‘Defenders’ with the 2.5D and pre-Tdi 2.5TD engines.

Prices vary, but as a general guide you’ll find them at around the £25 mark. Which is a lot cheaper than not bothering to change your belt would turn out to be sooner or later. www.britpart.com

at £216 including VAT, while vented units cost £258 and pads are £90. If your axles are of the post-1990 variety, meanwhile, Tarox also offers full Sport

kits including 325mm discs, pads and 6-pot calipers, though with a price tag of £2100 per end you’d probably sooner just have a crash.

You’d need to be very into it to go to those lengths. But for full race trucks, the Sport kits would be just the ticket. www.tarox.co.uk

Universal-fit wheelarch extensions for any Land Rover FLEXIBLE WHEELARCH EXTENSIONS aren’t the first thing you think about when you plan a build. But once you’ve bolted on your new set of 37” gumbo mudders and there’s a traffic cop rubbing his hands at the end of your driveway, they soon will be.

We’ve seen all sorts used for this job, from bits of old conveyor belt to arches from the wrong vehicle. Which is exactly what they tend to look like when you’ve mashed them into place.

So wouldn’t it be good if someone would come up with a universal-fit flexi arch to suit whatever kind of Landy it is you want to modify?

It would, yes. And it is. Because 4x4 Goods has just introduced the Uni-Arch – an impact-resistance wheelarch which can be used on more or less any vehicle.

This comes in two sizes – 7” x 63” and 5” x 48.5”. That’s 178 x 1600mm and 127 x 1350mm in new money. In each case, the kit contains four lengths of flat material which you curve yourself to fit your vehicle and trim to suit with a sharp knife.

Before you go getting all cynical, no they didn’t just buy a huge sheet of rubber and chop it into bits.

‘They are open cast from a polymer-based material and then heat treated to achieve the correct resilience,’ says 4x4 Goods. ‘Each arch is individually cast here in the UK.’ So, it’s not rubbish from, you know, that country, the one that makes rubbish, it’s good stuff – and, having seen some of 4x4 Goods’ other kit in action, we wouldn’t hesitate to use it on a vehicle of our own.

The Uni-Arch is exclusive to 4x4 Goods and comes in a choice of black, blue and yellow finishes. In the 5” size, it costs £87.50 per pair or £155 for a set of four, while in 7” the prices are £109 and £198. www.4x4goods.com

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

Handy solar charging for USB devices

People have been known to use their Land Rovers’ electric sockets for charging all sorts of different things.

Some are more outdoorsy than others, but the most common of the lot is of course the humble mobile phone.

But what if your 12-volt outlets are all busy running sat-navs, fridges and so on? Or indeed if you’re one of those peculiar people who think there’s more to life with Land Rovers?

Well, Mobile Solar Chargers (MSC) has an answer. Incredibly, it’s a mobile solar charger.

What we’re looking at here is the MSC High Efficiency 15w 5v/2A Folding Solar Charger. It’s a device which can charge up to two mobile phones – or, intriguingly, be used with one of MSC’s power banks to store up power for another time.

This three-panel folding solar charger unravels from a space the size of a laptop bag, with the solar controller and USB port detachable from the solar panel to make it suitable for camping.

There are a handful of attachment points that give you good options when hanging the package from a rucksack, tent or vehicle, and all the charging ports are in a zip-up waterproof case for extra security.

The 15w panel and controller, which will charge anything with a USB slot, will commence charging as soon as it’s opened into the light and will generate up to 2amps – about the same as a mains USB socket.

The bonus, of course, is that solar energy is free! Actually, no, the bonus is the one-year warranty, which makes it that much easier to spend the £59.95 it takes to add one of these to your arsenal of gear for days out. www.mobilesolarchargers.co.uk

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Underbody protection for Land Rovers of all shapes and sizes

If you want underbody protection for your Land Rover, there’s a lot of choice available. Or at least, there is if you drive a Land Rover lots of companies make underbody protection for.

But what if yours is a Freelander 2 or Evoque, or even a Discovery Sport?

Not a lot of choice, you might find.

But over in Russia, there’s a company that makes underbody bash plates for more than just offroad vehicles. Rival, as it’s called, is a very big outfit – and with some of the roads in its home nation being rougher than a lot of green lanes are over here, it offers a vast range of options for pretty much every car on the market – even everyday saloons and hatchbacks.

Rival’s size means it can develop products at the sort of pace we’re frankly unused to over here. Hence the appearance of the Disco Sport in its range. And while these plates are primarily intended to help your vehicle shrug off a heavy knock from something hard, they can have other hidden benefits too.

A smoother underside means better aerodynamics, for example, which in turn means better fuel efficiency.

On vehicles with electronic security devices, too, having a large metal plate bolted over the top of them makes it a lot harder for thieves to get in there and do their dirty work.

Constructed in lightweight aluminium, the plates are finished

in an Italian polymer powder paint.

Both these things are good news when you consider the sustained attack they’ll come under the moment your local council starts chucking salt on the road – or you start grinding them against the rocks sticking up from your favourite lane.

Rival’s range includes plates designed to bolt in underneath your truck’s engine, gearbox and fuel tank.

The exact details of what’s available

depend on what it is you drive – but the good news is that in addition to the trio mentioned above, whether yours is a Disco, Rangey, Rangey Sport or even a good old Defender, Rival can help you keep it out of harm’s way. www.xs4x4.parts

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Ruggedised tracker helps get your stolen Landy back WE ALL KNOW HOW PREVALENT Land Rover theft has become. There’s never been a vehicle so tempting to pond-life who see the opportunity to strip them for parts.

Fitting a tracking device is one of the strongest lines of defence you can put up. But there’s the nagging worry that as with anything electronic, a life lived amid the mud, water and shuddering impacts of the off-road game is bound to be one in which there are stormy seas ahead.

Enter stage left Trafficmaster, with its new Trackstar TM470R. This is a ruggedised version of its latest realtime GPS tracking system, designed specifically for off-road vehicles on

which it’s likely to encounter more testing conditions.

Powered by an internal battery that provides more than eight hours of continuous tracking data independent of vehicle power, the TM470R is sealed to IP67 standard and has a toughened outer casing to cope with the rigorous demands of off-road use. It’s already to be found protecting heavy plant and agricultural vehicles, so however gnarly your truck is you shouldn’t be able to shake it to bits.

Trackstar is fully accredited by Thatcham and is approved by Land Rover as a genuine tracking product, and in the first six months of 2014 it helped recover stolen vehicles with a

total value of more than three million pounds. Whether your truck is taken away with a crane or driven off following the theft of your keys, it can help the police get it back – and given the pitiful insurance payouts we hear of all too often from people who’ve lost modified Land Rovers, that’s got to be worth thinking about. www.trackstar.co.uk

Uprated bushes for Evoque It’s hard to believe that the Evoque could already be coming to the point in its life where it might need new anti-roll bar bushes. But if you’ve got one that could do with a helping hand in this area, or you’d just like to enhance its handling beyond even the factory level, Powerflex has just added a new set of bush kits to its range.

These are actually designed primarily for the Mk3 Ford Focus, but they’ll suit anything on a related platform – and that includes the Evoque. Designed with a unique bore for maximum possible grease retention, the bushes enhance the anti-roll bar’s overall stiffness, keeping the vehicle’s suspension under greater control than ever.

A set of bushes for the front suspension costs £47.76, while those for the rear will set you back £45.24. Both prices include VAT. www.powerflex.co.uk

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A ground anchor to go with your high-lift If you’ve got a ground anchor, that means you’ve also got a winch. Right?

Not necessarily.

Not now that Britpart has come up with this nifty bit of kit, anyway. It’s designed to be used with a high-lift jack, and with a space anchor design it’ll dig itself more tenaciously into the ground the harder you pull.

The anchor can be broken down for stowage when not in use, so you don’t have to mount it awkwardly on your bonnet. Shop around for prices with the aim of getting down below the £200 mark and you’ll not be far off the money – though that only gets you the anchor and not the jack to go with it. www.britpart.com

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Exmoor Trim wheels out a design classic One of the most common things for a Landy owner to change is his truck’s steering wheel. Which kind of makes sense, because along with the driver’s seat it’s the bit you spend most time touching. Well, unless you own a V8, in which case it’s the filler cap, but you get the point.

Anyway, you often see Defenders looking slightly uneasy with miniscule wheels that look like they were robbed off a trackday car. But if you want to make the most of what is, after all, a timeless cabin, you should think about going with a timeless wheel.

And that’s a word you could use for Exmoor Trim’s Evander Wood Rim 15” wheel. Made using beech wood and solid rivets, and polished to the sort of finish you normally only see on Lionel Blair,

these 3-spoke beauties are designed to put you in mind of the best classic cars.

Something this elegant might look a bit out of place aboard an old pig-shifter. But it would enhance the historic feel of a well preserved or restored Series truck, and on a certain kind of Defender you could see it providing the finishing touch.

Exmoor Trim supplies these wheels as a complete kit, with a black boss and polished logo centre cap machined from solid billet. They come complete with all the bolt, nut and washer fittings you need – leaving you simply to select the boss you need (36-spline, 48-spline or 2015 Defender).

To answer your next question, the 36-spline unit fits all County and XS specification vehicles built between 1998 and 2007 – as well as earlier Defenders

from launch up to 1993, regardless of interior specification.

If yours is a 1993-1998 Defender or a base-spec vehicle from 1998-2008, or indeed dates from 2008 onwards, the 48-spline boss is the one for you.

Either way, all Exmoor Steering Wheels come with indicator cancel as standard.

‘We only use our own exclusive boss kits,’ says the company, ‘as we find many others often don’t turn off the indicators effectively and fitting of ours is exact.’

The wheel can also be used with Series II, IIA and III Landies, as well as earlytype Discoverys and Range Rovers that don’t have airbags. The wheel costs £227.50 plus VAT when bought with the 36 or 48-spline kit, or £237.50 with the 2015 Defender Boss kit. www.exmoortrim.co.uk

Heavy-duty bumpers for use without a winch It takes a rare kind of vehicle to look ‘finished’ without a bumper in place at either pole. But with nothing more than a chassis crossmember to finish off its posterior, the Defender is among them.

Up at the (relatively) sharp end, however, there’s nothing quite like a hardcore bumper to transform an anonymous looking 90 or 110 into a truck with attitude galore.

If you’re an off-roader, chances are you’ll want something that caters for a winch. If you just want a meaner looking bumper without the need for a winch tray, however, Bearmach’s new tubular bumpers could be for you.

These are designed for all Defender models and come in two finishes – black and silver. As well as adding some protection to the front end of your truck, you can opt for with finish with daytime running lights, giving you a greater presence either down the road or on the lanes.

Prices for the bumpers range from £189 for a standard silver or black unit to about £246 for the edition with daytime running lights. www.bearmach.com

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What does your oil say about you?

Britpart dealers are offering a new service performed by a leading oil condition monitoring lab. Called Lubetrend Analysis, it gains you a full report on the state of the oil in your engine or transmission, potentially alerting you to serious problems before they become critical.

A round of analysis is recommended every year as part of the everyday service regime on a road-going vehicle, or after every event in the case of motorsport. You might not go that far – but your Land Rover’s engine was a significant investment, whether or not it was in the vehicle when you bought it, so the knowledge to be gained from a service like this is not to be sniffed at.

The kit includes sample bottles, which you send off to the lab for testing, and the report which you receive afterwards. It won’t exactly be a fast-moving item with Britpart’s dealers, though at a typical price of less than thirty quid there are plenty of Land Rover drivers who’ll find themselves regretting one day that they didn’t take advantage of it. www.britpart.com

Those of us who still think the Defender is an off-road vehicle cringe when we see things like this. But Britpart has added a new option to its huge range of suspension kits – a 1” lowering coil set for the 110. Ideal if you want to make your truck handle like a hot hatch, tune it to burn off Cobras or fit wheels and tyres that look like they got kicked off the set of a rap video for being too bling. www.britpart.com

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FINE-ALLY TUNED

‘I STAYED UP THE NIGHT BEFORE TO TAX IT AT MIDNIGHT’

After toiling away for 27 months on a restoration job, you’d be pretty excited about finally getting behind the wheel. Naturally, Robert Fraser was prepared for a few teething problems when he started driving his Range Rover – but after some fine-tuning, all that effort is finally bearing fruit Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Robert Fraser

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his restoration business is a funny old game. We Land Rover enthusiasts can go about it in all sorts of ways, but however we do it we’re all trying to create the same thing – the dream Landy we’ve always craved.

The moment we can roll all our hard work off the driveway using nothing but the engine power rekindled from our tinkering hands is a moment we all yearn for. For the restorer, it’s like a carrot dangling in front of a donkey, keeping us going through the project until we reach our destination.

Some of us will lock ourselves away in the workshop and re-emerge some

weeks later, having barely slept and never showered. The neighbours will be wondering about calling the police to report us missing, and the wife will have left a note saying she’s more omfortable in the arms of Dave from last year’s Christmas party.

Others will carry on with normal life, maintaining relationships and personal hygiene, but will look to find perhaps just one spare moment a day to twist up a nut or bolt with the confidence that eventually, the project will come through to the other end of the tunnel.

Earlier this year, we talked to Robert Fraser. He had opted for the long game with his Range Rover Classic restoration. But very wisely, he wasn’t willing to let it become a job with no end – and after working on his Classic bit-by-bit

Above: Perhaps not everything will be returned to original in Robert’s Classic, but that’s because he wants it to be perfect for him - not some judge at a show

for the best part of 27 months, he set himself a deadline day of 1 June this year for the initiation drive.

So we’ve caught up with him to see if patience really is a virtue…

‘I stayed up the night before to tax it at midnight,’ Robert tells us. ‘I then took it out on 1 June, as planned, for its first drive – and it made it back under its own steam!’

Robert’s Classic was formally a British Embassy vehicle based in Saudi Arabia – or at least the door cards suggested that when, on closer inspection, the sand poured out of them! It also means Robert has had the pleasure of getting used to the steering wheel being on the wrong side, but that’s a small price to pay now…

‘The Rangey has now been on the road for several weeks and is running remarkably well. It’s even been out on the club off-road course at Newbourne,’ he continues.

‘There were a handful of issues to begin with, most notably the fuel tank having a lot of sediment in it which only got stirred up with the car being driven and blocked the carburettor jets.

‘The fuel tank had to come off and was washed out – problem sorted. Also the bonnet and tailgate kept springing open, a leaking axle oil seal, inaccurate speedometer and the headlamp aim was too low… all easily sorted, though.

‘It seems to be reliable now and I’ve gotten the hang of the left-hand drive.’

Most two-door Classics that are restored attempt to rewind time and appear like they first did when leaving Solihull. Robert, however, has realised that for his Rangey to fit the bill as a ‘pleasure’ vehicle, he’d have to make it into a Classic worthy only of him.

‘The suspension set-up consists of standard-spec 200Tdi Discovery (non anti-roll bar) springs front and back, while the self-levelling strut on the rear has been removed and there’s Terrafirma dampers all-round.

‘The springs give the car a firmer ride and help compensate for the extra weight of the front-mounted winch.

Body roll is minimal and I am very pleased with this set-up.’

Currently, Robert is riding on 225/70R16 road-pattern tyres on the front and all-terrains on the rear, which

is a combination you don’t come across every day. He does also have a set of Grizzly-Claws on Disco steel rims on standby, though. ‘There is no point in having a 4x4 if you’re not going to take it off the tarmac!’

So now it’s a vehicle that wants to behave itself, even at playtime. And Robert’s many months in the workshop have filled him with confidence in his old Rangey.

‘Seeing as it had been running nicely,’ he says, ‘I decided to use the Range Rover for a break in Norfolk. With three adults, one dog and every available bit of space crammed with camping gear, we set off. The car carried all the extra weight with ease and it didn’t even sag much on the rear!

‘I was very pleased with how the car handled and steered – which was, of course, even better once we had pitched camp and lightened its load!’

A total of 350 miles is a useful shakedown for any vehicle, yet alone a 31-year-old Range Rover that once contained handfuls of the Arabian Desert in its door cards! And it managed 20mpg over the piece, too.

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Above: It’s hard to believe that this is how the former British Embassy Rangey arrived to be in Robert’s possession. It was originally based in Saudi Arabia (the door cards are now sand-free), which meant he had to adjust to the steering wheel being on the wrong side of the vehicle. Still, he won’t exactly mind when he goes out laning in it and thinks back to the state is was before The day after returning, Robert did find that the fuel filter was being blocked by sediment. He’s now fitted a larger filter assembly, which also allows for easily changeable components, and he’s installed a new electric pump for good measure.

There’s even more good news on the plumbing front, too. ‘Another thing I was very happy to note was that the car didn’t fill up with condensation in the morning. And when it rained all day, it didn’t leak. Not that big a deal as the car normally lives undercover – but nice all the same!’

After more than two years of demonstrating the effect of idle hands, this Range Rover surely is the icing on the cake for Robert. And where he disappears into the sunset, or round the corner on one of Suffolk’s green lanes... well, almost.

‘The five-speed manual gearbox was proving to be a bit of a handful – second gear wants to hide from me all the time. So I have now acquired a ZF automatic gearbox and once I have assembled all the other associated parts, it will be fitted as soon as possible.

‘The car will go back on to SORN for this so that I don’t work to any deadline.

But other than the gearbox, I’ll draw a line under the project.’

Ah, the famous last words of any Land Rover owner. There’s a more important message here, though. While Land Rover enthusiasts will always keep their hands from being bored (it’s in our blood), make sure you stick at that project, no matter how long it takes.

Yes, even if it means your personal hygiene goes to pot. Because you know that when your own D-Day comes, you’ll turn the key and pull off your driveway… and you won’t give a damn how long it took to get there.

Above: An inaccurate speedo was just one of the foibles Robert experienced during his initiation drive. That, however, is easily fixable with his capabilities.

Below: A recent holiday to North Norfolk was enough to put 350 miles on Robert’s new toy, and to confirm that yes, it was worth every minute of those 27 months…

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The Soft Approach

Words and Pictures: Mike Trott

When Matthew Pike sold his soft-top 90, he quickly started having withdrawal symptoms. So when he saw that an old green Truck-Cab had been converted by Simmonites into this dazzling new red number, what do you think he did?

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couple of months ago, we featured a NAS 90 Defender belonging to the Dunsfold Collection. It’s one of the most desirable vehicles Land Rover has ever made.

The problem, as evidenced by the fact we were talking about a Dunsfold vehicle, is that in the UK these are very rare beasts. You could source one from America, but even there they make strong money – at the time of writing,

there’s a low-mileage 1995 one on offer with a dealer in New Jersey at (take a deep breath)… $99,990.

Then you ship it over, go through hoops to get it licenced for the road, start feeding a V8’s thirst, learn to live with the steering wheel being on the left, the V8 starts throwing wobblies about, you know, being a V8…

But for some people, it can only ever be a soft-top Landy that’s parked on their drive. And that’s how it was for Matthew Pike.

Having owned a 300Tdi 90 ragtop as his first Land Rover, Matthew went on to swap it in for a Td5 County Station Wagon. That was in 2007.

‘I’d swapped to the Station Wagon because it was newer and safer,’ says

Matthew. ‘In the previous Soft-Top, there were gaps in the doors big enough to see the road through and sliding windows were still in place. I soon started yearning for a Soft-Top back in my life, though!’

Problem is, they’re rarer than hen’s teeth. Aside from the odd special edition like the SV and SVX, plus of course those ultra-desirable NAS 90s, barely any ragtops have rolled out of Solihull in the last quarter of a century.

But if you can’t get the Landy you want, what do you do? You build it.

In Matthew’s case, actually, you buy one someone else built. No need for alarm bells in this case, though, because the someone in question was the celebrated Landy specialist

Left: There’s a few dark highlights around the vehicle, such as the Puma bonnet and black canvas roof, plus this popular KBX front grille

Simmonites. And what they built was a particularly gorgeous looking Td5 Soft-Top. This delicious 90 was actually a green Truck-Cab prior to Simmonites getting their hands on it. And when Matthew came along in December 2012, he knew this was the 90 for him.

‘The Land Rovers I’ve owned have always been 90s, and having driven and owned the old Soft-Top it was all I ever wanted again!’ he exclaims.

‘I like the boxy “squareness” of the 90s and how it manages to look big without really being big. It looks chunky, but is still fairly compact and is more manoeuvrable.’

It’s a shame that this ‘squareness’ is part of the reason why the current Defender is about to be axed, taking with it the definitive image of a 4x4 that has been with us for over thirty years.

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‘It’s quite a sedate form of the sport, which is fine with me’ Nevertheless, despite being a 2003 Td5 Defender this convert looks as bold and as tidy as one of the new age Defenders – but with less of the blingy garnish that can turn a great car into a garish one. It also carries one of the engines you’d actually want at the front of your Defender – the Td5 is arguably Land Rover’s most reliable unit.

With glossy black highlights placed carefully around the Evoque red exterior – the likes of the black Puma bonnet and KBX front grille, the black canvas roof and the chequer plating – Matthew finds himself with a real diamond in the rough.

It’s also a vehicle that does just about everything. It handles Matthew’s commute along the M69, yet with a nice set of Insa Turbo tyres fitted he can put it through its paces on the stuff that really counts.

‘It’s a little noisy in the cabin if my wife Ruth wants to make a phone call, but the tyres give me the best of both worlds,’ continues Matthew. ‘I like using the Defender for what it’s for, though – some people are surprised when I tell them I take it off-roading.

‘I get so many comments from people in the club (the Leicestershire and Rutland Land Rover Club, which Matthew goes green laning with) and from the public.

‘A few months ago, I came out from giving blood and there was an old ex-army 90 parked up next to mine. I took a couple of pictures, as you do, at which point the owner appeared. We had a bit of a laugh when he said he wouldn’t mind driving one like mine that looks a bit flashier, while I said I had always liked the old army 90s!’

Of course, anything Matthew drives would have to be a soft-top from now on. He uses his smart Defender on the Continued overleaf

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Above: Once a green Truck-Cab – now a tasty devilish red Soft-Top thanks to the work of Simmonites Below: While a NAS 90 with a V8 may sound like a good recipe, that concoction usually ends up causing you pain for one reason or another. Land Rover’s Td5, on the other hand, is one of the most reliable units the company have ever made

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Above: A steering guard is one of the few clues around this swish 90 that points to Matthew’s preferred weekend activities: laning and playdays Below: While the back may have become more weatherproof and gained a few seats in the process, the front remains a regular and comfortable Td5-era cabin

‘There were gaps in the doors big enough to see the road’ club laning trips and for the occasional pay and play site, one of the most recent being at Robin Hood’s Bay – a place which still possesses one of Matthew’s mud flaps to this day.

‘It was an off-road taster day at an off-road centre in Nottinghamshire that got me into this off-tarmac business,’ smiles Matthew. ‘If someone had said to me you’ll have loads of fun driving round a field at 5mph, I’d have laughed at them! I was amazed at how good it was.

‘I think the most enjoyable thing about off-roading is going places noone else goes, and the other part is the challenge. It’s quite a sedate motorsport, which is fine with me because I’ve never been a particularly fast driver. My nerve is going to give out before the truck does.’

And while Matthew is busy driving (sedately) in places few people will ever experience, he can also do it in style with a Defender set up like few other Land Rover owners will ever have. And of course, it’s every bit as stylish wherever it happens to be.

And not just wherever but whenever, too. The summer of 2015 won’t exactly go down in record as a scorcher – but whenever the day does turn out worthy of those back and sides being rolled up, Matthew and his 90 will be ready and waiting.

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The Flat of the Land Having spent almost four decades in an Army warehouse, this Series IIA popped out of a timewarp when it was sold into civvy hands. As luck would have it, the hands in question belonged to an owner with a clear vision of what he wanted to do with it – and the skills to make the project happen

Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Adam Norton

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lot of people assume that customising vehicles is a relatively new thing. But whether it was Brits putting old Spitfire engines in hot rods after the war or Americans building speedsters out of 14-litre fire engines almost a century ago, it’s been going on almost as long as cars have existed.

And true to form, for as long as there have been Land Rovers, there have been people customising and modifying them. The first was Land Rover itself, actually, when it shipped a Series I off to Tickford – and the rest is history.

The Series IIA in these pictures is from a few years after that. But it’s a good example of very practical customisation – not done to yield an off-road champion, just a better, more usable Land Rover than the Truck-Cabs of the day. And it was done very, very well.

It cropped up recently at Norton Automotive, for whose proprietor Adam Norton looking for Land Rovers that are different and a bit interesting is all part of the fun of his job. It’s fair to say that that’s what he found – because there can be few Land Rovers out there combining such uniqueness with this particular truck’s practicality as a workhorse.

‘The guy we bought this off was the first owner after the Land Rover was demobbed in 2013,’ explains Adam. ‘It was an old ex-MOD Marshalls ambulance that the guy wanted to turn into something a bit more useful.’

Ambulances can provide a great base for camping conversions. But if you don’t really need all that excess body lumbering around behind you, and the whole military classic thing isn’t your bag, it can soon feel like a hindrance.

Left: A flatbed that looks fit for some of the finest antiques – that’s what the previous owner created here, though it was Adam who finished the vehicle in this classic Deep Bronze Green and stained the wood of that commodious loadspace. A great finish to a great vehicle

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Right: A 2.25-litre petrol engine that’s only covered 1400 miles… yes, that’s correct – and how many of these engines could boast those sort of figures today? It was clearly never the favourite to drive around the barracks so it sat there for about four decades.

While the mileage isn’t confirmed, the fact you can still see the machining holes on the cylinders gives some validity to the claim From the cab forward, this flatbed is as original as they come. But looking out through that rear window now reveals something much more… or indeed less!

‘The rear is from a 2014 Defender,’ reveals Adam. ‘It’s a project that the old owner built up entirely by himself.

‘It was a standard Army green colour when it came to us. But I have since painted it in Deep Bronze Green and the wood at the back has been stained to finish it off.’

Norton Automotive sees a lot of Land Rovers, as a quick look at their website reveals. Pay a visit and you’ll see that Adam also specialises in another great British marque with a reputation for… well, it had a reputation. I speak of the late, lamented TVR. Sorry if I just sent a shudder through you with that one. But who among us doesn’t just love the smell of mastic in the morning?

Moving hastily back to the matter in hand, the Landy’s previous owner was obviously very passionate about his truck – as well as being extremely handy in the way he went about converting it.

‘The guy was very technical,’ says Adam. ‘He must have been to carry out all this work.’

He must have known what he was doing as a buyer, too – because hard as it is to believe, this Series IIA has only covered 1400 miles!

Yes, one thousand four hundred. We didn’t miss a zero out.

‘The speedometer reads 1400 miles,’ says Adam, and when I first realised this I was thinking “this can’t be right”.

‘However, you can still see the machining marks holed out on the cylinders, so it’s believed to be correct.’

It stands to reason, then, that this IIA is going to drive like one that’s just left the factory. Which if you count four

decades sat in an MOD warehouse as a form of limbo, it more or less has.

‘It drives really well,’ confirms Adam.

‘The steering’s tight and the brakes are good as well.’ This is a man who knows

Above: Maybe it looks rather old fashioned, but that rear structure is actually from a 2014 Defender. Spirit level precision too

what the steering and brakes on TVRs are meant to feel like, let’s not forget.

The 2.25-litre petrol engine won’t pull quite the same as a Griffith, on the other hand. It will probably run sweeter, though – especially as Adam gets the impression the previous owner really loved what he’d created.

The original four-speed ‘box is still in place, along with 12v electrics and a working pair of fuel tanks. A couple of extra touches were added, including a bull bar and a set of Wolf rims, though

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the Michelin XZLs mounted on them can be counted as a very significant nod to the vehicle’s military heritage.

But really, when you look at this Land Rover it’s all about the flatbed body on the back. Doing anything so invasive to a timewarp classic is sure to cause a few furrowed brows here and there – but starting with the best you can find is a firm footing for any project. And in this uniquely customised utility Land Rover, it’s a strategy that has worked to perfection.

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Modifying your Land Rover normally costs money. But when you remove the bumpers from a Disco 2 and replace them with heavy-duty units, selling the originals might actually turn you a profit

I Above: Fragile? Is that meant to be a joke? This is the bumper as it came out of its crate, with fog lights already in place and Extreme 4x4’s rotating recovery eyes ready to be fitted Right: Obviously, being that they rotate, the recovery eyes have moving parts.

Rather than just lobbing them on and waiting for the squealing noises to start, give them a generous coating of copper grease first Below: Prior to starting work, the roadwheels are off and the vehicle is up in the air.

Waiting to come off is the front bumper itself, along with its supporting metalwork, the tubular guard piece between the main rails and the separate lower front sections of the inner wheelarch which are visible here

Left: Looking more closely into the arch, the separate front inner portion is more apparent. As you can see, it’s screwed to the remaining wheelarch section and the valance. Don’t expect it to just fall away obediently when you free off the most obvious set of fixings – it’s attached at the bottom edge, too. Note the evidence of penetrating oil being used higher up – at this stage of the job, this stuff is your closest friend Below: With the front section of the inner arch removed, this is what you’ll find. At least, you will once the fog light wiring, breather pipes and washer jets have been disconnected. You can see the brackets holding the bumper to the chassis main rails here

f you’re prepping your Land Rover for off-road use, a normal part of the project is to fit it with heavy-duty bumpers.

This is a little less crucial if yours is a Defender or Series truck, but a Range Rover or Discovery is definitely going to want some beefing up if you want to use it properly – especially if you’ve already modded its suspension to let it get to more extreme places.

But there’s another reason why it might make sense to swap your original bumpers for a more hardcore set.

As you can see here, we’re looking at a Discovery 2 in this article, which is receiving new heavy-duty steelwork front and rear from Extreme 4x4. Give or take a few quid, that’s around £750’s worth of kit. Fine. But when the owner of this particular Disco got home, he was taken aback by what happened when he put his old bumpers on eBay. Naturally, what happened first was that a few of the usual eBay chancers contacted him offering peanuts. ‘You can’t tell who I am from my user name,’ he told us. ‘But one of the messages I got was from a guy whose name was very familiar – he’s in the same club as me! “I can give you £150 today.” I did have some fun with him over that one!’

Just as well, too. Because accepting that sort of money for a Discovery 2 front bumper would be absolutely giving it away.

‘It was shortly after a cold snap in the middle of winter,’ the car’s owner went on. ‘I got one message after another from people saying they had had low-speed skids, bumped into things and shattered a corner of their bumper.

‘Seriously, I could have sold it ten times over, and being silver mine was in even more demand. It ended up making over £750, and when the rear one sold too I’d made close to a grand.

Continued overleaf

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Above: We pointed out the main brackets holding the bumper shell to the chassis in the previous picture. These should be the last things you free off: before doing so, check that everything else has been undone or disconnected. Remember the splash tray between the main rails, too Left: With the bumper shell out of the way, it’s much easier to remove the remaining fixtures and fittings. Here, you’re looking at one of the two collapsible alloy ‘crush cans’ on the end of the chassis main rails which absorb energy in lower-speed impacts. Note also the guard bar which runs between the main rails: this simply unbolts and drops away

Above: Tucked into a corner just behind the bumper on the vehicle’s nearside, the washer bottle hangs down fairly low. There’s a feed from it to the headlight washers, which will become redundant when you fit your new bumper; remove the extra plumbing runs and seal this pipe just after the pump to prevent leakage Above Right: The indicator assemblies need to be removed in order to fit the new bumper (which, as you can just see here, has been offered up here as a dry-fit). Why? Because doing so releases the lower trim strip at the bottom of the headlamp, which is necessary to get at the fixings holding the lower edge of the radiator grille in place. If you’re sat there wondering how on earth the assembly actually comes away, search out the small screw hidden in the plastic bracket at the top of the indicator

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Above: With this removed, you can get the indicator out – the hole it leaves is clear to see here. This picture also shows the retainer joining the bottom of the indicator to the lower trim strip – this is why the housing needs to be lifted away in order to slide the strip free ‘It was easily more than I’d paid Extreme 4x4 for their heavy-duty bumpers – which, once they were on, I was very happy with.’

Being a Discovery 2, this particular Landy needed a little more than just a few bolts spinning off and tightening back up again to get the bumpers on.

But it’s a job that won’t be beyond the vast majority of owners.

As always, preparing for the task in hand will make it that much easier. Get in there first with the pressure washer, then follow this up with a good spray of 3-in-1 or WD40 so the fixings will be that much easier to crack off – it might not be a crusty old Series III you’re working on, but even the newest Disco 2 is more than a decade old now and that’s plenty of time for nature to do its evil work below decks.

After this, you’ll be removing the valance/bumper assembly itself, the metalwork that supports it and fixes it to the chassis dumb irons, the tubular guard piece between the main rails and the removable separate lower front sections of the inner wheelarches.

Externally, you’ll need to remove the radiator grille, and to let you do that also the battery cover, the plastic trim Below: Here’s the new bumper held roughly in place on its bolts during the necessary dry-fit stage. This is when you’ll get a feel for how much of your radiator grille and lower frame needs to be trimmed away to make space for your winch of choice

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Above: The rear bumper is fixed to two brackets on the outside of the main chassis rails. Before you ask, no Land Rover didn’t run the wiring loom through the ribs in the bumper shell and attach them using cable ties as standard: this particular bodge happened four years after the Disco in these pics was built, after it had suffered some sort of rear-end impact. We know the date because the replacement bumper still had a Solihull stores label on it Left: As you can see here, one of the mounts was slightly distorted in whatever shunt the Disco suffered.

Would have been interesting to see the sort of state the bumper itself ended up in – but either way, whoever drove into it should be glad he did it before the Extreme 4x4 unit went on in its place…

Above: Viewed from behind the new bumper, you can see how close a fit it is around the washer bottle. So much so that if you ever need to change the bulb in the fog light on this side, it’s likely that one or the other will need to be moved from above the headlights, the indicator assemblies and the lower headlight surrounding trim.

Extreme 4x4 offers these bumpers with a choice of driving lights or fog lights, with this one having the latter.

The connectors for the wiring needed to be changed, which is a small job in the greater scheme of things and provides a nice finishing touch to a bumper any Disco owner ought to be happy with.

Left and Right: The Extreme 4x4 back bumper is designed to use the tail lights harvested from the old Land Rover unit. These slot into a pair of recesses, inboard of which are eyes for use with a high-lift jack

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Heaven is a place on Earth If you love adventures, you need to have Iceland on your must-do list. For Land Rover owners, this really is the closest thing to heaven

Words: Andrew Fisher Pictures: Dawn Williamson

T

he day started like any other.

After breakfast, we set off into the Icelandic interior from the north. We were heading towards Route One and the ferry port at Seydisfjordur, where we were to meet the members of our expedition team.

We had decided to follow a route which is remote, mountainous and very beautiful. By late afternoon, we were presented by a succession of river crossings – one of which was a deep, wide glacial outflow. There was only one thing for it – get out and wade.

The water was bitter and, while not too deep for our Discovery 4, it was flowing rapidly. So with low gear and raised suspension, we put our faith in Terrain Response.

Soon, it was crashing over the Disco’s bonnet and spraying up its sides. This was no everyday river crossing. It was a battle, hard work for man and machine, but finally we got to the other side.

We’d made it.

With a sense of achievement, we continued deeper into the mountains. Only

a couple of hours to go, we thought, before reaching our campsite.

It was early July and the weather had been warm and dry. But up at nearly 3500 feet, there was plenty of snow.

As we descended into a small valley, a bank of the stuff was stretched across our path some 100 metres across, with tyre tracks criss-crossing it. There was no way around and to turn back would have meant a four-hour detour. We had to cross it!

I walked my intended route. The snow was firm, making only slight crunching sounds beneath my feet.

We started well, the snow crackling as we gently drove over it – but then we started to sink. I threw the selector into reverse and we made it back out, took another look and went for it again… but this time we sank properly.

And there we were, still more than 100 feet from the other side. In the wilderness, on our own and well and truly stuck. We tried our air jack and snow ladders, all to no avail. And then it started snowing again, the wind picked up and the temperature began to drop.

Well, we wouldn’t even have been there alone without a winch. But trees?

Oh no, not up here. Out came the shovel, and we buried the spare wheel to use as a ground anchor. Thankfully, it worked.

A couple of days later, we were at the quayside waiting for the Norrona car ferry to disembark. The Landies this expedition were a Disco belonging to Neil and Jane and a Defender 110 crewed by Mick and Liz, plus of course our D4.

Heading off from the docks, we left ‘the One’ (the main circular road around Iceland) and headed deep into the interior along the F910. A designated 4x4-only route, this twists and turns through a dark grey desert landscape, void of vegetation. In the distance we kept catching glimpses of the vast eastern edge of Vatnajokull – the largest glacier outside of the polar icecaps.

In the evening, we drove the short distance to the foot of Kvertjokull, a glacial tongue accessed via a mixture of desert and lava sand – plus a few challenging rock crawls. What an amazing first day – great driving, and stunning scenery around every corner.

In the morning we drove towards Herdubreid via the epic caldera of Askja. The route took us through long

stretches of soft sand, mountain passes, deep gorges and an immense lava field, which fills the whole landscape. In places the lava was up to 30 feet above our heads, dwarfing the vehicles; with its twisted and tortured black and red rock, it was a reminder of a tumultuous past – and, Iceland’s geology being what it is, an equally dramatic future to come.

Travelling west from Askja, we rejoined the F910 heading deeper into the

wilderness. The track was less defined and noticeably more challenging; a combination of deep sand, rocks, water crossings and the inevitable lava fields made it a very enjoyable drive requiring concentration – not only from the driver, but also the navigator.

Our route took us off the F910 and on to a ‘non-maintained’ track north to Myvatn. This turned out to be reasonably easy to navigate, but extremely slow due to the amount of rocks – we

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arrived after taking six hours to cover forty miles!

En route from Myvatn to Akureyri, we called at the spectacular Godafoss waterfall. Further on, the road begins to skirt the eastern edge of Eyjafjordur, affording stunning views of the snow-capped mountains reflected in its crystal clear waters.

After a short stop in Akureyri, a delightful city on Iceland’s north coast, we once again ventured deep into the interior. The route soon changed from tarmac to the more familiar rough track – and this further deteriorated as we began to climb to 1000m in altitude. We followed the valley floor, criss-crossing small mountain streams and at times driving along river beds.

In the sunshine, the lush green vegetation on the valley bottoms was in stark contrast to the dark grey landscape. Our campsite for the night overlooked the Hofsjokull glacier and had a geothermic heated pool with water at 40 degrees – a great way to round off the evening!

The following morning, we joined the F752 heading north along a high plateau route. The landscape was desolate, void of vegetation, and landmarks were all but non-existent – with the exception of Hofsjokull, a large glacier to the west which stayed in view for most of the day.

Next came an unmarked 30-mile mountain track with a series of steep gradients. As we started one descent, we noticed two young men standing

by the side of the track, waving. These two lads, who were from Holland, had managed to get their hired Suzuki stuck up to the axles in a muddy bog a short distance away. They were very happy to see us, especially when Neil (whose Disco was fitted with mud tyres) picked its way through the wet ruts to winch them free.

We camped by the towering waterfall of Seljalandfoss and, after waking up to its roar, once again ventured into the

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interior at Porsmork via the F249 – and more than 60 river crossings! From here we headed for Landmannalaugar, via a track described by some locals as the best 4x4 route in Iceland. Approximately 15 miles long, this combines river and gorge driving with sand and rock and includes some very technical ascents and descents – as well as providing amazing views of Eyjafjallajokull, the volcano whose eruption in 2010 grounded air traffic across Europe.

By the end of the day, we had driven 60 miles of rough terrain, seen some incredible sites and crossed countless rivers. We had also seen our first grassfilled valley, with a carpet of brilliant white cotton plants waving to us in the wind as we passed.

We spent the night at Landmannalaugar, famed for its stunning mountain scenery and naturally hot river, then travelled south on the F208. By late afternoon, we arrived at the coastal village of Vik which boasts a jet black beach, stunning cliffs, sea caves and petrified ‘Trolls’ – basalt stacks left sticking up offshore by an ancient cliff collapse.

A disconcerting fact about Vik is that it’s perfectly positioned to take a direct hit from the glacial flash flood that’s likely to follow an eruption of Katla.

The couple of hundred people who live here are trained to run for the village

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church at the first sign of activity, as it’s the only building on high enough ground to escape the 9.4 million cubic feet of water that thunder out of the glacier at the peak of an eruption.

Katla’s last big eruption happened 97 years ago. Prior to that, the longest known gap between eruptions was…

95 years. Super.

The following morning, the Three Trolls bade us farewell as we began our journey east along the One, squeezed between the coast to its south and magnificent cliffs and mountains to the north.

Pausing at Skaftafelljokull, we sat watching pure white clouds cascade down from the Vatnajokull glacier and, as they merged into the rays of the setting sun, tiny rainbows appear before being extinguished by the shadows.

What an incredible sight to witness.

That would be a good verdict on Iceland itself, actually. It’s a landscape that makes you stop and stare, not just at its stunning beauty but its sheer other-worldliness. During our expedition, we met some wonderful people and saw some wonderful scenery. And we had driven some really, really wonderful trails.

The authors run Venture 4x4, a company specialising in Icelandic expeditions as well as off-road and winch training. You can find them at www.venture4x4.co.uk.

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The Project Has Landed: Part Two F

oreword: Fitting a Land Rover restoration into your everyday life can prove tricky – especially when you’re doing it on your driveway. Weather, work and mechanical warbles can all put a stop on the best-laid plans. Perseverance is essential here – as Nicky Smith illustrates in the second chapter of his story.

Previously, Nicky recounted the moments that led to him buying an FFR Series III 109 and his initiation to what was an extensive project, from removing clutter and deep cleaning to deciding what bits of the truck to keep. This month, we pick up the tempo as he gets his head down into the guts of the project. It’s not always pretty – but, as always, the journey is worth it…

Words and pictures: Nicky Smith

A

couple of weeks after I became the proud owner of a very sorry looking old ex-military Land Rover, a letter arrived from the Heritage Motor

Centre confirming its date of birth: my 109 came off the line at Lode Lane on Monday 8 August 1983.

Having a letter like this is very helpful when you’ve got an old heap and you’re working towards putting it back on the road. The DVLA trusts what the HMC says, so it’ll help you get your

Above: The colour of metal you don’t want to see - that is unless you make a business out of welding. The footwell is the culprit here, but Nicky soon sorted this out, or he did after the welder was stripped of the rusty wire in that too!

Landy registered once the rebirth is complete and the MOT man is happy.

For me, though, that happy day was still a long way in the future as I continued the job of stripping down what was still a very sorry old vehicle.

Buying a couple of new batteries, for example, sounds like a positive step – but I only did it because I wanted to see if any of the Landy’s electrics actually worked!

With a couple of days off work, though, at least I could look forward to cracking on with some much-needed welding. Or at least I could, until the heavens opened and the rain started.

That’s one of the hazards of working on your driveway.

My initial plan had been to weld up the holes in the passenger’s footwell, so before the rain began to fall and I fled inside to scour eBay for second-hand parts, I had set to work on popping off the (dented to death) nearside wing.

I disconnected all the wiring for the lights and figured out a bolt at a time exactly where they should be located,

each time thinking “well that should come off now” before discovering it still wouldn’t.

Also while taking off the wing, I realised that the front bumper was in a bad state and was going to need replacing. Needless to say, the bolts holding it in place didn’t see it that way, but after a lengthy wrestling match involving a wheel brace and brute force it finally yielded.

Now I could get a decent shot at the footwell, having ground it back to bare metal to give me something to work with. But no joy: the machine wouldn’t work. It took me some time to figure out why the feed wasn’t playing – turns out that the top couple of layers of wire had gone rusty! Thinking about it, the last time I used my welder had been four years previously, so that was hardly a surprise.

With the rusty wire stripped out, we were in business and soon I had a holefree floor. I also had a set of over-enthusiastic welds that needed to be ground back down, but that was the point when

the rain started. If ever there was a case for renting a lock-up…

In other news, my 109 was fitted with the much sought-after Arctic heater, as in the one that actually keeps the cabin warm. It was much sought-after by everyone but me, though: there were bits of it all over the place, and I really didn’t see myself having a need for it in what is meant to be a hobby vehicle, so I decided to strip the whole thing out once the bodywork was sorted. The standard heater, meanwhile, was full of rust holes, but I managed to repair that and once refitted it worked perfectly.

Prior to any of that happening, anyway, I had the small matter of a chassis to attend to. It was the soundest thing about my truck, but I wanted to keep it that way so while the body was off, I painted as much of it as I could get at before then (and this really is no job for the faint-hearted) getting stuck in with the underseal.

If you’ve never done this before, you wouldn’t believe what a horrible job it is. I have, and even I had forgotten just

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Above: The picture on the left shows just how dented and broken this Landy was before being found by Nicky. And when you see something as disfigured as this wing, you know it’s going to give you hell when trying to prise it from the rest of its body. However, as you can see on the right, Nicky did – and he set about filling in the gaps in the footwell and thus halting any further corrosion. For the time being, at least… how much of a mess the stuff makes.

You think you’re being really careful but it still ends up all over you.

It’s worth it, though. Having suffered my way through the job, I had a chassis and bulkhead that looked as good as new (and, with no rust in them at all, might as well have been).

That’s a pretty good basis for any project. And another reason for going all the way back to a bare chassis is that you see things which might otherwise go unnoticed.

While undersealing, for example, I saw that the exhaust had been more or less completely flattened in one

area under the chassis. Annoying, but better addressed now than later as it would be a pig of a job once the wing was back on as it meant freeing off the exhaust bolts at the manifold.

After the undersealing experience, painting the body in primer was quite a pleasant job. In preparation for this, I

pulled out the headlights (which were, naturally, full of water) and gave the engine bay a good scrub down before turning my attention to the roof.

This was still showing the signs of having spent years sat stationary in the corner of a field, as there were several layers of mould and dirt to be

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Above: Turning his attention to his Series III’s underbody, Nicky got the underseal out and quickly remembered how messy the whole thing gets… Eventually, you’re lying under your Land Rover blowing bubbles of the stuff. It is a job that is satisfying once done, though Right: This is the roof of Nicky’s 109 and it’s where he has spent copious amounts of hours, scrubbing the thing down until it was ready for a more relaxing treatment in the form of a coat of primer. It’s when you start seeing the external colour change that you realise the progress is finally being made removed. So that made for some further scrubbing, followed by an attack of sandpaper – which also happened to the bonnet.

Then, finally, it was time to prime.

I set to using a cheap gloss roller, as I had read somewhere that there work quite well on metal. Seeing as this old motor will never be a show car, I thought I would give it a go – and I have to say that yes, it does work very well! Don’t expect to get it all done

in one pass, though – three coats is a decent rule of thumb.

Painting your wagon is normally something that comes at the end of a project, rather than as early as the second instalment, but it made a huge difference – and it was really nice to see some progress on the outside of the Land Rover rather than just underneath it! Besides, if you’ve got some nice looking panels waiting to go back on after all the donkey work, seeing

them sat there in the corner has got to give you more of a boost to keep working than if they still look like a relic from a forest floor!

For those of you who would like to hear the full escapades from Nicky’s time rebuilding his Series III, or if you can’t wait to hear how he gets on with the rest of the project, you can purchase a copy of The Project Has Landed… from Amazon, at www.amazon.co.uk

38 USED LAND ROVERS FOR SALE w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

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Issue 20: Nov 2015

Series II

brake and clutch master cylinders, rad, recon injectors and pump, new battery, lights all round, new starter motor, top-quality seats.

FWH and draw bar. £5500. Stanton Harcourt, Oxon, 01865 883208 or 07769 824913 07/15

Series IIA 88” (1967). 11 months’ MOT, free tax. Chassis and bulkhead in very good, solid condition, all bodywork straight and not dented. Rover 3.5 V8 engine with twin SU carbs. Range Rover diffs. Kenlowe fan. Parabolic springs. Deluxe seats in front and two bench seats in rear. Kingpin 7.50x16 tyres with loads of tread left. New clutch (complete) and electric fuel pump, brakes overhauled with new shoes and cylinders, new back box. Owned for 5 years, V5 with 3.5 engine on it, loads of other paperwork including Heritage certificate.

Very reliable, drives and stops very well. £5750. Kingswood, Bristol, 07843 759224 11/15

Classic Series II 109” pick-up (1964). 97,500 miles. Tax-free, with MOT. Perkins engine in excellent condition. Comprehensive restoration with chassis repairs, new brakes, wheel cylinders,

Series II 2.25 petrol (1959).

Fully restored to pristine condition on galvanised chassis with reconditioned engine, gearbox etc. Far too much to list. £24,000 or sensible offers. 07721 967591 11/15

Series IIA 88” (1965). For sale due to not being used. Professionally rebuilt using a Series III donor, so has later wheels, engine (2.3 petrol) and gearbox. Would benefit from cosmetic restoration inside. Can be driven away, used and enjoyed, but has scope for an enthusiast to restore to original Series IIA if desired. Current seats are far from standard, but I have a brand new set; all three cost £200-plus, but will sell for £150 if desired. £2995. Hertfordshire, 07749 444590 11/15

Series III

Series IIA Forward Control (1964). For repair. 47,507 miles.

In reasonable order but requires repairs to make it roadworthy so would most likely suit an experienced enthusiast. ENV axles and FWH. Early 2.5 nat-asp Defender diesel engine – not fuel plumbed nor ancillaries connected, condition not guaranteed, however a good used Discovery 2.5 Tdi, including all ancillaries, is available for £250.00. Registered as a tractor and used for forestry; tax and MOT exempt. Offered for sale in ‘as is’ condition. £4475.

Kilwinning, Ayrshire, FCLR@ Canada-11.com 11/15

Series IIA 88” Truck-Cab (1967). Two owners, last one since 1981. In regular use, starts and runs though the steering is a bit hit and miss – could be a worn rack or ball joints. It’s a complete vehicle and would make an ideal restoration project. £3000.

Oswestry, Shropshire, 01691 682677 11/15

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and brake lines are brand new. 4 brand new Pirelli Dakar tyres on powder coated wheels and the clutch cylinder is new. Body was hand-painted and could be better – but all body panels are straight and original. £4500. Burton on Trent, 07973 682402 11/15

Brand new wheels with General Grabber TR tyres. The attention to detail and workmanship are exceptional, and it drives better than any Series vehicle I have driven. Serious offers considered. £14,999. Glenrothes, Fife, 07463 507099 09/15

Series III 109 (1973). Complete one-off – quite simply one of the best Series III 109s for sale. Fully rebuilt on a heavy-duty military chassis, with every component new or reconditioned. Only the best materials used throughout.

2.5 petrol Turner Engineering engine (just over 4000 miles on it), fully reconditioned 4-speed gearbox, new Fairey overdrive.

Hand-made coachbuilt body panels in 3mm alloy, all flawless with not a single dent anywhere.

The rear is done in stainless steel with built-in lockers on either side and ready to be customised to suit. Custom alloy safari roof, stainless steel sills, side steps, seat bases (with Mercedes seats) and custom front bumper with spotlights. Fully rewired.

Exmoor Trim carpet set and door cards, custom alloy dash with LED lighting, custom storage boxes in driver’s and passenger’s floors, rear bulkhead removed.

Series III diesel (1983). In need of restoration. Requires gearbox to be fitted (there are two with the vehicle) and new diff, plus brakes, seats etc. Bodywork and chassis in excellent condition for age. Was stored under blankets in a garage for 10 years, now selling as a relative has passed away. £1750 ono, Somerset, pgev123@btinternet.com, 01278 723745 11/15

Series III 109” SW (1981).

Petrol. MOT April 2016. A little bit tired, but solid. Starts and runs fine. £1600. Newton Aycliffe, Durham, 07801 885273 11/15

Series III 109” Safari (1979).

Major restoration just completed, passed MOT on 11 September.

Isuzu Trooper 2.8 TD engine starts first time and pulls like a train – it has no electronics whatsoever and is bullet proof. Faultless, silent LT77 5-speed gearbox with full-time 4wd and locking centre diff. New parabolic springs and shocks. Defender PAS box fed

by Isuzu pump. Front axle disc brake conversion. Vacuum brake servo fed from Isuzu alternator.

Brand new bespoke exhaust front to back. New clutch cylinder.

Modified Ford reclining front seats with headrests. Chassis has no rot and has been rustproofed. Fuel tank sealed with POR-15. All fuel

Series III 88” (1984). Solid chassis, new MOT (no advisories).

Ex-coastguard with factory-fitted winch in full working order with brand new rope. Three front seats with belts and roll bar in the rear. I do have two sets of folding bench seats which can be put in

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the rear, but have never fitted them as the roll bar takes so much space, however it can easily be unbolted and removed if desired.

Bank of switches from coastguard use, plus leather gaiters which have kept the swivels in good condition. New rear springs.

Clear of rust, however bodywork is fairly rough, passenger’s side front wing is dented and was badly filled by previous owner.

A few drips of oil from various places. £3000. Deanshanger, Bucks, 07779 588695 11/15

Lightweight

Series III Lightweight soft-top (1983). 40,000 miles. MOT Oct 2015. Good overall condition for age, with some dents and wear and tear, Good canvas and no leaks. Starts well, has had a new carb, back floor and bench seats put in. Brought back to life two years ago after being a barn find.

Minor engine squeak from a dry push rod – I’ve been quoted £90 to fix it. Will also need a new light switch inside and a new speedo cable. New motorway commute forces sale. £4500. Swindon, 07930 323814 11/15

Minerva

GUMTREE 4x4 SpecialiStS in land rover, range rover, diScovery, freelander and all 4x4s servicing, repairs, conversions, rebuilds & chassis replacements. performance and off road modifications. established in 1981, located in mid-sussex

tel: 01444 241457

Minerva TT (1952). Belgian Army medical officer’s car. LHD. Extensive restoration. Prize winner (2nd in class) in 2012 London to Brighton Historic Commercial Vehicle Run, then 1st in class in 2014. £7500. East Sussex, 01424 773637 10/15

90

info@gumtree4x4.co.uk

90 200Tdi Truck-Cab (1994).

161,000 miles. MOT November 2015 (happy to put another year on it). Engine and transmission all good, pulls well and drives well for age. Good, solid chassis and bulkhead, recent rear crossmember. Body and paint all clean and tidy for age. Presentable interior, a couple of rips on seats but generally good. New Exmoor Trim hood and sticks. Lifted suspension, Insa Turbo tyres, modular wheels, T-Max winch (has new motor), snorkel, front diff guard, new rear springs, complete new exhaust. May part-ex or swap for something interesting. £5499.

Harwich, Essex, 07868 609994 11/15

Clubs

90 (1989). 88,015 miles. MOT March 2016. 300 Tdi with R380 box and LT230 transfer case. Very good chassis. 24-spline Disco axles front and rear. 3” lift kit with dislocation cones and extended poly bump stops. Steering and diff guards, front bumper with new 13,000lb Winchmax with remote and synthetic rope. 5 virtually new 295/85R16 Insa Turbo Special Tracks on modular steels with 30mm spacers. Snorkel, chassis-mounted cage, rock sliders, MIB challenge corners, side-exit exhaust, chequer-plated bonnet, wings, doors and rear load area. CB, spotlights, work lamp, harnesses, waterproof seat covers. New brake pipes, gearbox mountings and full service prior to MOT in March. £4750. Tamworth, 07957 368779 11/15

90 V8i (1987). MOT June (no advisories). Rebuilt last year as a V8 on a galvanised chassis.

Engine rebuilt with new pistons, 20 thou over-bore, rings and shells, big valves, new guides and strong springs. Injection system cleaned through and checked, 4-branch manifolds and custom exhaust. Disco V8 LT77 gearbox, professionally converted to Defender long-stick, good transfer box from a 300 Discovery V8. Both Salisbury axles, rebuilt with the rear converted to discs. TD5 dash and speedo, P38 heated black leather seats, heated windscreen, iPhone radio, new folding rear bench seats, Exmoor Trim carpets.

Very rare Stage One V8 grille and Series headlamp surrounds.

Bodywork okay but door has some dents and paintwork lets it down a bit, and price reflects this. Soft top in good condition but rope at the rear could do with changing, hood frame and roll bar in good condition. £6500.

Rochester, Kent, 07549 28244 (eves best) 10/15

Defender 90 (1995). 174,443 miles. Galvanised chassis. Recent cambelt, runs mint, straightthrough exhaust so very loud and gets heads turning. Off-road mods include Terrafirma +2” springs with +5” shocks all round, Terrafirma steering damper, Sumo steering bars, Adrenaline front and rear radius arms, extended brake hoses, Britpart wide-angle props and poly bushes. Syncro

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

Issue 20: Nov 2015

We’re on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Gearboxes Slickshift, Timber Trail boost pin, winch bumper (please note the winch in the picture is not included in the sale). Defender snorkel, front diff guard, 265/75R16 off-road tyres under Terrafirma +2” arches.

Defender cubby box with lock, dual alternator (not wired up), Bolt-On Bits roof light (not wired up). Lots of dints and scratches, could do with a clutch slave cylinder and the speedo doesn’t work as the truck has a Disco transfer box and the cable wouldn’t fit.

Selling as I don’t use it any more. £5900. Worksop, Notts, 07506 395076 10/15

90 V8 (1986). 105,000 miles. A very rare genuine factory 3.5 V8.

2” suspension lift, large Grabber tyres, Exmoor seats, Sparco steering wheel. MOT ran out early this year. I’ve been told it needs a new LPG switch and fuse carrier rewire. £3981. Blackpool, 07870 891181 11/15

90 200Tdi Station Wagon (1989). Galvanised chassis. Full external cage with 4 spots. Land Rover roof rack, modified to take roof tent. Rear ladders, NAS step and swing-away wheel carrier.

12,000lb Superwinch in rear crossmember. New 285/75R16 Insa Turbo Special Tracks on black Boost alloys with 30mm spacers and wide arches. Steering guard, tank guard, diff guards, rock sliders. Big intercooler, electric fan. Heavy-duty steering arms and upgraded damper. 2” lift kit, Fox shocks, tubular front turrets, 2” rear shock droppers and dislocation cones, Polybushes, braided brake lines, axle breathers. Full stainless Janspeed exhaust. Puma bonnet with chequer plate. NAS front winch bumper. Snorkel and ram air vent on wing. Momo steering wheel. Puma doors with electric windows. TD5 dash, TDCi half-leather forward facing seats with matching fronts and cubby box. £17,000. Cambridge, 01223 424646 11/15

Defender 90 200 Tdi (1992).

69,000 miles. 12 months’ MOT at sale. ARB Air-Lockers, +4” Terrafirma life with dislocation cones, tubular shock turrets, cranked arms, steering guard, big uprated intercooler, silicone hoses, disk handbrake, Qt diff guards, rock sliders, winch bumper and winch, rear winch plate, 35x12.50R15 BFG Mud-Terrains on deep-dish modulars, straight-through side exhaust, internal roll cage mounted to chassis, Safari Snorkel, wading kit, LED front bar, side and reversing lights. Qt bucket seats and harnesses, Raptor

dash, CB, removable steering wheel, on-board air compressor, fire extinguisher, high-lift jack.

Private registration included.

Family car forces sale. £9000 ono. Birmingham, 07473 054953 09/15

Defender 90 TD5 Heritage Limited Edition (2000). 87,500 miles. One of only 300 that were made. Bronze green, green leather seats (7), winch, tow bar, usual Heritage touches. Private registration plate included. Owned for over 3 years, selling as I have bought a new one! £12,750. Sidmouth, Devon, 01404 540332, adam.chinery@computercomponents.com 10/15

Defender 90 TD5 (1999).

93,441 miles. Chassis, bulkhead, footwells, door bottoms all sound.

Minor dings and a small dent in nearside front wing but good allround bodywork. Battery, starter motor, fuel pump, rear shocks, crank sensor, EGR bypass, steering damper, front bumper (rubber corners), track rod ends, window rubbers, door seals all new. New immobiliser with fob, rebuilt ECU and all engine harness has been removed and checked for the common wear and damage. 5 alloy wheels, 4 almost-new tyres, new CD stereo with Bluetooth, new cubby box, retrimmed front seats, all new lights (except headlights) plus additional rear lights on top corners, front fogs and additional brake light. Central locking on the front doors, plus alarm system. Recent full service including new oil in both diffs. In the time I have owned the 90 I’ve tried to eliminate all the usual things that go wrong. Lack of use forces sale. £6995. Launceston, Devon, 01566 451360 or 07990 558959 09/15

Defender 90 TDCi Truck-Cab (2007). 68,000 miles with some service history. Good all-round condition, apart from a small dent on nearside front wing and some age-related marks.

265/75R16 tyres on Boost alloys.

Chequer plated rear tub with Ifor Williams back. Sports steering wheel. Front mounted winch with wireless controls. Uprated suspension and steering damper.

Please be aware that the 90 was a Cat D write-off with front wing damage, however this has been repaired to the highest standard.

It drives perfectly and the price is a little less than the rest for a Landy of this age. Any inspection welcome. £8500. Cardiff, 07508 346026 10/15

Defender 90 300 Tdi (1988).

142,080 miles. MOT Nov, recent service. Full 300 Tdi rebuild.

Starts and runs perfectly with no knocks or unwanted noises.

Chassis in great condition with no welding, but a small hole in the rear crossmember. +2” Emu suspension, cranked trailing arms, HD halfshafts and CVs, GKN wideyoke props, vented front discs, oversized rear discs and calipers, Teflon coated swivels, HD steering bars, Polybushes, oversized bump stops, 265/70/16 Insa Turbo Rangers with min 10mm tread on alloy rims (steel spare), rock sliders, sump, diff and steering

guards, galvanised front bumper, chequer plate, rear winch tray, side-exit stainless exhaust, alarm, immobiliser, LED and Angel Eye front lights, cubby box, Recaro buckets (used and worn), Equipe roof console and lining. Tired bodywork with lots of dents and scratches, but well above average for the price. With a new body on it’s easily a £10,000 Landy. £3500. Sutton Coldfield, 07807 153104 10/15

Defender 90 TD5 Hard-Top (2003). 186,000 miles. MOT 28 September. Full main dealer

service history, with the most recent done by a local Land Rover specialist. Two owners from new. Boost alloys with good tyres, heated rear screen, Wipac front spots, electric windows, unmarked Techno cloth interior (always had seat covers), radio cassette stereo with original CODE card, height-adjustable tow hitch with electrics, dog guard, two remote keys. Drives brilliantly with finger light steering and goes into all five gears with no problems. No rot at all, but a few war wounds and some scabbing on the paintwork. For sale as I need a more practical family car, so would consider part-ex with cash my way for a Discovery 2 or 3. Open to realistic offers but not in a rush to sell. £8600.

Etchingham, East Sussex, 07872 478163 10/15

110

Defender 110 Hi-Cap. Over 10k spent with a Defender specialist within the last three months to turn it into a modified off-roader.

Discovery Tdi engine with 100k miles (replaced original V8), +2” suspension, Simex tyres, wide-angle prop, front and rear LSD locking diffs, winch and bumper, snorkel, heavy-duty steering bars, roof rack, Warn spotlights. Cubby box. Full respray. £7000. Southampton, 07753 459704 11/15

Defender 110 Tdi (1995). Great runner. A few MOT advisories, and needs a new battery. Apart from that it drives really well and everything works. £2990. Cheltenham, 07784 359582 11/15

110 V8 Station Wagon (1984).

67,500 miles from new. Just passed MOT with no advisories.

Advertising your Landy for sale is FREE for private sellers.

Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242

39

Chassis all good, had a couple of plates on bulkhead, outriggers and new rear crossmember.

Engine and four-speed manual box are original; the box does make some noise, but just what’s normal for an LT95. This is a tidy original vehicle (except the colour) – the body panels are straight and virtually corrosion free, the rear door frames are suffering a bit from rust but they are still solid and everything closes well. The carpet is missing from rear seat area, and the back seats are clean but not the original colour and don’t match the fronts.

The roof rack and alloy wheels are not included in the price, and the vehicle will be returned on to its original steels. Any viewing welcome. £8000. Bromsgrove, Worcs. 07495 084859, gne@ newlro.co.uk 10/15

40

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

News

Issue 20: Nov 2015

Products

Vehicles

STOCKIST DIRECTORY

Where to pick up your copy of The Landy FREE every month

South-East England

South-West England

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Foundry 4x4 Ltd

Cast Iron Quality & Service The Old Bakery, Rear of Vale Terrace, Tredegar, Gwent, NP22 4HT

Adventure

Workshop

Defender 110 XS 2.4 TDCi Station Wagon (2007). 98,000 miles. FSH. With 6-month warranty. MOT and service Feb 2016. £2000 recently spent at specialist Defender garage. Upgraded Bluetooth/MP3/CD/Radio with hands-free kit. Air-conditioning.

Full Winter Pack including front heated seats and heated front windscreen. Black part-leather seats. ABS. Tow bar. Remote central locking. £15,995. Verwood, Dorset, 07815 888878 11/15

www.foundry4x4.co.uk

info@foundry4x4.co.uk • 01495 725544 Importers, Exporters, Wholesale Distributors & Retailers of Winches & Accessories

North West England

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

North East England

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

Ex-Army Defender 110 TD5.

New release with only 75,000 miles. Year’s MOT at sale. Fully serviced and virtually rot-free – military vehicles come with no history but from the way it drives I would say this is totally genuine.

Very smooth transmission and gearbox, good brakes (light pedal and stops evenly), exceptionally straight body. Wolf rims, tyres showing very little sign of wear.

Very good interior with new Exmoor Trim seat bases. Bulkhead, footwells and chassis are in very good condition for their age, showing no signs of rot. Even the heater works! £6295. Bath, 07785 231522 10/15

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

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

East Midlands

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

West Midlands

North East Scotland

Defender 110 200 Tdi HardTop. 101,000 miles. MOT June 2016. Lots of receipts. Recent oil and filter, fuel and air filters, PAS and alternator belts. Early Disco Tdi with new radiator and intercooler, also a new heater matrix and all pipework. Fuel pump slightly tuned. K&N air filter. LT77 box with short-shift kit, 1:6 transfer case, Salisbury rear diff. Immaculate chassis (just one small hole in rear crossmember).

2” lift, General Grabbers AT2s with huge amount of tread left.

Exterior fair for age (a few bumps and scratches). Carpeted inside, ply lined in back. Mountney steering wheel, Sony CD with aux and Bluetooth. Spares to come with truck include a 50” LED light bar, two LED and four halogen spots, four original steel wheels with good tyres, two brand new rear bench seats, NATO tow hook and spreader plates. £3750.

South Petherton, Somerset, 07508 852467 09/15

Defender 110 300Tdi (1996).

230,000 miles. MOT Feb 2016.

Great condition for year, and no rust. Engine rebuilt 20,000 miles ago with complete cylinder head, radiator, water pump and viscous

Clubs

fan as well as complete clutch kit. Also fuel tank replaced, all re-bushed, rear chassis replaced.

Snorkel, mechanical winch, full roof rack. Owned by a dedicated Landy enthusiast, only selling due to a new family member arriving shortly! £5500. Ashford, Kent 07850 638620 10/15

Defender 110 TD5 Double Cab (2006). Two owners from new.

Perfect gearbox new 5000 miles ago. Autologic remapped. Warn 9500 winch with remote and wired switch on dash, Safari snorkel, +2” suspension lift, BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains 285/75/16, custom roof rack for spare wheel, Warn rock sliders, military bumperettes, twin high power reversing lights, twin 100 Watt Rally spot lights, 500 watt stereo (7 speakers), AFN Winch bumper, Ifor Williams canopy. £13,500. 07802 582826 11/15

Ex-RAF 110 (1991). 32,000 miles. No rust, Waxoyled every year and like new underneath.

Drives lovely. 2.5 diesel, 5-speed box. Power steering fitted and cambelt changed, plus the water pump was changed at the same time. Will have a new MOT. Kept in a warm, dry garage. Any inspection. Can quote for delivery. £6500. Lydney, Gloucs, 07860 279194 10/15

Defender 110 300Tdi. Off-road monster. Built on a 1987 chassis and solid bulkhead that have never needed welding. Body put together using modern panels, so nice and straight. New chequer-plated floor from front to rear. Lifted suspension, full wraparound external cage, solid front and rear bumpers, heavy-duty winch, new spotlights and snorkel. 300Tdi with ally intercooler, stainless exhaust and electric fan.

Front and rear bucket seats, fourpoint harness and internal roll cage. CD, CB. Will sell with a year’s MOT. £13,000. Edinburgh, 07514 497258 10/15

Defender 110 with TGV 2.8 (1991). Current MOT. Ex-Army three-door with Maggiolina roof tent, Foxwing awning, ARB compressor and lockers, Recaro seats, uprated suspension and axles.

Includes other parts and spares.

Full work history. Needs new fan belt. Owner emigrating. £9000 ovno. 07700 088283 10/15

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Issue 20: Nov 2015

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127/130

Defender 127 / 130 200 Tdi Quadtech (1991). 44,000 miles.

Deluxe cab. Fully restored in 2011 with all the aluminium replaced on the rear Quadtech box. The roof comes up so you can stand up and walk around in the back, which contains a workbench with 12v, 24v and 240v electrics – and it all works! Rear diesel heater, TD5 axles front and rear (rear Salisbury with disc brakes), anti-roll bars, new drop links, new cambelt kit, new doors, wings and bonnet, brand new R380 gearbox, new shocks all round and turrets, new Wolf rims with G90 tyres. There’s nothing this Landy has not had – it’s mint, you won’t find a better one! £9250 (no VAT to pay). Harefield, Middx. 07807 844703 09/15

Range Rover

Range Rover Classic off-roader (1983). Converted to the bullet-proof Isuzu 2.8 turbo-diesel, with fuel pump turned up and boost increased to 1 bar. Mods include 40mm body lift (CNC steel spacers, not cheap nylon), 3” spring lift, dislocation cones front and rear, 2” front tubular shock turrets and 2” rear shock mounts, Pro-Comp extended gas shocks, Qt 6-degree castor correction radius arms, extended braided steel brake lines, front mount steering damper conversion with Cellular Dynamics damper, Qt solid steering bars, roll cage, front and rear diff guards, X-Eng rear radius arms, heavy-duty box-section steel sills and tubular rock sliders, double cardon TD5 front and wide angle rear propshafts, 24-spline rear ARB Air-Locker, Kenlow twin electric fans with Pacet controller, Warn 8274-50 with 100’ 12mm Plasma and competition hook,

raised breathers, Jag XJS leather seats, Sabelt harnesses, custom dash. A few odd marks and dents, stiff door handles and front diff is slightly noisy on over-run (replacement supplied), and the vehicle has no MOT and will need to be trailered away. For sale as I have lost interest in off-roading. £3900 ono. Canvey, Essex, 07817 740267 10/15

Range Rover 4.4 V8 auto Vogue (2004). 103,000 miles.

MOT July 16 (no advisories). Full Land Rover history. Massive spec includes sat-nav, premium sound system, TV, multi-CD and media, grey leather memory seats, heated fronts and rear, Bluetooth, winter screen pack (includes heated steering wheel), folding heated mirrors, leather dash and 20” alloys with 4 new tyres.

Just magnificent throughout, looks amazing and drives, feels and smells like a newer car. Two owners only. Cost £70k new, has been cherished throughout and must be driven to appreciate it. £6475 ono. Warwick, 07710 028025 10/15 Range Rover L322 6-cylinder diesel. Blue. 114,000 miles. 12 months’ MOT. With extras from the Supercharged model. Some age-related marks and the wheels could do with a refurb. Part-ex to clear. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787 Trade

Range Rover P38 4.6 Vogue (2001). 139,939 miles. LPG converted, runs on petrol and gas.

MOT June 2016. Lovely condition.

Recent new radiator, thermostat, water pump and tyres. Tow bar fitted. Radio and sat-nav not working due to disconnecting the battery – they were fine before this, not long ago, so I assume it just requires to be reset. Selling the vehicle as we have purchased

a newer model. £2950. Tehidy, Cornwall. Email tor@assignment-media.co.uk, quoting box number L07/15/001 09/15

Range Rover 3.6 TDV8 HSE (2008). 79,000 miles. MOT end 2015. Originally used for chauffeuring MPs, so has been very well looked after. Silky smooth V8 turbo-diesel and auto box, and being an HSE model it is fully loaded with alloys, leather, cruise, electric seat adjust, TV monitor, parking sensors, reversing camera, touch-screen sat-nav, climate control, heated screens, Bluetooth and remote voice command phone system, plus lots more. In excellent unmolested condition, with no bling or chrome bits – still as it was when it left the factory, and will return 30+ to the gallon. £17,995. Bridgend, 07977 493311 11/15

Discovery TD5 GS Auto (2000).

120,017 miles. MOT 16 Jan 2016.

Towbar, leather, 7-seater. Very good condition all-round. Full safety check and valet. 90-day warranty. £3295. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Discovery 300 Tdi Auto (1995).

160,000 miles. MOT Nov. Hundreds of pounds of welding just been done to the underneath, sills and arches. Engine, box and transfer case extremely strong. It still pulls really well, and fuel consumption is about 25-30 mpg. Fully off-road ready with BFG ATs on 16” alloys, rock sliders, heavy-duty roof rack and nudge bar. New exhaust and EGR plate. JVC CD stereo, sunroofs work and don’t leak. Owner emigrating. £1750. Bolton, Lancs, 0781 555 8935 09/15

Discovery 300Tdi Auto (1994).

208,007 miles. Towbar. Starts and drives great, some odd marks. Full safety check and valet. 90-day warranty. £1395. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

drives very well, good condition inside and out with just the odd mark on bodywork. New MOT if sold for asking price. Full safety check and valet. 90-day warranty. £7995. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Discovery 300Tdi 7-seater (1995). 155,546 miles. MOT 31 May 2016. Great condition, drives very well. Very small rip in driver’s seat. Full safety check and valet. 90-day warranty. £1995.

Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Discovery 200 Tdi 5-dr (1993).

134,872 miles. 4” lift (2” springs, 2” body), Insa Turbo Special Track tyres on modular wheels with spacers, wide arches, diff and steering guards, twin batteries, snorkel, bucket seats Starts and runs great. £1500 ono. Ripley, Derbys, 07584 086086 09/15

Discovery 4 3.0 SDV6 Auto 245 Commercial (2011). 124,000 miles. FSH, MOT July 16. Two owners. Leather, dual-zone climate, Bluetooth, cruise, load liner, full-size alloy spare, factory towball and electrics, Harmon Kardon stereo, 4 new tyres. £16,000 + VAT ono. Worksop, Notts, 07531 866624 10/15

Discovery 200Tdi (1998).

182,470 miles. MOT Oct. Hybrid

Discovery TD5 S Auto (2000).

150,000 miles. 11 months’ MOT. Drives spot on with no issues.

Uprated Garrett turbo, engine remapped, de-cat exhaust, EGR blanked off, silicone hoses, uprated fan with adjustable thermostat. New gearbox at 105k miles. OME +2” suspension, poly bushes, approx 2.5” taller tyres in mint condition on mint alloys. Heavy-duty front and rear bumpers (front has winch mount but no winch), alloy bash guards front and rear, detachable tow bar, snorkel. Just had handbrake rebuilt, new fuel injector loom, heavy-duty battery and propshaft. Lots of money spent. This is one of the cleanest Discos around, inside and out, and has not been abused. £3750. Ilkeston, Derbyshire, 07967 321335

Discovery 2 TD5 (2003).

106,250 miles. MOT Sept 2016.

Facelift model. Very good all round condition. Remapped

by Bell Autos of York for torque and fuel economy. Coil-sprung all-round. No sunroofs. 18” Alloys with Pirelli Scorpions (front) and Goodyear Wranglers (rear). New clutch and starter motor, recent PAS box and hub assembly. Polybushed. Anti-theft bars on front lights. No wear to seats (always been covered). A few light dents and scratches but good all-round condition for age. £4300. Wakefield, 07999 989600 11/15

Discovery 200 Tdi (1992).

190,700 miles. MOT September 2016. Engine has been changed for a lower-mileage one, with new cam belt, clutch, head gasket and skim at the same time. Mods include +3” suspension with +5” shocks (double pin on rear), 2” front turrets, dislocation cones and cranked rear trailing arms.

Winch bumper with 9500lb Superwinch, winch rope and incab controls, strong rear bumper, steering, diff and tank guards, rock/tree sliders. 265/75/16 Insa Turbo Special Tracks on black modular wheels with 30mm wheel spacers under extended arches. Extended braided brake hoses, new drilled and grooved discs with new pads all round (not even done 50 miles). Safari snorkel, heavy duty steering arms, light bar (all four lights working), rear light guards, full chequer plate kit, CB, bucket seats. Does have a few dings and scratches, and the interior is not as clean as it could be, but it has been used off-road and has always been very capable. In good mechanical order and the engine is sound, however the syncro in second gear is starting to get weak. Sale due to house purchase. £2100. Weymouth, Dorset, 07752 967446 11/15

Discovery 3 TDV6 Auto (2005).

181,421 miles. 5-seater with cream cloth interior. Starts and

brand new tyres. Recent service including new brakes. £35,000.

Llanybydder, Ceredigion, 07974 967370

Specials

Freelander Freelander TD4. 114,000 miles. Great condition. Fully serviced and will come with 12 months’ MOT. £3895. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787 Trade

RR Sport

Discovery

Discovery 2 TD5 7-seat.

137,000 miles. 12 months’ warranty. Full service prior to sale. Very clean inside and out. £2950. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787 Trade

turbo, alloy intercooler, EGR delete, straight-through exhaust.

New clutch and bearing about 12,000 miles ago, gearbox and transfer box all good. +2” lift, dislocation cones, HD steering and suspension arms, rock sliders, guards for tank, diffs and steering. As-new off-road tyres. Starts on the button and drives with no faults, but head gasket has gone so will need to be trailered away. £1150 ono. Southend on Sea, Essex, 07584 279319 10/15

41

Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 Autobiography Bespoke Edition (2005). 101,250 miles.

Over £11,000 spent on upgrades in last 8 months. New gearbox and torque converter. Autobiography body kit supplied and fitted by Fast Lane Bespoke just 4 months ago, including front and rear LEDs, DRL lights and factory xenons. Refurbished black Range Rover wheels and four great tyres.

Ridiculous sound system in the boot worth with 4x10 original Kicker subs and 3 power amps.

New timing belt, suspension bushes and full service carried out June 2015. Base vehicle has huge spec – heated memory seats, dual climate, sunroof, sat-nav, voice control, cruise, all-round parking sensors etc, all in outstanding condition. Great mechanically, and also interior and exterior, and simply a delight to look at. £16,450. London, 07912 010770

Range Rover Sport 2.7 TDV6 HSE (2005). 70,500 miles. 12 months’ MOT. Phantom edition with heated leather seats. Excellent condition – and wrapped in pink. Drives like a dream. Four

300 Tdi 88” hybrid (1981).

115,072 miles. MOT 28 November.

Shortened Range Rover chassis with Defender body and Series rear tub. Done by a professional mechanic and has paperwork for modified vehicle report in 2004. Clifford alarm/immobiliser.

Watertight mohair hood by All Wheel Trim. Good working heater and blower. Raptor dash with CD stereo. CB (not wired in). Lockable cubby box. NATO hitch, recent brake pads and calipers. Cargo net. Swing-away spare wheel carrier. Adrenaline 4x4 trailing arms, Terrafirma shocks. Cooper STT tyres (plenty of tread left) fitted on wheel spacers. Raised air intake. Working Milemarker hydraulic winch. Heavy-duty track rod. Rear bumperettes.

Battle scar on rear driver’s-side corner, drip from PAS box, knock when selecting 4th gear from 5th but gearbox and transfer case do work in high and low, and centre diff locks up correctly. Plenty of paperwork and receipts. £4800.

Abingdon, Oxfordshire, coxy552@hotmail.co.uk, 07952 614434 11/15

Series IIA 109” (1964). 12 months’ MOT. Expedition-ready, tax-exempt. Professionally fitted 200 Tdi engine. gearbox and transfer case (all recon). PAS, +4” suspension, new wheels and tyres, 2 Optima batteries, caravan-style electric hook-up, 12v and 240v power, custom roof rack, fold-down double bed, sink, interior and exterior storage, dash with built-in sat-nav. £16,000+ spent on resto and prep. £9995.

B’ham, 0121 270 8701 09/15

42 USED LAND ROVER PARTS FOR SALE w w w. t h e l a n d y. c o . u k

News

Issue 20: Nov 2015

Engine

warranty. £55. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Control ECU. Part number ANR1250 or ANR4898. Good used condition. £48. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Suspension Discovery 2 Td5 alternator.

Tested. 30-day warranty. £36.

Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Discovery Td5 starter motor.

2000 model, also fits the 90. £50, 07899 783396 10/15

Transmission

Defender 110 front Salisbury axle. Fully reconditioned to A1 MOD standard. Comes complete with discs and calipers. Extremely strong and durable, and now very hard to find. £840. Shrewsbury, 01743 441787

Products

Defender 110 rear axle radius arm. Genuine Land Rover part.

This item was removed from a Defender TD5 110. The bushes might need replacing. £39.95.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Range Rover Classic LSE roof assembly. Good used condition – some small marks but way above average and better than a damaged or dented one. These are ultra rare as they are unique to the LSE model, being longer than any other Classic. £475.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Vehicles

exposed-hinge type. Right-hand (driver’s) side. Good used condition. Removed from a 1980 2-door. It has some rather ghastly ‘styling’ trims fitted which could be removed with care, but is a lot better than many we reuse these days. £45. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Electric

Genuine Land Rover intermediate gear shaft cluster. Part number FRC9460 OR IEH000120.

In new shop-soiled condition.

For 22D 1:410:1 transfer box.

Fits models from 1986 to 2007.

Usually more than £200 from Land Rover, even pattern ones are not available for less than £100, so grab a bargain! £72.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 3.54:1 differential. Late 300 type. Good used condition. This is the type fitted to the later Discovery Mk1 models, with a rubber joint on the rear of the rear propshaft going on to a 3-cornered flange. The halfshafts to suit this diff have 24 splines on the inboard end. £95. Hassocks, W.Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Brakes TD5 10p engine. Taken from a Discovery. Bare engine, has been heard and seen running with no nasty knocks or bangs. 60-day warranty. £840. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Discovery Td5 cylinder head.

10p engine from a 2000 model.

Complete with injectors, fuel regulator and exhaust. £300, 07899 783396 10/15

Freelander 1.8 manual gearbox. To fit 1997-2006 Freelander 1 models. Used item, fully tested and in working order. £50. Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Defender Td5 brake servo and master cylinder. Removed from a 2003 90. In good working order. Genuine Land Rover part SJB101891 (Lucas). £127.50.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery 2 V8 Auto rear propshaft. £38. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade Discovery Td5 engine block.

With pistons in good condition.

Needs new big ends. £200, 07899 783396 10/15

Discovery 300 Tdi steering column. For late vehicles with airbags, complete with ignition lock and 1x key. Land Rover sticker still in place, showing part number ANR3654. £60.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 300 Tdi lower steering column shaft and knuckles. Suits 1994-1999 models.

Genuine Land Rover part number ANR3171. £37.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery 2 nearside headlight. Passenger’s side. From a 2000 model, so pre-facelift. One of the light fitting clips has been removed. These are a simple job to change with a small screwdriver. £34. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 300 / TD5 rear propshaft. Genuine Land Rover part, 3-bolt flange type, part number FTC 3705. Removed from a Discovery 300 Tdi, but also fits the Disco 2. In good working order. £22.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Discovery Td5 front brake calipers. Set of 2. Taken from a 2000 model, with good pads and all parts to fit. £50, 07899 783396 10/15

Discovery 2 4.0 V8 air flow meter. In good working condition. £28. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

110 rear load rack. Fits single-cab pick-up. Complete with wind-out side canopy. £200. Mells, Somerset, 01373 812011 Trade

Discovery 300Tdi ABS Accumulator. From a 1996 Disco, as removed by us. Good used condition. £95. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Freelander 1 rear differential.

Rear diff assembly to suit 1.8 petrol or 2.0 Td4 diesel. Removed at our yard, carries a 30-day

Range Rover P38 ABS Traction

Discovery 200 Tdi or early V8 door mirror. Early electric driver’s door mirror for Mk1 Disco from 1990 to 1994, in good used condition. £24. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Defender bonnets. Huge choice. Price depending on condition. £50-£100. Mells, Somerset, 01373 812011 Trade Hard-top for Series II or III 88”. With side panels. Rear door possibly also available if required, please ask. £145. Hassocks, W.Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Discovery 2 under-bonnet fuse box. Part number YQH101070. Taken from a TD5 Discovery, was working prior to removal. £25. Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457

Interior

Defender footwell insulation and soundproofing. 1998-on.

Rubber insulation mats to cover left and right footwells.

Good used order. Sold as a pair. £87.50. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

110 rear canvas canopy. Fits single-cab pick-up. Frame in good condition, canvas could do with a pressure wash but good overall. £150. Mells, Somerset, 01373 812011 Trade

Body

Axle & Diff

Discovery 2 TD5 exhaust manifold. Removed from a 2002 Discovery TD5 engine in good working order. Original Land Rover part number LKC 102030. £85. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Defender front wings. Large choice. £100 per pair. Mells, Somerset, 01373 812011 Trade

Discovery 300Tdi PAS box.

In full working order with no leaks etc. 30-day warranty. £70.

Glastonbury, Somerset, 01458 834930 Trade

Workshop

leather steering wheel.

Lightstone finish. In good general condition and full working order, with radio and cruise control buttons. This item was removed from a 2001 P38 Vogue model in full working order and all functions were checked prior to removal.

There are minor blemishes on both the wood and the leather, but the leather is not torn and the stitching is in good condition.

The leather could be re-coloured to make it look like new. £225.

Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Off-Road

Steering Discovery 2 Td5 auto 2002 flywheel and ring gear. Removed from a 2002 Disco 15p engine in good working order. Original Land Rover part number TKB10020. £58. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Adventure

Range Rover Classic offside front outer wing panel. Early

Land Rover Defender heavy-duty front winch bumper. Brand new and never been used. Heavy-duty to suit Defender 110 or 90. Heavy-duty recovery points, ready painted with POR15. Collection only from Mansfield, Notts. £125. stig@ exup1000.co.uk 09/15

Unimog 4x4 axles. Taken from a 404 model and therefore have locking diffs. One is complete, the other has been partially stripped in preparation for a disc-brake conversion. Ideal for building the ultimate off-road Land Rover! £1000, offers invited. East Midland, 07968 960619 09/15

Wheels & Tyres Discovery 2 TD5 heater assembly with air-conditioning.

From a 2001 Disco, as removed by us. Good used condition. £48.

Hassocks, West Sussex, 01444 241457 Trade

Defender TD5 seat box. Various colours available, with and without carpets. Some minor blemishes, dents and corrosion, but all are in good used condition and you can take your pick when collecting. £80. Ramsgate, Kent, 01843 850600 Trade

Range Rover P38 wood and

Defender wheels. Sets of 4 and 5 available. Prices depending on spec and condition. £80-£300.

Mells, Somerset, 01373 812011 Trade

Clubs

Wolf wheels with tyres. Military Spec. Multiple colours from black to beige to yellow, all with tyres (some better than others!)

First come, first pick. Priced at £250 for four wheels and tyres, or £75 for one. Also have one set in black which have only been fitted once, all fitted with very good road tyres, priced at £350 for the four. Thornbury, Bristol, 07586 582741 Trade Set of 4 Land Rover Tornado alloys. 16”, Defender fit. All are in a good, clean condition. £80.

Stafford, 01785 255563 or 07913 021857 09/15

Breakers 300Tdi 90 parts. Removed from a 90 I’ve refurbished. Includes chassis (in need of some welding but rear crossmember from a few years ago); 4 springs and shocks in good condition; full exhaust; radiator; one seat frame; door frames; and various other bits.

Available separately or in lots.

Priced depending on what you’re after, offers welcome. Evesham, Worcs, 07795 447184 09/15

Series III parts. Front grille, rear tub, bonnet, steering box, 2 door skins, clutch pressure and friction plate, brake servo, oil bath air cleaner. £100 the lot. Manchester, northernmicroplant@ gmail.com 10/15 R-registered petrol Freelander. Breaking all parts. Nice 17” alloy wheels and good tyres, engine (cambelt) broken, good gearbox, axles and propshaft.

Buckinghamshire, 01494 758539 10/15

Listing parts for sale on is FREE for private sellers and existing advertisers. Just call Gemma Pask on 01283 553242

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

Calendar

Off-Road Playdays Mud Monsters

East Grinstead, West Sussex

North Yorks Off Road Centre Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks

24 October Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

25 October Cowm Leisure

Whitworth, Lancashire Dates are apt to change, so always check with the site before travelling

26 September

North Yorks Off Road Centre

Kirton Off Road Centre

Picadilly Wood

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

27 September Cowm Leisure

Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks Bolney, West Sussex

11 October

Hill ‘n’ Ditch 4x4

Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Slindon Safari

Fontwell, West Sussex

Whaddon 4x4

Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire

Whitworth, Lancashire

Essex, Rochford and District 4x4 Club

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Thames Valley 4x4

Parkwood 4x4

Oxley’s Shaw, Reading

Tong, Bradford

17 October

1 November

Burnham Off-Roaders

Bala 4x4

Frickley 4x4

Hill ‘n’ Ditch 4x4

Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Kirton Off Road Centre

Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Slindon Safari

Fontwell, West Sussex

4 October

Rayleigh, Essex

31 October

Tring, Hertfordshire

Bala, Gwynedd

18 September

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Devil’s Pit

Burnham Off-Roaders

Dundry Off-Road

Devil’s Pit

Devil’s Pit

Frickley 4x4

Dundry Off-Road

Explore Off Road

Muddy Bottom

Frickley 4x4

Frickley 4x4

North Yorks Off Road Centre

Muddy Bottom

Muddy Bottom

Picadilly Wood

Bala 4x4

Bala, Gwynedd

Tring, Hertfordshire

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Dundry, Bristol

Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Minstead, Hampshire

Minstead, Hampshire

Dundry, Bristol

Frickley, South Yorkshire Minstead, Hampshire Robin Hood’s Bay, North Yorks Bolney, West Sussex

Green Lane Convoy Events 12-13 September

3-4 October

31 Oct – 1 Nov

Atlas Overland

Trailmasters

Onelife Adventure

21-26 September

18 October

1 November

4x4 Treks Galloway

UK Landrover Event

UK Landrover Events

27 September

19-24 October

UK Landrover Events

4x4 Treks Galloway

28 September

24 October

UK Landrover Events

UK Landrover Events

Wessex

Galloway

Lake District

Peak District

Yorkshire

Lincoln and Belvoir

Galloway

Eden District

Lake District

Northumberland

Issue 20: Nov 2015

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Issue 21: Nov 2015

News

Products

Vehicles

Adventure

Workshop

Clubs

Reach for the Stars

Words Brenton Corns Pictures Nick D’Amico, Sean and Elizabeth Wheeler The Northern California Land Rover Club has had many epic outings throughout its history. The latest was the Northern California Sierra Expedition – which turned out to be one of the club’s most popular trips to date.

The club’s longer outings have visited places like Death Valley, Mojave Road and Oregon Discovery Trail, and even ventured as far south as Baja Mexico.

The one thing that has been missing, though, is a signature trip in their own backyard of Northern California.

Trip leader Chris Solis has led weekend trips to the lake for the past two years to coincide with the annual Perseid Meteor Shower. This time, he spent over a year planning for the Sierra Expedition, plotting off-road trails that would let a small group of Land Rover enthusiasts explore the Eastern

Sierra Mountains of California over the course of their week away.

The first day was action-packed from the moment our eight trucks headed off from Sacramento. We examined the strength of a bridge built in 1936 along the way, and rescued two dogs who were close to starvation – before taking them along for the trip.

The convoy eventually retired for the night at the French Campground.

Day two started early as we made for Hawley Lake. And it offered some of the roughest terrain we would encounter during the entire trip.

Plenty of walking and planning ahead was needed here. And so was concentratrion – there was little time for any of the group to stop and enjoy the scenery as we worked to get our trucks through tight gaps and over large rocks until we were within striking distance of the lake.

That night, the lost dogs continued to recover, sleep, eat and drink. One

of our group, Michal, had contacted his wife back home with their tag numbers, and excellent news was that she called back to say she had been in touch with their owner. Those were two lucky dogs…

A couple more trucks were set to join the group on day three, once the expedition reached Sierra City. However, we had to traverse a very long shelf road to get there. After a day and a half among the tall trees of the Sierras, the trail eventually opened up to reveal a large valley which we had to descend into. The view was spectacular, and the driving was a real white-knuckle experience.

Sierra City, which is less than two miles long, has very limited options for food and gas. This was the place, however, where the dogs were returned to Les, their owner – who showed his appreciation by presenting the group with 12 bottles of wine. A happy result all round!

Our destination that night was Wild Plum campground, a site that possessed such luxuries as vault toilets.

But White Rock Lake was the club’s final venue – although sadly, getting there required a revamp of the itinerary to bypass some locked gates.

Once at the lake, the trip settled down from what had been an enthralling few days’ driving to more of a traditional relaxed vacation. The water was clear and cold, but felt good in the bright warm sun. Some people brought kayaks to check out more of the lake, or attempted to catch some fish. At night, the kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows over the fire, and while the meteor shower didn’t quite live up

to its hype some people did get to see shooting stars.

Over the course of the two days more trucks showed up, with the final totalling out at a rather large 23. That’s one for the record books!

The final day always comes too soon, but alas the trip must come to an end eventually. We’d had a fantastic trip, done some great driving and, to top it all, saved a couple of canine lives. To a man, woman and child, now we’re all looking forward to next year’s adventure – Landy owners in our neck of the woods, or anyone who’d like to know more about us, are very welcome to visit our website at www.norcalrovers.org.

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Monster funds raised at Charity Weekend

Words Mark McMillan Pictures Geoff Turtell Back in July, while most people were attempting to relax in the garden, the Mud Monsters crew had other ideas.

For them, July involves planning and getting ready for one of the biggest weekends of the off-road year – in which the third Saturday and Sunday sees the Mud Monsters site open to non-club members.

It is the biggest event of the year for good reason. As well as a family punch hunt, it’s our annual charity auction and raffle.

The club cannot say thank you enough to all the members and businesses that offer either a small prize for the raffle or something a bit bigger for the auction.

The weekend started, as usual, at 2pm on the Saturday with the Mud Monsters running their luck once more with sunshine worthy of the day, and friends old and new conversing deep into the night at the campsite.

This also witnessed the spectacular tug of war competition, as well as a battle to see which team was fastest at pulling a car up a hill – luckily there was plenty of liquid refreshment to help!

The real fun starts at 10am on Sunday morning when the driving begins.

Due to the popularity of this event the club organisers spend over two days setting up a variety of different routes, ranging from very easy white routes for those in a smart new Range Rover all the way up to taped-off punch routes for the fully-modified challenge-spec vehicle. In between is a punch hunt, with playday areas fully open too.

From 12-1 pm, the driving stops for the main event: the charity auction and raffle. The range of prizes is huge, from T-shirts and hats to a Land Rover mountain bike and tickets to the Goodwood Revival.

After the pocket-emptying lunch break, it was time to get back out there and try more stages and find those extra hidden punches. By the end of the day, the site was full of big smiles and lots of dirty trucks.

A big thank you goes out from the Mud Monsters team to all those who contributed to the raffle and auction.

A mention must go to all those who donated to the cause and to Sussex 4x4 Response for marshalling.

But the biggest thank you goes to Chestnut Tree House for helping so many children and giving us a great cause to raise money for – this year a new record was set, with just over £4000 being raised!

On your marks… the Mud Run approaches The Mud Monsters are preparing for their next big event of the year as we speak, with the popular Mud Monsters Run returning on Sunday 11 October. This takes place at the club’s East Grinstead site and gives competitors the chance to take on a 5K, 10K or 20K obstacle course –

and the chance to get rather muddy.

Tickets cost £38, which includes free parking, a T-shirt, a medal, photos and lots more. All bookings are taken online, so if you think you’ve got what it takes, visit www. mudmonstersrun.co.uk and click on the sign-up tab at the top.

Issue 21: Nov 2015

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Issue 21: Nov 2015

News

Products

Vehicles

Adventure

Workshop

Clubs

Tipping down at Uppingham

Words: Martin Wynne Pictures: Tony Birch An eventful weekend’s trialling with the Leicestershire and Rutland LRC started with just the right ingredients: sunshine, and plenty of it. But soon it degenerated into a downpour. Ideal for a CCV… Simon and I started to lay out on the Friday at the club’s Uppingham site, which has been with us for around ten

years. Before leaving for the night once the job was done, we saw a Disco 2 and caravan drive past the trials field up the narrow track; Warren had missed the turning to the camping field and ended up doing a bit of impromptu ‘green laning’ by mistake. Unfortunately, as you’d expect, he had a large audience eagerly awaiting his reversing skills…

On Sunday, there was a good field of competitors all eager to tackle the sections. The very first of these caught out

half the field on an early climb, then the fourth caused all sorts of problems – I had deliberately provided two or three options for the gates, which led to chaos between twelve and eight.

Pete Measures tried climbing a tree, then Steve Limb tried climbing the same tree but going even further – which resulted in him rolling on to his side while sliding backwards into another tree. All good fun!

After lunch, the choices on section six caught out a couple of competitors then seven consisted of two separate areas of canes with a long drive between them – but with a remote gate four

which was bound to catch someone out (stand up Donald…) Only two people managed to get past a couple of steps with an offset gate ten in the eighth section, then on the ninth Martin followed Donald’s example and missed the fourth gate.

The rain we’d endured while setting up had held off for most of the day, but it started again just as the first vehicle set out into section ten – the last of the day. That vehicle was driven by Martin, and he cleared it – but it was already getting more treacherous by the moment, and after Mick Wildman rolled at least once after pinging off a large tree

root, the section was abandoned in the interests of safety.

Scores ranged from 25 to 58, which is high by CCV standards but certainly reflects the trickiness of the sections.

Congratulations to Donald for coming first, and my thanks to Simon for helping lay out and Simone, Michael and Simon for marshalling. Oh, and Mick and Michael for the winch recovery our trailer of Friday night. Oops…

Results: 1st Donald Randall (Class 9) 25 points 2nd Martin Duddy (Class 9) 26 points 3rd Steve Limb (Class 10) 34 points

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Issue 21: Nov 2015

Trialling like we just turned 21

Words: Mark Baitup Pictures: Sharon Baitup The Southern Rover Owners Club CCV Team Trial, held over the first weekend of August, celebrated its 21st birthday this year. Over the past four or five years, word seems to have got out about it and it has been gathering more and more competitors. This year we filled our maximum of 24 teams and 48 drivers.

The two day CCV Team Trial was originally devised by Ron Baker back in the early 90s. The main difference between this event and other trials is that the drivers are in teams of two and can guide/advise their team mate on the way round.

This means that, if there are only two drivers, they will need to plan where guidance is needed – or they’ll need to be fit enough to run round the whole course pointing and cajoling. It is an advantage to have a passenger signed on so there are two people running around guiding!

It’s also handy for each driver to have their own car, so that if one gets damaged the trial can be finished by double driving the other one. Unlike Mick and George Chick who share their car; when one of them drives it through an untested area and demolishes the radiator, they’re both out. I’ll let the brothers keep the issue of who did what to themselves!

It is quite entertaining watching the team members running around the woodland, trying not to trip over roots or slip up in the mud holes, especially if there are cameras poised to capture

it. Also, over the past couple of years, the amount of small video cameras mounted to the cars has increased the

opportunity to make a fool of yourself!

There are teams from the Somerset and Wilts, Peak and Dukeries, Chiltern

Vale, Lancashire and Cheshire, Midlands, Lincolnshire, Anglian and Breckland clubs, many of them having been attending for several years.

All involved would like to thank Dawn Davis, who does all the organising of the entries into groups, allocating marshals and sorting out the scores at the end, along with many other hidden but essential paperwork tasks. Thanks also go to Bramble 4x4 for sponsoring

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the event and making it possible to have door numbers.

This year, the sections were laid out

by Terry Buss and Dave Green to give Ron Baker and Greg Willig the chance to compete and try to beat four-time winners Dave Naylor and Keith Lynam.

Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way and once again Dave and Keith took our silverware away with them!

Well done, guys.