Land Rover Yearbook 2019 by Assignment Media Ltd

The essential annual for Land Rover owners and enthusiasts

Land Rover

2 019

YEARBOOK £7.99

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12 FUTURE GLORY

the year’s pages of cts for u best prod over dR your Lan

Tatty farm hack restored into a better-than-new 110

Plug-in Range Rover Driving the new P400e

A FINAL FLOURISH

Breathing new life into this ultra-rare 6x6 Stage 1

ON TEST

✔ Enhanced ✔ Restored ✔ Preserved ✔ Modiﬁed

One great Land Rover after another inside

2019 Yearbook Cover PRODUCTS EXTENT.indd 1

LONG-RANGE CHARITY RUN

An expedition with a noble cause 06/11/2018 15:27

three generations of automotive passion

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DEFE DER RE TORAT O

ound Deadening

Full ody Resprays

LED L

nsulation

Defender Accessories

pgrades

RADE

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LED Headlights

its

Driving

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TER OR TR M

Replacement eat E

ED T O

Locka le porting

overs

Roof Linings for Defender

Aluminium tyling

pgrades

OR E

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Roof Racks Tu ular Flat Luggage

Winch umpers

teering

uards

W DOW

Side Steps

Spare Wheel Carriers

Lamp Guards

Light Mounting Bars

Wheels

Tree Sliders

Bonnets & Scoops

NAS Rear Steps

Snorkels

Chequer Plates

Rear Ladders

Heated Windscreens

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06/11/2018 12:01

Contents

Features 12 14

60 30

32 34

DEFENDER 90 WORKS V8

Can any Defender possibly be worth £150,000? Here’s where we find out…

PRODUCTS

Whether you’re a restorer, a modder, an off-roader or someone who’s just trying to keep an old Land Rover running from day to day, here are 12 pages featuring some of the best kit on the market

HYBRID RANGEY SPORT

The P400e plug-in hybrid represents a new level of high-tech engineering. Does it make sense in the real world?

RANGE ROVER VELAR

Solihull’s style wagon has won awards for its looks. Is there more to it than that?

THE FORGOTTEN LANDY

The Freelander 2 died out when the Disco Sport was introduced. But there are loads of them still around – and a good one can make a sensational used buy

136 BUYERS GUIDE

If you don’t currently own a Land Rover, this magazine will make you want one. And the good news is that we’ve also got a treasure trove of info to help you scratch that itch without making yourself bleed

Workshop 106 V8 REBUILD

Following the steps as engine specialist NWS carries out a full strip-down and rebuild on a legendary Land Rover lump

112 RUSKIN RETRIM

The inside story of how an unremarkable 90 TD5 gained a new cabin that was very remarkable indeed

120 REMAKING RARE PARTS

What if you need bits for a classic rebuild that don’t exist any more? You turn to Atkinson Bespoke Engineering, that’s what

Adventures 126 EUROPE THE HARD WAY

A marathon road trip around Europe aboard a pair of restored leafers: well, how hard could it be?

130 LIGHTWEIGHT OVERLAND Which Land Rover would you choose for African adventures? Probably not an old ex-Army half-tonner…

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 23:07

Vehicles 4

REBORN DEFENDER

No need to shell out on a shiny new truck – just rebuild the tatty one that’s already sitting on your drive

P38 MEETS L322

A Mk2 Range Rover lives again – thanks to the engine from the model that replaced it

36 SUPERB EX FARM HACK

Our cover star is a 110 that spent its life working in European vineyards – before being brought back to better than new

40 AGED 110

A tired old station wagon restored profesionally for a new life on the other side of the Atlantic

42 DROPSIDE DISCOVERY

What if Land Rover never made the truck you really wanted? Simple: just take the closest thing and build it yourself

44 RESTIFIED RANGEY

Twenty-Ten Engineering didn’t just restore this Range Rover Classic – they turned it into something very special indeed

48 FOOTBALLER’S FANCY

Examining the details that turned a Range Rover Sport into the personal ride of one D. Beckham Esq…

52 PRE-PRODUCTION 80

Mike Rivett’s beautifully lived-in Series I is the most wonderful thing you’ll clap eyes on this or any other day

56 SHEER ROVER

The work of an old-school custom house, the Sheer Rover is… well, sheer something

60 SENSATIONAL 6X6

One man’s fond farewell to the Land Rover world – a sublime resto job on an ultra-rare six-wheel drive Stage 1

From the team that brings you…

64 THE WILDEST WOLF

The military Wolf is commonly regarded as the perfect Defender. It took many forms: the bristling WMIK is perhaps the most eye-catching of all of them

68 EVERYDAY IIA

Old Landies tend to be seen as a pastime, not a way of life. But here’s proof that you can still drive one everyday and stay sane

70 SIX-POT 90

In Britain, Defenders were overwhelmingly diesel powered. But in South Africa, they were assembled from CKD kits… with smooth six-pot BMW petrol units

74 HI-CAP CAMPER

Every lame SUV in the world pretends to be an adventure wagon. But a rare Series III sounds like a proper passport to the great outdoors

78 FC FIREFIGHTER

Land Rover produced a vehicle for more or less every occasion – even if sometimes, the final build was done elsewhere

82 PRESERVED LIGHTWEIGHT Need something for the dodgy weather? An old air-portable with a second-chance Army chassis ought to do the trick

86 HEAVY-DUTY WINCH 90

If you like winching but own (pah) a little Suzuki, experience will soon draw you towards a hardcore Defender…

92 A FITTING TRIBUTE

The tale of a magnificent Range Rover, told in appreciation of its builder who passed away earlier this year

100 IMPOSSIBLE LAND ROVER When you’re building a hardcore 90 out of bits, and people tell you it’s impossible… well, that’s just a red rag to a bull

01283 553243 michael.trott@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.thelandy.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelandyuk Founding Editor Alan Kidd Editor Mike Trott Assistant Editor George Dove Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Graham Scott, Paul Looe, Dan Fenn, Trevor Bailey, Kenny Tucker Olly Sack Photographers Matthew Fairbrass, Vic Peel, Steve Taylor, Harry Hamm, Andy Cox, Peter Middleton Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising Sales Manager Peter Topley Tel: 01283 553245 Advertising and Exhibition Sales Executive Abigail Cooper Tel: 01283 553246 Advertising Production Sarah Lowe Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Manager Catherine Martin Subscriptions Assistants Emma Emery, Kay Tunnicliffe, Abi Dutton Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Lowe Email: sarah.lowe@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to The Landy, or renew your subscription, call 01283 553243 Current price for 12 issues: UK £20 The Landy is available from newsagents, priced at £2.50 a copy, and free through selected Britpart dealers Every effort is made to ensure the contents of The Land Rover Yearbook are accurate, however Assignment Media Ltd accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these When responding to any advert in The Land Rover Yearbook, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable steps to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred as a result of responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC-BY-2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org The Land Rover Yearbook is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House G11, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby DE15 0YZ

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Rolling back Need a simple, reliable workhorse but can’t ﬁnd a new vehicle you like? Well, how about you just rebuild the one that’s sitting on your driveway… WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

he Tdi-engined Land Rover Defender is as good now as it was back in the 1990s. And it was very good. But there are very few remaining examples that resemble anything like their former showroom selves. Here’s how things worked: you’d buy a Defender, play with it, work it hard and revel in the fact you could maintain it yourself, simply by utilising the precision of a hammer and brute force. It answered to these inputs – it was born to be worked hard. But sitting here now and looking at that Defender you bought over 20 years ago, somehow it looks a little… weathered these days. So, you ponder a potential replacement. You want something cheap to run. You want a vehicle that can blend in with the local dignitaries of sheep and cows, a vehicle that can carry all sorts of crap – in many instances, quite literally.

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However, above all else, what you need is a vehicle that can be stranded in the middle of a ﬁeld and yet with minimal coaxing can be brought back to life, rather than having to send an SOS alert to some sort of latter-day computer technician. It’s hard to think of an option that ticks all those boxes and the thought of having to ﬁnd a compromise is depressing at best. But, what if you didn’t need to shop around? What if the answer is right there in front of you already? Your Defender is similar to that metal strap watch you’ve been wearing every day for years: they are both timeless pieces. Okay, so the watch is more ‘timeful’, but we’ll skirt over that minor discrepancy. Because both the Defender and the watch have evolved so slowly, changing very little in appearance and adopting newer technology slower than other products, these types of objects lend themselves to restoration.

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:12

the ye ars

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This is the road you should take. Restoring the Defender that is. Graham Hemming decided to do just that. Admittedly, he doesn’t work his Defender as hard as some people out there, i.e. some of his friends who are farmers themselves, but it still gets used as a dog transportation device and as a vehicle to go shooting in. ‘In my opinion, these are probably the best they produced,’ claims Graham, as he shows me around his 1995 300Tdi 90. This particular Defender does look smart for its age, but that is because of the work Graham has had done to it over the last couple of years. ‘I paid over the odds to get it if I’m being honest. The rear had been badly welded and it was showing signs of some potential rear damage from the past,’ Graham continues. ‘But on the whole it was very straight.’ Some vehicles catch your eye because of how ostentatious o ext emely modiﬁed they have become. Graham’s Defender grabs your attention with just how tidy it is and subtle the revisions have been. ‘I decided to go for the chassis change, putting a galvanised one underneath and then had it prepared for its respray,’ says Graham. ‘I had the windows and rubbers changed at the same time – it was logical stuff to do while it was in that state.’ The respray was carried out, in the original shade, but only to the outside of the vehicle with

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Graham believing the interior to be more than likely original and unaltered. Other work done included the installation of new brake pipes, bushes, and anything relevant to the MOT testing, such as the consumables. As for the subtle revisions, the lights have been upgraded to the more powerful and popular LED va iety while alloys have been fitted on the to modernise the exterior ever so slightly. Rest assured, though, Graham still has the steel wheels tucked away for safekeeping. Graham adds, ‘The 300 is such a bulletproof engine. They are cheap to keep going and, like many people, I use a Land Rover specialist nearby. Farmers don’t have the same choice of vehicles as they used to. Perhaps the way forward would be to bring back a 90?’ One suspects that the new Defender won’t exactly be farmyard friendly, no matter how Solihull tries to market the return of their icon. hich leaves a significant ga out the e fo a basic ha dwo ing hac to fill hy s end thousands on a new machine riddled with wires when you can just put that money towards the rebuild of a master? Plus, if you don’t own a Defender already, you can buy a cheaper Tdi model rather than a later, mo e ex ensive uma and as a bonus you ll find it more rewarding! Graham does. ‘The last Land Rover I had was a Puma – it just didn’t excite like the Tdi,’ he expresses. ‘You don’t want a Land Rover to get closer to being

a car! The whole point is that a Land Rover is a workhorse; you take them as they are. ‘I’ve one friend who is a farmer by trade, and he just uses it as it is. He’s never cleaned it – probably for fear of it falling apart!’ All of those with sense will concur with Graham that only a handful of vehicles offer as much engagement as a Defender, and yes, the overused Meccano adage comes up again and again. But that is exactly what you need on a farmyard, mountainto o ﬁeld in the middle of nowhe e ‘For me, this, a Defender with the 300Tdi engine – it’s the ultimate 90 combination,’ smiles Graham proudly. Rather than throwing money on something that you don’t really want, why not put that money towards restoring the vehicle that you never wanted to get id of in the ﬁ st lace

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:12

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Series / Defender / Discovery / Freelander / Range Rover / Range Rover Sport / Range Rover Evoque

ENGINE MAN

Changing your Land Rover’s engine for something else in the Solihull repertoire may not be anything unusual. But here is an enthusiast who has taken Range Rover repower to new heights WORDS: ANDREW HAMILTON PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

y history with Range Rovers goes back some way, as is often the case with our breed. It started with a two-door J-reg Classic, and the engine swapping began almost immediately. The two-door was converted to take a Mazda 3.0-litre HA diesel (similar to a Perkins 4.182), and later adapted to swallow a Perkins 4.236 engine – less trouble than the aforementioned, but also less efined After the perkiness followed a second Range Rover, this time a four-door B-reg example modified to use the b illiant di his was vastly better, but the conversion itself wasn’t quite right. A third and fourth Range Rover came along in its wake, both of which were factorybuilt 300Tdis – one manual, the other an auto and the pair of them were generally very good. However, after the manual had done 265,000 miles, and the auto 190,000, you’ll agree it was probably a suitable time to change. We considered the Discovery 2 route, but preferred Range Rovers and so went down the road to a P38, knowing that the engines were not the best, but the rest – and I use the term pretty optimistically – was. I considered the prospect of a V8, which would need to be converted to gas as I was doing a lot of mileage at the time, but investigations suggested that trouble was likely. So I settled on a with engine modifications li ely to ensue as this engine, at least by 2001, was very short on low-end torque. he fi st change to be made was installing a tuning box, which undoubtedly helped, but as expected did not provide the easy performance we were looking for. So more changes were needed, leading to a variable nozzle turbo from a d moto being fitted to the existing engine

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his gave a significant im ovement to low-end torque, but I never got it quite right. Possibly with hindsight, further development of this would have given acceptable results – not as good as the Td6, but adequate enough and for significantly less dist ess I’ve mentioned the Td6 and the use of its parts, but what followed was a complete engine swap to said unit. I looked at various options, but the best seemed to be the L322’s Td6 unit. The advantage being that the block, at least externally, is identical to the 2.5 DHSE that was coming out, so physically the conversion would be straightforward. The only mechanical issues were that a fabricated sump was needed to accommodate the P38’s beam axle, and that the choice of torque converter would be limited by the small bell housing. I considered an engine and gearbox swap, but decided that this would be too much trouble. Keeping the existing 4HP22 gearbox meant that things were mechanically simpler, but that subsequent tuning would not be an option. However, I reasoned (correctly) that e fo mance would be sufficient seeing as a is several hundred kilos lighter than an L322! Many hours were spent digging into various torque converters. Part of the problem with diesel P38s is that the torque converter is very ‘slippy’, meaning the stalling speed is at around 3000rpm, apparently in order to get the engine revs up. Unfortunately, I realised this would negate much of the advantage of fitting the d engine he obvious o tion would be to fit a to ue conve te but this would not fit in the bell housing s a solution utomatics modified the existing unit to provide a lower stalling oint hey wa ned me that the modification

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 12:12

ANAGEMENT

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Naturally, electronics were at the heart of most of the issues that cropped up when carrying out the engine conversion. The biggest was a lack of communication between the engine and gearbox; in the end, this was solved by fitting a Compushift system supplied by Ashcrofts might not give exactly the result required, but it was perfect. Rally Raid performed the conversion itself, as they have ex e tise in ﬁtting these engines to competition cars. Mechanically, it all worked well, with claims that my P38 was faster off the line than a 2.7 TDV6 Range Rover Sport – something I can certainly believe. But the communication between engine and gearbox was not right – they were speaking different electronic ‘languages’. I tried various things, but was eventually defeated by an electronic ‘handshake’, sometimes being 0.02 seconds out! All this electronic stuff can be ve y de ating till the situation was made somewhat bette by ﬁtting a gea box controller. This still didn’t communicate with the

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engine, so the downshifts were harsh (with full pressure) but the gear changes themselves were in about the right places – although the change points were not affected by throttle positioning like they should be. Given the fact I did 80,000 miles with it in this state it can t have been too bad he ﬁnal solution was ﬁtting om ushift to cont ol the gearbox. This system, sold by Ashcroft in the UK, does not rely on any communication with the engine, as it is designed to allow the mating of non-electronic engines to electronically controlled gearboxes. The only complication was that the Land ove ve sion of the system fo the o uses a iscove y switch not a one

ence modified the gea box shaft to ta e two switches a iscove y one to cont ol the om ushift gea box and the o iginal one to control systems such as the starter, gearshift lights, reversing lights and mirror dipping and rear wiper in reverse. I believe that the newer ve sion om ushift can be set u to use a switch which would be much easie ince installing the om ushift featu e it s allowed the vehicle to drive perfectly. I set the system to suit the Td6 and my relaxed driving style, which was all very straightforward. I can honestly say that the P38 with a Td6 engine and om ushift is a bette system than ou facto y standard 2013 automatic Freelander. That is not to say that the Freelander is bad, though. I love my Range Rovers and, for me, the Td6 is the perfect engine for a P38. It provides good, easy performance with about 10% better fuel consumption than the 2.5, and I am sure that a factory version with a five s eed box could have been better still. There has been a lot of head scratching to get to this point, figu ing out the elect onic languages and getting all components to ‘sync’ properly. There has been plenty of trial and error along the way, but I do not regret the conversion, though, possibly if I had known in 2006 that the then-new Freelander 2 auto would be relatively trouble-free… The trouble, with people like you and I, is that if we’re faced with a choice between a characterless trouble-free vehicle, or a Land Rover with bags of character and plenty more baggage, we both know what the outcome will be. And in a Range Rover P38, you can guarantee you’ll get exactly that!

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 12:12

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Crazy in Love…

To mark its 70th birthday, Land Rover shoe-horned the 5.0-litre V8 from the Range Rover SVR into 150 Defenders – and walloped a £150,000 price tag on them. Crazy, clearly… but you can’t help but love it

ack in January, Land Rover kicked off a special year for its company with news that the much-loved Defender was alive and well. Sort of. As part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, Land Rover decided it would be a good idea to ‘re-engineer’ a batch of pre-owned Defenders. It did this by opening the vehicles’ bonnets, lobbing their diesel engines aside and squeezing the

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Range Rover Sport SVR’s thumping big 5.0-litre heart under the hood instead. It’s a version of the engine without the SVR’s supercharger, but it still makes for a 400bhp Defender, effectively, with Land Rover claiming their pumped-up brute to be the fastest and most powerful iteration they’ve ever made. Given that it can do a 0-60mph sprint in just 5.6 seconds, we’ve no reason to suspect otherwise.

And if you’re feeling especially ballsy, you could top it out at 106mph. I say ‘could’, because embarking on such an experience is likely to leave you with some form of scarring: physically, because your eardrums may disintegrate from the noise, and mentally, because it feels about as reassuring to operate as a shopping trolley with a jet engine strapped on to it.

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 12:16

this evised oad biased setu that the o s now efe s to find the best line th ough a se ies of a exes athe than uts but don t be fooled u e they ve given the o s a handling it but that s li e fitting a handling it to a oeing hen you lant you foot into the th ottle on the o s the e s a significant ause while the efende eluctantly calls the box into action a gea is eventually selected and then you ea s become victimised by an onslaught of thunde whilst the cabin seems to t emble in a manne a in to that of a s ace shuttle launch nd afte you ve hu tled down the oad and you ve become awa e of the fast a oach ing hai in you thoughts uic ly tu n to the shedding of s eed and the fact the b a es don t seem to do as much of it as you d li e hen you ve got the co ne itself t s li e t y ing to th ead the efende th ough the eye of a needle only you seem to have all the ecision of a half canned ac son olloc t eally is uite a s ectacula mode of t avel would imagine that it s a simila ex e ience to d iving the hai y chested ambo ghinis of

the olden days te ifying but wei dly addictive ntil you have a c ash of cou se ith the o s efende even though it has all the subtlety of a bu ning hamme it s a machine that is ca able of sti ing the emotions ny efende whethe it be this collecto s item o a nac e ed di f om the ineties with seve al hund ed thousand miles on the cloc eve y one of them has that ability to get unde you s in n this exam le it has a stubbo nness that is endea ing and while it has the oad manne s of a in a t ac suit you can t avoid getting suc ed into the theat e of it all even if the e fo mance isn t what you we e ex ecting adly only eo le will get the tic et to own one of these s ecial efende s hey a e chie y fo collecto s a select few who have the funds to buy u toys even if it means they will a ely eve come out of thei boxes t s a wonde ful thing the o s and a ﬁtting limited edition to ma a s ecial yea fo and ove t s ust a shame that so few eyes will eve get to see them in the esh nd that so few of these efende s will eve have esh g a ling thei stee ing wheels in ange

longside the newly ﬁtted fu nace this e wo ed efende gains the o ula eight s eed automatic t ansmission and a aft of othe enhancements including bette b a es and a handling it of u ated dam e s s ings and anti oll ba s e got behind the wheel of a ototy e ma chines ecently and had the chance to o en the ta s on this leviathan ou may thin that with

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PRODUCTS

ON AND OFF - ROAD PERFORMANCE ON OFFER FROM GENERAL GRABBER AT3 WITH EVERYDAY CAR BODS, the single item that has the biggest effect on a vehicle’s capabilities is often overlooked. Yep, the tyres. But that doesn’t happen in the 4x4 world. Us lot are more than aware that even the best vehicle is useless without grip. We know that to make the most of the ability our pride and joy has built into it, we need the right tyres on all four corners. To some people, that means ﬁtting ubbe that can i lumps out of concrete. To othe s it means ﬁtting ubbe that won’t get lumps ripped out of it by… well, anything. A good all-terrain tyre will be civilised and dependable on the road, sure-footed off-road, incredibly hard-wearing and capable of shrugging off the sort of damage that comes with being put to work on a 4x4 pick-up. These are all things you can expect from the General Grabber AT3. This very highly regarded all-terrain has a tread design that offers offroad grip thanks to edges that interlock with loose surfaces and an open tread shoulder that facilitates effective self-cleaning to maintain traction in mud. otecting the main body of the ty e f om oc s la ge sidewall lugs offe eace of mind e ection ibs dive t obstacles away from the tyre to prevent punctures and a rim protection rib shields the wheel bead area from kerbing damage and off-road hazards. Made from a robust compound, the reinforced blocks of the tread design make it durable and stable under stress – as do strong steel belts that run along the edges of the carcase. Undeviating block geometry provides a smoother ride and even tyre wear over time, and helps the tyre maintain a level of comfort on the road. With a wide range of sizes from 15” to 20”, the General Grabber AT3 offers durability and grip to almost all the 4x4 and pick-up market. For more details on the AT3, check out www.general-tire.co.uk.

NEWLY MADE PARTS FOR LAND ROVER 101 MOST PEOPLE THESE DAYS who do stuff with Land Rover 101s have their classic heads on. But anything that came on a 9.00x16 has got to be pretty interesting as an off-roader – and the big forward control beast is indeed a tool to reckon with if you’re willing to take a punt on its foibles. One problem with the 101, and other particularly rare vehicles like it, is that getting your hands on parts can be prohibitively hard – and even more prohibitively expensive. What you really want in that situation is a company of

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engineering experts that makes a range of new parts in the mould of the originals. If it is indeed a 101 you happen to ﬁnd you self wo ing on then you’re in luck. That’s because there’s a company called 101 Parts which manufactures new parts for the vehicles – and sells original items, too, when these are available. Between these two sources, the

company carries a pretty extensive range of products. Among the newest of these are the smart fairlead spigot and winch swivel housing seen here, both of which

are made in-house. Off-roading a 101 just became a little less outlandish an idea to ﬁnd out mo e fast forward (see what we did there, etc) to 101parts.co.uk.

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 15:24

PRODUCTS

RUSKIN DESIGN – GIVING YOUR DEFENDER AN INTERIOR THAT’S AS UNIQUE AS YOU ARE

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN OWNING A DEFENDER meant putting up with a cabin that was functional at best. But these days, more and more Land Rover owners are using interior upgrades to help create trucks to be proud of. And when it comes to putting life into your Defender’s cabin, there’s not much that can beat a fully bespoke hand-crafted interior from Ruskin Design. The Leicestershire company is the international market leader in its field – and with its design-led service, it promises to create ‘an interior that is as individual as you are.’ With a highly skilled team of craftsmen and women, Ruskin has a reputation for outstanding creativity and first-class workmanship. Its ‘Ruskin Inside’ trademark stands for luxury and elegance, taken to a degree previous generations of Defender owners would never have dreamed possible. In the company’s own words: ‘Every component of a Ruskin Inside is hand-made, from replacement seat covers, roof linings and carpets through to door card, dashboard and gear shift covers. Whether you want denim or diamonds, vegan or vanilla, the materials for your Ruskin Inside will be skilfully sourced, precision cut, stitched and fitted by hand by our dedicated team, to give you a premium interior that is as unique as you are.’ Not many aftermarket additions have the potential to add to a vehicle’s resale value, but Ruskin customers often find that the company’s interiors make their trucks more desirable come sell-on time. Professional restorers offering bespoke cabin designs tend to trust them to the experts, too. Want to find out more? Pay a visit to ruskindesign.co.uk – and prepare to let your imagination run riot!

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PRODUCTS

HEADREST HAPPINESS FROM BRITPART WITH MORE AND MORE Land Rover Defenders being turned into custom road rides, it stands to reason that less and less are being used as work trucks. But if you head out into the countryside, you’ll still see plenty of farmers going about in them. Working trucks, and therefore by definition working people. People who spend their days leaping in and out of their Land Rovers while caked in mud or soaked from a great British summer. This is sure to take its toll on the vehicle’s seats – including its headrests, which are often overlooked because with it being a farmer’s Land Rover, the notion of such things even existing still seems like a bit of a novelty. To help you breathe new life into your headrests, Britpart offers re-trimming kits which include both the cover and new foam for pre-2007 Defender. These are available in four styles – black, grey, vinyl twill and Techno. To find out more, you can track down your local Britpart stockist at www.britpart.com.

WE’RE SIMPLE BEINGS. All we need to be happy is a 4x4, somewhere to drive it and somewhe e to ﬁddle with it he only downside is that workshops and garages aren’t the cosiest of envi onments he new eaco eat otion heaters are key players are here to emedy that han s to thei in built motion sensors, they kick in once they notice movement and stop once you leave the oom hei com act design means there will still be plenty of oom to wo on you t uc too but to do so in cosiness the mal cut out and tilt safety technology ensu es that if they a e noc ed ove the heat cuts out and a fan function means they can e fo m cooling duties in the summe months too he e s two si es available both of which have tem e atu e cont ols and can be set to un on time s his gadget is so convenient that you ll fo get you even bought it so those nights in the wo sho will be ust li e befo e but bette anne ing is so much mo e effective when you can feel you ﬁnge s too ou can ead the full s ec online by visiting meaco com heate s

BOND BADDIES’ WHEELS – DIRECT TO YOU FROM WELLER WE ALL LOVE JAMES BOND. e s obably the coolest guy eve eah o ay he s fictitious and im afish is even coole while also being eal ut fictitiously s ea ing ond is still ve y cool e is in fact the embodiment of the unive sal t uth that a man is only as cool as his tools n which case he is cu ently coole than eve n the latest ond movie ect e s ston a tin was out cooled not by the s ecially made agua but by a t usty and ove efende he ect e loo s the business fo su e e d all love to have one though we might get ca ied away and t y to un ston a tin d ive s off the oad which wouldn t be ve y s o ting of us nyway one featu e we can ta e f om the sta of the silve sc een is its wheels elle has oduced its ect e ach aux eadloc ims so you efende can have the same boots as its favou ite film sta t s oad legal too though at a o di ect f om the manufactu e you may find you self feeling mo e sha en than sti ed hey e cool though ot as cool as im afish but definitely coole than ames ond o get you slice of the villainy visit welle wheels com fte fi st oogling im afish to see what we e on about obviously

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 15:24

VEHICLE INTERIORS AS INDIVIDUAL AS YOU ARE GUARANTEED

RUSKIN INSIDE

To arrange a Bespoke Design consultation call: 0116 277 3701 or email bespoke@ruskindesign.co.uk

PRODUCTS

WITTER WESTFALIA LEADING THE WAY ON TOWBAR SAFETY With more than 150 years of towbar manufacturing excellence between them, it is fair to say that Witter Towbars and Westfalia Automotive are ex e ts in thei field he com anies have long been at the fo ef ont of develo ment in the towba and towing accesso ies indust y The two iconic brands are part of the Horizon Global group of companies the wo ld s la gest manufactu e of towba s t aile s and accesso ies They have launched a new initiative in the UK that will ensure customers can choose the correct towbar and electrics kit for their vehicle – and have it fitted to the highest standa ds by ex e ienced and well t ained fitte s Witter/Westfalia wants to offer the highest possible level of service to the consumer through the entire journey of purchasing and installing the com any s oducts he eeside based com any has mo e than fitting outlets nationwide and the decision to select a number across the country to become Approved Service Centres is explained by E-Commerce and Demand ulfilment anage nd ew oyles ‘As market leaders, we feel it is important that our customers get the best ossible ex e ience when u chasing ou oducts om the moment they go online and place an order, to the point where they drive out of the service centre with the job completed, we want them to be completely satisfied with the levels of se vice and ex e tise that they have eceived ‘The level of sophistication in vehicles introduced in the last ten years has develo ed to such an extent that fitting a towba and wi ing should only be unde ta en by a s ecialist who has the necessa y s ill set and e ui ment he towba and wi ing is the safety c itical item that oins the vehicle with the ca avan t aile and ee s you family safe itte estfalia thin s it is vital that all mode n ca s should be fitted with a vehicle s ecific elect ic it athe than a unive sal by ass elay he latte a e chea e although only usually by but says itte we can t st ess enough the costs vehicle elect ics save in the long un hen you fit a vehicle s ecific it and ecode the vehicle s you a e giving you ca access to all the info mation it needs to now how to ad ust its safety featu es acco dingly o when you hitch u you t aile ca avan etc you vehicle ecognises you have added to the no mal o e ating a amete s and ad usts e fo mance acco dingly his might mean ad usting the to ue and owe settings to the wheels to maintain g i changing gea atio and b a ing intensities to allow for the additional weight and forces being placed on the vehicle, and changing parameters for braking assist or proximity detectors, so they ex and thei field of vision and eact mo e uic ly to otential ha a ds A universal bypass kit, meanwhile, will do just as the name implies – bypass all safety features and not inform the vehicle that it has an extra two tonnes o mo e of weight behind it t was a natu al og ession oyles continues to loo at the final lin in the chain, which is of course the service cent es om design and manufactu e to the products leaving our premises, we have total cont ol of oceedings However, at the most critical point of the t ansaction the fitting we had no in ut he efo e with the full coo e ation of the fitting outlets we have established the criteria by which they can be awarded the Approved Service Centre mantle ltimately it is in thei own interests to meet the criteria, as it will mean increased sales for those selected outlets; when a customer is booking on line through our WEBFIT booking system, wherever possible we will direct them to the nearest Approved Fitting Centre because we can be sure of the se vice they will eceive Want to know more about Witter’s Approved Service Centres programme? o nd ew oyles a line on a oyles ho i onglobal com o ay a visit to www witte towba s co u

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 23:22

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BFGOODRICH LAUNCHES THIRD - GENERATION MUD -TERRAIN AS KM3 COMES TO BRITAIN MUD-TERRAINS COME AND MUD-TERRAINS GO, but for almost four decades BFGoodrich has been the name behind THE Mud-Terrain. And now the company has launched its new Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 – the third-generation version of a tyre which has become a ‘Hoover’ brand in the world of off-roading. With the arrival of the KM3, BFG says it has ‘introduced technologies that further improve climbing, traction and toughness in the mud and ove oc he com any omises a ﬁve e cent ove all im ovement in traction on soft ground compared to the old KM2, thanks to ‘mudphobic’ bars on the tyre’s shoulders which aid self-cleaning by ejecting compacted material. They’re aided in this by the tyre’s ‘Terrain-Attack’ tread pattern, whose large blocks are designed to grip on to hard ground, or bite into softer surfaces, whatever the angle of approach. BFG says the tyre’s compound makes it eight percent more effective than the KM2 over rocks, with a ‘Linear Flex Zone’ designed to wrap around hard surfaces when running at low pressures. Performance over muddy and rocky surfaces alike is aided by notches in the ty e s shoulde s which ow down into a action mo idewall cul tu e whose einfo ced st uctu e hel s event damage to the most vulnerable part of the carcase. The sidewalls themselves are now an astonishing 27% tougher than the previous model’s, thanks to BFG’s CoreGard Max technology – as used on its Baja T/A KR3 desert-racing tyres – which helps prevent splitting or puncturing, with increased thickness to protect the ‘critical sidewall failure zone.’ BFGoodrich says the KM3 ‘was designed to conquer the toughest offroad challenges with extreme sidewall protection, pinch shock resistance and chip-and-tear resistance on gravel.’ But just as importantly, it also offers ‘solid street performance and acceptable on-road noise levels for the drives to and from the trail.’ ‘The KM3 tyre is designed for extreme toughness and traction and is essential equipment for serious off-road enthusiasts,’ says BFG general manager Harold Phillips. ‘Whether simply driving for off-road fun, or the extreme capability to access outdoor activities, this tyre was made to take drivers anywhere they want to go.’ The KM3 is currently in the middle of a phased launch which will ultimately see a total of 42 sizes available, 21 of them new, by January 2019. Not all will be available in the UK, however at the time of writing there are ten listed on the company’s UK website. To stay abreast of developments, the website in question is waiting for you at www.bfgoodrich.co.uk.

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 15:24

PRODUCTS

ENSUITE FACILITIES FOR YOUR 4X4

Thomas Performance is currently offering a variety of wheels and tyre packages including a choice of rim styles wrapped in either BFGoodrich or Maxxis rubber. The array of wheels ranges from sleek ﬁve-spoke obs to more aggressive faux-beadlock variants – it’s all there for your perusal at thomasperformance.co.uk.

SMALL BUT POWERFUL MULTI - PURPOSE LIGHT FROM NIGHTSEARCHER YOUR PARENTS have probably told you at some point in your life that the best things come in small packages. But there was literally nothing that was better in small packages. Presents – nope. Fast food no oney deﬁnitely not ven now, years later, small packages still tend to be like big packages only not as good. But there is one exception to the rule. The new StarBuddy work light from NightSearcher is small. But it’s mighty. Powered by a trio of AAA batteries, the multi-functional light has you unde bonnet illumination needs sorted. Its adjustable stand is magnetic (sneer at people with Land Rovers, everybody else) and has an inbuilt hook (sneer back at everybody else, people with Land Rovers), enabling widespread versatility. ith a oodlight that can chuc out 180 lumens, an inspection light offe ing lumens and ashing ed emergency numbers, this little star really is your buddy in any situation.

It can run for over three hours full-tilt in each setting, with the blinkers on tap for up to double that. To be further dazzled, visit nightsearher.co.uk.

THE RING RAC660 tyre pump will help you keep on top of your x ’s tyre health. Powered by a in-car socket or via the mains, it has a back-lit screen on which you simply set the desired pressure and wait for it to in ate. It also features an LED light, so it can be used day or night. The full speciﬁcation is up for your perusal at ringautomotive.com.

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WHEN YOU GO ON EXPEDITION, you’ve still got to go, on expedition. Hence the uic n uite f om uic itch which is ‘the ultimate solution for overland vehicles, camper vans and caravans that do not already come with an en-suite toilet or outside shower facility.’ Brought to the UK by Tuff-Trek, the uic n uite eally is uic too – the company says it can be ready in less than ten seconds, which could be very useful if you’re travelling in the land of Montezuma’s Revenge (or just aren’t much cop at cooking over a ba becue ven if a shovel is you friend, what you have here could still be ‘a convenient and private cubicle for showering or getting changed at the beach!’ You could see it making life a lot less fraught for families, too. he uic n uite is available with a choice of covers – either an aluminium box or canvas bag. Prices are likely to hover around the

£400 mark, with the ally box likely to cost about 10% more than the canvas o tion o ﬁnd out mo e ay a visit to tuff-trek.com. lso new from Tuff-Trek is the ridge-Drop- lide. This ﬁxes to the top of a drawer unit to let the fridge slide out towards the back door, before safely dropping down to a lower height to allow you to see inside and get easy access to the contents. It’s available in three sizes to suit most commercially available expedition fridges; prices are £630 for the mall -litre unit, for the edium -litre and for the Large -litre. gain, tuff-trek.com is the place to go.

POWERFLEX HAS ADDED a variety of new ﬁtments to its range of Universal Exhaust Mounts. These include model number EXH019, which covers the Land Rover Defender from -on, Discovery and 2, Range Rover Classic and Range Rover P38. ade from polyurethane, these mounts are about stiffer than the rubber equivalent, providing better height and movement control and resisting deterioration with age. Power ex says they won’t perish or break with the weight of the system they’re carrying, either – and to back this up, they come with a lifetime warranty. The Land Rover mounts cost £10 each including T. To ﬁnd out more, go to www. power ex.co.uk.

21 06/11/2018 15:24

PRODUCTS

NEW POWERFLEX BUSHES FOR DEFENDERS

IT’S NOT JUST LAND ROVER that’s getting excited about being its th anniversary – Power ex has muscled in on the party, too. The ritish-based suspension specialist has released a new range of bushes specifically for the icon that is the Defender. The range comes with a lifetime warranty, which the company is confident enough to offer as the products themselves have been tested and developed for the last two years. The range includes bushes for the front and rear radius arms, including standard and caster-corrected options up front to help counteract the issues typically encountered when using lifted suspension kits. Power ex also has andling Packs available, which comprise products from its range which combine to exploit the full performance of the suspension system. nd all the above can also be used on the Discovery and Range Rover lassic – on account of they’re basically the same thing underneath. There’s an electronic booklet on the Power ex website which you can read if you feel further education is necessary to help you decide ust what it is your Defender’s suspension needs. The place to go to find this is www.power ex.co.uk.

DOME IS WHERE BRITPART IS… FEW THINGS ARE AS GOOD as wild camping while you’re out on an adventure. But sometimes it can all feel a bit high maintenance and ﬁddly and annoying. It’s often too hot or too cold, too, as well as being breezy, noisy, muddy and uncomfortable. I’m obviously talking about the nylon nuisance, not the metallic one that got you to your destination. But the ARB Skydome Swag avoids those issues… well, most of them. It’s bigger than your usual bedroll, and has an inbuilt 75mm foam mattress. The materials are waterproof so you’ll be dry too, the added size helps you avoid any moments of claustrophobia and the a cove ed insect oof mesh im oves ai ow fo those wa me nights The structure also doesn’t need to be egged down on at su faces he ot and mildew-proof canvas promises to last just as long as the vehicle that bears you out and about on your adventures, too – and when it’s rolled up, the whole shebang only weighs in at about ten kilograms. ARB’s Skydome Swag is available in the UK via Britpart. So if you’re looking at how to get your swagger back around the campsite, head for www. britpart.com and they’ll show you.

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 23:22

THE LAND ROVER EXPLORE: OUTDOOR PHONE Designed in close collaboration with Land Rover, the Explore takes its inspiration from the Land Rover Discovery. This smartphone will keep you on the road for longer with a battery that won’t cut your day short. Stay connected with a phone that’s tough and durable enough to keep up with you - waterproof, built to withstand drops and extremes in temperature the Land Rover Explore is the piece of Land Rover gear that you shouldn’t be without. #ExploreMore landroverexplore.com

p23 AD.indd 33

06/11/2018 20:55

PRODUCTS

VENTER TRAILERS: THEY’RE BEHIND YOU…! WHEN YOU ARE IN THE MARKET for a new trailer, there are certain criteria you always look for. It needs to be secure, safe, stable and high uality ente t aile is all of these and its tasteful design is also as versatile as you need it to be. ince it was fo med in outh f ica in ente aile s has gained decades of experience in providing leisure trailers offering security, convenience and functionality in a single product. Since moving to Bristol in ente aile s have continued to do that and the family un business prides itself in the units it supplies. he ente ange consists of va ious si ed t aile s accesso ies and t aile mounted oof tents aile s in the lite u e and oyage lines offe com act efﬁcient ex ansion of you vehicle s sto age s ace ach can be enhanced with any of ente s accesso ies ange that includes bicycle racks, extra storage systems and roof racks. he avuti eisu e aile tent combines a dee e t aile body of mm lus a t aile to tent thus ese ving in vehicle s ace but not sac iﬁcing performance or practicality. ll t aile s a e made of co osion esistant inc o elect o galvanised sheet steel ensu ing that they e long lasting and secu e he body of each trailer has been designed to be rigid and well balanced, so it maintains alignment with the towing vehicle and doesn’t complicate the driving ocess ente aile s un on o inch ty es and solid axles ve y ente aile is built and then tested at testing stations and they come with a one yea manufactu e s wa anty as standa d ant to now mo e ail along to www vente t aile su com

BRITPART’S FRIDGE MONITOR HELPS YOU STAY CHILLED IF YOU’VE GOT A FRIDGE IN YOUR TRUCK, it’s because you need to keep stuff cold. This is most likely to mean a supply of beer and burgers for the BBQ at ye olde lashed-up camping weekend with your club mates. But, in the case of proper vehicle-dependant travel, the word ‘need’ could mean that if the stuff in there all goes off in the heat of the frican sun, you’re looking at four or five days on the world’s worst roads ust to find basic provisions. So the ARB Fridge Monitor seems like a no-brainer. This clips on to a bracket on your dashboard, giving you an instant view of the charging condition and internal temperature of any ARB fridge you care to instal. The monitor has a range of up to 100 feet, so you can unclip it and keep watch from around the campfire. Like the fridges themselves, availability through the extensive network of Britpart stockists means it should be easy to get hold of at the right price.

LED GRILLE MOUNTS FOR DISCOVERY 4

GARMIN’S NEW DASH CAM 55 PLUS is the company’s latest product for people who want a record of their adventures. It comes with a Travelapse feature which can condense hours of footage into minutes – something that could certainly be useful at the end of a day on the lanes. The pictures themselves are high-quality, too, as the unit can record in 1440, 1080 or 720ppi resolution via a 3.7-megapixel camera and 2-inch L D display screen. These are saved on an D card, which you can then remove and plug in to whatever other device you want. Garmin says the unit responds to voice commands – and possibly best of all, it offers lane departure and forward collision warnings, will prompt you if you’re dozy in stop-start trafﬁc and has a parking mode in which it senses movement when the engine is off. The Dash am Plus is exclusive to Halfords, where it will cost you £119.

LAZER LAMPS has announced a duo of LED spotlight kits for the Land Rover Discovery 4. Available for models from both the 2009 and 2014 e as these g ille mounts ensu e a secu e auxilia y light installation that ﬁt around the original grille to keep the vehicle looking as smart as ever. Weather and chemical resistant, the light kits will retain the enhanced image of your Discovery’s front end – as well of course as allowing you to ﬁt a e s fully oad legal s ots which can be wi ed in to wo with the vehicle’s standard full beam setting. More light is shone on the specs and icing at la e lam s com

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06/11/2018 15:25

Can’t go a month without a Land Rover ﬁx? Subscribe to The Landy today and you won’t have to!

Are you crazy about Defenders? Dotty about Discos? Does the sight of a classic Series I make you weak at the knees? If so, The Landy is most certainly for you! The UK’s only Land Rover newspaper is brought to you by the very same publisher and writers as this very magbook. And you can get your monthly ﬁx by subscribing today – for the fantastic price of just £26 per year!

With your subscription, you’ll get:

• 12 issues of the UK’s only Land Rover newspaper delivered straight to your door • A saving of 17% on the cover price. • All the latest Land Rover news and club scene coverage • Loads of useful product reviews and inspiring adventure stories • Features on the best classic, modded and everyday Land Rovers every month

And all for just £26! How could you resist? Simply ﬁll out the form below, including your credit or debit card details, or send it with a cheque payable to The Landy at Assignment Media Ltd, G11 Repton House, Bretby Business Park, Burton-upon-Trent, DE15 0YZ Alternatively, just give us a call on 01283 553 243 FULL NAME: SHIPPING ADDRESS: TEL NUMBER: CARD NUMBER: EXPIRY DATE: SECURITY CODE:

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20/03/2017 10:06

PRODUCTS

TYRES DIRECT BRINGS ROADCRUZA TO BRITAIN RECENTLY INTRODUCED TO THE UK is the Roadcruza range of all-terrain and mud-terrain tyres from Chinese manufacturer SNC. Imported by Tyres Direct Online, these are already proving popular in the and offer a range of ﬁtments which is due to grow extensively over the next year with the arrival of many extra si es in both patterns. The Roadcru a R is an all-terrain designed for x s and pick-ups, with a typical asymmetric tread design punctuated with sipes and lateral grooves to help prevent road noise. The tyre is designed for dependable water e ection and has a silica compound for strong grip and reduced rolling resistance. The R , which is available in aspect ratios of - as well as a wide variety of old-style otation si es, is a mud-terrain whose tread pattern and rubber compound alike were designed for efﬁcient self-cleaning and grippy, cut-resistant performance in off-road conditions. Its shoulders overlap on to the sidewall for additional grip and strength – and, admits, to look cool. This tyre is available in diameters of up to 40” and rim sizes stretching from 15” to a massive 26”. With their familiar patterns, wide range of si es and tempting looking prices, these tyres are certain to appeal to a good many off-road enthusiasts and work truck users alike. The panel on this pages provides a full rundown of what’s available at present and slated to arrive soon, with prices wherever they’re currently available – for the latest info as the range develops, visit www.tyresdirectuk.co.uk.

HEAVY- DUTY WHEELARCH TRIM KIT FOR DISCOVERY 3 AND 4

THE LAND ROVER Discovery 3 has been called a good many things, no small amount of them by exasperated owners. But few people would try to deny that of all the premium SUVs made in the last ﬁfteen yea s o so few came with more off-road ability designed in. That makes it an interesting choice now for a go-anywhere

toy – and if you’re brave enough, or rich enough, to use one as you all-terrain chariot of choice the aftermarket has long since started creating kit to help you get out there and do it. The latest addition to this growing range of equipment is this heavy-duty wheelarch kit from Bearmach. Suitable for Discovery 3s and 4s alike, it’s a like-for-like replacement made from more durable plastics than the original

trim. Give these arches the sort of whack, or scrape, that the Discovery’s basic ability allows you to dish out, and they’re that much more likely to take it.

Bearmach says the kits are easy to install, and they come with all the cli s you need fo ﬁtting them to you iscove y o o ﬁnd out more, pay a visit to bearmach.com.

our Land Rover can do anything, right? adly, wrong. There’s no such thing as a truck that can’t get stuck. o, nor a driver. ot that that applies to your good self, of course, but one can’t help who one goes offroading with, can one? ence the need, and it is one, for recovery kit in our lives. ut, like drivers, there’s good and there’s bad. omad Webbing very much makes the former, having over years’ experience in using, designing and manufacturing recovery gear. o, if you’re going to trust anyone’s product to get you unstuck safely, trust theirs. Their repertoire covers bridles, tree strops and slings, tow straps, kinetic tow ropes and load restraint. To view the full range, visit nomadwebbing.com.

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 15:25

SNC ROADCRUZA – SIZES AND PRICES RA1100 (All-Terrain) P215/75R15 P235/75R15 31x10.50R15LT P235/70R16 LT235/85R16 P245/70R16 LT245/75R16 LT265/70R16 LT265/75R16 LT285/75R16 P265/65R17 LT265/70R17

100S 105T 109S 104S 120/116R 106T 120/116R 121/118R 123/120S 126/123R 110S 121/118R

6PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR

£69.95 £73.95 £89.95 £78.95 £90.95 £78.95 £99.95 £96.95 £112.95 £77.95

10PR

New sizes coming 2019 LT235/75R15 P215/70R16 LT215/85R16 LT225/75R16 P255/70R16 P265/70R16 LT235/80R17 P245/65R17 LT245/70R17 LT245/75R17 P265/70R17

104/101R 99T 115/112R 115/112R 111T 111T 120/117R 105T 119/116S 121/118S 113T

6PR 10PR 10PR

10PR 10PR 10PR

LT285/70R17 LT265/70R18 LT275/65R18 LT275/70R18 P275/60R20 LT275/65R20

121/118R 124/121S 123/120S 125/122S 114T 126/123S

10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR

35x13.50R20LT 37x13.50R20LT 33x12.50R22LT 35x12.50R22LT 37x13.50R22LT 37x13.50R24LT 40x15.50R24LT 40x15.50R26LT

10PR

RA3200 (Mud-Terrain} LT215/75R15 LT235/75R15 31x10.50R15LT 32x11.50R15LT 33x12.50R15LT LT235/85R16 LT245/75R16 LT265/75R16 LT285/75R16 LT305/70R16 LT315/75R16 LT265/70R17 LT285/70R17 33x12.50R17LT 37x12.50R17LT 33x12.50R20LT 35x12.50R20LT

100/97Q 104/101Q 109Q 113Q 108Q 120/116Q 120/116Q 119/116Q 116/113Q 118/115Q 121/118Q 121/118Q 121/118Q 114Q 124K 114Q 121Q

6PR 6PR 6PR 6PR 9PR 10PR 10PR 8PR 6PR 8PR 8PR 10PR 8PR 8PR 8PR 10PR 10PR

124K 127K 109Q 117Q 123K 120Q 128K 127K

10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR

£166.95 £201.95 £134.95

New sizes coming 2019 £76.95 £81.95 £89.95 £101.95 £112.95 £93.95 £104.95 £109.95 £110.95 £128.95 £101.95 £110.95 £120.95 £184.95 £138.95 £156.95

LT235/75R15 P215/70R16 LT215/85R16 LT225/75R16 P255/70R16 P265/70R16 LT235/80R17 P245/65R17 LT245/70R17 LT245/75R17 P265/70R17 LT285/70R17 LT265/70R18 LT275/65R18 LT275/70R18 P275/60R20 LT275/65R20

104/101R 99T 115/112R 115/112R 111T 111T 120/117R 105T 119/116S 121/118S 113T 121/118R 124/121S 123/120S 125/122S 114T 126/123S

6PR 10PR 10PR

10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR 10PR

AMERICAN - MADE HEAVY- DUTY ALLOYS WITH BEAD - GRIP TECHNOLOGY – AND FITMENTS TO SUIT LAND ROVERS METHOD RACE WHEELS has launched a new design of rim in the UK, complete with a patented Bead Grip system allowing you to air down without needing beadlocks. Called the 701, it’s fully roadlegal – and UK importer XS4x4 says it s the ﬁ st heavy duty alloy from the USA to be

available with a ﬁtment fo the and ove efende As you can see from our picture, the efende in uestion might tu n out to be a iscove y ut you know, stud patterns and all that. The 701’s Bead Grip design engages the tyre’s inner and oute bead seats oviding an alte native to beadloc s ith an agg essive inner ‘safety hump’, as found on fullon race wheels, it holds the bead securely in place, allowing you to run at low pressures similar to those achieved using kit that’s not road-legal. The wheels have a one iece

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cast aluminium construction and a reinforced inner lip for maximum strength, allowing load ratings of up to 3640lb. Their matte black and b on e ﬁnishes a e du ability tested against the effects of salt spray, and they come with either snap-in or push-through centre caps. n addition to the efende the ethod is available to ﬁt a

va iety of x s f om othe ma e s some of whose axles might feasibly be useful if you’re doing a mongo off-road build. Oh, yes, and the iscove y ut you al eady new that, didn’t you? XS4x4 says the 701 will be available in the f om the end of e tembe o ﬁnd out mo e ust ay a visit to xs x a ts

27 06/11/2018 15:25

PRODUCTS

MASAI 4X4: A WIDE RANGE OF EXCLUSIVE ENHANCEMENTS FOR YOUR DEFENDER – AND ALWAYS ORIGINAL QUALITY MASAI 4X4 OFFERS AN EXCLUSIVE RANGE of high-quality vehicle enhancement accessories and parts – mainly for the Land Rover Defender 90, 110 and 130. Roof racks, spare wheel carriers, panoramic and traditional windows, seat covers, side steps, rear steps, lamp guards, sporting boxes, tree sliders and winch

bumpers are just some of the many products the company has available. Masai also offers full Defender esto ation and fitting se vices at its emises in ichfield taffo dshi e You can even wait in a visitor room with high s eed wi fi television and unlimited tea and coffee while its skilled technicians work on your vehicle.

In the words of Masai founder and owner Ferzan Kuman: ‘From a family tradition going back to 1953, you can be assured our designs, materials and engineering are of the highest standards – built to last and Always Original Quality.’

Masai ships its products to customers all round the world. A selection of those products are featured on these pages – and you can browse the company’s whole range by paying a visit to its website at www.masai4x4.com.

THE ORIGINAL PANORAMIC WINDOWS – FROM THE PEOPLE WHO CREATED THEM MASAI IS THE ORIGINAL creator of its agship Panoramic Tinted Windows for the Land Rover Defender 90 and 110. Unique edge-toedge tinted, toughened glass delivers a beautiful, minimalist appeal. The design delivers looks and performance all in one – modern, sleek and rugged. Automotive glass, particularly bonded windows, are among Masai’s specialties. As well as Land Rover windows, the company produces a range of windows and side-opening camper style windows.

MASAI’S ROOF RACKS: THE PERFECT FIT, AT THE PERFECT PRICE!

IMMACULATE PROTECTION FOR THE LOAD ON YOUR ROOFRACK MASAI’S ROOF RACK COVERS are the perfect way to protect and secure your luggage against tough weather conditions on long road and off-road trips. Made from heavy-duty 600-denier polyester, they are extremely hard-wearing, rip-proof and water-repellent, and they come ﬁtted with straps for securing them to the structure of the roof rack below.

MASAI OFFERS VARIOUS ROOF RACK DESIGNS including ubula lat and uggage he ac s a e designed to be the e fect ﬁt on to your Defender, at an affordable price. The roof racks are made from zinc-plated steel and black powdercoated. There is also an option of adding mountable LED Lights and a Rear Access Ladder to give a full effect.

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PRODUCTS

KEEP YOUR DEFENDER’S CABIN TIDY – AND MORE STYLISH THAN EVER! MASAI’S SPORTING BOX AND REAR STORAGE DRAWERS are a fantastic buy if you need secure storage in your Defender and want to keep it looking tidy. The sporting box itself ﬁts inside the rear internal oor space between the wheelarches and enables you to neatly store, protect and lock away items which you regularly or permanently keep stored in your vehicle. vailable in matte black, the unit comes with soft carpeting on the top and soft-close, smooth-running ccuride drawer runners capable of holding up to kg. These can be perfect for shooting season, vets or other medical professionals as well as a wide range of other uses.

HIGH QUALITY SEAT COVERS WITH AN ORIGINAL LOOKING APPEARANCE

STRONGER, CLASSIER ROOF LININGS FOR THE DEFENDER 90 AND 110 – AND THERE’S MORE DESIGNS ON THE WAY, TOO… NEWLY DESIGNED BY MASAI, this replacement roof lining was created with the intention of improving upon Land Rover’s original head linings. The company used stronger GRP as a base material and lined it with a luxury black suedette for a stronger product with a classier appearance. The roof linings are available for the Defender 90 and 110 to give your interior an upgraded and enhanced look. Masai will be adding more designs later across the year – follow the company’s social media for updates!

MASAI HAS RECENTLY DESIGNED an extensive ange of o iginal loo ing seat cove s to ﬁt all efende s including and uma models ade f om high uality vinyl these are available in many different designs and colours. These can easily be ﬁtted ove the to of you cu ent seats giving a fresh and original look to your Defender.

A BUMPER THAT PUTS THE STYLE BACK INTO WINCHING MASAI’S TUBULAR WINCH BUMPER is designed to ﬁt the Defender and , with or without air-con, and to accommodate most of the winches on the market. It is manufactured from steel, inc-plated for long-lasting rust protection then powder coated in black. It will give your Defender a tough, rugged look.

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29 06/11/2018 21:02

The Vital Spark

Like every car maker, Land Rover is turning towards e ectr ﬁcat on he e h br d s the co an ’s ost orward th nk n ach ne et but does that ake t better su ted to rea wor d use than a d ese

ike a bolt of electricity, I’ll get straight to the point. This is a revamped, second-generation Range Rover Sport, meaning it’s had a few cosmetic tweaks on the outside and a couple of noticeable changes on the inside. So, it will keep the Rangey sitting pretty in the showrooms until Land Rover replace it with the Sport version 3.0 in around three or four years’ time. Nothing much to write home about there, then… or is there? It may all seem business as usual on the face of things, but it’s exactly on the face of this Range

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Rover where things start to become a little unusual. This Sport is labelled as one of the P400e models and most of those symbols are completely irrelevant, bar the little ‘e’ on the end. There’s a good chance you’ll see one of these Range Rovers parked up in a street or at your place of work and stretching out from the front of the vehicle will extend a rather luminous and lengthy cable. This, dear reader, is the future. his evised ange ove o t is deﬁnitely a looker, but if you look closely at the front, gazing beyond the thin layer of foundation, there’s something not quite right with the symmetry of this

Sport. It’s something that becomes obvious when you start prodding around and part of the Sport’s jaw pops out of place. This is where you feed it electricity, just as you would with your phone. If Land Rover is rolling out plug-in hybrids, then vehicles powered by electricity really must be on their way. But how good is this hybrid business oes this e show u all the aws in the traditional internal combustion setup, or is it the other way around with this hybrid Sport displaying more form over function? ell ﬁ stly he e s the info mation you need to know. This P400e possesses a 2.0-litre turbo-

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charged petrol engine, which is then mated to an electric motor with the intention of eking out more miles per gallon and saving the polar bears in the process. ou fill u with et ol li e you would any other car, while the electric motor charges up by sim ly lugging the ovided lead into a mains socket and connecting the other end into the f ont of you ange ove t s not the fastest of charges, with a full 0-100% session taking around eight hou s but it ta es significantly less time to use u all that ene gy live a oximately miles f om ou office and in that time the ange ove fi led its cha ge f om down to his wasn t a ou ney solely based on elect icity eithe nce you get the ange ove u to s eed say on a dual ca iageway the et ol engine has to step in, as the moto s sim ly can t move a vehicle of nea ly two and a half tonnes at that speed. o now m home can ust cha ge it u again nly live in a at nd not on the g ound oo nd own no extension cables mm he esult is that when you don t have access to a soc et nea you a ing s ace and mo e c ucially don t have enough time to cha ge the moto sufficiently you end u with ust anothe thi sty et ol owe ed ange ove n seven days cove ed ust ove miles in this ange ove o t t was a fantastic vehicle o at least it would have been if had been t av elling along with any of and ove s oil bu ning lumps sat in front of me. More often than not, you e d iving a ound with the elect ic mete constantly hove ing a ound the em ty ma f cou se and ove will say this isn t the ca for that ty e of custome his is a machine that is ideal fo those with city living in mind and not someone who does a substantial number of miles. ell m so y but what use is a and ove if you can t ta e it on an adventu e wheneve the mood ta es you his still isn t the ange ove fo most eo le he o t we tested is ust li e any othe f om and ove it ides beautifully it is

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comfo table ove many miles and it cossets the d ive and thei assenge s in a swathe of luxu y nd would ha ily have exactly this ange ove with exactly the same s ec only would swa the hyb id owe lant fo a diesel unit eve y single time othing m saying is going to be su ising to you m su e he wo ld ust doesn t have the infrastructure to cope with the technology yet and the technology itself needs honing to make it a more realistic prospect for people to want to switch to electric propulsion. But, this is the beginning and in the ea ly stages of any new technology the e a e teething problems and inconveniences. nconvinced ust cast you mind back to how enormous mobile phones used to be, or how long it used to take to load a single web age nd then the e s the ca itself bet you e glad you didn t have

to wind you engine into life with you a sta ting handle this morning… yb ids and elect ic ca s a e coming that s a fact t s ust a uestion of when they ove ta e fossil fuels with thei eal wo ld efﬁciency he e might suit you but it obably won t and ove s ob is to ma e su e its successo s turn that balance on its head.

31 06/11/2018 12:20

Oh, You Pretty Th i

The Range Rover Velar has won awards for its st n ut s t ust another ash an e o er or can Land Rover still make a vehicle that manages to be both attractive and understated?

odern Land Rovers are all relatively handsome crafts, apart from arguably the latest Discovery, which seems to divide opinion with its asymmetrical rear end. Personally, I still admire it – but there is another vehicle in the Land Rover stable that has been getting all the attention of late. Indeed, it’s the Range Rover Velar that has been named the fairest of them all, after winning the prize for World Car Design of the Year earlier in 2018. There’s no denying that the Velar is a stunner. However, while another Jaguar Land Rover product may be reaping yet more accolades for

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the company, does anyone else out there think that most new Green Oval machines on the road today seem a bit too… showy? You see a lot of examples out there with either too much chrome, or more often than not, too much gloss black, making the vehicle better suited to sitting outside a rapper’s ‘crib’ than an aristocrat’s country house. In essence what I’m asking is, can Land Rover still put together a vehicle that oozes class rather than chintz? Or is it all just one big bling fest when it comes to getting a new Land Rover? We have a vehicle here that may just settle the discussion. It’s a Velar, in HSE trim with the D240 powerplant, meaning an Ingenium 2.0-litre

turbo-diesel that yields – you guessed it – 240hp. A word on how it drives, though, before we get stuck into the aesthetics: this is the engine choice to go for in the Velar. It’s the most powerful four-cylinder diesel you can get in the Velar and provides more than enough mid-range to not feel like you’re missing the bigger six-cylinder 3.0-litre units. 40mpg can be achieved and there is a satisfying sweet spot in some of these Ingenium motors, where ample throttle inputs reward the driver more so than outright attack. It allows the engine to stay in the meatiest sector of the torque band and suits the relaxed approach the Velar has to covering ground. Land

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h ing… his ela we have he e is ﬁnished in ndus Silver and it’s strange that while silver is often looked at as being a rather mundane choice nowadays, in this instance it works to the Velar’s advantage eing a handsome machine it doesn t need to have loud colours or additional trinkets showe ed ove it his isn t even an ynamic va iant and it still loo s o e ly sma t ve heard the expression ‘less is more’? m glad it s not d essed in all blac eithe as it would just look like a hearse for Kanye est eve theless when you ho inside this a ticula ela it gets even bette he inte io is edominantly bony blac to you and me but unlike most black interiors, it’s broken up with grey highlights and there is a distinct lack of leather in here, creating a cabin that feels very diffe ent to the no m in a good way The premium textile seats with wool blend and suedecloth have been optioned, and it’s all the bette fo it he stee ing wheel which is already a star in the Velar sky thanks to the metal ring that embraces the periphery, grasps

you as much as you g as it ou sit in the wonderful comfy seats, cruising along in luxury, looking around at the materials you thought man ind had fo gotten about ut c ucially and ove hasn t All Velars are pleasing on the eye, as are most othe and ove vehicles that a e made today ut letting i on the o tions list can be dange ous, and if you’re trying to create a vehicle that stands out you’re often best off remembering that less eally is mo e

Rover knows how to put a cruiser together, and the way the ela handles e ects this There’s a weight to the steering to mimic the size of the car, so the wheel moves in your hands like it should, but its real triumph is in how accu ate the ela feels t s og essive and neve going to be sharp like a sports car, but there is neve any need to ead ust ou neve ﬁnd you self having to take a second bite of the cherry the ela ust ows li e a ive meande ing th ough a valley The surfaces along the Velar’s exterior also ow his is a smooth and olished body with no angular or jagged outcrops, and it all gives the ight signs as to what e sonality lies inside

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33 06/11/2018 12:19

The Land Rover that time forgot With the emergence of the Discovery Sport, the name of one particular Land Rover was consigned to the history books. But the Freelander 2 could actually now be a brilliant used buy…

WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

here’s a vehicle out there that has been quickly forgotten. In fact, there is little trace of it on Land Rover’s own website. Yep, that would be the eelande o mo e s eciﬁcally the eelande After the Discovery Sport came along in the autumn of we uic ly ealised that this signalled the end for the Freelander name, with Jaguar Land Rover wishing to align their model

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ranges into set ‘families’ or ‘pillars’, namely the Range Rover and Discovery clans and, in time, the new Defender models. s such the wal ed off the end of the stage with little acknowledgement from the crowd, which is why we believe it’s about time the eelande was e mitted its enco e While the Discovery Sport may be lapping up the s otlight it s the which will be winning

the critic’s choice award. You see, currently, if you would like a baby Disco in your life, the price isn’t very babyish. In fact, pretty much any Sport is priced (watch as I shamelessly use Land Rover’s own motto above and beyond mm a little steep still, don’t you think? Today you can peruse the likes of eBay and Auto Trader and you’ll be welcomed by the sight of eelande s f om as little as hat s a

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bit li e going to you favou ite ub and finding out that the beer you covet most is a mere £1 a pint. Cheers! However, something so good for so little money is often a sign that you should stay clear. It goes without saying that it would take a brave – or deep pocketed – person to dive into such an acquisition. Only the oldest, most sparsely decked high milers will greet you at this price range, but the good news is that you wouldn’t have to spend much more to be on to a winner. One couple did precisely that, even with their previous prejudices against Freelanders. They felt the Freelander was a bit on the soft side to be considered a true Green Oval. However, Paul and Nicola Cooke took the initiative and bought themselves a quite fantastic Freelander 2. Theirs is a six-year-old 2.2-litre TD4 XS, and at the time of purchase it had 42,000 miles on the clock. Oh, and just one previous owner to boot. It’s a smart vehicle and at a fraction of the price of a Discovery Sport. However, and crucially, the 2.2-litre unit in the front of this Freelander is related to the same 2.2 that was in the earliest of Discovery Sports. It was, clearly, a rather good powerplant and it’s only since the introduction of JLR’s new generation of Ingenium engines that the Sport moved on from this unit. On the road, the older 2.2 diesel is, as you’d ex ect a little less efined and en oys a healthie intake of diesel - but not to the point where you’re really missing out on the new Ingenium motors. And if you opt for the most recent SD4 variant, the power (190hp) and torque lb ft figu es a e ve y simila to that of the Ingenium-powered Sport, while the TD4 in this Freelander (150hp) whistles along well, pulling comfortably to suit the Cooke’s needs – and yours should you decide to invest. ‘She feels big, like a Range Rover,’ reports Paul. He’s referring to the Freelander and is quickly selling the whole FL2 idea to me. ‘It’s quiet, pulls well, and once you get the turbo spooling it revs really nicely. It’s good on fuel too.’ But while it may be Paul in command of the at the moment it is icola who in uenced him into the Land Rover scene. ‘I come from a farming background where I was used to off-roading and Land Rovers,’ says Nicola. ‘Paul and I met and he got into it from there. To me a proper Land Rover has always been like a Defender or Series – it took a bit of persuading, but the Freelander is genuinely great.’ They acquired it from a company in Wessington by the name of Proctor Cars, which specialises in Land Rovers… and Ferraris, would you believe. Clearly a Prancing Horse wasn’t going to be good enough, so they upgraded to the Freelander!

Their ideal family car may not have been far away, but they had been looking for a few weeks and originally felt an auto was the way forward. There is a case for this, as the Freelander 2 doesn’t possess a low-range ‘box, meaning that if a previous owner has been utilising the two-tonne towing capacity (on some, but not all derivatives) then the clutch in a manual could start slipping like a bar of soap in your hands. Autos do demand a premium, though, and anyway, if you can find a manual that hasn t been wo ed hard like our friends the Cooke’s, you’ll have no reasons to fear. Fear is what they did experience during the rather brief ownership of a BMW, however. ‘We got a BMW as a run-around to use as the family vehicle, but of course in the winter it used to just spin up all over the place. The Freelander drives like a car anyway,’ states Paul. ‘This is the fi st and ove we ve owned whe e we ve elied on electronics, though.’ Certainly, to step aboard the Freelander is to instantly recognise that this comes from the newer generation of Solihull machines. The XS trim you have here is a typically sensible level of equipment to aim for. It doesn’t cost the bonkers amount of money that HSE variants can demand or the end of the line Metropolis version, but with heated seats, front and rear parking aids and satnav all included, you have a very comfortable and convenient daily drive. Seeing as the FL2 will predominantly be Nicola’s, however, it will be she who reaps those benefits of mode n c eatu e comfo ts t was something they d be een to find while deciding what to go for, having discarded the Disco Sport for being too expensive. They wanted something as up to date as they could afford, but ultimately something reliable.

The Freelander 2 is arguably one of the most reliable Land Rovers out there. Rest assured, the Cookes haven’t been completely converted from the ‘proper’ Land Rovers, though, as they also own a lovely Defender 110. ‘The Defender will be something we’ll always keep, because there are just too many memories with it,’ expresses Paul. Paul’s dad helped build up the Defender, with its 1992 rolling chassis, but unfortunately Paul’s father is no longer here with us today. Thankfully, though, prior to his passing, Paul’s dad did manage to get the chance to see the ﬁnished vehicle I’m sure Paul and his father shared a moment of real pride when marvelling at the fruits of their labour. From now on, however, it’ll be the Freelander that’s given the daily duties, especially with their expanding family. The Freelander 2 is an excellent used buy – they’re mechanically very sound and, providing you don’t go for one that has excessively towed or been overworked, you should have relatively trouble-free motoring. Something that can’t be said of all cars carrying the Green Oval. So it turns out that not all modern Land Rovers should be dreaded and, in the case of the FL2, it’s actually one of the few Solihull machines on the market that can be seen as a bit of a bargain. Lest we forget then, the brilliant and dependable Freelander 2.

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Academic Interest

An motor racing team sounds like the sort of fastpaced environment in which personnel are kept on their toes and speed is the mantra. So what business does a race team have restoring an old Land Rover found languishing in a European vineyard? WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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f someone mentioned to you the names of venues such as the Nürburgring and Spa Francorchamps, not only may they be as alien to you as Tatooine, but if you are familiar with these destinations you’ll know that you e unli ely to find many and ove s in these parts. An international GT4 racing team, yes. But a esto ed efende d o side atbed we think not. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that these two worlds can’t in some way be connected as you e about to find out Academy Motorsport is predominantly a race outfit that cu ently com etes in the itish Championship and GT4 European Series, the latte of which they finished as unne s u in and their current chariot of choice is a wellknown British icon. No, it’s not a Defender, but it is an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. This is the sort of machine capable of 185mph, not 85mph. Academy Director, Matt Nicoll-Jones, who’s also one half of the driver line-up, is used to wringing the neck of V8s as he ekes out every last drop of performance in an attempt to scrub those extra milliseconds off the lap times. But, when not wearing his race suit, he likes to enjoy a slightly slower lifestyle.

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aving always had a soft s ot fo andies Matt has a number of them to call his own, with a ange ove fo his daily unabout ut the e s mo e to and ove s than ust owning one Academy Motorsport is no stranger to long hours in the workshop – but rather than spending hours rubbing off the traded paint donated from other GT cars, Matt and the team have begun to b anch out into and ove restoration. It makes sense really: if you can put a crashed sports car back together in a matter of hours, rebuilding a big Meccano set is going to be a doddle. ‘I’ve always liked Defenders and I knew this would be a relatively simple project,’ says Matt. ‘This is a separate venture for us, but we’ve always got restorations ongoing. We’ve even got one of Stirling Moss’ little cars here.’ As intriguing as that may be, we’re here for one very special Defender. It arrived with Matt nearly two years ago and has been receiving some major attention to restore it back into pole position. ‘The Defender we have here has been fully rebuilt,’ emphasises Matt. ‘Anything that moves was either restored or replaced, but we’ve managed to retain all the key original components.’

You’ll have picked up on the fact this is a lefthand drive motor – which means that in this very original and extremely tidy condition, Matt could now feasibly export it out to the States. The handsome petrol V8 powering the truck wouldn’t do any harm here, you’d imagine. me ica isn t whe e this and ove sta ted its life, though. The story goes that this vehicle was originally exported to Europe as a Special Vehicles Defender, spending time in Austria and/or Switzerland and working on the vineyards. ‘There’s no proof or paperwork to back up the tale that came with the truck, but based on the body structure alone, it’s more than plausible,’ says Matt. If you look round the back, within the loadspace, there’s a wooden ‘headboard’ that lives behind the driver’s cab. Whether that was ﬁtted to offe su o t to eo le standing in the back, it’s a question that may never get an answer. We can be certain on something, though, because this Defender looks considerably better now than when it ﬁ st eached the hands of Academy Motorsport. Once a neglected and nasty wreck with camo green bodywork that had been roll-painted on, it’s now been rejuvenated with a lick of Old English White.

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This Defender is on its original bulkhead, with a new outrigger the only alteration on its chassis, while the engine is the same unit that was placed in from birth. Matt and the team have made every effort to keep things as they were, but from a cosmetic point of view, things have been drastically overhauled. The doors, bonnet and interior, including the roof lining are all new, with Exmoor carpets, new seatbelts and pull cables completing the cabin. Matt is a perfectionist, you see. As a racing driver you need to be ve y inch on the th ottle o overexuberance in the corners is another moment lost in the pursuit of outright speed. The meticulous nature stretches into the business of Land Rover recommissioning. For instance, the gearbox and transfer box was rebuilt not once, but twice. ‘It was done once, although for some reason there seemed to be a slight noise; a tick, so we rebuilt it again,’ explains Matt. The powder coating used around the vehicle is of a commercial grade, just like in the battery compartment. As you can see, this isn’t a project that has been undertaken on a whim. The attention to detail and thorough work this 110 has received is clear to see. Not only is Academy Motorsport

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a team of great racers recognised across Europe, but thanks to Matt and his own personal affection towa ds and ove s this is an outﬁt that can restore Land Rovers to the highest quality – plus they can source and recommission a Land Rover just for you, if you so wish. Perhaps wandering around the paddocks of infamous racetracks won’t mean you

come across a wealth of classic Land Rovers, but with Matt and Academy Motorsport it just goes to show that the appreciation for these special machines made in Solihull stretches far beyond the me e each of those wo ing out in ﬁelds One marque, love it.

39 06/11/2018 10:14

AGED CONCERN

Arkonik has become known for the imaginatively refurbished Land Rover Defenders it sends to the USA. It created the Anejo model by way of celebrating its 150th build – and in doing so created a ﬁt to ress o road trad t ona sts and o ers o ore conte orar a e ent r ncess and es a ke WORDS: GRAHAM SCOTT PICTURES: ARKONIK

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15" wood-rimmed Evander steering wheel adds a real air of class – not that the air-conditioned, Ruskin-clad interior is short of that

ñejo means ‘aged’ in Spanish. In much the same way that ‘Defender’ these days means ‘aged’ in English, and here’s a 110 that’s both. Like so many of the coolest restored Defenders, it’s the work of Arkonik. The Somerset company specialises in sourcing all-original left-hand-drive Landies in southern Europe and turning them into good-as-new vehicles for export to North America, and the Añejo was its 150th build. Arkonik works on Land Rovers to one of three levels. First is its Origins range of vehicles which are restored to their original state, allowing people to buy a Defender looking just like it did when it left the factory. Next is the Editions range, which gives you a full restoration complete with new and improved features. And then there’s the Bespoke series of custom-built Defenders, which are restored to commission as ordered by individual customers. As you can see, the Añejo certainly comes under that third heading. It’s like a fusion of English and Mexican, which sounds like it might be a bit challenging. But whereas ham, egg and chips, and a sopapilla with it, might turn your stomach, the combination of clean bodywork, a cool paint colour and a dramatic interior works rather wonderfully. All the vehicles the company restores are between 15 and 25 years old at the time of sale. This matters as it affects import taxes and laws in the many different American states to which Arkonik exports. The base 110 looks like an English treat, with Sky Blue body and Chawton White roof. Up top is a Front Runner roof rack, while down below are Fire and Ice ebony side steps. Arkonik also ﬁtted the vehicle with what it desc ibes as a ‘premium off-road package’. Then comes some very American stuff. Up front is a winch bumper carrying a Warn Zeon

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12-S, meaning the 110 can pull more than just admiring glances. Then there’s a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3 tyres wrapped around white steel modular wheels, giving the vehicle a pretty handy combination of hard-working toughness and A-to-B tractability. Then comes the really Latin American bit. Inside, Ruskin Design has been employed to trim the seats in a combination of Earthy Brown leather and a bespoke Mexican blanket pattern, which also appears on the headlining. It’s not very traditional, at least not in the Defender sense, and nor is it what you’d call aged. But it creates an absolutely vibrant atmosphere in the cabin – you don’t always climb aboard a 110 and smile instinctively, but this one really does have a happy feeling to it. Up front, the seats which are covered by that amazing design are a pair of Recaro Cross CS Sportsters. These are heated, which is obviously not very important in Mexico, though to be fair

that’s not where the Añejo was actually intended to end up. In the back, three classic low-back seats are followed by a pair of inward-facing benches in classic 110 form. That’s a whole lot of seats, and a whole lot of colourful fabric, and it lights u a cabin in which you ll also find et o fit air-conditioning and a very classy 15” Evander wood-rimmed steering wheel. Under the bonnet, a 3.5-litre Rover V8 engine looks good as new – better, in fact, if a polished stainless steel ai filte housing and colou coded HT leads do it for you. Which they should. This 110 should do it for you, too. Even if you’re not that excited about tarted-up Land Rovers, this is a really nice one. It’s not an out-and-out off-roader, nor is it an out-and-out show pony but athe than landing face fi st in no man s land, it should appeal to fans of both genres. It’s got a definite best of both wo lds thing going on – and, of course, it’s añejo to perfection.

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Take Your Finding the right Land Rover can be a challenge – and even then there is no guarantee it will exist. For Matthew Fairbrass, converting his Disco 2 was the only way he could drop this bugbear of a search

WORDS: MIKE TROTT PICTURES: MATTHEW FAIRBRASS

here are many great things about Land Rovers. Some of them are even of Land Rover’s own doing, but one of the best is something that Solihull seems truly to hate these days. I speak of the way you can take an old Landy and turn it into something more than the factory ever intended it to be. It’s not just old Land Rovers you can do this with, either. Obviously, the ones they’re making these days are pretty much immune to being improved upon in any more than the most garish,

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cosmetic and/or road-biased of ways, but it’s not ust e ies t uc s and efende s that can beneﬁt from major surgery. While you can appreciate a Series Land Rover having certain drawbacks, for example – like the lack of any modern safety kit (or in some cases seatbelts), or a level of performance that puts the ho se and ca t ﬁ mly bac into contention for your transportation needs – the Discovery has always been a four-wheel drive option that you can depend on. If it were a baseball player, it would only score home runs. Or would it?

Several years ago, Matthew Fairbrass picked up a relatively ordinary Discovery 2 from the year 2000. It had a Td5 engine and a manual gearbox, and only has 92,000 miles on the clock today, meaning it was and still is good for its age. This was reinforced through Matthew’s careful ownership of the Discovery, with it being given the Waxoyl treatment from new and it continuing under the Fairbrass era. Around three years ago, however, there was something missing from the Discovery and the situation just wasn’t right for Matthew.

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Pick ‘As a work vehicle, the Defender is wonderful, but not too comfortable to live with,’ explains Matthew. ‘I carry out tree surgery and landscaping, so the back seats of the Discovery were pulled out and it was used as a bit of a van. I could have done with a pick-up, but didn’t want a Defender.’ Plus, Matthew wanted something a bit more than just a practical loadspace for his work. The Discovery playing the role of a van just wouldn’t cut it, but Matthew soon saw an opportunity to fix the issue than s to ong ange x ‘I could have gone down the Japanese route, but that would bring me out in a rash!’ laughs Matthew. ‘And of course, we all like a project. ong ange can su ly you with fib eglass its so stuc that on the bac of the isco t s finding something on the ma et to fill a u ose declares Matthew. Now as you’d expect, you have to be serious with the conve sions of and ove s you can t just go in there fornicating about. You need to have a plan and organise yourself before you start chopping and changing stuff. However, with ong ange x the headaches of the lanning have been taken care of already. atthew says linton at ong ange was ve y good. He’s made the kit so easy to use. He’s s ent time doing all the ha d wo and figu ing out how all of it goes together so that it’s a simple case of applying it once you get it.’ So, conversion complete, drop what you’re doing and please may I now introduce, ahem, the Discovery Td5 Dropside Pick Up. It just oozes usefulness, doesn’t it? Apparently, the utilising of timbe and galvanised fittings made it all very easy to install and, as a bonus, there’s no issue with the as the chassis emains entirely untouched. As Matthew rightfully points out, an off-theshelf body, in comparison, would be considerably more expensive. With this method, we have to say fair play to Fairbrass as he’s got himself a super practical vehicle, all with seemingly little

hassle. And it drives like an ordinary Td5 Discovery, too, according to Matthew. Now come on, Matthew, we know it’s not just the Dropside rear that makes this vehicle a little different. from the norm. There are noticeable alterations under the bonnet. Firstly the ECU has been remapped and an AlliSport intercooler has been installed, but there are also silicon hoses, a performance air ﬁlte and aised ai inta e to be found lus the emoval of the d s valve The BFG Mud-Terrains feature XS Boost alloys and hub adapters, which hide the uprated springs and gas shocks sitting behind. It’s got everything you need, this vehicle, including front and rear winches tow ba s s otlights and ashing beacons, all helped to run through two batteries. Even the interior is admirable with its half-leather seats and ebony headlining. ve owned eve y ve sion of a and ove you can think of, right through from the Series I,’ Matthew divulges. ‘It’s in my blood.’ We hear this a lot, but we know how true it is. had a soft dash ange ove lassic but unfortunately had to part with it. I now have a hard dash model, though, and I love it. We all love to tin e to ma e ou and ove even mo e individual and to make it our own. To carry out the conversion, I wasn’t on it every single day, but it probably took a few weeks to perform the main transformation.’ Now that the Discovery has the dropside body installed, its already impressive practicality has been taken to a whole new level. It’s worth noting as well that this new body ﬁts to the o iginal

mounts – so, should removal be needed, it won’t be like starting from scratch. ‘It makes the vehicle a reliable, trustworthy workhorse, as competent as any Defender and in my opinion, more comfortable,’ continues Matthew. ‘And the best work vehicle I’ve ever had? The 130 Tipper, without doubt. I’ve run several of those.’ Maybe the 130 still takes the title for the ultimate workhorse in Matthew’s life – but to use on a regular basis and on the road, not just a building site or farmyard, the unique dropside pick-up he has created from a standard Disco 2 must surely run it close. nce again the and ove community delive s f you e not com letely satisﬁed with what Solihull provide you with, the chances are another individual has had the very same thought process.

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06/11/2018 10:15

Attention to D

Restorations take many forms – but some are in a league of their own. Like this sensational Td6-powered Range Rover Classic, for example, which has been brought back to life – and so much more – by Twenty-Ten Engineering WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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Detail A

s time rolls on, it’s becoming quite clear that the Land Rover community is becoming more of a classic market with each passing day. This is primarily down to the old school Land Rovers being very different to the likes of the Discovery 3 and later models, with them holding little appeal to the DIY mechanic or the enthusiast who loves the vintage Land Rover for its basic ruggedness and workhorse roots – in other words, not the highly-digitised, prim and proper machines Land Rover produces today. So naturally, restoring some of these relics is popular within the Green Oval fraternity. You want to keep old Larry The Landy or Rufus The Rangey going, in a bid to hold onto a time when Land Rover was more about function than form. But you’ll see all sorts of restored Land Rovers out there. Some may have just had new underpinnings, with a galvanised chassis being ﬁtted and a lic of aint ic ed ove the body to give it a solid platform for another decade or so. And then you have rebuilds that go beyond the major refurbishment work and get down to the minute details that all add up to create one restored masterpiece. Which brings me onto Twenty-Ten Engineering. he edditch based outﬁt s ecialises in the Range Rover Classic. That’s right, there’s no general Land Rover garage here, but instead a dedicated workshop that focuses on the original Range Rover, whether that be an early two-door variant or one of the later four-door models from the mid-Nineties. The company has developed a reputation for turning out pretty exceptional rebuilds, with some being more extraordinary than others. The one we have here is particularly unique, but not because of any standout reason. There’s a whole raft of intricate alterations that make this truly one of a kind. What we’ll do is start with the biggest of the changes and work our way down. For this, we’ll need the help of Phil Holland, proprietor of Twenty-Ten Engineering. ‘This is a full restoration of a vehicle that was originally a 1993 3.9-litre V8 Vogue SE,’ states

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hil he significant wo d the e is was because it s changed substantially unde the oof of the wenty en wo sho t s now owe ed by the d engine and has the automatic gea box f om a e ve also fitted it with the om ushift system f om shc oft ansmissions which allows us to og am the shift oints and ad ust fo smoothe changes his d lassic has even got a fuel e heate system which is og ammable so you can get the engine wa m befo e you ve even ste ed inside the ca ust li e on the cu ent angey hat ma es this ange ove lassic one of the most mode n exam les you ll eve see at least in te ms of what ovides its owe ut the d unit does a fine ob of shifting the vehicle with the bh moto f ee to ex ess itself mo e now it s made the swa f om the shell of

the heavie to the mo e slende f ame of a lassic hil continues he build too a ound two yea s to com lete although if it was a f esh ob with no com lications then it would be mo e li e months his was always fa mo e than ust a st aightfo wa d engine swa though even if this lassic s new hea t is what g abs you initial attention he esto ation too such a long time because it s the so t of o ect whe e eve y single detail is u fo conside ation o begin with when the vehicle a ived at the com any s emises it was actually in a bit of a mess and had suffe ed some accident damage dono vehicle was bought in on the unde standing of how much wo would be done ove the coming months and f om the e eve y thing was st i ed and ebuilt

b and new old stoc chassis genuine and ove of cou se ovided the base whilst most of the o iginal body anels we e cleaned u and ainted on both sides with ust one new wing bought in e ec on this is one of the most st i ing ange ove lassics you ll see its colou way close to that of newe ange ove s than the old lassic machines t was blue o iginally but ust not the same shade ex lains hil he new blue is actually the same as you get on one of those he says while ointing towa ds the that s sitting outside the wo sho his is a lassic that sha es its a ts and themes with ange ove s f om all e as then ut the e is also a fai bit of iscove y hidden in he e though you d need a magnifying glass to s ot it

This leather in the Range Rover’s cabin, which is the work of Nationwide Trim, is nothing short of beautiful. The door handles and seals, meanwhile, are also beautiful in their own way, but rather than an external supplier than come from no less local a source than the iscovery arts bin The teering wheel, however, it definitely exotic it might have a Land Rover badge in the middle of it, but it was actually taken from a Lotus

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Left: Keeping it in the family (sort of), the engine itself was taken from an L322 Range Rover Below: Recognise the badging? If it looks familiar, that’s because it was adapted from the ‘TDV6’ you’ll have seen on many a Discovery 3

Inspect the door seals and you’ll notice they’re the same as you get on a Discovery 2, b inging ext a efinement and a bette shade of black to keep things all colour-coordinated around the vehicle. ‘Those door handles are off a Discovery as well,’ reveals Phil. ‘The Range ove ones we e silve so we needed to find a substitute, but it has to look like it’s supposed to be there.’ The faint line that runs down the side of the vehicle was also silver before. But rather than get rid of it and lose those Classic touches, Phil had the line repainted in black to keep that facto y finished aesthetic It all works so well because the elements used are still from the same manufacturer. The TD6 badging on the rear, for example, is

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adapted from a Discovery 3’s ‘TDV6’ lettering. It’s all very clever. nside you ll ﬁnd anothe exem la y inte io by Nationwide Trim, with the grey upholstery replaced by a cleaner, more extravagant beige. It’s in the cabin where some of the really impressive modiﬁcations lie he stee ing wheel eviously lived on a Lotus, but has since gained a familiar Green Oval. And then there’s the rev counter, where digital outputs are needed with the Td6 rather than the Classic’s analogue methods. There’s even some effective LED lighting to highlight the new interior. And with the sunroof removed and seats no longer electric, there should be less to worry about too! Few restored Range Rovers ever get this much thought and consideration poured over

them, but where Twenty-Ten Engineering is involved, that’s something that comes as standard. At least 99% of the time… ‘The only hiccup we encountered was when we ﬁ st came to ut fuel into the ca and we realised we hadn’t changed the fuel nozzle from petrol to diesel,’ laughs Phil. A slight oversight immediately ﬁxed in these ca able hands Since this Range Rover was completed, it’s been lapping up the attention everywhere it goes. By no means is it an ordinary restoration – the aim was never just to take it back to how it would have looked in 1993. But it’s thanks to all those little changes and tiny tweaks that this restored Rover really stands out in the crowd. It’s a smartly customised truck, this – and one with a hell of a history behind it.

06/11/2018 12:17

Whip it like Beckham

Professional footballers tend to have some pretty ash whee s to run about n ust ook at th s ersona sed an e o er ort wh ch once belonged to Golden Balls himselfâ&#x20AC;¦ WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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wouldn’t say any of the editorial team here at The Landy could be categorised as ‘hip’. In fact the ve y use of such a h ase confi ms my initial suspicions. Naturally, we work hard to mould the English language into some sort of ente tainment fit fo you ve y eyes but even we can be baf ed at times by some of the f esh terminology emerging on the ‘scene’ today. When TOWIE arrived on our screens, everything became more ‘reem’, and now it seems you can’t travel anywhere without having your ‘mandem’ in tow. Whatever happened to when towing was just something you did with tools or livestock and going down to the pub was just something you did with your mates? And another thing – because I’m on Instagram and ‘on point’ with the latest tech, I see people post pictures that they refer to as their ‘whip’. In all honesty, they just look like cars to me… If I’m right then, I guess it’s feasible you could look ‘reem’ while cruising about in your ‘whip’ with the ‘mandem’. Both you and I never thought that would be a sentence to appear in a Land Rover magazine, but there you go. The Range Rover we have waiting in the wings is probably something the youth of today would happily claim to be their ideal ‘whip’. It’s also the sort of large and blacked-out craft you’re likely to see emerging from Carrington or Melwood, usually with a chap in his mid-twenties behind the wheel, donning armfuls of ‘dope ink’ and a wardrobe ensemble styled by Ali G. But this Range Rover Sport was once owned by a real global superstar, a man renowned for having an excellent ‘whip’ of his own. David Beckham rose to fame during his early career with Manchester United, and his ability to bend a ball into the box or around a wall of competitors became his trademark, so much so that they even made a film based on it The Range Rover Sport you see here may not be as agile as one of the many footballs Beckham has curved through the air, but likewise it’s still something of a rarity. As you’d imagine, no expense was spared on the customisation of this Range Rover and there are several features about the vehicle that confi m its lin to the sporting icon. Starting out as a mildly ordinary 4.2-litre supercharged V8 model, the Range Rover was placed in the hands of Kahn Design where they would make Mr Beckham’s vision a reality. Nice to be able to do such a thing, I’m sure. Kahn is an established and successful design house, which has been responsible for enhancing many a Land Rover. It has to be said that they tend to stick to one type of style more than others, namely making every part of a vehicle black and turning a standard vehicle into something Batman would approve of. Here the Sport has been given a new body kit, five s o e alloy wheels and ivacy glass a in to the grade of tint found on presidential vehicles. All the exterior upgrades, combined with the numerous tweaks made on the inside mean this ca was wo th a ound when fi st built Its value has dropped somewhat in the last decade, partly because people want cars that are capable of more than 4mpg. It does make a good

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noise, though, with those old Jag units capable of giving you a tickle in the eardrums. Heading back inside for a moment, there’s a few highlights we should point out to you that are customised over standard. The quilted leather, for example, was hand-stitched, along with the ‘Beckham’ name being adorned onto the oo mats oving bac th ough the inte io you ll ﬁnd sc eens in the bac of the head rests, an addition that I’m sure Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz appreciated – sadly Harper never had the chance. And at the very back, if you look inside the boot, there sits a bespoke Genesis sound system that even carries a plaque designating this as the vehicle of Mr David Beckham. I’ve no doubt Becks will have enjoyed blasting out his ‘rhymes’ on the way back from the training ground; shades on, one hand on the wheel and a train of paparazzi in his wake. Mentioning sunglasses, it appears dear Victoria may have left some behind at some point. Perhaps while sitting alongside David, Victoria had an epiphany to be involved in the future development of the Range Rover brand, more so than just being a plain old customer. Maybe it was this shockwave of realisation that caused her to leave the vehicle in such a hurry and leave the sunglasses case behind? What you’re looking at here then, ladies and gentlemen, could be a memento linked to the very instance that spurred the initial plans of the Range Rover Evoque… Vehicles like this Range

Rover Sport became, and still are, commonplace with the footballing personalities of today. However, I’d like you to consider this: would the enhancing and ‘blinging’ of Defenders and other Land Rovers have taken off quite so rapidly if the likes of David Beckham and co. had stayed away from them? It’s an interesting thought. Of course, I’m well aware that companies such as Kahn Design have been going since the late Nineties, a time when Becks was still yet to reach peak fame, but you never saw a Discovery 2 rolling on ‘rims’ and brandishing a vulgar wide-body kit, did you? Even Land Rover themselves make vehicles that have become distinctly more Cheshire than at the start of the century – so maybe we should be calling these machines things like the Davender or the Posh Rover. Either way, in the last ten years a new style of Land Rover has surfaced, one that doesn’t want to blend in, but instead wants to strike a pose or statement and throws out the traditional values of a Land Rover being a simple and humble machine. Still, as long as the kids think the new generation of Land Rovers is ‘sick’, then vehicles with a Green Oval badge will have a place in the future of the automotive industry. And rap videos, too.

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UNDERCOVER COVERS Top-quality soft-tops and more for classic Land Rovers Undercover Covers has a long-standing reputation as a manufacturer of the highest quality canvas products – with more than 40 years’ experience of civilian and military vehicles of all ages. Our design team can create tailor-made covers to original and customer specifications as required. We can advise you on the best solution to suit your Land Rover. We have many satisfied customers and have received endorsements from clubs and individuals alike. Suppliers of soft-tops and seating to vehicle restorers including Dunsfold DLR, Mr Ken Wheelwright, Mr Tom Pickford, Mr John Taylor and Mr Andy Bullas. Please contact us with any specific requirements, or if you would like to examine examples of our work.

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06/11/2018 14:06

Past Perfect

Land Rover enthusiast extraordinaire Mike Rivett owns a collection of vehicles that includes some of the rarest and most special ever to come out of Solihull. This is the most special of them all – a Pre-Production 80” Series I whose serial number marks it out as only the 14th Landy ever built WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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ns a t and most ose

very Land Rover enthusiast adores the Series I. If you are indeed a Green Oval fanatic and you disagree, please feel free to email me with your thoughts – I doubt my inbox will be overrun. For starters, what possible argument could you pose? I know you could point to the ridiculous ride quality or the lack of any sort of eﬁnement but then you and both now it was built by the brilliant minds at Solihull to be a formidable workhorse. And it was. Okay, so build quality was never Land Rover’s forte, but the damn things are brimmed with cha m li e ames ond in full ow when he s had his ﬁx of sha en od a a tini and has set his sights on his evening’s acquisition. And it’s often a different kind of bond that we share with these machines. It’s a bond that

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captures our initial interest and throws us into a lifelong fascination with these unusual, yet charismatic vehicles. How many of you out there owe a Series and ove fo the eason you ﬁ st got into this game? Okay, you didn’t actually have to put your hand up, but it’s nice that you went to the effort. The Series I, however, holds an edge over other Land Rovers. I can only think that originality has a part to play in this, which is why collectors strive to attain the earliest examples possible. It’s the vehicle that started it all and evolved over decades until the umbilical cord was cut by Land Rover (or more realistically safety and emissions regulations) last year when the Defender ceased to be. To hold the keys to a Series I is to hold the keys to a piece of history, and a vehicle

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Left: Back when engines were made by the hands of men and your power unit was called a motor, you didn’t get such trinkets as plastic covers. Instead, you had a proper tin plate to tell you exactly where your beloved Land Rover was put together Below: Only the earliest Land Rovers had the distinctive lamps-in-the grille appearance that marks this out as a rarity even among Series I models

that was as close to that original, inspirational mind-set that got the whole ball rolling. Naturally, for collectors, you might look for an early 80” – should your pockets be deep enough. But our chap, Mike Rivett, went a step further. Within his delightful repertoire of Landies sits a pre-production Series I – namely chassis No 14. Cue the coos as that name repeats on you in the way you savour the richness of a chocolate torte, and not how last night’s curry tends to repeat. Perhaps we’ll give you some information as you start to mull over what lies before you. hen the e ies was ﬁ st develo ed pre-production Land Rovers were assembled. In a recent tally-up of vehicles still in existence, courtesy of the Dunsfold Collection, a mere 19 are believed to have survived up to the present day. Including Mike’s No 14. ‘The pre-pro was advertised in the club magazine, Full Grille says i e as he e ects on his

ﬁ st encounte with o was tal ing to om Pickford (another pre-pro owner) and said that I needed to buy it! That’s what encouraged the sale of the ﬁ st ic fo d The days of spotting a pre-pro casually up for sale in the back of a club mag are most certainly over. But it’s nice to know that even these holy grails of the Land Rover community were once found in the realm of us mortals. One thing that strikes you about Mike, though, is that he isn’t precious about his Land Rovers. Or at least not to the extent where some people would have you killed just for breathing near their sainted possession. ‘I guess it’s special in its own right, but there are other Land Rovers out there that sit higher in the special list,’ admits Mike. One of those will be in the next issue (June) of The Landy as we look to conclude this three-part prod around Mike’s garage.

‘I’m more interested in using them and enjoying them,’ beams Mike. ‘I’ve ploughed with this vehicle at a steam rally; I’ve taken it off-road, and I’ve been abroad with it on several occasions, going to the Netherlands, Belgium, France, plus all over the UK and next year will be Spain.’ While some of you may have had your hands up before, some of you may be holding them over your mouth in shock now. There’s really no need, though. Yes, this is one rare piece of Solihull engineering – one of now just 19 as mentioned ea lie but would you honestly ﬁnd ha iness in stowing your pre-pro away and never relishing the interaction with it out on an open road in the countryside? Mike knew the right answer. ‘Don’t get me wrong, they are nice in concours condition or original, but I prefer the original with a few marks and stories! Anybody can rebuild one to look like a showroom example but then where has its history gone to?’ adds

It might be pushing the point a little to say that a classic Landy is only as good as its canvas, but if you’ve ever restored one you’ll know how important an area this is. Great paint and loads of period details mean nothing if the vehicle’s topped off with something that looks like it was abandoned in the camp site at Glastonbury – which is why Mike went for the very best he could find when finishing off the ro ect

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‘They are nice in concours condition or original, but I prefer the original with a few marks and stories. Anybody can rebuild one to look like a showroom example but then where has its history gone to?’ Mike. And when he puts it like that, it’s hard not to agree that he has a point For example, while Mike’s pre-pro is unquestionably a ﬁne machine the bul head is not the o iginal don t now when it was changed but

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guess it’s been on there longer than the original one ex lains i e need to ut it bac on s lit rims at some point too.’ ou can be su e it d ives li e a e ies though with the usual iggling ide nd in these va iants you elbows en oy noc ing the door handles! Essentially, and unsu isingly they d ive li e othe e ies s with the same oo bac ests on the seats. It’s not like any of this is news to i e howeve ve had a e ies since was nineteen years of age. Then I thought I’d get an early one so managed to get hold of a 1949

ve sion followed by a and then a e o ow focus on collecting the low made numbe va iants and conve sions vidently with these things sometimes you have to lay the long game so maybe we should all sta t ee ing hold of vo ues ow this time my inbox might finally sta t filling u with eo le keen to disagree… o i e he ll ca y on ac ui ing his e ies and ove s and finding unusual and limited un de ivatives that some of us have fo gotten about enti ely ne thing that stands out to me howeve is that des ite the hy e a ound these vehicles and given his la ge collection i e is still a down to ea th guy someone who is honest a oachable and instantly li eable ou could be fo given fo thin ing m desc ibing a and ove e ies

06/11/2018 12:13

weird and Converting Land Rovers into extraordinary one-offs is no longer unusual. And some of the creations we see emerging from Britain’s vehicle builders are very unusual indeed. Few have ever been as full-on wacky, however, as one of the earliest examples of the art. Time to stop and stare (or run and hide) – for you are in the presence of the fabulous oddity that is the Sheer Rover… WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

ere, right now in 2018, seeing a Land Rover that’s been the subject of a custom build seems as normal as seeing yet another reality TV programme appear on your normal 55” telly. They’re absolutely everywhere and in many cases there’s very little to separate them, both in terms of Green Oval and TV shows. However, when it comes to the latter, while the likes of Geordie Shore, Keeping Up With The Kardashians and the dreadful Love Island have all taken the limelight in recent years, you need to remember that these were far from pioneers of the genre. You will all remember the programme, Big Brother imagine a show that sim ly filled a house with the widest spectrum of people the oduce s could find and then we sat bac and threw away our summer evenings gawping at people who were learning to cook an egg for the ve y fi st time o eo le who we e able to ut on a tantrum so ridiculous that even a threeyear-old would roll their eyes. In essence, seeing people being equally ridiculous on your TV screen today is nothing new. And it’s the same thing with Land Rovers being put through custom builds. So many ‘enhancement houses’ have come on to the scene in recent years to try and put their stamp on how they feel a Defender, Range Rover of Discovery should look – companies like Kahn Design or Twisted spring to mind. But while each is creative in its own way, none of these are pioneers in Green Oval customisation. Back in 1983, Spandau Ballet released their album True, while Luke Skywalker (spoiler alert) was getting more acquainted with his father Darth Vader. And in the world of Land Rovers,

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an outfit called ood and ic ett we e ma ing a name for themselves by taking Range Rovers and morphing them into extremely weird and (arguably) wonderful machines. he hee ove was a ood ic ett creation and with them being built in so few numbers, there’s a good chance that what you’re about to see has neve filte ed into you line of sight befo e nd in about five seconds you may wish it had stayed that way. Customisation is a funny game. In principal, the idea is that something is alte ed o modified in o de to im ove u on the cu ent s ecifica tion. However, customisation is a very subjective entity, meaning everyone won’t always see the changes as improvements. And while you feast your eyes upon this example of a Sheer Rover, you may well wonder just how intoxicated the designer was when they pencilled down the bodywork for it. It’s almost as though the designer’s dream car was a Ferrari 365 GTB4 (otherwise known as the Daytona), but wound up working with Land Rover’s instead of Italian sports cars and tried to find a way in which to amalgamate these two machines. The interior is interesting, too. ut fi st some bac g ound fo you his Sheer Rover recently came into Vitesse Engineering, based near Aylesbury, after coming back into the UK from an extended hiatus out in Kuwait. In the same way the Middle East is a huge market for custom automobiles today, it was a lucrative region for car builders even 35 years ago. Owner of Vitesse Engineering, Graham Hope, tells us the story: ‘The conversion was done back in the 1980s, before it was shipped over to the Middle East and then was hardly ever driven. It

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wonderful

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Obviously, what this interior needs is to be more red. You really could murder a lot of people in here without anybody ever noticing. It’s safe to say that the Sheer Rover was equipped to what was a very high standard in its day (that’s a high standard of consumables, obviously, if not of taste). You’ve got to admire the practicality of a televison so big it could be lobbed out and used as a ground anchor, though but still, ust in case you find this too u setting to look at, we ve ke t all the text off this age so you can fold it over and kee reading without having to suffer

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sat in a garage for years before making its way back over here.’ It really didn’t travel far, as this Sheer Rover has only covered 2000 miles in its entire life. So why has it decided to make such a long voyage back home at this stage of its life? Graham continues,:‘The current owner has brought it back over here and they sent it into Auto Audio for a bit of work. They’re a specialist company in Park Royal, London, focusing on custom builds and jazzy interiors. ‘If you want a pink diamond-encrusted interior for your Bentley, or you want your latest Ferrari wrapped in velvet, these are the guys for you. They’re heavily involved with clients from the Middle East – places like Dubai, Saudi Arabia etc.’ Auto Audio will be giving it a fresh paint job and the interior is going to be re-trimmed, whilst most of its insides will go through a modernising process, despite the toys being state of the art back in the 1980s. More on that in a sec… Graham’s role is more mechanical. ‘We’ve serviced it and generally recommissioned it back into a good working order. Anything mechanical Auto Audio don’t want to do, particularly when there’s a Land Rover badge on the front, they send over to us to sort out,’ explains Graham. It was while Graham was ‘sorting’ the Sheer Rover that we came to see what the height of customisation was like back in 1983. Huge stacks of money have been spent on this vehicle, but I for one could never call it attractive. As part of the Sheer Rover transformation, the Range Rover Classic was given new bumpers and exterior design features, such as the clear lower tailgate.

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Other Sheer Rovers experienced wheelbase changes or grew extra wheels, but this example focuses very much on the aesthetical changes to a standard Classic platform and harbours no notable mechanical differentiations. If you’re not a fan of the outside, then the inside is unlikely to bring you around to the Sheer Rover’s way of thinking. I like Simply Red, but not when it comes to interiors. With the sheer volume (see what I did there) of red in this cabin, along with the shade of red they’ve chosen to adorn the space, it looks like someone has re-enacted the chainsaw massacre inside and then decided they quite like the mess it left behind. The seats are at least comfortable, though, with sporty Recaro numbers located in the front and back of the Sheer Rover. Plus, not only will all passengers be well-seated, but they can all enjoy a touch of Spandau Ballet coming through the speakers situated in the headrests. Remember, this was the Eighties, so this cabin would have seemed more akin to a space pod at the time. There’s more, too. That hefty centre section whe e one might ﬁt a cubby box actually houses a TV. Again, it was the Eighties, so this was a TV that came with its own postcode. I like the microphone that sits alongside, which presumably was installed for those spontaneous karaoke moments you sometimes have on a longer journey. The 57 ashtrays dotted around the vehicle also further instil yesteryear’s idea of luxury. As with most Sheer Rover conversions, there’s a lot of tree and a lot of cow in here, whilst a few unusual dials come into vision from the driver’s seat. The Monroe ride leveller meter will indicate to you if you’re trying to pilot the Sheer

Rover along on its roof, and the vacuum performance dial gives you various bits of information on how heavy your foot is – presumably to keep you from boredom while those in the back reap the thrills of karaoke. Companies like Kahn Design and Bespoke are known for their custom projects, but replacing dull Solihull interiors with lairy cowhide has been going on for decades. This Sheer Rover is a classic example of what can happen when people have too much money and a taste palate that doesn’t come in equal proportion. It’s a great illustration of just how blank a canvas these machines provide, and Land Rovers and Range Rovers alike are still being welcomed into custom outﬁts with o en a ms in decades after predecessing models were setting the trends for rich and wealthy customers all over the world. The Sheer Rover is a reminder of how design is always changing, and how one man’s meat is another man’s murder. And, most of all, of how customisation doesn’t always improve on the original recipe.

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crowning

Mark Peacock ran his Land Rover garage for 27 years, until this summer he closed the doors on his business, ready to sail off into retirement.Before doing so, however, there was one special project he needed to complete before saying goodbye… WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

ack in the ‘60s and ‘70s, Land Rover specialists were cropping up all over the country. Those who were technically minded and could look at Land Rovers in the same way a child looks at Meccano, were able to see the business potential in working on these agricultural machines. Out in the countryside in particular, farmers and commercial workers depended on these vehicles to be working for every minute they were. And if you could take your Land Rover to a reputable independent specialist rather than pay main dealer prices, there was an obvious answer to this rather trivial issue. During the Sixties and Seventies, though, Mark Peacock was busy doing other things – namely serving in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces. After valiantly carrying out his duties for his country for over 25 years, though, it was time for Mark to move onto something else. ‘I’m an ex-farmer’s son,’ declares Mark, ‘So I knew my way around most Land Rovers. No one did Land Rovers around here at the time, and I was finishing in the a my and needed a ca ee And that’s precisely what Mark did over the course of 27 years, slowly expanding his empire and building a reputation for being not only a ve y nowledgeable figu e on all things een Oval, but also for being a trustworthy and approachable gentleman for whom nothing is too much trouble. However, as of June, Mark’s customers have had to loo fo a new een val gu u es Mark has decided to hang up his spanners and will be focusing on other activities like vacations and retail therapy (or at least that’s what Mark believes will be the case if his wife has anything to do with it). Before Mark hung up the ‘closed’ sign for the final time though the e was a athe s ecial vehi cle that required some attention and all of Mark’s know-how that he’s built up over the years.

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glory

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Viewing the underside of a freshly restored Land Rover on a galvanised chassis is never less than a delight – and when it has the added attraction of a whole extra axle, it gets better than ever. As the drivetrain components illustrate, this is a proper 6x6 – and it has an extra transfer lever to prove it, too. Viewed from some angles, this may appear to offer nine-wheel drive, but as far as we’re aware not even Land Rover has managed to develop anything as exotic as that so far

The vehicle in question is just one of two ever made, which naturally makes it one of the rarest Land Rovers ever. If you look at the vehicle head on you’d assume a relatively standard, albeit also uncommon, Stage 1 V8 were sat in front of you. ut the side oﬁle tells a ve y diffe ent sto y At the rear, this Stage 1 has gained an extra axle, two wheels and now boasts six-wheel drive.

t s also utte ly awesome to behold in the esh and is exactly the sort of machine that nobody needs, but everybody should want. I certainly do! The reason for its existence is down to Townley Cross-Country Vehicles, a company renowned for its conversions in the 1980s, much like Wood & Pickett who created the Sheer Rover featured elsewhere in this publication.

So Townley, along with another Stage 1 V8, converted this vehicle before it was used as a cherry picker for a number of years. Originally, it is understood that the 6x6 was built in 1981, but it was only egiste ed fo the fi st time in hence the egist ation efix he tage s fi st owne was a icha d oulson eveals a e used it to tow his concrete pumper and all the pipes that went with it. The all-up weight was 5.8 tonnes!’ a then encounte ed the x fo the ve y fi st time u chasing it f om icha d in ctobe 1995, before converting it to right-hand drive and installing a round heater. After a few months, the Stage 1 found a new home in February 1996 with a gentleman named a e actually bought it bac off a e in ebruary 2005 for the sum of £700 – it was totally rusted through, with every panel either damaged o dest oyed laments a t then sat a ound until 2016 when I decided to rebuild it.’ ac unde a s stewa dshi the fo tunes of the Stage 1 were always likely to improve sooner or later, although it certainly hasn’t been

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‘This is it – this is as good as it gets. What a lovely thing to finish my career on…’ an easy ride getting the 6x6 back into the top condition you see it in today. ‘After we bought it for the second time, I remember Alistair from Richards Chassis coming down to deliver some units and while he was here I said to him, “Do you fancy a project?”’ says Mark. This is a Land Rover capable of piquing anyone’s interest, so of course Alistair set the ball rolling on a new bespoke galvanised chassis. This is all one piece as well, and not just sections cobbled together.

‘We’ve really toiled over this Land Rover, everything on it has either been rebuilt or replaced,’ says Mark. ‘First it was stripped down to get the underpinnings sorted, then we put the engine and gearbox in with new heads, valves and seals, followed by the clutch and transfer box.’ The 6x6 has received a new bulkhead along with a number of other panels, including those Townley bespoke wheel arches, but the end result is simply stunning. ‘This has taken a good two years to get to this stage – I’ve never had a challenge like it,’ claims

Mark. To add to the pressure, the Stage 1 needed to be ready for its auction at the end of June and even up until a week before the auction, Mark and his team we e still missing one ﬁnal iece of the jigsaw, that being the lower part of the dash inside the cabin. Fortunately, as luck would have it, the right part turned up within hours rather than days to spare and the 6x6 could be declared complete. It goes without saying that this is a vehicle you wouldn’t get into and drive every day. As Mark puts it, this is not your typical cruiser and will probably be a pig to drive. Nevertheless, with the Rover 3.5-litre V8 burbling away in front and a loadspace behind that a cargo ship would be proud of, this is a machine where every operation will give the driver the sense of being as involved in the process, as the piston travelling up and down the cylinder or the cog rotating inside the gearbox. For Mark, , he’s looking forward to winding down his own cogs and enjoying the freedom of retirement. But he can’t hide his pride on what is surely one of his greatest ever projects. ‘This is it, this is as good as it gets,’ beams a hat a lovely thing to ﬁnish my ca ee on… it’s been a marvellous 27 years.’

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arms and Few machines qualify for service in the British Army. But then, Land Rovers aren’t regular vehicles. And the Defender we have here isn’t just rare – it’s about as eye-catching as it’s possible for a vehicle to be…

WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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the man W

hile all Land Rovers have traditionally been machines capable of fulfilling any domestic duty or chore you could encounter, many of them were so versatile that they served in the commercial sector and would lend a hand th oughout the wo ing day to those needing a vehicle with a bit of bac bone i e the my fo exam le f cou se when you build something that sta ts gaining a e utation fo its functionality in so many diffe ent fields it s no su ise when the milita y come along and want to see what the machine can do out in the field. and ove s and the milita y go togethe li e aste onday and a face full of adbu y s chocolate which may give a clue as to why my eyboa d now smells li e an om a oom a e ha s they go togethe li e ussia and an international scandal? ithe way and ove s have layed thei role in the military for decades now, and it says something about thei edig ee when even today, while many have been ousted by purpose-built heavy artillery machines, there are many Defenders and other Green Oval stam ed vehicles being used with med o c es e sonnel at the wheel he olf efende se ies stands out as a a ticula highlight in the histo y between and ove and the milita y hese efend e s we e toughe than standa d t ained and battle ha dened oviding t ans o tation fo a numbe of diffe ent oles ome civilians a e now luc y enough to own one of these vehicles with many having now eti ed f om milita y life in atu ally there are different variations, and some are mo e sought afte than othe s he ea ons ounted nstallation it olfs ada ted to ta e machine guns and enough fi e owe to settle any dis utes with an ang y gla e a e s ecial machines and a ticula ly a e hich ma es ndy odwa d s even mo e ext ao dina y ust li e the milita y ndy has his own long standing affiliation with the een val b and having owned a and ove since the age of he milita y connection was obvious even then with a ightweight being ndy s preferred weapon of choice to dispatch with the commutes of the day n the inte im ndy has gone on to own several different Land Rovers, but he now believes he has nowhe e else to go in his eyes the is the een val innacle

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Left: The WMIK is a Td5-era Landy, but the Army ordered it with the simpler 300Tdi unit Above: Inside one of the lockers is an air compressor. This locks out the suspension, giving the rear gunner a more stable platform ‘I’d had an O-WMIK prior to this, which was bought and also esto ed by me e ects ndy guy ha ened to d o me a line as ing if d fancy selling it thought it was a an call initially but realised it was genuine and I ended u selling it fo a healthy oﬁt to a guy in a an I then saw this and had the money required to move u to the o me it s an u g ade ove the standa d ased on that you d thin ndy s switch to the side was vi tually a st aightfo wa d swa ut it wasn’t quite so simple… ‘The vehicle I drive now was actually a crash-damaged vehicle, and it’s now two vehicles built into one ex lains ndy got it f om a chap based in Manchester who had done most of the heavy wo involved having al eady sou ced the a ts off the two effectively assembled the esults Those results transpire into an R-WMIK inte ate wade which is now fully restored to the 2005 period, complete with wea ons and it now you ll concu with me that this vehicle loo s b illiant but have to confess that in the esh this machine ste s u to being lain awesome

cco ding to ndy the only bits to su vive we e the a mou one of the few things that se a ates this va iant f om the that ndy d ove befo e t s clea ly not you eve yday efende even though ndy admits he t ies to use it li e one hile this and ove may loo li e a egula olf with the bonnet and wings there is plenty going on underneath to separate these de ivatives The R-WMIK is heavier than a night out on white spirit, with its weight closing on fou tonnes cou tesy of all that unde a mou and einfo ced unning gea he axles a e not only beefie but ca y lowe atios and boast loc ing axle diffs as standa d nd on to of that you have bes o e heavy duty ilstein shoc abso be s designed s ecifically to co e with all that ext a mass ‘These vehicles needed to survive the battleg ound states ndy hey would have been used fo long ange econnaissance o close fi e su o t with the wea ons attached ou would load the it u to suit if you we e planning to engage the enemy then you would stac u with ammunition f you we e heading out on econ then you d ca y mo e food and

less ammo accounting only fo the occasional o shot Somehow, I don’t see the recon going down li e an old co d ama sta eout whe e the dashboa d loo s li e a dest oyed c onald s menu ut it s inte esting to now what these vehicles may have gotten u to out on tou nfo tunately while ve as ed the uestion as to the histo y of this and ove with ﬁghting vehicles they tend to be more evasive and don’t want to give much away says ndy uefully got the impression they were built to be used in a numbe of envi onments es ecially with the winte and wading ca abilities they have t s feasible this could have wo ed in the ungles of sia to the tund a of the ctic lthough m with ndy when he says he doesn t fancy the idea of d iving th ough the ctic in a vehicle with no oof o doo s hilst we e on the sub ect of d iving you might thin that o e ating a vehicle weighing as much as u ite and designed to ca y men and ammunition over any terrain might leave you eaching fo the ee eat ‘It’s actually a lovely car to drive, although you can t mind the attention says ndy he e is one

The was fitted with additional underbody rotection to combat against landmines and ex losives triggered from below. Heavy, of course – but, while you wouldn’t buy one of these if hardcore off-road fun was foremost in your mind, the steelwork you’re looking at here certainly won’t be troubled by being bounced off the odd stump

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small gripe, however, which is being addressed as we speak. You see, the shock absorbers were designed for a full payload, and unless you carry all the gear, all of the time, it can get rather uncomfortable. Having said that, mounting up all the vehicle’s replica machine guns and everything else seems a little excessive fo a five minute trip to Tesco. ‘The dampers are pretty hard, so I’ve taken them back to Bilstein and they’re going to soften them a little bit for me!’ Once the dampers are sorted, you’d imagine ndy would conside his com lete But the truth is, with these military machines, you e neve li ely to finish them ‘You never quite get there,’ says Andy. ‘Some a ts a e classified so it s nea im ossible to find every part you need. But then that’s part of the hobby isn t it hings li e the lect onic ounte easu es system you e neve going to get hold of he othe issue is that no is ali e as they we e gene ally modified at unit level to suit the c ew s s ecific needs a ts were swapped, added and removed, plus ongoing field develo ment esulting in each being uni ue n addition many of the a ts a e one offs so you’re kind of forced to buy them when they come, else you may not ever get another chance. Other than that, though, the restoration wasn’t

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too bad. There’s a parts book, which is always a good start with these things.’ a ts may be ha d to sou ce but that s not exactly what you’d call surprising when you consider how few vehicles were made. The o iginal came in it fo m so it could be added to a olf and ove in a matte of hou s he was mo e s ecialised and built by the factory itself, with only a few hun dred built in various formats. ost of the s a e still in se vice having been upgraded or converted, or having been destroyed in battle,’ explains Andy. ‘This is ust one of two o th ee models in civilian hands at present.’ he is not something eve yone will even witness, let alone own. So what is it about this retired veteran that Andy admires so much? ‘I’d have to say it’s the simplicity as a user – there’s no doors, no roof, this is purely for func tion,’ says Andy. ‘You get a soft seat and that’s about it. You kind of have to embrace everything about it and overlook the fact it’s not going to be great if it’s windy or cold.’ And embrace it, Andy does. He has the right philosophy: why spend all that money and re store something just to let it sit and lie around? So, whether it’s the Tesco trek or school jaunt, ndy endeavou s to wheel out the olf

e s eached his and ove goal too es the e is an but this is even heavie and not a viable project unless you plan on holding a country for ransom. But then you’ll have all the othe s on you tail which is far from advisable. ac to ndy s then which ust have one thing to say about his of Andy’s illustrates how versatile the Defender has been to the British Armed Forces over the years. But more importantly, it demonstrates just anothe way in which and ove s have oven their versatility to the world since 1948.

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Everyday Pleasures

Joe Farrow does things a little differently to most. He doesn’t drive a vehicle with modern creature comforts – instead, whether it’s for business or pleasure, he calls upon his trusty 1965 Series IIA… WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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f you do any sort of mileage that means going any further than your local shopping parade once a month, the chances are you’ll appreciate a vehicle that has some level of sophistication to it. Of course, here I am saying this out loud (well, in print, but you get what I mean) in a Land Rover publication, so there is a chance you’re not one for what’s frequently dismissed as the ‘modern rubbish’. However, even you, sir, with the Defender 110 you drive each day, or you, madam, with the Td5 Discovery, will admit that you quite like having features during your commute, such as electric windows or air conditioning. You know, because Britain has seemingly developed a climate rivalled only by Kenya’s… It’s great to have an everyday vehicle that wears a Green Oval badge – but what’s the ideal Land Rover to have for the daily grind? I bet you wouldn t tu n u to wo all uste ed in a ange ove nd not ust the ash new stuff eithe a relaxed V8 thrum would go nicely with the Classic’s smooth ride. If you’re on a budget, there’s always the versatile Discovery, and there’s more than a few treats in those to keep you free from boredom. The lights on the dash really will give you a disco, too. A Defender is a brave choice and only for the hardy sort of people out there, I mean you’re looking at having to wind windows yourself! And no one would contemplate using a Series Landy every day… Oh, wait. Joe Farrow has a vehicle he uses every day. And it’s a 1965 long wheelbase Series IIA. And do you know what? He absolutely loves it. But this is a love affair that goes way back. ‘How the Series IIA came to me is a funny one,’ begins Joe. ‘I’d known about it for 20 years as it belonged to a friend. I still have memories of me standing next to it as a teen, probably when I was around 14 or 15. ‘Then about four years ago, I bumped into Chris (the owner) and asked, “Oh, how is the Land Rover?” And he said, “Well actually it’s for sale.” I mentioned that I’d be interested in buying it, so he said to come and see it and it just seemed like I was in the right place at the right time.’ Joe has had Series Land Rovers previously, but this 109” is a little more special. Although it’s not so special that it won’t get used for just about anything. Over the course of a year, Joe will rack up around 12,000 miles, and his 53-year-old Land Rover eats up every one of them. ‘We’ve not long come back from Spain and France, my wife and I, covering 3,000 miles and I didn’t even need to open the bonnet!’ beams Joe. ‘Naturally, we always pack a selection of bits

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and ieces li e the ﬁnal d ive gea and s a e hubs he e s belts and eve y uid nown to man in there.’ Deciding to have a Series Landy as your everyday vehicle requires a practical sort of approach to life, something Joe has down to a tee. He continues, ‘It’s in good nick to drive, because it beneﬁts f om being used eve y day It helps you keep on top of all the niggly things. Like if a side light goes on something you only drive once a month, you may not bother changing it, whereas when it’s your daily drive you just get the tools out and get on with it. ‘My own personal approach is that if something has gone wrong on it, the aim is to get it back out on the road again within 24 hours, where possible.’ In Joe’s case, this has occasionally required the burning of some midnight oil. A couple of years ago, a few days before Christmas, the ignition switch fused and burnt out the starter solenoid in the process. So, in between helpings of Brussels sprouts and Christmas pudding, Joe performed a complete rewire of the system so it was back on the road ready for his return to work on the 27th. So how do people react to Joe’s wonderful old daily driver? ‘A lot of people are quite bemused – my mother to this day has never got it. There does seem to be this begrudging respect for it, though, even if it is a very marmite car,’ admits Joe. The vehicle may not be to everyone’s taste, however well meaning you’d assume they are,

but there’s no question Joe and the 109” possess noble personalities. Get this for a story… When previous owner Chris went on his honeymoon 28 years ago to Ireland aboard the Land Rover, he never made it to the one mountain range he really wanted to see, the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks. So Joe, while on his own honeymoon, promised that he and his new wife would travel in the Land Rover to the mountain range and complete the journey Chris was always supposed to make. And they did just that. He’s not afraid to venture further, too. ‘I want to do Morocco or Iceland next, although I need to make the Land Rover child-friendly over the next year or so!’ Still, despite plans to start a family, Joe won’t be changing his truck. ‘I’d never swap it, and I’d never get anything ‘normal’ now, it’s in my blood,’ says Joe. ‘Earlier this year, the diesel pump packed up on my Land Rover and I sold the sensible car in order to pay for the new pump!’ His sensible machine had creature comforts like heated seats, so by selling that vehicle on, Joe has certainly committed himself! He’ll have the warmth of the engine coming through to the cabin in winter, though, so every cloud (of fumes) and all that… Running a Series Land Rover as your main car may seem tremendously brave to many people. But for those who do ‘get’ this whole Land Rover thing, it’s easy to admire, respect and even envy Joe’s decision. This is a guy who really is living the Land Rover dream.

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Alternati ve

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Defender Think Defender: think diesel. Or at least, that’s normal. But it is possible to be a true petrol head, e en wh e ho d n the ke s to o hu ’s ﬁnest WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

is for Defender – but ‘D’ is also for diesel. Coincidence? I doubt it. You see, when you try to imagine a scenario involving the Lode Lane legend, the soundtrack playing in the background is almost certain to be that of an oil-burner Diesel and Defender are an item, whether you like it or not. Just as in the same way you need to accept that Mila Kunis is already married. Just because the pretty girl talks nicely to you in the Jim Beam advert – honest, mate, you just need to leave it.

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Anyway, Defenders and diesel – that’s it, end of story. Or is it? Well, some of you looking exasperated with my claim will be yelling furiously (tone it down a little, you’re scaring Fido), and shouting: ‘What about the NAS 90?’ Gold star for you, because yes, there is a V8 Defender that was sold across the pond. But did you hear about the South African Defender, the one with the 2.8-litre BMW petrol engine? It’s okay if you haven’t; there is no shame in this, and you certainly don’t need to be lying there crying on that shrink’s couch.

There is a reason why you may not have encountered, leat alone heard of, this version of Land Rover – and that goes for anywhere, not ust on a ﬁ st hand basis o sta te s a bit of history is needed. Back in the late Nineties, Land Rover was ruled by the German might of BMW. And to appease the southern African market a BMW petrol engine was installed within the Defender. So, from 1996 until the year 2000, Solihull sent CKD kits over to the Rosslyn plant near Pretoria and South Africa assembled a Defender labelled the 2.8i.

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Don’t panic, it’s supposed to be there. In fact, Alistair is probably glad of the 192bhp chucked out by the 2.8-litre BMW straight six that was fitted by the factory for ex ort to outh frica Production numbers aren’t readily available, but estimates narrow the number of these Defenders down to approximately 1400 units, around 650 of which were 90s. Very few were made and even fewer were exported back to the UK – but this one, was. You may struggle to come across a 2.8i Defender but, with this one at least, you won’t miss it once you’re in the vicinity. Alistair Fearnehough owns this vibrant irregularity and he has done so for over ten years. t was fi st egiste ed by the o sdic s deale in South Africa on 2 September 1998,’ says Alistair, nodding in the Defender’s direction as it bas s at the to of the field he efende s fi st owne im o ted it he e th ough oge s of Bedford, sometime between September and May 1999, before it was sold to its second owner, a captain, in the August of 2000.’ he ca tain we e assuming of a lane o a ship, as opposed to of Chelsea), who owned the 90 before Alistair, clearly travelled well, with service records pinpointing intervals in Surrey, Somerset, North Yorkshire and even Madrid. And then in October 2006, after 133,934 kilo-

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met es o miles this s ecial f om the South settled in Derbyshire with Alistair. ‘I reverted the registration back to original,’ says Alistair, with previously ‘L90 MUD’ showing on each end of the Defender. ‘It hasn’t gone as far under my watch either, as it’s a second vehicle and I tend to work from home a fair bit. So apart from a couple of trips to the French Alps, it’s had to make do with Derbyshire!’ It shows, with the odometer now revealing Alistair to have added less than 3000 miles a year since he bought it. Not that he minds driving it, of course. he ca d ives ve y well and ce tainly goes like a train for a Defender. And that engine sounds absolutely fantastic with the stainless

exhaust,’ says Alistair. I’ll tell you about some of the other items on Alistair’s 90 in a second, but ﬁ st a bit mo e info on that i engine Its proper name was the BMW M52, a straight-six, 24-valve unit that also found its way into the i i notice a atte n and i t even had a lace in the s o ty o be housed within a Defender, though, it needed to have plenty of power, to cope with the extra weight. Fortunately, 192hp was on tap. hus following oduction ending of the V8 Defender, the South Africans still had a petrol-powered Defender. Low-down torque was rubbish, but do you think Alistair gives a damn he e a e claims that the i efende could reach 60mph from a standstill in just 9.3

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South African Defenders may have had an exotic power plant, but they were reassuringly familiar inside. The resence of air con definitely marks this out as being something special, though seconds, while later versions were restricted to 100mph. A Defender. Restricted. To a ton. It’s incredible, in fact it’s almost as incredible as this Defender looks. Much of that is down to Alistair’s brother-in-law, Chris, who carried out a major renovation just over four years ago. Chris actually worked on developing and delivering the Land Rover apprentice scheme until recently and, needless to say, Alistair has found his knowledge very useful around the garage. Even Britpart paid him a visit so he could assist with the latest diagnostics program under the Lynx Evo app, now available on your smartphone. There’s not many of these 2.8i Defenders around, so they had to call someone! Anyway, the refurb was pretty extensive, incorporating a full respray into this exotic yellow it was amel o hy yellow when h is ﬁ st had it ﬁtting galvanised a ts li e the bum e and generally renewing much of the Defender’s tired self. Seals were replaced, the suspension uprated, wheels refurbished, front discs drilled and

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Waxoyl presented to the underside. The entire vehicle has an air of quality about it, beﬁtting of that tuneful motor and its top-end nature. I think it looks epic in the yellow and black colour scheme – more Bumblebee of the Autobots than Kevin of the Minions. Personal choice, I know. And that is the same with whether you like your Defender with a diesel or a petrol engine. Like many things, it depends what you will use your possession for. If you want to off-road your Defender every weekend, then this is never going to suit your needs. If like Alistair you enjoy a few more revs and fancy the occasional road trip, perhaps the 2.8i Defender was made for you. Anyhow, I’ll leave you to your search. Might ta e a while to ﬁnd one

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happy L

and Rovers were always designed to be versatile and practical in nature, in the same way a Swiss Army knife has functionality at its core. However, some Green Oval machines were always going to be mo e exible than othe s nd in this case si e does matter. Pause on the Swiss Army knife for a second: when I was 10 my grandparents gave me one as a present. I instantly felt cooler, and more prepared, li e d be able to de loy my icto inox limbe when required, say, if my Nintento 64 broke and I needed to carry out a full diagnosis. In reality, my index ﬁnge sustained two cuts on the ﬁ st day of ownership – but I still possess and cherish it to this day. My point is that I was aware of even bigger knives, with more features and more cred. With the Series III Land Rover, if you wanted to become the Mr Practical, there was only one variant suitable for such a man – the Series III 109” High a acity ic This wasn’t just an ordinary Series III with an already hardy image, but a pick-up truck that could boast an additional 25% in cubic capacity over the standard 109” truck cab. Not only did more space mean more room for all your manly stuff – a chainsaw and half a forest, perhaps – but the heavy-duty suspension ensured the vehicle wouldn’t slump to its knees 50 metres down the road.

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f the e is one e son who can wax ly ical about the usability of this particular workhorse, you might find him at the beach o cam ing alongside a beautiful vista, made possible by the modifications he s made on his ve y own igh a acity ic ‘I felt this was the ideal base for a camper conversion,’ says Mike Edge as we walk around his fine and ove ith the ext a s ace and a little thought and ingenuity, I reckoned it could be turned into a great camper.’ There has certainly been some thought put into how to make best use of that vast loadspace, and the result is a setup that can be used with ease, yet is as solid as the vehicle its situated in. The framework is credited to steel fabricators based in h o shi e hey ve olled out 27mm tubing for the rear hoops – 3mm thick – and used the original mountings to keep an authentic look. Those mounts have been bored out 2mm, though, to account for the thicker tubing, while the height has been increased by 18” to give more room to the people living within. In the warmer months that’s usually Mike and his partner, Mandy, with the former purchasing the Land Rover in the understanding that their children had reached a certain age, meaning the pair of them could take off in the Land Rover and do their own thing, safe in the knowledge that the house would have a solid chance of being in one piece upon their return.

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camper

If the weather outside your window leaves you feeling as grey as the sky is overcast, why not feast your eyes upon this Hi-Cap 109â&#x20AC;? and take inspiration for your next summer adventure?

WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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HCPUs received County-spec seats and headlining to ensure the cabin wasn’t completely sparse. It’s still a no-frills Land Rover at heart, though, and was ready to be turned into a camper without fear of compromising any fancy bits But a Land Rover’s load bay can be a pretty sparse environment, even with a frame and bes o e canvas ﬁtted in this instance a hood from JF Thomas). ve insulated the oo s using lywood and then ubbe matting while the e s a wooden headboa d ﬁtted giving access to the cabin ex lains i e he sofa also folds down into a bed measu ing two met es long and met es wide have to commend Sue Candlin of VW Camper Dreams fo the u holste ing ou can emove it uic ly

to revert back to a normal pick-up, plus there’s a cu boa d to etain a washbasin awning oles and a small gas coo e ‘It’s a real practical classic; a true multipurpose vehicle yet etaining its classic and ove lines and appeal.’ guably the only oblem with the igh Capacity Pick Up is that so few were made. Production only sta ted in and by then and Rover had one eye on its successor when the One Ten and Ninety vehicles would soon replace the old Series motors.

he e s only a do en o so e ies i a s left on the oad today but i e may have one of the best ese ved exam les a ound ot only did the i a have u ated sus ension but the s we e also given ounty s ec headlinings and seats both o iginal featu es that can be obse ved in i e s ic u today y the ea ly s and ove had also gone to some length to im ove the lit e unit with ﬁve bea ings now being used instead of th ee hese engines also ca ied the late ty e fuel pump and Lucas ACR alternator.

‘I bought the Land Rover last year with the | knowledge that it was quite rare. I’m no Land Rover expert, but I like the simplicity’

The wooden headboard at the front of the pick-up bed allows access through to the spacious load bay, in which you ll find some rubber matting on to of a lywood lined oor That sofa also folds down into a more than useful sleeping platform, and there’s a cupboard for all Mike’s camping needs

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Come the early Eighties, Land Rover’s 2.25-litre engines had become stronger than ever, now with a five bearing crankshaft and ucas alternator

But it’s not just the engine that’s strong on this particular old-fashioned workhorse. The chassis has been replaced with a galvanised example and has been treated with Waxoyl to help this Land Rover live on like we know they can. With good, solid maintenance and a bit of TLC, these old Series Land Rovers can outlive most of their owners. The TLC in this case comes in the form of a respray and a thorough servicing at regular intervals. But seeing as this is a Land Rover, these are acts of kindness the owner can perform themselves with very little trouble. ‘I bought this Land Rover last year with the knowledge that it was quite rare,’ comments Mike. ‘And I’m no Land Rover expert, but I like the simplicity. I wanted something usable; something I could pull a trailer with, and the pick-up is

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an all-round vehicle. It doesn’t cost much to run, and there’s no depreciation!’ Mike has shown that even 35 years after being built, while a vehicle’s purpose may change, a practical truck will always be practical. This Series III may have been a traditional hack in the 1980s, but today it works to give Mike and Mandy a leisurely retreat when the strains of the daily grind become too much for them. Like a Swiss Army knife then,

you ll always ﬁnd a situation whe e a and ove is the perfect tool for the job.

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blaze of There has always been a Land Rover for every task, e en the eh c e has to be bu t s ec ﬁca or t Not that that always happened in Solihull itself… WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

s they get older, Series Landies are getting rarer. This means special edition or low production models are scarcer still – like the 86” Series I or Carawagon, for example. But when it comes to rarity within the Land Rover world, this 109”-derived, Forward Control Fire Engine is in a whole different realm of paucity. So rare, in fact, that there are gaps in its history through which it could be driven. ve a ely aid any attention to ﬁ e engines aside from moving out of the way when they appear in the rear-view mirror – but I’ve never come across one quite like this before. Background information on this machine is scarce at best; the mystery was consuming and I needed answers. I recently greeted the owner, Rob Kirby, in the shadow of the engine in the forecourt of his business i by omme cial ehicles t s difﬁcult to ignore the titan when it’s peering down above you in all its awe. ‘Bates of Evesham were contracted in 1972 to make Land Rover Fire Engines for the Northern Ireland Fire Service.

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can t find much info mation about it There is one article from the Evesham Journal displayed in the local museum, dated 19 April t says that the o the n ish fi e fo ce commander came to Evesham to take delivery of the ates fi e engines ob states The article in the Evesham Journal wasn’t long, but did shed some light on the situation. Bates of Evesham was commissioned to make some lightweight manoeuv able fi e engines for the Northern Irish Fire Brigade in late 1972. With the tumultuous landscape of the country at the time, a Forward Control Landy was an ideal tem late fo a a id es onse fi e engine. It was big enough to carry a four-man crew with all of their equipment, was half the weight and si e of a fi e engine of that e a and could outmanoeuvre them. But, Land Rover had just stopped manufacturing Forward Controls earlier that year. Rob goes to a cabinet in the corner of his office and on his etu n laces the s oils of the trip on to the desk before me. It’s an aged envelope; A2 in size and bulged with tattered edges n official itish eyland ostal stic e

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glory

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The cabin is as functional as you’d expect from a forward-control Land Rover, and with the engine living under a basic metal cover in the cab it’s unlikely to be what you d call refined either ut what it does have is the endless usability and exibility of olihull s best

addressed to Messrs F.I. Bates & Sons Ltd. sits front and centre, above which a hand-written scrawl reads ‘Chassis Drawings’. Inside, the envelope holds letters sent from Solihull to the ates fi m in ecembe desc ibing the prototype chassis and the parts they had used to adapt the One-Ton base. On large blue sheets, faded technical drawings and instructions show how to fit the a ts o at least they did once upon a time. ‘An antiques dealer was trying to sell it for the Bates family,’ explains Rob. ‘They contacted us because they didn’t have the experience in selling vehicles like we do. I couldn’t believe it when it had all of the a e wo and the blue ints they make it even more interesting.’ he lette s evealed that the fi st ototy e i e ende was built on a ne on chassis and used the lit e six cylinde et ol engine he f ont oad s ings we e ta en f om a Forward Control, as were the remote controls for the gearbox and transfer box. However, it seems that things changed a little after the initial attempt. All subsequent vehicles we e based on a standa d chassis that was still being produced over in Solihull. These were adapted to be more suitable for the job, with the addition of a host of modifications using both custom and and ove a ts most of which were unsurprisingly at the front end. Anti-roll ba s we e fitted to the f ont and ea axles with the only modification being that the lin s we e shortened by one and a half inches. From there, much of the work was brake related, with new mounts required for the pipes

and gaiters needed to avoid interference with the roll bars. The letters and drawings also reveal that the chassis was bolstered by the addition of stiffening plates on each sidemember in front of the second c ossmembe he st aight six remained the same, as did the body design by Ken Rhodes. he ates ﬁ e engine bares a front end that resembles that of a Series III, an interior that is essentially stock and is mid-engined like a FC. With roof-mounted ladders and copious storage behind the steel sliders that are synonymous with all ﬁ e engines, crews aboard a Bates wagon were fully equipped for the job. The production run totalled vehicles of which reported for duty in Northern Ireland. In the Evesham Journal, Northern Irish Fire Force Commander, George Morrison, referred to the engines as ‘world beaters’, which sounds like pretty fulsome praise. Later on the article states that the Landy Fire Engines cut the call out time from two and a half minutes

to ninety seconds, and saved lives in the ‘no go’ regions of Belfast. his is one of the eight ﬁ e engines that neve left for Northern Ireland, meaning that it took on a unique history. t was egiste ed in to the ates family It had two owners in the family, but the third is unknown,’ says Rob.

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06/11/2018 10:24

‘It clocked up the miles it has working at an airport somewhere in England, although I’m not sure which one. It’s been well looked after, though. Aside from replacing the clutch master cylinder, we’ve serviced the engine and the pump and given it a wash. That’s it – and it uns fine Walking around the vehicle it is plain to see that it has been well cared for. The emblem on the door is still crisp and clear. The hoses and fittings a e all well and esent he aintwo is as red as the day it left the workshop in Worcestershire. Even looking underneath at the suspension and beneath the engine cover at the 2.6-litre straight-six it is a vehicle that doesn’t look its age. Inside, the cockpit is like that of a Forward Control, but for a few vital differences. Centrally on the dash sit a row of four switches, embedded on a metallic silver dash insert. They’re labelled as ‘Locker’, ‘Beacon’, ‘Spot/Fog’ and ‘Reverse’, then out to the right on its own, as if in the doghouse, sits ‘Horns’. Beneath the plethora of switches, a radio is mounted to the dash, and aside from the switch for the searchlights above the windscreen, the interior is standard. Behind the rear slider is the all-original pump system that complements the collection of hoses and fittings ‘I haven’t used the hoses, but we have emptied the tank, so we know the pump works. There’s also all so ts of attachments li e the filte you d drop into a lake to take water from there; those kind of things,’ says Rob. Kindly, he offered to take it out for a run and open it up. Despite what you might think, it doesn t feel li e you e in a big ed fi e engine ac ed full of heavy attachments on a modified chassis. It doesn’t feel like that to drive, either. ‘It feels like any other Forward Control to drive,’ shouts Rob. ‘Obviously it’s loud in here,

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and you’re higher up but other than that it’s like any normal Series Land Rover to operate. The controls are still heavy and the bigger tyres make it a bit harder to steer. But it’s still great fun to be in.’ After the drive, Rob explains that the business has held and sold some ﬁ e engines befo e but not as unique as this one. ‘We like to have a go with something a bit different, have our fun with it before selling them on. We’ve had six-wheeled Carmichael Range Rovers before. But nothing like this at all. hen ﬁ st saw it thought it was ust fantastic! The plan is to sell it on, obviously, but in an ideal world I’d absolutely love to keep it.’ While this pristine example doesn’t have the battle scars that its brothers and sisters undoubtedly accumulated in Belfast, its less stressful career makes it the perfect poster boy

for the Bates engines. In addition, not only is it a symbol of yet another way in which Land Rovers have proved their worth in the emergency services – but also, complete as it is with all that paperwork, it’s the messenger of the family – and without it, we’d know half what we do now.

5 06/11/2018 10:23

winter’s Back in 2009, Trevor Bailey found himself needing a vehicle to tackle adverse weather. Today, he owns a Lightweight that carries its military heritage with pride – and can handle more than a touch of snow

WORDS MIKE TROTT AND TREVOR BAILEY PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

ac in when the ve y fi st incarnation of Land Rover appeared, the gene al ublic we e stunned by its no nonsense actical and utilitarian attitude. And while it didn’t take long fo eo le to ecognise the benefits of the and Rover in the agricultural and commercial market, the milita y was al eady fixated on em loying the vehicle fo its own missions a ly milita y and ove s we e ust twea ed ve sions of the civilian standa d hat s how good a and ove was out of the box oweve as ai c afts develo ed so did thei t ans o tation ability y the late ixties the e was a demand fo a vehicle that could be own by fixed wing ai c afts and helico te s and the e ies and ove of the day was e fect fo the ob nly it was too heavy te in the ightweight fficially nown as the alf on and ove the ightweight was built s ecifically fo milita y duties and is distinguishable f om o dina y and ove s th ough its mo e angula bodywo a design of a mite some love it some hate it n and ove s of old though loo s always came second to functionality. nd while the ightweight was new to the game in evo ailey was new to the and ove game in ased nea onsett in the o th ast of ngland evo ealised his ea wheel d ive a da wasn t the ideal machine fo tac ling the annual snowfall o had the b ight idea of getting a second vehicle to use du ing the bad weathe ecalls evo ut which ty e fte much thought decided on a and ove fixed the budget fo my u chase which ointed me in the e ies di ection did my homewo ead all the boo s and familia ised myself with all the oblem a eas to loo out fo when buying t was whilst doing this that evo came ac oss a co y of a oo s boo The Half-Ton Military Land Rover. evo continues could

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emembe seeing these as a id and always li ed thei unusual angula sha e o that was it was hoo ed he e ies ightweight was fo me he hunt and u chase a e sto ies in thei own right, but eventually the correct vehicle was ac ui ed fo a easonable sum he body was uite tatty but the chassis was a each having been e laced togethe with new s ings econditioned axles and a ebuilt engine io to being cast in evo eveals he eco ded mileage showed only miles which seemed st ange to me but afte chec ing discove ed that this was the

mileage on the new chassis miles when it left the a my in and only miles since in ten yea s a ently the cha bought it f om only used it occasionally to move fa m e ui ment a ound his smallholding and neve had it egiste ed fo oad use ou ll f e uently ﬁnd su ises when loo ing bac th ough a vehicle s histo y n fact the ve y name ightweight is a dece tion of the t uth he vehicle s othe alias is the i o table nd indeed it was but only afte dismantling it and ta ing away the doo s tailgate windsc een vent anel below the windsc een s a e wheel

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tale

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Inside, the only modernisation is the sat-nav Trevor uses for laning expeditions. Both up front and in the back, where all the original radio equipment still lives, the Lightweight is still just as it was when it left the Army

bumpers (front and rear), rear upper body panels, canvas tilt and its support frame. When fully built, it was actually heavier than a standard military Series III CL (Commercial Logistics) Land Rover. Still, we’re focused on the history of one particular Lightweight, Trevor’s Half-Ton FFR 24V. He was after a 12V GS initially, but as is often the way, something too good to pass up comes along and then nothing else compares. Trevor’s Lightweight was originally built in late ’79, before heading into service on New Year’s

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ay t s ﬁ st home was in the o th ast se ving with C. Company 4 Para between 10/04/1980 and 23/09/1993. It later served with 35 Signals Regiment from 18/05/1994 until 15/10/1997 prior to being decommissioned on 01/08/1999. Ten years later, the Lightweight found itself with a new owner hungry for a project (and something to drive in the snow). The vehicle itself, meanwhile, was now aged thirty and had become due a restoration. ‘I decided to sympathetically restore it back to the original military spec, but without the radios,’

says Trevor. ‘I worked out an estimated budget for the work (but as we all know, you should multiply this by three!) and got to it. ‘Many pounds and hours were spent during the next three and a half years (stripping, repairing, replacing, rebuilding etc). The list of replacement and rebuilt parts seemed endless…’ Some of these included the rebuilt gearbox, with a high-ratio transfer box, new clutch slave and master cylinders, propshafts, copper brake lines and a rebuilt master cylinder, starter motor and rear differential.

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The 2.25-litre petrol motor in Trevor’s Lightweight was a ‘preserved’ unit – it was rebuilt in 1980, with the vehicle going on to gain a new chassis in 1997

‘I even needed to replace both fuel tanks as the originals leaked and as you almost sit on them in a Lightweight, I didn’t fancy just having them repaired!’ laughs Trevor. The original tilt was in a terrible condition and everyone knows how porous a Land Rover can be. Sadly, water had badly affected most of the switchgear, gauges and controls. Much of it was saved, but plenty of items needed replacing including the heater motor. Trevor’s time (and money) was required on the bodywork, with another problem emerging every time he peeled another panel away. The bulkhead was on the receiving end of professional treatment, however, with the passenger footwell being cut out and replaced, together with various holes being ﬁxed ‘Other body parts were replaced too, like the galvanised upper vent panel, windscreen, doors

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and door tops, the tilt, front seat squabs and backs,’ describes Trevor. ‘I also swapped the tub oo with 3mm aluminium plating instead of the standard 2mm stuff for more rigidity. ‘Not being a mechanic but good with my hands, it has been an ‘on the job’ learning ex e ience but ve y en oyable he e has been the odd occasion when I have hit a problem that made me feel out of my depth. But with the aid of the workshop manuals and the Internet I have managed to work my way through them,’ states a proud Trevor. With the work complete, Trevor can now spend time with his Lightweight doing what he wants more than anything: driving it. ‘It’s a real old-school driving machine with none of the aids you get with a modern car. You must think about what you’re doing all

the time: select the right gear for the hills before you run out of chuff, get your speed right before entering a corner and leave plenty of space for b a ing ex lains evo t s sluggish it attles and it’s noisy; but get it off-road on the rough stuff… it’s unbelievable what it is capable of.’ The British Army admired the Lightweight’s capabilities so much that even when helicopters became more powerful and could lift them in fully built form, they remained in production and were used as the standard for years after. Trevor’s Lightweight may not have to catch a ight anywhe e these days but ust as the milita y called upon Land Rover when they required a vehicle fo a s eciﬁc u ose evo can call upon his very own Lightweight – whether it’s for a pleasurable drive through Northumberland’s lanes, or for when he needs the ultimate machine for conquering the worst of winters.

5 06/11/2018 10:19

id you hear about the guy who came back from holiday with a bug that almost killed him? You’re thinking of someone going to an exotic land and picking up a dose of some rare, powerful virus, aren’t you? Or one of those innocent bites from a tiny insect that ends up with millions of the things breeding in your squidgy bits. Paul Rose caught his bug in Turkey. He was on his hols with the family, and the list of things

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to do included an off-road day. He came home with a new hobby – then, years later, suffered a massive roll in a Suzuki SJ without a cage. t was deﬁnitely one of those moments whe e you life ashes befo e you eyes ut aul lived to tell the tale (and to get on the phone to Richard Wattam and order up a roll cage in double quick time), and before long both he and the u u i we e bac in action ut still the e was a problem.

‘I’d been going to Kirton for a long time and got to know a lot of the guys there, and they asked if I’d like to start doing some marshalling. ut as much as could get my u u i to eo le who were stuck, I was just pulling myself towards them, not pulling them out.’ This SJ was the third Suzuki he’d owned, and he reckons that but for their shortcomings as recovery trucks he’d never have strayed. ‘I moved over to the Land Rover for its weight. If I wasn’t

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Pull the other one Paul Rose likes nothing more than a good winch recovery. The only problem was that his old Suzuki SJ was so light, he tended to drag himself forward rather than pulling the other guy out. So when a prepped V8 90 came up for sale at the sort of price you can’t ignore, it was time to put on some weight WORDS: KENNY TUCKER PICTURES: VIC PEEL

marshalling, I think I’d probably still have a Suzuki. But then again, I do love this truck!’ This truck is a 90, which he bought six years ago from an altogether unlikely place. London. Its previous owner had taken it on with the idea of travelling in it to off-road playday sites but, though there are enough of these within striking distance of the capital, the cost of keeping a 3.5 V8 in petrol on the way there and back turned out to be a deal-breaker. Paul says he paid £4500

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SUSPENSION 1

, ince we first hotogra hed aul s , he s fitted a new sus ension kit from xtreme x o we went back to hotogra h it again in all its tube towered and dislocating glory

, hotogra hed before and after the new sus ension went on, the front axle is an early s line iscovery unit with t radius arms correcting its castor angle and the same com any s diff guard armouring it against rocks t the back, xtreme x s cranked trailing arms add yet more articulation to a truck that already had lots of this age wouldn t normally be ex ected to have disc brakes on the back Though actually, given the o ularity of slinging isco and angey units underneath them, a retty fair ro ortion robably do by now eeing them with t guards in lace is hardly the rarest of ex eriences, either

eft air of steel boxes bolted into the rear tub carry everything from cable ties and ro es to an com ressor and two timas osite age There s a Tdi where the once lived; look carefully and you might s ot the twin alternator set u ince it went in, hot running has become a thing of the ast which is why aul hasn t needed to fit a fan behind the rad e won t want for s ace if he changes his mind

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for the 90, compared to the £6000 it had cost the previous guy. We can guess who was happier with the deal… Obviously, buying a truck that someone else has already modded is fraught with dangers. But Paul knew what he was looking at, having already built two SJs and a Vitara himself . ‘The base of the build was already there,’ he says. ‘And that’s why I bought the truck.’ Riding on a +2” suspension kit with X-Springs at the back (Paul has recently changed this for an Extreme 4x4 dislocation set-up), the 90 had reasonably enough been advertised as a challenge truck. Paul wasn’t particularly bothered about putting that to the test, but he did take it trialling with fellow KORC regulars Roger Neal and Johnny Jacques, just to see what that was all about. ‘It wasn’t really my cup of tea, as it turns out’ he admits. ‘I prefer the recovery side of it to using the trucks for what they were made for.’ You’d think challenges would be right up his street, in that case, but no – he’s talking about the sort of recovery you get to do as a marshal. Not that his winches, a Red Winches Hornet up front and a twin-motor, wide-drum Gigglepin GP84 with +60 gearing at the back, would look out of place on any challenge truck. Such things don’t come cheap. Paul admits that while he might have got the 90 for a bit of a song, the amount he’s spent on it since then is anything

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PROTECTION 1

2 1, 2] Paul does a lot of recovery as a marshal at Kirton, so reliability, speed and ease of use are all musts in his winch. His most recent acquisition, for a truck that gets a lot of them, is a Hornet from Red Winches

3] It’s not as showy as some of the winch bumpers you’ll see on hardcore 90s, but you wouldn’t want to go drunk skateboarding anywhere near this thing. Seen with the Gigglepin GP84 the Hornet replaced, it mounts an extra-large winch without adding much to the truck’s approach angle 4] Seen here before the new suspension went on, the track rod was a Sumo Bar and the C-guard on the underside of the diff case wasn’t there any more

5] Separate from the bumper, but owing neatly down from it, is a steel steering guard which won’t bend for anything. Combine this with another Sumo Bar just behind it, and you can safely say that this is a 90 whose front wheels will both be pointing the way ahead come what may 6] Replacement sills use a combo of box and tube to create the familiar shape of a tree and rock slider. Note the high-lift jacking points – these things are mounted to the chassis on proper outriggers and will take the weight of the whole vehicle if asked. More protection comes from the chequer plate guard folded beneath the fuel tank, and note the mole grips clinging on tenaciously where they’ve rusted themselves into an immobile state. If anyone ever nicks this Landy, that’ll have them bang to rights… 7] You know those ugly graunching noises you hear on the way over crests sometimes? The ones you try to ignore because it’s just the gearbox crossmember doing its job? Well, turns out that’s exactly what it is…

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Above left: Paul started with a budget winch on the back, but then he added a Warn 8274. This is not that. Having splashed out on a Hornet for the front, what you’re looking at here is a Gigglepin GP84 with +60% gearing Above right: Another modded Defender, another Raptor dash. This one is loaded with auxiliary gauges, ARB controls and Carling Tech switchgear, though pride of place obviously goes to the funky new bucket seats Paul recently bolted in but little, but the stuff he’s bought has been chosen to keep it running right and working well rather than trying to turn it into anything it’s not. Talking of the engine, this is no longer the V8 he fi st fi ed u when he too the t uc home o it s a di much mo e sensible all ound less likely to be nobbled by deep water and generally pretty dependable as far as it goes. t also manages not to s end all its life t ying to overheat, which is a nice change. In fact, Paul’s neve even bothe ed fitting a fan to ull ai th ough the adiato sim ly because it doesn t need one e couldn t get the old tem e atu e gauge to ma y u but the a to ash in his

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cabin provided the perfect opportunity to instal one tailored to the Tdi, and it provides constant eassu ance that the ad s doing its ob o small matte in a t uc that sees most of its heaviest use at very low speeds. For the future, as if to help the truck with that heavy use Paul says a set of heavy-duty Ashcroft halfshafts a e a must when can affo d it oo s like he doesn’t plan to back off on that whole s ending money thing he s had going on since the andy came into his life then He does do all his own spannering, though, thus cutting out by fa the most ex ensive a t of any modding ob and that s no small matte as

he s a butche by t ade not a mechanic do all my own wo ust do it with a lot of advice ve got to than my mate esty wheneve m in the wo sho and ve got oblems he gets obably fou o ﬁve calls a day and he s always willing to come ove and hel Further thanks go to AP Spares in Scunthorpe, and to Paul’s wife – ‘she really does put up with a lot ut most of all e ha s he should than the twist of fate that too them off oading in u ey that time t might have led to him having a huge tumble in his yea s late but what don t ill you ma es you st onge nd the e s not a lot much st onge than this and ove

05/11/2018 23:30

A SPECIAL

ight up until his death, on 31 May 2018 at the tragically young age of just 48, Ian Redway was a much-loved ﬁgu e in the wo ld of off oading an was well nown fo the modiﬁed ange Rover he built, which was featured in our sister

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MEMORY

Ian Redway, who died earlier this year, was well known in off-road circles for his mighty Range Rover. It was one of the most eye-catching Landies we’ve ever seen – but it was much more than just a big truck. Ian’s Classic was among the best modded 4x4s we’ e e er eatured and t see s ke a ﬁtt n tribute to its builder to take a look back at what made it so special WORDS: OLLY SACK PICTURES: STEVE TAYLOR

magazine Total Off Road back in 2010 – and as a tribute to man and machine alike, we thought it would be worth taking a look back at this extraordinary off-roader. A four-door dating from 1982, Ian’s Rangey shared a garage with various other toys – at the

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time when we met him, three Minis and an Opel Manta. Interestingly, despite being well on the way to a quarter of a century in age when he bought it an was only its second owne he ﬁ st had kept it totally original and didn’t want to sell it to an off-roader. ‘A few porkies were told,’ Ian

admitted, and you’d probably agree that with an attitude like that, the bloke had it coming. Having run it for a spell as a daily-driver while modding it as he went along an ﬁnally had to take the vehicle off the road when an MOT tester gently pointed out that the chassis

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bove ront axle casing is modified slightly to accept the frame for a Safari Gard three-link system. This uses a whole new mounting frame which bolts in to the original radius arm mounts and diff, providing them with new locations and mating up to the third link seen here Left: Pro-Comp ES9000 shocks provide 18” of travel. They’re mounted using Qt brackets at the axle ends, while the tubular towers you see here are modified earmach units with an additional external shock mount Right: The Safari Gard mounting setup locates the radius arms above the axle, lining up both sets of mountings so that the bushes aren’t kept under compression. This meant shortening the t radius arms to fit an s own 2” lower spring seats have cones allowing the springs to dislocate at the axle; the springs themselves are earmach blue units, lifting the front of the vehicle by three inches was cracked. That would be the end for most vehicles, but every exit is but an entrance to somewhere else: ‘What started out as a new chassis and a load of new panels,’ said Ian, ‘turned into a two-year, thirty-grand project to build what it is today.’ Doing all the design, welding, spannering and fabrication work himself, with a little help from his friends where necessary, Ian sourced another Rangey for parts then stripped the vehicle right down to a bare shell. ‘Surprisingly,’ he said, ‘it needed very little welding for a 27-year-old motor.’ Then came the new bodywork and panels, after which the replacement chassis was prepped and the axles went back on. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? ‘In all it progressed well an conﬁ med with only a few hold u s Needless to say, though, that only begins to tell the story. What Ian ended up with was a full-bodied Classic with a monumental 6” body lift, achieved using 65mm spacers machined by a friend from billet alloy ba and heavily modiﬁed sus ension

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Above left: Landy spotters, it’s time to get your clipboards out. This is the rear axle from… no, not the Range Rover, but a Discovery, chosen for its stronger A-frame ball joint mount. The reason for this is that Ian was using a high-angle unit from Qt and felt it was prudent, ‘having managed to remove an A-frame mount from the axle on a pay and play day on the original vehicle…’ Above right: As well as the A-frame ball joint, Qt also supplied the high-droop trailing arms, which are rose-jointed Below left: Rear springs are Bearmach blue +2” units designed for a 300Tdi 90, providing 4.5 inches of lift. The spring seats you see here were fabricated by Ian and incorporate cones for ‘reverse dislocation’, allowing the axle to drop free of the spring on full droop Below centre: All bump stops are mounted on custom brackets, dropping them by two inches elow right ear shock mounts from t are fitted using lift brackets designed to mimic the amount of travel on the three link front odified to suit the shallower in angle created by the extra mounting height, they carry a air of inch Pro-Comp ES9000s

Left: Fitting a body lift might not sound like the biggest ever fabrication job, but the bumper mount was created by welding a second front chassis section on top of the main one. This also carries the front body mounts; the bumper itself is a tubular unit from First Four

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The original 3.5-litre V8 was swapped out for a 200Tdi, with a larger intercooler and tweaked fuel pump. Engine and gearbox mounts had to be moved to suit the new unit and its LT77 gearbox, and Ian called a mate in to match up the old and new wiring looms. Another mate made some custom oil cooler hoses from hydraulic pipe, while a load of silicone hoses went into lumbing the radiator which had to be re ositioned so the intercooler would fit in front of it adding 3” at the front and 4.5” at the back. Not small, then. The lift was only a small part of the story, though an modified a afa i a d th ee lin system to fit on the f ont and em loyed a t high angle ball oint at the bac with ose ointed radius arms all round allowing tremendous travel. o om inch shoc s did no ha m here, either, and nor did Ian’s own dislocating s ing seats n all thin the t i le lin f ont suspension is the best mod I’ve made,’ he told us. ‘It took a lot of working out, as it was not meant to fit a angey but ove all it wo s eally well and has given me much more front travel.’ As well as lifting the body, Ian trimmed the wheela ches to allow oom fo a set of inch xt eme e e s on full bum he ha d a t of this he said was oining the inne and oute door skins back together on the rear doors, having cut two inches away.’ Afterwards, on went a set of exible a ch finishe s to ee it legal without presenting too easy a target to any passing trees. tee ing the big ty es was a di box via a column which was extended to com ensate fo the body lift umo ba s all ound and a ose ointed t anha d od we e hidden behind a heavy duty gua d which was modded to fit and a home made boss fashioned out of ange ove parts allowed the use of, oh yes, an Opel Manta steering wheel.

taying down in the de ths below the vehicle, the chassis was strengthened with webs wherever necessary. The rear crossmember, on the other hand, wasn’t strengthened – it was cut off and lobbed in the nearest skip, making

way for a custom winch mount incorporating a emovable hitch he gea box crossmember had to move backwards to make way fo the th ee lin ha dwa e and u f ont a second chassis section was welded on top of

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bove left he uer late clads the lower door sections of many a dodgily modified and over ut those would be the ones without jackable sill bars fabricated from 5mm steel and 5mm wall gas pipe; with these assemblies taking the load when the angey gets dro ed on a tree stum , the ally late can be left to do what it s made for and rotect against scuffs ote also that one of the lifted body mounts is visible in this icture bove right ear ro is an early ange over unit, which had wide angle yokes as standard and can therefore co e with the extra articulation of the vehicle s much modded sus ension ou can t see the front one here, but it s a custom mm wide angle unit made u s ecially to live with the demands of the three link set u the existing one to provide a platform for the bumper and body mounts. Just one or two small fettles, then. It might come as a surprise to you, given the amount of quality time Ian spent with his welding kit, that he didn’t go the whole hog and do himself a roll cage. All in good time, it transpires; having ﬁ st modiﬁed a full length ownchu ch roof rack to carry a set of fuel cans and some of the very many additional lights the Rangey boasts, at the time when we spoke to him a cage was next on his list. Given the probable height of the vehicle’s centre of gravity, there are no doubt many of you who’ll agree that this could be no bad thing.

an told us he was also lanning to add s after which the Range Rover’s transformation f om toff s classic to off oad toy would be pretty much complete. So much so that when we spoke to him, he was building a trailer for it – from the back of yet another Range Rover. ‘This is going to be built to the same design as the rear of this vehicle,’ he explained, ‘but cut at window level. It will incorporate a roof tent and a lot more storage, enabling me to travel further and live in the vehicle more comfortably.’ Quite right, too. Range Rovers are meant to be comfortable, after all – and looking at the way this one tackled the terrain while we were taking pictures of it, it was comfortable in every sense

of the word. Its old owner might by now have been feeling quite agitated, though. Much has changed since Ian’s Rangey appeared in Total Off Road. That magazine merged with this one, which is why this article is here for us to look back on, and the Range Rover itself continued to evolve ut one thing that didn t change was Ian – in the words of his friend James McCloud, ‘a real character who loved the outdoo s his inis off oading blowing things up, getting close to nature and making the most of his life in every way.’ He certainly made the most of his Range Rover – among his friends, and the off oad wo ld in gene al the memo ies of man and machine alike will live on.

eft obtailing is one way to rotect a angey s rear end, but with this much metalwork between it and the ground it doesn t actually matter what you sit it on itting on a custom rear crossmember, the bum er is fabricated from 80mm tube with a 6mm wall thickness and incorporates the hawse fairlead for the rear winch ou can see the way the body s mounted at the back, here, too elow o need for a winch bum er when you ve got a custom crossmember to sit it on The winch is a u erwinch , fitted with feet of mm lasma trand ike the front winch, it uses llbright solenoids and can be o erated using in dash controls

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Ian Redway 1970-2018

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You only live t

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twice T

Paul Mellor’s 90 had been stripped and condemned when he bought it. All the parts on it are other people’s cast-offs. And while he was building it, he was accused of trying to do the impossible. So here’s proof that raising the dead can be done after all… WORDS: PAUL LOOE PICTURES: HARRY HAMM

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his truck has travelled many thousands of miles around the world and taken part in many big competitions,’ says Paul Mellor. ‘But it’s never left Derbyshire.’ He’s talking about his Land Rover, a 90 truck-cab that bears all the scars of a life in the challenge arena. Over the course of the last eighteen months, he’s turned it from a wreck into a masterpiece of second-hand shopping, DIY and making do. ‘More or less everything you see is someone else’s cast-offs,’ he continues. ‘There’s bits that have been to Croatia and Russia – some of the winch bits have even been to the USA. Many of the parts have done the Scotia Extreme, Howling Wolf and so on. I regularly trawl the forums and eBay, as well as knowing a few people who are into which challenging on a grand scale. When they buy the latest craze, I buy the bits they don’t want any more. It’s taken a year and a half of scouring, but it’s becoming complete now!’ Ironically, the 90 was already complete when Paul bought it. Complete, at least, in the way your life is when you get to the end of it. ‘The truck was destined for the crusher,’ he says. ‘The chassis came from a rebuild project. It had been replaced with a galvanised chassis and bulkhead. So I bought the remains, which were the chassis, bulkhead, roof and tub. The rest of it I collected and built as we went along. ‘I know the original truck started life in the ﬁ e b igade then went on to a fa m in ales It had only covered 60,000 miles before it got the chop!’ It had still only covered 60,000 miles when it very nearly got the chop again – and but for a twist of fate, and a loose word or two, it might have turned a wheel for the last time. ‘The truck was always an all-out off-roader,’ Paul explains. ‘I’ve had challenge motors before but always had issues with them. So with this one, I decided to start from the chassis up and make sure I did everything as I wanted it.’ That’ll be a man in pursuit of perfection, then. And we all know where that can lead. ‘I threw a paddy on two occasions,’ Paul admits. ‘First time, we had built a trayback. I was in the unit alone when I decided it looked pants – so I cut it up and scrapped it there and then. The second time was when I just decided to sell it mid-build. An oldish, obnoxious fellow came to look at it and said “typical youngster trying to build something that’s impossible.” I politely asked him to leave – but it was this that gave me the determination to ﬁnish the build

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SUSPENSION

1: Part of a full +5.5” Gwyn Lewis dislocating set-up, the front springs lift the vehicle by 2”. The shocks are Pro-Comp units all round 2: 6-degree Qt radius arms look after the front axle, correcting the castor angle on the steering as they go. Bushes are standard all round – Paul says he likes the way they ex 3: Front shocks mount into a pair of Gwyn Lewis galvanised towers with built-in relocation guides 4: Nothing fancy at the back – just the standard A-frame and trailing links, again with standard bushes 5: The trailing links are Gwyn Lewis’ famously strong twin-wall units which, as well as coming with a ‘break it and we’ll replace it’ guarantee, are cranked at the chassis end

6-7: More of the good stuff from Gwyn Lewis – relocators catch the last coil of the spring on full droop then guide it back on to its seat, and challenge rear shock mounts are designed to take units such as Paul’s Pro-Comps with 11” of travel

7 5

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Scroll back a couple of decades, and you’ll see where the seeds were sown for Paul’s level of off-road ambition. He’s not one for sticking with the simple things, either behind the wheel or in the workshop. ‘My dad was my introduction to off-roading back in the 90s when I was a young lad,’ he says. ‘Dad, my uncle Mark and I would go CCV trailing in his oon this was modified with a Suzuki Swift engine… onwards and upwards, we ended up with a 3.5-litre V8 Class 1 buggy! Dad won the Buxton and District Club championship four times on the bounce. I tried my hand at CCV, but soon got sucked into winching and here I am today!’ So, we have a man with a vision of his ideal challenge truck and the drive to see the project through. A good combination, we think you’ll agree. And what did that vision involve? After all, when you’re starting with just a bare chassis the world is pretty much your oyster. Well, the chassis was in very good nick, so Paul didn’t have to start by repairing it. He did, however, still need to show it the hot end of his welding kit. That’s because his big plan for the vehicle involved shortening it by 6” at the front and 8” at the back. He put his angle grinder through the dumb irons up front and tied the main rails together using a Gwyn Lewis winch tray, while at the back he trusted the same job to a challenge style rear crossmember. You’ll have sussed from this that Paul’s not scared of rolling up his sleeves and doing a bit of fabrication. If you haven’t, take a look at the roll structure and you’ll certainly get the idea. He made the whole thing himself, using a Sealey tube bender and bolting it through spreader plates to the chassis. he cage was designed to be a tight fit and make the truck look that little bit mean!’ he says. It was also designed to include challenge style tubular front wings and protect as much else of the body as possible, and when it comes to strength it’ll stay up through anything short of a tank driving over it. The body it protects is made up from a bobtailed 90 tub, Series II Land Rover doors and a Defender bulkhead, windscreen, roof and back panel. Paul cut out and tubbed the wheelarches to prevent his Fedima Siroccos from fouling them when the sus ension exes and sho tened a Defender bonnet to go with the tubular wings. he imsy little sill anels made way fo a set of box-section rock sliders and tubular nerf bars, and then he added ‘some nice chequer plate to finish it all off

There was once a naturally aspirated 2.5 diesel in here. It was long gone by the time Paul took the truck on, to be replaced by a 300Tdi from a 1996 Discovery. aul fitted a second alternator from a to over volt the winches to v, as well as relocating the intercooler – something made necessary when he shortened the front overhang

Paul made the dash using digger switchgear harvested from the family plant hire business. The wiring loom was built by a friend and is as basic as possible; water roofing for the electrics comes from a tin of every event

Far left: The front axle is from a late Discovery 300 Tdi. Beneath the case, standard halfshafts are turned by a four-pin job from Crown Diffs Left: The rear axle is a late 110 unit fitted with a in diff and heavy duty shafts as standard. Those brakes were made to stop more weight than even a 90 with this much metal around it

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WINCHES

Left and above: With Paul’s careful approach to speccing his vehicle, the Warn 8274 up front remains close to standard. With a Bowmotor 2, reduced diameter drum and Gigglepin brake shoes, bearings, bushes and seals, there are plenty of worthwhile upgrades on there even so; the motor is over-volted, too, running 24v through Albright solenoids Left: The rear winch tucked away beneath the waf e boards at the back of the tub is another 8274, built along the same lines as the one at the front but running a Bowmotor 1 rather than the bigger Bowmotor 2. Power comes from two Optima batteries (one red-top, one yellow) and a 24volt JCB alternator, while the strain is taken by 12-strand Plasma. The centre winch at the top of the picture is a 9000lb Come-Up which runs standard but for the synthetic rope

CAGE AND PROTECTION

Left and above: Paul built, bent and welded the cage himself, mounting it to the chassis by bolting it through a set of s reader lates t first glance, you find yourself assuming that the truck is a trayback, but actually it’s a full truck-cab; Paul says the cage was designed to be a tight fit, and though it’s not entirely conventional it’s hard to imagine a vehicle with any more in the way of exterior protection Far left: Paul made up these rock sliders and tree bars to replace the imsy standard sills inishing it off, he cut out a set of chequer plate panels and riveted them to the doors and lower body Left: Challenge style wings and tubular front end are part of the overall cage structure. They were bent up along with the cage on a Sealey bender. Paul says he wanted it to look ‘a little bit mean’ – we think there might be a touch of understatement there…

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Above left: You don’t often see a 90 built like this that doesn’t have some sort of heavy-duty steering upgrade, and Paul’s follows the trend with a drag link from Sumo Bars Above middle: Behind the axle, the track rod is another offering from Sumo Bars. It’s not going to get bent for two very good reasons. One, it’s a Sumo Bar (do pay attention); two, that there’s a Gwyn Lewis track guard Above right: Both propshafts are standard length wide-angle units from Bailey Morris. As you can see here, the rear one is clamped by an X-Brake disc handbrake from X-Eng Turning into quite the concoction already, isn’t it? Well, there’s more to come. Those Siroccos are turned by a 300 Tdi Discovery engine, which replaced the naturally aspirated 2.5 diesel with which the chassis started its life. Paul cheerfully admits that he likes a bit of the loud pedal in his off-roading, and the Tdi breathes through a cone filte on to of a mid height sno el ma ing it quite lively,’ he reports. One issue with the shortened overhang is that with the radiator still being front-mounted, there’s no room for an intercooler in front of it. Paul found a space for it to sit horizontally in the top of the engine bay, much in the style of a lot of Japanese 4x4s, and it’s fed through a bank of air holes he cut in what’s left of the bonnet. Behind the engine, a heavy-duty clutch leads to a standard LT77 short gearbox and LT230 efende t ansfe case aul fitted an ng disc handbrake and full breather kit, as well as wideangle o s f om ailey o is which lead to late Disco and 110 axles front and rear. This is one area in which the policy of buying other people’s cast-offs hasn’t yet turned up the goods. Both axles run 4-pin diffs, and the 110 unit has heavy-duty shafts as standard, but what Paul really wants is a set of lockers and proper u ated shafts and s hese a e the one a t eo le neve seem to let go he laments ith a girlfriend and a house, someone will have to want to give them to me. But I will eventually get some even if have to fit oyota and uise 80 axles to do it!’ One way or the other, then, it looks like Paul still has a good bit of internet action ahead of him. For now, though, his willingness to base his build around things other people have moved on from has yielded a full Gwyn Lewis +5.5” dislocating challenge suspension system, as well as 6-degree Qt radius arms and 11” Pro-Comp shocks, which all goes together to let the axles ex ve y nicely indeed he e s a wyn ewis track rod guard up front, too, though since the rod itself, like the drag link ahead of it, are from Sumo Bars, it would take something pretty brutal for it to make an actual difference. Not that the brutal side of the off-road game is anything Paul shies away from. He wouldn’t need to he s owned a do en diffe ent and Rovers of various shapes and sizes, after all, and

this one is the culmination of everything he’s tried off-road, so he didn’t exactly build it for pussyfooting around. As well as competing in winch events, where two Warn 8274s and a centre-mounted 9000lb ome a e what he calls the owe behind the truck,’ Paul is also part of a tight-knit group who run the challenges put on by Trans Pennine ff oad vents hey e a f iendly c ew who spend as much time together wrist-deep in grease as they do knee-deep in mud, and it’s no surprise to hear that there’s a lengthy roll of honour when it comes to the help Paul’s had in the workshop. ve had lots of hel f om f iends in the ga age he conﬁ ms ames am amie te all the regulars who lend a hand. My dad was a big help, too, as he was magic on the tools. Sadly he lost his battle with cancer two months ago. d also li e to than my bette half eo gia for putting up with me and the truck, my mum for her input, my uncle and aunt from SJM plant hire for the unit I work in, Garry from angset ight nginee ing and aul and a y from Turner Auto Services, all for their continuing help.’ Most of all, though he doesn’t quite come out and say it, Paul probably needs to thank the top end of the challenge world for the speed at

which it evolves. But for that, there wouldn’t be so many people willing to sell him second-hand kit because they’ve replaced it with something they ho e will be bette and to ut it bluntly this here truck wouldn’t exist. Which means, of course, that Paul’s owed a debt of thanks too, by a Land Rover which owes him its life. Whenever there’s a perfectly good chassis on the way to the crusher, there should be someone like him ready to step in and turn it into a moto to be oud of howeve many paddies might get thrown along the way. A typical youngster trying to build something impossible? Or someone with the vision to put together a Landy to be properly proud of? If the grumpy old bloke Paul turfed out of his workshop that time is reading this today, we hope he’s feeling humble…

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05/11/2018 23:35

More Power to NWS has earned itself a strong reputation as a name to trust when it comes to rebuilding Land Rover engines. The company can work its magic on all sorts of units; here, we follow the progress of a 4.6-litre V8 through the NWS workshop WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

hen it comes to talking about Land Rover engines, few companies can boast having the knowledge and experience that NWS Motor Services have. They simply live for Green Oval power plants. Some companies are all about V8s, others four-pots, still others diesels, but NWS can turn their hands to all sorts of Land Rover engines, whatever their fuel. What we’re looking at here, though, is indeed a Rover V8 – or to be more s eciﬁc a lit e

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This was an engine that graced the Range Rover P38, a machine not always painted in the most affectionate light – but a big V8 would never be a bad thing to start up on a cold winter morning... assuming it actually starts. Anyway, we’re going to be following the ebuild of a obse ving the ex e tise of technician, Chris, as he carefully reassembles the pick of all the P38’s power units. But before we get stuck in, there’s time for a quick word from Sam Edwards, Workshop Manager at NWS.

Now the P38 was regarded as a vehicle ahead of its time, and rather complex in nature, much to its detriment many would argue – but is the engine complex in nature, too? ‘The fundamentals of any engine follow the same principle: intake, compression, power and exhaust,’ explains Sam. ‘But if you’re asking whether this is a complicated engine, I’d say it was innovative for its day – although when you compare it now to a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 that’s currently in some of the Range Rovers, there is so much more technology involved.’

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 05/11/2018 23:37

the People… 1

The first ob when rebuilding any engine is to check the tolerances of the com onents that will be reused in the rebuild onrods, crank ournals and cylinder liners unless to hat liners are fitted , for exam le, all need to meet strict standards f they don t, they will be scra ed To hat liners will be fitted if necessary, but all reusable com onents must go through a thorough cleaning rocess leaning is one of the im ortant obs, and it needs to be done ro erly to ensure each com onent is ready to be called u on for service once more

uses the latest technology and e ui ment

The cylinder block is also cleaned and, if re uired, ainted ere lies the clean block ready to be mated with its internals, and if you look closely you can make out that to hat liners have already been installed ne thing to do when rebuilding any engine is to get yourself organised or bearing could have a different kind of bearing altogether

The rebuild you’ll see over the next few pages is challenging enough, and not something a DIY mechanic is likely to take on, purely because of the amount of specialist equipment needed to carry out a full professional rebuild. It does, however, give us an insight into the inner workings of the specialists. ‘The key to any engine work is to take your time – don’t rush it says am ou want to get it ight ﬁ st time There are other rules you should follow as well, if we’re being thorough: the build environment, for example – it needs to be kept clean and tidy.’

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ailing to make sure you haven t lost that bolt

Having the right equipment to carry out the work within that environment is also essential. You should invest in the latest tools so that you can get the ob done ﬁ st time he last thing you need is being halfway through a build and realising you don’t have a tool to complete the job. Another attribute that will aid you through such workshop tasks is experience. Observing the skills of someone who knows what they are doing can be invaluable, just as we will be doing here. It’s experience that enables you to pick up crucial information: torque settings for instance.

Sam explains, ‘Each engine will have different tolerances so it is imperative that the correct settings are used for each type of engine.’ With NWS, you can be sure the heart of your Land Rover is in the hands of some of the best surgeons around – which is why some people use their bespoke reconditioning service for the likes of their Series Is and IIs. Could be something to bear in mind if you keep looking at yours and thinking it could do with some TLC. In the meantime, enjoy the rebirth of a V8 over the next few pages.

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These are four of the main bearings that sit in the housing on the block side as evidenced in the next icture

although there are actually five in total,

6: Technician Chris slots them into the block one at a time f you look closely, you ll notice the notches on the bearings which will ho efully ensure that you can t go wrong when lacing them ext, a dro of engine assembly oil lubricates the bearings ready to receive the crankshaft rankshaft is lowered into the block These are the main bearing ca s, which slide over the crankshaft

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 05/11/2018 23:37

11: …as you see Chris demonstrating here. Now in a sort of Blue Peter ‘here’s one we made earlier’ way, Chris has already used the plastigauge to check the clearances are correct for the bearings This means rather than fitting the ca s etc and checking the clearances before removing the ca bolts and ca s again, you can see the next stage – which in this case is the main cap bolts being positioned through the crank cap 13: All in place, the bolts are tightened up a notch 14: Now a specialised tool can let Chris tighten up the bolts to the exact torque requirements t will even ash green once you ve exerted the correct amount of force 16: This is where we now assemble the pistons with new rings. Here you’re looking at a complete piston with the conrod and its bearings in situ already The iston is the big clum of silver, with rings located around the to edge urther along you have the conrod or connecting rod which does as it says on the tin The conrod clas s around the crankshaft and is com leted by the conrod ca being fixed around the other side

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17: The outside edge of the piston has an arrow imprinted on it, which designates the way it should sit within the cylinders 18: Pistons carry more than one ring and the gap must be in the correct place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; on the 4.6, there are three which should be spaced at thirds to one another, or simply (like the points of a Mercedes badge). The three rings all have different jobs: the top ring is for compression, the middle is the oil scraper and the lowerdeals with oil control 19: Now the piston, along with the connected conrod, can be lowered into the cylinder bore using a piston ring compressor 20: Oil is then used while connecting the conrod and bearing to the crankshaft 21: Mentioned previously, the conrod sits with a piston at one end while the other side wraps around half of the crank. ow the conrod bearings can be fitted before the conrod ca enca sulates the bearings to the crank olts get fitted and tightened, but the lastigauge is needed once more to clarify the correct clearances

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 05/11/2018 23:38

23-24: You can see how the rods come down from the pistons and grasp the crankshaft. This is how the piston is able to push up and down through the cylinder 25-26: Now we’re looking down upon the upper block assembly and you can see the camshaft has been inserted and sits across the length of the housing 27-28: The pistons sit at different levels along the crank. You can make out the arrow here showing which way they all face This is the bulk of the rebuild done, but other components follow with the oil pump and strainer, plus gaskets, the timing chain kit, hydraulic lifters and more. It gives you an indication of the work involved and how precise a rebuild can and should be, along with details that you certainly don’t want to miss. If you need a professional hand, however, NWS will be more than happy to lend one when it comes to the health of your Land Rover’s motor

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05/11/2018 23:38

One Defender with Not so long ago, the notion of trimming out a 90 with a posh leather interior would have seemed ridiculous. But with the relentless rise of the Defender as a street machine, more and more owners are looking to maximise their Landies’ value as a classy, comfy road ride. And more and more of them are turning to Ruskin Design to help them do it… WORDS: MIKE TROTT PICTURES: MIKE TROTT AND WEBIZZY

ot so long ago, Land Rovers possessed interiors with about as much luxury as a toilet. Sometimes, the colourways matched what you d find inside an toilet, too, and there was very little in terms of in-car entertainment. Discoverys and Range Rovers moved on, but even the Defenders of the Td5 era could be athe d ab laces in which to find you self They can be very smart on the outside, where alloy wheels can make all the difference, but opening a door still leads you to a dull interior that’s seriously short on style. Now, we appreciate that Defenders shouldn’t be a fashion statement. But making the cabin of the car you love a more comfortable and enjoyable place to be is surely reason enough to look at interior enhancement. And if you’re going to do that you ll su ely find you self considering the service offered by Ruskin Design. Ruskin specialises in interiors, built to craftsman-level standards using top-quality materials, and it’s a fact that many of the boutique Defenders created by fancy brands for about a million quid will be sent here to have their cabins turned into works of art. s a us in client you find you self in discussion with the company’s design department – part of the process by which they ascertain

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05/11/2018 23:42

all the trimmings 1

1: A shot of the fold-down seats in the back of the 90 before being removed and transformed into something far more glamorous. The grey tones do reappear again, but in a much better fashion 2: The seats aren’t the only part of the Defender in these pictures to go under the sewing machine, as Ruskin focus on all aspects of the cabin 3: Within the Ruskin Design studio, there’s numerous processes that the team perform in order to create the very best in interior luxury, and they can cater for all tastes. For this 90, keeping some original characteristics was key, and its green exterior was taken into account 4: These guys are professionals at what they do and, having overseen the completion of countless projects, they have templates ready for almost anything a Defender can throw at them. Whenever the team encounters a vehicle or cabin they haven’t come across previously, they will create new designs and templates from it to add to the ever-expanding collection you see here, ready for future projects

exactly what you’re after. They listen, they suggest; if you want it loud and proud, they can do that for sure, though most Defender owners prefer something a little more sympathetic. The work itself is all done by hand, and it displays no end of knowledge and experience, not to mention skill. Would it occur to you to start from the rear of the cabin and work your way forward, for example? That way, you see, it’s easier to install the uprated panels without having to keep clambering over those new leather seats.

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It’s not just Defenders that Ruskin focus on either, as they’ve completed work on Range Rovers and Discoverys, alongside non-Land Rover vehicles too. ‘We are totally focused on vehicle interiors,’ says Stephen Castledine, who owns Ruskin Design. ‘Our team is dedicated to perfecting the design c eation and ﬁt of ou uni uely c afted interiors, sometimes pushing the boundaries of design to create the very personal interior our clients expect from Ruskin Design. The brand has become synonymous with luxu y and uality

and attracts a worldwide audience wanting a Ruskin Inside. ‘The team we have here have a real passion and ai fo inte io design oven by when ou newest apprentice came to me and said, “I love working here”.’ That love shows through in the work Ruskin does. If you search out the Anejo 110 built by Arkonik, which is featured elsewhere in these pages, that’s Ruskin’s work in there. In the meantime he e s a avou of what goes into tu ning a Defender’s cabin from boring to beautiful.

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t s not ust a case of fitting some fancy leather make sure everything is in to condition

here, the bars for the back seats have been tidied u and res rayed to

The s owner wanted a more comfortable seat rather than a full on bucket, so the foam layers were bolstered to ada t the originals nitial sketches to generate ideas and develo a distinct direction for the retrim t all starts with the seats, is uskin s wisdom ou have to make everything ow to the design of the seats they are the most ex ressive feature in the cabin nce the design hase is out the way and the seat covers have been created, it s time for fitting nce the rear seats have been covered, marks are laced where the holes will be made ready for the fixing brackets lsewhere, the rear door has been trimmed in leather

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 05/11/2018 23:42

Extreme III • 35° Wide Angle Components • Heavy Duty CDJ • 130mm Slip Length • Suitable for TD5 Engine Applications • Upgraded Spline with Improved Seal

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 14:09

11: …along with the door cards, which mimic the stitching from the seats 12: It’s a comprehensive process, with even the rear window surrounds receiving a new look 13: The roof lining is being revised with the change to alcantara in a silvery grey tone which, we can assure you, looks fantastic once installed on the This is when the fabric was first going on following its treatment to reduce moisture Original headlinings sag over time because they absorb moisture from the humidity in the vehicle. Ruskin, however, 100% guarantees that the headlining won’t come down during your ownership of the vehicle 14: Rear window panels also trimmed in the same leather 15: An essential addition to any Defender but, in this case, a cubby box improved further still. The cup holders are bigger in what is a newer design, and you’ll see another bonus to this cubby further on… There s still lots more work to be done at this oint, but that cubby box lid gives you a avour of what the look like once the project has been concluded

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is going to

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eginning at the rear, uskin s fitters get to work on bringing back the new and im roved interior fixings nce the rear door card is in lace, the handle along with the finishing la ue behind the lock are drilled back into lace ide window anels are reinstalled before the rear seat brackets are o

ed back into osition

eatbelts follow with all the original fixings being used The seatbelts themselves, however, are new Things are starting to come together

e re guessing this must have been taken at lunchtime

oving forwards, the front doors receive their new and enhanced look

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 05/11/2018 23:43

23: The cubby box, now retrimmed in a tasteful combination of leather and alcantara, is drilled into position ready for the final few stages of assembly 24: The front seats are the last items to re-enter the cabin. They are however the standout showpiece in an interior that has been completely transformed

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 6pp Ruskin.indd 119

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Winging it As with all classic vehicles, parts for older Land Rovers are becoming increasingly hard to get hold of. Not just in the oily areas, either: can you imagine having to cut up a perfectly good Range Rover for the want of an inner wing? Step forward Atkinson Bespoke Engineering, which does its bit for classic Landies by building hard-to-get bits like this from scratch WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

ew would argue that the Range Rover Classic is a brilliant machine. That’s partly why these vehicles are now very much classics in their own right, with all varieties now attaining strong asking prices – especially when in good conditon. ut by deﬁnition a classic vehicle is going to be an old vehicle. That means parts that were once found aplenty have become scarcer and scarcer as time has passed. When it comes to the inner wings of the Range Rover Classic, these fragile components are now hard to come by. But thankfully there is

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one company out there set on making sure you never run out of replacement items like this for your Range Rover. Atkinson Bespoke Engineering has been busy. he ﬁ m has managed to e licate the o iginal panels that make up the inner wings on these Range Rovers. The kits are made up of 16 individual parts, which comes to 32 per vehicle. They’re made to order, so you need to let them know exactly what type of Range Rover you own. The panels are partially pre-drilled, which ma es fo easie ﬁtting and utting togethe

They’re constructed from CR4 (cold reduced) steel of 0.9mm-1.2mm thickness. Light but strong, then he whole it comes ﬁnished as an assembly ready to be put on to the Range Rover. It’s through the toil and efforts of Paul Atkinson that this has been possible. And over the pages that follow, we’re about to show you how he puts the pieces of the puzzle together. There is a lot of specialist equipment used in the construction of these wings. But that only helps to showcase the skill involved in creating a bespoke, hand-made item – the sort of thing it takes to keep a classic car in pristine condition.

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:09

The first ste is to modify the wing rail by ressing indents for the holes lower of the two here

ou can see the indent into the metal on the

aul can call u on a lot of s ecialised e ui ment, including a si eable ress indeed any com onent is every bit as vital as it sounds The re aration is all in the ressing

sing the right tem late on the rails or

nly then can you start the wing assembly

arts are also s ot welded together to form the basis for the headlight box n the side of the wing, the nuts for the body fixings are ut into lace re weld s ray gives the metal surface an additional fine inc layer for cleaner welds

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7: The wheelarch and side are then clamped together 8: A hammer is always welcome to help close up the gaps 9: Coat the inside and side of the wing rail with pre-weld spray 10: Offer the wing rail up to the wing to see where the end ca will fit 11: All of the holes now start to meet up 12: Now the end cap is welded on

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:09

13: Headlamp box clamped, parts can start to be spot-welded together. As Paul says, ‘You can’t beat a spot-weld!’ 14: The spot-weld machine gets a thorough workout with Paul around 15: With a spot-weld you should be able to see a small indent in the centre of the weld 16: This kit being made up is for the soft dash Rangey, partly because no one else makes it. As it’s a soft dash, you have the two welded nuts focused on the top half of the front inner wing ere s a better look of those welded nuts on a finished exam le 18: To put the inner wing and headlight in the right place, holes are pre-punched. It’s much easier to drill through one plate rather than two

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19: When the kit is being supplied for someone, Paul then attaches the battery tray maller lates are then folded to fit the other side of the to wing otice the crease in the folded metalwork 22: Kits are available for all manner of Range Rover Classics: ABS or non-ABS, air-sprung or coiled and so on u

This gives you an overview of how all those arts come together to give the final inner wing assembly le, it s all about getting the ieces in the right lace and in this case with military recision

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ike a igsaw

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:10

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www.astwood4x4.co.uk Untitled-6 31

06/11/2018 14:12

A TRIP BACK

If you could pick any 4x4 for a week on Europe’s highways, chances are you’d take a big SUV. Doing it in a pair of Land Rovers from the days of leaf springs, on the other hand, means a lot less comfort and a lot more noise – but it’s the perfect way to turn a road trip into the adventure of a lifetime WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: SUPPLIED BY ANDY COX

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06/11/2018 10:07

IN TIME

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road trip across Europe sounds like a bit of a holiday. But when you’re doing it in a classic Land Rover, it could be more like a challenge. Where there’s a challenge, of course, there’s a charity. And that explains why Andy and Richard Cox, Dave Emery and Kieran Baker set out to pass through as many countries as possible in one week aboard a Series II 88” and a Series III 109”. Raising money for Help for Heroes, the target was simple. Start at the war cemetery in nhem finish at the wa memo ial in Normandy and hit as many countries as they could along the way. All in seven days. The two Landies were tailored towards life on the road during their restorations. But extra preparations were still needed for the adventure. oth ca s a e modified to do what they need to do in terms of daily driving,’ explains Andy. ‘They’ve both got Defender engines. The Series II has got a 200Tdi and the standard high-ratio transfer box. It’s also got Range Rover diffs and is fairly high-geared for cruising. The Series III has a 300Tdi and an R380 gearbox. It’s also got a 1:1 transfer box from a Range Rover Classic. We did change the seats in both with rear benches from an Octavia vRS. To be honest, it was amazing having something comfortable with cup holders and armrests!’ After taking the ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland, the challenge started proper at the cemetery in Arnhem early the next morning – once, of course, the guys had paused to pay their respects to the fallen. Day one saw them pass through Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg and then across the border into Germany; having started at sunrise, the day came to a close at sunset, 525 miles later in Nuremburg. he fi st day was a fai ly good one says ndy e had to find out if we could hac that mileage in a Series, and whether the cars could hack working hard for that length of time.’ ‘We wanted to push hard,’ adds Dave. e new that on the fi st few days we’d be on the best roads. Particularly as we hit Germany and the autobahn – which was so, so easy.’ fte a successful fi st day in relative comfort, the second day followed a different script. From Nuremburg, the route headed to Bratislava, weaving into the Czech Republic and then Austria, skirting Vienna befo e hitting the fi st bum in the road, just over the Slovakian border. ‘We were supposed to camp in Slovakia, but when we pulled into a lay-by just over the border to get our bearings and decide on a plan of action, we noticed that some locals had shot their own sign,’ explains Dave. ‘We quickly decided we were not stopping!’ So, the snap decision was made that day two would become day three on the road. Setting off again at sunset, the overnight push saw the country count rise from seven to eleven.

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‘We dropped into Hungary, then into Croatia, to Slovenia and into northern Italy overnight. We had breakfast just outside of Venice,’ recalls Kieran of this mammoth day-into-night stint behind the wheel. Merging the two days, and stopping only for fuel and caffeine. took its toll. Dave drove for eighteen hours straight, and Kieran had to tap out after his clutch leg fell asleep during his stint of the 860-mile run. A drowsy day three entailed crossing northern Italy in preparation for something everyone was looking forward to the day after: the Stelvio Pass. With a stopover in mind and a good night’s sleep now unquestionably deserved, day three looked set to draw to an uneventful close. ‘We were aiming for a particular camp site at the start of the Stelvio Pass,’ says Andy. ‘But when

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we got there we found that it wasn’t open, and hadn’t been for a long time.’ After looking around for the best part of an hour for anywhere to camp, at the end of a two-day drive, the guys found that the only place with its gates open was already full to capacity. So four tents were pitched on a patch of gravel. Ideal after a marathon stint behind the wheel. Still, the day of the Stelvio dawned and things could only get better. And they did. Eventually. Our travellers awoke from their much-needed sleep, feeling thoroughly intrepid and ready to conquer what is possibly the most famous mountain pass in the world. As, however, were the competitors in the Giro d’Italia. ‘It was the day we were all really looking forward to,’ recalls Andy. ‘Doing the Stelvio, up

into Switzerland and then messing around up in the Alps. But because of the race, it was closed all day.’ e ated but awa e they had to ee moving they stopped and found a way around it. And as is often the case, the alternative turned out to be even better. ‘We found a different way, called the Flüela Pass,’ says Keiran. ‘It was incredible. Driving it took a while because we kept stopping and taking pictures. Even on the way to the pass, going around every corner we were wowed.’ ‘We stopped in a lay-by with a cracking view of the mountains,’ continues Dave. ‘It turned out that we were on top of a valley looking over a bluey-green lake. It was absolutely gorgeous.’ The scenery lifted spirits and brought a burst of life to the troops. Dave goes on: ‘There looked like there was a bit of road down there, and next thing you know Andy jumps into the car, then two minutes later we see the 88” bundling down the bottom of the valley along the river. He radioed up and told us to take a picture, then bring the other one down!’ From here, the two Land Rovers continued up the pass to the summit and into Switzerland. After doing some snow angels at twice the height of Snowdon, the convoy passed border control (a little wooden hut like something from a postcard) into Leichtenstein before coming back through Switzerland and down to Lake Locarno, via the San Bernardino Pass. The day ﬁnished at a e oca no with i a and bee while watching the sun set over the water. Well earned, you might say. Even though the fourth day had been fairly short in comparison to the others, at just 215 miles, climbing up and down the mountains was difﬁcult fo both vehicles t was a ticula ly ha d

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 06/11/2018 10:07

for the elder of the two, which lost its brakes just before the Alps. t was the fi st oblem of the t i eally says ndy e ulled ove and ealised that what had ha ened was one of the ea hub seals had s lit and dum ed half the contents of the ea axle into the b a e d um o we ebuilt it at the oadside in deg ee heat it was g im side f om that hiccu the ca s co ed well with the l s high the lowe tem e atu es eally hel ed the andies un smoothly on the demanding oads his meant that both we e in good sha e fo the t i a ound a e oca no the sta t of the leg that was destined to conclude with the glit of onaco he lan was to d o down in to onaco if it oved sensible to do so to chec it off the to do list and leave again ut li e most things in onaco the notion of sensible didn t even come into the e uation he t affic was unbelievable ndy emembe s e d only gone a ound the to of onaco but couldn t b ing myself to d ive away and not see the main landma s he e was a eason that the oads we e so busy it was the day befo e actice began fo the onaco and ix ith the in ux of tou ists and ace teams oc ing into the cent e along with the tunnels being closed fo ainting t affic owed li e t eacle o with the b othe s in the and ie an and ave in the the

a ty s lit he only thing that had been ag eed was a ende vous outside of ice afte they had fought thei way th ough attling th ough the t affic the two ca s did manage to cove the whole g and ix ci cuit between them ie an ave and the e ies came f om the ha bou did the st aight and went u the hill to co ne s th ee and fou while ndy icha d and the cove ed the st aight the tunnel and the chicanes befo e leaving fo ice t wasn t a b ief excu sion but fo ndy it was a highlight of the t i e wasted a lot of time doing it but it was cool hen we d ove down the st aight we sto ed on ole and ich um ed out and too a hoto t was definitely wo th it ext on the agenda was mo e su ise sightseeing he challenge was to do as many count ies as we could but the e we e still things we wanted to see while we we e on the oad confesses ave onaco was one of them but anothe was the illau viaduct ven though it was out of the way we left onaco and headed fo a cam site in the valley unde neath the b idge he t affic in onaco ate u much of the buffe c eated by me ging days two and th ee and so the cavalcade changed lans and headed fo a cam site in the town of ets day that had seen the li es of onaco ha bou and the otel de a is ended with a hammoc and a t ay of ot oodles

he following day was tough fo the andies t didn t go to lan but it did involve the y enees f they had fa ed bette the oute would have led f om illau down to ain and then bac th ough ndo a oweve on the initial climb u the y enees things got a little heated he gea box in the sta ted sli ing muses ie an e got the ada gun out and it was hotte than the exhaust manifold t was so hot u the e that the wing to was deg ees ot wanting to b ea the andies with ust two days left the decision was made to give

It’s not every day you get to see a Series II sat on the starting line on the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. But then, it’s not every day that the Loughborough Land Rover Club are in town

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The Viaduc de Millau is a masterpiece of architecture and civil engineering alike. The Land Rovers crossing it here are masterpieces of… well, DIY spannering, mainly, as both were lovingly restored in readiness for the adventure them an easier ride. To counteract the high temperatures of that day, the next leg was another overnight stretch. However, this attempt to nurture the vehicles was in vain. At six in the morning, a wheel bearing melted. This really looked like it could be game over. ‘We did think we might not come back from this,’ admits Andy. ‘I was sat at the side of the motorway at sunrise with a junior hacksaw, and ust cut the bea ing off the stub axle e ﬁled it to as close to round as we could and put a new bearing on it.’ This was the point where it dawned on them just how old these Land Rovers were – and that if they didn’t work to preserve the vehicles, then they might not make it home. Under cautious stewardship, though, both vehicles held up and made it to Normandy, and the trip ﬁnished as lanned

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With fourteen hours until the ferry, they paid their respects at the war memorial before taking the scenic route to the port. ‘We were going to try and add Wales to the list if we had time, but we decided to go straight home,’ Kieran tells us. ‘The Loughborough Land Rover club, that we’re in, were having a 15th birthday party up in Rutland, so we aimed to finish the e ollowing a it sto fo showe s and to fit a b and new stub axle the ca s set off on the final leg of the grand adventure and headed for their club’s birthday bash. When they arrived, the club had set u a finish line com lete with ibbon to welcome the travellers home. ‘Before the trip I was seriously considering selling the Series III,’ admits Andy. ‘But I came back absolutely loving it again. They were both great and did everything we wanted them to. On

the ferry on the way back, we were talking about taking them to Nordkapp!’ After amassing 3500 miles across sixteen countries and raising £1000 for charity, these much loved old Land Rovers had proven that retirement and an easy life isn’t for every pensioner. The boys could have done the same trip in newer vehicles – but would they have had the same experience? It might have been easier, quieter and more comfortable, but no way would the sense of bonding have been the same. Ask most people what they’d choose for a long-range driving adventure on Europe’s roads, and they’d either want a big Merc or Range Rover, or else a cool sports car like a Porsche or Ferrari. But if you were to ask Andy and Richard Cox, Dave Emery and Kieran Baker, you can be pretty sure they wouldn’t swap their old Landies for anything.

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25TH

ANNIVERSARY

LAND ROVER YEARBOOK Untitled-6 31

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LIGHTWEIGHT FANTASTIC

What kind of vehicle would you choose for a long-range overland trip? Most of us would go for something big, modern and packed with home comforts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but who needs all that when you can keep it real aboard an old ex-military Lightweight? WORDS: MIKE TROTT PICTURES: RUSS DYKES AND PETER MIDDLETON

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verland travel is not for the fainthearted. It’s a serious undertaking which requires plenty of planning – you can’t just head off on your tod in the misty-eyed belief that owning a 4x4 is enough to turn you into a world-wise explorer with the knowledge of David Attenborough and the survival skills of Ray Mears. Having said that, there is no denying that planet Earth is now smaller than ever. Today, we traverse continents in hours rather than days, and even regular mortals like you and me can have a pop at pretending to be a poor man’s Ranulph Fiennes. Overlanding is becoming a much more accessible way of seeing the world, and it’s no wonder when you consider the prevalence of companies promising to package everything up for you into a once-in-a-lifetime itinerary. You just need to show up in your 4x4 then tag along and enjoy the ride. lenty of eo le get thei ove landing ﬁx this way. Most of them these days do it aboard either pick-up trucks or late-letter Land Rover Defenders, though there are those who’ll buck the trend by choosing to see the world aboard a Jeep Wrangler or Toyota Land Cruiser. What all these vehicles have in common, of course, is that they’re all relatively new. But you can still raise a few eyebrows with the vehicle you bring along for the adventure. Come join us in Morocco, for example. This is a place featuring a variety of challenges, from the heat and relentless dunes of the Sahara to the high, rocky passes of the Atlas Mountains. Clearly, a vehicle can’t afford to wilt here. Which is exactly why people choose big, tough, modern trucks in which to explore the place. Andy and Karen Warwick, though, decided to do things differently. Like so many British overlanders, they embarked on their trip to Morocco in a Land Rover. But this one was a 1978 Series III Lightweight – a forty-year-old classic that you’d

be more likely to see in a museum than in Morocco. But this isn’t any ordinary Lightweight, as Andy will now explain. ‘This Lightweight came with a 200Tdi engine when I bought it,’ he says, ‘which was something I was after. It was one of those eBay things really. The truck was up for £2500 and I liked the look of it, but no one had bid on it. I didn’t know much about them other than it was one of those funnylooking military ones I remember seeing when I was younger.’ ‘I looked at the prices elsewhere and decided to ring the chap up. It turned out to be just a bad advert, because once you looked beyond the paintwork the body was very straight. It had the Tdi engine I was after, but all the work since has been carried out by me with the fabrication and welding jobs being done by our eldest son, Daniel.’ The ‘work’ is extensive, to say the least. But it all adds up to make this Lightweight more usable over longer distances. Like when overlanding through Morocco, for instance. As well as boasting a more potent Tdi unit, this ex-RAF Lightweight houses a hybrid turbo and a Shogun intercooler, situated in front of the oil cooler and radiator. The original gearbox and overdrive were worn, so an LT77 short-nosed Defender gearbox has been substituted in and mated to a Discovery transfer box.

ve ﬁtted an shc oft selectable it Bailey Morris custom propshafts, Range Rover diffs and Rocky Mountain parabolic springs,’ adds Andy. Those diffs certainly make cruising easier, as does the addition of power steering – which was taken from a P38 Range Rover and uses a shortened TDCi Defender upper column. Throw in some Defender seats, a GPS speedo and split-charge battery system to help keep the beers in the fridge cool, and you’re looking at an expedition vehicle that possesses all the character of a classic Land Rover – but without the physical hardship when you come to drive it. ‘My son is a great fabricator,’ says Andy. ‘I can tell him what I want and he just makes it.’ It’s good when your children can help around the house, but even better when they can help around the garage. But the Lightweight has been adapted to spend as much time out of the garage as possible, and Morocco was an adventure Andy and his wife, Karen, will never forget. ‘We went to Morocco at the end of October last year, spending a week in Spain before meeting up with the rest of the tour,’ expresses Karen. ‘The tour

‘I didn’t know much about Lightweights, other than that it was one of those funny-looking military ones I remember seeing when I was younger…’

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lasted about ﬁfteen days with two of the nights being in the tlas ountains he tou was o ganised by dent dventu es t wasn t ndy and a en s ﬁ st t i out with the com any although this time it wasn t something they boo ed by accident used to get some of the and ove mags and had a few lying about the lace sta ts ndy saw an a ticle in one eviously about going th ough the y enees into ndo a a en and had been to ndo a by oad befo e and the scene y was b illiant so we thought going the e off oad would be even bette e both li ed what we saw and d s otted an adve t in the bac of the mag adve tising a simila so t of t i so said to a en to ing the adve t and see what they we e saying nyway she actually ang uss at dent by mista e as d meant anothe ad ut it c eated a g eat deal

of laughte a ound the cam site when the to ic came u in the y enees he cou le visited the y enees in and having smoothed things ove with thei guide uss they made the en ui y as to whethe thei ightweight would be able to hac o occo o mally uss would have ese vations about the volatile natu e of these olde and ove s but being so im essed with the a wic ightweight the decision was sim le ollowing the y enees we new the vehicle was well sc ewed togethe says ndy nd we ve always been uite nosey and wanted to loo at othe as ects of life othe than sitting on a beach ou loo at some eo le who ust go and do things and you want to be them a en chimes in m ha y to go along ove landing in the and ove too we both sing f om the same hymn sheet m uite handy

at assing ove the s anne s o oil anyway ve done my sha e of d iving too and in o occo it s li e a luna landsca e at times he dust can get a bit much but you e getting the authentic ex e ience ndy adds he e a e bits in o occo whe e it s li e d iving on a ﬁlm set ou can d ive fo hou s with ust a t ac o two o sometimes none in f ont of you at all t s uite ins i ational and ta es you bac to a time when few eo le would have ventu ed he e n a ightweight and ove of cou se the e s even mo e eason to feel a sense of nostalgia nd with a d iving ex e ience that doesn t numb you f om the envi onment a ound you is it any wonde you ll feel li e you ve uite lite ally b eathed in you su oundings t s not all about the get eve ywhe e dust and luna landsca es though

Morocco is about as westernised as it gets in North Africa. But vast parts of the nation, particularly when you approach the northern fringes of the Sahara, are still largely as they have always been

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‘It’s like two separate worlds,’ comments Andy. ‘There are a lot of contrasts in Morocco. Out in the desert and off the beaten track you won’t see anyone, but in some of the towns it’s like Middle Eastern madness – it can test your comfort zone! y e ﬁtte s on one side of the st eet eo le splitting carcasses on the other. But head down the alleyways and you’ll come across leather and weaving workshops and it becomes more atmospheric. Sometimes it’s like Disney does the Middle East.’ In a spectacle not too dissimilar to the opening scenes from Aladdin, on one occasion in Marrakesh, the Warwicks found themselves in a chaotic square. Snake charmers were showcasing their unique gift, monkeys roamed around the

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place and here you could buy items such as a tortoise, rather than just a bunch of bananas. ‘It’s the type of place where you pass vans with sheep on top,’ laughs Karen. ‘No one there ever seems to have come across the term health and safety before!’ At one point, Andy was taken to one side by Andrew, one of the tour leaders at Ardent. ‘He pulled me over to look at a zebra skin. “I’m not sure if I should buy one or not, what do you think?” he asked me. So I said to him, “To be honest, I think it looked better on the zebra!”’ chuckles Andy. ‘It was just one of the many crazy stalls in the souk!’ Away from the busy streets and souks of the cities, though, the Lightweight was able to take centre stage. With the Ashcroft selectable 4WD system in place, and a dab hand at the wheel, there were no issues for this travelling veteran. ‘We didn’t even need to engage four-wheel drive as much as I’d thought we would,’ says Andy. ‘I once read somewhere

that a well-driven Lightweight can go virtually anywhere a Defender can, and so it proved. It just hops along like a little mouse, over the rocks, one at a time.’ There’s plenty more rocks yet to be conquered, too, with Andy and Karen keen to continue their ‘nosey nature’ and resist the urge to pass away the time by lying on a beach. ‘We’ve got other trips in mind we’d like to do, some more crazy than others,’ says Andy. ‘Maybe we could do South Africa… or another mad one would be to head to Alexandria, mimicking the t ail f om the ﬁlm ce old n lex ‘Another option could be to go across olland enma weden and the o th a e into Finland, then through Russia and down through Estonia, Latvia and the Baltics.’ Any one of these trips would be something to be proud of, even in something like a new Ford Ranger, let alone a Lightweight. Karen adds: ‘The older you get, the more you realise there’s a lot less time ahead of you than behind.’ Andy concurs, continuing: ‘If there is a mountain, I’ve always wanted to know what is on the other side. I want to climb it and crest it, just for the pure curiosity of it all.’ That’s a great way to approach seeing the world – and even if a classic military 4x4 isn’t the most obvious choice of vehicle in which to do it, so what? A Lightweight may not be the typical overlanding companion. But Andy and Karen (with the help of their son, Daniel) have shown that with a few tweaks and a bit of planning, even Land Rovers from the distant past can go the distance in the future.

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

Series I (1948-1958)

Versions: 80” (‘48-’53), 86” (‘54-’56), 107” Pick Up (‘54-’56), 107” SW (‘54-’58). 88”, 109” Pick Up (‘56-’58). 1.6 4cyl petrol (‘48-‘52), 2.0 4cyl petrol (‘52- ‘58).

£3500-£50,000+

f you want to be the owner of a vehicle that oozes heritage like no other, then surely a Series I Land Rover is the way to go. The Land-Rover, as it was known until the Series II came along, is the most sought after Land Rover for purists and collectors alike – particularly in its original 80” guise. Its 1940’s engineering gives it a real charisma, but consequently, parts aren’t as readily available as they once were. Restoration

projects require deep pockets, but then a ﬁnished exam le will fetch mega bucks. Gone are the days where you could use a Series I as an actual Land Rover, because with restored and che ished exam les now etailing where they’re at, preservation is the aim of the game. The rarer and earlier the vehicle, the higher the price tag gets. But can you really put a price on such an icon?

Pros: Heritage, charm, a true classic, the original Land Rover Cons: Availability of parts, price tag on early 80s

Series II/IIA (1958-1971) Versions: 88”, 109”. 2.25 4cyl petrol (‘58-’71), 2.0 4cyl diesel (‘58-’61), 2.25 4cyl diesel (‘61-’71), 2.6 6cyl petrol (‘67-’71 (109” only)).

£2500-£30,000

n 1958, the second-generation Land Rover was born and along came the barrel sides which we continue to recognise on even the very last Defenders. Today the Series II or IIA is a more affordable prospect than a Series I, yet it still carries much of that early charm that makes it a hit with enthusiasts. The prices are on the increase, however, as these 50-year-old vehicles start to come into their

own as a collector’s item. A 2.25 petrol 88” would be our pick, as the diesel engines, certainly the 2.0-litre diesel, were underpowered and noisy. The Series II/IIA carries a wider stance than its predecessor and adds an ext a albeit thin laye of eﬁnement ove the e ies hile the engines have excellent longevity however, they do need to have been maintained properly. Be thorough in your checks.

Pros: As a resto it’s a sound investment, some examples now MOT exempt, more desirable than SIII Cons: Bulkheads very prone to rotting, check suspension leaves for seizing

Series III (1971-1985) Versions: 88”, 109”. 2.25 4cyl petrol, 2.25 4cyl diesel. 2.6 6cyl petrol produced until 1980. Stage One V8 used detuned version of the 3.5 V8 (‘79-‘85).

£1700-£25,000

ollowing on from the Series IIA, the Series III emerged in 1971 with a few cosmetic tweaks to freshen up the model. Headlights were shifted out to the wings in-line with new legislation and the dash received a bit of padding to hide the new safety bar across the top of the bulkhead – not su e it s a ﬁve sta s on the u o NCAP scale, though. The Series III wasn’t too dissimilar to the Series II in mechanical

terms, keeping the same 2.25-litre engines throughout its production, although in 1980 the 2.25 motors switched to a mo e du able ﬁve bearing setup. The transmission also received syncromesh on all forward gears, which helps make it that bit easier to live with. They still carry the simplicity of earlier Land Rovers, but can be obtained for a fraction of the price... for now.

Pros: Most affordable way into Series ownership, still has the Series pedigree, parts still widely available Cons: Not as desirable as earlier Series models

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LAND ROVER YEARBOOK 04/11/2018 21:59

Lightweight (1968-1984)

£2500-£25,000

Versions: 88”. IIA (‘68-’72), III (‘72-’84). 2.25 4cyl petrol engine.

BUYERS’ GUIDE

ossibly the ugly duckling of the Series Land Rover family – but that doesn’t mean to say you’ll st uggle to ﬁnd any love fo the Series Lightweights. These military-derived vehicles can be easily distinguished from the regular Series Land Rovers, with visibly more angular wings and a frontal appearance that does divide opinion on occasion. To mimic the Series machines from civvy street, the SIII Light-

weight – built from 1972 onwards – also had its headlights switched out to the wings. The Lightweight used to be popular for trialling, as it’s narrower than a standard Series II or III. Today, though, they’re classics – whose military heritage adds an extra dimension to Land Rover ownership. It means you get a Land Rover that could have a few more stories to tell – and you have something that stands out from the crowd.

Pros: Not like all the other Series Land Rovers out there, military background, 2.25 petrol is lovely and reliable Cons: Styling isn’t to everyone’s taste, can be pricey owing to their rarity compared to other Series IIs and IIIs

Forward Controls (1962-1978) Versions: Series IIA (‘62-’66), Series IIB (‘66-’72), 101 (‘72-’78). 2.6 6cyl petrol engines for IIA/IIB, 3.5 V8 petrol for 101.

£7000-£35,000

nly serious enthusiasts need continue reading here. Ownership of any Forward Control is not for the faint-hearted. These leviathans are expensive to run and trying to get hold of some of the parts can be, quite frankly, a bit of a nightmare. Clubs can help here, though, as is often the case with any Land Rover. There were two distinct models of forward-control Land Rover. The Series IIA and IIB were work wagons built for the civilian market and powered by a 2.6-litre petrol

engine, while the 101 was an army truck with the 3.5-litre V8. These vehicles offer substantial payloads if that’s the sort of thing you’re after, but will also tick the boxes for huge, unnecessary and hilariously addictive fun. If you’re going to go the whole hog, the 101 means you have the feted V8 engine harping away underneath you (literally), and driving any forward control gives you a lofty view over the roofs of ever other vehicle n the road. Surely that’s reason enough to buy one?

Pros: Soundtrack, presence, exclusivity Cons: Fuel bill, fuel bill, parking conundrums… fuel bill

Ninety/One Ten (1983-1990) Versions: Ninety (‘84-’90), One Ten, 127 (‘83-’90). 2.25 4cyl petrol (‘83’85), 3.5 V8 (‘83-’90), 2.5NA 4cyl diesel (‘84-’90), 2.5 4cyl petrol (‘85-’90), 2.5TD (‘86-’90).

£2000-£15,000 The icon of the 4x4 world. This is Land Rover at its best: a no nonsense workhorse that can also take you just about anywhere in the entire world. Early examples of the Ninety and One Ten are worth keeping hold of, providing they’re in good condition – but you’ll be searching far and wide for examples that are. This was the birth of the Defender, despite not being christened

ofﬁcially until and as such these Land Rovers had coil-sprung suspension, new engines – although they were still terribly underwhelming – and off-road capability that has still yet to be matched today. A very early 2.25 petrol 90 is a rare thing, and a beautiful one too. But perhaps try for a 2.5TD version with low miles and good history. They’re robust and as simple as they come.

Pros: Good ones are now worth saving, same ability as Tdiengined Defenders Cons: Engines underpowered, not many left in good condition

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

Defender 200Tdi

Versions: Defender 90, 110, 130 (1990-1994). 200Tdi 2.5 4cyl turbo-diesel.

£3200-£25,000

n 1990, the Defender name emerged and with it a cementing of a legacy that already stretched back over 40 years. This was... is the best 4x4 by far. It carried the Tdi badge for the ﬁ st time and meant that no longe was a Defender being powered by a feeble hamster in a wheel. If you’re in the market for a 200 Defender, though, you might get a 200 unit but it might not necessar-

ily be from a Defender. Replacing blown units with a Disco 200Tdi is popular, so check the arrangement of the turbo and manifold. The 200Tdi is arguably the best model for off-roaders, so many of these vehicles will have been worked hard. Some owners have now started restoring these vehicles, meaning a premium price – but can you really put a price on perfection...?

Pros: Legendary off-road, one of the very best engines, oldschool electrics Cons: Genuine Defender 200Tdi units are getting rare, many have been used hard, corrosion

Defender 300Tdi (1994-1998) Versions: Defender 90, 110, 130 (1994-1998). 300Tdi 2.5 4cyl turbo-diesel.

£3500-£20,000

fter the 200 followed the 300Tdi. Essentially, this was a revised version of the predecessor e ha s a little mo e eﬁned but still with the same durability. These engines, providing they are properly maintained, can last for decades. Look around for one with full service history and you could ﬁnd you self a ee e Some Tdi Defenders have received galvanised chassis and even

bulkheads, and these are the type of Defender you should be after. A futureproof Landy. By the time the 300Tdi came out, Land Rover was now giving the Defender power steering as standard and disc brakes all-round. It’s the little things after all. Arguably the company’s greatest engine, the 300Tdi balanced performance and practicality. This was it: the Defender in its prime.

Pros: A slightly more refined Tdi powerplant. Many would say this is the best vehicle Land Rover ever made Cons: Chassis rot always bound to be an issue. Assume any Defender from this era has been given a hard life

Defender Td5 (1998-2007) Versions: Defender 90, 110, 130 (1998-2007). Td5 2.5 5cyl turbo-diesel.

£4000-£20,000

ollowing on from the Tdi era, Land Rover issued the Defender with its new Td5 engine from 1998 to 2007. The engine is arguably Land Rover’s most reliable unit and it’s a strong performer out of the box, although it does lend itself to being tuned. So make sure that any mods have been done properly. Remaps, EGR valve deletes and uprated intercoolers are a few examples of what many of these Defenders have been subjected to.

Lots of power doesn’t always mean happy faces, especially when you’re the one mopping up after somebody else. The rear of the chassis has frequently been called into question, too. So be prepared to treat the rear crossmember with kid gloves if it’s in good shape – or else face the consequences. With minimal electrics, the Td5 Defender is still a DIY machine and you’ll be working on one of Land Rover’s most notable masterpieces.

Pros: Off-road capability, power, reliability (generally) Cons: Rear chassis, premium prices at the moment. Late ones cost a fortune in road tax

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Defender TDCi (2007-2016) £10,000-£40,000 BUYERS’ GUIDE Versions: Defender 90, 110, 130 (2007-2016). 2.4 TDCi (‘07-’12), 2.2 TDCi (‘12-’16).

he last of the Defenders were fitted with o d ansit engines fi st the i followed by the i which we e b ought in to meet u o emission standa ds and ee the efende alive fo anothe few yea s adly these engines denoted the efende s swansong the twilight of its days hey we e fitted with six s eed et ag gea boxes still had henomenal off oad ca ability and even made the efende a nice

lace to be ut they we e still ve y much efende s he e a of blinging had also be gun by now and you can ﬁnd s ecial editions out the e costing obscene amounts of money ou will ay a emium fo any these efende s and ices have oc eted u wa ds since the end of oduction ut if you can g ab a i and sta t ese ving it now you may well neve see de eciation e e no ﬁnancial adviso s though

Pros: Better emissions (marginally), more creature comforts, same off-road prowess Cons: Price, more electrics, last of the breed

Freelander 1 (1997-2006) Versions: 1.8 4cyl petrol (‘97-’05), 2.0Di 4cyl diesel (‘97-’00), TD4 2.0 4cyl turbo-diesel (‘00-’06), 2.5i V6 petrol (‘00-’05).

£500-£4000 e haven t always held the eelande in the highest ega d he e ut as ma et ices constantly change so too can ou o inion on ce tain vehicles ith exam les attainable f om as little as the eelande e esents a chea gateway into andy owne shi he e a e lenty of issues to be awa e of though he viscous cou ling is ex ensive to e lace

and can be u set by sim ly having mismatched ty es on you axles he et ol used to be noto ious fo head gas et failu es but today s e lacements a e much mo e obust he is thi sty and the i is gutless so o t fo a but chec the condition of the in ecto s ﬁ st uy an and you even get a andy that s decent off oad and doesn t ust afte ﬁve minutes

Pros: Cheap to buy, no major rust issues, surprisingly good off-road Cons: There are better Land Rovers out there, FL2 showed the FL1 how it should have been done

Freelander 2 (2006-2015) Versions: 2.2 4cyl turbo-diesel, available in two- or four-wheel drive, 3.2 V6 petrol (‘07-’09).

£2900-£21,000

ost eo le will tu n thei nos es u at eelande s because they e not o e ly ecognised as t ue and ove s ut while you should tu n you nose u at the the eelande actually ma es fo a much sma te o osition than you may thin ecause of it being e laced by the iscove y o t the is now an affo dable o tion that still offe s good levels of eﬁnement a st ong lit e fou cylinde tu bo diesel

engine and a level of acticality that means it can ma e fo a g eat family vehicle lus it s become one of the most eliable and ove s out the e ices a e now falling than s to the eelande name having disa ea ing f om and ove s cu ent show oom line u ut fo you can now get a ca able all ounde that is actually etty ade t off oad and yet still econom ical to un

Pros: Better off-road than you may anticipate, reliability, refinement, economy of diesel engine Cons: Transmissions can wear quickly if used for towing

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

Range Rover (1970-1996)

Versions: Two-door (‘70-’85), four-door (‘81-’96), LSE (‘92-’96). 3.5 V8 petrol (‘70-’86), 3.5 EFI V8 petrol (‘86-’89), 3.9 EFi V8 (‘89-’96), 2.4 VM turbo-diesel (‘86-’92), 200Tdi (‘92-’94), 300Tdi (‘94-’96).

he Range Rover Classic is one of those vehicles that you could theoretically still use everyday in the 21st Century. If you’re running a V8, however, that may not be such a wise idea. Classic Range Rovers still provide a elatively eﬁned and g eat d ive today, but they can be thirsty if you’re not in one of the various turbo-diesel examples. That said, if you own one and it’s in good condition, look after it, as it

£1500-£50,000+ will only appreciate. These vehicles are popular with collectors, and values are going up all the time. Unfortunately, however, many have succumbed to corrosion or have been abused off-road to the point of no return – and parts have started becoming a problem. Still, while an early 70s Classic may not be attainable for everyone, tidy examples of the late four-door versions can make for an equally tidy investment.

Pros: Most usable classic Land Rover, V8 power, ride quality Cons: Rust (again), availability of parts for early models, V8 thirst

Range Rover P38A (1994-2002) Versions: 4.0 V8 petrol, 4.6 V8 petrol, 2.5 6cyl turbo-diesel.

£1600-£9000

any people believe the P38A Range Rover to be a bit of a menace – and often it’s completely ustiﬁed ights on the dashboa d air suspension failure, head gasket failure... the list can really continue. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom with the n fact if you ﬁnd one in good working order, it’s sensational. While it remains that way, at least. Service history is a must, and if you’re going to own one then some

diagnostic equipment is going to be a better companion than a spanner. Avoid the diesel variant. The engine was adopted from a BMW saloon and isn’t anywhere near up to the task of the extra weight a Range Rover carries. Go for a 4.6 HSE, or a special edition with the same engine. It’s actually more economical than the 4.0 V8 and you’ll get all the toys. They might not be working, but at least you’ll get them…

Pros: Luxury, price, a Land Rover that doesn’t rust. Could even P38 prices rise soon? Cons: Electrics. Nuff said

Range Rover L322 (2002-2012) Versions: 3.0 Td6 (‘02-’06), 4.4 V8 petrol (‘02-’07), 3.6 TDV8 (‘06-’10), 4.4 TDV8 (‘10-’12), 4.2 supercharged V8 petrol (‘05-’09), 5.0 supercharged V8 petrol (‘09-’12).

£3800-£31,000

om a ed to the the Range Rover was a saint. Generally. Its electronic aids were far less temperamental and it delivered a new level of luxury to fourwheeled motoring. The Td6 engine receives mixed reviews: some say it’s underpowered while others say it’s the best of the bunch. Common sense would steer you towards a TDV8, either the 3.6 or late but these a e the s

holding out for strong money. The petrol V8s, on the other hand, are lingering with very appealing price tags – but don’t think running one would be cheap. As with many 21st Century and ove s they have lost thei accessability for the home mechanic. Drivetrain faults are becoming more frequent, so you need to look for that all-important FSH. As a car, however, it’s probably everything you’ll ever need.

Pros: Great off-road, luxury, image, TDV8 powerplants Cons: Your maintenance bill

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Range Rover L405 (2012-on) Versions: 3.0 TDV6, 4.4 SDV8, 5.0 supercharged V8 petrol, 3.0 SDV6 hybrid (‘14-present).

£45-150,000

BUYERS’ GUIDE

f you want the very best in automotive luxury, then you need look no further. The latest incarnation of Land ove s agshi ange ove weighs a who ing g less than its edecesso than s to the use of an aluminium body which hel s on m g although owning one of these suggests that you cash ow isn t a ticula ly an issue his is the last wo d in elegance and ma estic moto ing ll the

engines su ly co ious amounts of owe to you ight foot while the hasn t lost any of its off oad edig ee even if ta ing one off oad is li e as ing you alcoholic f iend to a wine testing session hey could comfo tably a ta e but obably shouldn t ices a e still only ight fo emie eague footballe s and eo le with a lin to the oyal fam ily f you ﬁt into that catego y then we envy you.

Pros: Styling, engines, capability at pretty much everything Cons: Price

RR Sport 1 (2005-2013) Versions: 2.7 TDV6 (‘05-’09), 3.0 TDV6 (‘09-’11), 3.0 SDV6 (‘11-’12), 4.4 V8 petrol (‘05-’07), 3.6 TDV8 (‘07-’10), 4.2 supercharged V8 (‘05-’09), 5.0 supercharged V8 (‘09-’12).

£7000-£40,000

uch of the ange ove o t was borrowed from the Discovery 3. In fact it shared virtually identical unde innings whe eas today s o t uses actual ange Rover foundations. eve theless and ove ut a ange ove in a t ac suit and attem ted to ma e a handle out of it. To some extent they succeeded although it s no s o ts ca des ite what it says on the bac of the vehicle.

t can lay the leisu e vehicle ve y well though and will go off road like the best of them. f you e going to buy one then you need to love it for itself, because a Discovery of the same era is mo e actical while a full fat ange ove is always going to ca y an ext a laye of estige and less of a oceeds of c ime image hey e still a good all ounde though and have now become relatively affordable to buy.

Pros: Decent performance from both engines and chassis, a lot of car for your money Cons: Not as practical as a Disco, not as prestigious as a proper Rangey

RR Sport 2 (2013-present) Versions: 3.0 SDV6, 4.4 SDV8, 5.0 supercharged V8, 3.0 SDV6 Hybrid. Range Rover Sport SVR 5.0 supercharged V8 (‘15-present).

£43,000-£130,000

he second gene ation ange ove o t has also been on a diet to save ove g ust li e the daddy ange ove hat means that even this big bruiser is relatively economical when s ec d with the moto ome won t li e the vulga and amboyant ostu e while othe s will adhere to the smart, yet mean styling ut no one can noc the o t fo its e fo mance t feels

inc edibly light fo such a big ca and if you’ve robbed a bank and can affo d the ve sion it s as good ound a ace t ac as it is on a g een lane he only stumbling bloc with such a ﬁne moto is going to be how to ay fo it emoving limbs is ossibly the most feasible o tion o wait ten yea s and see if the ices have come tumbling down off those high edestals

Pros: Feels light considering weight, engines, almost as luxurious as its bigger brother Cons: You’ll need deep pockets

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

RR Evoque (2011-on)

Versions: 2.2 SD4 (‘11-’15), 2.0 Si4 4cyl petrol, 2.0 TD4 (‘15-present).

£14,000-£48,000

hen the Range Rover Evoque was launched, it signalled Jaguar Land Rover’s intent on hitting the mass market. And given that the Evoque is their fastest-selling vehicle to-date, they’ve clearly done the job. That doesn’t mean it’s a hit with purists. They don’t much like the fact Victoria Beckham was involved in the designing of it, nor that it is the polar opposite to a Defender.

It’s actually still a capable thing off-tarmac, but it would rather not go down that route. Nevertheless, it is economical by Land Rover standards and because remains strong on the used market, they have decent residuals. o fo a ﬁve doo with the new Ingenium engine, and make it the 4WD version. The 2WD model may be eco-friendly but what is a Range Rover without four-wheel drive?

Pros: Economy, handling, beats rivals off-road Cons: Not as practical as the new Discovery Sport

Evoque Convertible (2016-present) Versions: TD4 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo-diesel (180hp), SD4 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo-diesel (240hp), Si4 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol (240hp).

£35,000-£55,000

alk about niche markets: here’s a four-wheel-drive SUV that also doubles up as a convertible – go ﬁgu e It’s not going to appeal to a great number of people, and those who do like the cut of its jib will have to contend with a driving experience that is inferior to the regular Evoque – plus more head scratches regarding practicality. The only real upside, and to be fair it’s what the vehicle is all about,

is the electrically-foldable roof, which does at least improve the vehicle’s exterior when slid back out of sight. You’ll also be in relatively exclusive company when owning this car, and it’s only available in the higher trim levels of the Evoque stable. All that aside, you’ll have probably the most capable and versatile convertible the world has ever seen. This is not just a soft-top for the summer.

Pros: One of the very few ways you can get open-top thrills in a Land Rover Cons: Heavier, less practical, less economical and worse to drive than hard-top Evoque

Range Rover Velar (2017-present) Versions: D180 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo-diesel, D240 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo-diesel, D300 3.0-litre 6cyl turbo-diesel, P250 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol, P300 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol, P380 3.0-litre 6cyl petrol.

£44,000-£90,000

nd so the Range Rover family welcomes its fourth model, conﬁdently ma ing it the most prominent among Land Rover’s family of sub brands. It’s still a newcomer at the time of writing. But the Velar is a ﬁne loo ing c aft and it s based upon the same architecture as the Jaguar F-Pace. All things being relative, it has greater off-road ability than the

aforementioned vehicle, which may be good for Green Oval enthusiasts. It’s available with a wide choice of engines, too, most of which combine good economy with usable everyday performance. The interior is Land Rover’s most advanced cabin to date, with other models expected to follow the Velar in due course. Other than that, however, you do pay a premium for the suave looks…

Pros: Very stylish, interior, choice of engines, right now one of the freshest vehicles on the road Cons: Could hurt the bigger Sport and L405. Prices stretch to near £100K

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Discovery 1 (1989-1998) Versions: 200Tdi 2.5 4cyl turbo-diesel (‘89-’94), 300Tdi 2.5 4cyl turbo-diesel (‘94-’98), 3.5 V8 (‘89-’93), 3.9 V8 (‘94-’98).

£700-£10,000

BUYERS’ GUIDE

he earliest version of the Discovery was aimed purely at providing a middle ground between the agricultural Defender and the luxury, upper-class Range Rover. With underpinnings that made it just like a 100” Defender, it carried much of that model’s capabilities. But it built on those with more eﬁnement and a d iving ex e ience more suitable to families. What it didn’t have, though, was a Range Rover price tag.

Blessed with the same wonderful Tdi engines, the Discovery saved Land Rover and hit back at offerings from other nations by being an affordable all-rounder. And that still holds true even today. a ly iscove y s in ﬁne condition are now classics and will continue to appreciate. We would ecommend t ying to ﬁnd a tidy and later 300Tdi example, but watch out for body rust – the boot oo a ches and wings etc

Pros: Almost as good as the Defender off-road, but cheaper to buy, nicer to drive and more practical as an everyday car Cons: The body rusts like it’s been doused in sea water

Discovery 2 (1998-2004) Versions: Td5 2.5 5cyl turbo-diesel, 4.0 V8.

£1000-£6000

ollowing on f om the ﬁ st generation Discovery, in 1998 Land Rover gave its family SUV some minor cosmetic tweaks and a whole new power unit in the shape of the Td5. The engine is arguably Land Rover’s most reliable unit and it’s a strong performer out of the box, although it does lend itself to being tuned – just make sure any mods have been done properly. You can also buy a V8, but the fuel bill isn’t

going to be welcome, plus they’re more temperamental. As are the electrics on all examples. Unlike on the D1, its the chassis that’s the problem, not the body. We all know that Discos make for a great tow car, and consequently many of the rear chassis on D2s have dipped their rears into the sea. Not all of them live to tell the tale... Get a later example for more creature comforts and a locking centre diff, too.

Pros: Td5 power and reliability, great all-rounder, better comfort than D1, diff locks standard for ‘03 onwards (model dependent) Cons: Rear chassis crumbles like its dessert namesake

Discovery 3/4 (2004-present) Versions: 2.7 TDV6, 4.4 V8 (‘04-’09), 3.0 TDV6 (‘09-’12), 3.0 SDV6 (‘12-present).

£3500-£40,000

he Discovery went through a dramatic revamp for its launch in 2004, but it came out the other side as one hell of a vehicle. Greatly improved in terms of owe and eﬁnement the isco received the relatively economical 2.7 TDV6 engine (although the thirsty 4.4 V8 petrol was an option) and became the ﬁ st and ove to be given Terrain Response. If you need one vehicle in your life,

this could be the one that ticks the most boxes at once. Be weary of maintenance costs, especially as you approach the 105,000-mile/seven-year mark that means the timing belt is due – it’s a body-off job! The 3.0 TDV6 and SDV6 engines are even better, with monumental amounts of torque. Luxury has also inc eased signiﬁcantly in late examples. A later SDV6 model is best.

Pros: Off-road capability, usability for every occasion, luxury on later models, torque of 3.0-litre engines Cons: Maintenance costs, air compressor on D3s, D4s not so cheap

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BUYERS’ GUIDE

Discovery 5 (2017-on)

Versions: 2.0 Sd4, 3.0 Td6, 3.0 Si6 (‘16-present).

£38,500-£70,000

aunched just a couple of months ago, this latest Discovery is still yet to hit the UK roads on mass. Land Rover needed to improve economy in particular with this edition of the Disco, and having chopped 480kg from the kerbweight, it would seem their oﬁciency in the use of lightweight technologies is only getting better and better. We’ve yet to drive the latest Discovery, but expectations are

high – especially as this will be Land Rover’s most capable SUV currently in production. New engines look promising on paper, and Land Rover has listened to customers regarding the infotainment system. It will remain to be seen whether the changes have quenched the thirst of the critics, though. We reckon the base Sd4 model could turn out to provide all you really need.

Pros: Most technologically-advanced Land Rover to-date, keeps Discovery practicality Cons: Not many can afford one currently, easy to mistake for D Sport

Discovery Sport (2015-present) Versions: SD4 2.2 4cyl turbo-diesel (Jan ‘15 - Aug‘15), TD4 Ingenium 2.0 4cyl turbo-diesel (Aug ‘15 onwards).

£18,000-£45,000

rought in to replace the Freelander 2, the Discovery Sport was the vehicle that turned the Discovery brand into a family. It has come to be so much more than a re-badged Freelander, though. For starters, the Discovery Sport has seven seats (just), drives better than a Freelander 2 and is now mo e eﬁned than s to the ngenium Td4 engine. Land Rover is now churning out substantial units of the baby Disco,

now even matching the Evoque for pace as one of the fastest-selling vehicles they make. It’s a more usable vehicle than the Evoque, though, and you’re less li ely to ﬁnd you self on the receiving end of mocking banter for driving a car designed by one of the Spics Girls. Grab a cleverly-spec’d SE Tech for a car that can be as practical as a daddy Disco, but for a more attractive price.

Pros: More practical than an Evoque – and less vulgar, seven seats, still great off-road Cons: Back seats only for small mammals, price of high-spec models

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