Eco Defender
Meet the beautifully-restored 200Tdi-engined Ninety that’s been converted to run on cooking oil and diesel
Flying tonight: the beautifully-restored 200Tdi 90 that runs on cooking oil and diesel
In days of old when knights were bold, Berwick was the place to go if you wanted a bit of aggro. The border town was fought over for centuries between England and Scotland and changed hands several times. One of ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace’s arms was hacked off and displayed as a warning, after his execution on August 23, 1305. The town eventually became a permanent part of England when it was captured by Richard Duke of Gloucester in 1482.
Nowadays things have quietened down a bit and most Berwick folk are employed in the service sector. The town has the unique distinction of being home to Berwick Rangers FC, the only English team that plays in the Scottish Football League. There are also plenty of Land Rovers roaming the town’s narrow streets, as I was soon to discover.
Guy Dixon is a mechanical engineer by trade and has lived in the area all his life. He has driven several Land Rovers over the years and currently owns a couple of 90s and a 1968 Forward Control IIB.
“I suppose my dad was the one that got things
started,” he explains. “He’s owned Land Rovers for over 30 years. He started off with a Series III and currently keeps a 90. I was always interested in working with tools from a young age and soon married my new-found skills with cars. It was only a question of time before I turned my attention to Land Rovers.
“My first Land Rover was a 1987 model, which I acquired in 1999. I actually got the vehicle at a bargain price, as it was in a bit of a state. It used to belong to Thomas Sherriff & Co Ltd, the local John Deere tractor dealership. I worked for the company until quite recently, when I decided to go selfemployed. The Land Rover was part of a trade-in and only cost me £700. I eventually moved the vehicle on and then restored another Sherriff’s trade-in that had been involved in an accident. That was in 2006. I ran this vehicle for over ten years and never had a breakdown. I still own it – and it is currently in storage.”
Fast forward to 2015, when Guy decided it was time for another change. “When I first got hold of G269 PVK in 2007 it was just a chassis, running gear, bulkhead and rear tub. It was first registered in 1989, but the vehicle’s early history is a bit of grey area. When I acquired the vehicle, it had spent many years working at a local caravan park. By this stage, it was only really fit for scrap. I decided to keep it for spare parts and stored it away until 2015. By then, Land Rover prices were on the up, so In decided to see if it was salvageable. Next thing I knew, it was my latest restoration project,” he says.
Guy has never really needed much of an excuse to refurbish a Land Rover and this one was no exception. “The first thing I did was take off the bulkhead, which turned out to be in a terrible state,” he recalls. “I decided to rebuild the vehicle using stainless steel pillars, footwells and bottom mounts. I used Paddock and ebay for most of the parts. Everything was galvanised before it was put back on.”
Guy reckons that the whole resto took the best part of a year and accounted for almost 1500 hours. “I must have spent over 80 hours on the bulkhead alone,” he recalls. “The panels had almost been destroyed. For some reason the previous owners had been using the frame as a platform. They had piled bricks and blocks on to the bonnet. The wings were all folded inside out and the doors had rotted away. There are still a couple of leaks in the roof, but I’ll soon iron these out. I’ll probably use plasticine in the gutters to isolate them.”
Mechanically, there were also a few issues. “Unfortunately the timing belt on the original 19J engine had broken, so I decided to replace the unit with a 200Tdi from a Discovery. This isn’t a straightforward process, because you have to match the gearbox. There’s a lot of drilling and counter-boring involved. While I was about it, I put high gears into the transfer box to improve the vehicle’s cruising. I also decided to convert the engine to run on cooking oil.”
Guy’s preference for unusual fuels dates back to his younger days, when he used to run one of his Land Rovers on red diesel. “There’s usually plenty of red diesel to be had in farming and fishing communities, although you have to be careful you don’t do anything illegal. The same applies with cooking or vegetable oil, as you have to register with HM Customs as a producer.
“The conversion was fairly straightforward. It is fitted with two tanks and separate fuel systems. Using the vehicle on a daily basis is
“Gary has never needed much of an excuse to refurbish a Land Rover and this was no exception”
also a doddle. Basically, you start the engine using diesel and you then run it for a few minutes, until it warms up. This is important, to thin the oil. The switchover is then made manually. If you are making short stops you can leave it on the oil setting, as the engine will stay warm. For longer trips, you switch back to diesel a few miles from your destination.
“Getting hold of the oil isn’t an issue, as Berwick is full of restaurants and caravan sites. I probably use about 1000 litres a year, which is a substantial saving. For anyone thinking of doing the same, it’s important to filter the oil properly, so you don’t run into any problems.”
Guy is the first to admit that being able to do your own restorations and conversions is a bonus. He says: “Fortunately, I know what I’m doing. Being self-employed, I can also manage my time. If you are relying on someone else to do the work, you need to have deep pockets. An acquaintance has recently asked me to refurbish his Land Rover and the parts alone are over £3000. Factor in the labour costs and you’re talking big money.”
In addition to the two 90s, Guy also owns a Forward Control Series IIB that he bought in 2010. “This was my first major project. I always liked the look of Forward Controls and started searching on ebay, where I spotted this tax-exempt SIIB. I had been looking for a 101 FC but I didn’t want a vehicle fitted with a V8 petrol engine, as I’ve always preferred diesels.
“The IIB was on the verge of being scrapped, but I decided to take the risk. It was originally registered in 1968, but I don’t know a lot about its history. Not many IIBS were built and very few have survived.
“A few older people can recall seeing one IIB working around Berwick, for a local fishing company. Apparently it was the only IIB in the area, so the vehicle stood out. This might be the same Land Rover, but this is just speculation, of course.
“The bodywork was in a parlous state and I probably had to replace about a third of the vehicle. This particularly applied to the bottom of the chassis. The original 2.6-litre six-cylinder petrol engine has also been replaced by a 2.5 naturally-aspirated 19J engine´. Fortunately I managed to refurbish the four-speed gearbox and the vehicle performs quite well. I use it on a regular basis, especially if I have a lot of stuff to cart about.
“I suppose the whole resto took me the best part of two years. I also discovered when I came to register the vehicle in my name, that there was a discrepancy with the number plate. The number belonged to a different Forward Control, implying that somebody had switched the plates.”
Before I headed back up the A1 to Scotland, I asked Guy about his future plans. “I like restoring old Land Rovers and it keeps me out of mischief. I’ve just come across this old Series II that needs a ground-up restoration, so that should keep me going for the time being. It’s also a lot better than wasting your money down the local pub.”