JACK DOBSON
Dobbo Dow n Under
Bruce, our Defender, has returned following his twoweek holiday with our local dealership. You might recall he went in with several annoying niggles including windscreen wipers that would not shut off, a leaking fuel tank and central locking with a mind of its own. Whilst none of these things really stopped us from driving they were damn annoying and I felt more than a little unreasonable for a six-year-old, highly-cossetted vehicle. It seems that Jaguar Land Rover agreed with me and very kindly sorted out these issues as at no cost to me. Being handed the keys at the dealership without the accompaniment of a large bill was one of those, ‘am I dreaming’ moments. Anyway I am delighted and relieved! I almost want it to rain so I can test out the wipers.
There are, of course, two other Land Rovers in our household, Old Girl and Grandma. Old Girl is due her annual roadworthy inspection (unlike the UK, here in Australia we are not blessed with Mot-exempt status for our relics). I have been working through a list of things I know need sorting, and the first job was to tackle the lights. Miraculously everything was working except for one of the rear lights. Fumbling around in the rear tool box compartment and the culprit rogue wire was found – all soaked liberally in EP90.
The next job was to sort out the windscreen washers – the reservoir had come off one of its mountings and was swinging perilously close to the engine fan and the earth lead had become detached. Not wanting to repeat this job, I replaced both mounting bolts with something much more substantial. Trust me, the reservoir will not be moving again in a hurry.
The next task was a bit more involved – fitting a heater. Whilst this is not a requirement for the roadworthy inspection, it is a required creature comfort when it is this cold (it is winter here in Australia and believe it or not, we have frost). The heater I have fitted is a rectangular-type Smith’s heater which was previously fitted to Grandma (my other Series IIA). It is not the perfect fit for the Series IIA – the bulkhead requires some cutting for the demister hoses. Having replaced Grandma’s bulkhead with an immaculate version there is no way I am cutting it, hence putting it in Old Girl, and thankfully she already had some random holes which just happened to be in the right place. Fitting the heater was quite an involved job; in order to marry up the heater with the outlet / inlet on the engine I had to connect up seven sections of pipework – a combination of rubber hoses and copper pipe (purchased from a plumbing store). It took several hours to get it all plumbed in and then I found the heater motor would not work – it worked several months ago when previously fitted – so out it came to identify the stray wire.
Driving into work this morning, what a difference! It is positively warm by the time I am less than a mile from the office. It should make a big difference on longer trips and, with a heater, perhaps my wife will be more enthusiastic about our commute?
There are a few other jobs that need attention before the roadworthy test, like oil leaks. Who would have thought, even old Land Rovers are expected to be drip-free during the test. My usual approach is to do my best to distract the inspector by chatting throughout the test. Perhaps this time I will try to fix them?
No month would be complete without spending time on Grandma, and lots of jobs have been ticked off this month including getting the bulkhead correctly aligned. I have been determined to have doors that shut properly. To achieve this miracle I used a jack in the horizontal position with several blocks of wood between the rear body and door pillar I found a careful combination of jack and door hinge adjustment got things in the right place. For the first time in 20 years the doors actually line up and you can close them with next to no effort (in part helped by anti-burst door locks I got from Bearmach). Sadly, opening the doors is less easy, but one step at a time, eh.
Other jobs this month included replacing the clutch slave cylinder and bleeding the system. With that done I connected up the fuel system, which includes an electric pump located under the middle seat. This was always quite noisy so this time I have used rubber mounts to help quieten things down. It is these little tasks that I am enjoying most – tiny adjustments that should bring added refinement without detracting from character.
Attention has now turned to electrickery. I have a new Austosparks loom which has been customised to suit the V8 conversion. What is it about wiring that seems to strike terror into so many of us? I am trying to make the process as easy as possible which meant laying the loom out on the bedroom floor roughly orientated as it would be in the vehicle. I have labelled up each end and I think I may have cracked it. Find out next month how I get on.
When Brit Jack Dobson emigrated to Australia in 2010 he brought his passion for Land Rovers along with him.
“For the first time in 20 years the doors line up and you can close them with next to no effort”