Dobbo Down Under

THIS MONTH it was The All British Day down in Sydney – essentially a huge car show featuring all the old classics that have made it over from the UK over the years. There was just about every conceivable make and model although I noted an absence of any Austin Allegros (perhaps they rusted out during shipping?). Of surprise, without doubt the most common vehicle on display was the beautiful E-type Jaguar. I did not count how many, but would hazard a guess of close to a hundred.

In a slightly less glamorous portion of the showground, I attended as part of the Sydney Land Rover club and being an All British Day meant there were scores of us pommies wandering about. But do not let that put you off, talk was not entirely centred upon the weather and the state of British roads (or the absence of the Allegro). It was actually a really fun day and I got to meet several people with whom I had exchanged messages in the digital world, otherwise known as Instagram. It is always fun meeting in the real world where you can have a proper chat and get advice on your latest Land Rover woes. Certainly the Sydney contingent are a helpful bunch and they put in a lot of effort to make everyone feel welcome.

There were around 40 Land Rovers in our area (it really did feel like the organisers had relegated our group as far away from the other cars as possible). We did a pretty good job of representing the full model line-up with several Series Is, IIS and even those modern Series IIIS, plus a host of Defenders, Discoverys and Range Rovers (including two very fine, rust free, two- door versions).

My mode of transport for the day ended up being Old Girl. The show started at 9.00 am so this meant getting up a little after 4.00 am to drive down to Sydney from Canberra. Foolishly I opted to attempt this early excursion with my roof off (I had recently fitted a heater so was clearly under some sort of delusion as to how effective it actually is). For 40 minutes I persevered through what felt like the Beast From The East. I could actually feel the cold penetrating my bone marrow, despite by this point having wrapped an old coat over my head and donning a pair motorcycle gloves. There was no option but to pull over and put the roof on – an operation which was hindered somewhat by my inability to feel my hands at this stage and the fact that a 109 soft top can be quite unwieldy at the best of times. If you have ever tried putting up a marquee in pitch darkness at the side of a road whilst wearing a pair of motorcycle gloves you might be able to relate to my experience.

With the roof on, heater cranked up, it actually became quite pleasant by Series standards though the trip was not the most relaxed as I had to dodge several huge kangaroos that chose to leap out in front of me. It is a good job you are never really travelling very fast in a Series Land Rover. Anyway, around two and a half hours later I arrived at the showground mildly toasted and partially deaf (I was to lose what little remained of my hearing on my return trip). Ignoring the squeak emanating from the front axle – not a piece of kangaroo roadkill but more likely an issue with my front brake shoes – I navigated round to where all the other Land Rovers were huddled.

Now you might imagine this would have been the perfect opportunity for me to show off my recently-restored Grandma. Sadly, it was not meant to be. In the run up to the event I had been working extremely hard to get her running soundly but unfortunately, if I am to be completely honest, I have failed and I think my efforts have largely made matters worse. Although I must point out I have cured the rattly rockers, which were heavily worn and, of course, caked in oily sludge (amazingly I found some new old-stock rockers locally).

Now, having recently started a new job, I do not have as much spare time as previously so I have decided to send Grandma away to be worked on by someone that hopefully knows what they are doing. One of the main issues is ignition timing and I am finding it too much of a challenge to get this right when working on my own (unlike on a Series I where I am told you can adjust the distributor whilst driving by reaching through the vent flap). So yes, this morning Grandma suffered the indignity of being loaded up on a flatbed and taken to the trusted garage. I have no idea how long it will take but it feels like progress compared to being parked up on the driveway gradually returning to nature. At least with her out of the way it means we can park our Defender up in the garage and perhaps that will keep the dreaded rear crossmember rust at bay?

“With the roof on, heater cranked up, it became pleasant by Series standards, though not the most relaxed, as I had to dodge kangaroos”