Please let the end be near
HAVE I reached saturation point when it comes to working on Land Rovers? Honestly it is beginning to feel that way. The navy blue Series IIA restoration is now complete. It took 49 days and a total of 388 hours. Now, if I were to apply a sensible hourly rate to my time, say $100, then you are looking at nearly $40,000. Add on a further $12,000 in parts and consumables and it pushes the total price far beyond what many people would be prepared to pay here in Australia. Did I sell the Land Rover for $52,000, alas, no.
I have to say, it is with great relief that the Land Rover is finished. The new owner and I drove it from Canberra to Melbourne to meet the guys at Jaunt who will ultimately be converting it to electric. From Melbourne we made our way to Adelaide. All went well until about 150km from our final destination and the battery died. Sadly, the antiquated dynamo had failed so the final leg would be on the back of a recovery truck. Thankfully the new owner was understanding but I admit I did feel disappointed that we did not make the entire trip under our own steam.
Finally with some time on my hands, I have turned attention to the other Land Rovers – the ones that actually belong to me (which is more fun than working on customer vehicles). First up was Old Girl. Her soft top had shrunk drastically over the last 12 months and it was impossible to fasten back properly. She has finally been treated to a new softtop from Exmoor Trim. Unlike her old one, this one has side windows. The increased visibility is brilliant and it has really smartened her up. As part of the refresh I have also fitted two bench seats in the rear and treated her wheels to a fresh coat of paint. I have also replaced the bonnet-mounted spare for something less than 50-years old. She looks brilliant but she does still jump out of fourth gear at motorway speeds (it is not particularly pleasant when she does that!). I have a replacement gearbox ready for her but can I not live with it for just a little longer? Those of us with Series Land Rovers will know the pain of removing a gearbox. No column of mine would be complete it seems without some discussion pertaining to Grandma, my V8 Series IIA. Well boy has she been keeping me busy. You may recall, the Uluru trip pretty much finished off her engine and I returned with all sorts of horrible noises. Suspecting it was a worn camshaft I took it to my local Land Rover specialist, The Series Workshop. Upon closer inspection they found more and more issues (including several bodges carried out by another garage). A new camshaft was not going to cut it and it seemed a replacement engine was going to be the most cost-effective approach.
A couple of weeks on and I found myself stripping down a potential candidate, a 4.2 Rover V8 that Rick Robins, one of The Series Workshop chaps, had amongst his collection. Unfortunately, much as I liked the idea of a monstrous 4.2-litre, the engine required a significant amount of work so we decided a new donor would be needed.
One phone call later and another V8 was on its way. This one was known to be low mileage and had been rebuilt previously. Removing the rocker covers and I was delighted to see no sludge whatsoever. The engine clearly has not been deprived of oil changes.
In a bid to avert an even bigger garage bill, the guys at The Series Workshop kindly agreed to let me carry out the engine change on their premises. Six days in and the new engine is installed and running beautifully (admittedly I have only edged Grandma forwards and back a metre or two). At idle, it is so quiet and smooth and I now realise just how worn out my old engine must have been. Driving Grandma is going to be a whole lot of fun and I really cannot wait to actually drive her instead of fixing her. With the hurdles she has put me through anyone would think she actually preferred being laid up and returning to nature on my dad’s driveway in Cornwall.
Whilst all this Land Rover stuff has been going on, Leah and I have just bought a house and we will be moving to Queensland at the end of the year. Finding somewhere suitable for three Land Rovers has made it slightly more difficult if I am honest. When looking at property listings I found myself paying little attention to the house itself and instead being immediately drawn to the garage / parking options. Leah thinks I would have chosen a complete hovel were it to have a nice workshop. At least with our own place I will not have to worry quite so much about oil marks on the driveway. The current mission is to clean up the driveway of our rented place. It is really not looking good out there. Perhaps during the final inspection I will have to park the Land Rovers strategically to cover each blemish? I may need another Land Rover.
“With the hurdles she has put me through anyone would think she actually preferred being laid up and returning to nature”