LAND-ROVER SERIES II
RUN BY Martin Port OWNED SINCE September 2016 PREVIOUS REPORT October
There is no denying that this particular Land-rover is perfectly at home in the height of summer: door tops left in the garage, sunbleached panels exposing the Birmabright metalwork beneath and hand-painted African town names being warmed in the rays.
Little wonder, therefore, that as soon as autumn arrives my heart sinks ever so slightly as the former expedition vehicle is left to dream again of warmer climates. I have to battle a moisture-laden steering wheel (fellow Land-rover owners will be well-versed in arriving at your destination looking as if you’ve been digging in a firepit), water ingress through holes you didn’t even know were there – plus, of course, the challenge of keeping the road ahead illuminated.
Having replaced all of the sidelight and indicator units earlier in the year, I thought it was time to at least inspect the headlights before being faced with long, dark winter commutes. Amazingly, looking at the current fittings revealed nothing too alarming; unlike some similar-era lights, the Series II wasn’t fitted with sealed-beam units, and the only real issue I could find was a slightly dodgy bulbholder on the nearside lamp.
Being a hoarder, I thought they looked familiar and I realised that just days before I had retrieved several boxes of parts from my father-in-law’s garage – one of which contained headlight bowls and wiring from my old 1953 AC Buckland. It turned out that the bulb-holders were identical to those in the SII and, even better, were in near-perfect condition.
Putting the revamped unit to the test one evening, when dropping my youngest at a Cub Scout meeting, tried my patience. Even Dylan, sitting in the back, ended up hunting for the cause of some awful metallic scraping sounds while on the move, and fellow parents asked if everything was okay when I lay on the floor with a torch, grabbing at bits of bodywork and chassis in a bid to replicate the noise.
By the time we got home, my nerves were frayed: I might as well have asked someone to run their nails down a blackboard for the entire journey, because it would have been more bearable. Then came the eureka moment. Reaching into the rear of the side valance panel, I pulled out a conical stone that was wedged in the ‘U’ channel and had been scraping along the metalwork while on the move.
Clearly I must be jinxed, though, because just days later I was on my way to the lock-up when all hell broke loose in the engine bay. I hurriedly pulled over to search for the screeching noise, but to no avail. After checking the vital signs, I started the engine again, gave it a rev and winced as it returned. Failed water pump? Broken piston ring? Bearings? Then I remembered: aftermarket dynamos are generally rubbish and, as soon as the air turns damp in the autumn, they always (for me) start wailing like a banshee. Two squirts of oil into the lubrication hole in the back and all was well. I really must get the original unit reconditioned.
Right, I’m off for a drive while it’s still sunny. Let’s see what nasty noises I can conjure this time!