The Rover Social
Gary Pusey investigates a new show with a difference
Iread about it on social media – a new, one-day event called The Rover Social. It almost sounded like an informal pop-up thing, but since it was only a few miles down the road from home and the sun was shining, I decided to go. It gave me an excellent excuse to dust off the Stage One 88 and give it a run.
My brother decided to come as well, in his immaculate 1990 Discovery, and we managed to persuade Philip Bashall to bring something interesting and topical from the Dunsfold Collection. He chose the Darién Range Rover, fresh from its glamorous week at the Royal Automobile Club. We had quite a convoy.
Well, what a wonderful day it turned out to be. The Rover Social is the brainchild of Land Rover enthusiasts Simon O’leary and Ian Higginson, who were chatting over a pint in their local earlier this year when Simon announced that he’d always fancied arranging a Land Rover show. Unlike most things that get discussed over a beer, this idea actually became reality.
“We wanted an event that embraced the pleasures of Land Rover ownership and what we see as the evolving Land Rover lifestyle.” Ian tells me. “There’s a community of Land Rover owners out there who have a shared love of the outdoors with a dash of adventure thrown in. We want to encourage owners to try new experiences and find new friends with like-minded interests.”
“We think there is space for a new kind of Land Rover event,” adds Simon. “There are plenty of people buying older Land Rovers now that are new to the enthusiasts’ community, and we think an event like this is a great way to introduce them to each other, and to the lifelong fanatics and the people who are buying into the growing restomod market.”
Were they successful? Well, there was certainly a good turnout at the Social, with many well-known faces and vehicles, but there were also a significant number of visitors who were attending their first Green Oval show, having bought their first classic Land Rover in the last year or two.
The location was perfectly chosen. Loseley Park near Guildford is a stately home, a working farm and an events venue, and The Rover Social was set up on the field in front of the big house, which provided a suitably smart backdrop.
For a first-time event there was an impressive list of exhibitors which certainly seemed to chime with the aims and ambitions set out by Simon and Ian: there were companies offering high-end outdoor and camping gear and camping and EV conversions for classic Land Rovers and specialists in restomods, 4x4 training and tours, vintage clothing, and high-end mountain bikes and e-bikes. Several local Land Rover clubs attended as well, and there wasn’t an autojumble stand in sight.
There were also a lot of familiar faces such as Nick Dimbleby, Bob and Joe Ives, Mike Bishop and Alex Bescoby of The Last
Overland fame, and Simon and Ian hosted interview discussions with them during the day in the marquee dubbed ‘The HQ’.
A non-damaging off-road course had been set out around the estate and anyone interested could join an escorted run around the circuit. It didn’t bear comparison with the off-road courses at places like
Billing, but that was the point. It was about introducing people to off-roading in a safe and friendly way and judging by the constant queue of vehicles waiting to join, it was achieving its aims.
There were some awards, sponsored by show supporters Car & Classic, including a popular People’s Choice Award, and plenty to entertain the kids including mini Land Rovers, radio-controlled vehicles, e-biking, a find-the-lost-land-rovers search, and a drawing competition.
There were a few glitches… A power failure meant the only coffee stall couldn’t open for an hour, by which time there were a lot of thirsty showgoers, and some of the food vendors were overwhelmed, but for a first attempt by a team with no previous event management experience, it was a brilliant effort.
I don’t think I’m alone in hoping it becomes a regular in the show calendar.
THE nature of my business and the way in which it has evolved means that I am continually moving parts, materials and vehicles. This is mainly due to working across three locations, albeit one of these is temporary. My primary workshop is in the grounds of my house, which is very convenient. Close by, I have had the use of another small yard, which is in the family, on a temporary basis. This temporary basis has been going on for some ten years and it is unknown how much longer I can use it – it could be one more year, or ten more years. Because of this uncertainty, I acquired another place in 2019, which is about 12 miles from home.
Consequently, I make use of two large trailers – one a low-loader for vehicle movement and the other for general (multi) purpose haulage. Both are towed by my trusty Defender 90 Td5. Additionally, for the past two years or more, my Defender 130 – fitted with a High Capacity Pick Up (HCPU) tub and a large toolbox – has been a very versatile load carrier for smaller items that do not need the scope of a 14ft or 17ft trailer. Body panels to the paint shop for a respray? No problem. Set of wheels with fat tyres from one yard to the other? Easy. The HCPU load bed has been so useful, that I decide to build a proper HCPU to replace the 130, as the 130 chassis-cab has another destiny. The 110 HCPU that I am building is being documented in the Technical Section of LRM currently.
So, as I have mentioned in a previous column, the HCPU tub has been removed from the 130, which is now at the coachworks having a drop-side tipping body built on it. This has proved to be bad planning – or bad timing – on my part; clearly the 110 HCPU is not finished yet and the 130 is away (did I really tell Norman, the coachbuilder, “there’s no hurry”?) and I am without a workhorse pick-up truck. I am feeling the loss.
In the meantime, I use the back of my Defender 90 as best I can – and where that’s not enough, the small trailer is bought out and into service. I treasure the Td5 90 and have no plans to ever sell it. In fact, at some stage it is going to get a significant makeover to prolong its life. However, I’m beginning to feel that the HCPU is my favourite of all Land Rover models. I used my 1983 HCPU for just over a year and subsequently the 130 with HCPU tub for just over two years, and I am very much looking forward to getting the current 110 build finished and on the road.
The subject of favourite Land Rover is an interesting one and I reckon that the choice for any individual is down to what their needs are at any given time. When I was heavily involved with the Northern Ireland Land Rover Club (NILRC), my favourite Land Rover was the V8 off-road-prepared hybrid. At another stage, when I had a young family and we went on road-trips, my 300Tdi 110 County Station Wagon was the clear favourite.
So maybe I will get past this stage of being a big fan of the HCPU, if my needs and circumstances change. But would you believe – even though I will have both a 130 Tipper (which for all intents and purposes will act as a pick-up truck) and the 110 Td5 HCPU on the road – I am actually thinking of hauling the old ’83 HCPU out of the barn and getting it roadworthy again.
THIS time last year I said I’d drive SXF more next year. But to be honest I didn’t, apart from going to a couple of local club events during the long hot summer with the tilt off. I did, however, finally get round to doing something about the clicking front CV joint. It’s been clicking now for more than six years so it was really about time something was done about it.
Now with having classic Range Rover axles under SXF, the first job was to find out just which CV joints I had. The conversion to Range Rover axles was done way back in 1995 and I guessed they were early ones, because of the domed end on the stub axle driveshaft. But the only way to confirm this would be to take it out and count the splines on the end of the shaft.
Five bolts later the shaft was out and I could confirm early pre-1986. The swivel housings looked in good condition with no real signs of pitting on the chrome, so they would not need to be replaced.
Despite what sounded like just one side CV joint clicking, I decided that I would replace both. I opted to go for the basic Britpart kit which, along with the CV joint, comes with a new bearing, gasket, seals and swivel grease.
I did look at a heavy-duty option but they didn’t seem to be available for the early axles, which to be honest was a bit of a relief as the price seemed to be massively excessive even compared with a genuine Land Rover part.
Now replacing a CV joint isn’t a very difficult task but I did opt to get Patrick at Maddison 4x4 to do the job for me. Firstly, it’s easier with the Land Rover on a vehicle lift and as the axle, swivels and CVS haven’t been looked at for many years, I thought it would be beneficial having an expert eye look over the front axle and check nothing else was worn.
As it turned out it wasn’t – the swivel housing gaskets both looked to be undamaged so didn’t need to be replaced. And I thought the only reason the swivels didn’t leak oil was because they were filled with EP140 gear oil and Lucas Hub Oil Stop Leak. In fact, when both CV joints were pulled out neither felt badly worn. However, one was worn more than the other, and I imagine that was the one that had been clicking away for years. New CVS, seals and bearings fitted and the swivels filled with the correct swivel grease, and SXF was back on its wheels and not a click in earshot, even at the Patina National when it was on full lock either way.
The speedo in SXF is original and for many years it has never worked. Then I fitted a new cable, gave it a knock and it started working. The milometer, however, has a mind of its own. Some days it will work, but most of the time it doesn’t move at all. However, the speedometer is functional, which is a legal requirement I believe. As for its accuracy, the needle swings around like most Series Land Rover ones do, but when checked with another vehicle driving at a set speed, and more recently with a GPS sat-nav, it’s been more or less spot-on. That is until now.
When driving past some local village radar speed signs which show the actual speed you are travelling at, I’ve noticed the speedo was underreading by as much as 10mph at 50mph. With mobile speed camera vans being very active in my area, I thought I’d better do something about it.
I didn’t want to replace the original speedometer or fancy paying the price to have mine fixed and calibrated. So I opted for the cheap solution, a GPS digital speedometer off ebay costing £17, which I wired in via a 12v to 5v reducer that cost a further £4.
I’m pleased to report that it’s every bit as accurate as I’d hoped, as confirmed by the radar speed signs echoing the speed displayed on the digital speedo. It reads in miles or kilometres per hour and even displays altitude – and it’s small and light enough to stick on the top of the dash. No high-tech worries here.
THE beginning of June saw Southern Rover Owners Club (SROC) celebrate its 50th anniversary at a very sunny and warm Renhurst Farm in Sussex. The club is in fact older than 50, but was previously known as Southern Land Rover Owners Club, and it still has a few members from before 1972 who are competing in events to this day.
Combining celebrations with its annual trailer-handling event, it also marked the club’s participation in the 1976 Lord Mayor’s Show in London, where a team towed boats for the Royal Yachting Association. In recognition of this, the RYA presented SROC with a magnificent trophy.
The challenges for trailer-handling, were set by the previous winners, Chris and Emelye Snowdon and included sections for manoeuvring the club trailer forwards, in reverse, into a parking space and shooting at targets while on the move. As expected, great fun was had by all.
In the afternoon activities moved onto a gymkhana devised by Ian Davis and Dan Neill. Challenges included reversing your Land Rover to get a rear wheel over a target. It is not unknown for competitors to get creative – one year for example, Phil Newland put his Series I into low-box and walked alongside it to gain the advantage. Because Ian has set out these events many times before and his reputation precedes him, there was disappointment at the lack of his paintball gun this year.
Celebrations were rounded off with a very well-received cake, in the style of the club logo, and a general knowledge/sroc history quiz run by our frequent quiz master Caroline Bourne. Team ‘Something Funny’ took the trophy.
Sunday was back to traditional trialling, with an eight-section Tyro Trial set out by Paul Barton. It was also a Taster Day to allow non-members to discover just what trialling is all about with an interesting variety of vehicles competing, including Series Is, a Lightweight, Freelanders and Range Rovers, as well as licenced and non-licenced drivers. Exactly what a Tyro is intended to be.
We were also fortunate that our weekend was supported by club member and Bramble 4x4 owner, Damian Porter, who with the help of some customers, kindly put on a display of some of the limited edition Heritage Defenders.
Sadly, attendees were definitely down on past years, most likely because of the current high fuel prices. However, this special occasion for the club’s 50th anniversary was well marked and enjoyed by all who came, and everyone is already looking forward to next year’s SROC Renhurst Farm weekend.