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than myself! The purposeful burble, at idle, emanating from its NRP<br />
performance exhaust is wondrous, making the engine sound larger<br />
than its 3.9 liters. I love this Rover!<br />
By now, you’re certainly asking yourself “what’s wrong with it?”<br />
Or, “He got suckered.” No, I’m afraid not. So what if three of the four<br />
doors and power windows are operational? While the rear<br />
crossmember is a bit flaky, the car was repainted about two years<br />
ago and it’s had Genuine waterproof seat covers since its first owner<br />
took delivery. Seeing as I’m probably going to be the last owner<br />
of this machine, now is the perfect time to enjoy the leather fit for<br />
royalty. As soon as I drove it home for the first time, off came the<br />
covers and I promptly cleaned and conditioned the well-preserved<br />
hides. While the transfer case prefers not to go into LO range, this<br />
Classic’s been painstakingly maintained (e.g.: Amsoil synthetics all<br />
around since day one) since new and has had a lot of recent work:<br />
heater core (quite a job, as half the dash must be removed), new<br />
brakes lines and calipers all around, new Genuine HD springs and<br />
Bilsteins, full NRP stainless steel performance exhaust system, K&N<br />
air filter, Hella Vision Plus headlamps, tune ups, fuel pump, liftgate,<br />
etc. All the stuff that makes owners sell these cars, usually at a<br />
substantial loss. Heated power seats? Sure, it’s got them, but they<br />
don’t work as the factory intended.<br />
Speaking of dodgy electrics, while I was in New York for the<br />
Thanksgiving holiday, I lent the keys to a friend visiting the area from<br />
out of town. I asked him how things went with my Range Rover,<br />
expecting to be amused by a memorable story or two. It went<br />
something like this: “Well, funny you should ask because the<br />
other night I was driving a bit faster than the posted limit on some<br />
unfamiliar country road and suddenly, while cresting a hill, the<br />
brights decided to extinguish themselves. Once I “turned off” the<br />
brights using the stalk on the steering column, the headlamps worked<br />
again. So, I guess you don’t have brights anymore, but the rest of the<br />
car works perfectly and I even left some petrol in it for you. Thanks<br />
for letting me drive it, and I know what you mean about that royal<br />
seating position and that luxurious, unhurried feeling while you’re<br />
behind the wheel.” Note: The brights are back in service, after<br />
replacing a 15 amp fuse.<br />
On a slightly darker note, the other day, my Range Rover<br />
stranded me mid-commute. It genuinely got stuck and I don’t mean<br />
off-road. Was this the end for my freshly acquired Range Rover? Our<br />
courtship was surely too young for that! To make a long story short<br />
the parking brake got stuck ON, immobilizing me as I tried to pull out<br />
of a parking spot. A bit possessed on the part of my Range Rover,<br />
considering the parking brake wasn’t applied when I parked it! The<br />
shoes got jammed up against the inside of the drum and fell on the<br />
floor upon removal of the drum. I’ll spare you the details of this<br />
repair, but you can imagine I employed a rather cost-effective<br />
approach.<br />
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