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getting <strong>to</strong> off-road at that event, Benny remained a Land Rover buff<br />
and I was certain he would be up for <strong>the</strong> challenge of bringing this<br />
Range Rover back <strong>to</strong> life.<br />
All res<strong>to</strong>ration or refurbishment projects become much longer<br />
processes than originally intended, and this effort ran true <strong>to</strong> form.<br />
Benny’s first task was <strong>to</strong> clean her up. He spent <strong>the</strong> entire first<br />
weekend completely stripping <strong>the</strong> interior of all non-essential items.<br />
What remained was two front seats, a modified dash/center console<br />
and a whole lotta body rot in <strong>the</strong> floors, wheel wells, kick panel and<br />
more. This unwelcome discovery prompted several days of cutting,<br />
grinding, sanding and patching <strong>to</strong> achieve something that was<br />
acceptable, if not concours.<br />
The long list of typical Rover woes would not surprise any<br />
enthusiast who has purchased a neglected Range Rover or Discovery.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> past, someone had elected <strong>to</strong> seal <strong>the</strong> sunroof with marine<br />
adhesive instead of clearing out <strong>the</strong> clog-prone drain tubes. This had<br />
apparently been a long-standing issue, as <strong>the</strong> drive gears and mo<strong>to</strong>r<br />
were nearly corroded <strong>to</strong> pieces. The solution: completely remove <strong>the</strong><br />
sunroof assembly and install a new “moon roof”. This was achieved<br />
through <strong>the</strong> use of low end Home Depot style plexiglass! Smear on a<br />
little 3M sealant, run a few self-tapping sheet metal screws through et<br />
voila - instant moon roof.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> “cosmetic phase,” we turned our limited<br />
mechanical skills <strong>to</strong> getting this beast running well for its first off-road<br />
event. Our deadline was <strong>the</strong> Florida Land Rover Club’s Spring Rallye<br />
in Richloam.<br />
First on <strong>the</strong> list was <strong>to</strong> sort out what had, or more accurately had<br />
not, been done <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> engine, ancillaries and tuning. Changing <strong>the</strong> oil<br />
and filter, installing new spark plugs, cap, ro<strong>to</strong>r, and ignition coil got<br />
<strong>the</strong> truck running but only on starter fluid – not a good idea – and<br />
<strong>the</strong>n only for a few minutes at a time.<br />
We found that multiple sensors, including critical oxygen<br />
sensors, were not connected. Part of <strong>the</strong> throttle assembly was also<br />
missing. We even found that <strong>the</strong> transmission “kick down” cable had<br />
been disconnected, which explained <strong>the</strong> weak throttle response and<br />
<strong>to</strong>p speed of only about 20mph. During this rebuild, an English friend<br />
s<strong>to</strong>pped by <strong>to</strong> review our efforts (it’s great <strong>to</strong> have a knowledgeable<br />
English friend when working on a Range Rover). He spurred us on <strong>to</strong><br />
deeper investigation. Use of a timing light helped us uncover that <strong>the</strong><br />
distribu<strong>to</strong>r had been installed nearly 180 degrees out of position<br />
(“Hello, friendly neighborhood garage?”). A few turns of <strong>the</strong><br />
wrenches and suddenly she ran like a <strong>to</strong>p! Thank you Darren Oakes<br />
– long live England!<br />
Absolutely jubilant, we could not wait <strong>to</strong> get <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> fun bits, like<br />
a snorkel and CB radio! Our hopes were crushed at <strong>the</strong> sound of<br />
running water – coolant, <strong>to</strong> be more precise. A seemingly unending<br />
stream of it was running off <strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>p of <strong>the</strong> transmission all over <strong>the</strong><br />
driveway. My first thought, after “what <strong>the</strong> F@$&,” was “how is this<br />
possible?” Straight <strong>to</strong> <strong>the</strong> phone I went; I sought advice from Darren,<br />
<strong>the</strong>n a friend who is a Land Rover tech on <strong>the</strong> East Coast and finally,<br />
Art Limacher at Rovers North. The consensus was that a blown valley<br />
pan gasket was allowing coolant <strong>to</strong> literally pump out of <strong>the</strong> back of<br />
<strong>the</strong> <strong>to</strong>p half of <strong>the</strong> engine.<br />
If you follow <strong>the</strong> repair rate manual, it’s a four hour-job. For<br />
Benny and I, it may have well have been 4+ days – time we did not<br />
have if we were <strong>to</strong> make <strong>the</strong> Florida Land Rover Club Rallye. Time for<br />
a helpful bodge, in this case, a product called Blue Devil. This<br />
unbelievably expensive ($60 per bottle) goop looks like nothing<br />
more than window cleaner. Its label claims it will repair anything<br />
from a radia<strong>to</strong>r pin-hole leak <strong>to</strong> a cracked block. Never having been<br />
one <strong>to</strong> buy such miracle products, I reluctantly suggested <strong>to</strong> Benny<br />
that we give it a try. The directions read as follows: drain <strong>the</strong> system,<br />
remove <strong>the</strong> <strong>the</strong>rmostat (presumably <strong>to</strong> keep it from gumming up),<br />
refill with water and Blue Devil and run for 1 hour or until <strong>the</strong> leak<br />
s<strong>to</strong>ps. It was a good thing that we had resolved <strong>the</strong> distribu<strong>to</strong>r issue<br />
so that <strong>the</strong> truck would even idle for an hour. To our amazement, after<br />
only 20 minutes our former Geyser was gone! That’s worth every<br />
penny of $60 in my book.<br />
With this behind us, we focused on finishing some more of <strong>the</strong><br />
fun stuff. We scoured Home Depot for vacuum hoses, drain clamps<br />
and PVC pipe fittings <strong>to</strong> create a do-it-yourself snorkel for about $30.<br />
It looks more like a periscope than a snorkel, but hey, it works (at<br />
least we hope it does). We also installed an old pair of 2” lift Old Man<br />
Emu heavy duty springs that had been on my Defender 90 until a<br />
recent upgrade. The lift provided not only a taller stance, but more<br />
room for 235/85/R16 Kenda Klever All-Terrain Tires ($105 each).<br />
For <strong>the</strong> final <strong>to</strong>uch, I purchased lots of earth <strong>to</strong>ne spray paint for<br />
a cool camouflage look modeled after <strong>the</strong> pattern on a shirt from<br />
Bass Pro Shops. Not only did this make <strong>the</strong> new beast look cool, but<br />
it covered up an aftermarket paint job that we had come <strong>to</strong> refer <strong>to</strong><br />
as “Pimp My Ride Apple Green Metallic.”<br />
We christened <strong>the</strong> Range Rover, The Cammo Evolution, and it<br />
made a very successful showing at <strong>the</strong> Club Rallye. She ran flawlessly,<br />
despite <strong>the</strong> discovery of nearly 4 quarts of water in <strong>the</strong> engine oil after<br />
being stuck in a particularly deep water crossing (maybe a DIY<br />
snorkel is not <strong>the</strong> way <strong>to</strong> go). She even conquered several obstacles<br />
that s<strong>to</strong>pped my Defender 90! Fellow Florida Land Rover Club<br />
member Ed Poelsma was so taken by <strong>the</strong> Range Rover that he<br />
donated an awesome brush guard <strong>to</strong> us.<br />
At <strong>the</strong> end of <strong>the</strong> day, <strong>to</strong>day’s Range Rover Classics are a real<br />
off-road bargain. Granted, ours was free. After freight, repairs, tires<br />
and miscellaneous parts, this trail-proven Land Rover only set us<br />
back about $2,000. The true cost of <strong>the</strong> entertainment it provided in<br />
refurbishment and driving – priceless!<br />
_______ ________<br />
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