Damage Control

So, it's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged, a situation brought about in no small way by the failure of my personal laptop.
Unlike my cars it is neither aluminium nor British-made and hence completely unrepairable.
By contrast, both cars have suffered minor failure or faults in the last two weeks yet neither of them have become unusable as a result. This is reassuring to say the least.
The Land Rover suffered a near-catastrophic failure of a universal joint on the front prop shaft during the return journey from our weekend in Derbyshire. This manifested itself as a squealing graunching noise every time the vehicle pulled away, something Widget and I confidently convinced ourselves was categorically not a failing universal joint. We dismissed this so readily based around very extensive previous experience of failed universal joints all over the country. By chance, like most scientific discoveries, we came to the conclusion that if a laning trip is planned to anywhere with "District" in it's name, then a universal joint will fail, most probably on the return journey. But all was not lost. The front prop shaft was removed and the vehicle made roadworthy again, in two wheel drive only, in under twenty minutes, something of a personal best.
All this was overseen by tea and cake, obviously.














The following weekend the other aluminium car took it's turn as flagship of the fleet with a trip to the Isle of Wight for "WightBlat'08". We were treated to the sort of weather you'd expect for the South Coast in early spring, namely driving rain, localised flooding, hail and occasional flurries of snow.
This highlighted the second failing to blight aluminium car ownership this month, a leaky windscreen. A little moisture inside either the Caterham or Land Rover is not unheard of, due to the unique way they are made, but what was most interesting is that the Caterham seemed to remain dry where you'd most expect it to allow water in, and yet flooded with ease where you'd least want it to. In this instance water flowed freely through the join between the windscreen frame and the glass itself, almost precisely in the driver's field of view only. This was easily cured temporarily with judicious application of black insulating tape.














WightBlat itself was a roaring success. Being based in a holiday camp left over from the 1960s, this evoked something of a Blitz spirit among the assembled Caterham owners who were determined to enjoy themselves despite the venue smelling like a church hall, the breakfasts being rationed and the swimming pool having more than a little in common with neat Domestos. It occured to me during the weekend that the tolerance required to own and drive a Caterham is not dissimilar and this is probably why we had such a great time.

Both cars are now fixed. A new universal joint for the Land Rover and some silicone sealant for the Caterham.
And tea for me.

Tarts and Trucks

Sunday night and Widget, Bernd and I are relaxing in the delightful sitting room of our self-catering cottage in the Peak District.

We've had a couple of days' laning already with one final fling tomorrow and all I can say is, upgrading the Discovery for a Defender was so much the right thing to do. Yesterday we descended Stanage Edge and despite taking over an hour to cover one short rocky stretch, the silver Defender seemed simply unstoppable. Even the slight knocks and bumps we did encounter seemed less of an event to the three Defenders.













The weather had been variable to say the least. Yesterday we met up in driving snow, yet by the end of the day I was wearing sunglasses when driving.
As well as some good laning we've had numerous refreshing brews whilst on the lanes, along with that most crucial element of Land Rover ownership, a nice bit of cake, and some Frisian sugar bread brought by Bernd from Holland. It comes close to crossing the border between bread and cake but if push comes to shove I'd have to go with calling it bread.
As we were staying near Bakewell we took the opportunity to try out a genuine tart too. A little sticky when warmed up, but easily shared between three and very satisfying.
The three Defenders have performed pretty well throughout. Widget's has a nasty grumbling bearing somewhere, and the rear door on my car is a bit tatty, but those issues aside, together they make a discreet yet capable convoy. No frills no limits motoring which is what a Land Rover is all about. Bernd has had no problems. Continental efficiency I guess.
We did encounter a few other laning convoys today, which gave rise to some rambling discussion about the merits of big knobbly tyres. And selective dentistry.
We came to the slightly mathematical conclusion that, based on our observations today, the number of knobbles on a tyre is inversely proportional to that of the driver's teeth, whilst the frequency with which they wash their Land Rover is, by contrast, directly proportional to how often they wash anything, including themselves.

But overall, a successful weekend, come rain, snow or sun (and we've had all three)

FFR

Successfully fitted the CB radio and the external antenna mount.
Took bloody ages due in no small part to there being no obvious spot to attach the radio on what passes for a dashboard in the Defender, probably because when Defenders were originally dreamt up, the more common way to communicate was by telegram, or perhaps Semaphore.
The dashboard is more of a handy little shelf on which to store screwdrivers, spanners, rolls of tape, string and so on. It's like an integral tool box.
After several hours trying out different positions around the car for the radio (including one moment of utter insanity where I seriously considered mounting it to the inside of the roof), I succumbed to doing something I vowed I'd never do and drilled two holes through the dashboard cross member in order to attach the radio mounting bracket. I'd hoped to keep the Defender free of Swiss cheese characteristics - there are plenty of Landrovers out there already peppered with holes - but in the end this was just about the only solution.
And actually, it's worked pretty well. The radio is out of the way yet still accessible and it doesn't foul any other controls.
When routing the antenna co-ax from the rear of the car through to the front, the dire build quality of a Defender came to the fore as I was able to gently pull back the headlining and hide the cable behind it without too much effort. It runs in through the rear door seal, along the roof line, over the top of the drivers door, down the off side A-post, then down the corner of the dash where the heater controls reside, under the steering column and in to the radio itself which is just to the left of the ignition barrel, down a bit from the fan control. For electrical power I tapped in to the cigarette lighter feed.
Outside, the antenna mount looks pretty sturdy although I have my doubts. Like anything bought for a Landrover it needed modifying slightly in order to fit, but this isn't what bothers me. It clamps to the gutter and although in theory this is a good idea, the gutters are lined with some kind of gooey sealant gunk, meaning the bolts which provide the clamping action have nothing really solid to bite in to. Might have to fabricate a small metal plate to go under the tails of the bolts, give 'em something solid.
Now all I need is someone to talk to....

Oh and an added bonus, I found my 13mm spanner, missing for several months.

Count down to Carnage

This weekend I'm off up to the Peak District with Widget who has a 50th Anniversary Defender 90.

It's the first big outing for my Defender since buying it to replace my tired Landrover Discovery which had got to that stage in it's life where I drove everywhere with my fingers crossed and had to beat it with a stick every now and then.

I've taken the Defender off-road a couple of times since getting it last month, and it feels so much more capable, even without bogging it down with blingy modifications.

There are a couple of things I'd like to get sorted out before the weekend though. The ever-so-slightly tacky CB radio needs wiring up so I can abuse Widget over the airwaves, and I could really do with some heavier duty recovery points, certainly on the front.

The CB should be easy - It needs just a power supply and an external antenna mount fixing to the car. In due course I'd like to add a second battery to power the fridge I've got for longer trips, fit the winch (with a suitable winch bumper) I took off the Discovery and that's about it. Might get some light guards and possibly a ladder to help with access to the roof tent when it's fitted (again something I've transferred across from the Disco)

As for recovery points for this weekend, this is somewhat dependant on being able to source some JATE rings before Friday.

Where is Stanage Edge anyway?