The past couple of weeks have proved how simple aluminium cars are to look after. The Defender how has a new intercooler, the fitting of which was simplicity itself. The front of the Land Rover simply unbolted and came apart to allow enough access to remove the small matrix from the car, and to then insert the replacement item. Fitting was easy enough although this was a bitter sweet solution as the old intercooler, although clearly bleeding somewhere, refused to reveal where exactly. Having removed it from the car I sealed the outlet then filled it with water and sure enough it dripped from one corner, but not with enough severity to disclose the leak. Upping the ante slightly I then tried reverting to schoolboy bicycle inner tube maintenance and filled the bath with water, sealed the intercooler then submerged it, awaiting a stream of bubbles from the hole or holes. But nothing. Had the leak been revealed I might've considered a repair, but based on the obscurity of the problem I decided to cut to the proverbial chase and replace rather than repair.
Result is a smoother, cleaner and slightly more frugal Defender. Only slightly mind, it's still a brick on wheels.
Next up was a repair to the driver's side B-post where the door latch is attached. This was starting to tear itself out of the B-post, with a long crack running upwards from where the latch is bolted through the aluminium door frame.
Again, a simple little job. Cut a panel from some scrap ali sheet, clamp it to the back of the damaged area, drill a few strategically placed holes, pop rivet repair plate to back of door frame, job done. It really was that simple, although I now have a line of rivet heads visible just inside the drivers door. But is this really a problem? I'd suggest not.
One of the joys of aluminium car ownership is that because the cars themselves are so simple and have a few exposed bolt heads, bare metal and mysterious rattles, a very basic repair is usually sufficient and entirely in keeping with the cars' original construction techniques. It's a visible reminder (and in my case because of the location it's virtually a daily one) of the longevity of a Land Rover. It's a little like chips served in newspaper. Being a simple but satisfying dish, they require nothing more complicated in the way of packaging, hence the reuse of crosswords and sports pages seems somehow appropriate and anything more would be a distracting extravagance.
With the Land Rover all fixed up and intercooled again, I took it for a day out across Salisbury Plain, a location which by definition is where simple cars belong.
