Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Land Rover Monthly

ONE thing’s for sure when you live in the UK – no matter the time of year, you can’t rely on the weather. That certainly rang true the other day, when my mate Ben came over to my place to weld new footwells from LR Bulkheads into the 110, and replace one of the outriggers. I’d been nervously checking the weather forecast the night before the Saturday he was due over, which teased me with a 50 per cent chance of it hammering down. I wasn’t going to call it off, and Ben seemed unperturbed, so the next morning the sun rose and the air was soon filled with the whirr of grinders and the sizzle of fresh welds. Perfect. All was progressing swimmingly until about 1.00pm. We managed to…

JLR is currently recruiting 150 maintenance technicians in the West Midlands – 50 of whom will be for its Solihull plant, maintaining automated and manufacturing equipment essential to the production of the Range Rover Electric, while the remaining 100 maintenance roles will be based at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre (EPMC) in Wolverhampton. These technicians will help maintain advanced machinery that is being used to build battery packs and Electric Drive Units (EDUs) for JLR’s next generation electric vehicles. In conjunction with JLR’s latest recruitment drive, the brand is also rapidly upskilling its workforce for electrification, with more than 20,000 JLR employees now trained in electrification and digital skills. This has been funded from an ongoing £3bn-per-year investment JLR is making to transform its industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, and…

I think you’ll find… In the Tech section you state that ‘aluminium does conduct electricity but not as well as steel’. If I remember my GCE physics correctly I believe that aluminium does conduct electricity better than steel; in fact, I seem to recall that it is one of the best conductors behind copper and silver. What probably makes it a poor earth medium in Land Rovers are all the rivets and bolts that are used to link the panels together which will increase electrical resistance. I wasn’t aware that the back lights on a Series – and presumably TDCis as well – are only earthed to the tub, so to that extent it’s a good thing to earth straight to the chassis as this is a single entity running…

AT the end of January, JLR announced its financial results for the third quarter, the period from October to December 2024, and on first examination the numbers are mightily impressive. Revenue for the quarter was £7.5 billion, up two per cent year-on-year, JLR’s highest Q3 revenue on record. Q3 profit before tax and exceptional items was £523 million, while fiscal year 2025 year-to-date profit was £1.6 billion, the highest Q3 YTD profit in a decade. All of this is very interesting, because the news from nearly all of Europe’s car makers is currently full of doom and gloom. How is JLR bucking the trend, and is it sustainable? As well as the excellent numbers at JLR, there’s other good news too, with the company announcing that the ‘waiting list’ for…

HOW often do you see an advert for a Land Rover and it says: ‘MoT expired but will pass easily’? If you are anything like me you will start shouting at the screen, wondering aloud why the seller doesn’t just take it for a test. Besides instantly adding a chunk of value to their car, it would also make it much easier for the buyer. Instead of needing a trailer to get it home, you can just drive it. A quick check on the government’s brilliant MoT history site may tell you that the car has actually been for a test and has a fail sheet as long as a roll of Andrex, but sometimes it does reveal a clean past with no advisories – which makes no sense to…

I grew up in Lincolnshire, surrounded by old Land Rovers. My first Land Rover was a Series III Lightweight which came from just south of Lincoln; my first restoration was a Series II 109in, carried out some 35 years ago on a farm near Grantham using bits of steel salvaged from the farmer’s scrap pile. Shortly after that I found myself living in a semi-derelict, unheated house near Skegness (long story) where I started buying and selling old Series vehicles (then readily available around the £600 mark) to help put food on the table. It was not the easiest way to make a living and after a couple of years I gave up on my rural dream and headed for the big city to do what my long-suffering parents referred…

I’M always interested to know why some Land Rovers and Range Rovers are given affectionate nicknames by their owners. This pre-production Range Rover has been known for many years as Harriet. Was she named after an owner’s wife or daughter, perhaps, or is there something in her history that offers a clue? Her current owner, David, who has just put her back on the road after a six-year, ground-up restoration, tells me how the name came about. “The vehicle was owned by Robert Ivins for 31 years from 1988 until I acquired it in 2019,” David tells me. “Robert used it for much of that time as a daily driver in his garage business. One day, somebody needed to run an errand, and Robert told him to take the Range…

IT isn’t every day you receive an email sent from the top of a sand dune in Jordan and written by an internationally renowned orthopaedic surgeon who has an OBE to his name, which is exactly why I love writing for Land Rover Monthly. The stories and the people can be equally as epic as the cars themselves – and this story is the perfect case in point. You see, when said British orthopaedist James Calder isn’t working with professional athletes at one of his London-based clinics, he enjoys spending time with his Land Rovers (Discovery 4 and Defender 90 Tdi) and travelling. But this latest adventure has to be his most ambitious yet: an 700-mile trek recreating the journey taken by Lawrence of Arabia in 1917 as he raced…

A riveting revelation CLARKE HAND RIVETER CHT878 £28.79 machinemart.co.uk Tested by: Neil Watterson Owned for: Seven years Like most people, my first riveters were the cheap scissor-grip type, which I never really got on with and when they broke I looked for something more substantial and settled on this. This riveter uses a bellows motion and comes with five tool-free-change nozzles for the most commonly used pop rivet sizes. The claws have a fair amount of adjustment so you can set the right amount of pull easily too – and the locking ring keeps it set. Once the rivet has ‘popped’ you simply tilt the tool upwards, open the handles and the stem drops into the collection tank and you’re ready for the next one. It’s so much easier to…

SOME people inherit keepsakes, others inherit memories, but for me, my Grampa’s legacy came in the form of a Land Rover – Jimmy the Defender. As a proud member of the Northeast Rover Owners Club (NERO), my Grandpa’s passion for these vehicles ran deep. When I embarked on the journey of owning a Land Rover in his memory, I had no idea of the twists and turns that lay ahead, nor the incredible support that would pour in from across the world in a time of adversity. My Grampa wasn’t just a Land Rover enthusiast; he lived and breathed these vehicles. As a member of NERO, he was part of a close-knit community that thrived on adventure and the unwavering belief that Land Rovers could take you anywhere. Which they…

EARLY Discoverys are now fast becoming desirable classics. In this feature we’ll look into all aspects of what makes up an early Discovery, and the work involved during the restoration process. We’ll mainly focus on the bodyshell which, being so susceptible to rust, is the weak spot of the Discovery 1. Buyer beware I find the word ‘restoration’ is widely used these days, and not what I would always associate with some restored cars. I see so much online where people pick up an old vehicle, do some work, not necessarily well, and then, all of a sudden, it’s up for sale as a restored car. Due to its popularity, people automatically assume it’s all been done correctly and, sadly, this is often not the case. There are, of course,…

WITH Land Rovers there is always something that needs fettling, and that is no different for L3, my 2005 Discovery 3. Although mechanically sound, she is now starting to show her age cosmetically. For many, these small details aren’t much of a problem; it is, after all, a 20-year-old vehicle. For those who are bothered by the cosmetics, the usual route is to replace the affected item with a new or secondhand part. But what if you didn’t have to? In this article I’ll be tackling some of L3’s battle scars to show you that new isn’t always better. NEED TO KNOW TIME: 1.5 hours. COST: See below. DIFFICULTY: MODELS: All models with leather interiors. TOOLS NEEDED: Torx 27 bit to remove the armrest. As a minimum you’ll require leather…

How long have you owned it? I’ve had it since August 2024. What made you want to buy this particular Land Rover? I wanted a new Defender project but something a little bit different. After doing some research I read a few interesting stories about the early coilers or Stage II 110s and how they were cobbled together with what parts were available on the production line – you basically got a coil-sprung ‘Series IV’ and as I love Series vehicles but I’m not a fan of leaf springs, that was a win-win for me. So, I hunted around for one and found they aren’t nearly as plentiful as I first thought. By chance I came across this one on Facebook Marketplace, it ticked all the boxes and it was…

A few years ago, I had an unusually smart, rust-free Discovery 200Tdi in for a minor service. The owner mentioned to me that the steering seemed to vibrate a bit at speed, so before starting work I decided to take the vehicle for a quick test drive to see if I could feel the problem for myself. ‘Unable to reproduce fault in workshop’ is a particular irritation of mine: a vehicle comes in with a reported problem, I carry out intensive investigations and the vehicle behaves perfectly the whole time it is here. I send it back out and an hour later I get the dreaded phone call: “It’s done it again…” In this case the vehicle initially behaved perfectly up to around 60mph, which is as fast as I…

UNLESS you’ve been living under a rock for the last 12 years, chances are you’ve heard of Car S.O.S. From small beginnings, the programme quickly took off and became a household name, satiating petrolheads’ thirst for proper car TV and introducing millions to the world of classic and performance cars for the first time. Presented by expert restorer Fuzz Townshend and master ‘fixer’ and procurer of discount parts, Tim Shaw, the show has a really energetic and fun feel and – as we’ll find out today – the pressure of the deadline is very real. For those not au fait, Car S.O.S’s concept is simple but brilliant. A friend or family member gets in touch with the show and nominates a deserving individual who has a car in need of…

IT would be fair to say that motoring journalists in the UK were pretty underwhelmed when the Discovery Mpi was launched in June 1993. In case you are wondering, its title reflected its multi-point fuel injection system. Roger Bell, writing in The Independent on 20 August that year, did not pull his punches. ‘Land Rover’s latest Discovery is a bit of a poseur,’ he wrote. ‘A wimp in knight’s armour. In identifying a market need for a 4x4 that rarely strays from the urban jungle, Land Rover, the world’s only dedicated manufacturer of 4x4s has come up with the Mpi. ‘The underpinnings for serious mud-plugging remain in place on the Mpi: the permanent four-wheel drive, the huge suspension articulation, the high ground clearance. All that is lacking is the serious…

ATTENTION all Land Rover enthusiasts: the event of the year is fast approaching. We’re hosting various autojumble events throughout 2025, but LRM Live is the only show that deserves to be called the ‘Big Weekender’. It’s now in its third year, and we’re getting everything ready for May 17-18 at Malvern’s Three Counties Showground, which has to be one of the most scenic venues in England. Whether you’re a diehard aficionado or a newcomer to the marque, this is the Land Rover event you won’t want to miss. It’s a proper celebration of everything relating to the Green Oval – a social event for like-minded folks, a place to splurge a bit of cash on your pride and joy. We keep ticket prices sensible too. WHAT TO EXPECT This is…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH FOUR-wheel drive has been around almost as long as the car itself and 4WD trucks saw use in the First World War. But it was in the Second World War that we find the template for all modern 4x4s – the Willys Jeep. Its simple part-time 4WD system was copied by Land Rover and just about every other manufacturer around the world – and is still used today in Japanese pick-ups. An apology to Land Rover historians, but we’ll ignore the early Series I’s short-lived free-wheel system here, as it was unsuccessful and will muddy the waters. Simple physics means if the engine drives all four wheels instead of just two, then traction is doubled. Series Land Rovers have three gearlevers: one for the main four-speed gearbox,…

I’VE written about ‘That Noise’ before. That Noise is the sound we all know about, fear and constantly listen out for. Well, early December last year, I started the car, and knew That Noise as soon as I heard it. I’m talking about my everyday car, not one of my Land Rovers. For the last decade I’ve had a BMW 520 Touring as a work car. It should really have been an L322 but, despite Ed Evans’ hopes, I just wasn’t brave enough. So I went for the BMW, and it has been – sorry, had been – superb. Passing 100,000 miles as Covid’s lockdown fell, I quizzed the local independent specialist about the health of the car, and if it was time to let it go. Pointing to the…

April 26 SPRING OPEN DAY The Dunsfold Collection, Dunsfold, dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/product/openday260425/ April 27 BICESTER SCRAMBLE Bicester Heritage, Bicester bicesterheritage.co.uk/events May 2-5 LAND ROVER GLOBAL GATHERING Market Harborough Showground, Market Harborough, Leicestershire lrgg.co.uk/ HARRIS ISLAND TRIP Horgabost Campsite, West Harris, Outer Hebrides slroc.co.uk/events/ May 3-4 GAYDON LAND ROVER SHOW British Motor Museum, Warwickshire britishmotormuseum.co.uk/whats-on/gaydon-land-rover-show May 3 RTV, TYRO & BIKE TRIAL Baden Hall, Eccleshall, Staffordshire saslrc.co.uk/2025-calendar-of-events/ May 4 PISTONS & PRETZELS UK Bicester Heritage, Bicester konzepthaus-consulting.com/insights/events/pistons-pretzels-uk-0 May 5 COMP SAFARI Baden Hall, Eccleshall, Staffordshire saslrc.co.uk/2025-calendar-of-events/ May 5-14 4x4 ADVENTURE TOURS: PORTUGAL Portugal: varied off-road locations 4x4adventuretours.co.uk/tours/portugal-offroading-tour-may-2024 May 10-11 YORKSHIRE DALES OFF-ROADING WEEKEND offthebeatentrack4x4.co.uk/event-dates May 15 TEA ON THE TAILGATE Horse & Groom Village Inn, Upper Oddington, Stow-on-the-Wold teaonthetailgate.co.uk/event May 17-18 LAND ROVER MONTHLY LIVE Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire landrovermonthly.co.uk/events/land-rover-4x4-and-vintage-autojumbles-2025-dates-for-your-diary/ May 18…

When an old Land Rover Defender supplied new for the use of King Charles III on 15 November 2010, went up for auction and estimated to sell for between £42,000 and £50,000, it seemed like a ‘bargain’, given it had the trusty 2.4-litre diesel four-pot which was barely run-in at 25,595 miles. And the fact it was driven by the King, obviously. The Keswick Green paint and grey interior looked in perfect condition as one would expect from such a fastidious owner, and it came with heated front seats and heated front and rear screens. Sadly the number plate, 72 HRH was not included in the sale, but according the auction house could be available to the Land Rover’s new keeper by separate negotiation. When it went under the hammer…

IN the last couple of months, three Land Rover specialists based in Sydney have closed for business; two of them went into liquidation whilst the third seemingly vanished (together with the customer vehicles and their money). My advice, do please exercise caution when engaging with a company to work on your vehicle and always bear in mind that what you see on a company’s carefully curated website and social media pages is not necessarily an accurate depiction of what really goes on. One of the companies that went into liquidation had incredibly well-polished content on its Instagram accounts and scores of positive comments. I was always sceptical having had the dubious pleasure of working on two of its builds when it made its way to Brisbane with new owners. To…

YET again a customer managed to bypass my “I don’t work on post-1997 vehicles” defences and I found myself with a 2005 Defender in the workshop. This one started out with my agreeing to do a couple of small, easy jobs: in doing so I identified some rather more major issues and was stupid enough to draw them to the owner’s attention, the upshot of which was that I ended up with a vehicle in for new gearbox, transfer box, clutch, dual-mass flywheel and front steering swivels rebuild. The job itself was mostly straightforward although time-consuming. I roped in two friends to help me with the heavy lifting. Not having a four-post lift I usually split the gearbox and transfer box in the vehicle and take them out separately using…

PEEKING between the large wooden doors that front the industrial unit in the corner of Oundle Marina, a mooring facility located on the scenic banks of the River Nene, we spy the boxy silhouettes of a legion of Land Rovers. In varying states of repair and restoration, the assembled automobiles are packed tight into the dimly lit space with barely enough room to swing a spanner. Ranging from a black 2016 Defender 90 with a bonkers GM 5.3-litre V8 swap to a much more sedate 1966 Series IIA soft top, there’s over half a century of Land Rover heritage on display. Moving further inside we’re greeted by a fresh-faced smile topped with a mop of curly brown hair that pops out from underneath the raised bonnet of the V8 bruiser.…

“YOU have arrived,” my sat nav announces. I look around and cannot see any building resembling a transmission remanufacturer. A quick Google whilst I'm parked up at the side of the road reveals that it’s just around the corner. Technology, eh? As one of the office team greets me in reception, using a radio to call for Dave, I can smell the unmistakable whiff of EP90 gear oil. It’s like nothing else. As I sit down in reception for a couple of minutes, I look at the new LT230 transfer box on display. Dave greets me, and although it’s been close to a decade that we last met, it doesn’t feel that long. We both grab a coffee and head up to the conference room for a chat about today.…

The big global news at the time of going to print is about the tariffs the US has imposed on imported goods. We’re yet to see how that will really affect our day-to-day lives, but it will definitely affect the prices of Land Rovers shipped to that country. Will it put off potential buyers? I’m not sure. Since production of the classic Defender ended – with many of the final versions being top-end models – Land Rover has been an entirely premium brand. The company isn’t fighting for sales at the bottom end of the market, and buyers – certainly in the US – are prepared to pay a premium to be an owner. Plus, an increase in the price of new models will almost certainly inflate the value of…

IN ASSOCIATION WITH A new year dawned in the workshop, accompanied by the distraction of following the 2025 Dakar Classic event in January, while we collected and installed the freshly painted doors on Purdey ready for her UK trip. With the front wings waiting in Suffolk, we also fitted the bonnet and slam panel, installed the polycarb window in the rear door and wrapped the front doors with cling film in place of the window glass. With all open pipes and fittings in the engine bay protected for the journey, we set off for England with Lulu, our Discovery 2, stepping up once again to tow Purdey. Having battled freezing fog in France on the way to the port and the dubious joys of the M25 once we got to…

WITH the arrival of spring, the Defender emerges from hibernation, like so many of our birds, bees and hedgehogs. Except unlike those animals, the Defender has spent way more than a winter in a state of dormancy. ‘Out of sight and out of mind’ is a phrase that comes to mind when I think about my little red 90; it has been in storage for more years than I will own up to. At least it was in good company with some other Landies. The original plan was to keep it off the road for a year at the most, while I decided what to do with it. The bodywork needed a bit of TLC, but mechanically it was in good working order. That’s not how things quite worked out,…

I got cheeky recently and took our 2000 year Freelander 1 to a Scottish classic car show. Well, it’s 25 years old, which was once the criteria for vintage status, never mind classic. So I parked it up among the real classics, tongue-in-cheek confident that being a pre-facelift model with the original Rover L-series diesel engine it was, if not special, at least a tad unusual. No one looked at it… To be fair, at a general classic car show few people know that a pre-facelift Freelander 1 is getting rare, nor that a Rover diesel engine that still works is unusual. Perhaps there are just too many later Freelander 1s still on the road; they’re too common and still too modern-looking but, ironically, the fact that so many remain…

Afailed or blown head gasket in a 300Tdi engine can become evident as overheating, loss of coolant, white exhaust smoke, loss of engine power or possibly milky engine oil or contaminated coolant. Another symptom could be bubbling in the radiator or coolant header tank – a sign of combustion gases leaking into the cooling system. A slightly sweet smell from the exhaust tailpipe could also be a sign of coolant leaking to where it shouldn’t be. There are multiple symptoms which might indicate a new head gasket is needed. The engine in this job was largely unknown, with no service history. It was in a Defender that was being rebuilt after being parked in storage for a long time. Consequently, to gain some peace of mind and reliability, remedial or…

TYRE TALK I recently took my classic Range Rover to a tyre fitting garage to ask about some damage caused by hitting the end of a kerb at about 20mph. The kerb took a scallop out of the raised part of the sidewall next to the wheel rim. The rim is only scraped and is intact. You can’t see any internal cords showing on the tyre and the garage said it is still alright to use the tyre. I’d be interested to know if you agree. But the real thing I’d like advice on is the age of the tyre. The garage said all the tyres are illegal because they’re more than ten-years old. So far as I can see, they appear perfectly serviceable with good treads and no surface…