min200
Active Member
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Main
Posted by min200 Wed, December 31, 2014 19:58:29
Happy New Year to everyone!
I hope that whatever you are doing tonight brings you a bit of joy and may 2015 give you what you deserve
Enjoy the night and may your hangover be short...I'm straight back to work in the morning so a dry night for me
Main
Posted by min200 Wed, December 31, 2014 19:58:29
Happy New Year to everyone!
I hope that whatever you are doing tonight brings you a bit of joy and may 2015 give you what you deserve
Enjoy the night and may your hangover be short...I'm straight back to work in the morning so a dry night for me
Aveling11956
Member
Just read this thread from the start and all I can say is well done you have done an amazing job!
min200
Active Member
Thanks for that I'm glad you are enjoying the read
I'm really chuffed with it and cannot wait to get it on the road now then more tales from it will be told I'm sure
www.justturned40.co.uk
min200
Active Member
Frozen
Main
Posted by min200 Thu, January 01, 2015 18:55:40
No not the bloody film that even though my kids have now grown up they and Wifey love for some reason and seem to be happy to sing the same songs over and over and over again. No by the title "Frozen" I refer to my poor bugger of a project that sat on the driveway not getting any sunshine doing it's best impersonation of an ice cube since Boxing Day.
Seeing as my work so generously let us leave work today once all of the little work we had to do was done on this the first day of 2015 I thought I best see if the old motor would start up or whether the batteries might need a charge.
I kid you not it started on the first turn of the key. I have had modern motors that never ever started on the first turn the whole time I owned them! This got me to thinking....this project of mine was "Demobbed" in 1998 and basically sat around from that point until I bought it early 2014...that for the rubbish at math to save you taking your socks off to count your toes is 16 years.
16 years of Spring Summer Autumn and most importantly Winters. I seem to recall a couple of years ago we had "The worst winter ever" where we were all snowed in and chilly for a couple of months and this old motor just sat through it with no one paying it any mind let alone attention or care. So it has frozen and thawed then been cooked and soaked without turning a wheel or a cog for year upon year then when I get it it gives a shrug and fires up like it was serviced regularly the whole time.
Don't suppose I should worry about a nippy week with it then seeing as it is a brilliant bit of engineering and by all accounts far tougher than I will ever be!
www.justturned40.co.uk
Main
Posted by min200 Thu, January 01, 2015 18:55:40
No not the bloody film that even though my kids have now grown up they and Wifey love for some reason and seem to be happy to sing the same songs over and over and over again. No by the title "Frozen" I refer to my poor bugger of a project that sat on the driveway not getting any sunshine doing it's best impersonation of an ice cube since Boxing Day.
Seeing as my work so generously let us leave work today once all of the little work we had to do was done on this the first day of 2015 I thought I best see if the old motor would start up or whether the batteries might need a charge.
I kid you not it started on the first turn of the key. I have had modern motors that never ever started on the first turn the whole time I owned them! This got me to thinking....this project of mine was "Demobbed" in 1998 and basically sat around from that point until I bought it early 2014...that for the rubbish at math to save you taking your socks off to count your toes is 16 years.
16 years of Spring Summer Autumn and most importantly Winters. I seem to recall a couple of years ago we had "The worst winter ever" where we were all snowed in and chilly for a couple of months and this old motor just sat through it with no one paying it any mind let alone attention or care. So it has frozen and thawed then been cooked and soaked without turning a wheel or a cog for year upon year then when I get it it gives a shrug and fires up like it was serviced regularly the whole time.
Don't suppose I should worry about a nippy week with it then seeing as it is a brilliant bit of engineering and by all accounts far tougher than I will ever be!
www.justturned40.co.uk
min200
Active Member
Taps & Tights
Main
Posted by min200 Sat, January 03, 2015 19:08:11
I got conned like a novice today. I mean I have been with Wifey for 15 years and around the block a fair few times before that so to fall for something as simple as "I just need to pop into here to buy a dress" I deserve everything I got.
See this picture here chaps.....
These are the gates to Hell itself. If you look closely there is a red sign in the middle of the windows proclaiming what torture you are in for if you dare to enter but did I notice this before losing my soul this morning? I am sorry to say chaps I did not I fell for it hook line and sinker. "A dress" I fear not my friends it was not just a dress...it was many dresses in fact it was more dresses than I have ever seen collected into one place just to increase the torture for the men who unsuspectingly walk in with their women. Oh I haven't finished on the torture front yet I was repeatedly asked by Wifey if I liked this dress or that dress and why was I looking so fed up didn't I like her in any of the dresses what was I trying to say what was the matter with me shouldn't she look nice for me?
Sweet Jesus there is no other no win situation like watching your woman drive herself into a frenzy over clothes like a demented nutjob then have all of that pent up what I think is excitement aimed at you! I dutifully sat outside the changing rooms making the right noises after having being paraded an unknown number of outfits when I figured a way out...
Say you have a "windy" stomach and need to go outside for "a walk" to let nature take it's smelly course. It worked! Then the cherry on the cake was the discovery of a huge motorbike shop around the corner!
I managed to kill an hour looking at gear I need to replace this year and sorting a few prices out on my head. When I headed back toward the gates of hall I decided a phone call would be better than actually walking through them voluntarily again then twenty minutes later I was happily driving away with Wifey stored on board along with several new frocks...I believe they were the first three she had looked at as soon as we arrived but hey what do I know?
My prize when I got home was on hours peace to play on the Landy while she tried all the clothes on again but hey I was happy to escape for a while. There was only really one big outstanding job left and that was to sort out the battery brackets.
I bought two pairs of universal battery arms and clamps a while back now but when they arrived I realised I had made a cock up size wise and these ere way too long with the thread finishing about 2 inches short of where they were needed to actually hold the batteries in place! A friend at work had a tap & die set I could borrow so I set to sorting these extra long bars out.
First I cut them to the right size and set to starting off the right thread size...
I found it best to wind forward and back until the thread was about 10mm long then it was a straight cut down to where I needed the thread to end...
This was my first go at this and I was surprised how easy it went four times over beginners luck maybe? All the wing nuts fitted fine as well so I will be securing the batteries in the morning and with that chore done the old Landy will be ready to be sent off to for MOT at the end of the month by witch time the Tax Man should have told me all is ok import wise, as in it has never been exported or imported so I owe no money, and then the docs can go off to the DVLA which can be another kettle of fish!
Still first things first lets get the MOT sorted which I would love to do next Friday as I am off work but I dont want to insure it yet because you only get 30 days to then get it registered properly or it costs a fistful more cash. That is of course unless anyone is kicking about with trade plates or a big trailer and has nothing better to do then otherwise patience will have to prevail and the use of the very kind offer of transport I have at months end that will save me lots of money will do quite nicely
justturned40.co.uk
Main
Posted by min200 Sat, January 03, 2015 19:08:11
I got conned like a novice today. I mean I have been with Wifey for 15 years and around the block a fair few times before that so to fall for something as simple as "I just need to pop into here to buy a dress" I deserve everything I got.
See this picture here chaps.....
These are the gates to Hell itself. If you look closely there is a red sign in the middle of the windows proclaiming what torture you are in for if you dare to enter but did I notice this before losing my soul this morning? I am sorry to say chaps I did not I fell for it hook line and sinker. "A dress" I fear not my friends it was not just a dress...it was many dresses in fact it was more dresses than I have ever seen collected into one place just to increase the torture for the men who unsuspectingly walk in with their women. Oh I haven't finished on the torture front yet I was repeatedly asked by Wifey if I liked this dress or that dress and why was I looking so fed up didn't I like her in any of the dresses what was I trying to say what was the matter with me shouldn't she look nice for me?
Sweet Jesus there is no other no win situation like watching your woman drive herself into a frenzy over clothes like a demented nutjob then have all of that pent up what I think is excitement aimed at you! I dutifully sat outside the changing rooms making the right noises after having being paraded an unknown number of outfits when I figured a way out...
Say you have a "windy" stomach and need to go outside for "a walk" to let nature take it's smelly course. It worked! Then the cherry on the cake was the discovery of a huge motorbike shop around the corner!
I managed to kill an hour looking at gear I need to replace this year and sorting a few prices out on my head. When I headed back toward the gates of hall I decided a phone call would be better than actually walking through them voluntarily again then twenty minutes later I was happily driving away with Wifey stored on board along with several new frocks...I believe they were the first three she had looked at as soon as we arrived but hey what do I know?
My prize when I got home was on hours peace to play on the Landy while she tried all the clothes on again but hey I was happy to escape for a while. There was only really one big outstanding job left and that was to sort out the battery brackets.
I bought two pairs of universal battery arms and clamps a while back now but when they arrived I realised I had made a cock up size wise and these ere way too long with the thread finishing about 2 inches short of where they were needed to actually hold the batteries in place! A friend at work had a tap & die set I could borrow so I set to sorting these extra long bars out.
First I cut them to the right size and set to starting off the right thread size...
I found it best to wind forward and back until the thread was about 10mm long then it was a straight cut down to where I needed the thread to end...
This was my first go at this and I was surprised how easy it went four times over beginners luck maybe? All the wing nuts fitted fine as well so I will be securing the batteries in the morning and with that chore done the old Landy will be ready to be sent off to for MOT at the end of the month by witch time the Tax Man should have told me all is ok import wise, as in it has never been exported or imported so I owe no money, and then the docs can go off to the DVLA which can be another kettle of fish!
Still first things first lets get the MOT sorted which I would love to do next Friday as I am off work but I dont want to insure it yet because you only get 30 days to then get it registered properly or it costs a fistful more cash. That is of course unless anyone is kicking about with trade plates or a big trailer and has nothing better to do then otherwise patience will have to prevail and the use of the very kind offer of transport I have at months end that will save me lots of money will do quite nicely
justturned40.co.uk
min200
Active Member
It's Ready...
Main
Posted by min200 Sun, January 04, 2015 16:50:02
Um I can't quite believe I am about to say this after 8 months or so of hard work but I think the Land Rover is ready for its MOT.
Remember when it looked like this...
Doesn't seem very long ago and in the grand scheme of things I suppose it is not and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself on the rebuild so much in fact I think another one will have to be done at some point but I best not get ahead of myself just yet seeing as I still need that all important MOT and registration plates. I have just surprised myself that I managed to do it all without killing myself or at the very least losing a limb or two. I suppose I have missed something and they will point it out and laugh at me while printing off the MOT failure sheet but I think I have covered all the bases.
The last few bits of pottering around on it today have been fun and had a kind of a feeling of finality about them as they were the odd's and sods I had either put off or forgot about repeatedly. I started by rebolting (is that a word?) the oil cooler exchange back onto the inner wing...
And then I bolted the Artic heater feeder pipe back into place below the oil cooler...
With those done I pumped up all of the tyres to the correct pressures and set to cleaning the dash and cab out it was nice to see the plastics all shiny and black again! I used good old WD40 to bring back the shine....
Then it was the turn of all the junk out of the back along with a sweep and it came up quite nicely...
I bolted the batteries into place with the newly threaded bars I did yesterday and then wondered what else I had to do. I remembered a mechanic friend had told me I needed to move the ladder on the back to the offside so it didn't block the view of the numberplate when it is fitted but quite frankly after grinding off old bolts and fitting the ladder into place with new ones it seems to be more of a pain seeing the lights now on the offside but hell I will just let the MOT chap tell me when I am there and remove it if I need to...
By now I was really scratching about wondering if I had missed anything else and I decided to fit the new CB into place that I got for Christmas. The Ariel wiring has been run along the old radio wiring route using existing clamps to hold it into place which saved a lot of buggering about! Seeing as the mounting holes were on the wings for the old radio kit I decided to use one of those on the nearside wing to mount the new black ariel into place...
I think it looks quite good there just like it belongs. But where to mount the CB radio itself? I held it in place on the top of the dash but didn't like it there. Under teh dash then that would look ok wouldn't it? Nope didn't like it there either. Was I being too picky at this point? I don't know but every spot in the front of the cab just felt wrong. I turned around to look out of the back door when an idea I liked hit me.
It's my Landy right so I thought yea that could be just the spot lets go all Smoky and the Bandit with it. I mounted the radio between the seats...
Then I mounted the mike above my head on the tubing that houses the heater pipes up high so I can just reach up and "Ten Four good buddy!"...
I still need to fit a 24v-12v dropper before I wire it into the electrics but that can be done once the MOT is sorted best save all my pennies until then in case I have missed something.
So that's it until I get it in and that depends on what the tax an says but I will call a couple of insurance companies tomorrow to see what can be sorted if I exceed there 30 day limit on taking the policy out to getting the registration plates from the DVLA.
Main
Posted by min200 Sun, January 04, 2015 16:50:02
Um I can't quite believe I am about to say this after 8 months or so of hard work but I think the Land Rover is ready for its MOT.
Remember when it looked like this...
Doesn't seem very long ago and in the grand scheme of things I suppose it is not and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself on the rebuild so much in fact I think another one will have to be done at some point but I best not get ahead of myself just yet seeing as I still need that all important MOT and registration plates. I have just surprised myself that I managed to do it all without killing myself or at the very least losing a limb or two. I suppose I have missed something and they will point it out and laugh at me while printing off the MOT failure sheet but I think I have covered all the bases.
The last few bits of pottering around on it today have been fun and had a kind of a feeling of finality about them as they were the odd's and sods I had either put off or forgot about repeatedly. I started by rebolting (is that a word?) the oil cooler exchange back onto the inner wing...
And then I bolted the Artic heater feeder pipe back into place below the oil cooler...
With those done I pumped up all of the tyres to the correct pressures and set to cleaning the dash and cab out it was nice to see the plastics all shiny and black again! I used good old WD40 to bring back the shine....
Then it was the turn of all the junk out of the back along with a sweep and it came up quite nicely...
I bolted the batteries into place with the newly threaded bars I did yesterday and then wondered what else I had to do. I remembered a mechanic friend had told me I needed to move the ladder on the back to the offside so it didn't block the view of the numberplate when it is fitted but quite frankly after grinding off old bolts and fitting the ladder into place with new ones it seems to be more of a pain seeing the lights now on the offside but hell I will just let the MOT chap tell me when I am there and remove it if I need to...
By now I was really scratching about wondering if I had missed anything else and I decided to fit the new CB into place that I got for Christmas. The Ariel wiring has been run along the old radio wiring route using existing clamps to hold it into place which saved a lot of buggering about! Seeing as the mounting holes were on the wings for the old radio kit I decided to use one of those on the nearside wing to mount the new black ariel into place...
I think it looks quite good there just like it belongs. But where to mount the CB radio itself? I held it in place on the top of the dash but didn't like it there. Under teh dash then that would look ok wouldn't it? Nope didn't like it there either. Was I being too picky at this point? I don't know but every spot in the front of the cab just felt wrong. I turned around to look out of the back door when an idea I liked hit me.
It's my Landy right so I thought yea that could be just the spot lets go all Smoky and the Bandit with it. I mounted the radio between the seats...
Then I mounted the mike above my head on the tubing that houses the heater pipes up high so I can just reach up and "Ten Four good buddy!"...
I still need to fit a 24v-12v dropper before I wire it into the electrics but that can be done once the MOT is sorted best save all my pennies until then in case I have missed something.
So that's it until I get it in and that depends on what the tax an says but I will call a couple of insurance companies tomorrow to see what can be sorted if I exceed there 30 day limit on taking the policy out to getting the registration plates from the DVLA.
min200
Active Member
Booked in...
Main
Posted by min200 Wed, January 07, 2015 22:25:18
There's no stopping me now I have realised that I think the Landy is ready for it's first bash at a ticket. The insurance has been bought with a 60 day leave of absence to get the registration sorted and the MOT is booked for this Friday at 10am.
I have to be honest I must have missed something here there WILL be something it fails on if not several some things so I am treating Friday as a "Oi knobhead don't you think you should fix this first before it goes on the road?" sort of appointment that will give me a list of niggly bits to sort out by next weekend when I will take it back for a retest should it fail.
So why do I feel a little bit nervous then? Why are there butterflies in my stomach when I think about driving it to the test centre and waiting while some other bloke has a poke around with my project? Am I jealous that another man is going to get intimate with it and am I just excited to be driving it finally or terrified that it wont make the 2 mile drive each way? I have even sorted out a recovery plan in case it goes wrong in the form of a mate with another 4x4 and a rope to get me home so there every eventuality has been covered really so this should in theory make me more settled but it doesn't.
9 months hard work is in the firing line here and I think the biggest issue is I don't want someone else telling me it's crap even though I know it isnt! So time to suck it up take it in and see what happens the report will be online by Friday evening but it may be a little tear stained...
Here's secretly hoping!
Main
Posted by min200 Wed, January 07, 2015 22:25:18
There's no stopping me now I have realised that I think the Landy is ready for it's first bash at a ticket. The insurance has been bought with a 60 day leave of absence to get the registration sorted and the MOT is booked for this Friday at 10am.
I have to be honest I must have missed something here there WILL be something it fails on if not several some things so I am treating Friday as a "Oi knobhead don't you think you should fix this first before it goes on the road?" sort of appointment that will give me a list of niggly bits to sort out by next weekend when I will take it back for a retest should it fail.
So why do I feel a little bit nervous then? Why are there butterflies in my stomach when I think about driving it to the test centre and waiting while some other bloke has a poke around with my project? Am I jealous that another man is going to get intimate with it and am I just excited to be driving it finally or terrified that it wont make the 2 mile drive each way? I have even sorted out a recovery plan in case it goes wrong in the form of a mate with another 4x4 and a rope to get me home so there every eventuality has been covered really so this should in theory make me more settled but it doesn't.
9 months hard work is in the firing line here and I think the biggest issue is I don't want someone else telling me it's crap even though I know it isnt! So time to suck it up take it in and see what happens the report will be online by Friday evening but it may be a little tear stained...
Here's secretly hoping!
min200
Active Member
LOL ok then...
Well it went for MOT...
Main
Posted by min200 Fri, January 09, 2015 16:07:51
Why do I worry myself sick over things I cannot control with motors? I don't do it with motorbikes if they break I fix them and go on again then the ludicrous thing is if a car breaks I fix and drive away again but for some strange reason cars worry me. They worry me in the way that I think they are always "about to" break and after thousands of faultless miles they eventually do and I think to myself "see there it's broken it's let me down!" without thinking about all the trouble free motoring it's done.
So with that in mind can you imagine what I was like this morning before setting off in the Landy? I have NEVER driven it further than six feet forwards or backwards in a straight line so I was worrying about whether the steering would fall off when I went around a corner? (I know stupid right) would the engine run ok under load? (even though I have revved the nuts off of it on a regular basis on the driveway) would the gearbox collapse? (why would it?) are the propshafts straight? Oh my God is the tracking ok enough or will it pull me up the neighbours driveway as soon as I leave? (I am working myself up into a frenzy now) it was at this point my body said to my head "time out now you are going to stop pacing and sit down for a bit".
I didn't faint or pass out but as I sat on the toilet in a smell that quite frankly made me feel sick even though it was my own I attempted to take some deep breathes quickly put that down to a bad idea due to the stench and got my mind back under control.
Test time had arrived so with a new found stoicism I jumped into the drivers seat prayed it would start which of course it did and set to taking the project for it's first proper drive in 16 years. It drove as it should in a nice straight line with soup bowl gear changes rattling away nicely and being generally very very loud. After the first two corners and a roundabout I had forearms like Popeye (if you don't know who Popeye is Google it then be thankful you are still very young) the brakes needed a second pump to grip really well as they settled in and the temp gauge sat at normal. Two miles and a stomach churning 5 minute drive later we arrived at the test centre to the owners remark of "I thought you had rebuilt mate" Funny bugger...
I should point out at this point if you are registering a motor after it's MOT like me take all the paperwork you have to the testing station with you because it makes these guys a lot easier when entering the details. The most essential info was the proof of date of build letter I had that info was like gold when setting up the test itself.
Time to go into grown up bloke mode and not show the panic in my eyes as they took it inside the doors. I stood pacing up and down like an expectant Father in fact I don't recall being that worried when the kids were being born but I suppose I was really doing the work then eh I had already done my bit! It was now over a pit....
They left the engine running longer than it has ever run before and much to my surprise it didn't dump it's coolant everywhere at any point! They were extremely thorough though in fact I thought they were far more thorough than I had ever been on my driveway during the rebuild but that was just doubt talking.
These guys were knowledgeable as well they knew that it was not a "handbrake" but a transmission brake and to test them off they set with the tester thing (forgot to ask what it was called so forgive me but I was far too busy worrying to remember everything!) you put in the passenger floor well when driving to make sure the brakes are good enough. Off they went with MY Landy for a spin and were gone for hours and hours...ok they were gone less than five minutes but by the time they returned I had developed a pair of new stomach ulcers and they had very straight faces.
They got out and walked over to that little room that all MOT stations have and disappeared inside. One walked out empty handed followed quite some time later by the other who had a bit of white paper in hos hand. I liked the old MOT's because you could see the different colour and knew you had passed but these bloody new ones are white the same as the fail sheet so I stood there trying to look cool calm and unconcerned of the outcome from this hour and five minute grilling of a test they had put my project and I through when the chap burst into a big grin and told me IT HAD ONLY BLOODY PASSED!!!
The relief was overwhelming along with the beaming grin I now donned like a kid after he just got the best present ever! There were three advisories and he run me through these and even pointed out where on the Landy they were and what best to do with them which not many places take the time to do these days and it was much appreciated. So at this point I am going to say thanks to the guys at Nottingham Car Care Ltd and say to anyone who has a classic these guys are well worth a visit because they are a rare breed of folk who understand how they work...
The Advisories? Ok then they were as follows:-
1. Offside lower leaf spring bush has slight wear.
2. Evidence of offside front tyre fouling.
3. Slight fluid weep from offside swivel joint.
Nothing there too bad considering the rebuild that has been done so far and these bits can be sorted while I await a registration number.
It was a much more enjoyable drive home as I took a bit more notice of the Landy and got to know it a bit noting the bangs groans and clanks he made as he drove on. It was pointed out to me the Landy is running very lean so I need to sort that as it did feel a little underpowered even for a heavy old lump.
Soon enough we were back on the driveway and with some reluctance I switched off the engine because I know it will be at least a few weeks before I get to drive it again but now I have all of the paperwork needed for the DVLA well apart from the tax man but DVLA who I spoke to today told me to send it all in now anyway because as I have said before in an earlier post they might not check for import duty and even if they do it's with the Tax man directly so a crossover should happen in paperwork. Hell who am I to argue I will send them the forms and see what happens!
So the worst is done. I bought an old wreck and now I have my first Land Rover complete with an MOT. It is elating to look at it and think "I did that" There are a few more bits to do but those bits are now at my leisure and more in the way to personalise and make it mine. There will be more updates this is not the end and I am already considering the next project in the back of my mind but without further ado folks I would like to introduce you all to "Mator" my Land Rover...
www.justturned40.co.uk
Well it went for MOT...
Main
Posted by min200 Fri, January 09, 2015 16:07:51
Why do I worry myself sick over things I cannot control with motors? I don't do it with motorbikes if they break I fix them and go on again then the ludicrous thing is if a car breaks I fix and drive away again but for some strange reason cars worry me. They worry me in the way that I think they are always "about to" break and after thousands of faultless miles they eventually do and I think to myself "see there it's broken it's let me down!" without thinking about all the trouble free motoring it's done.
So with that in mind can you imagine what I was like this morning before setting off in the Landy? I have NEVER driven it further than six feet forwards or backwards in a straight line so I was worrying about whether the steering would fall off when I went around a corner? (I know stupid right) would the engine run ok under load? (even though I have revved the nuts off of it on a regular basis on the driveway) would the gearbox collapse? (why would it?) are the propshafts straight? Oh my God is the tracking ok enough or will it pull me up the neighbours driveway as soon as I leave? (I am working myself up into a frenzy now) it was at this point my body said to my head "time out now you are going to stop pacing and sit down for a bit".
I didn't faint or pass out but as I sat on the toilet in a smell that quite frankly made me feel sick even though it was my own I attempted to take some deep breathes quickly put that down to a bad idea due to the stench and got my mind back under control.
Test time had arrived so with a new found stoicism I jumped into the drivers seat prayed it would start which of course it did and set to taking the project for it's first proper drive in 16 years. It drove as it should in a nice straight line with soup bowl gear changes rattling away nicely and being generally very very loud. After the first two corners and a roundabout I had forearms like Popeye (if you don't know who Popeye is Google it then be thankful you are still very young) the brakes needed a second pump to grip really well as they settled in and the temp gauge sat at normal. Two miles and a stomach churning 5 minute drive later we arrived at the test centre to the owners remark of "I thought you had rebuilt mate" Funny bugger...
I should point out at this point if you are registering a motor after it's MOT like me take all the paperwork you have to the testing station with you because it makes these guys a lot easier when entering the details. The most essential info was the proof of date of build letter I had that info was like gold when setting up the test itself.
Time to go into grown up bloke mode and not show the panic in my eyes as they took it inside the doors. I stood pacing up and down like an expectant Father in fact I don't recall being that worried when the kids were being born but I suppose I was really doing the work then eh I had already done my bit! It was now over a pit....
They left the engine running longer than it has ever run before and much to my surprise it didn't dump it's coolant everywhere at any point! They were extremely thorough though in fact I thought they were far more thorough than I had ever been on my driveway during the rebuild but that was just doubt talking.
These guys were knowledgeable as well they knew that it was not a "handbrake" but a transmission brake and to test them off they set with the tester thing (forgot to ask what it was called so forgive me but I was far too busy worrying to remember everything!) you put in the passenger floor well when driving to make sure the brakes are good enough. Off they went with MY Landy for a spin and were gone for hours and hours...ok they were gone less than five minutes but by the time they returned I had developed a pair of new stomach ulcers and they had very straight faces.
They got out and walked over to that little room that all MOT stations have and disappeared inside. One walked out empty handed followed quite some time later by the other who had a bit of white paper in hos hand. I liked the old MOT's because you could see the different colour and knew you had passed but these bloody new ones are white the same as the fail sheet so I stood there trying to look cool calm and unconcerned of the outcome from this hour and five minute grilling of a test they had put my project and I through when the chap burst into a big grin and told me IT HAD ONLY BLOODY PASSED!!!
The relief was overwhelming along with the beaming grin I now donned like a kid after he just got the best present ever! There were three advisories and he run me through these and even pointed out where on the Landy they were and what best to do with them which not many places take the time to do these days and it was much appreciated. So at this point I am going to say thanks to the guys at Nottingham Car Care Ltd and say to anyone who has a classic these guys are well worth a visit because they are a rare breed of folk who understand how they work...
The Advisories? Ok then they were as follows:-
1. Offside lower leaf spring bush has slight wear.
2. Evidence of offside front tyre fouling.
3. Slight fluid weep from offside swivel joint.
Nothing there too bad considering the rebuild that has been done so far and these bits can be sorted while I await a registration number.
It was a much more enjoyable drive home as I took a bit more notice of the Landy and got to know it a bit noting the bangs groans and clanks he made as he drove on. It was pointed out to me the Landy is running very lean so I need to sort that as it did feel a little underpowered even for a heavy old lump.
Soon enough we were back on the driveway and with some reluctance I switched off the engine because I know it will be at least a few weeks before I get to drive it again but now I have all of the paperwork needed for the DVLA well apart from the tax man but DVLA who I spoke to today told me to send it all in now anyway because as I have said before in an earlier post they might not check for import duty and even if they do it's with the Tax man directly so a crossover should happen in paperwork. Hell who am I to argue I will send them the forms and see what happens!
So the worst is done. I bought an old wreck and now I have my first Land Rover complete with an MOT. It is elating to look at it and think "I did that" There are a few more bits to do but those bits are now at my leisure and more in the way to personalise and make it mine. There will be more updates this is not the end and I am already considering the next project in the back of my mind but without further ado folks I would like to introduce you all to "Mator" my Land Rover...
www.justturned40.co.uk
