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First Serious Play - Renate

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Renate wrote.....
Off list I said to Dennis that maybe the Salisbury thing might not be a workable idea for me,
1, your cars will be modified far in excess of what mine is, even though I have a snorkel and LRFT,
and 2, I don't do bells and whistles, my 80 has been modified very basically - there is no other beast modified less than mine!
3, self-esteem, riders who may be out there to prove something either to themselves or others.

In a nutshell, I need an idea of peoples abilities, what they have, general mods, whether they have the driver skill necessary etc.etc, I'm not saying that any of them are unskilled, far from it. But I've been on these kinds of things before, and enjoyment was not at the top of some peoples list for the day.
I guess I'm a sceptic and the severist critiq of them all, and certainly the hardest taskmaster for myself, and I guess, a bit of a loner really [rogue?]. Well certainly an Iraqi friend of mine was gobsmacked when I told him I drove alone in Libya, he thought I was kidding, I kidded him not.
So I dunno, I need some more info, and I need that info pretty soon.

Renate, I think I am one of the 'old hands' that Julian refers too (ahem !)
I was on the Plain at Easter with the Pajero boys and my only mod is a sump
guard. The rest of my little Mk1 Pajero is absolutely bog standard. I also
have very much road biased Avon TSE tyres not meant to tackle more than a
sticky grass field. I never got stuck - yes, I felt the old girl floating
at one point - but watched others get firmly stuck despite oversize knobbly
MTR's and bristling with all sorts of gismos. One got airborne on his sump
guard and was towed off the hump, but had the idiot looked where others had
gone and followed, there would have been no problem for him either.
So don't worry. Its about your driving skill and experience, not bolt-ons.
The idiot drivers with all the gismos get stuck first, the experienced ones
maybe later when the going gets very tough. I have too much grey hair and
ageing grandchildren which may indicate experience - apart from my everyday
work in my 80 out here. I try not to be a hero and always appear to get
home on my own !
Cheers
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus in Bosnia - where Ramadan is a blessing, about 4.45
every evening they are all so busy stuffing themselves when the mullah
calls end of the fast, that the supermarkets are just about empty and
shopping is done in a third of the time. Let's have a 12 month Ramadan we say.
 
Renate
My 80 has no "structural" mods at all: it has standard tyres, suspension, etc; and an exhaust hanging low at the back (bodged towhook installation by someone).
And I can't afford to bend it. So if anyone is going to be like a victorian maid worried about getting petticoats dirty it's me!
Christopher Bell
Devon
 
Hi Chris and all,
The main objective of meeting up is to do just that - give us the opportunity to put names to faces and talk ourselves silly about our beloved LCs.
Salisbury plain seemed like a good location because it is relatively central for us Southerners (sorry to you guys up north, will try to sort something out for you guys next time), pretty countryside and also offered the chance of a bit of playing for those that want to.
I am working with Jon Wildsmith and Paul Mills to find suitable meeting points and tracks that we will be able to drive without causing any damage to stock vehicles.
Lets just go and have some fun.
Cheers,
Julian
Home: 01285 821 712
Office: 01285 821 910
Mobile: 07971 540 362
 
Chris
My major worry is those water filled ruts that Jon talked about in an
earlier email.
I'm not a coward, even though some of you might think so, and I do get
into strops about the treatment of vehicles in mud but I will say I'm
just used to dunes, grits, gravels and mountains, and sand-filled narrow
mountain passes, in other words stuff that moves but is dry.
I have reservations about those muddy and water filled ruts - Julian,
Paul, and others might want to elaborate at some point. The other thing
are costly cleaning bills - I don't mind getting the white beast muddy,
not in the least, but I do worry about mud getting into gaps and spaces
and in the diff etc.
European Land Cruiser Owners Mailing List
Further Info: http://www.landcruisers.info/lists/
 
Renate
I wouldn't worry about it - on two counts:
(1) Julian reckons we are not going scuba diving - see his email of last night.
(2) I've accidentally had water over the bonnet (I mistook a flooding river Exe for a puddle) and survived the experience.
And anyway, it's not cowardice, it's common sense if it's your normal vehicle & you can't afford to break it.
Christopher Bell
BTW: Did anyone else watch Jeremy Clarkson driving the new LR Discovery up a mountain on sunday night? I was both impressed and unimpressed. But 2.7 tonnes - ridiculous!
 
Quoting Christopher Bell <[Email address removed]>:
Yeah, the old muppet at his best - explaining things he has no idea about. Did
you notice the peculiar winching technique? If not, wait for re-runs on MTV Dumb
Ass! These guys are apparently the people who marshaled for the G4 Landrover
challenge.
--
Rgds,
Roman
London UK
'92 HDJ80
 
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Hi Roman,
I have to say that I am a bit of a fan - I have met him a couple of times
when reporting on the RAC rally and he was a lot of fun (didn't want to be
there, but was dragged along as part of the BBC team).
He also can't be that bad - he used to own (may still do) a 24valve 80 for
taking the kids to school via a local byway!
On the subject of LRs, there was an article in the Sunday Times Driving
section about a team planning to drive to the North Pole in a couple
Defenders - the article gave the impression that it had never been done
before - guess they have forgotten about the Icelandic 80s that have been to
both the North and South poles.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift, ARB
 
Quoting Julian Voelcker <[Email address removed]>:
Hi Julian,
Maybe he knows about the subject privately, but it doesn't show when he makes
his 4x4 presentations on Top Gear - mostly irrelevant drivel aimed to impress
people who will buy these cars only to impress other people who can't afford to
impress any one with their Fiestas. He won't tell you about articulation,
apprach angle or max tilt - only about cornering at speed or 0-60 acceleration.
I enjoy his his programmes mainly to have a laugh and study his presentation
techniques.
Actually I know of an attempt to drive a couple of LR110's to the N pole, but it
failed miserably at the start (I know the guy who took part in it). Hence it
didn't make big news, and the ST researchers (who like most media people - see
above - are there to impress , not to impart information), could easily overlook
it. If I remember well , they had Ralph Fiennes to lead the party, but the LR
mechanics who kitted out the cars were not up to the same level of expertise.
They loaded all fuel on roofracks, so on soft snow patches the LRs went
flip-flop and they didn't get very far.
I also remember another good one - an attempt to cross the Bearing Straight in a
vehicle, driving all the way on ice. It started with a bang at the World Travel
market 2000 (they had a Humvee at the stand which was to be used as the base
vehicle). Shortly afterwards they dropped the HV, went for a tracked vehile,
then drowned it on the first day, and went home without a bang :- (
--
Rgds,
Roman
London UK
'92 HDJ80
 
Hi Roman,
What do you expect? - 99% of people that buy 4x4, aren't interested
either.
--
Regards,
Julian Voelcker
Mobile: 07971 540362
Cirencester, United Kingdom
1994 HDJ80, 2.5" OME Lift, ARB
 
Hey Renate......
Can you hear me, I am at the back of the klass after teeecher sent me here
rapping my knuckles, telling me not to call meeself 'toy80' even though
everyone knows I am Jon, an all sawts of uvver stuff - I hate skoool.
Good news - when I was last on the Plain in my Pajero, remember I was on
skinnier 15 inch rims and 215 tyres, so remember the 80 stands a lot higher
off the ground and has more clearance with its bigger wheels etc.
Bad news - Toys with beam axles have one achilles heel which you had better
check, but its no problem. For occasional use the Toy axle breather is OK
as long as it is maintained. Look at the back axle and near the pumpkin you
will see a 10mm approx o/d (6mm i/d) rubber tube held onto a spigot with a
hairgrip thingy. This pipe disappears up to a floor cross member where it
is held in a horseshoe clamp. Just above the clamp is a cadmium plated
steel bit also held on with the hairgrip thingy. This is the flap valve
that lets hot air out but not water in. The flap valve gets crud into it
and every service it should be taken-off, washed and freed-up. It doesn't
take long to do. Pop it back on and its all OK as long as the rubber disc
seemed to be held in place by the light pressure spring underneath it.
The same goes for the front beam axles except (on my 80 at least) the valve
is on the chassis somewhere near the front LHS of the HZJ engine that I
have. A bit more awkward to get at and sometimes oily as you get power
steering fluid etc dripping around it. If the flapper flaps OK then all is
well for quick dunkings.
If you want to get serious about fording as I have to in my daily work,
then the answer is to extend the breather tube all the way along the
chassis (held on with cable ties) up to somewhere on the front bulkhead,
or in my case above the screen washer bottle - on my LHD. These pipes are
then terminated with a plug-in plastic fuel filter bought cheaply from
Halfords or similar.
If the flap valves are flapping then you will be OK believe me. Its all
part of getting to love and respect your Toy.
Get there and enjoy the day, but don't be naughty or teeecher will be spiteful.
cheers
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus in Bosnia
 
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