Next Hen (HEN 672F) was stripped from this.
It all started in 1990 while living in Stoke on Trent and working in Cheadle Staffs. The winter was coming and talk of snow on the way got me thinking 4WD. Having been in the Territorial Army and taking my driving test in a LWB S111; a landrover became the obvious choice. I managed to find one being sold by a farm worker money was short. He wanted £750, which I didn't have so a deal was struck £150 down and six weeks at £100. So I became the proud owner of a S11 SWB 2 ¼ diesel HEN 672F it was blue with truck cab.
Once paid for a hard top was found from a farm again they are a very good source of spare parts. Guess what no snow.
When it came time for the dreaded MoT it failed miserably lots of holes all over the chassis. So not having a drive to work on let alone a garage. The mother-in-law's drive became the place to be. First a S1 88' rolling chassis was found stripped and S111 bulkhead out riggers fitted then the new chassis was painted white with a few coats of hamerite.
Next Hen (HEN 672F) was stripped from this.
To this,
Then the engine and gearbox were swapped with these in place the bulkhead was fitted and eventually late that night the rest of the body was fitted. A few months later the spanners were out again but this time a one-day job in the street outside the house. Off came the wings front panel bulkhead and bonnet to be replaced by S111 military ones from a local dealer. Eventually it got a coat of paint (brooklands green) and range rover wheels had the injectors and pump over hauled by the local diesel specialists and had lots of happy miles out of her until. The birth of our daughter Felicity on the 28 august 1992 when she was sold. (If anyone knows where she is now please let me know?)
Next came WOM 866J when it turned up it had no wiring at all the rear springs were from a lwb with the lower leaves removed. This made it sit nice and high its first outing was before it was finally ready for the road so it went on a trailer to Cannock for a fun day and ended up very muddy but it was fun! This was to stay my mode of transport and fun for the next two years including trails, fun days and green lanes until it was sold when I Acquired HNP 809J.
This was a 1970 two door range rover chassis number 754 it came with a ford six cylinder diesel one heater plug did not make for good starting when it was cold, so a V8 was found from a nice person who had a six cylinder but no adapter plate. When we got to his workshop on a cold Sunday morning he had already removed his V8 so we set to and pulled the York out of my rangie, only to find no plate but the bell housing had been cut and welded to fit. So we had to remove the bell housing before we could continue. Then there was the exhaust, which had to be swapped the tank to drain,
before we could fit the new unit but from an 8:00 am start by 17:30 I was driving it back home and what a difference it made to the grin factor. With the new motor fitted a whole new experience of trailing a range rover instead of an 88' SWB now I had to work out where to take my shunt. It was 1993/94 and as a member of the Newcastle and Nantwich Rover Owners Club I entered the Tom Boydell Snr Memorial Trophy a competition run by six clubs each running one event and the points from each event counting towards the out come. And so my name was the first to go on the trophy for RTV. In 1995 she was sold to fund something but I can't remember what but the next rover to enter service was a S111 SWB diesel
SBF 150L the block was cracked and so was pulled out and replaced with a petrol. The chassis was striped and 3mm plate welded all over then a roll cage was bought from betterweld and welded in place so that it fitted inside the canvas. This was to be a comp motor but also used on the road her first event was the 1995 nationals held by the Lincs. Club in two quarries. We did the RTV, CCV and Comp Safari but unfortunately after three runs in the small quarry and one run in the large one I had to retire with only two out of the four bolts left in the tops of the swivel housings. These were the S11 type with smaller bolts, which couldn't take the pace, and with a caravan to tow home I had to give up.
Over the next year she had a few changes the swivels were replaced by S111 ones and fitted with brackets to give twin shocks. The engine was replaced with a V8mated to the S11a box and the diffs changed for 3.5 ones this uped the gearing higher than standard range rover gear box so giving better mpg. When we went to Crockstead due to the distance we decided to take the tent and a trailer we parts I had managed to pick up a pair of axles just before the event so they went as spares.When we got there on the Friday night to say the least in was raining we put the tent up but as soon as it was up the water poured in. To which my wife said "I am not sleeping in their with a three year old". So I unhitched the trailer and we set of for Eastbourne where they were deposited in a hotel on the front and I went back to a now very wet tent and with my friend Simon had a good but wet weekend on the Saturday it rained for the RTV but on the Sunday it stopped and the CCV went well then on the Monday we were in the comp after the first run Simon went to look at a drop in the next field and came back saying we could go quicker off the top so on the second run we did (the first run I was in second low box the second run I had left it in high box so this time in second we took off but when we landed the front axle bent about four inches back on the near side)we didn't notice at first but when we came to the next turn the front wheel locked up. So I had to put it in two wheel drive and push the front end back to where we had set up camp in the pits and a maximum twenty minuets logged for that one.
Two and a half hours later the front axle had been swapped by removing the back plates and hanging them out of the way it saved the need for bleeding the breaks when finished. By this time it was getting late most of the runs had been done and I still had four to do. So two were done one after the other off the finish line and straight onto the start. Next time round the temp was up so we stopped for water then off again for the last two only to finish out of the top three by two minutes shame about the max on the second one. After that we packed up the tent and went to Eastbourne to pick up the wife and heading back up the motorway. The next nationals I did were the 1998 Eastnor where we stayed for the whole ten days. Again I did RTV CCV and Comp this time I hit a tree and ripped the front bumper off. The only way it would go back on was upside down so it looked good with the bumper bent on the left and the right hand wing with no headlight and a big dent in it. This time Simon was not going to sit in unless he got a neck brace (big wuss). Eventually she had a shortened range rover chassis put under her but the wife insisted no cage a range rover box was also fitted and full hard top. But as ever this one ended up sold for twelve months I was rover less then a range rover was bought from a friend and after a bit of work its now back on the road this is now my only form of transport. I have also joined the Range Rover Register so may be next year I might be back for the RTV again.