My Land Rover Life

Eating prop shafts

2012-01-17T21:41:00.002+01:00

They lasted for about a year, my u-joints. Vibrations again. Bad joint in the double link. This time I went for a heavy duty joint, but of course when working with the shaft I saw that the other two joints also were sloppy. So, I will probably need to take it down soon again...

Annandagsträffen

2011-12-28T17:59:00.001+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcWPS8DbZs0&list=UUAMyyuQQLt6Tmty3Z-7nsCg&index=1&feature=plcp

Tin cans

2011-12-20T07:42:00.001+01:00

Why change to tin cans when you have city slick alu rims?

Well, I have a couple of good reasons for this. First, I thought the alu rims were a little bit to wide. Since I don't want to lift I want the wheels inside the arches. It looks cool on tarmac with wide tyres, but when flexing off road, it's a risk that they will rub the arches.

Secondly, steel rims tackle damage better. Thirdly, and honestly the main reason for the change, one of the alu rims had been seriously damaged and had to be thrown away...

At the tyre man's I saw another British greenie :)

I think he went for alu rims, eventhough

Disco discs

2011-12-16T15:50:00.002+01:00

Well,.. hrmmm... I have to admit being lazy when it comes to the rear brake pads. It is a little bit hard to check the inside of the discs with the calipers on, which... However, now it's done. The discs were badly worn so they had to be turned.

My friend Daniel helped out, and we did it the "farmers way" in his garage. Angle grinder in Daniels hands and me turning the oppsite wheel like crazy. The result? Perfect!

New Boots

2011-12-11T14:57:00.001+01:00

This is as large as it gets without having to lift the car.

Binned

2011-12-04T18:16:00.001+01:00

Cleared out some old junk. These old rubbers from the 'archive' had to go. Eventhough they were classics :)

At the right side

2011-12-02T12:11:00.005+01:00

This year it was time for the right hub.
It became a field job. At my old Range I did it in complete darkness. Now, a little bit more lazy, I used a lamp :)

Potatistrailen

2011-11-14T12:40:00.002+01:00

Disco dancing at Potatistrailen

http://www.youtube.com/user/kirefiel#p/a/u/0/7xjZS3oj6DU

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Oil Seal

2011-10-21T08:37:00.002+02:00

Leaking from rear diff. Should be an easy task to sort the problem, I thought.

But, the stubborn little pin you have to draw to get in to the nut that holds the flange was totally stuck.

Finally the tool broke, so I'm still driving with a leaky diff. Next attempt will be with a little heating.

The Workhorse

2011-10-19T17:10:00.004+02:00

...

House building

Creating music loops

Preparing a national scout camp

Vacation

More house building

...

2011-08-28T21:33:00.002+02:00

Summer update is on its way...

More plastic

2011-06-20T21:41:00.003+02:00

This is how it looked behind the bumper. Without inner wings I was afraid stones and mud might damage things.

So, I took my "old" inner wings and cut them shorter. The right plastic flap shows how much better the approach angle became without the spoiler.

Looks safer now!

Epsom Green

2011-06-07T22:05:00.002+02:00

No, i didn't choose pink of course :)

What on earth is this, Lemförder?

2011-05-24T18:28:00.002+02:00

What on earth has this part to do with my Land rover life? Well, a couple of months ago we bought an old Opel Vectra (probably called something else in Britain). It is a little bit to expensive to commute in a V8 Disco... So we bought this teen racing prep Vectra from a friend who had kept it in his garage for some years. At the MOT the guys said it was nice to see this kind of car, since they have all rusted away by now. It went through almost clean, except for this linkage.

So now when my wife commute with "Rusty", I can have Moderskeppet all by my self during the weekdays. :)

Heavy Metal has arrived

2011-04-29T22:18:00.002+02:00

I got a packet! And it's not even close to Cristmas or birthday. I am curios to see the metal at Moderskeppet. But I'll have to wait a few days since I intend to paint it all in pink first.

It's starting to look the part

2011-04-03T20:34:00.004+02:00

From the pile of junk (it looked so from the start) that was tossed on Pluttens load bed, I could sort out some useful items.

Seat box, rails, a few interior panels and other parts cleaned, base painted and nicely stored in the 80".This important piece of thermostat housing saved for restoration. Hopefully it will fit my new cylinder head...

No more plastic

2011-02-13T21:52:00.005+01:00

So, this has happened again...

Now I'll go for heavy metal!

Fun in the Snow

2011-01-23T12:29:00.002+01:00

Another perfect day, playing in the snow.

Click video link below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKxnwjzIIsA

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The Tree

2010-12-16T19:38:00.007+01:00

Today was the day to bring home the Christmast tree. We've had about 15cm of snow during the day, and the last kilometers of the way home to my brother's were not yet plowed.

Suddenly I had no ground under the car anymore...

Fortunately a tractor with snow chains passed by a few minutes later that could pull me up. ...and I who had just been laughing to my self about the anti 4x4's resting silence... This day it wasn't even enough with diff lock and TC. :)

And the tree? Yes I eventually brought a couple home... :)

Small parts

2010-12-11T09:58:00.002+01:00

Many small parts for Plutten has been cleansed and checked.

They are sorted among various small parts for RRC, D2 and series.

I have also foud a new head for the five bearing motor that is destined for Plutten. It is now dismanteled and on a slow aim for the engine shop to get fresh edges for the valves.

What lurks under the snow?

2010-12-07T12:56:00.003+01:00

It looks so smooth when you first look at the snow covered ground. But the stones under the white powder are as sharp as ever. Add to this that the grip, even with studs, sometimes are nill. The Disco is much lower than the RRC and a scratched paint work is not something that impress my wife at the end of the day. So, a carefull throttle foot and a rather turn back than take a risk was my word this day.

If it wasn't for the fear of damaging the sills or wings, I believe this car could be almost unstoppable.

A drive through the forest requires a rec walk before you drive. Having this done, planning the route bit by bit, always with the possibility to turn, there was no problem driving a quite difficult route.

The problem with the disco, as I see it, in the terrain is the low sills with no protection. You have to be really careful when driving of stones. Even if I had rocks and stones sliding less than a cm under the sills all the time (tearing of my 3rd mudflap this day) I only had to turn and find another way once.

Well, after had almost completed a good turn, after almost an hour of work and a lot of pleasure, I was overtaken by two men in a ballon-tired and rised Jeep. They drove as if it was the high way... Anyhow, I was really satisfied and proud over my self, while they looked rather bored. :)

Slide

2010-11-20T13:10:00.003+01:00

I planned for work at the top of the slalom hill this week again. At the first attempt the wheels had about the same grip as on soap. (A thin layer of snow over wet rock.) Carefully I backed down and made a new attempt. The second time I got almost halfways up, but started sliding sideways on the rocks. With stiff spine, I very slowly in 5cm intervals backed down to more solid groud. This isn't the car you would like to roll...

I found myself another place at an old pick-nick site instead. :)

Spikes

2010-11-05T11:03:00.002+01:00

Winter in Scandinavia means you have to have two sets of tires.

Forest office

2010-10-21T21:18:00.003+02:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/kirefiel?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/gTAhQabe4No

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Today's view

2010-10-06T12:20:00.008+02:00

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Well, actually last weeks view from the 'office'.

All gadgets used when descending the slalom hill.
I'm not sure how important HDC really is, I rather rely on diff lock to help controlling descents.

To to get up it wasn't enough with TC. I'm not the kind who likes to floor the pedal over obstacles, I also here rather use diff lock and go slowly. However, TC is a great complement to the lock!

Usch!

2010-09-26T20:21:00.004+02:00

I have spent some time cleaning, checking, fixing some of the small parts for Plutten. Just to get the feeling we're making progress I thought it could be nice to start painting a little bit. I had thought of something similar to the green colour of Moderskeppet or a very dark whine red. In the paint shop something strange hit my mind "Why not try something different!" So I brought home a tin of a pearl red on silver base mix. And it showed to be...

...horrible...

So now I'm wondering what to use the colour for. Because it will not be Pluttens dress!

My classroom

2010-09-24T22:24:00.006+02:00

It's a pleasure to study when you are able to watch the autumn falling at the same time.

Today's view...

It's just me, the words and the birdsong. ...and that wonderful sound when you pour a mug of coffe...

Summertime

2010-09-09T08:10:00.008+02:00

We spent a lot of time in our car this summer. First we went to Dalarna, then back to the west coast, followed by a trip to Norway which finally ended at the Swedish east coast before we arrived back at the western parts of Sweden again.

When you have a big loadspace, you don't have to choose what to bring, you just pack it in. And there is still leg room for the passengers...

This is one of my favourite roads. I have to drive it at least once a year. It leads to my grandparents mountain farm, which is one of the most beautiful places I know of.

The perfect place for a good cup of coffe...

My uncle, a few days later, led a bunch of us LR fanatics there by a more narrow way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbtesy-5ihc

My mother tells stories of how she as a child slept in the back of the 88" when their family were on holiday.

We use a tent...

More of the Norwegian Summer Camp and the Eurotrial competitions will follow...

Out in office

2010-09-07T22:22:00.003+02:00

My new office has a grat view.
It also has the ability of changing views when ever I feel like it.

Cross Axled

2010-08-05T00:49:00.003+02:00

Too much to do in the latest. Uppdates will follow soon :)

On road

2010-07-18T22:38:00.005+02:00

According to Swedish law, you are not allowed to drive off road without special permission. The problem though is to define what's a road, and what's not. Måns and I clearly saw this as a road.

pack

2010-05-26T18:30:00.023+02:00

Sometimes, not too often, I have a relapse and hop on a shorter tour. Since we are moving our studio at the moment I store some of my equipment at home. So, this was the first time the Mothership had the honour to take my gear down to the bus. An extraordinarily experience.

This car and my old 109 are the only cars I've owned where the back seat doesn't have to be folded. But, the narrow door and the hight of the 109 would have required a helping hand. To load the Disco is, now by experience, a one man job.

The cabinet in the big black case is a really heavy piece, but with the air suspension lowered it was possible to tilt it to get the wheels on the bumper and then shovel it in. Now the technique is there, but the plastic bumper got a crack at my first attempt.

I felt that the Disco is a big car. But it is dwarfed by the new tour bus.

An extra floor made a huge difference in travelling comfort. The second floor has 16 beds, a closet and a couple of seat rows up front. The first floor has seats, toilet, kitchen and a storage for backline and smaller equipment in the back. PA and lighs travel in a trailer.

Lenny (the boss) serves coffe to Jessie (dancer) and Gabbe (hammondorganequillibrist)

Daniel is checking sound (or what you maight call the noice we're shooting at him)

Sorry for this digression, I'll try to stick to Land Rovers in the future...

Leaks

2010-05-14T21:54:00.008+02:00

The repair I did on the coolant hose vent this winter gave in. A strap held the bolt in place until I got a new hose, so the problem wasn't imminent. I upgraded to later spec which has a more durable vent.

She still lost coolant though so I started to worry. I have experienced an overheated 3,5 a couple of years ago and wasn't that eager to unbolt the tops and send them away to a machine shop. £££. Fautfinding, I found no coolant in the oil or the exhaust, but a sweet smell somewhere in the front region. It showed to be a leaky gasket underneath the throttle housing. To find a replacement gasket was no easy task. Firstly I didn't know the name of the part, secondly every dealer I spoke to wanted to sell me the full throttle housing. £££. Why? All I needed was a small gasket. After two weeks of searching I had almost decided to make my own gasket, the problem was that this piece is under preassure and the gasket a metal reinforced one. A friend told me about a dealer in Stockholm, and from that company I was able to buy a kit with only the pre heater and the gaskets needed.

So, off went the throttle housing, and on the new parts. Done before supper and no oil under the nails.

Back in business

2010-05-12T08:55:00.002+02:00

This little bugger was the cause of our problems. It's a timing device mounted on the flywheel housing to read the revs of the flywheel and tell the electronic ignition when to send fuel and spark. Unfortunately it worked (seems strange to say) when the mechanic plugged the diagnostic equipment in. This is why the troubleshooting took such long time. It was at their third attempt to read the computer information that they discovered the fault.

On our way home the Mothership immediately was put back in business. Most people need a trailer to bring home fencing material. We use our luxury saloon.

Play Therapy

2010-05-05T08:26:00.000+02:00

I have tried everything I could think of. So, we had to send the Mothership to the doctor.

This traumatic event had to be followed up with som play therapy with our daughter.

I think I'll need some therapy too after have driven the rental car, audi A4, for a couple of days. It feels like driving an ice-cream box.

Going to the doctor

2010-04-27T10:14:00.000+02:00

Today I was about to take the mothership to the doctor for diagnostic. She refused! I think that I'll have to inform her better since she seems to be afraid of the doctor.

Premiere

2010-04-08T23:51:00.000+02:00

The proud driver!

Guess if this boy was serious today! I think it'll be more of this from now on...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URmAl9BdHkQ

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quhhiiiiiiiz

2010-04-01T10:09:00.001+02:00

Guess which is the newest... :)

New things look nice!

More fun than a sleigh

2010-03-14T21:03:00.000+01:00

If you are 6 years old, an ATV is a good alternative to a sleigh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRpzoQ1HSx0

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bil

2010-03-09T20:29:00.001+01:00

It's exiting to get a packet! Even if you know what's inside. Today I got a delivery from a company with a name starting P and ending with addock. This is what I found inside. A new airspring to the Disco and a full set of gaskets to the Series2. The box also contained a lot of cardbord filling which my daughter tasted with delight.

The little girl has said her first real words now. Last week she started with 'hello', a word she loves to say. Yesterday the next word came, 'bil', which in Swedish means 'car'. Today the word bil has been frequently used to her fathers delight. You may notice in the picture that the indoctrination starts early. :)Yesterday I got lost. I took a ride in the afternoon and drove some forest roads. Suddenly I had no idea where I was and the road came to an end, so I turned around to drive back, but at some point took a wrong turn. This was fun since I had a time to catch. However, I found a bigger road after a while which lead to a familiar highway at a totally different place than I expected.

Again I'd like to quote Sally; 'Cars didn't drive on it to make great time, they drove on it to have a great time.'

like and dis

2010-02-21T20:18:00.000+01:00

I really, really appreciate the electrically heated windscreen. I also like TC.

I don't like those city SUV 18" rims in the winter. They get clogged with snow, that becomes ice, and the car behaves like a centrifuging washing machine. I really would like to drive on 16" steel rims next winter instead.

How did they think when they designed the rear bumper? To open the rear door you have to shovel the bumper first, since it's a perfect shelf for snow to rest at. Then you open the door, scratching the underside against ice. Now and then you have to knock the ice of with some kind of tool. Today, doing this work, I broke the plastic moulding which had frosen into non elasticy.

Othewise, it's extremely meditative to drive along the roads these days when there's almost no traffic. Strangely enough you don't bother really that you have to spend ten minutes to go around the car peeling off clogged snow from the underside every time you park at home...

It's so much more than a car...

go snow

2010-02-20T21:47:00.000+01:00

Heavy snowfall during the night made morning traffic fun in a Land Rover. Only the main roads were cleared, but that doesn't bother us really. It's Saturday, so there wern't many people out. I found the first stuck car about a hundred meters from home. Since I was in a hurry, I had to leave him in his struggle. After my first commission this morning, I found the road blocked by an abandonned car. So, I had to reverse to find another way. I reversed for about a hundred meters, when I saw a car with flashing hazard lights. I looked forward to use my survival kit in the back, but strangely also this car was abandonned with no one in sight. Well TC was enough to help me plogh an uphill slope and escape the "chaos".

I found many reasons to get out driving today. But in the afternoon many ways had been cleared. But now (ten in the evening) it's snowing again, so I look forward to another day filled with errands you just have to do... :)

range

2010-02-08T20:30:00.000+01:00

When you're doing a cold start...

...it's nice to dream away for a while.

whitelaneing

2010-01-17T17:55:00.001+01:00

My friend an his children in their BM 350 Boxer, I and another friend with our children in our Disco went for a short whitelaneing in the thawing Sunday noon.

We, in the disco, had the advantage of heating, cosy leather seats and a niose free ride. The ones in the tractor appriciated other things, I suppose :)

But, road tires are not of much help when you leave the main road. Diff lock and Traction Control are not of much help either when there is no traction. So, we ended up being towed by the tractor. Next winter we need a more aggressive pattern!

Anyhoo, greed fools wisdom. I changed a joint in my prop shaft a while ago. Of course I should have changed all three. I have felt a small vibration the latest weeks, and back on the main road again, after all the wheel spin this thay, the next prop shaft joint gave in. So, now I'm back in two wheel drive again for a while...

:)

-20

2010-01-13T19:38:00.000+01:00

"Cars didn't drive on it to make great time, they drove on it to have a great time."

/Sally

Ice Road

2009-12-29T10:38:00.001+01:00

Just as important as santa and the traditional food at Cristmast, is the Boxing Day Off Road trip. We have been participating for many years now (for Måns as long as he has lived). First by foot, then with our old series3 and our Range Rover. This year we brought our discovery for the first time.

Since the disco is the family estate and not a hobby car as our prior landies, we had no tougher off roading plans for her.

Christmast Day was raining, and in the night to Boxing Day the temerature fell quickly again. This made the ground like an ice cube. It was not icy only on the surface, but also a bit down under ground. Boxing Day morning, it was snowing, adding an extra layer of slip above the ice. This together meant that it was sometimes difficult to get traction even on level ground. With our road tyres we slid aroud as on a wet soap. It is really scary to slide sidewards without any possibility to brake or control the car!

We, Måns and I, had planned to meet up with Klas and his son Hugo in their series3 pick up. But we also spent the day with Fredrik (defender 110), Björn (defender 90), Janne (willys), his brother Ulf and my brother Mats-Ola. We also ran in to the Ek brothers (seris3 and OneTen) and a couple of other nice people with the interest of our proud make.

We tried our best as we slid along. Klas ended up in a mud hole and got home far too late for the family gathering, but Henrik Ek took it to yet another level as he almost buried his 109.

Even if Henrik had his winch wire far up in a tree, the car digged itself further down. The hard mud turned of his winch button, so it had to be

digged out with a spade twice to get it working. He got up, but needed a serious rescue party to help him do the job.

The disco served well as a spectator bus, and as usual as our portable café.

Movieclips at youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bDkX_j8qLE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnAgnGwHwgU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTG64-LrMJ8

Forest Bump

2009-12-05T20:34:00.000+01:00

It wasn't that dramatic to bring the Christmast tree home this year. Last year I ended up in my brothers potato field, bogged down to my hubs. The most exiting this year was that the trailer I used was to wide for the little road at one place where I had one wheel in each dich and the trailer sledging at its axle. Yes, I had to use a trailer this year. I'm too much careful of my paintwork. My old series3 had a roof rack and the rangie, well there I simply put the goods at the roof and tied it down through the passenger compartment.

2WD

2009-11-18T21:42:00.000+01:00

Vibrations grew. Finally they were disturbing. I started to fear something was wrong with the gearbox or converter. The engine ran smoothly and perfect, so it wasn't a power problem. Friends guessed a bad mount or a bad joint in a propeller shaft. I gave Fredrik (a friend from SLRK) a call and asked if I could pop by at his work to do a check in their grease pit. He was going to work at one of his cars the same evening, so he could gladly help me out.

So, with two epson greens side by side I almost made up my mind to let Plutten get this beautiful tint as well.

It took Fredrik less than a anything to confirm that it was a bad universal joint that most likely caused my problems.

Again our kitchen table was made with car parts.

For the moment we better stick to the road. We now have an ordinary SUV, a car that looks as if you could use it off road. But on the other hand, I didn't always use four wheel drive when off roading with my series3. Anyhoo, the disco almost felt like a racing car in two wheel drive, joke, but I imagined that it in some way felt lighter. Like a VW-van.

I think I have to give the shaft to Daniel asap, he has promised to help me with the joint change. I have to admit that it makes me nervous driving around with a lot of lights shining at the dashboard. TC-info, ABS-warning, dif lock light...

Well, this was it for today.

clean parts

2009-11-12T21:34:00.000+01:00

It's not everyday you're allowed to put engine parts at the white kitchen table. New valves and guides will make my 2,25 happy!

Cool

2009-11-03T08:36:00.000+01:00

A cold shiver went down my spine when I looked at the coolant level the day after a 300km trip. Almost empty! I topped up and hoped it was one of these mystic Land Rover whims. The same evening we had a 200km trip and I had to fill about 5dl coolant after this. Now I was starting to be afraid. I drove the car to work (1km) and had to top up with 2,5dl.

Everything else was ok, the temperature didn't rise, the heater worked normally, oil looked good, no coolant coming out from the exhaust... So I checked the hoses under the bonnet and fond them wet and pink. Eventually I found a leak. It dripped from the plastic air vent in the top hose above the fan. When I touched the plastic plop it fell off and water started to run. I pushed it back and drew a strap around it and drove home slowly.

At home I took the hose inside and started to pull away the old plastic bolt. A phone call to the local LR mechanic showed that this air screw wasn't to buy separately, you had to buy the whole hose, which of course is an expensive item. So, I found a bolt with a matching thread. There are no threads in the hose, the bolt is held in place by a form of plate from the inside of the hose. This plate had fallen out when I pulled away the remains from the plastic thing. To get it back I used a piece of string with a spacer tied to it as a drag stop to draw it in place. I had marked the top position with a pen previously so I could turn it into the right position. Finally I tightened with the new bolt and a rubber seal.

If I do this again, I will use something else than a ordinary metallic bolt since it was a little bit hot for the fingers to bleed the system afterwards. But anyhow, the car has stopped leaking as it seams.

(Hoping, hoping, hoping this was it... I'm not interested in another top work!)

SLS

2009-10-30T14:41:00.000+01:00

Towed a heavy trailer with the disco yesterday. SLS works!

Off road, but not off pist

2009-10-12T19:04:00.000+02:00

It feels nice to have a mobile café for your Sunday trip. Last Sunday Måns and I had our 'fika' on top of the local ski center after our skateboard practise.

I didn't get the HDC to work though, so I have to consult the manual next time. We descended the 'old school' way by locking firs gear and drive safely.

A few days ago my mother, the notorius Land Rover opponent, had to borrow our devilish piece of British machinery. My wife showed her how to drive an automatic and my mother set of without the 'if this happens do that' scheme, since a discovery in many ways is like a normal car.

Fifteen minutes later she called from a parking lot with the alarm screaming. She had turned the alarm on and then tried to enter by using the metal key. At home we laughed, convinced that she would hate the make even more after this. But, to our surprise she returned the car with a smile saying se'd want one for herself! ! Miacles can happen! From now on it's likely to hear good words about Land Rover even from her!

First Aid

2009-10-02T21:11:00.000+02:00

Today I saw two men trying to pull a Ford Escort convertible up from a small slope where it stood with its front in a pudddle of mud. The owner had got a call from the police who had found his stolen car, and he was about to bring it home. The Volvo they brought to tow it home hadn't much to give in this situation, so I hooked their towing line to our car, locked up first gear low ratio and took my foot of the brake pedal. The V8 started to pull nicely on just ideling. Suddenly there was a bang and their towing line snapped and whipped our spare wheel cover. Fortunately the rope hit the cover, which is a soft one, so no harm done. Unfortunately for him, he has to do some body work on his boot... Since my strong off-road equipment was in a case at home, the Ford owner descided to call the breakdown unit instead. But I drove off, confident and proud of our new strong team member.

Goodbye Svarta Damen

2009-09-24T21:08:00.001+02:00

This was probably the last time I saw SvartaDamen. Here she is being loaded for transport to Holland. Goodbye, and thanx for all the good moments!

The queen is gone! Long live the queen! I now really look forward to all good moments our new boot café hopefully will give us!

The Mothership has landed

2009-09-19T14:33:00.000+02:00

The mothership has landed! Yesterday I picked up our latest Land Rover. It's a fully equipped Discovery2 with all extras, including a custom built center differential locker. For the moment the fleet consist of three Land Rovers, but only for a few days though. SvartaDamen has been sold to a buyer in the Netherlands. The new Landy got the name "Moderskeppet", which means the Mothership. It's a suitable name since we hope it'll be our travelling base, AND also because it's the first Land Rover that my wife really likes to drive. Yes, she has already been on two tours this morning, and I guess she will have an evening ride as well :)

SvartaDamen has served me well, so it's a little bit sad that she has to leave us. Especially now when she is working so nice. But as soon as I sit in Moderskeppet, all other cars are forgotten.

Braking News

2009-09-10T20:11:00.000+02:00

Does anybody think it's strange that the brakes didn't bite when you see my front disc?

The axel had start leaking oil at the disc. A good cleansing, new pads and gaskets solved the problem. The right front caliper also got the pistons cleaned or renewed.

The rear calipers suffered from heavy wear. The gaps were filled with chemichal metal, and will hopfully do their job better from now on.

Tomorrow Svarta Damen will hopefully hit the road again!

Finally, a picture of the youngest Land Rover fanatic in the family.

I just have to do it!

2009-08-16T21:25:00.000+02:00

A big stone attacked my car, again... This time it killed the brake pipe that runs under the sill to the back wheels. So finally, I had to do something about the brakes. Now, all brake pipes and hoses are new. I took a gentle test drive in the forest and it's possible to use the pedal for braking again.

The brakes still didn't bite enough, so one of the front calipers is going to have a service. The rear calipers are going to be replaced by either the disco1 calipers to the right in the picture, or a pair from a scrapped RRC of a friend. Either way those also have to get a service first.

At the same work bench as my growing pile of brake parts, I am sorting out parts for the series3 engine that is under restoration for 'Plutten'. I wanted to prioritate this, but since we are selling the car that-I-will-not-mention-the-brand-of-here, we need 'SvartaDamen' as our first car until a replacement i found. Well, I think it's found already actually, it's the money I havn't found yet.

/

2,25

2009-08-06T09:35:00.000+02:00

Time to start an engine.

I have two 2,25liter petrol engines to choose from. One is a series 2 engine, probably the original power to Plutten. It has had a quick check and then been conserved for the future (filled with oil and valves shut).

The engine we (I and my uncle Ole-Johnny) chose to try to wake up and put into Plutten is a series 3 engine (well, I can't tell the difference, but my uncle pointed out a few modifications).

After having removed the cylinder head we could see that the engine was in good shape. It had not been turned for a long time though, so some rust had started to show inside. Ole-Johnny guessed that it had been through a service after having an earlier stand-still before the perhaps ten years it had been standing before I bought the engine... So, the history is probably that it has been standing for a while, then have had a service with new gaskets etc, driven for a time, then been standing still again for a long time. All together, he dint think it had run very much... Finally something good about this car!

As you might have noticed, the engine is red. Shouldn't be... But since I have a correct coloured series 2 engine saved for the future, I don't mind really.

Here my father Ingvar (also a SLRK member) and my son Måns (G4) are giving a helping hand at the dismantling.

Finally some inside photos.

"SvartaDamen"

2009-07-24T22:57:00.000+02:00

So, with Plutten in parts and still in the need of a second car, I had to start looking again for a cheap car that could serve as this. And, again, I ended up with a Rover that had some 'just have to fix before the MOT'. The plan was to keep the Rangie for a year until Plutten was working. But since the Plutten-project grew into a major restauration, SvartaDamen have stayed in the family.

The first year it was all about passing MOT, which she did after a few weeks, and then keeping her running. The more I drover her, the more I started liking the car and the special feeling of driving a Range Rover. So, now she is staying, and also she is now slowly becoming more and more tuned.

I'm not afraid of bringing her out in the forest, so she has suffered a lot too. I have no plans though of building an extreme off roader of her. I like the idea of driveing a standard vehicle through really bad terrain, and get through. (Well, at least most of the time...)

"Plutten"

2009-07-17T19:11:00.001+02:00

When we were selling Primadonnan I knew that I had to have another LR, regardless if it was working or not. I had now become a LR addict and wanted a series, no interest what so ever in the anonymous SUV that started my car interest.

So, I ended up paying a little too much for a wreck that I couldn't even bring home without help. I had learnt a lot from fixing with Primadonnan, but this project would be needing much more experience and knowledge than I could gather by my self. So before buying I had asked my uncle if he could assist me in bringing the car alive again.

My uncle came all the way from Norway with a friend (650km) to bring "Plutten", as I named her, to his garage. We had some problems with the custom, but eventually Plutten ended up among a bunch of other LR-projects where the car was resting for a year until we had time to start working at her.

It's a slow project since I can't spend so much time in the garage, but the project is slowly progressing. Here are some movieclips from our work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygO5I984cpI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTI8rdEAmvk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXm_wmSwXng

"Primadonnan" Part Two

2009-07-15T21:50:00.000+02:00

Primadonnan was running all right and the frame was ok. Some new parts like springs and a new exhaust pipe was mounted, otherwise I could go straight for the looks. A good cleansing inside, new skin on the front seats and a nicer switchboard over the radio console was some of the few things that was made.

Then it was time for stripping exterior parts and cover the windows. I spent three nice summer days painting Primadonnan in my brothers field.

A new set of tires, and she looked like this.

By this time I had met som off-road enthusiasts from SLRK, so a few dents was starting to show, but she was always keps decent for family trips. Other people noticed it too, so at a Classic Car Show she was honoured the Peoples Choice as the best off-road vehicle.

Sadly, you can't eat a Land Rover, so we took the deciscion to sell her as we were students at the time. At the time we were selling Primadonnan, a friend from SLRK called and said that he had found a Series/II for me. This car was a wreck but quite cheap (to expensive to be honest). Even if I couldn't drive it, I would at least not be out of LR. But that's another story...

"Primadonnan" Part One

2009-07-14T23:05:00.000+02:00

My wife and I enjoy the Norwegian mountains. Once or twice a year we try to take a trip to a cabin not far from where my mother grew up. The mountain roads are sometimes bad -not that bad as the used to be when I was a child- but worse than you can drive with a standard family car. We love to drive around on the moutain roads, but had to keep to the better parts where the off-road level was good wheel place planning, scratching the exhaust pipe now and then and at its worst a little digging. After the second summer trip I started to think of buying a SUV, but since I had loved my old Beetle the thought of a good veteran grew. Since my uncle was into Land Rover I started to look for a decent Range Rover Classic (a car I had read about in a magazine in the cabin, and that I knew my wife liked).

After a time of searching I found a Series/III stw at a bankrupt company that I bought. Sadly it didn't start, so I had to go home without it. Next week I head out for the 500km journey again with a friend that knew more about cars than me. It showed to be the diesel pump that didn't work, so no car this time either. the week after we brought it home on a trailer.

It took me some time and phone calls to my Norwegian uncle to get the car running. Once on the road the car became a she, after some driving a personality and pretty soon a name, "Primadonnan" since she danced from side to side and had to be fawn with to work properly.

At this time I thought it be a good idea to become a member of the Swedish Land Rover Club (SLRK), which I have been since.

Eventually I wanted to get Primadonnan to look as beautiful as I knew she was worth, so a small refurbishing became a high post at my to do list. But more of that another day.

So long! /Kirefiel

"Åtteåttin"

2009-07-13T21:51:00.000+02:00

In the middle of the sixties the 80" had done its service at the farm when my grandfather bought a 1962 Series/II regular hard top. this car was my first Land Rover experience. As a kid I often played behind the steering wheel, I was at great adventures. Since it is a rugged car, my grandfather had no problems with me playing inside, utside or on the car. I was sure that the car was capable of anything, I knew it could drive through water and I also thought that the hard top roof could serve as a small boat if needed!

When my grandfather passed away in the eighties, my uncle inherited the 88" along with the farm. As a teenager I didn't care about the car, I had other interests, but it served on the farm all along. Of course there are a lot of stories about this car too, I like the one when my cousin hang out from the window when the door flung open in a curve and she was still hanging out from the open door. When my uncle straightened up, the door flung back and my cousin was back on her seat again.

The 88" is today running perfectly and is still in everyday use. It is kept and serviced in its original, not many parts are new since it has always been perfectly maintained. I have to say that this is by far the best Series I have driven!

In the picture to the left the car is dressed in summer clothes.

Below a picture of my son sitting on the hood. He is a six year old Land Rover fanatic who often urges his father to drive over bigger rocks ant through deeper mud. Sometimes we call him G4 (generation four).

Pre History

2009-07-12T22:02:00.000+02:00

How did my life become a land rover life? Before I bought my first Land Rover I had no interest in cars, had no mechanical experience and would hardly think that I gladly would spend time trying to get a car through a mud hole.

Looking back I can see how things have lead me here, and that they retrospectively perhaps are more obvious than to many other land rover fanatics. I could say that my interest didn't start with me really, it actually came in years before I was born.

My grandfather bought a Land Rover in 1952. In those days there was only the 80" to choose from and he used it as it was meant to, namely as a tractor for plowing and harrowing or as a power plant for a saw. He also helped the local doctor to get around to difficult places, and as a taxi to drive people up in the mountains. It also served as the family car.

This was the car my mother grew up in. I have heard a lot of stories about the car and events connected to it. They are fun as the one when my ant fell out from it during a ride when the door suddenly opened, or shows how life was in the old days when it was used as a hearse to get my great grandfather home for his funeral.

In the picture to the left my grandfather and my uncle is maintaining the car. To my grandfather there couldn't be a better brand. This he passed down to the next generation (my mother excluded:) ) My uncle inherited the interest for the make and cultivated it further and is now a leading person in the Norwegian Land Rover Club. He is also my mentor when it comes to Land Rovers. I couldn't have kept this interest for a week if it wasn't for him!

The 80" Land Rover stayed in the family until the sixties when my grandfather bought a Series/II. What has become of it since then we don't know. But it was with this car it started, nearly twenty years before I was born.

Nystart

2009-07-10T22:50:00.000+02:00

Eftersom min före denna blog lagts ner, gör jag en nystart här. Denna sidan var den första blogportalen jag surfade in på, och när jag nu skriver mitt första inlägg här har jag inte ens sett mig runt i menyerna. Det får komma när jag skrivit klart det här inlägget. Jag kommer inte ta med mig det gamla innehållet hit, men en och annan tillbakablick kommer det kanske ändå att bli. Sådärja, nu är vi i gång igen!