Category Archives: My Land Rover

Blog posts about the restoration process started 5/22/2017 and ended 8/24/2018

Grayson Wolf and Luke Richards

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Big day for The Land Rover Project. Mr. Wolf (left) is in San Marcos doing a final inspection on the truck. Luke Richards (right) was in charge of the restoration. Assuming the truck does well on this afternoon’s test drive, it’s back to the Bay Area for the final shakedown cruise.

UPDATE: Okay. Looks like the restoration is done and the truck will head for Mr. Wolf’s garage before the end of the month. Not sure how long he’ll need to “break it in” but I’m hoping to have it before the end of the year.

Land Rover spare tire

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Everyone agreed having the spare tire on the bonnet (hood) of the Land Rover looked cool… but it was just too heavy (for me). But removing the mount left some ugly holes. I’m pleased to report the guys at Lucra Cars came up with a nice solution.

If some future owner (assuming I won’t live forever) wants to put the spare back on the bonnet, he/she can remove these six bolts, attach the mount, and put the spare back where the Land Rover gods intended.

Moving spare from bonnet to rear of truck

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Nothing says “Land Rover” like the spare tire mounted on the bonnet. It’s iconic. And I was fine with keeping mine there until I discovered how difficult it was to open up the engine compartment. Something I plan to do almost daily. It was damned heavy. I did it but will I be able to in five years? Or ten?

The truck is back in San Diego where the guys at Lucra Cars are taking care of a few things they missed during the restoration, so I’m having them move the spare to a swing-out arm on the rear of the truck.

Removing the mounting bracket from the bonnet (what we call the hood) left about 20 holes. A small patch would look like a, well, a patch. So they’re fabricating a piece of aluminum that will cover most of the bonnet. (the green tape)

This will horrify Land Rover purists (sometimes known as “rivet counters”) but I’m going to be happier with the spare on the rear of the truck.

Land Rover headed back to San Diego

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The ride up to Mr. Wolf’s shop in the Bay Area was on open transport truck. Only thing available on short notice. Last night he sent it back to Lucra Cars in an enclosed truck.

Looks like it had some pricey company. Perhaps one of you car guys can ID these high-end rides.

No idea when I’ll finally get behind the wheel but if I had to guess I’d say December. Gonna call it a Christmas present.

Houston, we have a problem

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The Northern California Land Rover Club held a rally in Hollister, California this weekend and Mr. Wolf took The Truck down to show off and test drive. He discovered some “issues” that have to be addressed and will almost certainly delay the delivery date. But that’s why we went with Mr. Wolf in the first place. Here are some photos from the rally:

For my money, nothing captures the Land Rover mystique like this 1951 Series (1) truck. I think he said these guys drove it down from the Bay Area (with the windscreen down!)

Serious off-roaders love to make their trucks go where they shouldn’t be able to go. Mr. Wolf called these “tank traps.”

So The Great Land Rover Project has hit a bump but — as you can see — Land Rovers love bumps.

Mr. Wolf has The Truck

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The transport truck taking the Land Rover from San Diego to San Mateo couldn’t get to Mr. Wolf’s garage because the traffic was so horrendous. (I didn’t ask Mr. Wolf to clarify that) Since he was headed south for the weekend anyway, he met the transport truck on the way and transferred the Land Rover to his trailer. Now it’s off to the weekend rally. Photos to follow. We’re now in the final phase of The Great Land Rover Project. Next milestone will be my trip on the 20th.

Next stop: San Francisco

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The restoration is complete and The Truck is on it’s way to the Bay Area, scheduled to arrive at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Mr. Wolf says he’s going to drive it a bit and then put it on a trailer and take it the annual get-together of the Northern California Land Rover Club. He promises some good photos.

For the next several weeks he’ll be driving the truck, looking for anything missed during the restoration and making a few modifications and additions (fire extinguisher, different rear seats, etc. The final truck ride to Missouri will be in an enclosed truck. I confess this picture makes me a little nervous.

Color prints from Walgreen’s: Good, fast and inexpensive

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I was never one to want or need prints of digital photos. Back in the day the print quality was too poor to bother with (unless you purchased an insanely expensive printer) and the consumables were expensive and it was just more trouble than it was worth. And once it got easy to share photos online, why both printing?

But for some reason I got a hankering to have some prints of the ‘new’ truck so I headed for Walgreen’s where I printed out half a dozen 4×6 prints (and one 5×7). Cost less than 50 cents a print and they were as good as anything I ever had commercially printed. Can’t see any reason (for me) to own and high-end color printer.

Land Rover: Interior

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When it rolled off the assembly line in 1979, I think there were three seats in the cab (and they weren’t comfy bucket seats like these). The middle seat has been replaced with a storage compartment.

The floor of the tub (rear part of the truck) is covered with a rubber-like material. When it gets muddy, hose it out. I’m not fond of the rear seats and will replace those with simple pads (no back).

The longer, black lever with the white tip is the parking brake. The yellow knob engages four wheel drive when you push it down. And the red shifter engages the Low Ratio gear. Also known to some as “momma low.” The black box with hoses coming out the sides is the heater. Three settings: to the windscreen; to the floor; or to both.

If that steering wheel looks bigger than what you’re used to, it is. No power steering on this baby so you need that big wheel.

Land Rover: Engine

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Here are a few shots of the engine. No, I cannot name all of the parts –let alone work on them– but one of my goals is to be able to identify each part and understand what it does.

As for that “Overseas Land Rover Owners Club,” no idea. If I had to guess it was on the truck before restoration and the guys just put it back on.