LANDROVING IN KZN

April 2005

Hi George, 

I Forwarded herewith is a piece which shows how the landie gospel (and more particularly the leaf-spring denomination) gets spread. 

The background to the story is that I and a young mate of a mate went up to have a look at a trout hideaway we are thinking of investing in. It is an idyllic spot - a 200 acre dam high in the hills beyond Fort Nottingham. Remote and unspoilt. And a bugger to get to.

My companion, Arno, drives a Nissan X-Trail for he is young and knows no better. He had been up the week before to scout the place out but had only got to the beginning of the rough stuff. He wanted to go again and asked if I minded if we used my vehicle. No problem. I didn't tell him the 110 is out of action. I thought I'd surprise him by picking him up in Sir Tinley - leaking exhaust manifold and all.

Well, surprise him I did. And myself. The trip was an epic. Of course we got lost. Several times. And for quite long periods of time. When the mist came rolling in cold and wet and the temperature plummeted I thought we were going to spend the night up there with nothing for warmth but my long-sleeved work shirt. Then the rain came. And the soil on the top of that mountain is as black as a policeman's boots. Cottonsoil. Crickey that stuff gets slippy in the wet!

But the stalwart amidst all the mayhem was ol' Sir Tinley. He never missed a beat and took in his stride everything the elements and a desperate driver threw at him.

 We did get home that night. Late wet and hungry but we did get home. So impressed was Arno that he wrote this rather poetic e-mail to our mutual friend the next day. I think it is a nice comparison - the abilities of the Series 1 against the comforts of the X-Trail. I know which one I'd like to be in in a tight spot. And so does Arno.

Cheers,
Peter

Paul

All I can say is thank God I had Basset and his 1957 land rover with me on that mountain yesterday. He's not scared to tackle anything in that very occupant unfriendly beast of his. My ears are still filled with the roar of that engine. Somehow the experience was vastly different from the one we had the previous week. I think it had everything to do with dual suspension, air-conditioning, lumber support, a roof that does not leak and the ability to have a conversation which did not require leaning across the gear stick and screaming your head off. Granted - we may not have returned from the mountain, but then again I don't think we would have ventured as far as we did yesterday. As I told you on the phone, we discovered another lake - Basset thought it was Lyndhurst (age does this to you eventually) and I had to be quite resolute in my opinion that this was an altogether new lake. When I returned the keys to Roy that evening and asked him about other lakes up there, he did confirm the existence of another lake and immediately turned to his wife and said that he never knew that one could drive to the other lake - well we did. Anyway - it was a memorable 4x4 adventure.You had better wide Basset up tonight.

ARNO GOEBEL

LROC Club Dates For Your Diary

NON LROC ORGANISED EVENTS but worth supporting. Give George a call if more info is required.

Can’t make a LROC KZN trip but would like to do it. No problem as the committee runs some of the trails before the Club Trip. Give the organizer of the trip, Hennie or George a call and maybe the recce trip will suit you better

 TRAIL GRADING All our events from now on will have a Trail Grading according to the 5 grades below. 

1. Complete novice soft dirt road trail, no low range required. Suitable for all Land Rovers including the Freelander.
2. Limited low range required but suitable for the novice driver. Suitable for all Land Rovers with certain trails not suitable for the Freelander.
3. Low range and limited off road knowledge required. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.
4. A low range technical trail suitable for the experienced. The inexperienced will be able to do the trail, as assistance will be available from the more experienced members. Suitable for all Land Rovers except the Freelander.
5. Extremely technical, suitable for the experienced only with the possibility of vehicle damage. Only suitable for "Series" Land Rovers.  Ha Ha

Hells Gate long weekend trip 29 April to 1 May. (Grade 1 / 2 )

Cost will be R108 p.p.p.n inclusive of  brunch, supper and accommodation  in bungalows, some with aircon.

Payment is in advance on booking before the 15 April 2005.

There are Rhino, giraffe , warthog e.t.c. in fact game a plenty ,not to mention birds. There is a pub with Beers @R4.50, swiming pool ,jungle gym.for the kids, night game drives e.t.c.

Hells gate in on Lake St Lucia north of Farnie's Island. Its in the greater St Lucia game reserve and there is almost no restriction on which trails are driven on game drives during the day or at night. 

Contact :  Don Erwin for more info.
Cell 0847544196
Home phone 031-2095098

Inanda and Nagle Dam day trip 17 April.  Grade ( 1 / 2 ) 

Meeting place :                        Waterfall Shopping centre (Spar) car park. Along Inanda Road, Hillcrest.

Time :                          08h30 for 09h00 departure.

Costs :                          R10.00 per adult , R5.00 per kid and R2.50 community levy per vehicle payable at the Nagle Dam gate. ( Msinsi Holdings.)

The plan  is to drop into the valley below Waterfall (Hillcrest) and travel up the river past Inanda Dam on dirt roads. We will not stop at Inanda Dam but make our way onto Nagle Dam, where we will have a byo braai for lunch. The route is 80% dirt roads with the last section tar. Scenic route and suitable for all Land Rovers. 

Contact George Goswell for more info.

Quote from the Ex Military Land Rover Association EMLRA newsletter  in the words of Mike Allmey, the current newsletter editor.

The newsletter will be due the moment it arrives and not before. It is also designed to be big enough to act as a coaster for up to three mugs. If rolled up in a suitable fashion, the budding megalomaniac could use it as a loud-hailer. If applied in the same format to an alternative orifice, it is just as effective as an ear trumpet. Ideal for puppy training. Fly swat perhaps. Some people are suspected of reading it. Whoever these people are, would they please stop?.

Sods Law of Combat 

Incoming fire has right of way
The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
Never draw fire. It irritates everyone around you.
All battles are fought at the junction of 2 or more map sheets printed at different scales.
Never share a fox hole with someone braver than you are.
The quartermaster only has 2 sizes : too large and too small.
Your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
If the enemy is in range, so are you.
The weight of all your equipment is directly proportional you the time you have been carrying it.

An early Series 1 Land Rover brochure. Note the “all weather equipment”. It’s a pity my later model Landy did not come with all weather equipment. More rain inside than out. 

The Centaur

This Landrover was half Stage1 and half light tank. The front end was all Solihull's finest but the rear was a shortened version of the Scorpion light tank tracked bogie. The resulting half-track had a very high payload and formidable offroad potential but didn't attract military orders, so the project was stopped after only 6 Stage 1 and 1 110 prototypes had been built.

On the first 2, P1 and P2 work begun on October 1978, the other 4 at about one month intervals. P1 to P3 were right hand drive, the other 3 left hand drive. P1 and P4 were 12 Volts, the other combined 12/24 Volts. All were initially designed as soft tops. They suffered many problems even being straight from the standard line for most parts. They repeatedly suffered power losses, front prop shaft failures and burnt clutches were reported. Front axle half shafts failed often but could be traced back to a faulty design. Steering on road at very high speeds was superb. In slow going and offroad the vehicle is horribly directionless which is quite obvious as the tracks do not help in steering. The tracks have no return rollers, so at any speed they hit the bottom of body. The noise is deafening, LR measured 108 decibels! Also the vibrations are very annoying , causing the rear differential mounting to crack. Most of these problems could have been solved but the British army could not decide on placing a large order. Meanwhile the airlifted units and rapid ground forces gained importance and no other army wanted to take the risk of buying them first. 

P1 was completed in late April 79' and tests were made at Anglesey and at the MIRA test track to a total of 3480 miles until end of June. The covered distance equaled a 10 years service life. Upcoming problems were the rear and front drive-shafts and some small weak spots on the chassis. These and other minor problems were quickly mended. After these trials P1 was transported to Norway for 3 months winter testing. Here it performed admirably, outperforming most other vehicles. It is believed that P1 went to Libya and never returned.

P2 was shown in Nigeria on a sales tour and later in Kenya. This fully restored vehicle now belongs to the Peter Blanchard Collection.

P3 was altered to be a hard top communications vehicle. It was equipped with UHF and HF radios, field telephones, teleprinters and sniper detection radar. Now it carries a standard soft top and also belongs to the Peter Blanchard Collection.

P4 was extensively tested in Oman and the Sultan of Oman insisted on paying for it, so it was sold. This one appeared on many sales publications, carrying 2 machine guns. It is possible that this one is now in a private regimental museum in Britain, apparently being equipped with an Chevy 5.7 litre V8 and an automatic gearbox.

P5, completed in late summer 79' was mainly used as demonstrator. It was seen on exercise in Germany and was tested with an anti-personnel mine discharger. In spring of 1980 it got a 20mm cannon fitted on a cargo bed. Later is was flown to the Persian Gulf for more demonstrations. Today it belongs to the Tank Museum in Bovington.

P6 went to Iraq for demonstrations, came back later that year. It is believed it returned to Iraq and stayed there but this is not confirmed.

Another one was built using 110 front end parts and an eighth tracked hull . Today it also belongs to the Tank Museum. Contrary to the others it was finished in sand color. The end of the project came in 1984 when political and economic changes killed off most of the potential export markets and so the project was cancelled.

FOR SALE 

LANDROVER Defender 110 Roofrack: Steel. Black. Epoxy. Like New. R2000. (Kuilsrivier) Tel. Gerhard 082-6584343

Landrover Tyres x5: 235/85r16, BF Goodrich, 2nd hand 85%, All terrain. R3200 (Benoni). Wayne 083-2288346

LANDROVER ENGINE: Original 2.3 4cyl in running order. R1500 onco. Dbn. 083-7447072

Landrover Discovery bullbar. R.1000. 072-2137901-

Landrover Discovery 96 V8i, 218000km, good cond. 100L fuel tank, dual batt sys, OME susp, spots, built-in comp &more; New radiator &head gasket, FSH,owner relocating, must sell. R95000onco. 0833801971 083-3801971-

RIM: Steel. 16" split for Landrover. Brand new. R300 (JHB) Tel. Mo 072-1416997

TYRES x4: 265/70R16 Nankang, 70% sec hand Landrover tyres. R2400. (Benoni). Wayne 083-2288346

LAND ROVER 200 TDi: Engine damaged. R7000 onco. (Centurion) Tel. Marius 012-6537235

Land Rover TDi 300 Vacuum Pump: New, R2200. Tel. Wayne 082-4384888-

Land Rover Defender 90 TD: 1997. Black, 110 000kms, R.20000 worth of extras, leather interior, new tyres, immac cond. R105000 (Centurion) 082-7731450

CD PLAYER 6 PACK FOR LAND ROVER.Complete with cable connecktor. Price:R1250. Contact EDWARD in BOKSBURG 082 4471 355. 082-4471355

Tyres x4: Michelin. 235/70/16. Fits on 4x4 vehicles eg Land Rover Discovery. Exc cond. R1200 neg for the set. (Benoni) 082-5605719

NATIONAL LUNA CAMPING FRIDGE / FREEZER: 32 litre. 12V / 220V. Brand new. Used only once. Value R.2995. Asking R.1800 neg. 073-6482941 

LAND ROVER 1982 S3 Station Wagon. Chev 4.1 engine, 16 inch Prowhite rims with Michilin LTX MS 235x85 tyres (including spare), 110 doors and grill, roofrack, side awning and plenty spares. Price R37,500. Reason for selling - purchasing newer Landy.  Contact Gravin at 082 807 1326

Series Rims: four, grit blasted, painted white and fitted with brand new Firestone MS 212/4WD tyres. One galvanised rim with SAG tyre. Price R4,000 onco  Contact Gravin at 082 807 1326

Swingaway spare wheel carrier for 110 / Defender. Price R600 onco  Contact Gravin at 082 807 1326

Landrover Steel Rims, 5,50F x 16 x 33, 5 years in use, color white, each R99,00 neg. 021-5562977-

Landrover Defender Epoxy Rims with General Tyre * 3 - Good condition - R350  each 083-3769108-

RIM: Steel. 16" split for Landrover. Brand new. R300 (JHB) Tel. Mo 072-1416997

Land Rover Defender 1996 110 TDi CSW Blue including roofrack - R72 500.00  negotiable. 021-4231912-

Land Rover Devender 110: 1994. R30000. Lots of extras. 082-0525883

LAND ROVER SWB: Drawer System. Save space. Good condition. R950.  082-4496565-

Land Rover TDi 300 vacuum pump, new, R2200. Tel. Wayne 082-4384888-

Land Rover 90 Tdi Pick-up: 1997. L/r tank,b/b,spot lights,f/cd,running  boards,safari snorkel,t/b,r/b,p/s,alloy wheels.+-196500km. R.110000.  082-3261346-

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY: Roof carrier with holder for 4x jerry cans and 2x Gas  bottles. Almost new. R800 onco (Roedtan) Tel. Hettie 082-6411427 or  015-6670005

LAND ROVER 2.5TDI: Original camel trophy, 1996, 4x4 trailer, many extras, winch, roof rack. R80000 (SUNDOWNER) Tel. 011-7946435 or 084-7253950

LAND ROVER DEFENDER: Flat Deck with drop sides.  Toyota 2l turbo diesel engine.  Immaculate. R58000.  Tel 082-3720997

LAND ROVER BULL BAR: In good condition R450 (Alberton) Tel. Frikkie
084-6756068

Land Rover Defender: Mags + BF Goodridge tyres. R3500. (Rustenburg) Tel.
083-7119432 or 014-5363965

Engel 25L portable camping fridge-freezer. As new. R 2799.00 082-9277897-

Defender 110 5 door 2004 TD%, 16500km. Extra 40l fuel tank, 50l water tank under the vehicle, with bull bar, Roofrack and roof top tent. Interested give Dereck Ridgard a call. 031-7023452 (b)  0826515144

Urgent Sale. Defender 90 TD5, 2003 model 15000km, white. R195000.00 Contact Shaun 0829007977.