This started for me a few days before the event with people ringing me up and
panicking about log books.

Friday had Denis Wright, secretary for scrutineering committee, ringing me up
to ease up the pressure and left me with a definite way out for those who have
attempted to obtain log books.

I was trying to be at Tong for 10.00 a.m. but due to my reluctance to escape
from my bed I arrived at 10.45 a.m. Gareth Almond, clerk of course, had already
worked out a course and with an ever growing band of helpers, proceeded in groups
to mark out the 2.4-mile comp course.

The incompetence of the equipment officer (it's me) to check out the staple gun
made the job of arrow fixing a little longer. It has been repaired on site and it's fully operational. Now plans are afoot to obtain more staple guns identical to the one and only.

We had 22 motors to do 8 runs each, the first 100yds of the course saw PENNINE and NORC motors learning the lesson of easing into the water troughs and powering out was better than powering in and put-putting out!!

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Thanks go to all those who set out on Saturday with clean sticks and arrows.
Also thanks to the people who brought in the muddy sticks and took off all the arrows to make it easier for me. The staples are out and the arrows are washed for another event.

My electric air pump has been used and abused by various people over the last
year and will not be tolerated any more! If you want air for your tyres BUY YOUR OWN PUMP!!

Sorry about the last paragraph but some people take all and give nothing back
to the club, as opposed to the few who give time and effort and take my grateful
thanks away!

Michael Chaloner
President
Scrutineer
Equipment Officer
Assistant Editor
Tower of club trailer

Michael's never ending project

Life of my different motor started out from the moment I returned from holiday
in France in the confines of a superbly coil sprung car to getting into my leaf sprung Landrover and feeling every bump in the road.

A rolling chassis was located at a local scrapyard and there began a two-year
crusade to get it built and on to the road. Part way into this rebuild friends kept saying to me: "Oh you can't enter the club events with that!" "Oh dear (or something similar) I'll carry on building it then."

The trials and tribulations of a total rebuild or the ups and downs of a never-ending project.

I will attempt to write in the order of:-

ENGINE, GEARBOX, PROP SHAFTS, AXLES, SUSPENSION, WHEELS AND
TYRES, COOLING SYSTEM, STEERING, BODY AND INTERIOR. ANY NOT
PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED.

ENGINE

I originally started out with a V8 from a Rover 3500 which later in its life dislodged an air intake sleeve (carb), to do a dance on most of the pistons and cylinder heads.
There's not a lot of room in a 10.5 to 1 engine. The next engine came out of a, a,
a, Reliant Robin, three wheeler type. No joking! V8 plus auto box in an odd legger
— three pin plug, blue in colour. The bores of this one eventually came to light later in its life. Still a lover of V8 power, another engine was obtained, the present one.
This one is 9.35 to 1 out of a SDI Rover with, if I remember, 20-thou oversize pistons.
I had been cleaning the grooves out under the piston rings, and yes, I unfortunately broke one. Tough, eh!

Retrieved good camshaft and suitable followers from the previous engine and
we can rebuild. I fitted LUMENITION electronic ignition, and a FACET fast road type pump sends 4-star leaded fuel to the SU carbs. The carbs were always flooding, so I took the motor over to G.R.V. Developments in Rochdale for an engine tune. He found the problem in five minutes, no fuel return. "Go away and sort it out". Two days later I was back again. 100 BHP at the wheels.

Oil and filter and changed regularly using semi-synthetic oil. Look after your
engine it will last longer. The exhaust system was made and fitted locally out of
stainless steel.

GEARBOX

This is a Borg Warner Type 66 automatic gearbox coupled up to an Ashcroft
transfer box conversion.

I bought the gearbox and second-hand torque converter from lan Ashcroft which

lasted about a year in service before a total stripdown was needed together with a
NEW torque converter. When we were down at the ARC National at Eastnor Deer
Park, we had gone into Ledbury to make a phone call home when 'Ie crunch' occurred.

After a tow back by a lightweight to the camp site, an exploratory examination
came into being. The drive end of the auto-box had sheared. A journey back home
on the back of an RAC registered transporter was needed.

When I contacted lan Ashcroft about obtaining a replacement he said an SDI
car drive end was needed. Wrong! After going to several scrap yards and even two
auto specialists, the SDI end was too short and the wrong profile.

I already had a BW 35 end which was the right profile but too long. My boss
from work turned it down on his lathe in about two minutes. Six miles back home
and 30 minutes later the motor was mobile again.

PROPSHAFTS

Having a different gear and transfer box than normal means that the propshafts
have to be different. I struck really lucky here as the rear length needed to be 41" between flanges, an S3 rear prop was the same. Two and a half years of this in
operation led to serious vibrations over 40 mph. One way out of this is to fit a genuine propshaft at £225.96 plus VAT or try another second-hand one.

I wonder which way to go!!

What I did do, was to put another short sliding yoke assembly on. On road test
the vibrations at 40 had disappeared but reappeared at about 70 mph.

The front prop shaft needed to be about 17" long. The yokes of a rear Range
Rover prop shaft can go to greater angles (cut away more). The one I had in stock
was taken to a place in Bradford to be checked and altered and the balance checked.
I told them it was to fit a R.R. front axle, that means that the yokes at the ends are out of phase because of the tilting upwards of the diff.

They had put it in phase! Also on the front prop I had to fit a non-genuine gaiter.
Genuine is best but don't take my word for it, go and waste your money on a non-
genuine one. This led to mud, etc., entering past the perished rubber, leading to the
splines seizing up.

AXLES

The front swivels were in a disgusting state of pitted rust and occasional shiny
bits. Two courses of action were thought of. One was expensive and buy new ones,
or the other was to take them to Vernon Moss, chrome and nickel platers in Brighouse.
The first one I took was the good one. Mr. Moss said it was in a sorry state. The
final outcome were two nickel plated swivels in a beautiful condition. The differentials have a ratio of 3.9 to one.

SUSPENSION

The front springs are R.R. with the rear ones being '90' rears. Front and rear
shock absorbers are standard. The rear ones are not originally from the rebuild

because under extreme axle movement, one eye at one side and the top of the rod
at the other side on separate occasions broke off. I have now fitted axle straps to
hinder the total suspension travel.

All the bushes were new. The panhard rod is on its second set of bushes. Four
bushes at the front of the front radius arms and the two bushes at the front of the
rear arms have now been poly-brushed as the originals were tired. Rear wheel steering on corners is not very good on the heart!

WHEELS AND TYRES

I currently run on eight spokes and trakkers. A word of warning here — my tyres
are supposed to be tubeless on tubeless rims, but so far I have had to put inner tubes in to keep the tyres inflated. For some semi-serious off-road work, LWB rims and Goodyear X-tra grips are used.

COOLING SYSTEM

This is a radiator for a 110" V8 with hoses adapted to fit my engine. Two (or
is it twin?) Kenlowe fans cool it down although in winter months I keep the rad muff closed and keep an occasional eye on the temperature gauge. Coupled up to a '90' heater system, MAGIC!. Plans are afoot to vent the door glass from the heater.

STEERING

It does, thank goodness.

BODY AND INTERIOR

From the front and including bulkhead, its '90' doors are Sll, back body is a
genuine 100" and was in an unused condition, hard top sides are '109' shortened
at the front and the roof is also '109' shortened at the rear. I had two roll bar hoops made and fitted by Steve Dobbie, They are all removable. Front seats are Volvo 3 Series and the rear ones are Maestro.

I fitted a dim-dip resistor to facilitate the dipped headlamps and found to my
annoyance that when I turned off the ignition, the engine was still running and when
I turned off the headlamps shortly afterwards, the engine stopped. I have since fitted a 25 amp diode into the system to cure the problem.

I have one of those Unipate batteries from Express Factors in Halifax that is
guaranteed for life. I have found that if you have a motor for a long time, it pays in the long run to have such a battery.

THE CHASSIS

The backbone of the whole vehicle. It is registered as 1972 — nearly as old as
me — as a Range Rover. As some, or should it be all of the outriggers are now not
required; I cut them off and ground away the remains with an angle grinder. The
bulkhead outriggers were sourced from Hobson's at Louth and I suspect that they
are from a prototype 100" chassis and the other outriggers for the back body were made by myself.

The front of the chassis was cut by one inch or so to fix the bumper on and the
rear end was shortened by about three feet. All the welding was done by a professional welder using 3-phase equipment.           

Michael Chaloner, Club President

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