Just a quick update – and apology since it has been a while….
The Rover is still purring like a kitten and it motors around town pretty well for a 36 year old – thats senior citizen in the SUV world. In fact, it was doing so well that I took it on a road trip down to Lynchburg. Normally a 2 & 1/4 hour jaunt, it was a good 3+ in the Rover. We were feeling like some mud and decided to drive up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and connect up with a trail system known as the P-Vine Trails. They were in fantastic shape (read 100% Virginia red clay mud) after a few weeks of rain. The Rover preformed flawlessly; like a billy goat down the side of a mountain. It was nimble when it needed to be and dug in when the trail got rough.
Unfortunately somewhere along the line, things must have gotten a bit rough. Although it was not discovered until an hour after we had traded the mud for asphalt, one of the older shock absorbers had given up the ghost. Most likely it happened on the rampart pictured above, the axles over articulated, the canvas retaining strap gave way and like Christmas popper being pulled at both ends the shock absorber snapped. The good news is that shocks are a luxury, not a requirement on these old rigs.
After taking it easy on the back roads back to Richmond, I set about to do some research. A few weeks and surprisingly reasonable amount of cash later, I found some replacements (I was talked into replacing all four…why not?). Thats where things got hard. Like everything on the Rover, I ran into snags. Someone decided to weld on the cotter pin that held the bottom part of the old shock to the axle mount. After 30 minutes of prep and another 90 minutes to remove the tire and most of the old shock it was apparent that the new one was not going on without a fight.
So the Rover is limping around town, rear drivers shock in absentia but not down for the count. Next warm(ish) dry(ish) weekend things are going to get nasty with a Sawzall, a blow torch and a pry bar. Stay tuned!
Its that time of year – the hard top is back on and the Rover is getting ready for winter. I had hoped to refinish the hard top before winter, however timing got away from me. Its nice to have the rover sealed up. Surprisingly it even handles a little better with the spare tire on the rear door.
What happens when you gather two hundred Land Rover enthusiasts on a 1,000 acre farm in Virginia?
Roavstock , that’s what!
Susan and I got lucky – my 1973 Series III Land Rover left the rover hospital just in time to make the 2009 MAR. We spent all Saturday (its a 4 day event for most people), exploring the trails, meeting new friends and checking out some seriously spectacular off road machines.
There is only so much you can triage in the field. Emergency responders try to stabalize their patients to get them to the hospital. After an unsuccessful attempt at surgery in the field, that became my modus operandi this week. Today, the Rover is off to the car hospital; before we get into that, let me take you back a bit.
For the last month the engine has been struggling – not idling and backfiring a bit. After I got the sage advice: “its never the carburetor”, the attention turned to the ignition system. In these older cars, the ignition is a remarkably simple process tied to some rather complex mechanics. As the engine turns through its rotation, parts inside the distributor rotate to open and close an electrical circuit. When that circuit is closed, it sends a spark to a particular spark plug. The parts that open and close are called “points” – two small round metal discs about the size of match heads come together and pull apart several times a second as the engine moves through its firing sequence. These little guys do a lot of work.
Points, plugs, wires, the coil – all go together in a carefully timed sequence to add one of the three essential components of the combustion engine: fire (the other two being fuel and air). When any part of that system is off kilter, things get wonky. After replacing the points with new points, there is a delicate manipulation to ensure that the gap when they are open is not too wide and not too narrow. After gaping the points, it is all about timing – when do they open and close as the engine is turning. Too soon and your timing is too fast and the engine burns too much gas (running rich). If they open and close too late, the spark may not come in time and the engine may not fire at all.
After hours and hours of tinkering, I had one of the proudest moments of Rover ownership. For 10 minutes the engine ran; pretty rough at first but then it was dialed in to a nice smooth-ish idle. It was never quite perfect and something caused it to stall. But there is proof:
That brings us back to moving the patient. Despite my best efforts, the breaks are still out – a problem that is increased in complexity by decaying bolts and old break lines. The engine, even when running, was not running well. This thing needs professional help. We decided to enlist the help of a trusted mechanic with old Rover experience. The only catch- he’s 2.5 hours away. Today the Land Rover is getting loaded onto a flat bed truck and headed to Lynchburg.
With any luck, it will be back to purring like a kitten and in the kind of shape where a novice can learn to baby it, rather than trying to resuscitate it.
Much like the iconic Greek figure, the Land Rover has not made much progress, despite the toiling.
The learn-as-you-go process is as frustrating as it is rewarding. Every night brings a new discovery about how engines work. At the same time I have to consider the big picture. Can I really figure out what is wrong when I don’t have the big picture? I’m apprenticing to an internet master.
That might strike readers as hyperbole, elevating Rovers beyond their marquee. But the analog holds. An apprentice knows more than the average joe about a topic, but still relatively little compared to the engineer who designed the thing. Thats me – the apprentice.
I get that the carburetor works on the vacuum produced by the engine to suck in more gas which burns faster when you press the pedal down…. but really, thats scraping the surface. It turns out that if a battery isn’t up to snuff that the engine may not idle perfectly, regardless of what the alternater is putting out. Who knew? So while I am chasing the timing, maybe its just a weak battery…or maybe its a bad wire…or maybe the dizzy (gear that controls timing of the distributor) is bad, or maybe its a spark plug… turns out they can all lead to the same symptoms. How do you know which to troubleshoot first?
The challenge now is bringing back the spark – pun intended. I’ve got great help via the Rovers North Forums (http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=17) and I’m remembering mantra of patience. But at some point I have to remember that timing an engine is an art and maybe not the domain of the apprentice.
I have a few more tricks up my sleeve. The brakes are coming together and should be easy enough. After that, it may be time to turn things over a master. I’m close to reconciling the idea that its not giving up if I take it to someone who can save me from doing more harm.
If we don’t see you on the road, then check back here soon!
Just a quick update – and apology since it has been a while….
The Rover is back!
