Okay, do you remember going to see my friend Brian? He had a huge trampoline in his back garden, which you spent ages on. Anyway, he came up to see me and Grandad Norman for a day, to spend some time in the shed fixing the Land Rover.
Now, I doubt you’ll remember the Land Rover, but you might remember the garage in Hickling was very full. Well, it was full of old Land Rover. Then with loads of stuff piled on top, which made it difficult to see.
And what you could see didn’t look much like a Land Rover. Because it was in bits. When it was 27 years old, it failed its MoT road test because the main chassis had rotted. So my dad and I took it to bits to fix it. And we got a long way along the job when dad moved away. Then I moved. Then he moved. And the poor old Land Rover git moved all over the place, in bits and boxes. Anyway, I’ve now got a shed, and Grandad Norman is just down the road. So it was time to restart the project.
Then I realised it was 27 years ago since we took it apart. It has spent half its 54 year life in component form! DEFINITELY time to get it back together again.
So we made a start. And an early job was to see if the engine would actually run after all this time. There are no electrics on the vehicle, and the fuel tank and line aren’t connected either. So we stuck the fuel pipe in a petrol can (don’t try this at home!!!) and ran some temporary wires to give a spark to the engine. Popped a battery in to start her up. And then, holding our breath, we hit the starter button…
Well, she fired and she ran!! Popped a cushion on the chassis and drive here around the field, no seats, no brakes, no lights. But that is a whole other story. Now we know the engine runs, we are carrying on with the build. It won’t be quick, but we will get there, and hopefully it won’t take another 27 years!
