Workhorse or a Royal 4WD? We do not know her past, but today, this is Terry Hook’s workhorse and go-to-town vehicle.
When you get a new horse, you wonder what they’ve done and where they’ve been, but they’re not talking. It’s much the same with a “new” car. It’s got a history, but you just can’t get them to talk about it.
My 1978 Land Rover Series 3 was shipped up from my Virginia brother-in-law in 2014. Since then I’ve replaced the fuel tank, the exhaust, the top (twice), added an electric fuel pump, stopped a coolant leak, redone the clutch hydraulics, brakes and the front end. Not too much for ten years! Of course, there have been the standard adventures like the fan cutting through the fuel line, the passenger window (almost) falling out, and filling the radiator with a discarded coke bottle from a nearby stream. Just your run-of-the-mill events. I generally don’t drive off without being armed with at least a multi-tool and a cellphone.
I put it up in the barn for the winter. Heavy snow on the canvas top doesn’t do it any favors, and to be honest it doesn’t really start so well when it’s below freezing. A spring snowstorm can catch me out, though. In the summertime it’s my farm truck, bringing succor to the wounded haying equipment in the form of jumper cables, tools, and parts.
My love affair with 4WD began when I was 15 and surreptitiously drove the 1950s-era Willys jeeps at summer camp. No doors and no top, doing four-wheel drifts on the dirt road corners. I had to pass all that up for more mature conveyances for many years until we bought a Wrangler “for the kids.” It had a removable top and doors and very little heat. The Wrangler was ultimately no long road worthy and was demoted to pulling the hay rake, and about the time that it finally croaked, the Rover miraculously came along. It’s almost like being 15 again.
I know exactly what I have done to the Rover during my tenure, but its earlier history is a mystery. The VIN indicates that it started life as a RHD diesel utility. However, the label on the rear calls it a “station wagon” and obviously I know for certain that the engine is gasoline. I can also see the RHD was converted to LHD, but not quite completely. The levers, especially the overdrive and brake, are a bit of a stretch for the driver to reach, and the heater levers are all the way on the other side of the car. The UK license plate was issued in Northampton, but the year code seems to be 1967 (all that is so complicated I have no idea if I am reading it correctly). All these unknowns just deepen the charm for me.
It’s fun to have, and while terribly uncomfortable at more than about 40mph, it’s fun to drive. I drive it around town and don’t think much about it, but when I come out to the grocery store parking lot and see its canvas top over the array of nondescript cars I realize just how unique it is and how lucky I am to have it.
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