Natural Aircon

If I thought Olivia was stripped before, I was wrong. Here's how I drove to work today, VERY securely strapped in...!


My 5-door model is currently a 1-door :-)

Stripped

Olivia is bare.

There isn't a rivet, bolt, nut, piece of rubber, silicone or cable tie left unless it's holding something essential.

The roof lining is out. The chequer plate is off (except for 3 pieces now modified and permanently back on - see below). Windows that were covered for years saw daylight - some of them came out completely. There's no grill, no bumper, no roofrack, no spare carrier (or spare!), no tow hitch, no trailer plug, no back step, no side skirts, no water tanks, no fire extinguishers, no storage, no curtains, no window grilles.... Inside there aren't even floors in some parts! With two of the three fuel tanks out, it's easy to see the road flashing by, the gears working, the propshafts turning. Quite scary stuff until you get used to it.

The only thing left intact, not to be removed during this process, is the dreamcatcher on the rear-view mirror.

Now the hard work starts. All those Landy bits all over the house, and the ones that aren't yet made / acquired - they all have to go back in. There are a few bits that are already renewed. Safari roof bolts, front vent seals, bonnet spare rubbers (and rubber seal around the inside of the bonnet), newly-galvanized light guards, new running lights at front, numberplate light at back - and a reverse light! Both back side windows are now smartly chequer-plated. The left-back window has had glass removed and is now chequer-plated - but the right-hand one remains, as there are plans afoot on that side. Body panels have been aligned / secured - and in the process we discovered she used to be a bakkie (open truck)! Behind the grill is anti-rustworm paint, which is going on the length of the chassis along with 2 other protective substances.

Everything that can be galvanized / electroplated has been. There are boxes of goodies to tackle and place, to modify and fit. There's a new windscreen that we keep falling over. The roofrack, bumper, light bars, storage and rockslider metal bits are tripping us up in the yard. This is still one very big job - and less than a month before we leave for Sani...

Meantime Olivia's light as a feather, bouncing all over the road, zooming instead of toddling. If we don't start weighing her down soon, she may fly.

Photoblog: Olivia goes Off-Roading

We took Olivia up the Two Oceans 4x4 Trail on Thursday as a learning curve and test run for Sani Pass. So far so good! :-)

Bat out of hell

Livi's back from the hospital, had her new exhaust fitted and is going like a BOMB! Absolutely brilliant with a roar to die for and much more power. Of course that has me pushing her up hills at speeds she hasn't done before - but checking her speedo against a GPS it seems she hasn't been doing what I thought she was doing anyway....!

This weekend a lot of work was done on her and on her bits. She's looking quite different, and there's more bits of metal lying around the yard. We also managed to set the rubbish bin alight in the process, and had quite the fire going before we noticed what was going on. But there's progress. A lot of progress.

And I've just heard there's a new windscreen on its way home.

This week I was due to be working on her with Favourite Man, but we're still awaiting various bits and pieces, so I've transferred leave to next week instead. I'll use this one to rest up... :-) I suspect I'm going to need it. Favourite Man is a very hard taskmaster, and I'll be running to keep up.

Picky Olivia

There were big things afoot for Olivia today. I took another Landy to work so she could go in to have her new exhaust fitted etc etc etc. Olivia - as Olivia does - had other plans. She first refused to start until I rushed back and gave her some personal attention (with the help of her new Landy friend). And then she conked. She disagreed with having Favourite Man in the driver's seat (or some such silliness) and gave up going forward half-way to her destination.

She's now in hospital (thanks to yet another Toy-Tow), having a couple things attended to. That'll teach her to be picky about who drives her!

She'd better get used to Favourite Man - he's not going to just give up and go away. Or at least I hope not.. :-) There's still a lot of fiddling with her bits to be done. All good, so she need not fear.

Here we go...

Olivia is about to get sorted in ways she didn't even know were possible! A lot of work will be happening very soon in a mad flurry of activity. Watch this space... :-)

New Technology for Series Landies

I've just found the most awesome Series upgrade! Now my Landy can use computerised diagnostics too!!!

Up and Down we go

Olivia loves wet weather. She hates cold. This morning was perfect - it rained most of the night so everything was still damp when I left for work. But it was warm! She went absolutely beautifully.

But there are times when you're scared to drive, and when after an hour of trying to breathe deeply once you get home you're still a little shakey.

Today is one of those days.

There was that "sigh" from the engine just before I hit town, the merest hiccup in power - and immediately I went from relaxed & driving to tense & listening. There's very little place to pull off until a certain point, and I hadn't checked fuel levels (fuel guage is kinda stuck on half-tank). First garage I came to was where I pulled over and did just that. Still have fuel. Check spark - nothing loose, still have spark. But had had a few more very little judders between the first sigh and the garage. The only culprit I could imagine is the vacuum advance, which is awaiting a new rubber seal on the end and is currently functioning with duct tape. So after sitting for a bit and gathering my courage, I gingerly headed home. Of course I would get stuck behind a tannie with a gigantic fern in the back of her car who seems to have learnt to drive when the speed limit was still 10. And then some chick in a Renault who slammed on brakes for everything - notwithstanding the Landy creeping up her arse. But we made it. Engine sounding "sloshy" again, but we made it.

Last time it did that I needed to stick in oil, and did so again today. I hope that's what the issue was (for now). It's not that it's run out, it's just that it's low - and using up oil a lot. I really need to get that compression test, the banjo bolt washers, the vacuum advance rubber... If only I didn't have to contend with office hours. :-)

So we're home. I sat on her wing in the last of the sun for an hour as the engine slowly cooled. Taking deep breaths, trying to stop shaking with terror at what might/could have happen/ed. And trying not to remember that tomorrow is Friday the 13th.

New Landy

I've just acquired a white Defender! Always wanted one... :-)

Go O Go

Olivia has been going fantastically lately! Replacing the distributor cap and HT leads made a world of difference to her power, and greasing the UJs helped with forward motion too. There's an oil change planned for tomorrow, but she's just been driving so well lately.

Yesterday I hit some hills in 4th where she would have struggled up in 3rd. Coming home from supper out, it was like driving the Ford (which is still standing broken, a month later) - easy to move, easy to steer, just feeling all-round great. I got home with a grin on my face.

She'll never be speedy. I like the sedate and dignified pace that allows me to enjoy the scenery. She'll never be light. But she's doing better on fuel consumption this week. She'll never be small - but zippy is overrated.

Go, Olivia, Go!

True to form

The good news is I didn't fall out of Olivia.

The bad news is I managed to crush a knuckle with one of the larger leaf-springs... but I'll live. 'Nother day, 'nother injury. Usual stuff.

I did get a lot done on her today - from door straightening to some wire-removal to a look at the banjo bolt. So progress has been made and clothing will be washed.

I'm going to feel this one tomorrow!

Noted

* Olivia loves the wet. She goes better when it's raining than when it's not. Well, except for the waterfall behind the accelorater and out of the top of the windscreen, but that's minor.

* My squealing brakes are normal! I've just been watching some Series III clips on YouTube, and their brakes sound exactly the same as mine when I have to hit them suddenly.

* You're never done fixing a Landy. I have a long to-do list for tomorrow...

* Sometimes it's better you don't know how serious problems are. I have given one poor bloke a near heart-attack describing the colour of my clutch fluid. And others are horrified by the duct tape / wiring issues / spark-plugs etc. Most of which I correct as soon as I know what the heck is wrong.

* I'm loving the Landy-driving vibe. Get a kick out of every Landy driver who gives me "the wave". Also getting a kick out of those who grin at me when they see me getting into/out of the beast. Today it was a wistful look from an older gent surrounded by his family - who was getting into a thoroughly modern and practical 4x4. There's something to be said for driving an impractical but very cool truck - a touch of the romantic that dares to dream (that you'll make it home).

* I really hope I don't fall out of Olivia again this weekend.

Long and Winding road

I drove Olivia to work today after having her standing since Monday. Those electrical issues completely drained the battery, which took nearly 2 days to recharge. But once that was done, she turned over pretty quickly.

After a big incident like this, I'm always hesitant to take on lengthy travel. Any sign of a problem and I'm ready to turn around, just in case. This morning she jerked twice on the way through town. I turned off down a side street, had a look in the engine, and then gave it "around the block" to do it again. It didn't - so onwards it was.

Slowly...

Listening every metre of the way for anything that might be wrong... Got here tense and tired, sommer first thing in the morning. But happy to have her back on the road.

The engine's running rough-feeling, vibrating more than it should (or perhaps it's the axles, wheels, whatever) - will be checking a few things this weekend. I'm topping up oils and water at lunchtime to make sure they're good to go (replaced a water pipe recently). I'll tighten and/or replace the fanbelt this weekend too. I may approach the axles with fear and trepidation and a grease-gun - another learning curve awaits there.

But I'm here at work on my own steam for the first time this week. My big block of blue (also called the "bokwa" or "sardine tin", depending on how badly she's playing up) is standing in her usual place, gently leaking oil. Hey, it's a Landy - it does that. One trip home - ALL the way home - and we'll be sorted for the weekend.

Holding thumbs that it won't be a mission.

..or not

And then I remembered why I love Olivia:





Life is never dull when you've got a Landy. :-)

Buy a Horse - take 2

There are days when I love my Landy. When I'm tootling along in traffic and all is going well. Then there are days like this.

Due to my own stupidity, as I turned the "battery on" key on Monday morning something blew up in the engine in a puff of electric smoke. Wires melting, the works. Hitched a lift with my ever-tolerant boss, and again on Tuesday 'cos it was too dark to investigate when I got home on Monday.

Tuesday evening I had enough daylight left to spot the problem within 3 seconds and correct it. No more melting wires!

And then came today...

Olivia's been standing for 2 days. She struggles to get going in the mornings at the best of times, even more so when it's in the single digits weather-wise. I had let the boss know I'd be in late (off to collect some new cables for the melted ones on the way in, and had to wait for shops to open) - but after 3 hours of trying to start her, I gave up. The battery was completely dead, as were the two others I put in to boost the charge. She nearly caught - but not. Meantime I missed 2 important meetings and get to work at home again. OK - I'm getting a lot done, but still.

I admit it. Today I'm peeved and frustrated. I don't have the second car for emergencies like this (nor the cash to fix it - food takes priority). That car isn't the most reliable anyway. Some days I wonder what I'm thinking attempting to commute in a 30-year old Land Rover. Most days I'm sure my colleagues wonder the same.

Yes, things will be better tomorrow. The battery (well, all 3 of the damn things) will be charged and good to go. I'll be at my desk before the sun makes its appearance again. I'll put in my full day and get to attend the other important meeting.

But today I think I want a horse.

Sticker

I'm tempted to say "this one's for John" - but I'd kinda like to keep my job ... ;-)

Olivia leaves her mark

Details here.

Driving Ms Livi - take 2

So there I was, tootling along in rush-hour traffic (collecting assorted vehicles behind me) today and it struck me. I'm really really enjoying driving Ms Livi! I've finally gotten over the listening-for-something-about-to-break, feeling-every-bump tension that had me tired out after a half-hour drive of gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles.

I've gotten the hang of the gears - both up and down. I know my braking distance (oh, how they squeal if I have to dive on them!). I've figured out how many 3-point turns it takes to get into and out of spots. I'm quite content to hurtle up the landscape side of the yellow line on a hill at 40km an hour in 3rd while traffic zooms past me (singing "Sexbomb" at the top of my lungs and waving at passing farm workers on open trucks). The timing is ticking over properly. The idle speed is perfect. Starting is coming along (though she doesn't like mornings). And my limited field of view no longer bugs me.

Fellow Landy-drivers are still skimping on the Landy-wave, but I've had a couple from guys in older models. I've had people check my cool ride out at traffic lights and in parking lots. I've had petrol pump attendants ogling her flag stickers, her tanks under the seats, and peering into her interior (a regular occurance - I've just filled up for the second time this week!). I've had old blokes tell me they dig my vehicle, and the "manne" in Autozone squiz at her out the door. She's unique, stands out in a crowd, nothing else like her around here.

But beyond that I'm now comfortable in the saddle. Although I do seem to tend to slide off toward the middle every now and then, I'm happy in the driver's seat. So what if it takes me a little longer to go places. I'm finally - really - a Landy driver.

Spectacles

I hear that I was quite the tourist attraction last week! :-) Our offices overlook the parking area where I was over/under/in Olivia attempting to fix her in the rain, and apparently I attracted a lurking, commenting crowd in the safe warmth of the building! (No, I wouldn't ask them for help - they know computers, and Olivia doesn't have one)

A colleague told me she saw the Landy swallowing me when I set the idle speed on my way home one day and was highly amused.

Yup, I regularly make a spectacle of myself working on Olivia. I've gotten to know more neighbours (and their dogs) working on her outside than I ever would have simply living in our new place.

So nope, I don't mind being hunkered down in the rain and leftover petrol under her. I don't mind the occasional grease smear I only notice hours later on clothing or face. I don't mind being watched from windows, nor looked at with a sense of amazement when I turn up between the men at Autozone with a part in my grimy hand (spanner in the other) - newly hauled out my engine in front of the place - and seeking "one of these please".

The thing is this - I enjoy working on my truck. I love figuring out her innards, whether I get it right myself or have to call on an expert. I like knowing what goes on in the beast, even if it leaves me a little dirty around the edges.

Fact is, she's one Very Cool Vehicle - and I'm proud of her.

It's the little things

This fine gentleman drove a long way on Saturday morning to take a look inside Olivia's engine bay, and by the time he left, she was on the go again!

So what was the issue? Well - something small. A loose and frayed wire in the distributor. And once that was put together again, it was discovered that I hadn't put 3 of the spark plugs in quite tight enough, so they weren't doing too great. That was sorted out chop-chop.

I haven't driven further than around the block to park her in her usual spot. Tomorrow I'm working from home and have also been given time to sort out the cars. I'll be going down the road to find a new distributor wire, pick up cage nuts and get the timing sorted out. The Ford will most likely be towed in to the mechanic too (suspected head gasket blown...).

I'm very glad to know it wasn't something huge that was the problem. And I know just the tiniest bit more about the electrics now too.