Dafny comes to Mudville

This, apparently, is Limelight Green!!!

As 2014 drew to a close, it became apparent to Mud and I that Thomas, the 10 year old Mazda pickup truck, was ailing badly and would probably not make it through his next MOT (for those of you not from the UK , this is an annual road safety test for all vehicles 3 years and older) …… well not without us having to spend upwards of £1,500 on repairs and, to be frank, it simply didn’t make financial sensible to go down that route anymore, as this was more than the value of the vehicle as it stood. The Mazda had been a sterling workhorse over the last 10 years, clocking up around 250k miles and proving unbelievably reliable, however, all good things must come to an end and with Thomas proving more of a money pit with each passing day, something had to give.

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After the famine comes the …. er … feast?

Our new garden feature

Back in December 2009, with the Jap’ pick up, Thomas, aging fast and the cost of maintenance and repairs of said vehicle escalating at a rather alarming rate, Muds’ Land Roverless status reached breaking point and he set about persuading me that an old, battered classic Land Rover was the only sensible solution to our vehicular needs. The ease with which he could repair it, the much lower cost of these repairs, minimal historic vehicle insurance costs, not forgetting the taxed exempt status of such a vehicle, were all tools used to persuade me that a Series land Rover project was the way forward and I fell for it!

On the buses – Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum

This stunningly beautiful Austin Gypsy fire tender was Middle Mudlets favourite exhibit

A couple of hours after we first arrived at the Lincolnshire Road Transport Museum (only to find it closed until midday), we drove back into the museum car park. Buoyed by our spontaneous visit to the Cogglesford Watermill and fueled by a very tasty lunch, we decamped from the pickup truck and headed for the entrance.

Regular readers of this blog won’t be at all surprised to learn that Mud and the Mudlets had been really looking forward to the opportunity to immerse themselves in wall to wall vintage and classic vehicles, though how on earth a Maestro qualified for a spot in the main display area, defeats me but as per normal I digress.

Introducing Bonnie

Bonnie, our Series 1, Land Rover, 80″

Well here she is, the latest addition to our Land Rover fleet and she is a Series one, 80 inch. Eldest Mudlets’ reaction to the picture emailed to her was “I hope somebody paid you to take her away” but to be fair to this poor battered little car, she has been used as a trialler and, as a result, has a few more dings and dents than you would expect. However Mud is confident that a few gentle taps here and there with a mallet will straighten out the worst of them, although the rear tub will need a touch more work, as it is currently in two halves.

Happy Birthday Annie

Annie today

On 13th February 1985, my long wheel based, series III Land Rover ‘Annie’ was first registered with the DVLA. We have no idea what colour or specification she was when she left the factory and we can only speculate from clues found around her bodywork, on her initial employment (which we believe was as a tow truck) but these days, she is a much loved marine blue, truck cab with a 3/4 length tilt (canvas) over her load bed

I still remember my misgivings when, back in 2011, Mud announced that after careful consideration and much trawling of the internet, he had come to the conclusion that the ideal car for me was a Series Land Rover. 

Annie in disgrace

Butter wouldn’t melt …… sadly the same couldn’t be said of the electrics.

Well okay maybe that’s a tad unfair, as she is over 30 years old and, let’s be honest, most modern cars would have long since made that final trip to the scrap yard and my beloved Series 3 Land Rover isn’t ready for that particular journey by any means. However, which ever way you look at it, try as I might, and believe me I have tried, I can’t think of a worse time for a cars lights to fail than in the middle of nowhere, on a very dark, miserable autumn night with me driving …… alone!

Benches, buns, a break down and boots

 

Doesn’t look much like Land Rover parts to me!

When Mud and Little Mudlet came back from a run out to our local Land Rover parts supplier, I was somewhat surprised to hear tales of child sized wooden picnic tables and benches, gush forth from our excitable 7 year old, rather than the usual detailed description of Land Rovers she had spotted.

The brotherhood of Land Rover Owners

From this …..

To belong to the brotherhood of Land Rover Owners, you must first own a Land Rover built in the Series to 110 era (which means old, very old, or nearly vintage), must be prepared to wave at other owners of these temperamental but characterful vehicles and, above all, you must be willing to stop at nothing to, or let nothing stop you from, help/helping another member of the brotherhood.

Driving back from the supermarket with ice-cream, dairy and meat products packed into the multitude of storage facilities available in an old Land Rover, on a boiling hot day and you happen upon a stricken Land Rover and its’ owner on the road side. Do you: