Well we made it to Lime Rock and had a great time camping and watching the racing. During the day we came back to camp to find an 88" SIII parked next to us, owned by a wonderful chap called Doug from Newtown. Long chat ensued as always and it turns out he's also restoring a 66 IIA 88" that was his Dad's.
He offered to take a look at my rotten crossmember, which was the point at which we discovered that the gas tank of my 109 had fallen out… Not completely, obviously, but the support points on the rear cross member had both given way (probably aided by my brimming it to get to Lime Rock in the first place) and the only thing holding it in place was the rear diff stopping it from falling. Despite being grateful to find out where the smell of petrol had been coming from (dripping out of the tank near the diff) this was something of a bummer. Thankfully Doug had a ratchet strap in the back of his Land Rover and we found some solid metal further up the chassis to secure the tank to. He was then kind enough to follow me home to the Four Corners, keeping an eye on it and giving me updates on the cellphone. We made it back to Bethel OK but in a very despondant frame of mind.
So it's pretty clear she's reached the end of the road on this chassis. I'm still debating what to do next as I don't have a workshop per se and don't have $4K+ for a galv chassis and everything else I'm going to need. I actually went as far as asking Doug if he'd be able to do anything with it if I gave it to him, and the offer is still open, but I think he's already committed to his IIA project and I wasn't bargaining on quite how distraught my kids would be at the thought that the family pet might have to be put down…
Feeling a little more positive this morning though so I'm investigating the options again with an open mind. In my optimistic way I'm halfway to convincing myself that a chassis swap is do-able on the driveway and that the money fairies may yet sprinkle cash at an opportune moment. I might try to get her into the garage to stave off any further rot and deterioration while I work out the logistics but maybe she'll ride again under my ownership after all. Wish me luck folks.
Bloody Land Rovers… Gotta love them. Gotta have one.
Cheers
Luke
He offered to take a look at my rotten crossmember, which was the point at which we discovered that the gas tank of my 109 had fallen out… Not completely, obviously, but the support points on the rear cross member had both given way (probably aided by my brimming it to get to Lime Rock in the first place) and the only thing holding it in place was the rear diff stopping it from falling. Despite being grateful to find out where the smell of petrol had been coming from (dripping out of the tank near the diff) this was something of a bummer. Thankfully Doug had a ratchet strap in the back of his Land Rover and we found some solid metal further up the chassis to secure the tank to. He was then kind enough to follow me home to the Four Corners, keeping an eye on it and giving me updates on the cellphone. We made it back to Bethel OK but in a very despondant frame of mind.
So it's pretty clear she's reached the end of the road on this chassis. I'm still debating what to do next as I don't have a workshop per se and don't have $4K+ for a galv chassis and everything else I'm going to need. I actually went as far as asking Doug if he'd be able to do anything with it if I gave it to him, and the offer is still open, but I think he's already committed to his IIA project and I wasn't bargaining on quite how distraught my kids would be at the thought that the family pet might have to be put down…
Feeling a little more positive this morning though so I'm investigating the options again with an open mind. In my optimistic way I'm halfway to convincing myself that a chassis swap is do-able on the driveway and that the money fairies may yet sprinkle cash at an opportune moment. I might try to get her into the garage to stave off any further rot and deterioration while I work out the logistics but maybe she'll ride again under my ownership after all. Wish me luck folks.
Bloody Land Rovers… Gotta love them. Gotta have one.
Cheers
Luke
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