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EDIt : looks like I have more than a few typos to change...but can't put them to rights until I get back to a REAl keyboard.
Not bad for typing 'blind, though...on a 3.5 " touchscreen !!
ok...here are a few questions pertaining to our esteemed and venerable Series and xdefender vehicles. Sorry if there are a few typos, but i am writing this 'blind' as it were from a too small smartphone touchscreen....something FAR more annoying than ANY greasy work on a Series!
#1
why didn't rover put in 6 or 7 digit odometers? they must have realized that old rovers would eventually see numbers, like mine, in the HUNDRERS of thousands of miles, with some in the millions.
#2
Why did they not go ahead and put rubber or plastic spacers between All places where the aluminum touches steel?
#3
Since a polished paint-free rover looks so cool, why did they not go ahead and have paint-free as a option from the factory? A decade of previous use of the exact same Birmabright as skin on many different commercial planes had already shown that not only does it not need paint, but in fact looks good polished?
#4
Why in the world did they EVER do away with the sliding windows and the two-part, iconic windscreen? the sliding windows are handy as all get out...especially when offroding in technically difficult terrain. I could slide open a window and close it again before a Defender even has their window 1/3 way down. great for inspecting rocks etc beneath the vehicle . An old-fashioned turning vent would have been great as well, but maybe negated by the forward bulkhead vents.
Not long ago, I put a rock through my windshield...but since it was a divided windshield, I simply exchanged the broken drivers windshield with the unbroken passenger windshield. When I finally got back to the shop, I only had to replace one side.
they did away with this great feature with the Defender....Why?
#5
they also did away with nearly all the galvanizing of steel on the Defender...the only steel galvanized on Defenders is the front bumper!! Why? A painted steel section is not as rust-free as a galvanized section. I've seen many Defenders in Europe with rusted painted steel body end cappings. this was a nod to cost-cutting (as were many other changes from the great Series and Stage One vehicles ) that NEVER should have happened to Rover's primary icon.
#6
About galvanizing....why did they not just galvanize the entire frame At the factory...and put proper drainage in the frame? the Series/Defender box ladder frame is amongst the very strongest frames in the wolrd...but unprotected with galvanizing, they soon went 'wonkey' in half the time that non-boxed frames did. Didn't Rover realize that many of their vehicles would be used in salty enviroments...either by way of salt on the winter roads or salt in the coastal air?
Many owners would have been glAD to pay an additional premium when brand new for an already hot-dipped galvanized frame.
----
Now I know a potential reasoning may gave been ''Designed Obsolescence''...the bean counters wouldn't like the thought of a vehicle that lasted 75 years or more...and who would exfhange their rover for a new one if they literally lasted forever? they'd just rebuild or replace the drivetrain as needed and continue in the very same chassis/body!!!
hut wasn't that longevity the eventual INtENt of the Wilkes brothers...once they realized what an ingenious and long-lasting their design was? So they should gave in the least given it anti-bimetallic reaction spacers and a galvanized frame to match their galvanized bumpers, cast iron hinges and galvanized windshield frame and end-cappings.
Or DID they, in fact, have somewhat of a 'Designed Obsolescence' idea all along. Just less obsolescence than the other cehicles..enough longevity to keep the customers and their families coming back generation after generation...but NOt enough to have their customers drive a single old land Rover for their whole lives wnd in the long-run spend literally tens of thousands of dollars (outside the coffers of Rover Corporation) to keep their vehifles runniny into the recades and decades.
little did they know!!!
Not bad for typing 'blind, though...on a 3.5 " touchscreen !!
ok...here are a few questions pertaining to our esteemed and venerable Series and xdefender vehicles. Sorry if there are a few typos, but i am writing this 'blind' as it were from a too small smartphone touchscreen....something FAR more annoying than ANY greasy work on a Series!
#1
why didn't rover put in 6 or 7 digit odometers? they must have realized that old rovers would eventually see numbers, like mine, in the HUNDRERS of thousands of miles, with some in the millions.
#2
Why did they not go ahead and put rubber or plastic spacers between All places where the aluminum touches steel?
#3
Since a polished paint-free rover looks so cool, why did they not go ahead and have paint-free as a option from the factory? A decade of previous use of the exact same Birmabright as skin on many different commercial planes had already shown that not only does it not need paint, but in fact looks good polished?
#4
Why in the world did they EVER do away with the sliding windows and the two-part, iconic windscreen? the sliding windows are handy as all get out...especially when offroding in technically difficult terrain. I could slide open a window and close it again before a Defender even has their window 1/3 way down. great for inspecting rocks etc beneath the vehicle . An old-fashioned turning vent would have been great as well, but maybe negated by the forward bulkhead vents.
Not long ago, I put a rock through my windshield...but since it was a divided windshield, I simply exchanged the broken drivers windshield with the unbroken passenger windshield. When I finally got back to the shop, I only had to replace one side.
they did away with this great feature with the Defender....Why?
#5
they also did away with nearly all the galvanizing of steel on the Defender...the only steel galvanized on Defenders is the front bumper!! Why? A painted steel section is not as rust-free as a galvanized section. I've seen many Defenders in Europe with rusted painted steel body end cappings. this was a nod to cost-cutting (as were many other changes from the great Series and Stage One vehicles ) that NEVER should have happened to Rover's primary icon.
#6
About galvanizing....why did they not just galvanize the entire frame At the factory...and put proper drainage in the frame? the Series/Defender box ladder frame is amongst the very strongest frames in the wolrd...but unprotected with galvanizing, they soon went 'wonkey' in half the time that non-boxed frames did. Didn't Rover realize that many of their vehicles would be used in salty enviroments...either by way of salt on the winter roads or salt in the coastal air?
Many owners would have been glAD to pay an additional premium when brand new for an already hot-dipped galvanized frame.
----
Now I know a potential reasoning may gave been ''Designed Obsolescence''...the bean counters wouldn't like the thought of a vehicle that lasted 75 years or more...and who would exfhange their rover for a new one if they literally lasted forever? they'd just rebuild or replace the drivetrain as needed and continue in the very same chassis/body!!!
hut wasn't that longevity the eventual INtENt of the Wilkes brothers...once they realized what an ingenious and long-lasting their design was? So they should gave in the least given it anti-bimetallic reaction spacers and a galvanized frame to match their galvanized bumpers, cast iron hinges and galvanized windshield frame and end-cappings.
Or DID they, in fact, have somewhat of a 'Designed Obsolescence' idea all along. Just less obsolescence than the other cehicles..enough longevity to keep the customers and their families coming back generation after generation...but NOt enough to have their customers drive a single old land Rover for their whole lives wnd in the long-run spend literally tens of thousands of dollars (outside the coffers of Rover Corporation) to keep their vehifles runniny into the recades and decades.
little did they know!!!
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