Life, Death and Land Rovers

So, it’s been a while since I wrote here. A lot has happened since February and not all of it positive. The painting front continues to go well and keep me busy, which is great. I’ve recently painted a host of board game miniatures, which I shall do a post on shortly.

Unfortunately, we lost one of our cats on the road which hit me pretty hard. She was less than two years and as such, we have now confined the others to inside. I do not want to ever experience that shock again. Crabpuff – or Crumble – is very much missed.

My main change was purchasing this car last week. About five years ago, while in Grand Cayman, Dave and I went on an Island tour in a Defender 110. Since then, I have wanted one of my own. I loved the square chunkiness of them, the sound and the general cool factor – and the fact that you can go all over in them whether there is a road or not.

Since then, I had a go at some off-roading. This was an awesome amount of fun, and while traipsing through mud and lakes, the instructor and I got talking. He confessed that what I was driving was actually a Discovery, which was essentially the same as a Defender, just a bit more comfortable. They were also a fraction of the price to buy.

A fraction of the price eh… Six weeks later, I bought this:

It’s so big! At just over £2000, it was indeed a fraction of the cost of a Defender. Is it easy to drive? No. Is it a lot of fun? Yes! We picked the car up from near Hebden Bridge, and I have been getting to grips with it since. It is a 2003 Discovery 2 TD5. There are other numbers and letters that go with it, but that’s the gist of it.

It definitely has its quirks. When we bought it, we knew there was an issue with the transfer box, so I called up a local Land Rover garage – run by two guys who are enthusiasts – to see if they’d take a look at it. The initial conversation went like this:

‘My Land Rover is leaking oil, can you have a look at it please?’
‘Sure, where is it leaking oil from?’
‘Underneath. I’ve not had a car leak before.’
‘You’ve never had a Land Rover have you?’

So, in it went. Turns out it leaks power steering fluid, it leaks oil and it leaks diesel. Most of these are minor things that need repairing. The fuel leak is getting fixed next week as that is the worst one. I was reliably informed that the price I paid for it was a bargain, and that the car is solid.

I’m looking forward to learning all about it, how it works, how to keep it working and going on all sorts of adventures.