Sign Up Today! Test your off-road driving skills on the Land Rover Jubilee Challenge course, located at the Land Rover Experience Center. You will be judged on accuracy and efficiency while driving the 2018 Land Rover Discovery. Prizes will be awarded to top three participants.
The Solihull Questionnaire
If Land Rover made an aircraft would you fly in it? Why/Why Not?
No. Hell no. Don’t want to play the “what’s that noise” game at 5,000 feet
Tell us a little about your background, your career, and where you live.
Born in New York City, Staten Island to be exact, aka the cousin Oliver of the boroughs. Grew up in Jersey. Went to college in New Hampshire fell in love with New England and never left. I practice real estate in Boston, but live about a 100 miles out of town in rural New Hampshire in a town with no post office and more dogs than people.
What’s your team name?
Team Blockheads. When you see my yellow labs it makes total sense
How many Land Rovers have you owned and which was your favorite?
A 73 Series 3 88, 96 Disco, 93 RRC, 95 RRC and currently a 60 109, 67? Lightweight and a 98 D1. By far the lightweight. Actually has a little speed, for a Rover
What’s the best thing about owning a Land Rover?
They give you a sense of humor and patience and if they don’t, nothing will
What’s the worst thing about owning a Land Rover?
I’ve heard good things about something called “heat” inside vehicles. Hoping Land Rover decides to look into that one day.
Been on an adventure? – tell us about it
Are we talking a breakdown adventure? Because I don’t know how much room I have.
If you could ask Land Rover for a particular type of vehicle what would it be?
A lhd 130 would be nice but a vehicle from Rover chock full of lightweight parts would be nicer. You know how tough it is to source lightweight parts in the States??
If you were on safari which three (living, dead, or fictional) people would you pick to bring along?
George Adamson
Denys Finch Hatton
Taylor Swift. I mean have you seen that video with her and the Rovers?
Eating a plain can of tuna for dinner tonight (don’t ask, #dietssuck) I came across this article on Road and Track. Crazily, the article was originally found on the Car and Driver website. Wow is that the work of a serious slacker. “Hey, let’s post content from the competitors website”. Anyway, as I read the post, the vehicle seemed familiar. After scrolling through a few pictures – lo and behold – it’s a Muddy Chef car! Great photos too. Here’s the article and a link to the e-bay listing.
Buy This Vintage Land Rover From When 4x4s Actually Went Off-Road
No nav, no heated seats. This stalwart comes from the days when a 4×4 was a working machine.
BY NICHOLAS WALLACE / CAR AND DRIVER (ORIGINAL LINK HERE)
Land Rovers have an undeniable charm. In America, we often think of them as little more than status symbols, cars practical only for those who can afford the high running costs. Elsewhere, however, the Land Rover name is synonymous with off-road capability and durability. No model exemplifies that better than the Land Rover Series II.
The Land Rover’s birth, much like that of the Willys Jeep, came right after the end of World War II. At the time, Rover’s car sales were struggling, so the British company explored the option of building a roadgoing truck that had the off-road capabilities of a tractor. The resulting vehicle was the Land Rover Series I. Initially, the truck was supposed to have a short production cycle, one just long enough to provide working capital for Rover’s other projects. Sales boomed, however, and the Land Rover brand was born.
In the late ’50s, the model saw several improvements, such as short- and long-wheelbase variants, revised exterior styling, and a new 2.25-liter gasoline engine that produced 72 horsepower. These models were called the Series II and Series IIa.
This particular example, which is currently for sale on eBay, is a short-wheelbase 1966 Series IIa. The owner doesn’t state its mileage but does claim that it’s nearly rust-free and has been daily driven for the past six months (!). That’s the kind of commitment we love to see. And while a Series II Land Rover can go a lot farther afield, you could also take it to Whole Foods if you wanted.
Via Car and Driver
SOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD! For a tasty $17,350.00! Here’s the old ebay listing. Hopefully that $$$ will go into another Land Rover.
Tell us about yourself, where you grew up, your background, education, and family.
I grew up in New Vernon NJ. Went to The Canterbury School In New Milford, CT then Hartwick College majoring in consumption and Economics! My wife’s name is Hilary LaForge and we have two Kids: Patrick (12) and Charlotte (10) plus an English Golden Retriever named Burleigh. We live in Mendham NJ.
What the heck is Switchel and where did you come up with the idea for CideRoad?
We discovered Switchel while cruising down a side road in New England, hence our name, CideRoad. An unforgettable inaugural swig led us to create our own versions including our Original, a spicy Cherry, and a snappy Blueberry. Turns out it’s a historical drink that dates back to the 1600’s.
They had a bowl of switchel to hydrate our forefathers while they crafted the constitution during the unbearable Philadelphia summer heat of 1787. Apparently Mr. Madison and Mr. Hamilton would spike the switchel with Jamaican rum on days when they needed a little help persuading the rest of the guys to follow their lead!
Its core ingredients: Vermont maple syrup, apple cider vinegar and ginger provide a perfect balance of tart and sweet flavors — creating a unique taste that leaves you wanting more.
What’s it like to quit your job and follow your dream?
At first it’s like whoop whoop! Then its scary as hell! Especially when you see how little you are paying yourself. It’s a lot more work but hopefully worth it in the end. I will say that I have never worked harder and every day is a new learning experience and a new problem to fix. It’s probably akin to trying to maintain a Range Rover P38 as a daily driver 🙂
We know the CideRoad logo includes a cartoon Land Rover. Can you tell us about it?
We wanted our logo to resonate a certain lifestyle. It’s about being adventurous, being outdoors, being active and g
etting lost in exploration once in a while. The inspiration for our logo was an old Land Rover because there’s something truly unique and authentic about old Rovers. It hints at a certain lifestyle and ties in the whole cide-roading theme.
How many Land Rovers have you owned? What’s the best and worst thing about owning them?
I have owned four Land Rovers so far.. My first encounter with Land Rovers was when my Dad bought a 1968 Series 2A, Model 88 for his Rhode Island summer house. It was sort of a beater, or so I thought but I was simply too young to understand the concept of patina at the time.
I can, however, testify that that truck dominated the Weekapaug sand trail like no other! I bought my first Land Rover, a Disco 2 in 2002. It was used (lightly) and was Adriatic Blue with a light tan interior. I promptly had proper, orange pin stripes painted down the sides and loved that car for many years.
A few years back I bought a 1995 Range Rover Classic, County LWB. It was in pretty good shape and so much fun to drive. I remember driving it to VT with the family and my two little kids were in the back. They had so much leg room that they were scared of all the space! I did some nice work on that truck while I owned it, including rebuilding the cracked center console with real burlwood.
In 2012 I found my dream Rover that I had been searching for, a 1961 Poppy Red Series 2A 109. She will be at the Muddy Chef this summer being towed by my next LR purchase – a 2007 Range Rover LM322, again in dark blue and with blue leather interior. I still drive this truck today as my daily driver and it has 110,000 miles on it – love it!
Photo courtesy The Muddy Chef Challenge.
Owners of classic cars have more vintage race, rally and touring events to choose from than ever before these days. But what about owners of old-school, 4 x 4 off-road machines?
Fortunately, the crowd that loves to get dirty now has some options of their own.
The Muddy Chef Challenge, first contested at Vermont’s Mount Stowe in 2008, returns to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut for the second year in a row and its fourth iteration overall from July 30 through August 2.
The organizers of the Copperstate 1000 vintage rally—now in its 25th year—have added an off-road event, the Copperstate Overland, with its inaugural running happening from October 18-21 in Arizona.
The Muddy Chef Challenge, which is open exclusively to Land Rover owners, combines camping, off-road challenges and a cooking challenge along with sporting clays target shooting and even a chance to get dolled up for a white linen cocktail party. The cost of registration is $75, plus $25 per night to camp at Lime Rock. But participants need to bring their own food, cigars and whatever other party supplies they might need for three days of hanging out with like-minded Land Rover enthusiasts.
The Muddy Chef Challenge seems not to take itself too seriously. Making friends, sharing food and playing around getting Land Rovers muddy—the way they should be—seem to be the goals of the organizers and participants alike.
The Copperstate Overland is open to more than just Land Rover owners (though we suspect that plenty of Rover owners will be involved), but anyone wishing to enter will need an off-road vehicle from the 1979 model year or older. At $6,850, the cost of the Copperstate Overland is quite a bit steeper than the Muddy Chef Challenge, but that price includes all meals and double-occupancy lodging for the driver and co-driver/navigator, including a final night’s stay after the rally and awards dinner the final night. A portion of every entry fee goes to benefit the Men’s Art Council of the Phoenix Art Museum.
In addition to not staying in tents for that significant entry fee, the Copperstate Overland will feature a mix of off-road and on-road rallying amid some very beautiful Arizona countryside that is a contrast to the potentially very muddy Lime Rock experience.
Different events for different tastes—and budgets, but both guaranteed to get your car dirty.
Yes, you can do ANYTHING. But why?
