Soft-topmotoring
providedcourtesyofan
oldtiltfoundintheSII.
Inset:receiptforPrimus
stovewasstillinthefiles
OURCLASSICS
196 Classic & Sports Car September 2019
supported by
wereexactlythesamewidthas the
tensioningstraps;mysterysolved!
Notwantingtofitthestaplesup
front,hesimplytookthestraps
towardsthebackandtiedthem
aroundthehoop.
Fromthereonin,I enjoyeda
wholethreeweeksofsoft-top
Land-Rovering.Ontheplusside,
theweightdifferencebetweenthe
tiltandhardtopwasnoticeableand
theSeriesII feltalmostsprightly.
It wasalsodryinside– thehardtop
leaks from various old panel gaps
and worn seals – and our cats once
again had a warm, soft roof to sleep
on in the sun. But there were also
negatives. The lightness meant that
the trademark 88in ‘choppy’ ride
was exacerbated without the roof,
and the lack of side windows in the
canvas made lane-changing tricky
on motorways if weather dictated
having the tilt rolled down.
I needn’t have worried about
such trivialities, though. As the sun
rose one morning, I heard an odd
sound... a bit like that of ripping
canvas. Yep, one of the aforemen-
tioned cats had jumped from the
house roof on to the Land-Rover,
narrowly avoiding disappearing
through the 6in tear that was the
result of their ungainly landing.So,withthunderstormsforecast,
the hardtop went back on and the
tilt to the trimmer once more. It
was disappointing to have my hand
forced, but I wasn’t heartbroken –
an appointment at the Concours of
Elegance in September and then
the Classic Motor Show in Novem-
ber dictated that the roof would
need to go back on anyway, and it is
a huge part of its identity.
One of my favourite images of
the Series II on its travels shows it
with a stove on its tailgate, some-
where in the Sahara. A search on
eBay threw up a number of similar
stoves, but eventually I tracked
down a late-1950s-dated Primus
No 5 for a bargain price. Why a
Primus? Because I even have
Kohler’s receipt – his having been
bought from Northern Cycles LtdofKitwe.Withthehelpofsome
methylated spirits and paraffin,
I managed to get it working nicely
and it goes well with the original
jug, also in the old photograph.
It is, however, important not to
get overly obsessed with originality- particularly when legality is at
risk. The original painted front
numberplate was showing signs of
wear and almost certainly would
result in action if I were pulled over.
Some had suggested I do nothing,
remove the old plates and paint
some new rather than mess with the
original finish, but that seemed daft - what use is originality if it’s going
to be tucked away and never seen?
Instead, I bought some matt-black
paint and carefully filled in various
areas where the paint had flaked off
so that the digits were legible again.
Justovertwoyearsago,I wrote
aboutthetiltandhoodsticksthat
I’dfoundin thebackof theSeriesII
and had repaired. They had
remainedinthegaragesince,but
thissummerI suddenlyhadanurge
toscratchthetiltitchand,withthe
helpof mybrother-in-law,theroof
wentintothelock-up andthe
hoodstickswentonin itsplace.
Therewasnoneedto rushto put
thetiltonbecausetheforecastwas
greatfora fewdays,butwithin
hours I was hurriedly draping the
canvas over the sticks before things
got too wet. With the tilt hooked
over the ‘shark’s-tooth’ rail at the
windscreen, I tensioned it at the
back, tied down the sides and then
leapt into the driver’s seat to tension
the front straps – these go from just
behind the B-pillar to two metal
loops or staples on the shark’s-
tooth rail... but there weren’t any!
This caused confusion. I had
it on good authority that Philip
Kohler used to swap to the tilt from
time to time, so did he not bother
tensioning the front half of the
canvas? It was only when I glanced
back into the rear tub that I noticed
an odd mark on the centre hood
stick, then another towards the
passenger side. The witness marks
RUNBYMartinPort
OWNEDSINCESeptember 2016
PREVIOUSREPORTAugust
LAND-ROVER
SERIES II
The eBay stove goes with jug seen in photoFamily visit to local brewery in the 88inLeaping cat ‘compromised’ the ageing tilt Original painted plate had worn to excess...Spot of greenlaning following tilt mishap ...carefully retouched to restore legibilityFavourite shot of Kohler’s Primus in action