Land Rover Monthly – October 2019

http://www.stainlesssteelexhausts.co. uk

DOUBLES EXHAUSTS LT D

LANDROVER MONTHLY 123

M

Y Ninety V8, whose rebuild
was featured in ourtech
section andwas completed
earlier thisyear, is proving
to be the ace inmy pack of
LandRovers. The final episodeof that
rebuild appeared in our May issue, which
seems a long timeback, but Istill feel as
if the V8 has only just arrived here. After
the rebuild, the Ninety’s first journeywas
from Britpart’s workshop in Shropshire up
to myplace inCumbria.So the trip
included agood mixof roads, though
mainly motorway where thewagon
cruisedcomfortably, andrelatively quietly
for an old Ninety, at a steady 60-ish mph.
On the moretesting Cumbrian B-roads
the ride and handling proved to be spot
on. And despitegetting as many miles on
the clock assoon as possible during this
engine running-in period,reliability has
been perfect. It’s been a novel experience
to put a LandRover back in itsgarage
every day without making a mental no te
of things that need fixing.
I’m still driving the Ninety fa irly gently,
ensuring there’s alw ays a good load on

the enginefor running-in purposes

without letting therevs stray too high.But

as the engine beds in, I’m letting itoff the

leash more and more, and finding it

cruises effortlessly at 70 mph, and that

the performancecan be a lotof fun on the

rightroads – though when itcomes to the

twisty bits I have to respect that it’s still a

30-year-old LandRover builtto an even

more archaic design.

Towingmy boat behind the Ninety has

been a useful way of applyinggentle,

steady loadto the engine.The handling

and braking with a boat trailer on the

back is justtotally competent. And there’s

stacks of rearward visibilityfor

manoeuvring, thanksto the rear side

windows and therear end quarter lights

• a feature which should never ha ve been
  deleted from the TDCi Defenders. Engine
  control and tractability isgood when
  launching andretrieving the boat, which
  is just aswell because Icertainly don’t
  want seawater getting in therear axle
  bearings or any bodywork.
  Aside from the Ninety, there’s trouble
  ahead.Time spent on the Ninety over the
  past year or more, toge ther with therest
  of life, has meant theremainderof the
  Evans fleet has been atad neglected, and
  jobs have been mounting up. My wife,
  Jules’ Freelander I is all butoff the road
  waiting for meto release the jammed
  passenger door,sort a jammed window
  and generallyscrub up the wholevehicle
  into a pr esentable state again.The Range
  Rover Sportcontinuesto be the daily
  workhorse despite a whirringrear
  propshaft, and acouple of weeks ago the
  Series III decidedto self-disintegrate it s
  rear axle bearings.
  I’ve sincerefurbished theSeries III’s

axle and it’s all runningsweetly again,

just in timeto be pressed in to service

as a mobile fruitstall. This is an annual

event whenwe load the SIII with plums,

apples, pear s, damsons and greengages

from ourgarden to deliver themto

friends whowant them, andsome who

don’t, and Julessells a few outof the

back of the truck. While Jules is doing

that, I gue ss I’d better get herFreelander

nailedback toge ther

ED

EVANS

CONTRIBUTOR

NINETYV8

YEAR: 1989 MILEAGE:175,000

POWER:Not measuredyet

TORQUE:Not measuredyet

MPG:Unknown

Running in

Ed enjo ys piling on the miles in hisrecently

rebuilt NinetyV8 but regretting the timeit’s

takenawayfrom the rest of the fleet

Performance and handlingcomes onsong in quiet

country lanes; it’s where this motor belongs – an

absolute treat todrive

The NinetyV8 makes

a good machinefor

hauling and launching

the boat, without

getting itsfeetwet

Series III doing autumn produce duty acoupleof

years ago. This year the new hood, fitted afew

monthsback, shouldkeep the produce(and Jules)

dryfor a change