So LGL went the test centre on 15.05.18 and failed. Not spectacularly but failed nevertheless. This is what needs to be done…

  1. Replace LED head lamps as not original. Easy enough to replace them with the old incandescent lamps but why would improved lighting and safety be frowned upon? The seat belts aren’t original either but wasn’t asked to remove them!
  2. Sun shade. I need to provide evidence the sun shade is a Genuine Land Rover part… which it is. A photocopy of the Optional Extra Parts Manual will suffice.
  3. Replace rear parabolic springs. Tester didn’t like these (for reasons best known to himself) so I have to provide some sort of certification from the manufacturer or replace them with multi-leaf springs. The front springs are also parabolic (part of the same kit of parts) so I have no idea why just the rear are challenged. Replacing the rear with multi leaf springs and leaving the parabolics on the front would be dangerous. If I were to replace all four springs with multi leaf springs the ride height would be reduced and I could probably get LGL in the garage… This is a tempting proposition. Rocky Mountain in Canada have said they will send me some sort of documentation. In a production run of over 20,000 sets of parabolic Land Rover springs so all over the world, this is the first time anyone has ever asked for a certificate.
  4. Speedometer stuck on 60kph. For the short time I drove LGL on temporary plates, the speedo worked fine after the cable was oiled but when the examiner took LGL for the test drive, the speedo stopped working. Murphy’s Law The needle jammed on 60 kph. That’ll be the next post.

 

British Classic Cars also bled all of the air from the brake system, something I ever managed to do, checked the steering and gave it the once over. They also recommended  removing the steering damper as the steering was very heavy. This I have done and just turning the vehicle around on the drive is a great deal easier.

So, pending the “letter” from Rocky Mountain everything is fixed for the next appointment on 15.06.18… LGL can only be tested on the 3 item above so it should be a positive outcome… finger crossed then.