The first 7 minutes of this almost 11 minute video is a tour of the instrument panel and the engine but if you stick around for the final four minutes you see the truck on the road and pulling a hill not unlike the one leading to our house. If you’ve come this far you’ll want to watch this video.
At long last the truck is on the way. No delivery date yet but it should take less than a week to make it to Jefferson City, MO., depending on the number of stops en route.
Don’t know if I’ll get any lead time or simply get a call from the driver saying “come get your truck.” I have a few loyal supporters who have been with me on this journey and say they want to be on hand for the un-trucking.
I’m sure Mr. Wolf was happy to get the truck out of his shop. Space at a premium.
In preparation for next week’s shipping, Mr. Wolf has detailed the truck. I can say with almost 100% certainty this will the last time it gets anything more than a squirt (inside and out) with a garden hose.
Mr. Wolf has been working the phones, looking for a good carrier to transport the Land Rover from Bay Area to Jefferson City.
“Got a pick up window with a great carrier, next Wednesday -Friday (Aug 15-17). They’ll tighten up the window early next week. They’re sending a driver that handles the Bonham’s & Gooding auction vehicles. I figure a week or less on the road depending upon how many stops they have to make before you.”
Sounds like we might see the thing in JC by August 24.
I’ve had a few folks tell me they’d like to read about my Land Rover adventure but don’t want to hunt back through my other posts (113 to date). Don’t blame you. There’s a “category” link at the bottom of each post having to do with the Land Rover. Clicking that will pull up just those posts.
Clicking the photo in the top right corner of the home page will get the same results. If you care to comment, here’s how I have that configured. The first time you post a comment, I have to approve it before it appears on the blog. After that first time your comment will show up immediately. Love to hear from you.
Mr. Wolf has thoroughly vetted my truck and pronounced it done. If you’ve been following the story here you know what a laborious process that has been. He knew he was sending the truck to someone who doesn’t own a wrench (I’ll get some! I’ll get some!) and wanted to find and fix everything he could. He’ll arrange for transport and when we have a delivery date I’ll post it here. Tentative plan is to unload in one of the parking lots of the Capital Mall west of Jefferson City.
Now that he has the truck shipshape, Mr. Wolf added the badge I had made. I think I can safely say this Land Rover is one of a kind. Thanks entirely to his tireless efforts.
UPDATE: Not so long ago the idea of naming a vehicle would have gotten some serious eye-rolling from me. Any reference to the Land Rover would probably start and end with “the truck.” Now I’m not so sure. Depending on how much personality the truck acquires, I won’t be surprised if I find myself referring to “Mr. Wolf.” If the truck lives long enough to acquire a soul, it will be because of his efforts.
By any estimation, the people that did the restoration on my Land Rover did a half-assed job. Fortunately my guide through this jungle is a bad-ass mechanic (specializing in vintage vehicles) who has been finding and fixing shit for the last six months. His latest report:
“Finding all kinds of wiring issues to sort out! All lighting wiring. I only caught them because the right front parking light was inop. Then I realized the left front turn signal wasn’t working, either. It was a very well hidden mess, too. Cleverly tucked away where it couldn’t be seen.”
“I pretty much rewired the whole nose of the truck, what a mess that was. I pulled the steering wheel and instrument cluster for a few hours of recreational cursing, but it ended well. Glow plug light, high beam indicator, “Luces” indicator. Everything works with the exception of two indicator lights: one that says “starter” (I can’t fathom why you would need a light to tell you the starter is engaged) and the generator light. I couldn’t find any wiring or the bulb holder for the generator light, so I left well enough alone.”
“Also re-sealed the valve cover, hopefully that does it. I’m going to drive it home tonight, and if the valve cover gasket holds we might… be there. I will do an oil change tomorrow.”
We might be there. :)
More photos taken at a job site where Mr. Wolf was working. And he continues to find and fix stuff:
“Unfortunately the valve cover re-torque did not stop the oil leak, so I’m trying to source a new gasket quickly. Right front parking light isn’t working, and it’s not the bulb, I’ll trace that out. High beam indicator not working, no big deal. Electric fan temp sensor relocation worked nicely, she stays right in the middle of the gauge now.”
Update on July 31, 2018: “She’s driving great, fires right up in about half a crank, hot or cold. The valve cover gasket is leaking, so tomorrow I will reseal it… and relocate the temp sensor for the electric fan. Easy stuff! There wasn’t any street parking left at this job site (above). No problem for a guy in a Rover!
Mr. Wolf is putting more miles on the new engine. “She’s runnin’ fine today! I’m all over Portola Valley today, so lots of 40-50 mph roads.” According to the Google Maps note, Portola Valley is the wealthiest town in America per the American Community Survey, based on per-capita income for communities larger than 4,000.
This photo confirms my decision to move the spare from the bonnet to the tub of the truck. I switched because it took all these 70-year-old guns had to hoist the bonnet with the tire on it. But from the photo above it’s clear I’d be giving up some view of the road.
It would be difficult to find someone who knows less about cars and trucks than I do. In 50+ years of driving I’ve never done more than change a flat tire. Never changed the oil or put on new wiper blades. Never had an interest. So nobody was more surprised than I when I decided to purchase a vintage Land Rover.
I’ve run into a few people over the years with a passion for old vehicles and every one of them loved messing with them and and fixing them up. Anything from a full nuts-and-bolts restoration to a tune-up, they all had a garage full of tools and loved getting their hands greasy.
I just wanted to have and drive an old Land Rover. Which is how I wound up working with Grayson Wolf more than a year ago. As a “concierge buyer” his role is to help people like me find a particular car or truck. The ten percent finders fee probably discourages a lot of folks, especially those guys I describe above. They know enough — or think they do — to find a good deal and then fix it up when they get it home.
Finding me a Land Rover should have taken no more than a few months. At least that’s my guess. Mr. Wolf gets his fee and moves on to help the next guy. How my journey wound up taking more than a year (and costing almost twice the original estimate) is here for those that missed it. But through it all, Grayson stuck by me. But now we’re near the end. He’s driving my truck to find and fix the hundred-and-one little things that need fixing on a restored vintage truck. From today’s email:
“Just looking for the usual suspects: loose things, things that need minor adjustment. Yesterday I stopped in San Carlos to pick something up and when I got back out to the truck the starter trigger wire had fallen off, so I couldn’t engage the starter. The little female spade connector just didn’t have enough bite to hang on to the terminal on the starter, so I just pinched it a little tighter and plugged it back in. Problem permanently solved! The throttle cable needed a minor adjustment and lubrication. Also, the steering wheel was a bit off center after Philippe adjusted the steering box, so I straightened that out. I also removed the fancy new Old Man Emu steering stabilizer I put on before it went to Philippe, as it was making the steering too heavy at low speeds. I will include it with the truck when it ships out, and if it needs to be reinstalled (too much kick-back through the wheel when driving on rough dirt roads) it pops on with two 14mm nuts, very easy. With your fancy new workbench, this will be a walk in the park for a Rover owner like yourself!”
“I put about 100 km on the truck yesterday, and aside from the minor things mentioned above, she’s driving great. I’d like to drive it for another couple days, then do an oil change (brand new engines often pollute the first round of oil quickly) and it should be good to go.”
He’ll put the Land Rover on an enclosed transport truck and in a few days or a week or whatever, we’ll all gather in a big parking lot here in Jefferson City and watch my truck roll down the ramp. Not the end but a new beginning.