Solihull SocietyLand Rover Club of Colorado Volume 4, 2003

2003National Rally - Special Edition

7 Mile RimFlat Iron MesaPoison SpiderLower HeldoradoImporting a Land Rover Part 2Summit CountyWheeler LakeTechical Problems

PO Box 480864Denver, CO80248–0864

The Solihull Society is a Land Rover club (LandRover, Range Rover, Defender, Discovery)serving Colorado and the USA. Membership isopen to all Rover enthusiasts.Annual Dues are $60 and include 4 issues of thenewsletter

Solihull Society MagazineCopyright 2003 by Solihull Society

President – Pat Bickfordpbickford@ai–colorado.comVice President – Mark Stoltemarks@alliancecp.comVice President – Larry Grubbslwgrubbs@us.ibm.comEvents Coordinator I – Ali Valiavali@mho.comEvents Coordinator II – Jim Halljimfoo@purplemountain.netEvents Coordinator III – Ralph Brandtrnbrandt@earthlink.net

Treasurer – Pam Haighchaigh@boulder.netSecretary – John AldenJAlden@SpaceImaging.comMembership – Tim & Colleen Clairtclair@gowebway.comNewsletter Editor – Norman Hallnorman_p_hall@hotmail.comWebmaster – David Nowakowskidavid@davidandheidi.com

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Solihull Society News

THE EDITORS REPORT FROM THE FRONT SEAT OF AN’88 RANGIE

1. NATIONAL RALLY – The 2004 Land Rover NationalRally will be again be held in Moab next year. Dates havebeen set for registration on Tuesday 14th Septemberculminating in the Banquet on Saturday 18th September Itwill be run in a similar format to this years event except thatit will be one extra day in length and have an extendedvendor showing. Fees for Non-Member driver and vehiclewill be $150.00; fees for Member driver and vehicle will be$125.00, passengers will pay $75.00 each. The clubwebsite will hold a preliminary schedule of events for theRally, a copy of which appears on the next page. Pleasecheck it out and commit early to the event. Deadline forregistration is mid August so get your forms in quickly.

2. Club consolidation. Representatives from both the RoverRider Club and our own continue to work through all theissues associated with a club merger. Ask your committeefor specific information should you need more details.Remember all details for a possible merger will be placedbefore the membership for ratification.

3. Members had become more literary with many moresubmissions of trip reports being submitted for the magazine.Unfortunately trip reports are starting to slow. I need yourcontributions to make this magazine a success. Please keepthose submissions coming in, there have been plenty of tripsrun with no trip reports submitted..

4. A video is being prepared for this years National Rally.Contact Terry Mitchell for details.

5. Easy Trails. There has been some call for more easy trailsand social events. If people are interested in these orinterested in organizing them please email your eventcoordinator Ali Vali.

I look forward to seeing everyone on the trails both easy and hard.Good Wheeling Norman Hall

2004 Land Rover National Rally

Preliminary Schedule:-

Tuesday September 14th - Drivers Registration and Welcoming PartyWednesday September 15th - Day, Trails and Evening Night Navigation EventThursday, September 16th - Day: Trails short half day only Vendor Display - Full day and eveningFriday, September 17th - Day: Trails; Evening: To be determinedSaturday, September 18th - Day: Trails; Evening: Awards Banquet

We are always looking for help. If you are interested in helping out please contact the committee.

For those planning to attend:Remember that Bill Burke of 4-Wheeling America often holds events around the same time of the Rally.You may be able to combine a trip away with Bill and the Rally. For details of Bills 2004 plans go tohttp://www.bb4wa.com

Colorado’s Premier Land Rover ClubPO Box 480864, Denver Co 80248-0864

Application For MembershipNames: _______________________________________________________Address: ______________________________________________________City,, State, Zip Code: ___________________________________________Phone Number: _________________________________________________Email Address: _________________________________________________Land Rovers owned: _____________________________________________Occupation: ____________________________________________________What can you do for the club?: _____________________________________

________________________________ __________________________Signature Date

Please photocopy and then completely fill out the above information and mail the form along withmembership dues [$60 per year] to the above mentioned address.

Land Rover National Rally – 2003

The 2003 Land Rover National Rally organized by the SolihullSociety has just finished and was again a resounding success.The event saw vehicles from 19 States and 3 countries.

Official registrations commenced at 6 pm on Wednesday 11th

September at the Old Spanish Trail Arena [OSTA], which islocated on the southern outskirts of Moab. This was to remainthe main staging point for all trail departures throughout theevent. Organizers had been gathered at the OSTA since thelate afternoon getting everything set up and arranged for theexpected influx of attendees.

Any event like this cannot hope to operate without theparticipation of generous sponsors. We would like to thank thefollowing organizations for their generous support as Primaryevent sponsors:

- Land Rover North America- Rovers North- Land Rover Flatirons- High Country Performance 4x4- Motorcars Ltd- Boomerang- Adjusters International

Given the large number of trails in and around the Moab areaconsiderable reconnaissance work was undertaken by thevarious trip leaders in order to determine that we were able topresent a good mix of trails and difficulties which would satisfythe needs of the numerous participants. In the end we settledon the following trails:

Pritchett Canyon, Kane Creek Canyon, Behind the Rocks,Strike Ravine & Lower Helldorado, Fin’s n’ Things, CliffHanger / Amasa Back, Steel Bender, Flat Iron Mesa, Seven-Mile Rim, Golden Spike, Rose Garden Hill, Dome Plateau,Moab Rim, Top of The World, Hells Revenge, Arches /Klondike Bluffs, Poison Spider, Gemini Bridges, Metal Masher

Whilst the list of trials contains some pretty impressive andintimidating names, many were named after natural features ofthe trails as opposed to their difficulty. The most popular ofthese trails over the course of the event were Pritchett Canyon,Behind the Rocks, Golden Spike and Dome Plateau. Due tothe large number of trails involved we were unable to run everyone every day with at most 14 trails being lead on anyparticular day. On most of the trails our Rally participants werethe only vehicles out enjoying the countryside, other than

mountain bikers. This offered the luxury of no delays on trailsor obstacles, the best lunch spots and of course a pristine trailto drive over each day.

Day 1

Everyone met in the car park of the OSTA lined up behind theTrip Leaders for the various Trails that were being run this day.It was an impressive sight seeing so many Land Rover vehicles[and 2 Jeeps but enough about them] with such a variance oflineage and type. There were Range Rovers, Defender 90’s,Series trucks, 109’s, 88’s, Defender SW’s, Discoveries, a 101and various hybrids purposely built by their owners.

Attending vehicles covered a broad range of the Land Roverstable, namely: Defender 90’s, Defender 110’s Defender 130’sDiscovery Series I, Discovery Series II, Discovery Series IIa,Range Rover Classic, Range Rover HSE, Range RoversCurrent, Series 88” and 109” and yes we again had a fewjeeps along to join in the fun.

Unlike last year when we held a wine tasting, to close off asuccessful first day this year we held a Night navigation Event.Vehicles were required to locate a number of Grid points in the“Behind The Rocks” area using just a GPS and grid co-ordinates expressed in UTM. Both a Touring and a ChallengeRoute was offered to those who want to participate. TomCryer and his two boys in their Discovery were the eventualwinners after some extremely good navigation on their part.

Day 2

To give everyone a break and chance to socialize a Vendornight was arranged for the Friday night. A more extensive sotryappears elsewhere in this issue.

Day 3

As a finale to the event a Dinner and ceremony was Held at theMoab Valley Inn on Saturday night when all participants wereinvited to attend. The evening was full of exaggerated storiesabout obstacles overcome, brilliant driving skills and offcourses the things that went wrong. It would be safe to say thatnobody let the truth get in the way of a good story that night. Acatered BBQ was provided for all including delicious salads,beens of various types and some very tender Beef, Pork andChicken that one could hope for. All the food was ably washeddown with a selection of beer and soft drinks.

Following the awards a large number of Raffle prizes wereissued. Again without the generous assistance of the AwardsSponsors listed below this would not have been possible:-

• Land Rover North America• Adventure Team Challenge – James Merriam• Great Basin Rovers – Bill Davis• High Country Performance 4x4• Rovers North• Boomerang – Jessica Flynn• 4 Wheeling America - Bill & Rachael Burke in

conjunction with Superwinch• Land Rover Flatirons• Cross Roads Media – Terry Mitchell• Atlantic British• Rover Hardware – Michael and Julene Judd• Pangaea Expeditions – Nathan Hindman & Graham

Jackson

The committee has already met and settled dates for next year.Note your calendars for registration starting 14th September2004 culminating with the banquet on Saturday 18th

September. See you then!

National Rally - Vendor Night

The Solihull Society Committee decided that the 2003 LandRover national Rally should allow vendors to present theirproducts to Rally participants in the best possible light. BillDavis of Great Basin Rovers [ www.greatbasinrovers.com ]volunteered to take over the organization for the Vendor nightfor the club. We never imagined just how good a job he woulddo.

Bill Davis on the right

Given all the different activities arranged for this years event itwas decided to hold the Vendor night on the Friday starting at6.00pm through until 9.30 pm. As many Rally participants hadbeen out on the trails around Moab for the full day the vendorsput on free drinks and Pizza for all those who attended.

The event was held inside the Spanish Trail Area, our mainmeeting point for the entire event. This gave us access to an allweather venue. The Following companies were represented atthe vendor night showing some of their products:

- Pangaea-Expeditions- Summit Machine- 4-Wheeling America- RoverTraks.com- Tawayama.com- LandRover Centerville- Stephen Heredia- NeverSummer Off Road- ARB- Great Basin Rovers- Mike Slade- High Country Performance 4x4- BCB Off Road- Simex Tires & Second Air [Washbrook.net]

The High Country Guys showing off recovery equipment

Due to the overwhelming success of the night, the SolihullSociety Committee has decided to extend next years Rally andrun the Vendor event as a whole day event on Thursday 16th

September 2004. Whilst some of the shorter trails will still berun that day, we want to give everyone the opportunity to catchup with their favorite land Rover Specialist to barter for thatgreat deal. We have already received several calls expressinginterest so look out for next year.

7 Mile Rim and Wipe out Hillby Jim MolterTrail Rating: Difficult

Trail Leaders: Jim and Mary Molter Defender 90

Trail Participants:Steve Heredia – Defender 90Scott and Stacey Launer - Discovery 2Julene and Michael Judd - Discovery 2Greg and Andi Chernushin - Defender 110Jurgan Bahlo and Friend - Range RoverNick Weede and Brent Griswell - Discovery 2

On the first day of the Rally I chose to lead the 7 Mile Rim andWipe Out Hill trail. The trail starts north of Moab off highway191. Shortly passing highway 313 you take the first dirt road tothe left that heads up the hill then hangs a left and follows the rim.Halfway through the trail an optional trail to the right takes you toUranium Arch. Returning to the main road we continued alongthe rim, which provided everyone with great views. Soon wewere heading off to the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes where wehad lunch. After lunch the fun begins, We were heading for WipeOut Hill. To get there we had to skirt the Merrimac Butte on a off

camber tract that took you up and around it’s back side anddown to the top of Wipe Out Hill. This is a challenging experiencefor anyone especially for the people that had never driven it before.After everyone was down safely some drove back up and downagain. Jurgan ask can I do it in the stock Rangy? I told him give ita try, and away he went. He was spinning some tires when hecrested the top but he made it. Good for him. From the bottomwe followed the bluffs on the right that lead out to highway 313and Moab.

Flat Iron MesaBy Jim Molter

Trail Rating: Difficult

Trail Leaders: Jim and Mary Molter Defender 90

Trail Participants:Greg and Andi Chernushin - Defender 110Julene and Michael Judd - Discovery 2Bill and Friend from Las Vegas - Discovery 1Chris Rice and Amy Freeth – Defender 90Bob and Pat Lohman – Defender 90

On the third day of the rally we went south on highway 191. Acouple of mile past the Hole “n” the Rock house we droppedoff to the right and down through a wire fence gate to start thetrail. This trail is very scenic, following the rims of canyons anddropping down washes. Along the way there are drop off androck ledges to test the driver’s skills. The majors obstacle suchas Tilt-A-Whirl will get a tire or two in the air as one descends

a twisting rock formation. Easter Egg Rock, so named for themultitude of colors from body paints of trucks that venturedtoo close will want you to chose your spotter with care. Thelast thing that gets one’s attention is where you have to driveyour truck between a large rock and the 900ft drop into HatchCanyon. I had a great time at the rally and all the people thatwere on the trips with Mary and I were great, and I lookforward to seeing them again on another trail.

2003 National Rally Videos

Terry Mitchell of Cross roads Media productions is compilinga video to record the 2003 National Rally. Orders for thevideo can be placed with terry by emailing him attmitchell@aol.com The price is $25

Importing a Land Rover.

By Todd Vess. Part 2 of 4 parts.

It was about 7 p.m. on a Sunday at this point, and the roadswere pretty much deserted. We decided to take a different,less winding way back to London. About five miles into thejourney, the trailer began to sway and fishtail. We pulled into apetrol station and checked the tires. One was low and veryhot, so we filled it with air. On the road again, and as soon aswe hit 35 miles per hour, the trailer began to sway again. Wepulled over at another petrol station and decided to betterassess the situation. We loosened the straps and moved Anniefurther forward on the trailer, but the weight didn’t seem tomake much of a difference. I then un-strapped the canvashood and looked in the back of the truck. I knew Glenn wasthrowing in the extra set of tires, but forgot that a spare trannyand two axles, complete with brakes, swivels and tie rods,were also part of the deal. He’d also thrown in an extra cabroof, rear bulkhead and about every part that had come off thetruck during its restoration. We simply had too much weight inthe back.

So, we began to unload the back of the truck and transfer asmuch as we could into Peter’s 110. It was tempting to leavemuch of the stuff at the petrol station, but in the UK there arevideo cameras everywhere, and we didn’t really want to spendthe night explaining to the local constables why we wereleaving large chunks of a vintage Land Rover behind. Wemanaged to get everything except the tranny and axles into the110 and were off again. The weight transfer made a world ofdifference and we were once again zipping along the Englishcountryside at a whopping 40 miles per hour. We pulled intothe same Break Station and again filled up on coffee and aDanish. I realized that all I’d eaten in the past 18 hours weretwo Danishes, but excitement must have been overriding my

hunger. In about an hour-and-a-half we were pulling ontoPeter’s street. We stumbled into the house and I fell into bed.

EFFIE

The next morning we woke early and unloaded Annie intoPeter’s garden, which has two massive gates and a zillion LandRover parts scattered around.

We decided to skip breakfast and hit a café along the waywhere we could get a proper English Breakfast. About twohours later, we pulled into a small road-side café and I got myfirst taste of real English cooking. It wasn’t bad. Even theBlood Pudding was tolerable. It certainly filled me up. Ofcourse, at this point I’d probably eat anything, as my last fullmeal was about 48 hours ago.

We got back on the road and headed north. I didn’t havedirections to Bob’s house, just a phone number and a map ofEngland. When we were about a half-hour from Attleborough,I rang up Bob. He gave us directions to meet him at a pub justoff the motorway. Soon I heard the unmistakable sound of aLand Rover engine coming down the road. Like a bat out ofHell, the white wagon came flying around the corner and intothe parking lot.

We exchanged pleasantries and I hopped in to take Effie for aspin. This was my first experience at driving in England. Eventhough I was chanting “stay to the left,” I almost pulled into thewrong lane exiting the pub. I drove a few miles into town,turned around and headed back. Peter had the 110 lined up inthe parking lot and I drove Effie right up onto the trailer. It wasmuch easier to do this in the daylight than by the light of a dimtorch as we’d done with Annie.

Bob had all the paperwork and a bunch of spare parts andbooks back at his house, so we headed into town. After a cupof tea, we were back on the road.

We stopped at a petrol station in the heart of Attleborough tofill up the trailer tyres and put diesel in the 110.

The trip back to London was pretty uneventful. We stoppedand got some more coffee and another danish and continuedin. Peacock Avenue was a wonderful sight. We pulled onto thesidewalk and locked Effie up before heading to bed.

ONE STUBBORN ROVER

It was now Tuesday, the day we’d planned on spending a fewhours taking the LPG system out of Effie. Since we figured thatwould only take a couple of hours, tops, we headed acrosstown to meet Steve Seals, who runs a garage specializing inLand Rovers. You may also recognize his name from the pagesof Land Rover Owner International. Steve is one of the

magazine’s technical experts, specializing in Defenders andTd5s. After a quick tour of the shop and of some of thevehicles he has in various stages of repair and restoration, weheaded out back to look at Peter’s Forward Control FireTruck. It needs a lot of TLC, but is mostly original and willmake a nice vehicle when restored. Steve wished me luck onmy adventures with the Landys and we headed out again.

Peter wanted to stop and introduce me to a friend of his, alsonamed Peter. After a cuppa, Peter I explained we had to get amove on so we could get the LPG system out before dark.Intrigued, Peter II tagged along, which, we later found out, wasa godsend.

We got back to Peter’s place and after another cup of tea,began the task of taking the LPG system out. We removed thebonnet Peter II began to check out the entire system, startingfrom the tank in the back up to the front. Like a hunter, hescoped out his prey. It think he was making a mental map in hismind of where everything went and how best to take it apart. Iwanted to just start ripping stuff off, but Peter II was a bit moresensible, suggesting that we begin from the back and work ourway forward. I decided to listen, as he was one of theengineers who helped design ECUs for the V8 Range Rovers.After much debate over how much LPG was actually left in thetank, we decided to disconnect it from the system. Thankfully,the safety valve worked and the only LPG we released wasthat which was in the lines. After that, things began to move abit faster, with the tank coming out quite easily. Removing thebits from the engine was far more complicated.

OFF TO THE SHIPPING COMPANY

It was now a quarter to noon and we had to get the trucks toPhoenix. Peter II put Effie back together as she idled away onthe new petrol. Peter I and I got Annie out of the garden. I

quickly washed up and changed my clothes. Within a 10minutes I found myself winding through the suburbs of Londonfollowing Peter and Peter who were in the 110 with Effie intow. Annie ran beautifully; much better than I’d expected a30+ year old vehicle to run.

When we arrived at Phoenix, I hurried in and got thepaperwork started. We unloaded Effie from the trailer andparked both of them next to a bunch of cargo. Within minutes,workers were measuring the dimensions of the trucks andtaking notes. I snapped a photo of the trucks and hopped in tothe 110 with Peter and Peter. It would be a week before theyshipped out, and several more before they were home.

As the Rovers weren’t due to land in America for two weeksafter I got home, things were rather uneventful. The only LandRover related item I did was email the shipping agent to verifythat they’d made sure the Rovers were free of mud, as the USis apparently still on high alert for Mad Cow disease. I had tofill out a bazillion forms on the plane explaining that I’d notbeen on a farm in England and that I’d brought no soil backwith me. Unfortunately, the shipping company’s idea of howmuch dirt was acceptable and the US Department ofAgriculture’s are different.

The Tai Shan landed at the docks in LaGuardia, New York onMarch 9. I’d sent in all the power of attorney paperwork andall seemed well until that Wednesday. At 6 a.m., the phonerang. Lisa answered it and handed me the phone. It wassomeone from the shipping company. The trucks weresupposed to be released this day, so I figured this was the callletting me know that my Rovers were on their way home. Thenews was not so good, though. The Department of Agriculturehad seized the pickup due to the mud on it. The only solutionwas to hire an environmental cleanup company to go to thedocks and have it disinfected. Several phone calls and $400later, Annie was cleaned.. The trucks were finally releasedFriday morning and by afternoon I was informed that the

trucking company was going to be picking them up onTuesday, March 18. I could expect them 7-14 days after that.

End of Part 2

Summit County August 2003By Jim Molter

Trip Leader: Jim and Mary Molter 1995 Defender 90

Participants: Bob and Pat Lohman 1995 Defender 90 Mike Arnold and Vic 1994 Discovery1 Bill Collett 2003 Discovery

Saturday morning Mary and I met up with the group at thejunction of Hwy. 9 and Tiger Rd. After airing down and a bitof chit-chat we headed up the middle fork of the Swan River.This trail is rated moderate but very scenic. We came outabove tree line and followed the road across the tundra toRadical Hill hoping to see the mountain goats. The weatherwas a little cool and breezy which usually means the goats willstay down on the ledge below the open tundra and this is whathappened today. Radical Hill is the Adopt-A-Road of theRover Riders Club and is rated difficult. We needed to do justa little spotting to make sure Bill did no damage to the frontspoilers of his new Discovery. Had a nice lunch by the SnakeRiver. Afterwards Mike and Vic had to cut out. The rest ofthe group completed the loop back to Tiger Road by way ofSts. Johns and down the north fork of the Swan. A beautifulday out in the mountains.

Wheeler Lake – July 2003By Ali Vali

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in the wonderful RockyMountains. Dave Thomas and I drove from Denver to meetup with our group to run the wheeler lake trial by Alma. We

met at 10AM at the Texaco station in Fairplay. The groupconsisted of trail leader Ali Vali in a 93 rangie, Dave Thomas ina 95 rangie, pat and Laura lee Bickford in their 97 defender,Scott Launer and family in their 97 defender, Eric and Cathrynin their 97 defender, Jacqueline and Craig Davis in their 96 and97 disco, Tim Clair in his 2002 disco series II. To say theleast, we had a good group to tackle Wheeler Lake.

Wheeler Lake is classified as a difficult trail in the wells bookbecause of about 3 obstacles and the last portion of the trail,which consists of a hill with loose/wet rocks and bouldersalong with the obstacle at the waterfall, which used to be muchmore difficult until last season. The Forest Service had blownthe big boulder up at the waterfall due to excess accidents andpeople damaging the trail. The views from the lake areabsolutely beautiful.

It took the group 20 minutes to get to the trailhead byMontgomery Reservoir. We all lined up and aired down forabout ten minutes and on the trail we were. After a shortdistance the first obstacle was upon us. Here one can take thedifficult route by going over a large rock or take the left route.The folks with the more modified rovers took the more difficultroute with some good spotting and the rest made it up the left

with no problem. A little ways up the trail and we reached thesecond obstacle. There were 4 jeeps on this one along withtwo US Forest Service folks. They were actually riding withthe jeep folks and surveying the trail for damages, etc. Theywere actually doing some maintenance along the way and rightbefore the lake. Here you have three ways to get over. One isto the left where there are some big rocks which you need tonegotiate, the middle, one had to come straight up the rock andbecause of the angle of the rock, it wanted to throw you to theside, and the right consisted of the V shaped rock. Ali, Daveand Scott took the far left obstacle. Jacqueline took the Vshaped obstacle with the help of couple spotters. She taughteveryone how to do long wheelie in a rover. You had to bethere to see it. Pat Bickford was up next on the V and showedoff his excellent driving skills by crawling with no issues. CraigDavis also took the V shape and came up with no issues. Timand Eric took the middle route, which was quite interesting onits own. This is where I smashed my middle finger by stackingrocks. We got both of them up after couple of tries. It wasseeing the traction control go to work on Tim’s Disco.

Along the trail we came upon couple more rock ledges, etc.and a little mud pool that you had to cross until we got to thelast hill climb, which takes you to the waterfall and the lake.Here we had a delay due to one of the jeeps, which hadbroken down on the hill. After a quick diagnosis, he was upand running again and so was our group. This hill has somesemi large boulders, shale, and rocks with water running downthe hill. The rear locker really helped here with traction.Jacqueline decided to leave here disco down at the bottom ofthe hill after several tries right at the beginning. She knows sheneeds new tires. Most of the group crawled slowly uptowards the waterfall and the lake. As we got to the lake, wegot a call on the CB that pat had thrown a bead on this tire.They fixed it and came up to the lake with no problems. Aswere eating lunch, we noticed pats front right tires losing air.The sidewall had been damaged and the tire was going flat.We managed to change to the spare. At the same time CraigDavis noticed his tire had sidewall damage so he had to changehis tire as well. We ate lunch, told stories and talked to theother folks. After about an hour up at the lake, we decided tomake descend from the lake and head towards the trailhead.We headed down fairly quick and also got to see Pat Bickfordraise his rear tires off the ground on couple of the obstaclesdown below. He was in full control though. We were downat the trailhead within an hour. Some of us aired up here whileothers opted to go the Gas station. Thank you Pat for tailgunning. Hope to see everyone soon and remember to TreadLightly.

TECH PROBLEM EMAILSBy Hanz Schulze

Solihull Society invites comments that can be submitted toNorman Hall for publication in the next issue concerning thisproblem or submit a post on http://www.solihullsociety.org/click Forums then click Technical.

My stock 95 D90 with 125K miles has had an intermittentstalling problem the last two months. Sometimes it stalls when itis cold other times when it is hot. Sometimes it will not startagain, sometimes it will. Brought it in to my local reputablenon-dealer LR mechanic when it was not exhibiting symptomsand they could not get it to stall. So when after a trip it stalledand I brought it back and they said 50—50 chance it is fuelpump or electronic modulator. Fuel filter is new. Theyreplaced the fuel pump ($675) and on my way home it stalledagain and I drove back. They took a few minutes and installedthe electronic modulator ($150+). Was able to drive home OKbut on Monday the car started stalling again and I had to haveit towed back. No “check engine” lights have come on. Nowthat the truck is stalled at their shop they will be running testson the circuitry. First, with an intermittent problem have mymechanics been approaching the problem correctly given Ihave paid over $800 and the problem is still there? Secondly,anyone else who has had a similar problem or educatedguesses as to what the problem is? Thanks for any input.

I just went through an issue with my truck that issomewhat similar (also a ’95). My problem was related tothe fuel injection, specifically the relay and wiring for it.The truck mysteriously turned off, with no restarting. Fuelpump had no power, but neither did the ECU or theinjectors.

One good hint my non-dealer LR mechanic asked was ifthe ‘check engine’ light came on when the key was firstturned to the ‘on’ position. If not, either the computeritself has a problem or it is not being powered. Knowingthis prevented him from spending time on fuel pump,filters, etc. Since I swapped out a perfectly good ECU withthe same problem, we knew it wasn’t my ECU itself, whichlead to the wiring being the culprit.

I would suggest changing the two relay’s under yourpassenger seat. Dealer will want big dollars for them, Iused Discount Rover for a fair price. You can also just usea cheap auto parts store 30 amp relay (5 pin I think?) fortesting, they are less than $5. My problem was actually a

loose wire, there had intermittent connectivity and it friedthe relay. Probably unlikely its the same issue, but worthconsidering.

Another way to determine if its ECU related is if yourECU doesn’t throw the ‘02’ code when disconnected andreconnected, as its supposed to.

The other reason I’ve heard of people getting intermittentstalling is plugged catalytic converters. This should havebeen checked before spending $800 for sure I would think.

They said 50-50 chance of either the fuel pump OR themodulator?... I personally wouldn’t be too happy with mymechanic when it turned out to be neither. Curious, whygo with the $675 fix (fuel pump) before trying the $150 fix(modulator)? In any case, I would expect some type ofrefund/discount on whatever they find, at the very least Iwould not be paying for this additional diagnostic time.

Hi all:

Thanks for all the good advice. Picked up my truck from theshop today and it turns out it had a bad coil or a connection tothe coil. So now that my fuel pump, electronic modulator werereplaced for naught, it runs fine now that the coil has beenremoved and replaced. There goes $$$$$$$$! I guess itshows you to look at the basics first, but the truck always ranfine at the shop until last time when it was DOA. Hopefullywith some of the others of you who responded both on and offlist with the same problem now or in the future, any do-it-yourselfer could replace the coil prior to taking it to a mechanicfor further diagnostics for a Lucas coil for less than $40 andmaybe the problem is solved or a possible problem eliminated.

These emails have been submitted to you without editing.Solihull Society it appreciates any comments that could helpother members who have had a similar problem.

Poison SpiderBy Norman Hall

It was the first day of trails for the 2003 Land Rover NationalRally. Everyone had gathered at the Spanish Trail arena,breathless with anticipation for what lay ahead. OK everyonewas not breathless but there was a high level of interest aseveryone started to catch up with friends and looking at thevast assortment of Land Rover vehicles that had gathered.

My wife and kids had been supposed to drive over fromDenver with my 1988 Range Rover. Due to circumstancesbeyond my control they had not and I was left without avehicle for the event. Somehow I had convinced MarcRichardson that he needed a passenger so it was off to runPoison Spider Trail.

Trip Participants:

Marc Richardson & Norman Hall - 1992 Range RoverJohn & Ken Woods - 1979 109 DefenderDave Lucas - 1997 Defender 90Tammy Lucas and Jerry Lewis - 1998 DiscoveryRobyn & Barry Smith and Galven Runkewich – 1995 RangeRoverGil Perry and Keith Starr - 1994 Defender 90Karen & Keith Kreutzer – 1997 Discovery

Dave

Lucas in his new Defender

This was to be one of Dave Lucas’s first opportunities to takehis new black Defender out for a spin. Apparently his wife[Tammy, ye the driver of the ’98 Discovery] had convincedhim that he had to buy a Defender so that they could both driveout on the trials. Where do you find such women, Dave, she’sa keeper! John Woods was back after a long absence from theclub and was chauffeuring his father for the day. Whilst Robynhad owned her 1995 LWB Range Rover for quite some timethis was to e her first time driving the Rangie out on the trails.Unfortunately the Air Suspension on the Rangie was playing upwhich was to cause problems throughout the day.

John Wood in his 24 year old Landie

Karen Kreutzer was out testing her new Discovery. Apparentlythey had bought it and then Keith insisted on working on thevehicle fitting new axles and other accessories that he builds aspart of his business www.rovertracks.com. Gil was showing offhis one of a kind Orange Defender. Apparently back I the mid1990’s Land Rover bought over this vehicle as a prototypeand sold it after they were finished. As a result it is the only oneof this color in North America.

Robyn & Barry Smith

Trail Background

Poison Spider Trail is mostly run together with Gold Spike andGolden Bar Rim. All sections are rated as being Difficult butare by no means the hardest trails in the area. Poison Spider is

a hard trail with many difficult obstacles including tightswitchbacks, off camber ledges, steep slick rock and areaswhere one can tip over easily. Traction on slick rock is usuallynot an issue, well except when you are driving up or down atmore than 350 which we had to do on several occasions. Thetrail is made easy to follow with small flat white 4WD’s paintedon the rock to guide you. This is one of the more popular trialsaround Moab, which is understandable from the fun we all had.

The trail starts off as we climbed up a switchback trail fromground level to the top of the slick rock. After about 2 milesthe track flattens out at a section called tie-Rod Flats. Shortlyafter we entered a canyon and the first major obstacle for thetrail known as the “Waterfall”. This is basically a steep steppyascent followed by a 7-foot tall slick rock ascent ofapproximately 400. Whilst we took this first obstacle withcaution, all of our group drove straight over in their highlycapable Land Rovers.This was not the end, merely the start of things to come.

Karen Kreutzer easily conquers the Waterfall

Straight after the Waterfall there were several other steep ledgyrises to overcome. After a few more miles we came to anobstacle called “Wedgy”. This is basically a natural cut throughthe rock, which required careful wheel placement in order tonegotiate. Any error would have seen vehicles slipping into thewedge and significant panel damage resulting. Since the rockhas such good traction this is not a major concern, more apsychological concern.

We turned off onto the Poison Spider loop after 5.3 miles.Golden Spike Trail continues straight ahead at this juncture.North east from this point is “Pig Rock” so named as it lookslike a pig lying down. This rock can be used as a referencepoint if you get lost in the area. We then headed off to LittleArch which was to be our lunch spot for the day. Little Arch isa very picturesque spot with the arch being carved out of theside of the rock face below the parking area. The whole areaover looks the Colorado River and I 279 towards the east.

After taking lots of photos we continued on the “loop to thenrejoin the trail we had drove in on and then back to Moab.Suffice to say we all had a great day and our thanks go to marcRichardson for his excellent trail leadership.

The Three Trip Troublemakers, Keith, Marc and Norman

Upper and Lower Heldorado.

By Norman Hall

It was Saturday, the last official day for the 2003 Land RoverNational Rally. Most of us were fairly tired form too muchalcohol consumption of a night and long days on the Trail. Wewere after some adventure but not an overly long day. LowerHeldorado provided just what we were looking for.

Trip Participants:

Marc Richardson & Norman Hall – 1992 Range RoverMark Handlovitch – 2001 JeepWill Taylor and Josh Lipsey – 1997 Defender 90

David Summers and Greg Mederick 1999 DiscoveryKyle Kaskey – 1994 Defender 90Joe Benskin – 1994 Defender 90Geoff Link & Sheryl Volwes – 1995 Defender 90

Lower Heldorado is a very short trail, probably only a ¼ milelong. It travels up the dry creek bed where vehicles have tonegotiate over large boulders, through tight squeezes and onsome interesting side angles. Given that the trail is so short Iwill let the following pictures tell the story of our trip.

Jim Pendleton and his group caught up with us as we finishedLower Heldorado. As they were then going to attempt Upper

Solihull Society 2003 EventsPlease visit www.4x4trails.net or Charles Wells Trail Books for info on trails and ratings.Please contact the trail leader before the trail ride dates to let them know you are going.If you are interested in leading trails that are TBD, contact Ali Vali at avali@mho.com

Date Description Contact Info. / Trail Leader12-07-03 Holiday Party Mt. Vernon Country club

This years club Christmas party and get together will be held at the Mt Vernon Country Club, the same location as last year. Unlike last yearthis years event will be a lunch activity starting at noon and going through to approximately 3 pm. The cost per person is only $10 with theclub subsidizing the rest. Drinks are at your own cost. We would like to encourage everyone to join in and bring the whole family. As we needto confirm numbers please RSVP to Pam Haigh at chaigh@boulder.net by November 30th at the latest. This year we are also inviting all RoverRider Club members to join us.

Heldorado we chose to park our vehicles at the trial head andwatch them attempt one of the hardest trials in the area. Thefollowing shows just what they experienced.

From:-The Solihull SocietyPO Box 480864Denver, CO 80248–0864

TO:-