This summer just disappeared. It's now the end of October, a frosty morning and snow is bound to fly soon. In early July I put the 200 tdi project on hold as summer vacations were coming up and there was trucks to prepare for the various planned expeditions — trucks that were actually running!
So most of July was spent getting the Series IIa 88" ready for the Alexander Mackenzie Heritage Trail, which we did the first week of August. We rechristened this truck SpongeBob Squarepants during the trip, as its such a square shape, and the suspension so spongy. It wasn't until we made our way down the steep hill into Bella Coola after 5 days in the bush that we noticed that the shackle Dave and Peter had found 3 days ago along the trail had been ours. We were running on half of a spring shackle. No wonder it was spongy. A quick stop at a very friendly service garage at the bottom of the hill and we were on our way again. When I returned home, I took the time to retighten all the spring shackles as I had loosened everything off to give the truck maximum articulation. Now, having driven it a bit more, I'm looking for a happy medium between loose and floppy and torqued tight. After the Mackenzie Trail run, we had to work for a few weeks and prepare our other truck, the Disco II, for the long trek down to the Land Rover National Rally. We also took a few additional days and toured the 100 mile White Rim trail in Canyonlands Park. The rally, held in Moab, UT was excellent, and I wanted to do Fins & Things over and over like a kid on a roller coaster — which was much like the terrain we were driving. If you haven't been there, it has to go on your bucket list.
Two weeks later we arrived home, only to get ready for a quick run through the Whipsaw with the Rover-Landers and the Whipsaw Trail committee putting on a great barbeque in rather adverse conditions at 7000 feet. It was sleeting sideways with 70-80 kph winds. A cold and noisy night was had by all, but excellent food and socializing.
Finally, on Thanksgiving weekend, the last Land Rover event on our calendar... The 20th annual Northwest Challenge, down in south central Washington. Again the old Series IIa was selected for the task. This time we towed the truck down as I have a habit of breaking it on the NWC, so we wanted a sure way home. the towing went very well, by the way, although the truck being pulled tends to tug a bit this way or that as the tow bar is very short. Shawn and I tied for first place at the event with a few hair raising moments as we squeezed through some tight side slopes and over some very hard rocks. I have a whole winter of repairs to do to the truck, but it would have driven home on its own power.
So as you can tell, no the 200 tdi project is not done. I did, however, get out there last night finally and got rolling again. The engine, which had been test installed back in June after several attempts at motor mounts, was pulled out again. The final motor mounts now designed and tacked in place were fully welded last night, and thats about as far as I got. I'll be writing a to do list again tonight and away we go.
