Story & Photos by: John Robison

Welcome to the Spring edition of Robison on Rovers. In my last column, I told you about finishing up my book, Look Me In The Eye. Since then, things have been racing along. You’ll be able to find the book in bookstores nationwide September 25th. It’s being published by Crown, an imprint of Random House. You can sign up for news or even place an order on www.randomhouse.com I’ve also got an author web site, www.johnrobison.com

My book tells the story of growing up with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild form of autism. For those of you who’ve met me . . . it’s why I seem a bit eccentric at times. The book tells the story of my childhood, and how I dropped out of high school but educated myself. I’ve talked about my first career, which saw me on the road with KISS and Pink Floyd’s sound company in the 1970s. You can read about my time designing electronic toys at Milton Bradley, and then how I started Robison Service.

I’ll be doing a national tour this October, reading at bookstores along the way. Check my web site for dates. I hope to  see many of you this fall. If you miss the live readings, you can catch me on the talk shows beginning in the late summer. Hopefully some of you Land Rover enthusiasts will make it into the audience.

Meanwhile, back at the shop, we’re fixing those Land Rovers as fast as we can . . . This winter, we’ve received a number of Land Rover restorations, and we get questions about them every day. In this column and the next I’m going to try and show you some of the reasons why we get into a restoration project.

At Robison Service, we undertake three kinds of restoration projects. The first is where we go through a truck mechanically and just clean up the body. It’s very common for someone who has a reasonably rust free truck to elect this choice if his Rover feels worn out but isn’t rotted.

Projects like this can include overhaul or replacement of the engine, drivetrain overhaul, brake, minor steering, and suspension upgrades, and other chassis modifications. We’re seeing quite a bit of interest in fitting the cross-bolted 4.6 short blocks into the 1994-5 Defenders. The power and torque gains are significant. Another common task is overhaul of the wheel hubs, along with fitting new brake parts.Many Defenders have run up high miles and the mechanicals are getting worn out. But the bodies are still solid, and the trucks are valuable. So it’s easy to justify a major mechanical service.

The next level of project is where we take a stock truck and transform it, usually for off-road performance. We might install a multi-link suspension, bigger tires, or even portal axles. It’s common for enthusiasts to want custom roll cages, perhaps with mounts for jacks and tools, custom bumpers or skid plates, new electronics and other interior modifications.

This is the kind of project where you pick an accessories budget and then you open catalogs and start dreaming. Will it be the ARB bumper, or the Safarigard, or the low profile Rovers North unit? Will the winch be from Superwinch or Warn? Will the stock cable be good enough, or will you spring for the safer synthetic? You’ll need heavier springs for the front end – which ones? And will you change front springs, or all four? How about tree straps, pulleys, and other rigging accessories? For every modification, there’s an endless list of decisions.

We often do projects like this for people who buy Defenders and want to make them better. With the high value of these vehicles, it’s common for enthusiasts to invest as much in upgrades and restoration as they spent to buy the vehicle in the first place.

When the focus is on mechanicals of off-road capability, the body may not be included at all in the package of work. Everything changes when you get into body work. Defender 90 bodies were made by riveting aluminum panels to steel angle corners. The two dissimilar metals were then painted, and Land Rover hoped the paint would seal everything up. It didn’t. Almost every Defender we see has some body issues.

On most Defenders, the bare aluminum and steel have started to react where they touch. That means there are almost always galvanic corrosion bubbles at the edges, and the only way to fix them is to take the body to pieces, repair the corrosion, insulate the metals from one another, and reassemble the body piece by piece.

That calls for extensive disassembly. You start by stripping off the roll cage. Nine times out of ten, you’ll find corrosion and rust at the tube ends and where the cage bolts up to the body. At Robison Service, we suggest the tube be stripped and powder painted. We find the best way to restore a Land Rover is to finish all the pieces individually and then put them together carefully, using new hardware. We, and most other enthusiasts, recommend stainless.

Next, the top comes off. If you’ve got a soft top, it’s usually time for a new one. If you’ve got a hard top, you’ll want to check the panels for cracking and deterioration. The plastic tops are especially prone to crack and fall apart. Metal tops are a lot more rugged. The doors are next to come off. Look for corrosion around the handles and hinges, and at the bottom seam. If you find any problems, be reassured that new door skins are readily available at a reasonable price.

Now you can remove the rear body tub. That’s the part that would be the pickup bed, if your rig were a pickup truck. It will take two people to lift it clear, after which it’s a simple matter to take apart. There is always corrosion at the panel joints, and the only proper way to fix it is by dismantling the whole thing. With the tub out of the way, the box that the seats sit on is next to be removed. With the body off, the frame becomes visible, and it’s usually a sorry sight. The area behind the rear tires is often rusty, and it’s not uncommon for the rear cross member to have turned into complete junk. Replacement ends are available. Other frame bits may be available, or you may have to fabricate them locally.

At Robison Service, we prefer to repair frames whenever possible. They are such a major component that I prefer to keep it original when we can.

At this point, the front sheet metal can be unbolted, and you’ll be left with a chassis with a dashboard and windshield sticking up. What kind of shape is the bulkhead in? If it’s also corroded, or if you want to change the color, that is the next disassembly target. The decision – whether or not to dismantle the bulkhead – is a serious one, because it represents at least a week’s worth of work. So it’s a big cost and time item.

If you remove the bulkhead, you will be left with a chassis with axles and a power train. Do you pull them out too, and overhaul the mechanicals? If you do, you can end up investing two or three times the original cost of the vehicle in its rebuild. In my next column, I’ll focus on some of the tradeoffs and issues of the restoration project.

Other announcements:
RoverFest will be held at the Bear Mountain Base Lodge in Killington, Vermont, August 17-19, 2007. Located in the beautiful Green Mountains, Killington Resort is the largest ski resort in the East, featuring an expansive and challenging road and trail network. It will be the largest gathering of Land Rovers in the Northeast with Trail Rides, the Muddy Oval, a Trials Event, Land Rover Polo, vendors and much more. Camping will be available on site or stay at the Killington Grand (great rates for this event). Killington offers activities for all ages. Bring the family! Check out www.roverfest.com for details or email: info[at]roverfest.com for more information.

See you next time,
John

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