the newsletter of the

Discovery Owners Club Disclaimer Notice

Pre-amble For the purposes of this disclaimer notice “Discovery Owners Club” and “Club” are interchangeable and assumed to mean the same thing. Advice Given Any and all advice given in this publication or elsewhere is done so in good faith. Whilst every effort is taken to ensure that any and all advice is accurate and correct the Discovery Owners Club and those acting on it’s behalf cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of advice given and anyone acting on such advice does so at their own risk. Club Events Any activities, in particular (but not exclusively) off-roading and green laning, are undertaken purely at the participants own risk. All vehicles are to be suitably insured and prepared for the activity undertaken. Participation in any club organised event is on the understanding that safety is the responsibility of the individual concerned. Public Liability Insurance The Club carries no insurance and therefore cannot protect its members or their families and friends from any claim as a result of an accident. Members are strongly recommended to take out suitable public liability insurance. “Discourse” contact details: Please forward any articles, advertisements, comments and suggestions for the newsletter to Steve Goodfellow using the contact details on Page 3.

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Inside This Issue Topic Page Editor’s Comments • The usual rants and raves of a demented editor 2

Committee Members • Names, addresses and contact details – pre-AGM 3

Articles • Life’s A Gas 4

• Camel Capers (Part 1) 5

• Don’t Give Up! 10

• Salisbury Plain Green Lane Day 11

• The Peeling Dashboard Saga Continues 13

• What’s That For Then Mate? 13

• Lake District Green Road Code 15

• A Letter From Diether Hofmann 15

• Wet, Wet, Wet 15

• Oil Change Problems 16

• Sales And Wants 17

• Transfer Box Lever Problems 17

• Anyone Got The Time? 18

• Alright Wac? 18

• A Letter From Robin Irwin 19

• Fitting A Clutch Servo 20

• Deutscher Rover Club 25th Anniversary Weekend 20

• Club e-Group Site 21

• Club Web Site 21

• Regional Meets 21

• Back Issues Of Discourse 21

• Crazy Road Signs 21

• Members Vehicles 22

Commercial Advertising The Back

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Editors Comments By the time you read this the first annual general meeting of the club will have come and gone and we will be celebrating our first birthday ~ with more than 450 members. The minutes of the AGM will be provided separately in due course, but details of the most important decisions taken and names of new committee members are enclosed. The founder members of the club would like to welcome all the new committee members on board – get ready for a roller coaster ride that you won’t forget in a hurry☺ Now I’m an easy going person; not normally one to be picky but some of you have undoubtedly seen the criticism aimed at me by one Shaun Connors of LRM. He went to great lengths to chastise me for allowing you to call the vehicle we all know, love and own a Disco rather than imposing the more politically correct name – Discovery - in Discourse 2. In making his point Mr Connors even went to the trouble of looking up the word “disco” in the dictionary and quoting it’s meaning. It’s just a shame he didn’t put the column inches to better use by actually telling his readers what was in our newsletter. To put the record straight; the word Disco appeared 16 times, whilst Discovery was used 56 times. Well, Mr. Connors, having taken counsel from our membership I am pleased to inform you that we will continue to use the diminutive form “Disco” to describe our vehicles as and when we see fit on the basis that they are our vehicles and not yours. So, to paraphrase a certain, popular saying of the day; Mr. Connors, you are the missing link – goodbye☺ So, what’s in this issue? Well, following on from the items on peeling dashboards in Discourse 3 we have some interesting (disturbing?) news from Land Rover that might be relevant to members. More of you have written in with your Discovery owning stories and pictures, there’s a write-up on the Salisbury Plain green lane day from November – crikey was it that long ago – and the first of a two part article describing a trip to Lithuania undertaken by three members in their Camel Trophy Discoverys. Added to that we have some technical tips, articles for sale and some requests for help too. There’s also the first article from an anonymous contributor using the alias Rambling Syd. I wonder if this person is a Kenneth Williams or Round The Horn fan? Hmmm. Crikey! I’m showing my age☺ You should have received a 2001 events calendar with your notice about the AGM so grab your diaries and start blocking in dates to keep free from other less important items like shopping, holidays, DIY, vehicle maintenance and all the other hindrances to enjoying yourself. We started off in 2000 with some excellent turnouts at various events – let’s make 2001 even better! By the time the next issue of Discourse is printed we hope to have an easy to understand precise of how the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoWA 2000) will effect our off-roading activities. There is currently a great deal of conflicting views being put forward which range, as you might expect, from nothings changed to end of the world as we know it. The truth is undoubtedly somewhere in between those extremes and we’ll see if we can’t try to put that onto paper for those interested. As always I’m on the look out for articles from you people out there - with more than 450 members I should be inundated with stuff. Remember, this is your club … your newsletter … so make a contribution … get involved! Steve Goodfellow (Editor)

IMPORTANT NOTICE During the current Foot and Mouth disease crisis the club committee would ask members to refrain from all off-road activities, irrespective of the venue.

Thanks for your co-operation.

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Committee Members The following people are proud to serve you: Club Chairman John Capewell Seasons, Porth-y-Green Close, Llanblethian, Vale of Glamorgan, CF71 7JR Contact details: Work Tel.: 01446 752400 Mobile Tel.: 07850 405389 Email: john.capewell@tesco.net

Vice Chairman Andy Smith 31 Stanley Street, Brighouse, West Yorkshire, HD6 1SX Contact details: Home Tel.: 01484 384883 Mobile Tel.: 07970 506215 Email: andy@cameltrophy.org.uk

Club Treasurer Mike Duncalf Beetham Cottage, Over Kellet, Carnforth, LA6 1BS Contact Details: Home Tel.: 01524 732128 (and fax) Mobile Tel.: Email: mduncalf@ukonline.co.uk

Newsletter Editor Steve Goodfellow 87 Gloucester Road, Patchway, Bristol, BS34 5JQ Contact Details: Home Tel.: 0117 904 2526 (and fax) Work Tel.: 01753 608898 Mobile Tel.: 07713 503097 Email: steve@imjin.demon.co.uk

For details of the newly elected committee members please see the enclosed sheet.

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Life’s A Gas Stefan and Donna Tapp A few months ago, when boredom had set in on our problem child, a ’98 Freelander Xedi, my wife and I began looking for a faith healer. We were driving past our local Land Rover dealer one weekend, looking at all the nice shiny vehicles on display, when on a spur of the moment decision we called in. Now, we originally contemplated going for a 300Tdi ES Discovery, but I had been reading about this new wonder fuel, LPG, and how it was only about 35p a litre, and that the government would pay up to 75% of the conversion cost! (Oops, a bit of bad research there!!).

“ We don’t have any Tdi’s in stock” said the salesman, “But we do have that V8 ES on the forecourt.” So we had a look at this immaculate 1998 ‘R’ V8 ES in Epsom Green sat out the front. “Start it up” said the salesman. So we both climbed up inside, myself dutifully taking the drivers seat, and turned the key in the ignition. I blipped the throttle and the Disco rocked gently, oh, and that sound from the exhaust! I was hooked! (And so was the wife), (I think?).

We ran the Disco for a few months looking around for suitable conversions, enjoying it’s fantastic off road capabilities around Salisbury’s many byways, when we found someone local in Hamble, Southampton. A few miles from where we live. We paid them a visit and were shown some tank options. The internally mounted tank was out of the question, as we didn’t want to lose any of the boot space or seats. We weren’t to keen on the sill tanks, as they looked a bit vulnerable. The dealer told us that they were waiting for a new tank option to come in, a direct replacement for the existing petrol tank, consisting of a smaller petrol tank and a gas tank. “We’ll call you in 2 weeks”. They never did ring back. We then found a more local conversion specialist, sort of end of our road local. I had used their sister company in the past for servicing a couple of old Citroen’s I had, so I knew they were pretty reliable. I rang them up and the owner said “ We’re in the middle of moving to new premises and we are also designing a specific tank for the Discovery, I’ll call you in 2 weeks”. You can guess what I was thinking? Two weeks later, the phone rang. “Hi Stefan? It’s Geoff from Station Motors.” (They had my business already!) “Pop in and see us, we’ve got a system you might like.” We called in and were shown an LPG system fitted to their Range Rover. It consisted of two 39 litre LPG tanks mounted where the petrol tank used to be and a smaller 8 gallon petrol tank mounted behind the drivers side rear wheel, very nice, very neat and hardly any reduction in ground clearance. So we booked in and it was converted a few week’s later. We had a few problems. I was driving down the road one day, when suddenly, BANG! The car backfired like a cannon, we felt it, and I looked in

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the rear view mirror and wondered where the man, who was standing by someone’s garden hedge had gone. Again on the motorway at 80mph (sorry I meant to say 70mph), it backfired. Now a V8 backfiring at that speed is quite an experience! I carried on, planning to call in to the installer on the way home. Unknown to me, under the bonnet something had to give (a vacuum hose) and when I came off the slip road and stopped at a very busy roundabout, the engine idled wildly and cut out, and then refused to tick over when re-started. Picture the scene, very busy road, car that won’t tick over unless revved, automatic gearbox with an inhibitor allowing you to start in neutral or park only, a slight hill, the handbrake, did I mention the busy traffic? You get the picture? Juggling with both hands and feet, it’s no fun!! Anyway eventually the problem was tracked to a set of dodgy HT leads, which now they are replaced makes the Disco run smoother and quieter on LPG than it ever did on petrol, and at less than half the cost! The cost of conversion was not cheap at just over £2000, but we should get that back after 12-18 months. Happy? You bet! Camel Capers (Part 1) Ros Palmer Club members that went were: Ros Palmer, Andy Smith and Richard Potts. Non-member Brian tagged along in his 110. [At this point I’m going to apologise to Ros for the editorial hatchet I’ve had to take to what was a very well written and highly amusing story … sorry – Ed] Friday 18th August We wake up to a lovely sunny day full of excitement and anticipation. The Camel is loaded up and Brian arrives an hour early and is very excited!. The neighbours come out to take pictures and to wave us off. The convoy sets off towards Hull, where arrange to go on last so that we are off first. On the

next table in the restaurant are a couple from Chorley. “Are you in those funny Land Rovers?” they ask. They turn out to be in a Discovery themselves. The cheek! Andrew misses an ideal opportunity to recruit some new ‘DOC’ members! [We’ll discuss this later – Ed] Saturday 19th August 6am and we’re pulling into Rotterdam - very industrialised and very, very smelly! We have nine hours to get to Rostock for the ferry to Latvia and according to the route map, it’s an eight hour drive.

Through customs, no problem it’s onto the Dutch roads. With only a quick toilet stop we’re through Holland and into Germany. Another toilet stop just outside Rheine and then we hit trouble. Already nearly an hour behind schedule we come to crawling traffic on the motorway. This is not good news! Time for evasive action! We take a different route through the countryside and rejoining the motorway at Bremen put our foot down to try and make up some time.

Yes, I know it’s a Freelander but it is made by Land Rover and it is getting muddy - Ed

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Finally we’re on the road to Rostock but disaster strikes again and we’re in standing traffic. Andrew rings the ferry company and it becomes obvious we will not make it in time. They give us another telephone number for a ferry company that sails to Lithuania which becomes Plan B. Sunday 20th August Andrew rings the ferry company and we get our first bit of good news. A ferry sails at 2pm every day to Klaipeda in Lithuania. We are booked on today’s. On the way out of the hotel car park the barrier has a Camel Trophy sticker applied. We stop at a petrol station in Rostock to put just enough fuel in to get us to the first petrol station in Lithuania where it’s cheap! Andrew turns to put the petrol cap back on and it’s disappeared into thin air! It is nowhere to be seen so we purchase a new one. We reach the port in good time and can see the ship. But, can we find how to get to it? No! Andrew rings up the ferry company and gets directions. We think we’ve spotted the terminal and ring again. A very excited man says he can see 3 yellow Land Rovers coming over the bridge and talks us right into the terminal before running out to greet us. We watch the Camels being strapped down and once they are secure we go off in search of our cabins. We find the cabins but there is no one about to tell you which is yours. Andrew sets off to find out which are our cabins and eventually finds a chap who exchanges our passports for cabin keys. We find our cabin and dump our bags and go for a walk around the decks. It’s deserted. Brian opens a drawer under the bed and in it Discovers the life suits! Andrew tries it on for size. I think if we actually needed to use them we’d all die laughing before we drowned! The ship is due to sail at 2pm so we go up on deck to watch the departure. After a walk around the ship dinner is served at 3.30pm. The waiter, who also turns out to be the barman and an absolute star, gives us a choice of main courses. One slight problem, well no two really, he doesn’t speak English and we don’t speak Lithuanian! We notice that everyone else is eating Chicken so we just say “Chicken please”. Another question is asked and based on the fact that it appears to come with either rice or chips, we opt for chips! It’s all very tasty, just lacking in size and accompaniments! There are 23 people on board, our Camels, three normal cars and ten bashed up ones for export. We find out that the ship was originally built by the Russians as a warship (that explains everything!) for the planned invasion of Denmark that never happened. It is now in the Guinness World Book of Records as one of 4 sister ships that are the biggest ‘Railferrys’ in the world. We’re impressed! It’s getting quite choppy and every time the ship moves my barstool swings round one way, then the other. A very strange experience. I know I’ve had a few Lithuanian beers but not that many! There’s a TV and video in the corner with some film or other on in a foreign language, with subtitles in another foreign language! When it finishes miraculously the Camel Trophy 1991 video comes on! Most passengers fall asleep, but a few sad souls stay awake to watch my car being rolled! The barman gets us a last drink then pulls down the shutter and tells us to lock up when we’ve finished! Monday 21st August Up and dressed I go for breakfast whilst Andrew manages to wangle a go at steering the ship! At 8.30am we turn into the huge estuary of Klaipeda. We try to get our passports back but it appears customs will board the ship to check them. Our passports are returned to us and we go down to the vehicles to disembark. We thought all the customs business was over with but “Oh no” its only just begun. We have to queue at the 1st of 3 checkpoints where they check passports and log book and also ask Andrew if he has any booze or cigs. Finally they let us through and again we think that’s it! Richard adorns an electricity junction box with a Camel Trophy sticker to celebrate. But now we are scrutinised at 2 more checkpoints before we can actually get out of the port.

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Now bear in mind we hadn’t planned on arriving in Lithuania so we don’t have a route map. I’m using the AA map of Europe and have tentatively planned a route. We set off looking for signposts to get us off in the right direction but they don’t appear to ‘do’ road signs in Lithuania. What they do have is

very cheap Diesel, 22p a litre. We fill up. By way of a thank you another Camel Trophy sticker miraculously appears on a petrol pump. We set off on what we think is the right direction for Latvia and come to a beautiful brand new road. Andrew makes some comment about wouldn’t it be funny if this road disappeared! Famous last words! The road turns to a dirt track and then to a building site. We decide it’s time to ask some passers by if we are on the road to Latvia. “Yes” they say. Yippee! and we’re off again through the rubble creating loads of dust. Richard starts to take pictures of us in front of him and Andrew suggests I do the same back at Richard. I’m just about to start taking a picture when suddenly he is no longer on the road but careering down a ditch. Fortunately he is unhurt and manages to drive the Camel out without the aid of a winch. He had finished taking pictures and put his camera down then hit a loose stone or something under the surface and shot off the road. Off we go again and soon we see the border. One small problem, the barrier is too low for the vehicles to fit under. Oh, I lied, two problems…….they won’t let us in anyway! Two Lithuanian policemen in cammo

clothing inform us in Lithuanian (we’re fluent now! Not!) that this is a locals crossing, for Lithuanians and Latvians only! They’re really friendly chaps and pose for photos. So we set off again back to the town we left about an hour ago but signposts are in short supply again. We resort to asking anyone we pass and eventually stop at a motor accessory shop. In I go with my map to find three assistants gawking at the Camels. I ask for help. One chap literally jumps over the counter, grabs his car keys and says ‘follow me’. So we do. He very kindly leads us to the right road and signals for us to pass. We thank him profusely and I try to give him some money, but he is adamant he doesn’t want it. Once again a border comes into sight and what an experience! Four lots of different guards, different uniforms, different questions. Will we ever get through? Not a smile from one of them, they really take this seriously! Finally we’re in. Loud cheers all around! We spot a corner café and pull in. They don’t take Visa, Deutchmarks or US Dollars BUT they DO have a toilet. Well, a hole really, but by now we are too desperate to care! We hit Riga and ring Karlis to meet us. We spot a Shell station and pull in. Andrew rings Karlis and says “We’re in a Shell station and next to the word Shell is this word, I’ll spell it for you V-E-I-K-A-L-S” - at this point Karlis is rolling around on the floor laughing. ‘That spells SHOP’ he says! Andrew takes the phone in to the shop attendant who tells Karlis where we are. A big black Volvo pulls in and Karlis has arrived. He seems delighted with the vehicles. Karlis has to go back to work but his little helpers are going to escort us to our hotel, which is in Jurmala, 20km out of Riga. Wow, the hotel looks amazing! We park up, check in and go up to the rooms. Ours is like an apartment. Very nice. I unpack and fill up the

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wardrobe with my gear. Oops, where’s Andrew going to put his clothes! The bar shuts at 11pm and its time for a long, long, long sleep. Or so I think. Tuesday 22nd August I wake up at 4am to find I’ve been eaten alive. Several VERY large mosquito bites have appeared. I never even thought to take mosquito repellent! We wake again at 8am and go down for breakfast. We

ring Karlis and arrange to get to the stadium for 1pm which gives us a couple of hours to look around Jurmala. Lots of interesting shops, bars and restaurants. We head back to the hotel and pile into our Camel and head for Riga. We spot the arena and find a way in. Karlis greets us and takes us to see the stand that Camel Latvia have prepared for us. We are impressed. Well-fastened together logs form a bridge to mount the two Discoverys on and plenty of room at the side for the 110. There are piles of sand and

gravel to be distributed around once we are in place. It should look good. There are only a few vehicles there so far, so we go back to the hotel and retire to the bar for a few bevy’s. Andrew and Richard decide to check out the motors and spin Brian some yarn about the fuel being full of grit (kindly supplied by the hotel garden) and the fuel filters needing changing. Up in the room I get a call from one of the little helpers, his name is Ermins but from now on he is to become know as The Elf. He asks if we want to go look around Old Riga. The place is absolutely buzzing; it’s like a Saturday night in York! [I thought York was shut after 6pm – Ed] The Elf takes us the English Krog (bar), “Charles Dickens”. At last we get some food - T-bone steak on the menu. Next he takes us to a traditional Latvian bar, 60p a pint, that’ll do nicely! Wednesday 23rd August When we arrive at the arena there are about ten people gathered around the stand to see how we are going to mount the bridge. It’s so easy they can’t believe it. I think they were expecting them to roll off or something. Obviously they are not used to watching the Camel Trophy men in action! The Elf arranges for someone to hang the Camel Trophy flag from the ceiling. The man appears and looks like Griff Rhys Jones in the Vauxhall ad but with even bigger hair. Finally Mr and Mrs Camel shop arrive. She is as miserable as sin and he carries a gun! Bang goes the idea of going home with lots of freebie Camel gear! Three hours later Camel are still setting up the plants and mannequins and Mrs C still hasn’t smiled. We head back to the hotel and set off down the main street in search of a restaurant. Before long we find a little place with a BBQ outside that smells wonderful and the menu is in English. That’s a plus! Steak and chips for Andrew and Richard, steak and pommefrites for Brian, chicken sashlick for me. It turns out to be very good and the lads get another plate of chips or pommefrites (depending on who’s asking). We rush back to the hotel for Richards’s car and go to the airport to pick up our friend Nick who’s arriving around midnight. When we get to Nicks hotel in Riga we can’t find anywhere to park. Andrew springs into action and runs into the hotel telling the receptionist that we have an English diplomat to check in and then changes it to the British Ambassador! Miraculously taxis are moved out

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of the way so we can park up the Camel and deposit the Ambassador! The Ambassador checks in and we take his things up to the room and check out the hotel bar. Thursday 24th August We get to the Skonto Hall and take the Discoverys off for the parade of vehicles round Riga. Brian decides to stay behind. Richard leads with The Elf, we follow and three Nissan Patrols [Ros will now say twelve ‘Hail Mary’s’ for blaspheming in this magazine – Ed] from Lithuania. After about 10 minutes we turn into a square full of people and cars and all becomes clear - the parade starts from here! Some young Latvian lads take a great interest in our vehicle so I invite them to open the door and take a closer look. They come back a bit later and ask where I live! I think I’ve clicked! The parade begins and we are 4th and 5th in line and follow a police escort. The traffic lights are turned off and all the traffic stopped as we parade through Riga and back to the hall where we now have to try to mount the bridge on wet tyres. Richard manages to drive on after a few tries then winches us up. Phew! We have to go for mug shots for our security passes and all become the Camel family - Ros Camel, Andy Camel, Richard Camel and Brian Camel. Lots of people are interested in our vehicles. Brian has his picture taken with numerous women sitting in his drivers seat. He even gets a card from one of them! Friday 25th August When we get to the exhibition hall Karlis is in a panic because they couldn’t find the Camel videos we’d brought. We sort that out and also get the carpet near the stand taped down as it is stuck up in a

very hazardous position. The place is heaving and it’s not even the weekend yet! We’re sitting up in the bar (for a change!) when a man comes up the steps towards us carrying a baby. He looks familiar. It’s Martin, who we bought our Camel from; he lives in the eastern side of Latvia. He has come over for a few hours with his family to invite us all to stay with him on the way back home! He has even drawn a map and his wife who is Latvian has written a well know Russian phrase in their area which we are to show to people if we get lost! It says ‘Where does the Englishman live?’ or so we are told. Not being

able to read Russian myself, I could actually be asking for anything! Saturday 26th August We don’t wake up until 11am and it’s a glorious sunny day at last, after a week of rain! We go off in search of the beach and find it within minutes. I dip my toe in the Baltic. Freezing! There are some mad fools swimming in it. We have a wander down the beach to see if we can find someway of bringing the cars down on to it for a photo shoot but it doesn’t look likely. Back at the hotel I change into my bikini and head back to the beach whilst the lads go off to the hall. After a couple of hours I have a walk through the town and buy the strongest insect repellent they have! It stinks absolutely terrible but seems to do the trick. I can see things flying towards me then do an about turn!

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Back in the bar again later I wait for the lads to return. They do so eventually having spent the afternoon being interviewed for various TV stations and magazines. We go along to our favourite steak restaurant to eat and retire early to bed as we have an early start in the morning. Don’t Give Up Roy Simpson I took delivery of my first Discovery 'Ionian Blue' on Friday 13th March 1992 - was this an omen? I was pleased with my new purchase for the first three months, then my troubles began. Diesel all over my pride and joy due to a pipe splitting on the injectors. Next a mysterious groaning noise which apparently was the clutch assembly. Numerous changes of front swivel oil seals until finally the dealership replaced the swivels.

At approximately a year old the roof started to leak and Land Rover had to remove the roof and new mastic was fitted between the roof and body panels. Apparently a batch of Discoverys and Defenders had the same fault. It was about this time I thought of abandoning my Discovery in favour of a Jeep! [Heresy – Ed] But after a test drive I realised that I had in fact been well and truly bitten by the Land Rover bug. 47,000 miles and the head gasket went - I was told

this was normal life expectancy. When my Discovery was about 6 years old the rear floor pan showed signs of serious corrosion above the diesel tank. I also replaced the steering box due to a leaking oil seal together with the power steering pump. Throughout these 6 years of not so trouble free motoring I did get the opportunity to go off-roading and attended a training course with Dave Mitchell of Landcraft. Apart from being bogged down once (in a peat bog naturally), it was great fun and I was further ensnared within Land Rover's spell. I first took my partner, Karen, off-roading in 1997 at an open day on Bagshott Heath. She had never driven a Land Rover before, but after a day having fun in the mud and water she was hooked. Now I have to share the pleasure of getting the Discovery dirty! It was the Winter of 1998 that I took a test drive of the new Discovery TD5 and I was won over yet again. New Discovery in 'Rioja Red' - new problems - so much for BMW quality control. So far the rear window has been replaced as it appeared good radio reception and a heated window do not mix. A rattle manifested itself whilst in fourth gear and the engineers at Harwoods were unsure of its source so in went a new gear box and rear diff - problem solved -fingers crossed. October 2000 myself and Karen had the bright idea of going to the Birmingham Motor Show - needless to say we did not make it - we didn't even make the M25 before a hose was destroyed by the fan - but in the words of Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush "Don't Give Up". However, it is days like the one organised by the Discovery Owners Clubs in November 2000 where we had enormous fun green laning over Salisbury Plain that makes it worth all the hassle of owning a Discovery [Ah shucks, you’re too kind – Ed]. Would I part with my Discovery? No chance - I have just planned a green-laning holiday in France!

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Salisbury Plain – 19th November 2000 Steve Goodfellow What a fantastic response! When I asked if anyone was interested I never expected to get eighteen vehicles and fifty people turn up. With members coming from all over the country the stage was set for a really good day out – and that’s exactly what we got, despite the less than ideal weather. One very important thing to remember about Salisbury Plain is that most of it belongs to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and it is the UK’s largest military training area, with 96,000 acres divided into three distinct areas. Contrary to popular belief (not exactly denied by MoD) the Army doesn’t mind civilians using The Plain but as with any other land owner they get a bit miffed if you start driving all over the place without telling them you’re going to be there. They employ a team of wardens to monitor the use of The Plain (both military and civilian) and these wardens have far reaching powers to deal with miscreants. With this in mind, therefore, I informed the Army what we planning to do (and when) several weeks before the day and, as it happens, this was a wise move. Ideally I would not contemplate green laning in groups bigger than 4 or 5 vehicles but Salisbury Plain is a very difficult area to navigate on and getting lost can be costly – both in terms of fines and loss of

life. Safety is paramount in my mind so it was decided that we would move in two large groups each one lead by someone with previous experience of navigating on The Plain (i.e. myself and John Seaton of the RRR). The groups would follow the same routes with about 20 minutes between them to reduce the impact we made whilst on tarmac between lanes. Leading off with the first group we were soon off-road and onto the first bit of mud for the day. I say

the first bit because there was plenty more to follow … brown, gooey, oozing, thick, clinging stuff that must add about half a ton to the weight of the vehicle by the end of the day. Almost immediately we found that some of the people who had not been off-road before also hadn’t read their owners handbook and found out what that little gear lever does [see elsewhere in the newsletter – Ed] and we had our first sticker☺ Now to my mind that’s just part of life’s rich tapestry and as a firm believer in the “if you ain’t been stuck, you ain’t been off-road” mentality we shrug it off and continue onwards. Our first sight of the military presence comes at the top of the first rise as we skirted the northern edge of a village that doesn’t exist on the maps (unless you’re using an Army one anyway). Copehill Down FIBUA – it stands for Fighting In Built Up Areas – is a mocked up village used to train troops in the art of urban warfare … and great fun it is too! From there we passed on (having stopped for a chat with one of the wardens) across open chalk upland through the middle of Fox Covert parachute drop zone before returning to tarmac. It was at this point that we hit our first major snag of the day – Andy Denyer’s diff lock wouldn’t release They managed to limp the couple of miles back to our starting point where we set about trying to release it … and it

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took some brute force I can tell you! We also had a visit from the Major in charge of the firing ranges on The Plain. He stopped by to make us aware of where live firing was taking place. What a thoughtful chap☺ During the efforts to release the diff lock the second group caught up with us and, so as not to lose too much time, set off in front of us for the second route of the day. This lead us back up onto The Plain through some really muddy areas and in a generally southerly direction. Another chat with the warden confirmed that they were happy with what we were doing and the way we were conducting

ourselves so we pressed on towards the planned lunch time stop at The Bustard Inn, where we promptly filled the car park to overflowing and had to use a hard standing opposite. The serried ranks of muddy Discoverys made an impressive sight☺ Good food, a few sherbets and good conversation took over at this point and if we did one thing wrong on the day it was stay too long at the Inn. Lesson learned for next time – take a packed lunch! Several of the members who had a long journey home left us at this point and to those I apologise for the driving

time lost in the pub. From The Bustard those of us continuing made our way by road into Larkhill before turning off onto the next lane, which took us past Stonehenge and away from the military part of The Plain. Crossing the A303 for the first time we entered some truly lovely countryside with Partridge running up the track in front of my wheels. The lane eventually lead us into Stapleford before another short road section took us back towards the military training area again. By this time it was starting to get dark and it was an impressive sight to see the group meandering along the lane with headlights blazing. Re-crossing the A303 at Yarnbury Castle we headed North West along a hard surfaced lane with some impressively deep water holes. Seeing the bow waves of those following was almost as much fun as doing the driving myself☺ It wasn’t long, however, before we were back onto the mucky stuff as we entered the last lane of the day (or night as it was by then) and we drove alongside two operational grass airstrips towards our destination just outside the village of Chitterne. Within sight (if you had good lights) of the end of the lane word came forward that one of the group had gotten stuck in a particularly nasty little water hole. We traipsed back to find Stefan stuck because he had tried to go straight through the middle of the water rather than skirting it’s perimeter. In his defence I have to say that he probably couldn’t see what those before him had done and, with a little perseverance and not an inconsiderable amount of back and forth-ing he made it through. Minutes later we had completed all we could do that day and made our farewells before heading off home. Andy’s sticking diff lock had struck again and so a recovery truck was called – but otherwise we were all able to head off under our own steam. After such a great day out I want to assure members that we will be doing it again!

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Peeling Dashboard Saga Continues Steve Goodfellow In the last issue of Discourse we touched on the subject of peeling dashboards, the cause and Land Rovers’ offer of free replacements. Well, a couple of members emailed me afterwards saying that their local dealers had refused to replace them free of charge due to a change in the rules by Land Rover. I took the opportunity to call Land Rover Customer Care to check this out and was dismayed to find that a set of qualifying criteria had been implemented back in September 2000 – they kept that quiet, didn’t they? According to Customer Care – maybe they need a new name – the vehicle must now qualify on all the following criteria to be eligible for a free replacement dashboard: 1. be less than 5 years old 2. been purchased from a franchised dealer 3. have a full dealer service history 4. have less than 60,000 miles on the clock The good news is that after member Mike Vacher wrote to Customer Care with the information from Discourse 3 they relented and agreed to fund his replacement. When I spoke to them again later they said that it had been decided to consider each application which falls outside of the criteria on it’s merits. So, if you get the run around from your dealer send a nice, polite letter to Land Rover pointing out the error of their ways and you should be okay … unless you know different. What’s That For Then Mate? Rambling Syd Hello me deario’s. I’ve been ‘avin’ a rummage in me gander bag and came up with this as my first contribution to Discourse. So, just what is that little lever - which is actually called the transfer gear lever - for? Know the one I mean? Pokes up out of the centre console just in front of the big gear lever … that’s it. What? You thought it was just for hanging your handbag on? Gawd help us! Now if you’re lucky enough to have a Series II then you can go on to the next article ‘cos this don’t concern you directly. I’ll be returning to the SII in another edition of Discourse. Go on then … hoppit … blimey, some people just can’t take a hint, can they? Right then, it’s just us poor people who ain’t got the bread to buy a new motor left then, is it? Good. Many Discovery owners never drive their vehicles further off road than a grass car park or sports field and do so without a thought for how easy it is to reduce their unstoppable four wheel drive into a slipping, sliding, two wheel drive mess. Now there ain’t nothing wrong with this per se but it pays to know what to do when you’re sitting there with all four wheels spinning on wet grass – remember the pictures from last year’s British Grand Prix where all sorts of 4x4 were shown being towed off flat grass car parks? Before we get into the purposes of the transfer gear lever we need to establish how the Discovery’s transmission is laid out. Power is transferred from the engine to the main gearbox (via the clutch) and then to a second gearbox (called the transfer box) before going to the propeller shafts and finally front and rear axles. It is this transfer box that makes the vehicle four wheel drive, taking a single input shaft from the main gearbox and providing two output shafts – one front and one rear. There is more to it than that as will become clear as you read on, but that’s the gist of it.

Diagram courtesy of Land Rover

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Diagram courtesy of Land Rover

That little lever mounted just in front of the gear lever actually has two functions. Fore and aft movement of the lever determines whether high or low ratio gears are selected, whilst side to side movement selects or disengages the differential lock. In normal road trim the lever should be fully back (high ratio gears) and tilting to the right (diff lock disengaged) as this is the most suitable combination for road use. Okay, we’ve introduced two new concepts here – high low ratio gears and differential lock – so let’s just visit both of those before going on. Inside the transfer box there are two sets of gears; high ratio primarily for road use to give good speeds and reasonable fuel consumption and low ratio which is used mainly off-road and in adverse conditions where extra torque is needed but speed is not important. Also mounted inside the transfer box is the differential lock – commonly known as the diff lock – which effectively joins the front and rear propeller shafts together so that equal amounts of torque are applied to both front and rear wheels. Normally this would not be needed on a tarmac road but in icy or very slippery conditions it can mean the difference between moving along and being stuck with one wheel on both axles spinning. Intended primarily for use off-road the diff lock greatly enhances the

traction available and is primarily what makes the Discovery such a good off-roader. So, moving the transfer gear lever to the forward position engages the low ratios and this must be done with care and using the clutch. The Discovery owner’s handbook states that in normal circumstances this should be done with the vehicle stationary and the engine running. It does go on, however, to explain a technique for moving between ratios on the move

but you should be fully conversant with these methods before trying them. Okay, happy with that? Right let’s move on to the diff lock. You can engage and disengage the diff lock at any speed in any gear without using the clutch … but … if you engage the diff lock whilst on the move you must be on firm ground, travelling in a straight line and with no wheels spinning. Failing to observe these three conditions can (and most likely will) result in damage to the transmission and a serious pain in the wallet When you move the transfer gear lever to the left to engage the differential lock you will see an orange light on the instrument panel to indicate that the lock has functioned. Similarly, when you move the lever to the right to disengage the diff lock the lamp will go out … or maybe not. The lamp is operated by the diff lock itself rather than from the lever so you will notice a short delay between engaging the diff lock and the lamp coming on (as the lock actually engages) and a similar delay when disengaging. If, however, you have engaged diff lock and driven for even a short distance without any of the wheels slipping then when you come to disengage again the lock may actually stick on. This is quite normal and is caused by the transmission “winding up” as the wheels travel different distances (as you go around bends, for example) and to unravel the wind up you may need to reverse a short way and then move forwards again to enable the lock to disengage. If the light still doesn’t go out then do not assume there is a fault with the lamp circuit - this could be one of the most expensive assumptions you ever make. Always assume that the lock is still engaged and try again to free it. A short drive down a muddy lane with the lever in the disengaged position will usually release it but if it still won’t free then do not drive more than a few miles in any hard surface or

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you will certainly do damage to the transmission Get some help either from a local dealer or one of the motoring organisations. One final thing, if you have the need to jack up one of the wheels when the diff lock is engaged be very careful as it may spin violently as the tyre comes clear of the floor – this is the transmission unwinding – and if you’ve left the wheel brace on one of the nuts it can do some serious damage to the Discovery or, more importantly, to you. Right then, so now you know what that little thing does. Clever ain’t it? I’ll have to take another look in me gander bag and see what it throws up for next time. ’Till then ☺ Lake District Green Road Code The club recently received a leaflet published jointly by the Lake District National Park Authority (NPA) and the Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA) entitled “The Lake District Green Road Code For Vehicle Users”. Within the leaflet both NPA and LARA set out a code of conduct for recreational vehicle users within the Lake District National Park and they cover such things as rights of way and restrictions, maps and signs, voluntary restraint and general use of motor vehicles in the Park. This is an excellently written publication which, courtesy of Dave Robinson at the NPA is enclosed with this newsletter. Although written specifically for the Lake District National Park I feel that the principles spelled out in the code of conduct are applicable to all areas of the country and represent something we should all aspire to in our off-tarmac adventures. A Letter From Diether Hofmann I am very happy, to be one of your members and I send you a short article with regard to the tyres of the Discovery: Originally my Discovery Tdi 200 (year of construction = 1992) has been equipped with Michelin tyres M&S 244, Size 205 R 16 104 Q. After 8 years now it was required, to fit new tyres but unfortunately the same ones (Michelin with this size) are no longer available. Other makes with the same size have a completely different tread and because I always include the (unused) spare wheel when changing the tyres it was difficult to find ones with an corresponding tread, but finally I have found it. The Cooper Discoverer LT 205 R 16 108 Q is very similar to the Michelin and also has approximately the same circumference (90.8 inches; Michelin = 91.3 inches). This allows it to be fitted on the same axle with the Michelin M&S 244. I believe, it could help other owners of early Discoverys in the club to find the suitable tyres when including the original spare wheel is intended. With the best greetings and expecting the first and further newsletters [Diether, I hope you don’t mind me making a few changes to your original text – Ed] Wet, Wet, Wet John Capewell Since shortly after we got our 1989 Discovery we’ve had problems with the glass sun-roofs leaking, and from talking to the owners of other early vehicles I know that this not unique. Our first port of call was to seek advice from a local independent Land Rover specialist who also breaks lots of motors, mainly Discovery’s. Second-hand seals from a later motor –no chance, replacements – sorry mate can’t get them, so what is the best advice – bung some Vaseline on them, it usually makes the rubber swell and helps to prevent leakage, other than that get used to having a wet

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seat! (This remedy was tried and was partially successful for a little while. For the specialist this was probably just long enough to sell a vehicle and get the punters cheque cleared through the bank, so if you look at an older Discovery and there is Vaseline around the sunroof seals beware!) Next stop John Craddock at Cannock. “Yes, we can get those seals no problem, direct from the factory and when they come in we’ll post them to you.” Now we’re on our way. New seals arrive and on the next fine day the sunroofs are out, quickly followed by the seals. It says that the rear sunroof is not removable like the front one, don’t believe it of course it is, there is just no convenient little notch to put your pen-knife in to do it, but otherwise its exactly the same. The new seals were softer and chunkier than the ones that came out, so all the signs were good. They fitted as easy as putting the lid on a Tupperware box and the job was done, dry seats here we come. Nothing in life, especially if it connected with Land Rovers, is that easy. A few days later as we reversed out of the drive and braked to change direction there was a torrent of icy water down the necks of both front seat occupants. This was strange, because it wasn’t raining at the time and the visual inspection before we set off showed no string of drips waiting to fall off onto the unwary and the seats were indeed dry. Out came the roofs and the seals again to reveal a reservoir around the inner frame, which had been filling up with water leaking down between the steel roof and the seal, not between the seal and the glass panel. The first attempt at rectifying this with silicone sealer was partially successful but didn’t do all the job on the front so the reservoir was still filling up ready to catch the unwary on the first change of direction or modest braking. This last weekend the latest instalment of this trial of patience took place. Both seals were removed again, all the bits and pieces cleaned up and then the refitted. After fitting the joint between the seal and the edge of the roof was sealed again, but with a bitumen based roof and gutter sealant from one of those mastic guns which takes a cartridge of the stuff and feeds it out down a long nozzle. Get the sealant right down between the two surfaces, it’s no good spread around on top like butter, and if you get it right you shouldn’t be able to see any sign of sealer when the job is finished. I have to admit that this is looking extremely promising now. One final thing came to light while doing this job. After both glass panels were refitted it was obvious that the rear one was bearing down a lot harder on the seal than the front one, even though they had both been tightened the in the same way on the large plastic hand-wheel. This was confirmed by opening the both roofs and closing them as tight as possible with a piece of paper kitchen towel trapped in the joint. Lo and behold, on the rear one the paper ripped and could not be pulled through the joint but on the front one, the paper slid out intact. Out with the panels again for a comparison. With everything disconnected again, the much more heavily used front roof had significantly more resistance on the wheel and the associated cogs and gears than the rear. Removal of the circular hand-wheel centre reveals a small screw that allows the whole thing to be stripped into its component parts for a clean up in soapy water. A liberal spray all around with wax furniture polish before re-assembly followed this. Magic, now both sunroofs easily pass the paper towel test, and with the sticky black stuff between the roof and seals we have never had a better chance of staying dry than now. Oil Change Problems Tim Arnold Plan for the day? Change all of the oils. What actually happened ? Went to local dealer for 10L EP90 and made the mistake to taking her indoors. Came back with 10L EP90 and a Freelander. Expensive or what? Started oil changes and the rain arrived, still only your feet get wet when working underneath.

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For Sale: a) Genuine Discovery 200/300 series rubber footwell mats (STC8188AB) £40.00 b) Genuine Discovery 200/300 series rubber loadspace mat (STC8465) £35.00 Call Tony Hardman on 01827 873774 or e-mail APHardman@Aol.com For a 1995 300Td1 a) Front & rear road springs (less than 1000 miles use) £ 50.00 b) Front & rear shock absorbers (less than 1000 miles use) £ 50.00 c) Unused set of locking wheel nuts £ 20.00 d) Pair of original rectangular fog lamps (one lens has a small stone chip) £ 25.00 e) Haynes manual for 1989-1995 models (good, clean condition) £ 5.00 For a Defender [what??? – Ed] a) Pair of Hella rectangular front fog lights (still in box, unused) £ 25.00 Call Trevor Butler on 01635 43037 Wanted From: David Edge (david.edge@totalise.co.uk) Has any member got for sale a rear ladder also a stainless steel wheel cover with the Discovery logo From: Roman Gozdzikowski (roman.g@dial.pipex.com) Subject: Looking for an engineering company Would someone point me in the direction of a machining workshop in London or nearby, which would be willing to accept a one-off order for the fabrication of small metal bits on a lathe? Transfer Box Lever Problems Kevin Beel There are two problems that occur with the transfer box lever that are associated with lack of use. Either: The high/low linkage seizes. This means you can't move the lever in the back/front direction. The usual cure is a liberal spay of WD40 around the linkages. They can be seen from below the vehicle (a long round bar that comes from the side of the lever assembly down to the top of the transfer box. If you use a can of WD40 with the red spout, you can direct the spray up to the links from under the vehicle. If you spray it in the evening, by the next morning you should get some movement back. From there it will improve quite quickly. The diff lock movement seizes. This is the sideways travel on the lever and if this is stiff or will not move, it is usually the slide bar binding in the plain bearing on the LHS of the lever assembly box (sits on top of the transmission). Mine was completely seized and needed a new bar and bearing (bearing was £ 9 and bar £ 35!). If it is just sticking, you can probably free it up a bit with a thinner lube (not WD40, as that will dry it out). To do this you need to get to the assembly, as follows - REMEMBER TO CHOCK THE WHEELS FIRST!: remove the diff lock/high/low lever and gaiter and the plastic surround to the auto shifter assembly

(don't use a screwdriver, as this will damage the plastic!. Push it back and it will unclip from a lip). remove the centre console (bolts under rubber mat and in cubby box,

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removing the pin in hand-brake lever before you lift it up (the lever has to go almost upright) remove the rubber surrounding remove the mounting for centre console front bolts (2 more bolts) drill out the pop rivets that hold the rubber level gaiter in situ. When the gaiter is removed, it will

expose the hole through the bodywork and you will be able to see the lever assembly box on top of the transmission.

4 bolts hold a plate over the box assembly. With this off, you can see the shaft, LH bush, RH bush, lever ball joint, linkages, etc.

Lube (with oil) the shaft on the LHS (and RHS for good measure). The shaft sticks out of the LH bearing (outside of the casing), so lube it there as well. If it is stuck completely, you will have to take off the box (4 more bolts and the linkages to the diff and transfer box) to get at it with a small hammer (care: the bearing is only alloy and can easily be damaged by over zealous hammering!).

Reassemby is the reverse (as Haynes always say!). Make sure the high/low link fits onto the spline in the correct position, otherwise the lever will not move far enough to get into one or the other. This seems a big job, but it's not and should only take about an hour and a half. Remember to have some longer pop rivets (12mm did for me) for when you reassemble. NB: If you take the assembly off. The rear wheels HAVE TO BE CHOCKED: When the transfer box is put into neutral, the Park lock is taken off the transmission and the hand-brake is already disabled. I forgot and sent my Disco down the drive 3 yards with me in the passenger seat having kittens! Luckily it stopped with no damage to anything. Lesson learned: Always chock wheels! Hope this helps you and others who have this problem. Anyone Got The Time? Henry Just a line to say that after my enquiry about the lack of illumination of our clock ('96 300Tdi) I have had a few responses and this is how I fixed it. First of all get a suitable coin and undo the two fixings in the cover under the steering wheel, this allows access to the back of the Hazard warning switch which can then be pushed out. This then gives better access to the back of the clock and may allow the removal of the bulb unit - it is one of those new fangled things that incorporates a large black holder with the contacts for use with flexible PCBs. If, like me, you have fingers like sausages, you will probably have to get the clock assembly out which is done by inserting a thin object at the top and bottom of the clock (from the front) to push down the locking tabs to allow the assembly to be pulled out. The bulb can then be removed and replaced, care must be taken to give enough clearance between the 'connectors' which contact with the flexible PCB and the plastic support part of the bulb - mine was tight and when I tried to twist it into place the flexible PCB twisted with it - I opened the gap up between the contacts and the backing to give enough clearance. Once the bulb is in clip the assembly back to place and that’s it. One thing I did find strange when I took the clock assembly out was a spring (bit like off a clothes peg) - I could not find anywhere for it to fit and everything seems OK so I have kept it in a safe place in case it is needed. Thanks for all the work you guys are doing - best club I have been in yet - and we haven't done anything with the club yet (!). Alright WAC? Gerry Summerfield My own V8 Discovery, one of the early G --- WAC vehicles, was bought 3 years ago as a natural progression from a Series 2, Series 3, V8 90 and Range Rover. Although it has around 115,000 miles on the clock it’s proved totally reliable and healthy. The only non-service part replaced being a CV joint which quite literally fell apart without the usual early warning noises. No problem really; just

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engage the diff lock, drive home slowly and fit a new one. At a risk of sounding smug, it doesn’t suffer from any of the usual leaks – the engine bay, gearboxes and diffs being bone dry [yes, but they’re supposed to have oil in them – Ed] Onto the not-so-smug bits; the twin sunroofs leak so badly that I’m seriously considering a second hand roof without sunroof. The only other problem is the beginning of rusty inner wings, which main dealers and non-franchised dealers tell me aren’t available yet. Is this true? A point of interest, at a recent MOT the vehicle failed on the aforementioned inner wings with a quote for £360 to cover the work. After a little consideration I went to another garage just to see the reaction. The result? A pass certificate with the comment that “the inner wings are a bit rusty but don’t come into the MOT on these as they’re not structural”. So far modifications are twin electric fans from Kenlowe; easy to fit and rarely used showing how over cooled the standard item is and a split charger kit for a spare battery used in my caravan and other car (1987 Humber Imperial). The kit was £12.50 from a caravan centre – which makes the Land Rover item look a bit silly. Future plans include an LPG conversion using twin tanks in place of the original petrol tank and a Mini car tank boxed in near the original filler. Also the engine will stay on carbs rather than fuel injection, but eventually give way to a 3.9 litre unit. Having gone through most of Land Rover’s products I can’t really see me ever changing this one. The 90 County V8 was awesome off-road but lacked the space and comfort of the Discovery (I’ve got full leather interior). So I’ll just keep updating and repairing as necessary and enjoy using it for what it was built. By the way, has anyone bought a sports exhaust system that actually fits? I’ve sent three back from various manufacturers, including the one LRO have fitted in the past, as they all foul the cross member. A Letter From Robin Irwin Hi all.. This is a picture of me and my football with my Dad's red Discovery 300 2.5 Tdi on Fairfield Common in Buxton, Derbyshire. The other two Discos belong to friends Rebecca and Hayley (left) and Ashley and Kellie (right) whose Dads are still in the process of deciding to join. They'll get there eventually, my Dad says. [Let’s hope he’s right then – Ed]

Since this picture, Allan’s grey 'K' reg Tdi has been upgraded to a V8 and gassed. Another digital picture later if we can get all three together again in the sunshine ... and clean!

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All three dad’s are Radio Amateurs and are always talking and trying to outdo each other! (left to right - G7TMM Allan, G0KLR Peter and G7NFK Jon) I hope you can use it on your website with other member's pictures [Over to you Robin – Ed]. Thanks cu.. Robin Irwin (aged 10) Fitting A Clutch Servo Gerry Summerfield In Discourse 2 Paul Grant asked about a servo for the clutch. I did this modification on a Series 2 some years ago. Any remote servo can be used; situated in any convenient place under the bonnet and taking the vacuum from the inlet manifold via a “Y” piece on the brake servo pipe. I sourced mine from a breakers yard, but an auto jumble would probably be favourite now. Make sure t is from a single line brake system and try to check out the refurbishment kit prices as they can vary considerably. The most common fault on used units is that the servo can leak fluid into the bellows. Deutscher Rover Club 25th Anniversary Weekend Diether Hofmann Rottenburg, 13. November 2000 It was with great joy that I received Issue 2 of Discourse, which dropped on my doormat last week and which I have read word by word and page by page. I am enthusiastic to be a member of this Club in it’s early stages, and to find in the newsletter many themes around the Discovery. By the way please excuse my poor English, because I've learned it only in the school [Diether, your English is far better than my German ... and I lived in Northern Germany for four years … so please don’t feel the need to apologise - Ed]. Over the weekend of 30th September to 3rd October 2000 I have attended - with my Discovery Tdi 200

- the 25th anniversary party of the “Deutscher Rover-Club” which has been held in Kallinchen, near our capital Berlin. The campsite for this event was in a military training area which was once used by the former Red Army. Weather permitting it was a nice meeting with more than 300 vehicles assembled; LR Series I, II, IIa, III, Defenders Tdi and Td5, Discoverys and Range Rovers. There were quite a few British participants, among them a "Rescue Landrover” with 4 English pathfinders [I think this refers to a group called Venturers Search & Rescue from Southampton – Ed].

There was a daily cross country trial on the neighbouring sandy forest roads, plus one night-trial in the forest tracks. The head-, rear- and stop lights of the vehicles being switched off by having their fuses removed. In addition there was a market in the camp site with dealers for new and used spare parts, off-road clothing, books and so on. In the evenings (and late into the night) there was sitting by the camp fire with bar-b-q and endless discussions. Myself, I think I was the only representative of the DOC in attendance and have delivered our best greetings on everyone’s behalf. The photo shows me in the camp with my Discovery and the little Caravan ERIBA-PUCK. Friendly greetings and a good time for you and all DOC members.

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Club e-Groups List Andy Smith has set up an e-Groups list for club members. This is an Internet chat room area where members can ask questions, raise topics and generally communicate with each other. As this club has been established almost entirely over the Internet and so many members have email addresses the setting up of the chat room is proving to be one of our better ideas. If you want to be registered as a member of the e-Group then please email Andy on andy@cameltrophy.org.uk and he’ll sort it out for you. Club Internet Web Site The URL for the club web site is http://www.discoveryownersclub.com. The site is still developing and those of you with Internet access are asked to keep an eye on it and pass on suggestions, comments and details of any technical problems or suggestions to Andy Smith at andy@cameltrophy.org.uk. Regional Meets Sussex Area Location : The Sportsman PH, Rackham Road, Amberley, W. Sussex When : 3rd Wednesday of each month Time : from 8 p.m. onwards Contact : Grant Jobson (01903 531425) West Of England Area Location : The Wheatsheaf PH, High Street, Winterbourne, S. Gloucs. When : Last Friday of each month Time : from 8 p.m. onwards Contact : Steve Goodfellow (0117 904 2526) Back Issues Of Discourse Members can get back issues of the club newsletter in three ways: 1. download them from the e-group site 2. order printed copies at £2.00 each plus an A4 sae with 33p stamp 3. order them on a CD-ROM which covers all issues to date for £2.00 (incl. postage) Cheques should be made payable to “Discovery Owners Club” Crazy Road Signs

I really don’t remember where these came from … but they make me laugh ☺

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Members Vehicles On the left is Karen, Roy Simpson’s partner, posing next to their Series II Discovery outside the Bustard Inn on Salisbury Plain. I have to say it looks remarkably clean considering where it had just been. Maybe all the mud had been washed off in the small lake Roy decided to drive through on his way to the pub☺ And who

says water and electronic gadgetry don’t mix? All of the pictures on this page come from our day on Salisbury Plain. So many members have sent me copies of photographs from the day I could fill a complete edition with them. Oops, ran out of space!

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