Steve King

For future reference, I’m in Bromsgrove.

Several years ago I changed the clutch master and slave cylinders on my then current 300 TDi Defender. Unfortunately the replacements arrived in blue boxes! After a month I was in the middle of a busy one way system and as I pressed the clutch down to engage first gear there was a loud bang and I was drenched from head to toe in hydraulic fluid!! Happy Days!! This time a genuine master cylinder was used, but I left the aftermarket slave cylinder in place and it was still working when i came to sell the vehic1le

I saw this the other day and got the young memsahib to take a pic!

Well it’s rather confusing information from JLR! However if they really want to do away with Land Rover marque, they could always flog it to Ineos!

https://goods2clear.co.uk/p/tow-hitch-dual-hd-captive-qr-pin-3000kg-sample-g2c30 There is another type of hitch available for anyone who needs one.

Hi Seriously though, wishing all of you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Not entirely sure what is going to happen on the day itself! Our adopted daughter is spending some time with her dad and sister and they are all supposed to be coming here for Christmas dinner and the little teenager was intending to spend the rest of the holidays at home with us. However, covid seems to have infected everyone in their family and meanwhile my wife and I have developed mahoosive chest infections…. We will probably have to postpone it for a few days. Wheezing you all a Merry Christmas

I’ve only just seen this sad news because my iPad was away having a new screen fitted. Very sad news- Les was a helpful and knowledgeable guy. I used his services a few times; firstly he fitted a new rear cross member to my first 110, he also sorted the leak from the main oil seal where a garage had tried and failed. RIP Les, I will raise a glass in your memory.

As an aside, my TD5 was originally registered to Highgrove House, but I don't know if HRH's derriere ever graced the seats!

Eek! With A Flux, my Defender’s premium went down £9 this year, my every day Fiesta went down just under two quid and the premium for my Riley Kestrel stayed the same!

The A series engine featured two easy ways to cook itself! The bypass hose was one, and the other was the heater takeoff valve on the cylinder head! The heater takeoff valves were badly made at the time, but the current aftermarket replacements are largely carp and fall apart! The bypass hoses that are convoluted and made of thin rubber should only be used as a roadside repair and should be replaced with a suitable length of heater hose. Unfortunately doing the job properly means removing the fan and water pump, which in turn means removing or moving the radiator.

A lot of 60s cars had the foot switch for main/dipped beam - my Riley does. Cracked steering wheels were common too! My dad was left holding a hoop and had to return home just holding on to the spokes - this was in a 105E Anglia!

Well, it’s not Herefordshire, Powys or Shropshire, but 4 x 4 Development just outside of Droitwich, Worcs are worth a look at. I have only used them once, but I was pleased with the work and the price. They are about 12 minutes away from junction 5 on the M5. 01299 851255 Unit 1 & 2 Broadfield Barns, Kidderminster Road,Cutnall Green Droitwich, Worcs WR9 0PP

Fortunately my Kestrel seems to have lived a fairly sheltered life and the sills are original! I believe that the car suffered one or two crashes; the boot floor had some strange reinforcements (now removed) and the O/S B pillar was well out of true. My late mate had the lower B panel (where it meets the sill) replaced. The Kestrel was bought by my friend and as he had surrendered his drivers licence owing to eyesight issues brought about by MS, I was swiftly offered a half share of the car for half of the purchase price which I happily stumped up. Sadly Dave’s MS returned big time and he passed away in 2018 leaving me (with the consent and encouragement of his family) as the sole owner. The remaining task are mainly completing the under bonnet electrics, refitting the dash and fitting the radiator and associated plumbing. My old GT was quite economical and 40 mpg was achievable as long as you didn’t go much above 60 mph on a motorway!

Those cover sills caused more problems than they cured. The original drainage holes were ignored and so the floor would rot out! This was also a problem on the ADO16: the Austin/Morris, Wolseley, Riley, VDP, MG, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all 1100 and 1300 range of cars! Lovely cars to drive and quite advanced when they were introduced! However designed in rust points, poor steel and poor build quality (plus poor repairs) all played their part in many thousands of these going to the scrappy! I passed my test in an Austin 1300 GT, it is still on the road, but sadly not under my ownership and they are quite rare nowadays! I do have a MK1 Riley Kestrel version, that is nearly restored.

I recently received a letter from my IFA saying that one of my pension funds has shrunk by 10% since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. My IFA is taking the long view and says not to panic…