Our Land Rover and biggest friend for this trip is a white Defender 110 station wagon, built in 1998. The car has been bought by Alexander’s father in 2002 at a machine auction near Rotterdam. It was auctioned in a group of 12 Defenders, of wich ours was in best shape. It has been bought for about 2000 dollars. Alexander’s dad had bought it so he could work on it for fun and maybe crank up the value of the car a bit. The Land Rover had been owned by a German mining company who used the cars for people transport in and out of bauxite mines. The bauxite dust that hangs around in those mines is so fine, that it reaches every little corner. That's why we still find it everywhere in the car, even the chassis is still completely filled with this stuff! In the three years the car worked in that mine, it had a rough time. That’s why the mining company (biggest Land Rover buyer in Germany) sells all the cars after three years of use. From the moment Alexander’s father bought the car, the synchromesh between 2nd and 3rd gear was busted, so we had to double-clutch between 2 and 3. This probably is a result of the fact that the car always had been driven in low gear, between 2nd and 3rd. For us, the double-clutching never was a big issue, but for this trip, we really needed a new gearbox (ouch!). Find more about this under “preparations”.
At this moment , we’re trying to figure out a nice name for the car. We’d like a girls name, like Sandy. Any suggestions? Please let us know.
The Landy is almost ready for the journey, one more trip to Albert and Bertus for an engine check up and she is ready for it. Let’s hope she sticks together!