Mk3 County 4x4, 4.0 litre V6, 5 speed Auto

[ChequeredRoof]

guess what i saw a week or so ago....nearly fell off my car seat when i recognised it

Nice pictures

I know it was very recent, as the remains of my 5 ton tow rope are still attached.... the result of a mad "tug of war" idea to see which had the best traction - the County or our ageing V8 Range Rover... but that's another story

[ChequeredRoof]

Lovely bit of 4x4 kit.....
silly question, but do you think being a 4x4 - and therefore higher up, has helped with the rust?? ie its not getting as much sh*t thrown up under the chassis??

Thanks Bezzabsa.

The height may make some difference, but to be honest the two biggest reasons mine has survived are:

1. The underside was generously and very thoroughly undersealed at some stage (probably from new, by the MoD) in a thick black gunge, which has done a superb job of keeping the rust at bay. Several other ex-MoD County owners have had similar protection from "the gunge".

2. The van spent the first 17 years of it's life on airfields or ranges full of crash rescue / hydraulic cutting equipment (RAE Farnborough, Bournemouth Airport, Aberporth, Llanbedr and Boscombe Down) probably under cover, and rarely (if ever) venturing onto salted roads. It covered about 38,000 with the MoD. In the last 6 years the mileage has only gone up by 16,000 miles, so at 54,000 miles it hasn't had a hard life, and it now gets plenty of TLC.

When I bought the van (as a direct-release from the MoD) I was hoping for at least a 10-year life, which in my mind would make the powertrain upgrade worthwhile. To be honest, it is still in the same or better shape after 6 years of ownership, and with no welding and all original paintwork I don't see why it shouldn't still be driving around 10 years from now.

[noah]

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[ChequeredRoof]

1. The underside was generously and very thoroughly undersealed at some stage (probably from new, by the MoD) in a thick black gunge, which has done a superb job of keeping the rust at bay. Several other ex-MoD County owners have had similar protection from "the gunge".

Here are a few pics of what I am referring to:





Most of it has come off inside the wheelarches...



so that'll be another job when the weather improves.

[AeroNautiCal]

WOW!

Your van is outstanding, as is your engine upgrade, top stuff!

[ChequeredRoof]

WOW!

Your van is outstanding, as is your engine upgrade, top stuff!

Thanks AeroNautiCal

Happiness (part 2) is....



...a fresh MoT and a clean bill of health. 23 years old and just beginning to mature.

Emissions Test was a bit pointless - CO limit 3.5%, actual 0.0%, HC limit 1200ppm, actual 3ppm!!!

[ChequeredRoof]

.
I've had a 2" receiver with detachable drop hitch for some time, the idea being to achieve a standard UK tow ball height on the County, without completely trashing the off-road departure angle (which is never going to be great with the LWB overhang) when not towing. I also wanted to be able to make a range of detachable 2" accessories, such as a rear step, bicycle carrier, winch platform etc.

This is the drop hitch:



This is what it looks like when not attached...



and when attached...



And this is why it's necessary:







I've just made a short video here (1min 38secs) messing around on a 1 in 2 grassy slope (22.5 degrees), which is my maximum departure angle.

[ChequeredRoof]

Another year.... another MOT.... another clean bill of health





I can't believe that I've only made one "progress" post in the last 12 months. That's probably because everything major is now sorted on the van. I did try one improvement though, in an attempt to stop an occasional (but very annoying) "clonk" from the front leaf springs, where the bottom leaf slides from side to side and hits the spring hanger. I made up a set of leaf clamps (as is common on older Land Rovers etc) and have been running with them for a while. So far, they are doing a perfect job .

[Mr RVM]

They are absolute CLASS

[transitandy]