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From Iceland toa full restorationby Joe Coleman[Joe Coleman tells us a brief history of how he got interestedin Land Rovers, and what he is up to now -ed.]My first experience with a Land Rover was during an April trip toIceland. My friends and I rented an 88” because we wanted todrive toward the interior of the country and the only paved roadswere within the Reykjavik city limits. Beyond the large waterfall,Gullfoss, we tried to drive toward a glacier in the distance, but gotstuck in a field of snow that was lying in a low, shady area. TheRover frame rested on the snow as the wheels spun. With only anempty peanut butter jar to dig with, it took a long time to get thecar out.The 1964 109” Station Wagon that I bought many years laterneeded to be towed home. We fabricated some outriggers thatsupported the rear springs and used high-strength rivets to fastenthem to the chassis and added new brake components. Eventhough most Philadelphia snow storms are 3 inches and melt thenext day, the Iceland incident led me to pick deep-lugged snowtires for my Rover. It ran reliably for about six years until the backhalf of the frame got too rusty.I started disassembling the Rover outside in my yard, as Iwas used to preparing my Formula Ford race car outside at thetrack day or nighttime for SCCA events. Along with a new frame,the rusty bits that needed replacing were the door posts andfootwells. The engine had a large ridge in the cylinder and thecrankshaft was worn necessitating a full rebuild. With exceptionof having to grind or cut off hardware, the process has been goingwell.________ ________The restoration ofa family memberby Jeff Poyner[Jeff Poyner of Olypmia Washington, talks abouthow he, and his three boys are starting to restore aSeries III -ed.]Here is a brief description of the Series III (namedSuzy), we purchased in Vancouver Canada two yearsago. We drove it back to our home in OLYMPIAWASHINGTON. That was another story!My wife Suzanne and our three boys Zach, Ian,and Andrew have adopted this truck into the family, ashas the rest of the neighborhood. The site of the oldRover coming down the street with the spare tire onthe hood has got a lot of attention the past two years.Especially at Christmas time, when the we go out to getthe tree; as with most people who have never seen aLand Rover before, no its not a Jeep!But the years have taken the usual toll on Suzy,and the wear and tear have become too much. So theboys and I have started a restoration project. We havestarted the tear down project which will include thereplacement of the frame, leaf springs, bulkhead,footwell, and all the usual bits and pieces that it willtake to rebuild the lower end of the Land Rover.Fortunately some of the components were replacedbefore we purchased the truck. However, even thesewill be looked over very carefully before reassemblybegins.We found a set of plans on line to build a sand blastingcabinet, this way we can clean all disassembled partsof any rust as the rebuild continues.Labor day weekend was just that, a labor day. Wedisassembled the entire truck and power washed anddegreased each piece. That was a very long process asyou can imagine. At this point, all bolts, nuts andscrews have been bagged and tagged, as each systemhas been removed from the truck in systematic order.As I explained to the boys it will be a long winterof restoration, and the memory may fade so we arekeeping track of all parts. Nothing will go back onuntil it has been repaired, replaced, painted andreassembled.So here are a few pictures of our Suzy, the SeriesIII Land Rover as we have begun the process.________ ________Page 39