Rover Tech Automotive Ltd was recently appointed a BC Provincial Government, Motor Vehicle Inspection Facility. This adds to our already long list of qualifications including our appointment as an "AirCare Repair Facility".
We are now able to provide the "Provincial Motor Vehicle Inspection" for passenger vehicle owners who are importing a vehicle from out of province or require the inspection due to a roadside notice of order.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Landrover Owners Manuals Available Online
For your convenience, I found this link for Landrover Owners. You can view for free and/or order the printed copy of your vehilces "Owner's Manual" and other owner handbooks and publications.
Check it out at:
www.ownerinfo.landrover.com
Check it out at:
www.ownerinfo.landrover.com
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Blog Intro - My Story
My story of how I have dedicated the last 15 years of my life to all things Landrover.
After rebuilding my first Landrover, a 1966 Series 2a 88" in 1993, I started seeing Landrovers all over the place. I met a whole bunch of great new people who either had a Landrover or had a great story about one they used to own. I soon became President of the very successful Landrover enthusiasts group, the Rover-Landers of British Columbia. I have met so many wonderful people over the years and been on some amazing adventures throughout the Province.
During this time, I was still trying to establish what I was going to do with my life. After completing a two year Forestry Diploma at BCIT, I couldn’t seem to find a job in the suffering forest industry, so I turned to my enthusiasm with Landrovers. I spent a couple years in Whistler as a tour guide driving and fixing, you guessed it, a whole fleet of Landrovers. As guiding wasn’t exactly a promising career, I came back home and started using all the skills I had learned from fixing my own Landrover, to help others with theirs. I took on a few bigger projects and with the help of some local parts suppliers I was servicing a whole bunch of old Landrover in no time.
It became obvious this was what I wanted to do, but I needed the proper training and experience before I could establish myself as an impendent Landrover specialist. After a stint as a parts person for Landrover of Richmond, I started the Automotive Service Technician Co-op Diploma program at BCIT. During this two year course I had 10 months hands on experience in the Landrover Service department at MCL Motor Cars, the Landrover Dealer in Downtown Vancouver. Upon graduation, I continued with MCL for four more years in which time I completed my Apprenticeship and obtained all the Landrover Factory training that was available.
When the opportunity became available to live my dream and run my own Landrover Specialist Business, I did not hesitate and within two years, I have established my new business, Rover Tech Automotive Ltd, as a quality independent Landrover specialist providing personal & honest Landrover service and parts.
This is my Blog to share with you some of the up and downs and ins and outs of some of the projects we have taken on or are currently working on, here at the shop.
Please enjoy responsibly and thanks for reading.
Yours truly,
Don MacDonald
After rebuilding my first Landrover, a 1966 Series 2a 88" in 1993, I started seeing Landrovers all over the place. I met a whole bunch of great new people who either had a Landrover or had a great story about one they used to own. I soon became President of the very successful Landrover enthusiasts group, the Rover-Landers of British Columbia. I have met so many wonderful people over the years and been on some amazing adventures throughout the Province.
During this time, I was still trying to establish what I was going to do with my life. After completing a two year Forestry Diploma at BCIT, I couldn’t seem to find a job in the suffering forest industry, so I turned to my enthusiasm with Landrovers. I spent a couple years in Whistler as a tour guide driving and fixing, you guessed it, a whole fleet of Landrovers. As guiding wasn’t exactly a promising career, I came back home and started using all the skills I had learned from fixing my own Landrover, to help others with theirs. I took on a few bigger projects and with the help of some local parts suppliers I was servicing a whole bunch of old Landrover in no time.
It became obvious this was what I wanted to do, but I needed the proper training and experience before I could establish myself as an impendent Landrover specialist. After a stint as a parts person for Landrover of Richmond, I started the Automotive Service Technician Co-op Diploma program at BCIT. During this two year course I had 10 months hands on experience in the Landrover Service department at MCL Motor Cars, the Landrover Dealer in Downtown Vancouver. Upon graduation, I continued with MCL for four more years in which time I completed my Apprenticeship and obtained all the Landrover Factory training that was available.
When the opportunity became available to live my dream and run my own Landrover Specialist Business, I did not hesitate and within two years, I have established my new business, Rover Tech Automotive Ltd, as a quality independent Landrover specialist providing personal & honest Landrover service and parts.
This is my Blog to share with you some of the up and downs and ins and outs of some of the projects we have taken on or are currently working on, here at the shop.
Please enjoy responsibly and thanks for reading.
Yours truly,
Don MacDonald
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Northwest Challenge Intro
The Northwest Challenge is a mildly competitive Land Rover enthusiast event. This event offers off-road driving and navigational challenges through difficult terrain, including many special tasks, mental and physical, along the way. You may be asked to cross a river three feet deep, winch up an impossible-to-drive vertical rock face, navigate a 100 km section of roads with only minimal instructions or perform one or more special tasks, sometimes technical and sometimes physical. Even though organizers try and make it as challenging as possible and sometimes impossible, it is still meant for everyone to have fun. Everyone usually receives a token or award for participating! So, read-on, get excited, be prepared to push your boundaries and get ready to participate in one of the greatest Landrover events around with some really great people.
History
Back in 1989, the first Northwest Challenge was held in Oregon, organized by Doug Shipman. The group of Land Rovers braved the wet weather and headed out into old snow conditions, which made for slow progress. Although there were no prizes for this wet run the Northwest Challenge has evolved over the last 20 plus years and has been featured in many International Land Rover magazines. The original organizers Gord'n, Aart and Doug thought it would be best to share the load of putting on this event every year and thus the Northwest Challenge alternates host locations between Oregon, Washington and BC.
Throughout the last 20 plus years die hard enthusiasts and members of the Pacific Coast Rover Club and the Rover-Landers of BC have organized and participated in the Northwest Challenge. Dedicated Land Rover enthusiasts have come from as far as Vermont and California to participate.
Entry
Entries are usually individual vehicles with a driver and a navigator but the organizer can ask that teams consist of two vehicles with two adult occupants per vehicle. Vehicles must be licensed, insured and in good mechanical condition. A proper roll bar is required for all open and soft-top vehicles. Equipment carried must be sufficient to see the team to and over all obstacles encountered, without the assistance of other participants.
Vehicle Requirements
· Must be a Land Rover,
· Vehicles must be licensed and have road legal insurance,
· Good mechanical condition,
· A proper roll bar is required for all open and soft top vehicles,
· Must have a proper secure tow point at the front and rear of the vehicle
· Must carry fire extinguisher, first aid kit, jack and spare tire,
· Must pass basis Safety Inspection to participate,
· Should have some sort of winching device in your team.
For More Information, please visit the Rover-Landers of BC, www.roverlanders.bc.ca or the Pacific Coast Rover Club, www.pcrc.net.
History
Back in 1989, the first Northwest Challenge was held in Oregon, organized by Doug Shipman. The group of Land Rovers braved the wet weather and headed out into old snow conditions, which made for slow progress. Although there were no prizes for this wet run the Northwest Challenge has evolved over the last 20 plus years and has been featured in many International Land Rover magazines. The original organizers Gord'n, Aart and Doug thought it would be best to share the load of putting on this event every year and thus the Northwest Challenge alternates host locations between Oregon, Washington and BC.
Throughout the last 20 plus years die hard enthusiasts and members of the Pacific Coast Rover Club and the Rover-Landers of BC have organized and participated in the Northwest Challenge. Dedicated Land Rover enthusiasts have come from as far as Vermont and California to participate.
Entry
Entries are usually individual vehicles with a driver and a navigator but the organizer can ask that teams consist of two vehicles with two adult occupants per vehicle. Vehicles must be licensed, insured and in good mechanical condition. A proper roll bar is required for all open and soft-top vehicles. Equipment carried must be sufficient to see the team to and over all obstacles encountered, without the assistance of other participants.
Vehicle Requirements
· Must be a Land Rover,
· Vehicles must be licensed and have road legal insurance,
· Good mechanical condition,
· A proper roll bar is required for all open and soft top vehicles,
· Must have a proper secure tow point at the front and rear of the vehicle
· Must carry fire extinguisher, first aid kit, jack and spare tire,
· Must pass basis Safety Inspection to participate,
· Should have some sort of winching device in your team.
For More Information, please visit the Rover-Landers of BC, www.roverlanders.bc.ca or the Pacific Coast Rover Club, www.pcrc.net.
13th Annual Northwest Challenge 2001
On October 20th and 21st, 2001, with the help of the Rover-landers and many great volunteers, I organized, the 13th Annual Northwest Challenge in Squamish, BC, Canada.
After vehicle inspections, at 8am Saturday morning, Ten teams of two vehicles each departed on the first stage with cryptic instructions and some GPS co-ordinates for two different courses. Along the way the teams had to punch their orienteering cards to prove they had been there and collect their points. After many great obstacles and a few unexpected challenges teams started to make there way back to the base camp at Alice Lake Provincial Park.
After a dinner break, I left to set-up the course and about an hour later teams departed for Stage two. It was another hour or so before the first team came up the trail to the first special task on Brohm Ridge. It was snowing and the trail up to highest point already had 6" of snow on the ground. I could tell some teams were getting a little tired by this point but they only had one more flag to find as far up the trail as the snow had allowed our crew to go. With another course completed teams handed in there punch cards and headed to bed for some much needed sleep.
8:00am Sunday morning came quick for thoughs who had been out on the trail passed 2am. It was raining quite heavily and everyone looked wet and tired. We had a drivers meeting and headed up the Indian Arm FSR to a great trials site. It was snowing heavily at the area selected for the trials and after an long and exciting course through deep water and mud it was decided to abandon the second course and head back to the base camp for clean-up, awards and good-byes.
One task along the way was to collect as much garbage from the trails as possible and teams were awarded points for the most garbage collected which ended up being a tie breaker.
Everyone had a great time and it was another successful Northwest Challenge.
After vehicle inspections, at 8am Saturday morning, Ten teams of two vehicles each departed on the first stage with cryptic instructions and some GPS co-ordinates for two different courses. Along the way the teams had to punch their orienteering cards to prove they had been there and collect their points. After many great obstacles and a few unexpected challenges teams started to make there way back to the base camp at Alice Lake Provincial Park.
After a dinner break, I left to set-up the course and about an hour later teams departed for Stage two. It was another hour or so before the first team came up the trail to the first special task on Brohm Ridge. It was snowing and the trail up to highest point already had 6" of snow on the ground. I could tell some teams were getting a little tired by this point but they only had one more flag to find as far up the trail as the snow had allowed our crew to go. With another course completed teams handed in there punch cards and headed to bed for some much needed sleep.
8:00am Sunday morning came quick for thoughs who had been out on the trail passed 2am. It was raining quite heavily and everyone looked wet and tired. We had a drivers meeting and headed up the Indian Arm FSR to a great trials site. It was snowing heavily at the area selected for the trials and after an long and exciting course through deep water and mud it was decided to abandon the second course and head back to the base camp for clean-up, awards and good-byes.
One task along the way was to collect as much garbage from the trails as possible and teams were awarded points for the most garbage collected which ended up being a tie breaker.
Everyone had a great time and it was another successful Northwest Challenge.
15th Annual Northwest Challenge 2003
Well, my Northwest Challenge / Thanksgiving long weekend was full of surprises, as you'll soon learn.
The long haul to Oregon always poses an issue when you can't get a Friday off work. My co-pilot Jeff London and I were determined to get there though. We pulled out of Lynn Valley around 7:30pm fully loaded ready for anything and a long drive.
After a couple shifts each behind the wheel and about 8 hours we reached the camping area for the 15th Annual Northwest Challenge hosted by Doug Shipman. Jeff was behind the wheel when we pulled in and we were looking for a place to collapse for a few hours. As Jeff, and it was no fault of his, started to pull away towards a campsite there was a thunk and then we didn't go. After making sure everything was in gear, Jeff tried again, nothing. My turn, same thing.
"How the heck did I break a Maxidrive halfshaft" I thought. Oh well, we pulled up to a site in front wheel drive. Jeff set-up the tent while I crawled around checking things out. Rear driveshaft turns, rear wheels don't, hmmm. With a start of the Challenge only 4 hours away I wanted to get started on a fix, so out came the rear axles, uh oh, still good as new. Something was wrong in the rear diff, but what. I decided to sleep on it for a bit.
Seven, eh, em, (7am) enough adrenalin still cranking to get up after only 3 hours sleep. What was I going to do, I figured I’d see who was around and what help I could get. Well not much luck, only one other Series truck and no spare diffs. We didn't have much time so it was decided that we would disable the rear axle and follow the group along the main gravel roads in front wheel drive and fix it later.
Front wheel drive sucks!!! Things were going OK as we followed the group along the flat gravel road, discussing what we were going to do. We started climbing up into the mountains. The group of participants had taken another route. As the road got steeper we started to loose traction on the loose gravel, until at one point the front of the truck was hopping up and down, scrambling for a bite of traction. Too much more hopping and front axle failure would be guaranteed.
I got on the radio and asked for a tow from one of the two Landrovers that were helping out. Allen came to the call in his Range Rover classic. We hooked up and that was how the rest of the day went, strapped behind another rover.
By mid afternoon we had crossed paths with the participants a few times and got to see a little action. It was pouring rain and cold and Jeff and I were starting wonder what we were going to do to limp home. Ed led us down to the highway after showing us where everyone was going to camp that night and off we went to Tillimook to get some supplies for a repair.
Back at camp I started removing the rear diff. It turned out all ten bolts on the crown wheel had sheered right off. Apparently this a common problem when the old bolts are re-used when installing a new ARB locker. Oh well, talk about a lesson learned the hard way.
It was about midnight before I tightened the last bolt on the propshaft and the front diff was in the rear axle and we had rear wheel drive again. The pouring rain and wind didn’t help, nor the mud I was laying in by the end but, it was done, Jeff and I could rest a little easier.
The next day we followed along with the group, without a toe strap. When it came time to play Doug’s tee-ball game I was ready to give it a go in two wheel drive. No problem, a little slower then the others, I guess but a little bit of pride was restored. Had a little lunch then a few awards were handed out. Our own John Parson brought home the 2nd place award, good work John.
The trip home was fairly uneventful with only a couple stops to check and top up the rear diff oil.
When I got home Sunday night… Karen informed me I’d have to have my next project, the Rangy/Series hybrid, on the road by June… to bring her and our child home from the hospital… (We’d later determine the truck needs to be done by early May, and we’d need TWO car seats)
I guess I won’t be making to the Team Trophy Challenge in May then!
The long haul to Oregon always poses an issue when you can't get a Friday off work. My co-pilot Jeff London and I were determined to get there though. We pulled out of Lynn Valley around 7:30pm fully loaded ready for anything and a long drive.
After a couple shifts each behind the wheel and about 8 hours we reached the camping area for the 15th Annual Northwest Challenge hosted by Doug Shipman. Jeff was behind the wheel when we pulled in and we were looking for a place to collapse for a few hours. As Jeff, and it was no fault of his, started to pull away towards a campsite there was a thunk and then we didn't go. After making sure everything was in gear, Jeff tried again, nothing. My turn, same thing.
"How the heck did I break a Maxidrive halfshaft" I thought. Oh well, we pulled up to a site in front wheel drive. Jeff set-up the tent while I crawled around checking things out. Rear driveshaft turns, rear wheels don't, hmmm. With a start of the Challenge only 4 hours away I wanted to get started on a fix, so out came the rear axles, uh oh, still good as new. Something was wrong in the rear diff, but what. I decided to sleep on it for a bit.
Seven, eh, em, (7am) enough adrenalin still cranking to get up after only 3 hours sleep. What was I going to do, I figured I’d see who was around and what help I could get. Well not much luck, only one other Series truck and no spare diffs. We didn't have much time so it was decided that we would disable the rear axle and follow the group along the main gravel roads in front wheel drive and fix it later.
Front wheel drive sucks!!! Things were going OK as we followed the group along the flat gravel road, discussing what we were going to do. We started climbing up into the mountains. The group of participants had taken another route. As the road got steeper we started to loose traction on the loose gravel, until at one point the front of the truck was hopping up and down, scrambling for a bite of traction. Too much more hopping and front axle failure would be guaranteed.
I got on the radio and asked for a tow from one of the two Landrovers that were helping out. Allen came to the call in his Range Rover classic. We hooked up and that was how the rest of the day went, strapped behind another rover.
By mid afternoon we had crossed paths with the participants a few times and got to see a little action. It was pouring rain and cold and Jeff and I were starting wonder what we were going to do to limp home. Ed led us down to the highway after showing us where everyone was going to camp that night and off we went to Tillimook to get some supplies for a repair.
Back at camp I started removing the rear diff. It turned out all ten bolts on the crown wheel had sheered right off. Apparently this a common problem when the old bolts are re-used when installing a new ARB locker. Oh well, talk about a lesson learned the hard way.
It was about midnight before I tightened the last bolt on the propshaft and the front diff was in the rear axle and we had rear wheel drive again. The pouring rain and wind didn’t help, nor the mud I was laying in by the end but, it was done, Jeff and I could rest a little easier.
The next day we followed along with the group, without a toe strap. When it came time to play Doug’s tee-ball game I was ready to give it a go in two wheel drive. No problem, a little slower then the others, I guess but a little bit of pride was restored. Had a little lunch then a few awards were handed out. Our own John Parson brought home the 2nd place award, good work John.
The trip home was fairly uneventful with only a couple stops to check and top up the rear diff oil.
When I got home Sunday night… Karen informed me I’d have to have my next project, the Rangy/Series hybrid, on the road by June… to bring her and our child home from the hospital… (We’d later determine the truck needs to be done by early May, and we’d need TWO car seats)
I guess I won’t be making to the Team Trophy Challenge in May then!
Team Trophy Challenge 2001
A lot of driving and little sleep is the name of the game when it comes being a Canadian competitor in the Team Trophy Challenge. This two-day extreme off-road event is held in the mountains near Tillamook, Oregon, over the May long weekend.
I had originally planned to attend with Norman Hendry from Calgary but some last minute (one week to go) family illness came up with his co-pilot. So there I was, money spent, one week to go, a truck with a few recent repairs and mods, and no second truck for my "TEAM". I called a few people (OK, everyone I knew, who might be able) and finally convinced Chris Carden from Seattle to join me.
Our trucks were nearly the same build, Koenig winches, rear diff lockers, tall mud tires, parabolic springs and both 1966 Series IIA's. So now, it was on, and preparation went well into the early mornings of the week before. We had to be in camp for a 8am start Saturday morning, so with that in mind Dan Blois, my trusty co-pilot, and I took Friday off work to get down in time for a reasonable nights sleep.
We met Chris at his home in Seattle at around 2pm as he was busy sorting out his gear and packing. His co-pilot Christine showed up after work and we headed off around 4pm. We arrived in camp by about 11pm that night, found a camp spot and went straight to bed.
We got up late (7:30am), missed the drivers meeting, registered and had our tech inspections. This late registration meant we were one of the last teams to leave the start gates. It was a good thing Chris had competed in a few of these before, because, although we missed the drivers meeting, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Stage one: We were given a package containing the instructions for the day and a punch card. Interpreting the instructions correctly, having an accurate odometer in miles, and knowing your compass bearings was crucial. It was also important to find the flags, which have the ever so important card puncher to mark our card and prove we had found them. Along the way there were special task stations set-up, where you awarded points, if you found them!
The special tasks were as follows:
I had originally planned to attend with Norman Hendry from Calgary but some last minute (one week to go) family illness came up with his co-pilot. So there I was, money spent, one week to go, a truck with a few recent repairs and mods, and no second truck for my "TEAM". I called a few people (OK, everyone I knew, who might be able) and finally convinced Chris Carden from Seattle to join me.
Our trucks were nearly the same build, Koenig winches, rear diff lockers, tall mud tires, parabolic springs and both 1966 Series IIA's. So now, it was on, and preparation went well into the early mornings of the week before. We had to be in camp for a 8am start Saturday morning, so with that in mind Dan Blois, my trusty co-pilot, and I took Friday off work to get down in time for a reasonable nights sleep.
We met Chris at his home in Seattle at around 2pm as he was busy sorting out his gear and packing. His co-pilot Christine showed up after work and we headed off around 4pm. We arrived in camp by about 11pm that night, found a camp spot and went straight to bed.
We got up late (7:30am), missed the drivers meeting, registered and had our tech inspections. This late registration meant we were one of the last teams to leave the start gates. It was a good thing Chris had competed in a few of these before, because, although we missed the drivers meeting, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
Stage one: We were given a package containing the instructions for the day and a punch card. Interpreting the instructions correctly, having an accurate odometer in miles, and knowing your compass bearings was crucial. It was also important to find the flags, which have the ever so important card puncher to mark our card and prove we had found them. Along the way there were special task stations set-up, where you awarded points, if you found them!
The special tasks were as follows:
- balancing a vehicle on the teeter-totter (timed and time limit)
- running a full jerry can around a wilderness course (timed)
- moving an engine block from one place to another without physically lifting it or letting it touch the ground (timed)
- Rock crawl through a man made boulder course (timed and time limit)
- Trials through some flags and around steep side angle (timed)
- Mechanical task (we had a good chance with two technicians on board but never made it
While being removed from the rock crawl course we managed to crack my exhaust right at the manifold. So much for a quiet ride home. Our tin can and hose clamp repair held up until just after we crossed the border around 1am and then fell completely off a few miles down the road.
Stage two: The night run. We were given compass bearings, a clue and map locating 23 flags half in one area and half in another. Teams left camp between 9 and 10pm but had to return by 5am the next morning for stage three. We went for 100% of one of the areas and opted out of the second area at 3:30am in trade for an hour's sleep. GPS, candlepower and the ability to put off sleep were important for this stage, and there were even some tricky driving sections. One bonus road, if you had time, (ya right) was apparently super tough and tight.
Stage three: The rallye. Drivers meeting 5:00am, it was cold waking-up, next time we'll set-up a tent at the base camp. We were given instructions and route information and sent out the start gates at ten-minute intervals. In this stage your speedometer and odometer are crucial. Since mine was out of calibration Chris lead and our logic was to go as fast as reasonably possible. We did all right and at the end I was glad I still had a vehicle I could drive home in. Back to camp for the show down.
The Run Off: the four top teams from the three stages were asked to meet with there vehicles down the road in a quarry where they would challenge for first, second and third place. There were three special tasks. The first was for one truck from each team to drive around and collect balls from three t-ball stands placed in awkward places. The participants could not leave their vehicles. Once the balls were collected they had to be returned to the t-ball stands by the second vehicle. This was also timed. The second task was for one of the team's trucks to pull the other through a set of cones without help from the vehicle being pulled. Again this was timed. The third and last task was to move an engine block from one place to a second place about 15 feet away. Same as before but this time the vehicles were not allowed within a 30- foot radius of the engine block, so all four teams used two winches from opposite side of a slight bowl to lift and move the engine. This was also timed.
Everyone had BBQ burgers, provided to participants, while the final results were being tallied. Although we did not make the top four we eventually found out that we placed 8th. This isn’t bad considering that there were 24 teams.
I wrote this article many years ago, but I wanted to share it and maybe inspire some others to get out there and participate with their Landrovers. Although this team challenge is currently on hiatus you can find more details and some history at: www.teamtrophychallenge.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
