Took the Landmaster on a 'shakedown' test drive with family last week to Kumarakom, thanks to Chikku (nikkibike) and Chellapan Ashaan.
The idling issue was finally sorted out by Chikku that morning - they spent over 3 hours to try and figure out what was causing the vehicle to idle so irregularly (like a diesel engine) and finally Chikku figured it out. By the time we got to the garage, the engine was purring smoooooooth like a petrol engine should, with a nice raspy note from the exhaust. Beautiful.
Steering position is now nearly perfect - it will now be repositioned once again from below the lower dash lip to a mounting point above the lower dash lip - this will give it a slighly more vertical position w.r.t the seats.
Overall we had a great drive - it felt very old-wordly to be driving around in this car and the family thoroughly enjoyed the 'retro ride'. Wiring is still to be sorted out so we had a funny situation whereby the main fuse would blow every time we stopped the vehicle after a longish drive. Nothing of that sort happened while the vehicle was moving, though. We carried 10 fuses with us and bought another 8 on the way - all of which were used up by the time we finished the 'drive'. Felt very much like the old days when every long trip involved several stops for cooling the vehicle down - ended up answering questions from the locals at each such 'stop' about the car. To me this is a much more enjoyable and involving travelling experience - you end up getting involved with the vehicle and the people around rather than drive through in your airconditioned, insulated cabin. The sound of truck tyres roaring as they pass by in the night is something that took me back to my childhood days - there was something very heart-tugging in that howl as I took a smoking break. The smell of petrol in the cabin and the grease on your hands from opening up the bonnet every now and then added to the charm of the drive. The whole experience took me back about 3 decades when we used to drive up to Bangalore and Kolar in my dad's old Mark II. All that was missing were the picnic lunches below wayside trees and the home made tea from the flask.
The amount of interest in the car is unbelievable - the 9-year-old on the front passenger seat couldnt understand what all the fuss was about, but he was enjoying every minute of the ride. To the point where we got back into the Safari and he wished he were back in the Landmaster!
In between the exhaust packing came loose and the vehicle was farting every time it was revved. Tried tightening it at a wayside garage but it came loose again.
Otherwise the vehicle did just great - it is VERY stable at high speeds (138 kmph on the GPS with some more pedal to go - speedometer is still in miles and not very reliable). We got some open-mouthed stares from the drivers of Amby taxis on the 4-lane Cherthala-Cochin highway when we wafted past regally as they were straining at the limits of their diesel engines, and then there was this Bolero chap who was pissed off when we overtook him and tried to get back at us. Not a very bright idea on his part as all I needed to do was downshift and watch him get smaller on the rear view - that guy was really indignant.
Lots of issues remain with the vehicle, but it is now in decent drivable condition with a smooth engine (when the packing is on, that is). We now have the Fiat, so we can take some time with the work on this grand old lady.
Thank you, Nikki for all you're doing. This guy takes time off from work to spend an hour with the old lady every day, fabicates stuff in his factory (eg. the steering linkage extension!) when modifications are required and has unbelievable reserves of patience to be able to sit down and figure out what exactly is wrong. I would never have been able to do a fraction of what he is.
What we must appreciate is that the work these guys are doing on the Land is not simple mechanical work - they actually have to undo the 'work' done at Motorsmiths first (all of which is turning out to be shoddy, temporary fixes that wont last) and then redo everything all over again.
Last edited by Steeroid : 11th December 2008 at 13:07.
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