December 2014 Update

First, sorry for the lack of recent news or posts.  The simple truth is that I have been really busy of late between work, a family holiday, and a lot of interviewing and assessment for new jobs, one of which was offered but the conditions weren’t adequate and the other which I expect to get a final contract soon which will bring some big changes – more in a moment on that.

Second, thanks to everyone for the continued interest and the recent contacts (viewable comments/questions as well as direct emails).  Sorry that some took a while for me to respond to, but with the above workloads, I haven’t checked the blog admin site for a while and for some reason it has again failed to notify me about comments needing approval or response, though direct emails seem to have come through alright.  I’ll try to look into my notification system to improve my response times.

So, what is going on?  Well, with the cars, very little.  The 90 has been MoT’d and both cars insurance sorted in the last day or two.  The 109 needs an MoT by the end of the month too.  December is an expensive month.  I need to check the road tax dates too – the 90 will cost £400-odd, but at least the 109 is free to compensate.

I have replaced the rivets in the 90’s rear mudflaps with stainless bolts as their heads sheared again and replacing the whole assembly for failed rivets again is daft.  The 109 has had no work since refitting the 4.71:1 ratio diffs and the re(de)calibrated speedo.  I still need to pull and remove the gear box for bearing replacement following the ill-effects of the semi-synthetic oil.  Nothing at all has happened on the Range Rover.

So, what is the big news?  It is highly likely that we will be emigrating.  This came up two years ago, when I was given the nod for a job in the UAE but the job subsequently evaporated as the company stopped recruiting.  This time around, I have been approved for a more typical entry position within the same company and the last details are being mopped up over the next couple of weeks.  The result is that if it all goes ahead, I will be selling the D90 and the Range Rover.  I am particularly disappointed in the need to sell the RR because finding a similar one on return will be next to impossible and I also have an emotional attachment to the vehicle, but given that I have done relatively little on its restoration other than the engine, the emotional and financial investment in it are much less than in the 109 and so, of the two, is the less painful to give up.  The Sankey trailer will be going on long-term lend to a good friend – he can make use of it and I get to keep ownership in the long run, so a win-win.

So, I will soon be looking for a dedicated Range Rover enthusiast to take on the project.  I don’t want to give the vehicle away or nothing, having already spent about £3k on the engine, and I categorically will not break up the vehicle or sell of individual parts – I would only sell this to someone who will do a proper, fitting job of restoring such a fine vehicle.  If I had somewhere secure to store both vehicles, rather than just the one, that would change things, as I had hoped the RR to be my “retirement” car.

On the plus side, my wife is now in favour of me fitting the PAS to the 109 (when I get sufficient leave from work) since she will need to drive it once the 90 is gone.  Silver linings and all that…