Jeffrey AronsonDear Rovers North,
I’ve been a Rover enthusiast since they started importing them in earnest to the US in the early ’90s. A white RR classic followed by a grey Range Rover, a black Discovery (one of the first in St Louis) and then two white Disco IIs, both 2000 model year. I snapped this photo at the local garage for oil change day. I’m planning to keep the twins forever. What fun!
Dan Prescott
Town and Country, MO
[Congratulations on your twin Discoverys. You join many enthusiasts in embracing that model -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
I bought my Land Rover, an ’03 Discovery II, 5 years ago. I had some pictures taking for my 40th birthday – this one with my Discovery was my favorite picture! I was hoping you could put my picture in Rovers Magazine.
Lisa Thomas
Lafayette, GA
[A belated Happy Birthday from everyone at Rovers North -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
Amanda, our daughter Eliza and I traveled to Burlington for a University of Vermont student weekend and took a ride over to Westford. I had not visited Rovers North since 2015, when I had Matt Browne of Overland Engineering complete a frame-over on “Hyacinth,” our Series Rover. That time, Eliza had to ride all the way back to our home in Maine in the back of the old Discovery, surrounded by elephant hide seats.
This time I sought a new frame for our son Charlie’s 110 – it’s going to be his first car and he’s almost as excited as I am. Despite the COVID protocols [limiting visitors- ed], Nick Cota greeted us at the door and helped me put together a plan for the large order. I was surprised to learn that Rover North actually had two Td5 110 frames in stock! By the time we left, Nick had lined up a new bulkhead, frame and middle doors.
I must confess that my look around Rovers North at all the available frames made me start thinking of future projects. First, however, I must complete installing the checkerboard wing protectors I bought in 2015 for my ’74 Series III 88” named “Pansy.”
David Murrell
Charleston, SC
[We look forward to hearing more about your work on “Hyacinth” and “Pansy.” It was wonderful to see you and Charlie at the Maine Winter Romp -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
Our family Land Rover served as a wedding vehicle for our daughter Mackenzie’s marriage to Toby Robinson last summer. We were delighted to see it featured on the cover of Hope Ranch Living magazine. Toby is now a medical student at the University of Vermont.
David Zimmerman
Hope Ranch, CA
[What a sparkling cover for the magazine, and good luck to Toby in his studies at the UVM Medical College -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
Our 7-year-old granddaughter, Audrey, who lives with us, turned in her school homework and earned high praise for her use of “Land Rover” as a proper noun. Perhaps it is because she is surrounded by our covey of a ’20 Defender 110 P400 SE, a ’95 NAS Defender 90, a ’13 Range Rover HSE Supercharged and a ’11 LR4 that we gave to our son. We’ll work on her spelling later.
Mick McCorkle
Fredericksburg, TX
[We’re assuming that Audrey received an “A” for her proper nouns -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
My son and I were reading your Winter 2022 magazine and saw a request for photos of “working Rovers” on page 5. We submit our humble 1991 Range Rover Classic providing recovery services to a Freightliner that got stuck in the mud. The friendly motorists who came by in their F-150s were without words.
Zach Batson
Overland Park, KS
[The pulling power of a Range Rover Classic should never be underestimated -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
Dave Sweetapple’s Vermont Rovers column provided very valuable information about the details of salting the roads. Here in the mountains next to the Smoky Mountains, it’s the same problem and I’ve been way too careless with our vehicles.
Re: “Avoid parking your vehicle in a heated garage” – I’m not sure where you’re coming from with this. The old John Deeres and implements under a shed or in an unheated, enclosed metal building here are always dripping sweat when the weather changes from cold to warm, moist air. I hate it, as any exposed metal is surely suffering. In the dry, tight, heated basement there’s never any moisture or temperature swings to attract it.
What am I missing? Again, thanks for an excellent column.
[The problem arises when you bring a vehicle that’s been driven in below-freezing temperatures on brine-covered roads into a heated garage. The brine starts reacting with the steel when it begins to thaw. To paraphrase P.J. O’Rourke, “Cars are like vegetables; they rot when they’re defrosted” -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
Hello from the UK! I just thought I would check in and send you a quick photo of a joint project between me and my Dad. It is an ‘85 C reg Land Rover 90 that popped up for sale local to us back around Christmas time. We saw it and both thought that it was just too nice, original and straight, not to buy . Very shortly afterwards I drove it home! It started life as a V8 but, unfortunately that engine had long since been replaced with a naturally aspirated diesel from a Sherpa van. It ran okay but was painfully slow and leaked oil almost as fast as you could top it up. We agreed that it needed a Tdi. Luckily, a neighbour had a rotten old Discovery which he sold to us to donate its engine. We have just started the swap over this week and today we did our trial fit of the new engine.
Josh Willis
Ashford, Kent, UK
[What a lovely Commercial van, Josh! Good luck with the replacement engine and enjoy your “new” 90 -ed.]
Dear Rovers North,
I have started a new business in Costa Rica called Costa Rovers. Because Costa Rica assembled Land Rovers from the 1960s–1980s from CKD kits, we have some of the most Land Rovers per capita in the world. Not only do I plan to repair Land Rovers for export, but I will have Land Rovers available for rent should US enthusiasts visit our country.
Jairo Flores
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
[We’ve enjoyed covering the Land Rover community in Costa Rica over the years. Many US enthusiasts visit every year -ed.]