Jeffrey AronsonUnbeknownst to them, Dr. Cynthia Wojcicki, North Hampton, NH, and Arif Shaikh, Litchfield, ME, shared a dream that involved Series Land Rovers.
Cynthia thoroughly enjoys her life as a veterinarian. So, too does her husband, Frank, and their son Joseph – all veterinarians. When Joseph and Abigail, their daughter, were young, they all loved riding in the family’s ’03 Discovery II. What excited them the most were the “Wheels” events run by their area dealer, Land Rover Peabody (MA).
Frame corrosion ended their time with the Discovery II, much to the family’s dismay. While Frank helped salve the pain with the purchase of a Discovery Sport, the absence of an older Land Rover in the family set off an itch, primarily in Cynthia, for a Series Land Rover. That dream came true this year, thanks to the work of Restoration Motors, Hollis, NH, and Matt Browne, Overland Engineering, York, ME.
New Land Rover specialty shops have sprung up everywhere, but few have a back story as intriguing as that of Arif, the new owner of the shop formerly known as RMR Motors, Hollis, NH. After three decades of ownership by a well-known and well-respected auto enthusiast, RMR Motors became a part of Shaikh Industries, complete with the new name, Restoration Motors.
Arif Shaikh came to the USA at age 3, when his father, looking to further his educational opportunities, moved his family from their home in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of Orissa state in India, to Madison, WI, where Arif’s father finished his third master’s degree as well as one in medical physics. They would later move to Westford, MA; in 2001, Arif graduated from Brown University in applied mathematics and economics.
Like many of his Ivy League peers, Arif went off to Wall Street to fulfill his ambitions. “I learned a lot about commodities,” Arif said, “but I never got my traction there.” The market collapse of 2008–09 forced him to make changes – or as he told me, right “the series of wrong left turns known as my life.”
“A few colleagues told me I needed to travel the world,” he went on. “I took a year off to teach English in Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Germany. I spent three months in in Brazil and China, spent jail time in Syria, and enjoyed life experiences beyond my imagination in Namibia and the Kalahari.”
“I saw Land Rovers of different ages and vintages in every country I visited. People love their Land Rovers, and since actions speak louder than words, when people drive something old, it must mean something special to them. I realized that classic cars connect people worldwide the same way as music and food; in Namibia, people would share their BBQs from their Land Rovers.”
Once back in the USA, Arif put his technical skills to work creating software for small businesses. Still, he mused, “I realized I was creating paper value, not a product, not something tangible.” With thousands of Indian subcontinent students and residents in New England, Arif found a niche creating curry dinners through pop up restaurants – usually from the back of his car. “I wanted to become the Chipotle for Indian food in New England.”
Arif worked so hard that he suffered a near-fatal auto accident from fatigue. “I loved Maine, enjoyed the people and wanted to stay – but I also wanted to make a net contribution to communities in the state. I chose to do so by applying my business software skills and helping small businesses succeed.” He began to seek out opportunities in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. One of them happened to be RMR Motors.
When Arif told me that he had purchased Restoration Motors, I urged him to have his talented team of 12 specialists refurbish a Series Rover. That led him to conversations with Dave Sweetapple, Brattleboro, VT, the founder of the Vermont Rover Club and a Rovers Magazine columnist. Sure enough, Dave knew of a Series III, once owned by a commercial fisherman, with straight body panels but in need of a frame. Arif purchased it as his company’s first refurbishment project.
So, when Cynthia (remember Cynthia?) said, “Keep me in mind if you know of a Series Rover for sale,” I did just that and not long afterward, she commissioned Restoration Motors to get the Land Rover ready for the following summer.
Dave and I met with the Restoration Motors team to look over their new project. As the motor turned freely, and the Rover had been driven routinely, we surmised that the bulk of the work would be structural and include all the things that should happen while the vehicle is apart: brake system, suspension and drivetrain parts, wiring harnesses, clutch hydraulics and plates, any needed bulkhead repairs, interior seating and headliner and instrument operation. Danielle Saltamacchia, the shop manager, sent a long list of parts orders to Rovers North. We also pulled in Lanny Clark, Colchester, VT, to serve as a consultant to the Restoration Motors team. [Lanny’s decades-long restoration work for Orvis as well as private owners is well-known -ed.]
Surprise – there were bumps in the road! Although the original engine turned over, once the engine specialists removed the head on the 2.25L, they found that it had already been bored out to 60 thousands, yet still needed a larger bore. Lanny helped source a replacement engine. The team had amassed considerable experience with American muscle cars, vintage vehicles, hot rods and even a few British sports cars, but the unique engineering of a Series Land Rover presented them with new challenges and learning opportunities. As the interior looked so fresh and new, Cynthia decided that the body panels, with their mix of patina and mismatched shades of green, should receive a new paint job. Mix all of these desired improvements with the parts shortages and shipping issues we all experienced during the Covid pandemic and you had the expected delays.
While the test drives before the final handoff went fine, the final fettling was turned over to Matt Browne. The gearshift lever looked handsome above the transmission tunnel, but underneath, the ball that moved the gearshift cups had worn so badly that all the floors had to come out again for the replacement. Matt’s lifetime with Series Rovers means that he knows which “quirks” represents genuine oddities and which he can engineer and/or repair out.
The restoration finished and handoff complete, Cynthia’s first long drive in “Olive,” the newly dubbed ’73 Series III, was the 150-mile trek from the family home to the Land Rover Experience in Manchester, VT. “David Nunn was our instructor and he taught me so much about the Land Rover’s capabilities. Despite the rainy weather and wet trails, “Olive” did very well on the trails.” Her visit came on an “Owner’s Day” weekend, which is why Cynthia could take her own vehicle on the course.
Now Cynthia uses “Olive” for her daily 12-mile drive from her home to her veterinary clinic. “I get lots of thumbs-ups!” she exclaimed.
Adding to her Land Rover experience, Cynthia has joined and convoyed with the New Hampshire-based Defender Owners Off Road Club. “My husband Frank is working on creating a small off-road course in our backyard,” Cynthia enthused. “It’s not really challenging, except for one really steep ascent that no one’s dared to tackle yet. When Frank took “Olive” through a part of the course, he did have to cut down a tree on our property one night to get Olive out of the woods.”
Oh, Cynthia added, “I’m already dreaming and thinking about Land Rover Number Two.”