Letters to the Editor - Fall 2024

Dear Rovers North,

My recently deceased brother, “Bob,” was the long-time proud owner of a ’71 Series IIA 88” that he bought in 1972! He loved the machine and worked on it steadily such that it wound up better than new – not original, but better, including a disc brake conversion, a galvanized frame and more than I can list or even know about. Bob was a regular customer of Rovers North over the years. In addition to the refurbished Land Rover, he built an incredible camping trailer out of another Land Rover. He also had a shed of Land Rover parts and maintenance paperwork on the history of the vehicle.

I would love to keep the Land Rover and trailer for myself, but I have neither the knowledge nor the talent to care for it. It’s located in Fairbanks, AK, and would be a wonderful vehicle for the right Land Rover enthusiast – and his parts shed might be an added bonus.

What steps might you recommend?

Greg Zimmerman

Fairbanks, AK

[There are many forums, such as the Rovers North Forum, as well as sites such as Hemmings Marketplace, on which a post would attract potential buyers. If readers are interested in learning more about this Series IIA, send an email to editor@roversmagazine.com, and we’ll connect you with Greg. -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,

While traveling on the Greek island of Chios off the coast of Turkey, we found the blue Defender 90 in the town of Anavatos. The other photo is my RHD Defender 90, brought back to life thanks to numerous parts from Rovers North. It’s running great now – I really appreciate all your help.

Mike Dunleavy, Jr.

Flower Mound, TX

[We’re delighted to be a part of your Land Rover life. Your 90 in its Heritage or Sage Green looks quite special. Thanks for sharing your travels and your Land Rover with our readers -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,

Letters Rovers Magazine Summer 2024 cover small

I’m contacting you about the Summer 2024 edition of your magazine. My name is Brice Laborie-Brondino and I ran the DAKAR Classic 2024 with Hervé Solandt. Your magazine gives a good account of our journey before and during the Dakar and I’m grateful to have my name in your magazine. It’s the result of many hours of work and resulted in a dream come true. To keep a souvenir, I would like to procure the magazine. Would it be possible to send it to me?

Brice Laborie-Brondino

Montauban, France

[Thompson Smith, Rovers North’s Creative Director, has been a long-time enthusiast of international rallying, and he led the charge for coverage of your Range Rover Classic in the Dakar. Congratulations on your accomplishment! We will make sure you get a copy of the magazine -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,

It’s been about a month since the Pacific Coast Rover Club NW Rally, and I’m sure you are neck deep planning for the Minnesota Rover Club’s North Star Rally. I’ve been working double time to try and get caught up on work and everything else.

I just wanted to take a minute and say it was a true pleasure working with Calef Letorney, Thompson Smith and Jeff Aronson, meeting all of you in person, and spending a little time together at the PCRC NW Rally. One of the big highlights for me from the weekend was spending time with ANARC’s Bob Steele. Thank you for all you do.

Please let me know if there is ever anything I can do to help, and please stay in touch.

Jesse Coombs

Original Iron Offroad

Corvallis, OR

[Thanks to you for being a PCRC NW Rally sponsor, and the the loan of your entertaining Series IIA 109”. All of us at Rovers North looked for an excuse to borrow it -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,

Just a belated thank you for all the time and effort put into the PCRC NW Rally. It was good to see the Rovers North group. The Trials are always fun and usually a great NON-damaging learning event. I received my ANARC Luminary Trophy and it looks great. Thanks to ANARC and the PCRC for giving it to me. I went forward with the two other trail events I led in June and July. The June one was a Trail Leader event to try and get more club members involved in leading runs and what’s needed to lead groups. Then in July, I led a bunch of Jeepers on their Yearly Back to Basics Event; it’s always fun to lead other makes of vehicles on the trails.

Take care and I hope to see you all again. Who knows, even old man Mark [Letorney] can come out after he retires; I may even come out there again after I retire.

Doug Shipman

Ships Mechanical Services

Portland, OR

[We have serious doubts as to whether you or Mark Letorney will actually “retire” – we know that both of you will remain significant contributors to the Land Rover community -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,

You don’t often think of Land Rovers back in the days of the Vietnam War; as a former French colony, we expect French cars. I spotted a Red Cross volunteer posing in front of a Series IIA online. Perhaps it belonged to the ANZAC forces who were our allies back then.

John Dillingham

Canton, GA

[If you’re interested in the impact of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) experiences of that era, we recommend the Australian movie The Sapphires. -ed.]

Dear Rovers North,