Jeffrey Aronson
In 1972, Sandy Grice, Norfolk, VA, worked for his family’s real estate appraisal company. An oceanfront assignment required Sandy and a co-worker drive on the soft sand; they borrowed a ’52 Willys for the job. The experience left them determined to find a four-wheel drive vehicle for themselves.
His friend chose a Chevrolet Blazer. Alexander Pinkham “Sandy” Grice IV walked into the John Copeland Motor Car Company (now Checkered Flag Motors) in Virginia Beach and paid $4,139 for a ’new 72 Series III 88” Hardtop. “I knew little about Land Rovers at the time, but I wanted something I could work on myself. It’s gotten me out of a lot of jams over the years.” Sandy owns the same Land Rover to this day.
Sandy reflected on his Land Rover, “I always thought that Land Rovers were like Border Collies in that they would wind up naming themselves. Over a quarter of a million miles of ownership, mine never did. And there are some pretty clever Rover names.”
His Land Rover became his daily driver for many years and gained national prominence in the early 1990s when it appeared with host John Rhys-Davies in the Discovery Channel’s Archeology series. No matter what the actual content of each program, the opening segments of each episode were taped in Virginia. Rhys-Davies had heard of Sandy’s Land Rover and thought it the ideal “prop” for the show. Sandy recalled Rhys-Davies as “a great guy and the owner of five Land Rovers at his home in England.”
Rhys-Davies movie career has included most of the Indiana Jones films. One location that appeared in the Raiders of the Lost Ark was the city of Kairouan, Tunisia. Sandy noted that while serving in the Peace Corps in Tunisia, “I sat in the same chair, in the same table, in the same bar, as Indiana Jones did in the film!”
Sandy’s service to Land Rover enthusiasts in Virginia included a stint as president of ROAV and as editor of The Gearbox, the club’s quarterly newsletter, for 12 years. Internationally, Sandy became the key player when ROAV, the Ottawa Valley Land Rovers (OVLR) and the Bay State Rover Club joined forces to create the 50th Anniversary Celebration in 1998 in Cortland, NY.
Move into the 21rst century and the unnamed Land Rover started to deteriorate and it had become time for a refresh. Between health and work issues, Sandy had less and less time to address its issues. Last June, David Chase, a Norfolk resident and member of the “757 Chapter” of ROAV, spearheaded the drive to rejuvenate Sandy’s Series III so it could attend the 30th Anniversary of the MAR last October. Club members towed Sandy’s Rover to the home shop of Robert Davis; a teardown exposed the need for clutch parts and studs, engine belts and hoses, wheel cylinders, transmission and engine mounts, outriggers and footwell sections, and some interior bits. “The work ahead is not for a restoration, but a “preservation,” wrote ROAV president Lawrence Michelon.”
Rovers North’s Mark Letorney received the request for assistance and provided the many needed parts; “I appreciate you guys coming together to help Sandy and {Rovers North] is happy to pitch in.” The volunteer efforts of the 757 members became “Project Indy,” in recognition of the Land Rover’s connection to the actor John Rhys-Davies and his appearance in three of the Indiana Jones franchise films. An additional cinematic reference grew out of a Monty Python skit in which a character asserts, “I’m not dead yet!” Well, neither was Sandy’s Land Rover.
Thanks to the support of members of the 757 Chapter of the Rover Owners of Virginia, Sandy’s Land Rover – now named “Indy” – made it to the MAR last Fall. The final fettling of the engine took place at the same event at which Sandy received an commendation for his service to the club. Many hands joined the effort to smooth out the engine’s idle but it was Charlie Haigh, Charlottesville, VA, who finally tamed the beast’s running.
Congratulations to Sandy for his stewardship of “Indy” and to the 757 Chapter for its work in refurbishing the star of the show.