It's back!!!

At last I got my trusty Defender back. Or at least I went and got it. Tim, who had masterminded the work in the Bristol area, had loaded it onto his trailer and was going to drive it up to me, then drive back. I suggested it might be more sensible for me to dive on a train and collect it. When I arrived in the (just) light, it was still trailered, hence the pic.

The journey down was a nightmare, the train from Penrith to Birmingham had a non-functioning seat booking system, and was packed, I shared the carriage with a group fit for the Jeremy Kyle show. At Birmingham, the train we changed on to broke down, so we changed to another, and were then told to change to a third, half of which was going to Dundee, the other half to Bristol! (fortunately I got on the right half). After a meal with the re-build team, I drove the Camel back home, arriving at 3am this morning, the last 40 miles driving through a blizzard (none of which settled).

So tired, but ecstatic - for those who might want to know, this is how it was before the restoration; then roofrack, snorkel, front roll cage, bull bar and bumper stripped off, shot blasted, repaired (1/3 of the roofrack had to be rebuilt completely), parts of the bumper were so pitted they built the levels back up by welding and rubbing down. The roofrack was galvanised, the whole assembly powder coated and all put back together with a nice new piece of black marine ply. - Oh .. and a new radiator too.

Ready for the new season.