We were most pleased to hear from one of our many valued UK mail order customers via email recently , with some photographs of his rather beautiful Series III Land Rover. He has been buying parts from us during the past two years, with personal help from one of our experienced sales guys, Andy Baxter. The resulting restoration is to a very high standard, we are sure you will agree.
He writes:

‘I hope you agree she looks amazing and at least 95% of the parts were sourced from Famous Four. Thanks for your assistance over what turned out to be a long but worthwhile project.’

As part of our constant efforts to provide the parts our customers need for restoration of popular classic Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles, we are proud to introduce a new product. These Bonnet Mirrors for early 2-Door Range Rover Classics are a high quality reproduction item exclusive to Famous Four. A huge amount of time and effort has been put into replicating the iconic 1970s look of the original part closely while keeping the price as reasonable as possible.

We have had constant requests for these in recent years and we only have limited stocks available.

They are available while stocks last on our website: FF007783 – Range Rover 2-Door Bonnet Mirror

Achieving and maintaining the very highest levels of customer satisfaction has always been our guiding light here at Famous Four. In an effort to keep us and everyone else informed of how we are performing in the eyes of you, our customers, we have joined forces with the market leading internet website feedback company, Trustpilot.

You can now leave a review on their website –  www.trustpilot.com – to tell us of your experiences, or, when you have placed an order with us and we have dispatched it, you will receive an email from Trustpilot asking you to share your thoughts on how we have served you. Should you not wish to take part, that’s fine, we won’t hassle you or bombard you with junk email and your details are not passed on to anyone other than Trustpilot, as we respect and value everyone’s right to privacy.

Every staff member at Famous Four is totally focused on delivering the very best we can to our customers, but we don’t always get it right (we are human, after all!)

We take all constructive feedback very seriously and we hope that, over time, we can build up a picture of how we can improve our procedures, and where we are doing well. This will ultimately help us to help you, and help others to decide whether to trust Famous Four is (as we hope) one of the best suppliers of Land Rover parts and accessories, and providing workshop facilities for all varieties of Land Rovers which are second to none.

Do let us know!

The annual Classic Car and Motorcyle Show at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) took place over the weekend of November 13^th, 14^th and 15^th 2015. It is the largest indoor event of its kind in the UK and sees visitor numbers of around 70,000, and is held over 5 large halls within the complex.

Famous Four chose this event to debut our recently completed restoration of YVB 158H, chassis number 10 of the pre-production Range Rover ‘VELARs’, following a detailed 3 year strip down and rebuild. We also took an outstanding example of a CSK Range Rover, and early production vehicle ELA 830J which is part way through a restoration in our workshops.

All three vehicles were collected by Straight 8 and loaded outside our premises before transportation to Birmingham. Richard, Jamie and Rich arrived at the NEC on Thursday and constructed the display stand ready for the public on Friday.

We were overwhelmed by the positive response from the huge numbers of visitors who came to our stand, and surprised by the degree of fondness and enthusiasm for the Classic Range Rovers shown by so many classic car lovers.

One of the highlights of our show was the re-uniting of Chris Elliott with YVB 158H. Chris owned the vehicle for ten years, almost certainly saving it from destruction, and it was wonderful to see him behind the wheel of the old girl 15 years after he was persuaded to part with it by Brian Bashall of the Dunsfold Collection, from whom we bought it ten years later.

Roger Crathorne was on hand at the Jaguar Land Rover Heritage display stand next to Famous Four, and his comments and observations on our restorations were very favourable. His near encylopaedic knowledge of the development of the original Range Rovers is awe inspiring, and his and Chris Elliott’s lifelong commitment to the Land Rover brand is surely worthy of distinction.

Our three Classics drew a great many favourable comments, and in the company of a myriad of exotic Ferraris, Aston Martins, Jaguars and the like, we feel they measured up to the very highest standards of excellence on show. A good many discerning customers have booked their own vehicle into our workshops for restoration or refurbishment work.

For more details and pictures, don’t hesitate to contact us or check out our Facebook and Twitter links.

Our three Range Rovers, VELAR YVB 158H, Early Production Vehicle ELA 830J and CSK J32 PRW have been delivered to our stand thanks to the excellent Straight Eight Logistics, and a selection of our expert staff are embarking on a first day on the show floor of this weekend’s Lancaster Insurance NEC Classic Motor Show (website).

The show runs from Friday 13^th to Sunday 15^th and is one of the UK’s premier classic car events. We’re really excited to be exhibiting at the show and using such a great stage to showcase our restoration and workshop capabilities. If you at the show, drop by stand 2-260 to see our excellent vehicles and chat to our knowledgeable members of staff. We look forward to seeing you there!

Here is a selection of pictures from our stand:

With our 27th Anniversary (has it really been that long?!) looming large, Famous Four will be attending another show, however this one is a slight departure to our Land Rover specialist show appearances over the years. We will be attending the 2015 Birmingham Lancaster Insurance NEC Classic Motor Show at the  next month, on November 13th to 15th 2015, with a focus on promoting our classic Land Rover and Range Rover restoration services to the notoriously selective and exacting classic car fraternity. No pressure, then!

As part of this preparation we thought we’d splash out on a fancy new custom pop-up Gazebo to make us stand out on the show floor! Designed in house and supplied by http://gazeboshop.co.uk, we’re hoping it will make an impact on the show floor at the NEC and future shows beyond. We put it up recently (which was surprisingly easy compared to past marquees we’ve taken to shows) to check the design had come out as well as it looked on our  computer screen. Thankfully it did, I think you’ll agree it’s pretty smart looking!

Famous Four will be on stand 2-260 at the show with a selection of our excellent restored Range Rovers showcasing the quality and expertise we dedicate to our restoration work. We hope you can drop by and visit!

Vehicle: White Defender 110 300Tdi County Station Wagon, 1994.
Work done by: Pete and Selina
Words by: Peter Johnson

Part 2

Now the chassis was sorted we could turn our attention to the rest of the vehicle. The drivers foot well was cleaned up and inspected by everyone, including our dog. The rusted section was cut away to allow a repair plate to be welded in after the base had been treated with a zinc spray. The small holes to the outside were covered from underneath after the welding and undersealed to prevent water getting in.

The front seat box had seen better days and so we drilled out all the pop rivets, welded patches where necessary, and cleaned and painted the separate sections before reassembling it. All the seams were sealed to make the tool box water tight, and the battery compartment vents were cleared and cleaned.

With the rear tub off, this seemed like a good time to repair the sills and clean and underseal the tub itself. An airline took care of much of the loose dirt (and paint) and what was left was wire brushed. New door hinge bolts were fitted at this point courtesy of a stainless steel door bolt kit.

With the underside surfaces taken care of, it was time to start to reassemble the parts into a whole Land Rover again. Slowly the vehicle started to come back together, although there were times when we felt that everything we looked at created another two jobs to do! But brackets were removed, cleaned and painted; panels treated for corrosion if evident and painted, and crucial parts replaced as necessary.

The old headlining had sagged and I was hoping to repair it (a cunning plan involving a hole cutter and spray adhesive) but sadly this was not to be – the failing material is foam backed and after 21 years the foam has decomposed and is crumbling so the headling falls away from the shaped liner that holds it up. New headlining material was therefore ordered and will be used to replace the old (keeping the same backing pieces).

We also ordered a new carpet set from a well known trim company. A trial fit showed how good this will look once we finish fitting it, although I was surprised how much adjustment we are having to make – I hadn’t considered a 1994 Defender as an old model but quite a few of the holes are clearly for newer fittings and accessories. However this is a Land Rover and anything is possible if you persevere.

The carpet kit came with a new leatherette gearstick gaiter, however when we tried it in place we both decided to stick with the old rubber Defender one – it just seemed a bit more, well, Land Rover-ish. Fortunately the old rubber gaiter cleaned up really well in a mix of washing machine fluid and washing up liquid (a friend recommended “Put it through the dishwasher, it’ll come up a treat!” but since we haven’t got a dishwasher we had to find an alternative method, or buy the required equipment).

We now have the vehicle back together (doors and roof on) and relatively weather tight, freeing up the garage for working on the headlining. It’s a good sight, and with the front carpets fitted (and other original accessories) the Defender is looking even better than the day we bought it.

There are still jobs to do. The rear section still needs the carpet fitting. The alpine light rubbers could do with replacing and I’d like to clean up the front grill and headlight surround. The engine is due for a minor service and I also plan to renew the front brake callipers (rusty but working) and discs (a bit scored) and rear brake callipers (also showing their age) so the brake system is as good as new. The steel wheels could do with a wire brushing and a new coat of paint too.

All of this (and a wash, wax and polish…) will take place over the next few weekends as our working holiday comes to an end. Finally, the front bulkhead will need some work in a couple of years too but that, I think, will be another story.

The Freelander 2 range (2007-2014 Models) have a rear differential and Haldex unit, which can cause problems and require attention. Famous Four have invested in tooling and specialist equipment to recondition the differentials, and in the October 2015 edition of LRO magazine their technical editor Peter Galilee penned a 5 page article on how to replace and repair the differential and/or Haldex unit. He visited our workshops earlier in the year and spent a day with one of our technicians, Stephen Howell, to better understand the finer points of this four wheel drive set up.

Whilst we answer some of LRO magazine’s technical Q&As each month, an article of this level of detail demands more time and attention, and Peter and Stephen spent most of the day on this subject.

Much work has been undertaken on Range Rover Restoration project ELA 830J since it was last mentioned here and, with a dry day and some freshly painted gleaming body panels recently fitted, complete with detailed front axle rebuild, we took the opportunity today to break out of the workshops for a photo shoot. We hope to progress a little further before exhibiting this and other Range Rovers on our stand at the NEC Classic Car Show in November of this year.

Vehicle: White Defender 110 300Tdi County Station Wagon, 1994.
Work done by: Pete and Selina
Words by: Peter Johnson

Part 1

We bought our Defender 110 300Tdi County Station Wagon from Famous Four in Feb 05 to replace a petrol V8 Station Wagon. Having discovered Famous Four while we lived in Lincolnshire in 1994, and been impressed with their help and knowledge, I was happy to buy a vehicle from someone I felt I could trust. The price was right and despite having moved to Gloucestershire by this time, we went to view the Tdi. I was initially skeptical about things like wind up windows on one piece doors (very un-series) however after a chat and after my daughter negotiated the inclusion of an official Land Rover teddy bear in the sale, we bought it and the vehicle has served us well ever since.

Time moved on and the Land Rover aged with our family. We had a new rear cross member fitted by local company 5 years ago and this was now worryingly showing surface rust, so we decided that it was time for a refurbishment from bulkhead back. My daughter wanted to help with the work- not her first rebuild as she helped rebuild my original 110 V8 at the age of 3. Now somewhat less young she has good practical skills and was keen to work on the Land Rover as an investment for her future. Hopefully with two of us working on this it should be an easy if long task…

The Defender has to be stripped to fit in a domestic garage, and even then it’s a tight fit! With the doors and roof off the vehicle feels lighter and more airy… almost making me want a soft top version, but then I’d probably change my mind when winter arrives. One of the things I really enjoy about the Defender and Series vehicles is the simplicity – the ideal cross between Meccano kit and Tonka toy, it really is unlike any other car I’ve met.

After a brush down and pressure wash (only possible due to manual labour and the defenders handles now the body was off) we could see the overall state of the chassis. Not as bad as it first looked but still in need of TLC. Some surface rust to deal with but fortunately no plating needed. The drivers foot well was a different story and in need of a repair. We decided to change the rear shock absorbers too since the old ones were getting a little tired. A new rear exhaust section was also needed. With a long list of parts, some routine, some quite obscure, I called Famous Four to get them ordered – a long job that was made so much easier by the knowledge and help from the Famous Four staff – many thanks guys!

Once inspected we could start on the clean up. Old waxoyl and underseal came off relatively easily using   stainless steel pan scourers from the local super market. We got through many of these; I even thought about posting an online review but I’m not sure the company would appreciate the endorsement. The exposed chassis was then wire brushed and surface rust scraped and chipped off.

Once cleaned, the chassis was given a coat of Red Oxide primer and then black stonechip paint. A coat of waxoyl/underseal mix went on top of the stonechip for further protection. Although this stuff takes ages to touch dry I wanted the flexibility it would provide as the chassis flexes.