1 Range Rover V81 Range Rover V8"It's a genuine Chelsea tractor," says Mike Hurst, pointing to the Chelsea & Kensington parking permit on the windscreen of his 1992 J-reg Range Rover 3.5 V8 Vogue SE auto, finished in Ardennes Green.It's not his permit: it was there when he bought the car 19 years ago, unbelievably from a chap at the roadside.Mike recalls: "He said it was knocking from somewhere and he wasn't happy. I drove it round the block. It just needed a new shock absorber and I thought 'I've got some of those'. I paid him £1350 for the car. It was a bargain, but I have spent well over £2000 on it, mainly treating rust."AdvertisementAdvertisementStill, £2000 in almost 20 years isn't bad going. The latest expense was a new radiator (Chinese, £185) and something rather more serious: a repair requiring engine removal."It broke down on the M25," explains Mike. "I suspected the core plug at the back of the engine. I have a good friend who took the engine out, but it turned out the cause was a leaky water pipe! Still, we did find the bulkhead-to-chassis mounting was heavily corroded, so we changed that."This job aside, for me the appeal of these earlier Range Rovers is that although they're not very reliable [his car is 33 years old so suffers things like electrical issues], they are relatively easy to fix."New as well as salvaged parts are cheap and plentiful, too. A headlight is just £20, for example. It needed a replacement wheel once but they're fairly easy to find, although the one I did track down is a slightly different shade of green.AdvertisementAdvertisement"However, I have had to replace the electric window switches with a switch block of my own design."Mike was bitten by the Range Rover bug when he saw the new models at the 1970 London motor show, he explains: "I promised myself that one day I'd own one. As things turned out, I've now owned seven of them. I owned two in Saudi Arabia and drove them in the desert, unfortunately breaking the gearbox in one of them."They were two-door models. People still say the only proper Range Rover is the early two-door."I'm giving this one to my grandson in three years' time. In fact, after I've spoken to you, my granddaughter is going to drive it around the off-road course at Brooklands. She passed her driving test only one year ago, but I trust her."Mike chairs the Middlesex County Automobile Club, which, he tells me proudly, was founded in 1905, only 10 years after Autocar. To this day the club still awards the Autocar Cup. Past members of the club include the 5th Earl Howe, co-founder of the British Racing Drivers' Club, and speed record breaker Sir Malcolm Campbell.AdvertisementAdvertisementA former president was the 1st Baron Brabazon, who with Charles Rolls made the first ascent in a British-made gas balloon."I use the Range Rover at all our events, for marshalling and whatnot," says Mike. "I've driven it on many off-road courses and occasionally it has almost been on its side, but it still comes back for more. It may look a little tired and rusty, but at heart it's still a Range Rover." ]]>
