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#Post#: 168--------------------------------------------------
Bernie & Jekyll
By: 1960SeriesII Date: November 22, 2013, 3:00 pm
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Hello everyone, here's the couple we own:
1. Bernie, the ex-Swiss Army 1960 petrol SII, an immaculate
truck that never failed us:
http://img2.rajce.idnes.cz/d0203/5/5866/5866364_2a7bb90e69c8c1151b1d7e08994ad88…
https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1380409_10151850962027299_2110…
https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1004519_10151792722412299_1859…
2. Jekyll, the ex-rust heap 1954 SI 86" with a Rover V8, a truck
recently structurally rebuilt (bulkhead & frame) and one that
has so far never stopped failing us since its arrival in May
2011, probably doesn't like the new owner (or is camera-shy and
doesn't have any other way how to pass the message on):
https://scontent-b-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1233600_10151804270167299_1026…
http://img7.rajce.idnes.cz/d0702/5/5063/5063789_3f381805c39ce44e13e76e22799af29…
https://scontent-a-cdg.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/996022_10151891562192299_14064…
Love them both, with Jekyll's neverending problems and our less
than limitless cashbox, the former has actually taught me to
finally start tinkering with the truck myself, under the
continuous patronage of more knowledgeable people around me
(being an office rat I never had the balls - or knowledge - to
do so).
Jekyll is about to undergo some surgery this winter, under the
auspices of a more knowledgeable friend - a 4.6 V8, tubular
headers, Boxer manifold for 4 x SU's, LT 77 gearbox and many
other goodies await him as sacrifice to the resident evil
demons.
#Post#: 897--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: blenky Date: November 25, 2013, 3:12 pm
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Nice pair. :D
#Post#: 907--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: s.o.t.d. Date: November 25, 2013, 3:20 pm
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The story of how you got Jekyll is worth a page of it's own,
Jan. With photographs! ;D
#Post#: 1030--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: 1960SeriesII Date: November 26, 2013, 3:45 am
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I'll try to reserve an evening for such endeavour, Mike, both of
our leafers' stories feature a euroleafing odyssey - indeed,
Jekyll's story is much more colourful ;D
#Post#: 3473--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: 1960SeriesII Date: December 16, 2013, 2:58 pm
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I came across the Series Land Rover early in my life - me and my
brother, who was later destined to become a car mechanic
(presumably not for the same reason), had a toy ambulance car,
perhaps incidentally a Series III 109" Station Wagon. I would
say that this was my first encounter with these vehicles,
however, I would lie if I would also insist that this was the
deciding point.
It was only recently before that faithful day in May 2007 that I
first thought of actually buying one. There was little chance
that such a vehicle could be actually purchased from anyone in
the Czech Republic (even though I later found out that there
actually were several examples imported even during the
Communist period). My friend brought me on the right track when
he pointed out that his friend had purchased a reasonably priced
Land Rover in Germany.
I began looking and found out that even though Defenders can
really be bought for good prices nearly anywhere in Europe,
Series II vehicles are hard to find, much less good Series II
vehicles for good prices.
Then, I ran across a website where nearly all Land Rover Series
ads were posted by a single person - a private owner from
Switzerland. I came to find out a lot about this guy as I
practised my German by communicating with him for some two
months, before we finally got to agree on the right vehicle for
the right price.
The first option was the diesel SIIA, his favourite "Diesler".
It was a reluctant sale and in the end he actually did not have
to sell it - I finally bought another one from his "stock", a
1960 SII 88", an ex-Swiss Army vehicle. The price details need
to be buried and are never to be exhumed - let us just conclude
that it was a "continental" price corresponding to the vehicle's
exceptional condition, although the price still had a long way
to go to reach the bottom price range at Landy Point, Germany.
Two of the first photos I received of Bernie:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1521837_10152046172107299_1323…
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1488722_10152046172087299_1780…
I owe my thanks to my (now wife, then) girlfriend, who was
always very supportive (despite knowing the price!), and to my
brother, who did not want to know the price, but helped a lot as
well! It is the photo on the right at the top which shows this
vehicle (I received larger and colour copies, of course) and
which I received by email during our German correspondence. It
was a vehicle owned since retirement by an ex-Army driver, who
also drove it while in service (the surviving records were made
available to me upon purchase).
After painful days and nights of thinking and re-thinking the
idea of buying a car (then) nearly 50 years old, I decided for
the purchase. The remaining problems were obvious. I was in
Prague, Czech Republic, while the Land Rover I wanted was in
Switzerland, off Bern, the capital, some 850 kilometres away
(Mike, Xander, and others - don't laugh, I was mostly an eurobox
pilot then!).
There were some ideas, however, nearly all of them looked so
very distant... Bringing the car on a trailer would be the most
comfortable option, however, it would also be the most expensive
one. The expected cost would be some 10% of the price, which was
a bit too much. The other option was obvious - bring it over by
actually driving it. The fuel cost would be high but in
comparison to the trailer option it would only be small
change... But driving such an oldtimer for over eight hundred
kilometers seemed ridiculous!
It was here that the adventure began. I decided to take the
chance and went for the second option. My girlfriend, a friend
of ours equally crazy about classic cars, and our pet dog became
the only four members of the "Land Rover Expedition 2007 - Back
To The Past", as our friend aptly called it.
The distance to be covered was some 1,700km (Prague - Bern -
Prague), the time schedule was to leave on Friday, 11th May
2007, and return on Sunday, 13th May 2007. We left Prague on
Friday just after 9:00 PM as planned, apparently missing only by
minutes a spectacular car crash on one of the exits from the
city.
We crossed the border with Germany and after a few kilometres
drove again on the motorway (by then the German end of the
motorway was about 40 kilometres away from the border). The
direction was Nuernberg, Karlsruhe and Bern. Just before
Nuernberg we had to stop for a short nap as we were all really
sleepy and were afraid to use too many motorway lanes at once.
Our friend Tomas's apt remark "Tell me when to wake up and I
won't even need an alarm clock" eventually caused us to wake up
about 2 hours later than planned, but on we went.
Just before noon on Saturday, 12th May 2007, we found the small
Swiss village and after a brief phone call arranged a meeting
with the owner at the only local landmark we were able to find -
a small hotel, apparently closed down. The landscape around was
wonderful, with green meadows climbing up both slopes of the
small valley and wooden houses scattered all around, together
with small islands of trees.
Then it came - the owner naturally brought the subject of the
purchase along to the meeting and we had our first chance to see
the vehicle that was to become our companion for the return
journey. It looked strangely small on the relatively wide
country road, but at the very first sight it was a vehicle in a
great condition. The seller was happy to hand over the driving
and I had got the first chance to drive the car long before I
was prepared for anything like that - after driving the car that
brought us here (a 2004 Skoda Octavia), the steering,
transmission and brakes were a big change. I took the plunge and
drove it over to the driveway leading to the seller's house,
nesting above the road, up a steep gravel track. The driveway
just underneath the track bent sharply across a narrow bridge
and I had a rough time negotiating the bridge with the car, as
the turning circle of the landy wasn't exactly the same like
with the Skoda.
Bernie still with his Swiss plates:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1456681_10152046150577299_8413…
Springs were a bit saggy, but what would you expect after 47
years:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/1512496_10152046150587299_1238…
The introduction to the advantages and preserved original parts
of the vehicle took us well into the afternoon. The seller's
wife was kind enough to prepare lunch for all the three of us
(Rex was happy enough playing with his new Swiss playmates -
kids, a Chinese pig and a lamb). We were shown practically
everything related to the vehicle, including documents, tools
and the car in general. The impression was wonderful, although
we were shortly taken aback by the generous consumption of the
engine, which we were told was about 20 litres for every 100
kilometres, while our idea was just over 12. In the end we
overcame this shock (thoroughly unfounded, as we found out), the
cash we brought and the vehicle changed owners and we were ready
for the journey back.
Only four or five hours after our meeting with the previous
owner of the Land-Rover, we left again to tackle the return leg
of the trip. We followed a recommendation of the seller to
bypass the motorway to Basel and went along country roads
through an amazing mountain pass. The EU border was a bit of a
worry as we expected problems due to the fact that we were still
driving a car registered in Switzerland to a foreign person (we
planned to change the registration after arrival to prevent
further costs with the change of registration in Switzerland).
The customs officer just waved us along after a painstaking
millisecond of looking at us, probably worried that once we stop
we could have trouble re-starting the thing.
Hitting the road in Germany after doing a sightseeing detour
through north of Switzerland:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1464018_10152046150707299_6962…
We rumbled along at 80 kph, which was not so bad as such,
however, driving from the Swiss-German border to the motorway
junction just before Karlsruhe, where we were supposed to turn
right in the direction of Heilbronn and Nuernberg, seemed like
ages. In comparison to this, the much longer journey from this
junction to Prague appeared to be much shorter, perhaps it was
helpful that we stopped every 100 kilometres or so to check the
fuel-smothered Solex carb.
The long way home:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1520647_1015204615123729…
The Czech border was another challenge, but the Czech customs
officer cared even less than the Swiss one and we passed through
without any curious questions. We were finally back at home. The
250 kilometres to Prague and beyond to my parents' home (where
the Landy would have to stay as I had no garage where I could
park it in Prague) looked like peanuts.
By 15th June 2007 I already had a Czech registration, by then it
was less than 3 months ago when I first started looking for a
Land-Rover...
My wife with Bernie on the freshly installed Czech plates:
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1476302_10152046163957299_4815…
#Post#: 3519--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: blenky Date: December 17, 2013, 8:36 am
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Nice.
#Post#: 3525--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: mr.scruff Date: December 17, 2013, 11:52 am
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Great story Jan :)
#Post#: 3553--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: Joskin Date: December 17, 2013, 2:55 pm
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Great story Jan, excellent read Banana
as for your plans for Jekyll............. maximum hero points
!!! Rock
#Post#: 3604--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: 1960SeriesII Date: December 18, 2013, 11:25 am
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Gearbox noises. Engine losing power, then overheating while
stuck in traffic. Fuel gauge stuck at three-quarters full. The
low-box lever jumping out of gear. Not the mishaps you would
likely want to encounter when traversing Europe in an age-old
Series I! Despite all this, the truck made it.
Jekyll breaking the world rust heap land speed record:
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1459725_10151999510662299_1168…
By the time that all the participants of the Czech Series
Land-Rover owners�s meeting were already gathered at the Malesov
campsite on the Friday in anticipation of the event�s start on
Saturday, strange noises started coming from the general
direction of the road leading into the campsite. �Your truck is
here!� someone laughed at me, listening to the horrendous
rattle.
We walked over to greet the newly arrived participants � I had
already received many messages saying that the truck has had
many difficult moments en route and was haunted by a premonition
that not everything would work as I hoped it would. That was an
understatement in many ways.
Although the truck eventually did make it and covered some 1500
kilometres without actually breaking down so seriously as to
make further travel impossible, the original idea of patina and
a reliable mechanical underneath somehow turned into too many
small (and a few not so small) problems. After driving the SI
for a bit around the campsite, it took me two more days to
gather enough courage to sit in the truck and drive it for
anything else than just a few hundred metres and stop, casually
pretending that the truck isn�t really mine!
All of my Czech friends appeared very fond of the truck, lifting
my spirits a bit � Martin, a friend whose V8 SI started all
this, remarked jokingly that he will obviously retain the honour
of having the truck with the largest exhaust pipe, as mine did
not resemble a Tiger tank hiding underneath, with just the
cannon sticking out back!
Well, I had it coming � finding a SI 86� with a 3.5 V8 fitted on
Carandclassic.co.uk in March or April 2011 had me thinking. I
fancied something V8 powered since 2008 and eventually, after
much deliberation, I could not resist buying the truck. At the
time, OLLR provided the human chain needed to get the truck from
a town close to Edinburgh, Scotland, to Kutna Hora, Czech
Republic.
The first photos I saw of Jekyll:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/227867_10150187831642299_44320…
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/230351_10150187831782299_95650…
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/229264_10150187832007299_49740…
A few short message exchanges with the key member of the human
chain squad, Kev/mr.scruff, confirmed the truck was road-worthy
and should not break in half en route. Kev boarded Jekyll and
went south � the non-working fuel gauge caused him at least once
to run out of petrol (and I think Dougal had to come to the
rescue at that time), but eventually he got as far as
Jon/landyboy�s home, where a change of drivers occurred, leaving
Kev to heal his physical and mental scars of driving the scrap
heap for several hundred of miles.
It was Jon who then went on to drive Jekyll for the �remainder�
of the journey, from southeast of England to central Europe.
There were plenty further attempts to cure the engine losing
power and investigating the cause of the disturbing gearbox
noises (eventually a bolt was found loose in the gearbox,
probably due to the previous owner�s hurried removal of an
overdrive, plus a missing tooth on the first/reverse gear) and �
if I remember correctly � engine or gearbox oil had to be filled
up.
The two occassionally almost inseparable mates on the road -
Dougal and Jekyll:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/1450160_10151999509042299_6014…
The bill for the journey was obviously horrendous and we had a
hard time putting together enough cash to repay Jon�s services,
as we did not quite prepare for the amount of various liquids
that Jekyll managed to consume en route, but eventually we
managed to put together enough cash in several currencies to pay
up � this proved to be a lasting problem, there�s simply never
enough cash to finance this cursed vehicle!
Jon inspecting the noisy gearbox somewhere en route to CZ:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc1/575413_10151999510112299_15308…
The all-stars euroleafing team:
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/528274_10151999510562299_10431…
Jekyll�s Saturday shame corner and Sunday�s laning
Birmabright Weekend�s Saturday�s great greenlaning trip saw the
SI enduring the shame of sitting at the campsite � after the
stories of gearbox noises and the images of big yellow truck
having to haul it back to my home, I ended up leaving the SI
behind while enjoying the greenlaning trip in the nice, original
and 100% reliable Bernie, an ex-Swiss Army 1960 SII 88�.
On the Sunday, the plan was to visit the National Agricultural
Museum and do a bit more greenlaning. After many grim thoughts,
I eventually came to the conclusion that breaking down close to
Kutna Hora (where my parents live) could be more convenient that
doing so while somewhere half-way between Kutna Hora and
Drozdov, my home village, some 130 kilometres away from the
campsite.
Regaining its honour during Sunday's laning:
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/248321_10150197036182299_23985…
Jekyll at the National Agricultural Museum at Caslav:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash2/250779_10150196945402299_53777…
So, accompanied by the compassionate Jon Holmes, who sensed the
uneasiness with which I was boarding the truck, I eventually led
the Sunday�s leafer column in the first right-hand drive vehicle
I have ever driven for any considerable distance, unsure if it
would make the trip back. Jon, obviously much more optimistic,
kept reassuring me that the vehicle is not that bad, while
offsetting this with scary stories from the trip, but we did
make it to the museum, where the SI fitted nicely among some
exhibits parked there for the oncoming museum�s weekend, when
they would be seen in action.
After seeing all of the several halls of exhibits at the museum,
we had a short chat at the parking lot. The OLLR crew, now
reduced to two vehicles, as well as several local participants,
understandably decided they could put the time needed for the
following greenlaning trip to much more use returning home, so
we bid farewell to them and departed for some 30 kilometres of
tarmac and greenlanes, visiting the ruins of the Lichnice Castle
as well as a beautifully restored lime kiln just down the hill
from the castle. Here, we shook hands saying our goodbyes to the
rest of the participants. The meeting was over, the journey home
was ahead of us, with me driving the SI V8 shed, while my wife
resorted to driving Bernie for the third time in her life.
After pumping as much petrol as was physically possible into the
SI�s tank, we headed west. Travelling at 80 kph, which we keep
as a rule with Bernie, the noises from within the engine and
gearbox area gradually subsided and I was able to taste what it
really means to drive an ex-Rover P6 V8-powered SI really means.
Increasing speed from 50 to 100 kph while in fourth gear was a
priceless Ferrari-like experience.
Against all odds, the SI reached our home safely and was
reversed to its roofed parking space to await its further fate.
Needless to say, both me and my wife needed a drink after all
this!
After spending about two weeks thinking up a name for the truck,
I ended up with Jekyll en route, seeing how many hideous and
scary details are hidden under the beautifully used looks of the
truck. Eventually, the name �Pekelnik�, given to the truck by
other Czech forum members, meaning �One from hell� or �Devil�
stuck much more.
The next weekend, after doing a test drive with the family and
pumping some adrenaline into our bodies by depressing the
throttle pedal, I armed myself with a screwdriver and a wire
brush mounted on an angle grinder, decided to remove the
�surface rust� and �paint it over with a few coats of paint so
it doesn�t deteriorate�.
Two or three hours again I needed another drink. The outriggers,
under coats of rust flaking away in chunks, were all thinned
down so much you could see right through them in several places.
The bulkhead door pillar bottoms were partially bitten off by
the rust worm and there was an inch-wide hole in the driver�s
side door pillar just above the wing.
Oscillating between thoughts of sale and restoration, I ended up
being persuaded by my wife Hana, that we�ve stepped into this
(read: I made us step into this) and now have to move on. In two
weeks we received an estimate on the restoration, concentrating
on strip-down, chassis & bulkhead external zinc-coating, wheel
sand-blasting, painting everything that got refurbished in a
colour similar to the one already on the body panels, as well as
other details.
The price tag more than doubled the buying price of the truck,
but we could not but take it as life�s another lesson. A truck
in Bernie�s condition and a truck in original condition which
needs bringing up to Bernie�s standard will put you down to
Bernie�s cost at least. In the long run, it is always cheaper to
buy a restored truck, which is obvious � until you see a good
price for an SI V8 with a great patina�
Jekyll at the beginning of his rebirth:
https://scontent-a-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1477447_10151999510507299_1891…
Whoooaaaar etc., following shortly after the work on
bulkhead/frame was finished:
https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1463521_10151999507897299_2773…
#Post#: 8973--------------------------------------------------
Re: Bernie & Jekyll
By: 1960SeriesII Date: March 30, 2014, 1:10 pm
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Finally managed to do a short trip with Bernie, the weather was
simply irresistible over the weekend 8)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10155311_10152275…
https://fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-9/10151287_10152275…
Rex, one of our two JRT's fetching the biggest piece of wood
available:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/10168201_10152275…
Gina, the other one, digging the westernmost metro station:
https://scontent-b-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1536654_101522752783872…
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