CAR
#Range-Rover /
#Land-Rover /
#Land-Rover-Range-Rover /
RUN BY Martin Buckley
OWNED SINCE March 2012
PREVIOUS REPORT June 2018
I decided to take pal Mark Cosovich up on his offer to detail the Range Rover, concentrating mainly on the engine bay. He doesn’t often stray far from Mercedes but he was keen to get his son Alex involved because he is saving up for a car, and thus able to do me one of his famous ‘super trade’ deals.
RAY 606W cruised beautifully down the M4 to Swansea and Cosovich’s new W123 World workshop. An early G-Wagen was on the ramp; it’s hard to believe they still make these – it was an ugly pig of a thing, even in the ’70s. Not even Mark is a fan.
Then again he’s not a fan of the Range Rover, either, reminding me of the old joke: ‘What are the two man-made things you can see from space? The Great Wall of China and Range Rover panel gaps…’
A full interior valet started the work, with the carpet set removed and cleaned. The ‘teddy bear’ upholstery and trim were cleaned and the damaged plastic trim colour-washed. The scratched rear seat-back was painted, the spare wheel cleaned, painted and tyre-dressed. The whole vehicle was then pressure-washed and steam-cleaned, including the now-Waxoyled underbody. There is still a weird problem with the window-winder mechanisms in both doors, which occasionally refuse to wind all the way down. Somehow, opening the door releases them.
The matt-black frames, bumpers and front grille were repainted in satin black and it was then time to move on to the engine bay. All of the ancillaries were removed, bead-blasted and new clips fitted. The inside of the bonnet was cleaned and repainted in Tuscan Blue, the inlet manifolds and air cleaner box restored, and the latter repainted and installed with new filters.
The bodywork was then cleaned and orbitally polished, with special attention given to the paintwork on the arches and edges of the bonnet and tailgate. High-build polish was applied to all areas: “It came up from very dull to surprisingly good,” says Cosovich. “Maybe Leyland paint isn’t so bad after all?”
Finally, the wheels were removed, orbitally sanded, primed and painted alloy silver and then lacquered. The wheel bolts were painted black and the tyres (described as ‘quite old’) were cleaned and dressed.
The results are very pleasing indeed; so good, in fact, that while it was in Cosovich’s custody I was made a strong offer to sell the car. I thought about it for a few days and, on balance, reckoned it was the sort of bid that was hard to ignore.
Trouble was, the man had no time to come and look so it was arranged that the Range Rover would be recovered down to his house for ‘approval’. By the time the car was finished the mystery buyer had evaporated and it was delivered back to my shed looking like a different vehicle.
Secretly I wasn’t bothered because I had no particular plans to sell it; but, given how good the Range Rover is looking, perhaps now is a good time to let it go (for offers around £40,000).
The matt black has been replaced by satin. Range Rover looks good enough to sell. Velour ‘teddy bear’ trim has been revived.
