The best jigsaw in the world..

Well not quite a jigsaw, butting putting Bertha back together again is a challenge, as  4x4LRS hunt for bits mislayed or not sourced yet, they tell us  just about every thing needed to finish her has now arrived.

As you can see below the replacement diesel engine and Bulkhead are in situ and work on the engine nearly complete

All new brake lines have been  shaped and fitted..

work is actually a little further on than these photo's show  various bits and peices have been bolted to the bulkhead, the rear tub has been panel beated and rubbed down ready for paint.

It is very doubtful that Bertha will be back on the roads before winter this year..  but hopefully by spring next year a full two years after starting  the project  she will be once again delaying other traffic on our local roads

How time flies when your having fun !!!

Over 14 months ago I wrote in my opening blog post.. "this blog will hopefully keep a track of the progress, the ups and downs, and a reminder as those bills come in just how she did look and to encourage us it will all be worth it in the end"

And boy for us and 4x4LRS has there been some downs.  bits cant be found, time needed was massively under estimated and the difficulties of working with 40 year old rusted sold parts not truly appreciated.

Also underestimated was the effect of having a garage that gains a reputation for quality work at a reasonable price, over the course of Project Bertha 4x4LRS has gained in popularity and customers limiting their time to the rebuild.

We must admit with the addition of Doris the Disco to our fleet of vehicles we have added to the work load of 4x4LRS so not entirely innocent either.

However we have issued an ultimation ... either give us photo's of whats happening or we will demand you both change the heater matrix on the Disco and do the timing belt on the Sportage....
and if that doesnt produce photo's of the progress nothing will ...

Watch this space!!!

A younger model !!

As things are still slowly progressing with Bertha, the need arises to get another vehicle .. The aged Ford Mondeo is out and in its place we have taken posession of another LandRover, Not quite as old as Bertha, and in slightly better condition !!

Hopefully she wont spend as much time in the workshops as her older sister

Its been a while

since my last post, and things are still happening. 4x4lrs have got down to the nitty gritty of putting it all back together again, The wiring loom is just about done, brake lines fitted, the bulkhead is even in place.

It's also been a while since we started this project, a few days over 12 months to be exact. Our original 4-6 months timescale is looking improbable now .. At best we hope to have Bertha back on the road by the end of the summer (2010) however given how far we have already slipped and the amount of work still to do it may well be another 12 months before she finaly rolls out of the workshop.

I am hoping to obtain a few photo's of the progress and post them up shortly

Going Green

It appears to be all the rage to hug trees and bow down to the almighty god that is the environment. Here at project Bertha we are not immune to the pressures and guilt that not being "Green" imposes on us, so here is our small bit to save the planet



Take one series two bulkhead, that has ( In laymans speak) been skillfully adapted to its task In Land Rover speak it has been attacked with an angle grinder and beaten mercilessly with a big hammer

String it up from the ceiling, and coat it with lots of paint

And Voila as the French say.. we have a green component to fit to our Land Rover that was born when Green House gases meant only farting while repotting the Geraniums.

It does give an idea of Berthas final colour (Green if you had not guessed)

Im off now to e-mail fading Rock star and Eco warrior Sting to see if he will hold a benefit concert for this exciting green project so we can get her finished and have her, belching smoke and dropping engine oil down the highways and byways of this nation

Time to try..

and see if the different bits will even start to fit together

So far so good apparently, only a few thousand other bits to hope also drop in and fit !!