Dave Smith's Freelander

No more nails......?

Unfortunately it is a common rust spot on Freelanders. Strangely my 02 car (now sold) was completely rust free there whereas I pulled the handle clean off on my 04 car it was so rotten.
If I could have been bothered I would have swapped the doors over but I couldn't be bothered.

I may struggle to get an Appalachian Green back door!

I believe that most corrosion under the rear handle is caused by bad fitting of the handle at the factory, or subsequent refitting when faults occur. The handle standoffs are metal and so easily chip the paint protection off the outer door skin when the handle is fitted. Once the paint is chipped off, the door slowly rusts unseen. Only when the handle gives way, is the rust evident to all.

Fixings are rock solid but some knob-end has snapped the plastic brackets inside the handle. Superglued them back on.

davidsmith1307 said:

Fixings are rock solid but some knob-end has snapped the plastic brackets inside the handle. Superglued them back on.

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LOL, I had to JB Weld mine back together after pulling the handle off and wrecking the mounts.
I guess that makes me a knob end too.

We are all knob-ends... We bought British and still want things to work.
The sensible blokes have Land Cruisers! However, they take it all too seriously.

davidsmith1307 said:

I may struggle to get an Appalachian Green back door!

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It doesnt show up in google searches either !

davidsmith1307 said:

We are all knob-ends... We bought British and still want things to work.
The sensible blokes have Land Cruisers! However, they take it all too seriously.

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Every british car I've owned has had issues

Rover 416 decided it didn't want to fire no 2 injector ( ecu fault)
MG ZS 180 threw a rod through the block
Discovery TD5 chassis rot and door lock issues

With the exception of the MG ( Bad back and rock hard ride dont mix) I miss the Rover and TD5

So why am I looking at rover 75 cdti /mgzt cdti /freelander td4 as a daily driver to replace the mondeo?

Strangely the most reliable car we've ever had in the family was a '92 Rover 214 si, never once broke down in the 22 years we had it in the family!

I have a modern Volvo. Completely reliable. Totally dependable.
Utterly, utterly boring. I have absolutely no connection to the car at all and it is on Autotrader.

davidsmith1307 said:

I have a modern Volvo. Completely reliable. Totally dependable.
Utterly, utterly boring. I have absolutely no connection to the car at all and it is on Autotrader.

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My mondeo will be joining it soon i'm sure!

I like cars with a bit of character, which British cars seem to have. My wifes get a new car every 3 years, all modern and totally boring, except for the previous Astra GTC. The GTC was like a modern Rover, it had a character all of its own. The VW Tiquan she had before the GTC was horrible and hideously unreliable, with constant trips to the dealer for repairs. Her latest car is a Ford Kuga which is ok for a modern mass production car I guess. It's devoid to character but it quiet, safe, fast and comfortable on long journeys and economical too. So as a family transport, it works ok. You just don't get those smiles that a British vehicle provides.
This is why I have a Freelander as it keeps me smiling.

The freelander would be too small for me, wife, 2 leggy boys and a dog, but just fine for getting to work.
Really fancy a Tdi Rangey (and a welding course) for family things (pretty rare) and a 110 for some trips I have in my mind.

In an ideal world I'd have the phase 2 RR Sport td as i think the profile is as close to the original as you can get without needing a welding course

Sadly with the imminent move to peak district and a commute of nigh on 100 mile a day to work in Ashby de la zouch i fear the rangy and any other 4x4 including a FL ( see my post "Am I daft?") will be out of reach financially due to additional running costs hence looking at mg zt's for the mile much ability and the british ness

I do 85 a day to and fro.
I have decide to say f*ck it though. If I don't play with things now I'll be too old to enjoy them, fuel will be really too expensive or all the cars I want to try will be history.

davidsmith1307 said:

I do 85 a day to and fro.
I have decide to say f*ck it though. If I don't play with things now I'll be too old to enjoy them, fuel will be really too expensive or all the cars I want to try will be history.

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That's what my heart is saying too but head is saying the opposite

Head and wife....
Actually, that's unfair. She is humouring me (up to a point)

I get told off to be fair I have gone through 3 cars since I've know the mrs, prob is i get bored easily

davidsmith1307 said:

The freelander would be too small for me, wife, 2 leggy boys and a dog, but just fine for getting to work.
Really fancy a Tdi Rangey (and a welding course) for family things (pretty rare) and a 110 for some trips I have in my mind.

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TOO SMALL, Jeepers, how big are they? My mum and dad had a VW Beetle for years and I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We even went on camping trips all over Ireland in it with the tent and all the food we needed for the week on the roof rack.

You haven't seen my wife's handbag. And that's not a euphemism...

Alibro said:

TOO SMALL, Jeepers, how big are they? My mum and dad had a VW Beetle for years and I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. We even went on camping trips all over Ireland in it with the tent and all the food we needed for the week on the roof rack.

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Same in our family 2 springers, mum, dad, 2 grandparents me and my brother in a Fiat strada on the run down to cornwall , it used to break down if it rained as there was a hole in the top of the fuel tank that would let road spray in and water down the petrol lol