2012 Summary

Well it's been another fun year. One in which I've learned a lot more, made some new friends and got a lot more things sorted to the point that Katy is becoming a pleasure to drive

January stated with tyre troubles. I was having to use Katy as a daily drive because Suzuki were unable to get my car serviced. A bit of a pain having those punctures, but I learned something and solved a problem

February was MOT time, the first in our ownership and quite a worry as there was a lot still to do. we were amazed and delighted when she passed 1st time. In March we stated preparing for the camping year with a new fridge (still to be properly fitted) and a whole load of cleaning and repainting. She will need a respray some time, but more mechanical aspects to sort out first

We headed out for real adventures in April with a tour to Scarborough and back down through the welsh borders meeting up with a fellow 127 owner. Both were a real delight and it showed us what fun we could look forward to

May was the first Car show we attended as part of the South Wales Land Rover Club. It was a real fun day out and about the last sunshine we had this summer. We also had a bit of a moment on the Mendip roads (it's amazing how much body roll an undulating road can induce) which made us decide that we really did need to upgrade the suspension 

Whilst I was researching what suspension to get I fitted  some new seats in June. Rhian fixed some ones I got from one of the SWLRC guys and I discovered that the original colour of the carpet lining in the cab had been pink

Then it was back to full blown mechanical work in July with the rear springs and dampers being replaced with upgraded ones. August should have been a month of getting out and about, but one of the wettest summers on record meant that all I was doing was doing on-line shopping for wheels. I thought I had found a set of original military wheels until we attended the Eastnor mud fest which was a place I got some really good advice on wheels and plans changed again

In September the new Wolf wheels and studs arrived and we got out to some more car shows which was fun. It's such fun meeting up with like minded people and having good times.

Refurbishment continued in October as the suspension upgrades continued with the front springs and dampers, but the driving experience still wasn't what I wanted it to be so in November a new 28mm rear anti-roll bar was fitted.

The final job was in December when the front anti-roll bar was fitted, she drives a lot betterso we're ready for fun and games

What we are all hoping for is a year of adventures rather than refurbishment. There is more refurbishment to do as we noted the track rod ends needed replacing when doing the front anti roll bar, and in January she's going to be booked in to get the fridge finally fitted in properly, after that I still have leaks to resolve - both oil and water, but we really are hoping for more driving and less time at the workshop.

Only time will tell