75ZT Community

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 23 Apr 2026, 11:42 #321

Bright sunny day here in NE England. Still got the remnants of a summer bug to fight but think I will venture in to the back garden to do battle with it. Seriously contemplating hard landscaping a lot of it as maintaining it as the years roll on is becoming more of a chore and less of a pleasure. :panic:

takestock · Posted 23 Apr 2026, 12:38 #322

Thats the thing I find the most frustrating. As I get more interested in the garden and getting involved I physically find it harder to do. I suppose the same can be said of DIY car mechanics, getting under the car only to find I have the wrong size spanner to hand is all too common now :hissyfit:

Duncan · Posted 23 Apr 2026, 13:34 #323

Hard landscaping requires a fair bit of maintenance too. Depends what kind you have. Block paving goes green and gets weeds in the joints. Even products like porcelain go green, and the grout is prorous so holds moisture, allowing moss to grow, allowing weeds to grow. Guess how I know all this!

Arctic · Posted 24 Apr 2026, 00:33 #324

We have hard landscaping so to speak, gravel front and back, then slabs which need jet washing every year, little or no weeding. potted plants which also cuts down on hard work in the garden.

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WillyHeckaslike · Posted 24 Apr 2026, 17:41 #325

I'm thinking of slabs and artificial grass for the rear garden and slabs for the front with maybe a small diagonal in the front corner for a small slow-growing shrub. Anything is going to be a compromise and will require some maintenance but I'm looking for something that requires a lot less time and work than a traditional lawn with borders. In fact you don't tend to see many lawns, what most describe as such are little more than a patch of weeds which would require regular treatment with weedkiller and top dressing and re-seeding to keep them looking smart. Which is ok for golf courses and professional sport pitches that generate the revenue to pay for it but it is a mugs game for a domestic garden when advancing years impinge on fitness and motivation.

My summer bug is mounting a counteroffensive, yesterday I thought I'd turned a corner but today it is game on again. Went into town today and bought some man-size tissues together with some pills and potions to fight it with. Had to go out anyway to get some meds from the pharmacy so no great inconvenience incurred. :nurse:

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 27 Apr 2026, 09:56 #326

Not looking too bad outside today but don't think I'll be venturing out courtesy of the summer bug that still afflicts me. It's a stinker of the type which I've not had for a long while and I'm still inclined to hibernate with it. Don't want to risk spreading it plus I don't have the energy to attempt any pending jobs. Some pottering in the the back garden might be attempted this afternoon but it will be very light pottering if any at all, will see how I feel in a few hours time. :tea:

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 01 May 2026, 12:26 #327

Another fine looking day here in NE England. Still struggling with an infernal summer flu-type bug which could be the worst that I've ever encountered. Will keep a look out for anything about it in the news as I'm normally quite robust health wise and have traditionally batted away these bugs with relative ease. Had to go out in recent days for some provisions, went to Farmfoods to buy some UHT milk which it had on offer at £21 for 3 packs of 12x1L cartons. Worked out at ~ 53p/carton using a money-off voucher which Farmfoods mails with its occasional flyers, the voucher required a minimum purchase of £25 which a trio of ready meals took care of - ready meals bought on offer too. :thumbsup:

Arctic · Posted 02 May 2026, 01:11 #328

Hope fully later to day i will have completed the Auto gearbox fluid change on my FL2, and given the rear subframe a quick rub dow where a few scabby top rust spots are showing and treated painted so my weekend is now taken up, but at least im doing something i enjoy.

Arctic · Posted 02 May 2026, 22:48 #329

Today was a decent productive day, I managed to flush through 10ltrs of Auto gearbox fluid on the Freelander 2 SD4 (the Ork).

Fluid i use is from Smith & Allan.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371790886363

https://www.smithandallan.com/

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Not completely bright red but red enough with just a tinge of old oil, i have 3.5ltrs left which i may add later in the year September maybe, took for a run after and smoothly running.

At the same time i added a drain bung to the bottom of the air box where the membrane valve had disappeared, apparently this is common on the FL2.
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Next job is to sort out the PTU drain plug, did it on the Flame i had now need to sort it out on the Ork.

Arctic · Posted 06 May 2026, 23:35 #330

I think most of us know Jerry whom as remodelled some Rover 75s in the past, now he has done another one and most likely the best yet, check out the video below.

https://youtu.be/r55qSLqGOH4?si=suNUX6IYtQHCn3LG

Bermudan 75 · Posted 07 May 2026, 10:30 #331

Looks superb.

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 08 May 2026, 08:08 #332

Superb effort :thumbsup:

Bermudan 75 · Posted 13 May 2026, 10:40 #333

The weather here in Cheshire is cold, wet and windy. Temperature 11 degrees, rain and winds from the North West gusting to 39 mph.

Work on getting the 75 ready for the May 30th Nano-Meet has been suspended.

takestock · Posted 13 May 2026, 12:43 #334

Well, just had a hail storm like no other here in Leeds. it's actually taken the paint off the render it was so force full!! Luckily neither of the cars were on the prevailing side if the hail storm.

Duncan · Posted 13 May 2026, 18:11 #335

takestock wrote:Well, just had a hail storm like no other here in Leeds. it's actually taken the paint off the render it was so force full!! Luckily neither of the cars were on the prevailing side if the hail storm.

Scariest hailstorm I encountered was in Germany (Wolfsburg). My hire car got the windscreen broken, but got it under a building fairly quickly so only the windscreen. A colleauge had his company car (he worked out there) smashed to pieces in the same storm. Every piece of glass broken, and every panel looked like it was attacked with a hammer. They actually replaced the glass, pending the replacement car for the damaged almost new Passatt, which was evntually scrapped. There was a similar incident in Hinckley a few years ago, and a 75 owner had his car destroyed.

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 14 May 2026, 12:34 #336

Been very intermittent weather here in NE England over recent days, mostly wet and it rained again earlier today though sun is out atm. Just been reading about the guy who had an altercation with a jet engine at Denver International Airport in the USA. A career offender apparently whose perception of ardness was reduced to a figment of his own imagination as evidenced by a 4000ft debris trail which the police are treating as a crime scene. I wonder what the engine will be charged with. Link :gmc:

takestock · Posted 14 May 2026, 15:33 #337

Indigestion? :gmc:

Arctic · Posted 15 May 2026, 08:56 #338

Today and over the weekend the Freelander will get all it's checks ready for it's MOT on the 20th, fluids lights etc and the undertray removed which is easy on an FL2 six 13 bolts and it's off, checked all the discs and pads when i removed the wheel to clean and paint the inside of them black, it's a dry day here today in the land of the Wolves.

takestock · Posted 16 May 2026, 14:12 #339

Well the company trust (Eaga Trust) that I worked for over 10 yr ago just keeps giving, although the company was swallowed up years ago the trust continued as a stand alone item. There are quite a few perks of being a member of this exclusive club, free will writing £3000 towards retraining for those who wish it. £2000 towards members children's further education and many others.

As well as our one week per year holiday in one of the properties owned by the trust I also get chance of any cancellations that may happen on a first come first served basis. I was the first one to see a full 7 days in a luxury lodge at Cayton Bay appear on the web page on Wed for this week commencing yesterday, Jumped in and snaffled it up for a meagre admin cost, so here we are a surprise little get away :-)

WillyHeckaslike · Posted 17 May 2026, 09:51 #340

A new will is on my to-do list. The changes are such that the existing one, which was done by a solicitor, would be best voided and a complete rewrite undertaken. My view of the legal trade has since changed for the worse so I contacted a female in Newcastle advertising a will-writing service, the validating signatures on a will are essential for its acceptance so I asked if this was included in the service. I never heard back and consider that I had a lucky escape. I'm currently mulling over charities that offer a free will-writing service. I too was once a member of a trust, The National Trust, but I went off it after seeing and experiencing its antics with one of its local properties that I no longer visit. A respected and long-serving member of the staff was unceremoniously removed and replaced with a female wielding very sharp elbows. A parking meter soon appeared to be sure of extracting every penny possible out of what was now clearly regarded as visiting punters rather than long-standing supporters. :tea:

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