Well… Winston failed inspection in rather spectacular fashion. Remember the movie, “Catch Me If You Can”? In the words of Frank Abagnale, Jr, “the reason the Yankees always win is because everyone is always looking at the pinstripes.” Well, in the heat of chasing down the tin worm, I got lost in the pinstripes and missed some stuff.
The rap sheet, as it stands now:
- Play in front wheel bearings
- Corroded front and rear brake lines
- Leaking steering box (I knew about this one, but apparently, the state of NH won’t permit leaking steering gear for safety reasons… not sure how ANY Land Rover gets on the road in this state…)
- Corroded fuel tank cradle
The inspector also found another blown out body mount, (this one looks to be mainly a split rubber bushing under the passenger front wheel well), found two more rust holes (though only in the floor, not the frame.)
Oh, and then he noted that on top of all that, the passenger headlight is not aligned vertically.
So now we confront the decision… to dig in and start the overhaul, in a dirt driveway with winter coming on, in hopes of keeping it going… or pack it in and take the L.
Disheartening and a bit embarrassing to say the least! We shall see.