Speed kills

The photo says it all.

Random photos sequel

And to complete the random photos ..

Here is a brill exped vehicle. We were very impressed with the security plating over the rear windows. Totally different to the usual grilles but very effective and clever. Interesting roof conversion too, adds height, don't know whether it lifts, guessing not. We did leave a contact email on the windscreen of this one as we thought it was such a good and practical job but never heard from them. Oh well.


Both rear and middle windows covered by plates. Not sure what the purpose of those holes above the headlamps is?


One rear window plated including a grille, and the middle one darkened out.


Saw this one on the N340, can't remember what it was - but looking back now, maybe a jeep?


Hello :)


Another exped vehicle outside the Bristol Hotel.


Closer look at the Hannibal roof tent.


Another new Landy in Gib. Very new.

Random photos

We haven't been entirely idle in our summer absence, so here for starters are some photos of random Land Rovers shot around Gib. Some are kitted out for expeditions with some interesting adaptations and good-looking gear.

First up, an exped vehicle.






Next an early county. Always fancied one of these when I was younger.






Another well kitted out exped Landy. Nice awning, good sand ladders, safety grilles for windows, to name but a few features.






OK, so not a Landy but a very tidy looking winch.






And to finish with, a couple of shots of the new Defender which has been gracing the windows of Capurros (the local LR dealer) over the summer.

Desguaces (scrapyards) in Andalucia

It's always good to waste time, I mean travel around usefully, looking for scrapyards in Andalucía.

So here, for anyone who wants to visit them, is a list of some of the ones we have visited in the search for Land Rover spares in the provincias of Málaga and Cadiz.

So, first up Málaga province.

A quick google and some queries on a very helpful Spanish forum - 4x4malaga revealed the main contenders to be at:

Valle Niza
Malaga Industrial Estate (Poligono Guadalhorce)
Estepona

There a couple of others at Cartama/Coin but we haven't visited those.

At Valle Niza you can find Discos and Freelanders but no Defenders/Series/Santanas.



'Possible en Málaga' we were told.

So, off to Málaga.

The industrial estate is well-signed and easily found. For anyone who doesn't know, it is basically east of the airport, off the ringroad/autovia. If you don't do Spanish look for Poligono Industrial, or sometimes PI with a factory type image.

There are loads of addreses for scrapyards on Carretera Azucarera- Guadalhorce. This is one of the main arterial roads of the estate, it runs south to north on the far west of it. Easy eh?

Well yes, if there hadn't been road works. I gazed at every single plot we passed on our side of the road and not a single one was a scrapyard. Got to the end of the estate and found ourselves at an oil refinery. Nope. Not what we wanted.

Argument ensued between navigator and pilot about inadequacy of navigator. Navigator insisted she was correct and threw maps, directions, addresses and anything near to hand at pilot.

Plan B. Ask someone. In fact Plan B in Spain should always be Plan A.

Navigator well sulky by now so refused to ask.

Reluctantly agreed to drop window so pilot could ask a worky wandering up.

'Where's the scrapyard?' or 'Donde esta el desguace?'

'Just down there on the right mate, where the trees are.' or 'Muy circa a la derecha amigo, donde estan los arboles.'

Or words to that effect.

So just for the record, the navigator was correct. Anyway, we parked up and decided to go through the scrapyards systematically from top to bottom. Actually the navigator decided that, as she was feeling very smug and assertive.

What neither of us thought of, was marking down which scrapyard had what vehicle, which, when there are 12 or so scrapyards all looking the same, is not good. At all. By the time we had got to the end we had seen four Land Rovers, and could only remember two of the places where we had seen them, and one of those only had a basket case.

Moving on swiftly down the coast to - Estepona. El Padron del Rio. Note - google has one listed on the poligono. It does not exist. The one at Estepona is best approached from the east, and is just after KM 160 on the N340, take a right when you see some bath store or something like that. No Land Rovers when we went though.

Cadiz province

Next up, scrapyard in Jimena. Hmm, what scrapyard in Jimena? Couldn't find it on the internet search so asked at our local garage in Gib. Found a mechanic who lived there. No scrapyard in Jimena - but - there was a good one at Arcos. Quick change of plan and shot off up to Arcos to Desguace San Miguel.









First one, incidentally, that we have found here that allegedly opens on Sat morning - or so it says on their website. I would advise ringing before turning up on Sabado. It was huge. And it did have four Land Rovers, in various states of dismantling. There was no vehicle newer than early 80s.

Arcos is very pretty though and so is the surrounding countryside. And the venta at the bottom of the road does tapas with excellent olives and drinks for a very fair price.



So:

Lesson numero uno. Take pen and paper and definitely write down the name of the scrapyard and what you have seen at that one. And what parts it has that are useful.

Lesson numero dos. People say that in Spanish scrapyards you can not take off your own bits. Oh yes you can, so take your tools so that you are prepared if you are allowed to do so. Ask nicely, tell them you have your llaves and all your herramientos. If you are really lucky, someone might help you - although they might ask for a tip.

Lesson numero tres. Ask to look at the vehicle you are interested in. In some places you can wander off if they like the look of you. In others you have to join a queue. So far, experience says, queuing to see a basket case isn't worth the time. Whatever, do not wait thinking people will ask you what you want. Join the queue if there is one, but otherwise, approach people and ask. You will always, in the end, need to speak to the yard supervisor. S/he is god and will tell you if they have the vehicle and, if you like the bits, they will give you a price.

Lesson numero cuatro. If you like what you have seen and you can afford it, accept the price you are given. We saw a most entertaining argument - in Arabic - between a Moroccan wanting a tyre cheaper than the given price, and the Moroccan scrapyard worker telling him he couldn't have it for any less. Just pay, we all have to live.

Lesson numero cinco. They shut between 2pm and 4pm. Arrive in time to do what you want. Or for them to do what you want - which will take even longer. Come back at 4pm or - come back next week.

Lesson numero seis. When someone tells you there is a scrapyard some miles away, do not assume it is correct unless you get exact details or co-ords. But on the other hand, if you are looking for a desguace, always ask a) someone who appears to live locally b) a road worker c) any garage mechanic d) at a petrol station e) a truck driver.

Lesson numero siete. Make sure you know all the relevant words. There are three words for scrapyards - to my knowledge - in Spanish. Desgauce, chatarra, and cementario de coches. You may need to try all those out before they understand your accent.

Suerte!!

List of scrapyards and addresses here:


Valle Niza

Auto Desguace Valle Niza
Ctra. Cádiz, Km.3, Vélez-Málaga Málaga
952115853


Malaga

Auto-Desguace Hnos. Gonzalez S.L.
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, 13-B 29004 Malaga
952173704

Autodesguace García, S.L.
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, nº 13 A 29004 Málaga
952171753

Autodesguace Inter S.L.
Carretera Azucarera-Intelhorce Nave 11 B 29004 Málaga
952173593

Auto Despiece del Automóvil Hermanos Martín
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, P.I. Guadalorce Málaga
952173875

Auto Desguace Hermanos Vargas
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, P.I. Guadalorce Málaga
952173452

Auto Desguace La Alberca
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, P.I. Guadalorce Málaga
952173160


Scrap Yard - Auto Desguace El Inglés
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce, Nave 7 Málaga
952241551

Auto Desguace Avilés
Ctra. Azucarera-Intelhorce Málaga
952173423


Estepona

Desguace Rio del Padrón
Ctra. Cádiz-Málaga, Km. 159 Estepona
952804096


Arcos de la Frontera

Ctra.Arcos-San José del Valle, Km 2
956 70 20 71 - 856 02 31 21 - 956 23 16 61

Thanks again to everyone on 4x4 Málaga for all their help in finding desguaces. Much appreciated.

MOT in Gib

This is an easy one.

£20 for the test. Valid for two years. Only catch? This is for Gib residents and people with Gib businesses, ie registered in Gibraltar, only.

So no, you can't bring your GB reg coche for an updated MOT when you have been living in Spain or anywhere else and out of the UK for longer than your MOT lasts. Nor can you buy some cheap Brit vehicle that has been kicking around on the Iberian peninsula for years and suddenly think you will get an MOT in Gib. Let me repeat, this is a non-starter.

So back to the beginning. If you have a Gib registered vehicle that you are legally entitled to drive - this is how to get your MOT roadworthy certificate renewed.

Go to the MOT station in Eastern Beach at the far end of Devil's Tower Road.

Take your log book, last MOT cert, and ID to be on the safe side.

Pay your money in advance and you will then get an appointment.

Note, you can not do this over the telephone. You have to turn up in person to make an appointment, with the papers.

If you already have a certificate you will probably get a helpful reminder that your MOT is due to run out, we did.

On the due date of the test, you turn up and you are allocated to Lane 1 or Lane 2 depending on your vehicle.

Sadly we failed, but not on anything mechanical.

We had a broken window that had been shattered one Friday night, some time ago, by someone.

After a while we sourced the glass and put it in. All ready to go again in a few weeks, and it went straight through the test. Good to go for another two years.

Total time to replace glass - three and a half hours.

1) take out the complete frame with the existing good piece of glass

2) split frame

3) insert new glass

4) replace grub screws that hold frame together

5) Haynes would say - complete in reverse order - in other words, lift the frame with complete glass and insert into panel. Note two pairs of hands are helpful at this point.

6) Pop rivet the frame into the panel. On the Santana, some of this also needed two pairs of hands because it was very fiddly.

7) Refit rubber seal.

And - off to the MOT station for new certificate.

Sunday afternoon out

Thanks to Sean for the ride out, Tuggy and Erica for their hospitality, and everyone else for making Sunday such an enjoyable afternoon.

A few photos ......












And good footage of the afternoon thanks to toyotaphil ...