Vol. 8 Issue 1 Newsletter of The Southern Land Rover Society, Inc. FEB 2004

British Motorcar Day at Chateau Élan—may 8 Rover will be the featured marque

Celebrating 120 years of the rover company—100 years of fine autos

The Greenlaner

Warwoman Trail ride—Jan 24, 2004—Ron Ward Chris and Renee Schramm opened their home, well the kitchen, gas grill and fire pit, to the SOLAROS membership on Friday evening January 23rd. Hamburgers were expertly cooked to perfection and served along side a wide assortment of dips and chips. The weather was very cold and cloudy, the perfect night for a bon fire before the next day’s scheduled trail ride to the Tiger/War Woman trails. The crowd gathered around the fire until late in the evening in true SOLAROS fashion. Participating in the January trail ride were the Schramm’s and sons Bennet, Baylor and Harrison in their DII, Ron and Rick Ward in Ron’s 90, Tyrone Edwards and Scott Wold in their 90’s, and Robb Sundmaker and Jonathon Horrobin in

Photos by Richard Harding

SOLAROS DUES ARE NOW PAST DUE—WE NEED THEM IMMEDIATELY TO SEND THE CURRENT MEMBER LIST TO THE SFWDA

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Upcoming Land Rover Event Schedule FEB 21—Spring Lake cleanup—10:00 AM—4:00 PM Bring your axes, chain saws, shovels, mattocks Mar 17—Solaros meeting at Logan’s—Mansell Rd Mar 20—Talladega National Forest trail ride Mar 20—SFWDA 1st Quarter meeting April 21—Solaros Meeting at Logan’s April 23-25—Tellico campout and trail rides April 23-25 Uhwarrie safari May 8—British Motorcar Day at Chateau Elan May 8—9 campout at the Porter’s Dawsonville property May 9 Beginner trail ride—Amicalola

SOLAROS OFFICER ELECTION RESULTS: After a somewhat disorganized election process (sorry about that troops—we won’t let that happen again) the following officers have been elected for the 2004 term: President—Robb Sundmaker Vice President—Jonathon Horrobin Treasurer—Jack Walter Membership Chairman—Ron Ward Robb, Jonathon and Ron have some very energetic ideas on how to add some excitement into the club and with the help of our very able support committee from the SAE event including Jeffrey, David, Steve and Ross we expect some good things to happen this year. Garey Simpson Jr. is making some much appreciated updates to the website and we look forward to another fun year of Land Rover themed events.

ROVER to be featured marque at BMCD 2004 This years British Motorcar Day at Chateau Élan will celebrate the 120th anniversary of the Rover bicycle as well as the milestone of 100 years of producing automo-biles. The original Rover was a tricycle built in 1884 in Coven-try, England which was followed very shortly by the Rover Safety Bicycle—an astounding development in design in which the two bicycle wheels were the same size and the rear wheel was driven by a set of gears and a chain. Up until this remarkable innovation bicycles were the ‘penny-farthing” configuration with a large front wheel and a small rear wheel—extremely difficult to ride and very hazardous to the rider. The Rover Safety was the first “modern” bicycle which virtually all bicycles made today copy. The Rover Bicycle company was incorporated in 1896 and they moved into building motorcycles in 1903. The next year Rover introduced it’s first car ; an 8 HP open two seat roadster. Rover went on to develop and produce a line of fine luxury cars throughout the twenties and thir-ties and in the post WWII years introduced its most fa-mous and enduring product—The Land Rover—in 1948. Come help us celebrate the history of one of England’s most famous marques on May 8, 2004!

Club News In a unanimous decision the club members have awarded Randall Porter the honor of a free lifetime membership in SOLAROS. Randall has been one of the prime benefac-tors of the club since it’s very first semi-official outing at the first Southern Appalachian Expedition ten years ago. We all have benefited directly from his generous support of the club and he is a fine gentleman to boot. We will present him with a certificate to this effect this month. David and Amy Porter appreciated the nice gift that the club purchased as a thank you for hosting the SAE event at the Dawsonville property—it was a 1/18 scale model of Amy’s new silver four door Mercedes Gelandewagen. The detail on this 14” long model is amazing—it even has seat belts in the back seats. The club has scheduled a work day this Saturday at the Spring Lake property in Dawsonville which was used for part of the SAE event back in November. It is vitally im-portant that we have a good showing of workers to clean up the property to the owners satisfaction. He is a little disappointed with us for not finishing the work sooner. Bring axes, shovels, chainsaws and mattocks and lets get this task completed. Solaros has sent a donation of $5,000 to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for the annual charitable donation that we make with the proceeds of our SAE event.

THE GREENLANER Page 3

their D1’s to name a few. Several other members at-tended in Disco’s and a Classic. In all there were 7 or 8 trucks in line. We convoyed over to the War Woman trail head and quickly realized what used to be a relatively challeng-ing trail was now a level gravel road. Several turn-offs were explored so there was still a good bit of trail rid-ing. Each driver became comfortable executing perfect 8-point turnarounds as the trails seemed to dead end after the column of trucks were bumper to bumper.

We stopped for lunch at a clearing and enjoyed watch-ing Robb get cross-axled in a pretty substantial mud pit. After removing himself from the mud, new member Scott Wold in his built 90 (ex-Brian Elliott) lined up and took a run at it. Scott made it about a ¼ of the way in and sunk like a stone. More speed, we said. So after Robb strapped Scott out he lined up again. Scott revs up hits the pit with more momentum but it’s just not enough and he sinks again, but this time half way across. The crowd enjoyed the show for 30 minutes while eating lunch. Following the mud pit the trail twists and turns up-wards and includes a couple of V-ditches. Once again the going was slow and the trail abruptly stopped in the woods. The column does an “about face” and heads back out. At the water crossing Chris Schramm turns off the gravel and ventures up a wooded trail. The col-umn continues in and soon the trail gets tighter and tighter. Chatter on the FRS radios seemed to come mainly from Disco owners with roof racks at this point. That row of Hella’s really comes in handy on the trail doesn’t it?

This trail weaves for several hundred yards through dense a dense forest of mountain laurel’s and wisteria vines eventu-ally popping us out in a stream bed. Following the trail along the stream bed we encountered an abandoned moun-tain cabin a la Blair Witch. A super-size can of pork n’ beans is the only sign of human existence at this place. Some recent wood repair on the porch looked like it could have easily been the work of a band of monkeys. We snapped a few pictures and explored the clearing around the cabin for a moment or two and continued onward. At this point we should have returned out the way we came in. The trail continued to wind through muddy bogs until the trail ended. Apparently a trail club of sorts is working to clear the trail and we discovered the spot where they stopped! About Face! We turned around and those poor boys with Disco Racks suffered through the gauntlet again on the way out. We emerged from the dense woods around 3 pm and I headed back to the Schramm’s house to drop off my brother and collect some fuel. I was home by 7 pm. Some of the group, led by Robb, chose to drive from War Woman over to Tiger Road for a look see. Reports indicate Scott Wold ruptured a front brake line somewhere on the trail that required immediate attention. This group didn’t get out of the woods until well after dark. A big thank you to Chris and Renee for their hospitality! What a wonderfully fun way to spend an evening. Winter trail rides are often messy and mucky, however War Woman was relatively dry and the weather that day was just perfect. Hurry up and plan to attend our next group trail ride or schedule one of your own as the weather per-mits. Get out and enjoy your Rover!!

Warwoman Ride

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Website Logon Instructions By: Robb Sundmaker BULLETIN BOARD To make the website more interactive we have installed a bulle-tin board where members and non-members can post questions, suggestions, or just some good Land Rover talk. There are a total of six forums on the bulletin board with two of them being open to the public and four of them only available to members.

Public forums:

1. General Discussion 2. Technical Discussion

Private “Member only” forums:

1. General Discussion 2. Trail Discussion 3. Upcoming Events

4. Vendor Reviews

So far there are 54 registered participants and about 260 posts on the bulletin board! To register for the bulletin board:

1. Go to the SOLAROS home page and click on Bulletin Board. 2. Click Register on the top of the page and fill out the appropriate information. 3. Once registered email the webmaster, Garey Simpson, Jr., at webmaster@solaros.com and let him know you

are a dues-paying member of Solaros and he will confirm this with an officer and then give you access to the forums accessible only to members.

MEMBER AREA There is also a member’s only section of the website that lists members’ names, email addresses, phone numbers and either a picture of the member’s truck or a listing of the truck(s). This area is titled Member Area. To enter this area of the website you need a username and password. To obtain a username, email Garey at webmaster@solaros.com and tell him a password that you want to use. He will email you back your user name. When you click on MEMBER AREA on the top of the home page it will ask you for your user name and password. Enter your username and password and press Enter. Click on Member Directory on the left and a listing of the members will appear. Here is how the table looks:

Robb Sundmaker

770-889-4522 home 770-335-9969 cell Cumming, GA

Check the website often as there are other efforts we are making to improve the website. If you have any suggestions or comments on the website let us know.

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A few of Tyrone Edward’s shots from the Solaros SAE event in November

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several years later. Mike dragged it from one house to another through several moves (I believe it languished in his fathers back yard on two separate occasions) until he sold it to the Roeders who finally put it back together. This Land Rover is living, running proof that these are Not disposable cars.—Still missing that grille though !

“It’s never over with a Rover” This picture of a forlorn 1971 SIIA sitting in a field east of Hampton, Georgia was snapped back in about 1986. The little truck had been partially cannibalized to keep another Land Rover running but was still in a good enough condi-tion to be resurrected to a running example—even though parts of the bodywork resembled a bag of walnuts. Jack Walter dragged it home from here (much to the dismay of his wife) where it sat in his barn until Mike Pado bought it

LAND ROVER RANGE STORMER DEBUTS Land Rover unveiled it’s first ever Concept Car at the Detroit Auto Show in early January. Labeled the Range Stormer this metallic orange hot rod captured everyone's attention with it’s unique doors, glass roof and aggressive style. While some of the details won’t make it into pro-duction many of the styling clues are said to predict the final version of the new vehicle that is destined to com-pete with the BMW X5 and Porsche Cayenne but retain-ing the traditional Land Rover off road capabilities. The Range Stormer is built on the next generation Discovery chassis but features shorter overhangs and sportier chas-

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ENGLISH - SWEDISH SPARES 345 Branch Drive Alpharetta, GA 30004

Largest collection of recycled Saab, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover Parts in the Southeast. Just off Mcfarland Road 1 mile west of GA 400. Toll Free 1-800-241-1916 Local 770-475-2662 Fax 770-475-2663

Land Rovers and Parts For Sale 5 TSL SuperSwampers 9.5 x 32 x 15 - 4 are on Rims...all are in good shape with lots of life left. These tires sell for $125 /each - best price before tax and mounting - this set would sell for $650 new - without the RIMS! The entire set new would cost you $850 with rims. The rims will fit any Disco I or Series truck. The tires are a perfect size for either and can be mounted without trimming any sheet metal. In fact, these are the largest tires you can put under a Disco without trimming sheet metal or changing drive shaft angles. I'm lowering the price to $450 (BIG BARGAIN) - come put two on one side of your truck and check them out! Chris Schramm 770-262-1306. Dave Murrell also has five good used 235/85-16 Dunlop Radial Mud Rovers for sale for $200. 404-687-0324

Trans-It Transmissions Inc 162 Craemer Way

Alpharetta, GA 30004

Trans-It has recently purchased the new

AUTOLOGIC diagnostic equipment.

The purchase of this equipment enables us to offer our customers the capabilities of a

full service LAND ROVER shop.

We now have full electronics diagnostics capabilities in addition to our experienced

mechanical service.

Call us for an appointment 770-754-9231 Bud Donnelly

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THE GREENLANER

Southern Land Rover Society 1325 North Point Way Roswell, Ga 30075-4135

Inside This Issue: Election results Warwoman Ride Rover to be featured at BMCD 2004 Tyrone’s SAE pics Range Stormer Website Logon Info

MEMBERSHIP RATE SCHEDULE Annual membership $40/year Membership includes a subscription to The Greenlaner and a SOLAROS club decal for your Land Rover and membership in the Southern FWD Association. Additional decals are available for $3 each or 2/$5 Advertising rates for the Greenlaner: Business Card $45/year 1/4 Page $95/year 1/2 Page $200/year Full Page $395/year Ron Ward is the Membership Chairman for 2004. Please send all of your renewals and new membership enquir-ies to: Ron Ward 673 Peachtree Dr Columbus, GA 30041 E-mail: ronward@synovus.com Ross, Ron, Robb and Renee have put together a fantastic new member welcome packet—a very nice piece of work!

Solaros can be found on the net at: http//www.solaros.com

Please send all stories, ads, pictures and other submissions for the Greenlaner to Jack Walter at the following address: solaros1@att.net

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