Since day one, Haynes has been all about helping you, the home mechanic, to carry out your own repairs on your vehicles. Here, we celebrate those who use their spare time and Haynes Manuals to repair and improve their pride and joy.
DIY champion: Mark Mallin
Vehicle: Land Rover 110
If ever a car was designed to deal with the rough and tumble of life, then the Land Rover 110 is that car.
It was designed as a line in the sand, both literally and figuratively, because not only did designer Maurice Wilks sketch the initial design using a stick to draw it out on an Anglesey beach, but he also had the idea of using the vehicle to reduce Britain’s dependence on post-war rationing.
Once Wilks had returned from the beach, more serious design work began. Yes, the angular finished vehicle looked like he’d misplaced his protractor and compass, and instead had only a set square to hand, but it would go on to become a design icon that would last until well into the next century.
Along the way, it gathered millions of fans, one of whom is Mark Mallin.
Land Rover parts
Mark was a big fan of the angular look, tough image and go-anywhere ability, so decided to invest in a 110 model. And so began a happy co-existence.
But the harsh Scottish climate is no respecter of reputations, and eventually the Land Rover began to show signs of wear, tear and rust. Remedial action was required.
With the dreaded annual MoT test in the offing, Mark began work, which included a bit of welding on the chassis and replacing a few suspension bushes. But in an archetypal example of one thing leading to another, things began to escalate. Greater issues began to surface. MoT day came and went. Mark took a deep breath, dug out the ‘serious business’ toolkit and his Haynes manual, and decided to strip the car, restore it and rebuild it.
Taking everything apart wasn’t the work of a moment, because as Mark says: “Most of the challenges involved rusty bolts either rounding off or snapping altogether.” Other bits decided to break instead of coming apart as they were intended to.
On top of all that, Mark was doing everything under a portable garage in his driveway, which meant that the blustery and rainy first seven months of the year tended to impede progress.
Still, Mark is used to a wee bit of rain given that he lives in south-west Scotland, so he ploughed on.
Land Rover 110 mods
The work so far has included replacing the 110's entire chassis, refurbishing both axles, fitting all-new suspension, and fitting a new fuel tank. Mark says he’s reached the stage of attaching bodywork to the chassis, plus parts of the roll cage, but the limited space outside his house is making things a bit more of a wrestling match than might be ideal.
Nevertheless, as US journalist Harry Golden once said: “The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work”, which is a sentiment Mark undoubtedly adheres to, so work continues.
The Land Rover still has a way to go before it’ll finally be ready for that dreaded MoT test, but we’ll keep in touch with Mark to see how things are going in a few months.
Has a Haynes manual helped you?
In the meantime, if Mark’s tale has inspired you to get out your toolkit and Haynes manual, and fix the ailing vehicle outside your house, please do let us know about it. We’re keen to hear tales of joy, frustration, determination and bleeding knuckles, and to tell everyone else about them.
Just send us a few details about yourself and your vehicle to yourrepairs@haynes.co.uk
Let us know about any issues you’ve encountered or any problems you foresee, plus a few pictures, and we’ll feature you on our website and social channels.
