Rover Faux Pas (What Grinds Ike’s Gears), Tip Top Tool Tip: Tires, and Emme Hall’s Mint 400 Miata

On this week’s episode, Ike and Steve are breaking down some Land Rover news, and talking about some relevant adjacent stories. (1:22) BYD is making a “Budget Defender”, and the guys talk about what that means. Will it come to the US? We’re not convinced. (5:13) Emme Hall won the Gambler event at the Mint 400 in her off-road Miata, Buddy. Has that lit the fire under Steve and Abigail’s tail feathers to start on their off-road Miata project? (8:00) Steve gives us yet another status update on the Freelander, and while we think the transmission is fixed, there’s a sound in the rear axle that’s got us worried… (10:46) Ike sent some new old stock brake drums to the CKD boys in Australia, and bought a suitcase in which to send them with a friend as a carry on. We bet that was a fun flight. (12:23) Ike updates us on the Prince Phillip TDCI 110 Defender that recently went to auction and sold for £123,000. They then talk about the real costs involved in bringing a vehicle over to the US that’s not legal to import, and figure that £123k is probably a steal at the end of the day. (15:14) We revisit an old segment we like to call “Rover Faux Pas”, or, “What Grinds Ike’s Gears”. This is where Ike airs some of his pet peeves when it comes to classic Rovers, and some of these are huge red flags you’ll want to look for when buying an old Land Rover.  This includes an ill-fitting soft top (tuck in your flaps!), and (18:40) unsecured wiring harnesses, and (20:52) using the wrong fasteners, be it unnecessarily long rivets, and the overuse of Philips head screws. (23:48) Rounding out this week’s episode, Steve and Ike have a Tip Top Tool Tip on Tire Repair Tools and kits, and everyone needs to have some of these tools on board their truck. We break down sidewall plugs (“gummy pipe cleaners”) and how they work, the mushroom style plugs, screw in stud repair kits. Steve talks when to patch and when to put on the spare, and even goes into detail on repairs that require taking the tire off the wheel and some things to know. (34:16) Then the guys wrap up the show, and mention that you can watch all of our episodes on YouTube if you prefer to watch that way. Links: BYD Budget Defender  https://insideevs.com/news/656716/byd-budget-g-wagon-rival/