House renovation complete and sale agreed I had just two weekends before what some people consider the biggest day of their life and I wanted the 7 to be there! DNF wasn’t being used as the wedding car (I could have possibly persuaded my future wife, but I’d have been pushing it), instead we had been kindly lent a 1973 V12 Jaguar E-Type by my future father-in-law’s best friend, however it was inconceivable to leave the 7 behind and my Best Man would be using it for the wedding day.

I took the forlorn looking car out of its corner in the barn and armed with the new hoses I’d bought from Caterham several months ago and a new thermostat, I set about getting to the bottom of the overheating problems or at least getting it back on the road.

After replacing all the major hoses and the thermostat I spent about an hour trying to bleed the cooling system. The front of the car was jacked up nearly 3 foot in the air to ensure the expansion tank was above the heater matrix and yet air was still backing up behind the thermostat.

Eventually I decided I’d had enough and would drive the twenty or so miles back to Manchester keeping a close eye on the temperature gauge. In the end everything seemed fine; I was just hoping it would make it the 200 miles down to Hertfordshire for the big day. One thing I find a bit awkward on the 7 is that you have to take the bonnet and the nose cone off to check the coolant level.

The Road Fund Licence was due at the end of August so I pulled the relevant paperwork out and noticed the MOT had expired. We were due at my in-laws two days before the wedding so I booked the car in at the local garage for its MOT, again hoping the car would pass without a hitch.

So on a late August evening, my best man and I set off in the rain, very cosy with the hood up and two large weekend bags. For long distances in the 7 an Ipod, preferably with sound reducing headphones, is your best friend, cutting out the worst of the noise as the poor K series spins at a constant 7k+ revs. Phil even managed to drop off to sleep.

After a stop on the M40 for fuel and a stretch, I decided to stretch DNF’s legs on a deserted couple of miles. I’m pretty sure the car has less drag with the roof up but there is a limit to how much air pressure a simple popper can take. Approaching 8,500 revs in top the front edge of the hood lifted and it was only Phil’s quick reactions grabbing it and a big lift of the throttle from me that saved the hood from taking off!

We slowed to about 50mph keeping a close eye on any following traffic, opened the passenger door and re-poppered the roof into position. The last 40 miles were taken a little more sedately.

Preparations for the wedding went swimmingly, getting the 7 through the MOT less so. A poor earth connection to the rear lights was causing the brake light to turn the rear lights off when the brakes were applied. This was fixed by the garage by simply reattaching the earth on a non-corroded part of the light fitting. Another issue was the rear fog light; it wasn’t coming on. The garage suspected it was the wiring between the switch and the light but I wasn’t convinced. With a bit of rudimentary testing we found the switch to be at fault. Seeing as I never use the fog light it’s hardly surprising the surfaces of the switch had oxidised enough to prevent it from working. A quick rub with the end of screwdriver and the contacts were working again. The car was retested and I was able to get to the post office in time for a new tax disc. All road legal again.

The big day went as planned, without a hiccup from the cars, and we all had a great time. The best man had the unenviable task of driving DNF back to Manchester the next day whilst we, the happy couple, flew off into the sunset.

Whilst I was away another friend borrowed the car to visit his parents across the Pennines in Sheffield taking in the infamous Snake Pass. I’m pretty sure he was having some fun until the cooling issue arouse again, forcing him to pull over and top up the system. His drive home was a little more sedate and undoubtedly frustrating. There’s nothing worse than breaking a friend’s car…

Relaxed and refreshed we arrived back to Manchester from our honeymoon and I promptly disconnected the heater from the cooling system, allowing for easier bleeding of the system. The problem hasn’t raised its (hot) head again. I’ll probably not reconnect the heater unless the winter is really cold or I find a satisfactory solution. Some internet investigation has uncovered a thermostat bypass pipe that Landrover fitted the to K Series engined Freelanders later in its production life which greatly improves the design of the cooling system, leading to less hot spots and a more gradual hot/cold cycle.

Back to real life after spending two weeks on an island in the Indian Ocean with no roads let alone cars, I was disappointed to find I had no time to really enjoy the 7 as we settled into married life and then promptly moved house!

This journal may read like I find the 7 really frustrating to own, but I don’t at all. Of course I would rather it ran perfectly all the time but some times having to work at something until it is right makes for a more rewarding experience than one that is not challenging at all.