Richardhill

Hello All I am Dick Hill, now living in Italy, at Montefortino in Marche, but before that i had my own repair business fr LRs in Wensleydale for over 18 years, having owned them for over 30 and starting on them when the S2A came out around 1964! When foot and mouth closed my customers I had to find something else and was offered work by an Agency to repair USA Army vehicles in Europe. The contracts only lasted 6 months, but you then got a phonecall on the last Friday saying if you wanted 6 more you could move to...... , in this way I saw a lot of Germany, 18 months in Italy,6 in Belgium and 6 in Holland! While recovering from a broken leg I got a call from a guy in Wellington,Som asking if I would help open a new LR garage, so more pastures new! Now I have retired and can get back to converting my LR (a 1964 Dormobile) to a 200Tdi,5speed box and uprated axles. I have forgotten where I was so have started again. My favourite of the USA was the HEMMT whose wheels were taller than me and I am 6ft5! I look forward to reading all your posts although I am really keen on the older big trucks. Dick.

Hello to you all My name is Richard Hill but 90 per cent of my freinds think its Dick! I started with LRs in 1964 and they seem to have followed me all my life. Having worked in various Birmingham car factories I moved on to ball and roller bearings and after 20 years of that took the chance to start my own LR repair service in Wensleydale. Probably the best 18 years of my life until foot and mouth disease shut all my customers down for 3 years! I moved to Italy but had to find new work, the chance of being a mechanic for the US Army in Europe came up and I took it. We had six month contracts and then a phone call on a Friday would say your contract is ended but you can start again on Monday if you move to xxxxx. I took all the moves and spent 8 years touring mainly Germany but also Holland and Italy. After one such move I ended in hospital after falling on ice, the good news I had only broken my pelvis in two places, the bad news I had a brain tumour the size of a lemon! Luckily the German Health Service took care of it and I was back at work in 3 months. My favourite vehicles were the HEMMTTs, but I still think LRs are far superior to Humvees. I am now retired but my neighbour has a LR so I dont get many days off. I am looking forward to reading the posts on the Scammells and Albions I remember from the 50s/60s, but will be happy to give advice on LRs but I am too young to have worked on Series1s. Hope to be around for a while. Dick

Hello to you all! As above I was known as Dick the Land Rover man in Wensleydale for 18 years. Most people wouldnt know my surname. Then the foot and mouth arrived so I had to find other work. Which turned out to be a temporary mechanic for the european section of a large army from a foreign country, who at least spoke english. It was interesting to move from LRs to Hemmts. Slight difference in size! 8 years of that and then 2 in UK opening a new LR workshop for someone else and it was time to retire. I also have a wide knowledge of ball and roller bearings from a previous life. Now I just fix a few LRs mainly with the steering on the wrong side! Looking forward to learning more about the mechanics of some different machines. Dick.