Author Topic: Robur, S2A FC  (Read 1773 times)

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Offline mistericeman

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #15 on: November 30, 2014, 02:16:20 pm »
It really is quite epically fantastic ........ drll drll

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2014, 12:22:52 pm »
A few bits of info I collected since buying this truck in June:

Robur was delivered as a Mid Grey chassis cab with deluxe truck cab trim to the K. Rosenbauer company in Linz, Austria. Not sure whether the delivery was direct, but I heard on the German Blacklandy forum that the trucks were bought from local LR dealerships by the fire brigades and then sent to Rosenbauer for conversion.

Rosenbauer then added the steel rear body over the rear part of the chassis - there is in fact still the original LR badge on the rear crossmember, completely obscured by the "skirt" of the rear body. The crank-driven Rosenbauer water pump at the front was also fitted there, as well as a number of special instrument panels in the cab. Steps giving easier access to the various compartments in the rear were also added there, although I am not sure whether all of them are original - especially the rear step seems to be a later addition as other Rosenbauer trucks don't seem to have it.

It was then registered in October 1966 as a Rosenbauer fire engine - I have the original type approval including a photo of an earlier SIIA FC with the same rear body, but the earlier head lamp arrangement. Since 1966 till 1998 it served with the Volunteer Fire Brigade (Freiwillige Feuerwehr) at St. Johann in Tirol. Here's a few photos of it in service - date unknown, but looking at the colours and the damage to door skins and compartment floor I would say that the photos were taken when it was sold off to private hands in 1999:









Between 1999 and 2014 its history is somewhat obscure - it apparently changed hands at least once and got as far as Munich before going back to Austria a few years ago.

The new owner, who went to Munich to buy an SIIA Marshalls of Cambridge ambulance had to buy Robur as the German owner was desperate for space and wanted to bundle both together. The plan was to restore the FC as well some day, but health got in the way and the new Austrian owner eventually decided to sell all his Land-Rovers as well.

I found the ad on AutoScout24 and found the offer irresistible - in early June we went for a short trip to Austria to see it in person as the distance was not too bad. Despite several years of standing outside, the chassis was in a remarkably fit condition. The steel body and several bent panels were not so appealing, but after we were offered an even better price than expected, we agreed to buy it.

The fuel pump was bust but will be reconditioned, the brakes and clutch, reportedly already once reconditioned in a not too distant past, had to be done again, probably a sign of the times (and parts quality). Engine ran and the carb was allegedly also reconditioned, but another attempt at this job will have to be done soon as the engine refuses to start when warm. I had the bent panels straightened, welded and painted, so even if there are at least two or three different shades of red present, the truck is much more presentable now.

The front compartment just behind the truck cab has two quite comfy benches for a total of 6 persons, plus there are three spacious compartments, each with a two-piece door, at the rear of the body - two on the sides and one at the rear (which originally contained another portable Rosenbauer water pump). Since September, these compartments have been wirebrushed and painted, with the two-piece door re-skinned on the inside so that we can carry our kit at the rear. Since last month, we also cleaned the rust off the roof, cleaned the railings, painted the roof and fitted new wood which protected the roof from ladders being shoved front to rear and back. When bought, only the screws that held the wood down remained, most of the wood rotted away completely.

Looking forward to having all the various bits and bobs I bought fitted. Especially once the ignition and the carb get the attention needed, it could improve the so far rather appaling consumption. We haven't been too precise in measuring it, but looking at the mileage driven since August and the amount of fuel we dumped into its almost bottomless petrol tank (a special stainless steel job with about 90 litres capacity), it looks like it's about double the consumption of Jekyll's 3.5-litre V8. OK, Robur does carry double the weight and shares wheel size with Mississipi paddle steamers, but still...

It's mega-fun to drive, though >:D
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #17 on: March 02, 2015, 07:09:44 pm »
Finally some sun today!









1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #18 on: March 02, 2015, 09:20:05 pm »
 lkebtn lkebtn lkebtn
Great pics, nice truck

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #19 on: June 14, 2015, 09:04:56 pm »
A few pics from yesterday's 120th anniversary of the village voluntary fire brigade - once again, for those not plagued by FB:

Robur next to the Drozdov fire brigade's Tatra 148:


A 19th century fire pump showed the crowd how fires were put out back then - my feeling was that it was as fast, if not faster, than the more modern stuff that was shown:


A fish-eye lens shot of one side of the display:


...and another of the whole lower side:


From the cab:


The only two things there that were older than Robur - the 19th century fire pump and a 1942 fire pump trailer:


Old things:
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #20 on: October 06, 2015, 10:23:25 am »
Pics from the past weekend - drove for a bit along the nice Autumnal country roads close to our home. I drove Robur, Hana drove Bernie, plus we were joined by two friends, driving another ex-Swiss Army SIIA 88" and an ex-Belgian Army Minerva, part restored/part running restoration:













On the weekend of 9th-11th October we are driving up to Görlitz in former GDR for a weekend at a museum of light offroad vehicles. They have an airportable there as well, so despite the overwhelming majority of exhibits related to Soviet and East German Army (NVA) legacy, we won't be entirely irrelevant there.

Hope the weather is at least as good as it was this past weekend, loved the low sun and cool air.
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #21 on: October 16, 2015, 09:54:00 am »
Last Friday, on 9th October, we boarded Robur with all our kit, two kids and our two JRT’s and departed to the north – we were initially joined only by Jarda, a friend with an S3 88” Station Wagon. He would normally drive up in his Minerva, but the freezing temperatures forecasted for that weekend discouraged him from using a vehicle with no door tops and a loosely fitting tilt.

Deciding to avoid the notoriously crowded streets of Beroun, we headed north, using narrow, winding country roads through Autumnal forests – some lovely views, even if the sunny forecast for the weekend obviously didn’t apply for Friday afternoon. It was a cold, drizzly afternoon.

After some traffic hiccups at Lány and a fill-up at Smečno, we headed for Mělník, where Petr, another member of our 4-vehicle posse was supposed to meet us up. In the event he got stuck at work and called us up he would be leaving later, so we passed Mělník and headed up towards Česká Lípa, Nový Bor and Rumburk, where Pavel, the last member of our small column, was already waiting.

At Česká Lípa Robur starting to cough as if we run out of petrol (a known, recurring issue on some of our longer journeys) and eventually stopped – as usual it had to be at the least convenient spot, a narrow road in the dark, with no hard shoulder and lots of traffic. After a quarter of an hour Robur had to be towed away by Jarda’s truck as staying at that place was becoming dangerous.

After removing the engine cover from the cab and poking at various parts of the engine bay (petrol was proved to be in abundance in the line just before the carb, spark from the coil was also observed), Robur started as if nothing had happened. We’ve had this throughout our Austrian trip, we attributed it to the hot days and hot-running engine, but apparently this could hardly be the case during this weekend’s trip.

We headed towards Rumburk, picked up Pavel in the complete darkness of the mountain passes, filled up petrol just before crossing into Germany (lower prices at our side of the border) and drove up to Reichwalde without any further mishaps.


Filling up close to Rumburk, with Robur next to Jarda's motor

A forest close to Reichwalde (close to Boxberg in the former GDR) is the location for 1. Technische Schauanlage für Kübel- und Geländewagen e.V., a small privately owned, non-profit museum of military staff cars and light offroad cars.
The museum, a small restaurant and about 10 guest rooms with shared shower/toilet facilities, is housed in buildings formerly used by GDR’s police and the state prosecutor’s office for training of their staff. A short offroad track and some outbuildings housing the owner’s future projects are also at the premises.

We unpacked our kit, parked the trucks a bit further away from the buildings and went to have a few beers with the pair of very hospitable owners, Jana & Tilo, who kept us entertained for the rest of the evening. We figured out a time table of leaving the dogs out as their horse dog Clyde didn't like other male dogs and went to sleep late that evening, dead tired.


Our trucks lined up for the Saturday's busy programme

Saturday, 10th October 2015, was set to be a busy day. After breakfast we went to see the museum's display, which included about 20 trucks of Nazi Germany, GDR, Soviet, British and American manufacture. Some interesting vehicles were on display, including some that I have never seen. Especially the unique GDR staff cars were interesting, as only about 4000 were ever built, with relatively few surviving.


An East German P3 truck, with a 2407cc inline 6-cylinder engine - more info on this type at the museum's website here



Two burnt-out Series Land-Rovers were also on display (acquired and fully restored by their previous owner, whose garage was then torched by some sick bastard)


The remains of a WWII Tempo staff car - a two-engined beast with both axles steered. Never accepted by the Wehrmacht due to two-stroke engines, but bought and used in limited numbers by Sweden, Japan and Indonesia. Yes, the same Tempo brand that built their own slightly perverted version of Series I's in the 1950's.


A proper gem - a Raupenschlepper Ost, the remains of a tracked artillery tractor built and used by the Germans on the Eastern Front during WWII. An air-cooled V8, a manually-operated differential lock and other goodies inside - more info courtesy of Wikipedia.

We then moved onto the museum's own offroad track. Nothing overly complicated or difficult, but it did manage to send my heart racing as I am not too experienced crossing ditches just for the fun of it. I loved the track and was eventually gutted that we didn't have more time to do a few more rounds as I had to admit it was fun whstle

First round behind us - let's do this again!



We were then met by our kind guide, Jens Günther and his wife Hanka, who answered my request via the German LR forum, Blacklandy.de, and came to our rescue to guide us around the area. Jens modified his S3 88", but his car battery switch was a bit of an overkill:

His S3 is powered by an electric motor, with large battery packs underneath driver's and passenger's seats as well as underneath the rear tub. The vehicle has a range of about 200 kilometres and takes about 16 hours to fully recharge. Jens is using this as his daily motor, so apparently it does work as it should.

We left Reichwalde for a greenlaning trip, saw a collection of old wooden houses at Erlichthof (close to Rietschen) and ended our tour at Görlitz, Jens's home town, where he organized secure parking for our motors and a hike through the old town Görlitz, where we also had dinner.

The old houses at Erlichthof - great home-made cakes drll

Our secure parking at Görlitz, a courtyard close to Jens's workshop


The old town of Görlitz.

We drove back through the pitch-black night to Reichwalde that evening, had a few beers again with Tilo and slept well.

On Sunday we packed our kit, paid the bill and said our goodbyes to our hosts as well as Pavel, who took a different route down. We drove south to Löbau, where we wanted to see the only cast-iron observation tower in Europe, the King Friedrich August Tower on the Löbauer Berg. We scaled more than a hundred steps, but despite the chilly morning air, the views were well-worth the effort.

We had to make a very short diversion, but a photo like this had to be made. After all, he was our biggest fan!








At the tower.

After seeing the tower and gulping down hot coffee at the very nice restaurant there, we moved on. We filled up after crossing back to CZ, had a short lunch break in a sunny spot just off the main road, and arrived home tired but happy. Robur had another of his "moments" just before arriving home, but a bit of patience cured it again...


Our lunch break close to the Czech-German border

A great trip we did just over 500 kilometres and enjoyed the lovely countryside, especially on the way back, when everything was coloured-up by the sharp Autumn sunshine. I think we'll be coming back trid

PS: Sorry for the hi-res pics, tired of FB messing up the image URL's, so with time all the linked pics on the forums get lost...
« Last Edit: October 16, 2015, 09:58:42 am by 1960SeriesII »
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline Puddlejumper

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #22 on: October 16, 2015, 12:41:29 pm »
Some great pics there mate, looks like you had a fantastic time.............I'm not jealous in the least brf
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Offline Big-chris

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #23 on: October 16, 2015, 02:39:11 pm »
 lkebtn
BIG is best, small is ok, but BIG is best...

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #24 on: November 02, 2015, 07:44:57 am »
Couldn't resist, the sun, the colours...







1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #25 on: April 11, 2016, 07:40:08 am »
Three photos from this weekend - finally winter seems to be officially over fnky





1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #26 on: January 11, 2018, 06:56:40 pm »
Here are a few up-to-date photos:







Unfortunately the white stuff didn't last very long, but at least I had the chance to drive in it for a bit.
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"

Offline Gossamer

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #27 on: January 12, 2018, 10:23:57 am »
 lkebtn lkebtn
All the right bits, but not necessarily in the right order.

Offline 1960SeriesII

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Re: Robur, S2A FC
« Reply #28 on: May 02, 2018, 11:27:22 am »
Just a bit of an update: over a year ago we decided to sell Robur - it is prohibitively thirsty, limiting our range during summer holidays, plus I was worried that the 6-cylinder engine might be difficult to source parts for if anything serious happens to it.

It's been well over a year without any significant interest, but now there are two potential buyers, one from Canada and one from the USA. It seems Robur will soon move across the pond. It would be interesting to see my truck in photos from the US, I always fancied doing a coast-to-coast trip across Canada in a leafer. Maybe it's a sign.
« Last Edit: May 02, 2018, 11:29:35 am by 1960SeriesII »
1954 SI 86" V8 "Jekyll"
1960 SII 88" "Bernie"
1966 SIIA FC "Robur"