It is often said that you should never meet your hero’s. I can see why. Over anticipation could lead to disappointment. Well in my case it really didn’t. However, let’s go back to the start. As a young child I would read all the off-road magazines I could, I was and still am, fascinated by Land Rovers and other off-road vehicles. During this time there was one vehicle that I loved, one vehicle that inspired me more than any other. A Range Rover that was called TEW due to its number plate. This Range Rover was bought and turned into a Land Rover bodied hybrid for a series of magazine articles. The idea of a 100” coil sprung Land Rover appealed to me back then and ever since I have always wanted one of my own.

TEW was passed between editors of the magazines until it ended up in the hands of renowned Land Rover photographer and author Nick Dimbleby. After many years of use and abuse, Nick decided to have TEW rebuilt. The chassis was repaired and the original 3.5 litre V8 petrol engine and 4 speed gearbox were replaced by a brand new crate 3.9 litre Efi V8 and 5 speed box. You could see TEW often as Nick attended various Land Rover shows, and I got a chance to finally see TEW in the metal.

Roll on several years later, when for another magazine title, Emrys Kirby started to build his own 100” Hybrid. Emrys is a bit of an expert on the early coil sprung Land Rovers and had always fancied building a replica of the original 100” prototypes Land Rover developed in 1977. After acquiring a suitable Range Rover, the work began and after months of hard work a modified Series 3 Stage 1 body was grafted to the chassis. In keeping with his own brief, the chassis was not to be welded or modified in any way, so all the work done could be reversed. The body and rear cross member are all held in place using the original body mounts and carefully manufactured brackets. Whilst he was building Eeyore (as it became known due to its grey hue) I would read the magazine articles, rekindling my love of 100” Hybrid Land Rovers. A chance meeting with Emrys at a Land Rover show gave me the chance to register my interest in buying it, and he agreed that if he sold it I would get first refusal.

Quite a while later the phone beeped, it was Emrys. Was I still interested in buying Eeyore. Well, we all know where bears poo now don’t we. Eeyore wasn’t road legal and needed work to be done to finish it, but I was up for the task and several months later Eeyore had an MOT and was road ready! I finally had my own 100”.

Emrys was keen to see and drive Eeyore, now done, and had arranged to do a photoshoot with Nick on Eeyore. I guess you can all see where this tale is going. It was during this shoot that I made the acquaintance of Nick, and we agreed that it would be a good idea to do another photoshoot along side TEW. The plot was hatched.

Come the spring, the Land Rover show at Gaydon was being held and Emrys had asked if I would display Eeyore on his club stand. It was a great weekend and come Sunday who should appear but Nick – driving TEW! It was finally going to happen. In the afternoon when the show was getting quiet, we drove both hybrids to a quiet spot and started to do our photoshoot.

When the vehicles needed moving to a different pose, Nick said “go and move it the keys are in it”. Wow, I was finally going to drive TEW! A vehicle I had loved for over 40 years! Now the first thing you notice about TEW is that it is Left hand drive. You climb in and it feels at home, just like a Defender. The engine purred and the gear changes smooth. It was great fun indeed. When I looked back, Nick had jumped into Eeyore and was following me! After getting the vehicles in position, Nick commented that Eeyore reminded him of how TEW drove before the rebuild.

Photo’s taken, we said our goodbyes and I packed up my tent to head home, knowing this was a great weekend. Meet your hero’s? I can recommend it.