Land Rovers in Switzerland (CH)

[DiscoDavis]

EDIT: great contacts made. Read on below

This month I am back in my go-to place for peace and quiet: Switzerland. While it is sad to leave the Landy at home for a while, it was time for the yearly pilgrimage..

I am keen to hook up with an owners club out here and see if I can't trade some stickers or check out what neat things they have parked in the driveway! Do any of you guys have connections with any of the clubs out here? I have seen a few local forums (mostly swiss-german side) and may try those too.

Please let me know if anyone can make introductions and/or help locate a few folks.

Thanks all

 

[Victory_Overland]

Safe travel. Bring me home a nice Swiss Land Rover sticker.......preferrably one that is stuck to a nice Defender 110 that I can have as well! :wings:

 

[Kgh]

BlackLandy is the big German forum. I do not speak it well enough to read it... Soem big clubs around.

Have been through Switzerland a number of times, not too many Defenders.

I think the winters eat the frames.

Enjoy.

 

[Victory_Overland]

BlackLandy is the big German forum. I do not speak it well enough to read it... Soem big clubs around.

Have been through Switzerland a number of times, not too many Defenders.

I think the winters eat the frames.

Enjoy.

I use google translate and a few other apps and it helps me navigate some sites. I think there is a new program extension for Mac that will automatically convert your webpages to language of choice as well.

When speaking with Peter from Discovery-Parts.de, i used it on my iPad for our email exchanges and it worked perfectly. Of course later I found out he speaks and write English very well so he probably thought my German was horrible. Hahaha

 

[DiscoDavis]

Thanks for the advice guys. Update: I have made small contact with a few chaps there. As for the language issue I find that the French side likes to stick to French (no problem for me) while the German side uses Swiss German anyway and that is impossible to understand so they all know English too!

As for the stickers I too am hoping for some souvenirs...

 

[DiscoDavis]

So jealous. I spent some time between Zurich, Lucerne, and the Lauterbrunnen Valley and there is no other place I've seen that can compare to the scenery there. I can't wait to get back someday. Enjoy your time away!

Don't blame you. I specifically come back each year just for the wonderful peace and quiet. Nothing quite beats the view from the house...

 

[DiscoDavis]

As for Rovers... update:

Made contact with the former president of the Land Rover Owners of Switzerland (LRoS) club, who happens to leave somewhat nearby! I spent several fantastic hours roaming around in the western woods and mountains in his 130 Nick is a fantastic source of LR stories and local info on rovers in the region. There are truly some gems hidden around here... see below.

He even had a cold beer waiting when I showed up!

Up roaming around

The pastures in the mountains get dark early

SIX MATCHING SERIES VEHICLES! SAME PAINT!

These I used to see in the small villages above Lake Neuchatel in the valley, and many are still tucked away behind the local garage or around the corner, waiting for winter. They still use series snowplows!

 

[DiscoDavis]

Coming next: A visit to the Swiss garage that organized SWISS selections for the Camel Trophy!

(I walked by this place for years and never saw the yellow sticker on the window... )

 

[DiscoDavis]

For you jeepers out there: spotted this gem in the hardware store parking lot. Marin, Neuchatel.

And this one in Cortaillod

First week in country: working D90 (Group E is a local electrical firm?)

Another white 90, a puma

Now to the main part: Visiting the center responsible for Swiss Selections for Camel Trophy

Stay tuned...

 

[DiscoDavis]

Really liked this 130. What's crazy for Americans is that in just this city there's at least 6 that I know of (seen in person), all super cool.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Meet Marc.

He owns the garage in town that services pretty much all the Land Rovers this side of the country. And he's probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet. He also happens to have participated in and managed selections with his dad for the Camel Trophy events in the 80s and 90s... for all of Switzerland! Thanks to Nick, the old LRoS president, who called ahead to introduce me, Marc knew exactly who I was, though he was surprised I spoke more than English!

One of Marc's photos from Swiss Selections 1990s

Here's Marc and Bill Burke! Hangs up in his garage with tons of photos from his adventures and the adventures of his customers.

One of the neatest things about the garage here is that it is mostly defenders, and I would posit the majority of his customers either use their vehicles for work, or for some pretty crazy travels. Over the course of a few days I saw defenders who had done stints in Africa, Iceland, Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Stans. Everyone was super friendly and happily pointed out dings and scratches from their wild times.

Due to local EU and CH laws, the fitment of protection items, and any other modifications is controlled by the state. Marc produces his own roof racks, bull bars, sliders, and underbody plates for customers so that their vehicles are well-equipped AND legal. Anything you see in the photos was likely done by him, and VERY well-done. I kept asking him what company made this stuff before he admitted it was his work! He's been fabricating this stuff for well over two decades. He will also build anything you want, to order. Picture full-on Camel Trophy work, fuel tanks, water tanks, electrical equipment, snorkels, drawers, shelves, sleeping setups, even custom bodywork (you'll see...). The Swiss adore perfection.

Marc himself did several trips to North Africa back in the 90s, with a D90, trailer, and his wife/son. This thing has been to all the deserts in North Africa, and several rallyes in Europe since.

Marc also happens to know a few of you folks in Texas, and he's got a sticker on the garage door and his 90. He was also a SCARR sponsor this year! Nothing but good things to say about you Texans

 

[DiscoDavis]

Now for some handy info

Confirmation the D3 Naka window vents fit on a RRC . You can spot the Range in the background of the previous photo.

STAY TUNED!

 

[ColoDisco]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing! I love the overalls. As a fellow LR tech would love to meet him someday.

 

[99Discovery]

Man, seeing that Willy's CJ2 over there has to be as rare as us seeing a D110 in the wild!

I'd love to have two of those series beasts....one to restore and another for parts!

 

[DiscoDavis]

Very cool! Thanks for sharing! I love the overalls. As a fellow LR tech would love to meet him someday.

Thanks! I too was eyeing them... he seems to have several pairs for work. I would like to find some.
If you ever find yourself on that side of the world, I'll point you his way. He'd love to meet others.