Category: Chicago Fire

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It was a tie (Post #253) 3/21/2011

Major League Soccer called me to Frisco, Texas this weekend. I only get to attend one game a year and this is the match that is easiest. I decided as I almost always do, to take the Range Rover. This game is always fun and being the closest game to Norman since the demise of the Saturn Cup it is easy to attend. I have also setup the tailgate party for the Fire fans coming from Chicago and other parts for three of the last four years. That alone required the carrying capacity of the Big White Bus.

Stopping for a tinkle just inside Texas.

Looking North back into Oklahoma.

The overhaul this winter was very noticeable. First because things I didn’t finish as in, we didn’t have a radio, but secondly that the BWB ran like a top. There were a few problems as there always are driving a Land Rover. The first is the exhaust noises. The baffles are loose in the muffler and at certain idles they make a hell of a racket. In addition there is an exhaust bracket broken and that causes a metallic noise.

There are also some other annoying things starting with gas mileage. This will need to be addressed. We got about 11mpg on the highway. That is terrible, even for a flying brick shaped Range Rover. When we landed at Larry’s home we both noticed a distinct gas smell coming from the exhaust. It is easy to surmise that I am running too rich. This is something I will need to research to get fixed as I am not throwing any codes and the motor spins like a top.

I also heard the heater fan blower motor making a terrible squeak. My co-pilot Larry diagnosed it just after we crossed back in to Oklahoma. He said, “it sounds like something spinning.” I immediately confirmed that it was blower motor by shutting down the fresh air intake. This stopped the air from blowing passed the fan cages which was spinning the motor causing the squeak. Well done Larry.

I also heard a few suspension sounds that need to be investigated. Three of the four doors have a quirk about unlatching. The passenger front requires a double pull of the latch. The two driver’s side doors require you to slightly lean on the door before pulling. I also found a door window that didn’t open. I think this is from the disassembled nature of the door while I was addressing the door latch replacement project. Another reference to the incompleteness of the overhaul.

We set up the tailgate and enjoyed meeting new friends.

My friend Mike provided a cookie for dessert.

We served sandwiches and they were generally well received. We have attempted to serve brats and dogs one year and the weather has yet to comply. The wind was gusting 25mph that day and it was again on Saturday, so sandwiches made that an easy decision.

The match was hectic. The FC Dallas team “sold out” the stadium for their Opening Day. They definitely sold all the seats in our section confining us to just two rows. There were several open areas in the seats but they called it a sell out. The fans next to us were pretty rowdy. We normally draw a mean look or two but these people were out right annoying. We sang nearly the entire game they did their best to drown us out.

The best cheer was as the little kids and their moms were filing off the field during the pre-game festivities.

“Bourbon Soaked Soccer Moms”

This elicited a fun response from one of the more provocatively dressed soccer moms. Nothing is sacred in soccer and taking a shot at the parents of children is an easy target. Taking shots at the opposing teams goalie is almost expected during warm ups. As we yelled about their loss in the MLS championship due to an own goal we got the gestures we expected. Also taunting the goalie for his hair is an easy target.

Chants like Clairol Golden Platinum #6 and such are easy to come up with.

The urinals were entertaining. Its the little details like this that make going to a soccer match fun.

Banners make for an entertaining fan experience. Some serious creativity goes into making each one. The Simpson’s and Family Guy characters often play a part. The “I shot JR” banner was also well received and made it on to the live broadcast of the game.

Our security detail, yes, we had a dedicated security staff, were a lot of fun and were very cool. They took good care of us and kept the more rowdy fans away as we cheered for the Chicago Fire in their draw with FC Dallas.

We stayed the night and made the drive home Sunday morning. This way we had the wind pushing us and our fuel consumption was much better. At times we were running 92 mph. This Range Rover runs amazingly well at that speed. I know I am consuming fuel at an imagined rate of a pound per hour at that speed. I wish I had a tighter suspension and better roads to test her on. I’m sure I could reach the top speed rating (110mph) of the Firestone Destination A/T I have on her.

In just two weeks I head south again this time for the yearly Ft. Washita Rendezvous. I will again take pics and enjoy the drive.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Tina, tools and tailgating (Post #252) 3/18/2011

If you are anything like me and my Twitter buddy Tina ( @tinastullracing ) you know how important your tools are to your success as a Land Rover shade tree mechanic. I would echo exactly everything she says about having the right tool and you don’t “know it” until you “do it”. I’ve used Craftsman tools and know that the warranty is pretty unbeatable.

Everyone has their own opinion about tools and quality. I have a pretty good collection of crappy hand me downs and stuff I inherited from my dad. I’ve taken 45 year old Craftsman sockets down to Sears have them replaced. I’ve used screwdrivers as levers and chisels and when they fail I take them back and get another one. That’s pretty unbeatable. Get good stuff and you won’t be disappointed later.

Check out Tina’s video below.

Hopefully we won’t need any tools this weekend as I take the Range Rover down to Frisco, Texas to watch the mighty Chicago Fire beat FC Dallas in an MLS matchup on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park. I’ll be packing the tailgate gear down for a tailgate pre-match party. So if you are inclined come by and look for us in the parking lot around 2:00pm we’ll be having a good time. Stop by for a beer.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Fire, lots and lots of fire (Post #251) 3/1/2011

Fire is this week’s theme. Friday, March 11th, Oklahoma experienced one of the scariest weather events we have. Tornadoes are pretty scary but even worse is prairie fire.

We experienced 32 grass fires across the state on Friday. The governor issued a state of emergency and Firefighters were out all over the state putting out fires that damaged and destroyed homes and barns and businesses. The fires in McClain county were started most likely by an arsonist. The origins were road side two miles apart. Some of the others were caused by careless smokers tossing cigarettes out of their cars.

The conditions were ripe for wild fires. 40-50mph wind gusts. Drought conditions. Low humidity. Idiot pyromaniacs and cigarette smokers. We see this every year here in Oklahoma. Why can’t people remember from one year to the next not to throw their cigarettes out of their cars? Its ignorance.

I took the Range Rover over to Newcastle to see if everything was fine at the family homestead and pick up mom’s mail. They had closed highway 9 on Friday due to smoke. It was open Saturday.

I expected to see more burned areas but the fire fighters were amazing and saved many people’s homes. I drove out to check on my friends that live just a mile and a half from the fires. All was well there at their homes. I had a nice chat and on my way out there was still a few fires burning. You can see a structure fire here in this picture and ahead of me on the other side of the highway a few hot spots were still smoldering in the woods there.

This week will also culminate in the first match of the Brimstone Cup, the annual competition between the Chicago Fire and FC Dallas. It is the closest MLS match to my home every year and it is sweeter that my Chicago Fire play in it. The match between the two teams has a long history which you can read about here.

I will be packing the tailgating gear into the Range Rover for the trip to Frisco, Texas. Tailgating with my friends who come down from Chicago is a treat.

I got a whopping 11 mpg out of the last tank of fuel. And with petrol now 3.29$(US) a gallon that hurts the pocket book. I’m not sure where to start to fix that problem. I’ve replaced the O2 sensors and have good spark. I’m guessing it is in the slipping of the transmission. I will have to get that sorted out this summer if I can get the money together.

So thankfully the fires are under control with a bit of weather change today (Sunday). The wind died down today and it is cloudy.

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Not much going on (Post #250) 3/1/2011

LR2 Owner with a sense of adventure PRA4SNO

I just thought I’d stop in and say not much is going on. I’ve been able to drive the Range Rover a couple of times. I took my nephew out to my mother’s house and we knocked around the property. I was able to incorporate the Range Rover for use as a ladder. I stepped up on the tailgate to get to a higher limb.

We also used her to haul the storm door back from Lowe’s. With the door hanging out the back I recalled that was the one thing I didn’t like about my Discovery 2. The fact that I COULDN’T hang over sized loads out the back. We rolled down the windows and had the sunroof open to abate the exhaust coming in from the back. I’m wondering if there is a way to pipe the exhaust out the side that might minimalize the exhaust coming back into the vehicle when using the back to haul over sized stuff.

At one point Mrs. OkieRover asked me if we could, “just strap the door on top.” The first reason no was all my straps were in the garage at the house. I could have bought more at Lowe’s but I didn’t. I told her there was a glass sunroof up there and that, “I don’t have a roof rack.” She gave her customary, “whatever” comment. Which I take to mean, “I know you will buy one when you want one.” WELL…I want one.

I need to start on the door locks. I’m not sure how to approach the issue, but it needs to be addressed.

I will also be taking the Range Rover on my soccer strip in a few weeks. I’ve tried to have some type of tailgate for the Chicago Fire vs FC Dallas MLS match. This is the closest MLS game to my home location. Saturn used to sponsor a pre-season soccer match at OU’s soccer facility. But with the car dealers taking it on the chin and the demise of Saturn, it might be a cold day in hell before MLS is back in our metro.

We had a chance at a USL team in Edmond, but it never happened. The expansion didn’t include the OKC metro area. I’m still holding out for a merger that would somehow make MLS and USL one giant all powerful league that elevates the level of play and gives America a leg up on the world competition. Ah….a soccer fan can dream.

Parking lot shoveler takes a break

The Firestone Destination AT tires worked out great in the snow. I was never disappointed in their stickiness on the ice and their grip in the snow. The tires worked great. They are quiet on the highway too. So far so good.

They really liked resting on the Classic
In the first picture you can see a local Land Rover LR2 owner with a pretty funny personalized license plate.
PRA4SNO

I’m guessing he was praying for it because it was starting during the evening commute the night I took this picture. The next day it hit in earnest and we missed two days of work with a blizzard. I’ve seen him a couple of other times on the way home, but never when I’m in my Range Rover.

I had another encounter during the recent snow. No doubt you have heard of the “Rover Wave”. My quote at the bottom of that page happened again during the blizzards. While sitting in front of Bass Pro store in Bricktown waiting for the signal light to change, a woman driving a Tambora Flame Orange LR2 gave me a big toothy smile as she turned into the parking lot. I sensed with that smile, that she knew that the only vehicle to drive in this crappy weather was a Land Rover.

Thanks for reading and Happy Rovering.

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Land Rovers and Music (Post #95) 6/19/2008


So I’m firing up Pandora.com and what do I see in the advert section? LAND ROVER! That made for a pretty nice start to my day. Sadly though it was an advert for LR2 and LR3. Neither of which I own nor will anytime soon. I’m not going to rant about diesel motors again…I’ll just let it go.

This weekend is going to be warm and I’m going to change out the plug wires and the plugs. I’m also going to swap the transaxle fluid again. It looked burned a bit when I checked it the other day. I’ve been getting the classic high pitched hum from the transaxle and decided I might see if another fluid swap will help with that.

I still have to find the time to do the bushing job on the Classic. I really don’t want to wait until fall when it’s cooler. I’ll probably just see if JagGuy will let me use his lift again. Some day (after I win the lottery) I’m going to get me a lift.

For Father’s Day my dear sweet wife let me road trip it to Frisco, Texas, aka The Surface of the Sun (108F after the game ended at 5pmCDT), for a Chicago Fire (my team) and FC Dallas soccer match. It was a great time. I got to meet a bunch of Fire fans I’ve been messaging on boards with and got to meet the Head Coach. Which is a funny story. The guy on the back row, far right is the Coach’s brother-in-law, and said we needed to pick up the tickets at a hotel. So we stroll into the hotel and Denis Hamlett stands up and introduces himself and hands us the tickets. SO AWESOME! So where’s the photo of you and the coach you might ask? Well my buddy and I had no idea who we were getting the tickets from so we were totally surprised and left the camera in the car. Well we’ll get pictures next time.

Thanks for reading and happy rovering.

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March 15th, 2007 (Post #74)

March 15th, 2007


Happiness is a warm tush.
British Pacific offered a deal I could not pass up just a couple of weeks ago. It was the
facia panel and the buttons to activate the heated seats option on 1999-2004 Discovery II’s. $36 bucks. It seems in the infinite wisdom of dealer options, that all the seats delivered with Discoverys included the heat panels to heat the seats.

And only if you ordered the heated seats option did they install the buttons to activate them. Brilliant. SO with about 5 minutes of time and the switches I upgraded my seats to heat. Easily the quickest upgrade with the highest payoff at the cheapest price, I’ve ever done.

Brake lines.
I had a feeling I hadn’t gotten all the brake lines off the Range Rover and I was right. There are two more rubber lines up underneath near the rear axle. All this time I was wondering how they did that. I knew there had to be flexible lines in the system somewhere, I just hadn’t seen them. SO I’ve still got to get those replaced before finishing the brake project on the restoration. It was dirty under there and the lines are slightly different than the front ones so getting them off wasn’t any fun. I’ll get them off on Sunday. Saturday my good friend and I are going to the Chicago Fire soccer game in Norman. I guess they are exhibitioning and we are lucky enough to see MLS here. The Fire is his favorite team as well. So double bonus. The triple bonus comes as it is St. Patrick’s day and O’Connell’s Irish Pub is just up the road from the stadium.

Oklahoma Edition
How could OkieRover not have an Oklahoma Edition badge on his Land Rovers? Well that is a rhetorical question of course. I had a good friend of mine, who works at a dealership, get me these badges. I have one for each of my Landies. They are purposely placed on various Ford Trucks and possibly Minivans that have certain features such as engine size, and some other stuff. But after I saw them on the TV I knew I had to have some for my Land Rovers. A big thanks goes out to him for tracking these down. They were apparently hard to come by and he had to pull a string or two to get them.

I owe you big time, thanks “Frankenstein”.

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