Shortly thereafter Dennis told me that he was about to come into possession of a 712M that had been sitting on his lot for a number of years and that pretty much the previous owner owed money on it and had pretty much abandoned it. In a telephone conversation Dennis described the physical shape it was in and what all it would take and cost to get it running right again. I told him I was very very interested and he set about to sort it all out. In case anyone is wondering the total cost and restoration was about 1/2 the cost of a 712 listed with the dealers on the internet.
Long story short, Dennis finally became the owner and the restoration (for lack of a better word) was finished, so off we went to recover it.
There has been a lot of negative innuendo posted here about LinDen Engineering. All I can say is that from day one everything the man told me was straight forward and true.
I was there for several days getting some work done on my 710 and getting some "edumacation" about proper maintenance on Pinzgauers.
While I was there I saw at least 9 other Pinzgauers that were there for one reason or another. Included in that group was the Red Bull 712
and a 712 that belongs to the Army Special Forces guys out of Fort Carson, Colorado.
There were also several Land Rovers, several Ural motorcycles, a couple of Mogs and at least one semi tractor with a bad apu stopped by. Not the type of activity one would expect to see in a shop that does shoddy workmanship Or makes a practice out of cheating people.
Before anyone thinks that this is a paid advertisement let me assure you that my bill for work on the 710 was over a grand so there were no discounts there or anything like that.
I drove the 712 off the lot. Near Castle Rock, Co. on I-25 south, the 712 back fired several times. It was loud enough for my wife, who was following in my pickup trailering the 710 to think the trailer had a problem. We stopped and checked it out and there was nothing wrong with the trailer, but we did notice oil all over the undercarriage on the 712 down the right side. I called Dennis and explained what we had heard and seen. It was already after 6:00 PM, so we decided that I would just continue to Colorado Springs and take the 712 back the next day.
The next day, Dennis discovered that the plug in the transmission on the top inboard side had blown or shaken out and that the backfires had blown a couple of holes in the muffler. He had his crew weld the holes in the muffler and put a new plug in the transmission and I was gone again before noon. No charge.
Since I've had it home I've put over 200 miles on it without a hitch. It actually feels smoother and seems quieter than my 710.
So, yes in a way this a plug for Dennis and LinDen Engineering, but it is a deserved plug.
Here's some more pictures of the 712 at home. By the way, it has a working heater in it. You can see the fuel tank for it above the jerry can holder.
Andy
