oscar03 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Works for me so have attached it here cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 19, 2011 Author Share Posted September 19, 2011 cheers mate, thats perfect, looks like they have stuck the series steering arm onto the disco bottom kingpin. that seems its the answer to the steering problem, just a word of advice, before ordering the swivel bearings the bottom ones may be custom made to convert from imperial to metric, or the bottom pin could be lathed down to size so you may have no problems, the spacer doesent look as thick as i thought, i made it out to be 25mm? could be wrong. you however have made my day even better than it already was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 cheers mate, thats perfect, looks like they have stuck the series steering arm onto the disco bottom kingpin. that seems its the answer to the steering problem, just a word of advice, before ordering the swivel bearings the bottom ones may be custom made to convert from imperial to metric, or the bottom pin could be lathed down to size so you may have no problems, the spacer doesent look as thick as i thought, i made it out to be 25mm? could be wrong. you however have made my day even better than it already was. no worries. im only planning on replacing the swivel seal so everything else will go back as it is. their is no play in any of it. although, you may have noticed that the bottom steering arm is only held in by the 2 original studs. when its in pieces, im going to see if i can drill and tap two more holes in the swivel housing so that bottom arm will be held in by 4 bolts. not sure if this will actually work but worth a go. i have a few spare RRC swivel housings lying around for if it all goes wrong!! i will have to measure the spacer for you, i dont know what size it is. although, seeing as the halfshafts were cut and rewelded, you could make the spacer larger, increasing the steering lock a bit. if i had the time, and equipment (dont have a lathe), id make the spacer slightly larger, and the halfshafts slightly longer. this wouldnt be to gain extra lock as a primary reason (although it could be done), as its not so bad as it is, but the calipers dent the shockers when on lock, so id only be trying to cure this. also, when i change the swivel seal i will try to sort the brakes. they work very well, just a lot of travel on the pedal. this is because the calipers when used on the RRC were used in a dual system, although now they are only piped up for a single system, but still activating all 4 pistons. it takes quite a lot of fluid to full the calipers enough to make the brakes come on, hence the travel on the pedal. so i plan to split the copper pipe with a T piece (as used on the rear axle) to try to get more fluid in there, meaning 2x flexis on the front. i will report back if that works out also. im wanting to get this all done at half term instead of xmas, ready for the winter (i wanted to do it in the summer!). another reason for this is that its sprung a leak between where the spacer attaches to the axle casing also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 20, 2011 Author Share Posted September 20, 2011 could you put rear calipers on (i think they were all single line) could be wrong yes ill also try to drill and tap for the steering arm, i have spare hubs x2 haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 Wow this is great stuff, I had only got as far as getting parts for this but I had not heard of anyone else going down this route until now and now it seems it is a done deal. This excellent news and really good to have a photo of a conversion. In order to resolve the arm problem I was considering reversing the hubs and using a custom set of rods, this would also move the discs to the front which would solve the shock fouling. Marc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 yeah, it seems, after all my hard work, calculations and ideas, someone comes along with exactly what im doing and now all my work isnt needed, i just need to copy haha. Wow this is great stuff, I had only got as far as getting parts for this but I had not heard of anyone else going down this route until now and now it seems it is a done deal. This excellent news and really good to have a photo of a conversion. In order to resolve the arm problem I was considering reversing the hubs and using a custom set of rods, this would also move the discs to the front which would solve the shock fouling. Marc. reversing the hubs would give an incorrect castor, and the steering would be horrendous, if not dangerous. the shock fouling issue could be got round with slightly larger spacers, and dependong on how much it fouls by, aftermarket shocks (procomps are what im thinking) seem to be of a thinner diameter and might be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 also, if you reversed the hubs, you would have no where to attach the drop arm off the idler... i was thinking pro comps as well. they would be great when its sitting at normal ride height, but when compressed they may still get damaged. you are correct about the rear calipers being single line, but i dont know if the mounting bolts are in the correct place to make them work. as i say, im going to try splitting the single line feed in two and see if that helps. this is of course unless someone tells me the rear calipers will fit straight on and work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 21, 2011 Author Share Posted September 21, 2011 ill have a look, maybe not tomorrow, but i have a disco front and rear axle so i could try swapping over and seeing.. being rear calipers, they may even have a smaller profile on the back ,thus reducing the shock problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 i dont think the rear calipers will fit the front on second thoughts. i think the discs are different sizes, so the front discs will foul the rear calipers, even if they fit the mounting bolts. they would cure the shock problem though... also, i thought i had better say this to everyone who is concidering this conversion: im in no way responsible for anything that happens to you while making, testing, using etc etc this conversion on their own LR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 What about swapping the spring plates over and putting the dampers inside the springs, is there room? I'd go and look but the wifes got the 88 and the 109's in the dark! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 What about swapping the spring plates over and putting the dampers inside the springs, is there room? I'd go and look but the wifes got the 88 and the 109's in the dark! thats not a bad idea if it would fit (i dont have mine here to look at). im not sure how they would cope with the twist of the spring when under compression though because of being on the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 hmm, it might mean less stability round corners, and with most series' this wouldnt be too much of a problem because they tend not to be cornered hard, in an event that someone may want to corner a series 3 hard, it may end up in the truck not doing what you want it to do.. possibly resulting in a crash, now there may be hardly any difference at all and i could be chating codswallop the propshaft may get in the way, and the turbo on mine, i could be wrong with that also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 removing the piston guard may help enough anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 as im off to uni on the 28th and my land rover is a bent rolling chassis in the workshop atm out of interest, what is your insurance like with a 200TDI? you cant be much older than me given you are going back to uni. im 17, my 2a is standard apart from the brakes and its £940. i want to fit a 300tdi to mine before going to uni next year as i dont think the 2.25d will cope with the motorway all that well! cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 my advice, regardless of the insurance costs, do the conversion. especially if doing motorway miles, and soundproof it well, mine, having RRC diffs and an overdrive, cruised at 75, obviously i used to cruise at 50 at first, and added a bit of soundproofing here and there. you will become obsessed with taking the whole dash out for a teensy rattle that you can hardly hear, Brian could have been the only "Propper" series (i.e. leaf sprirings 4spd box leafer axles etc) that you could hold a civilised conversation in and listen to the sat nav at 70+... i also did a lot of towing with him, and especially in hilly derbyshire you need a TDI really to make progress with a trialer on loaded to the cars limits. he was great for towing. took my disco shell to leek scrapyard over the moors up hill and down dale, turned a reasonable MPG then and didnt mither on the hills. my insurance when i was 17 (2.25P) was 1000 with the NFU, the TDI added over twice the power, for a £200 increase in insurance costs, which as i was doing over 150-200 miles per week, was easily paid for in fuel savings, and so was the overdrive. 35MPG plus on motorways. not bad off them either, around 30. if i thrashed it it did 18ishmpg, but went like stink. i will be doing a 50 mile trip in my 2.25D temporary replacement to uni, and im not looking forward to it in terms of 20mph up hills etc but im not travelling every week like i used to in Brian. Brian was lovely to drive long distiance with all my modifications, have a look at my thread to see what i did to make driving nicer. also feel free to PM me for advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 P.S im 18, and my insurance this year is £2000, no convictions or incidents to claim at the time of renewal and it just shot up £800 on its own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 P.S im 18, and my insurance this year is £2000, no convictions or incidents to claim at the time of renewal and it just shot up £800 on its own. so its gone up from what it was as soon as you passed - thats just stupid. whats the £2000 insurance for, another series? ive got series diffs and an overdrive with my 2.25d (235 or 7.50 tyres). its fine on the flat, it will do 55-60 once youve given it a change and space to get up to speed. although, as you say, hills are the problem, its amazing how fast it slows down! i have 235 trac edges that i use as the road set of tyres, its happier with those on as they give less resistance than the 7.50's which are the off road set (firestone SAT's on the front, SAG's on the back). i was doing 30 miles a day to and from my summer job, and that got a bit annoying with the 2.25d - their were a few big hills! i say that, but its never let me down in the 1500 miles ive driven it so far, including abuse at RTV trials. will have to look into the 300tdi, as i feel it may work out cheaper to insure the series with the 300, than a defender. also, the series should return a better mpg than the defender i should think. also, i know everything is in good order on the series and shoudnt give to many problems, unlike an unknown defender. i look forward to seeing what mods you did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 just had a look at a few of the threads. great work with Brian, and im sure he will be even better after the rebuild. also, i picked up you are starting at Harper. i was at their open day yesterday - it was great! if all goes to plan, im pretty sure it will be my first choice! i live down in Kent, so its quite a way (hence thinking about the 300tdi, soundproofing etc), but if i do end up their, it will either be in a LR or nothing! also, ive found my 2.25d feels like a completely different engine after it has been used. when i first got it, it hadnt been used for 4 years, so i spent my summer getting it MOTed. was a bit rubbish to drive straight after. although, it got steady better over time. also, thrashing it round an RTV course at fairly high rpm seems to help clean out the injectors!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 so its gone up from what it was as soon as you passed - thats just stupid. whats the £2000 insurance for, another series? ive got series diffs and an overdrive with my 2.25d (235 or 7.50 tyres). its fine on the flat, it will do 55-60 once youve given it a change and space to get up to speed. although, as you say, hills are the problem, its amazing how fast it slows down! i have 235 trac edges that i use as the road set of tyres, its happier with those on as they give less resistance than the 7.50's which are the off road set (firestone SAT's on the front, SAG's on the back). i was doing 30 miles a day to and from my summer job, and that got a bit annoying with the 2.25d - their were a few big hills! i say that, but its never let me down in the 1500 miles ive driven it so far, including abuse at RTV trials. will have to look into the 300tdi, as i feel it may work out cheaper to insure the series with the 300, than a defender. also, the series should return a better mpg than the defender i should think. also, i know everything is in good order on the series and shoudnt give to many problems, unlike an unknown defender. i look forward to seeing what mods you did. the £2000 was for the same vehicle, no more modifications claimed, it just went up, i suspect because of no one being able to cope with winter weather and all the resultant crashes. NFU told me when i claimed the conversion that they would simply insure it as a 200TDI 90 as it is basically the same. just had a look at a few of the threads. great work with Brian, and im sure he will be even better after the rebuild. also, i picked up you are starting at Harper. i was at their open day yesterday - it was great! if all goes to plan, im pretty sure it will be my first choice! i live down in Kent, so its quite a way (hence thinking about the 300tdi, soundproofing etc), but if i do end up their, it will either be in a LR or nothing! also, ive found my 2.25d feels like a completely different engine after it has been used. when i first got it, it hadnt been used for 4 years, so i spent my summer getting it MOTed. was a bit rubbish to drive straight after. although, it got steady better over time. also, thrashing it round an RTV course at fairly high rpm seems to help clean out the injectors!! im sure it will go a bit better once ive used it a bit, i am also yet to put one of our trailers behind it (other than in the yard) and im sure this will clear out the injectors abit. i might stick some redex in it too. just cant wait to get rebuilding brian, and return to driving around in a "hog" again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 the £2000 was for the same vehicle, no more modifications claimed, it just went up, i suspect because of no one being able to cope with winter weather and all the resultant crashes. NFU told me when i claimed the conversion that they would simply insure it as a 200TDI 90 as it is basically the same. the NFU would even consider giving me a quote on my 2a! another reason i want to change the 2.25d for the 300tdi for safety reasons if that makes sense. with the 200/300tdi, as im sure you know, if you need to, you can put your foot down and get out the way of something a bit sharpish. with the 2.25d, you cant and with almost everything else on the road being quicker, being able to keep up is useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted September 22, 2011 Author Share Posted September 22, 2011 you can more than get away sharpish daft as it sounds, if you have servo brakes your brakes actually get better because the vaccuum pump is stronger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 all this talk of students driving to uni....I dont know......I was licensed but I never had a vehicle...I walked everywhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty_wingnut Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 I had two bicycles at Uni, I thought I was well off!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 im 17 with an original 2A and cant find a quote under £3500!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar03 Posted September 25, 2011 Share Posted September 25, 2011 im 17 with an original 2A and cant find a quote under £3500!!!!!!!!! this is who im insured with: http://www.needtoinsure.co.uk/car.html give them a call and ask. my policy is basically a classic car policy for under 21's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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