geoffbeaumont

What have you done to it?! Mine would manage 18.5mpg on a motorway run, on LPG.

I was meaning once you get into needing planning consent what might have been a very cheap, hassle free job can rapidly escalate. Getting planning consent isn't a major cost considered as part of a major extension - it hurts if you're only doing a very small job.

Provided it doesn't require planning permission - permitted development in the UK (i.e. right to build without formal planning consent) is subject to height limits especially near boundaries.

A little chillier than Taunton Deane where I was living at the time. Made it down to -3oC which matched the local record and caused a lot of comment locally

In Somerset yes - Northern Scotland not so much...

Don't know about anyone else, but Saab had that decades okay (minus the touch screen, obviously) - the button switched off all but essential dash lighting and disabled the gauges as well, so you normally had just the speedo lit. Anything that needed your attention would be reenabled and light up (so if your fuel was getting low the fuel gauge would switch on and light up). It was really nice for night driving.

Looks like the bed must be up high extending above the cab?

The wording just specifies "headlamp units", nothing about the beam - so looks like yes it would, even if the main beam is a completely separate housing.

Wow... That is a work of art, Si.

At least they're taking the first baby steps beyond screwing on body trim and adding a few stickers...we all started somewhere...

Bit more of a sleeper than most of them, which definitely appeals more. For that money I expect to find properly set up fuel injection under the bonnet, though, not a carb. Then again, at that price I'm definitely not the target market...

Well, my efforts this year have been limited to building a Lego New Defender with the kids in the last few days (birthday and Christmas present - when asked what they should get Dad for Christmas my daughter said "A Land Rover". Sadly she didn't manage a real one, but definitely got her on the Christmas list...). Still too busy fixing up the house, and the garage will need replacing before I think about saving up for anything to put in it. Maybe 2022... Personally, I can't see me ever running any hobby vehicle as my daily drive again - I enjoy the spannering at least as much as the driving (in fact, if I had a vehicle that didn't need anything more done to it I'd probably get bored of it), but I really don't miss lying under a Land Rover at 10pm in the rain struggling to get it back together so I could get to work the next day.

What sort of life has this thing had? We've had a couple of civics, and they were lovely cars to work on (though rarely in need of much). Everything easily accessible and never seized.

@Happyoldgitsorry to hear that Steve 😟 Keep your head up and enjoy what's good in your life.

This, of course, is one area where there's absolutely no question that the new Defender is a vast improvement on the old one.

Surprisingly hard to avoid internet connected devices these days. Bought some lights recently (for the house) - the one my son chose for his room is one of these daft IR remote controlled colour changing ones. Fine - his room. When I picked them up, that one can be controlled from a mobile app or an Alexa, etc..., which wasn't advertised or mentioned in the shop. Nope, not happening.

Classic will spark without any input from the ECU, so you'll get firing on starter fluid even if there's no power to the fuelling side. Which you won't have if all the relays are missing, so finding out replacing them is the first step. I can't remember if my '93 had an immobiliser from the factory (I had an aftermarket one fitted for insurance reasons), but if it has one and you no longer have the fob you'll need to find and bypass it. Again, that won't normally prevent sparking on a classic, only fuelling - though I'd have expected it to prevent starter motor operation too (can anyone confirm whether the factory immobiliser does?).

Our dentist (who is private - we didn't even attempt to register as NHS patients after moving last year) is managing to run normal checkups, so it can be done if the will is there.

Can't claim any particular expertise, but I think you're disabling emissions control equipment* which isn't allowed. However, as long as the MOT tester can't tell from a visual check and the vehicle still passes the required emissions standards nothing is going to happen. * Don't know what effect it has on more modern vehicles - blanking the EGR on my 300Tdi made the exhaust visibly less smokey...

Pretty much what they did... https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2020/11/06/six-wagons-and-a-dozer-free-4250t-bridge-from-the-mud/

Ah, it's a classified military secret is it? Mum's the word

Certainly no dig on my part - if you're happier with the vehicle post fitting it, then money well spent. Just saying that if it does work as advertised then the manufacturer should be in a position to publish evidence of that - if they aren't, then they've no way to be sure they are advertising honestly, and also if they did test properly it's quite likely they'd be able to improve the product!

From BritPart's point of view if you bought via a retailer and the retailer is failing to honour their warranty then it's purely a public relations matter. The only party breaking the law is the retailer. They'll have judged that the costs of intervening every time a retailer screws a customer over one of their products is greater than the value of any goodwill it generates (or if you prefer, the reputational damage from not intervening). Given that despite the bad press it's hard to avoid buying BritPart they're probably right.

The figures they have indicated more flow at the rear inlets (with number 3 having the most - significantly more than number 1 which was worst, I think near double). I can't work out why that would be, and with no methodology we've no way of judging whether the testing in any way replicated the flow within a running engine. I'd have thought near double the air going into some cylinders relative to others would imagine the engine so much it'd tear itself to bits, but I'm not an engineer. They'd be getting the same amount of fuel, so maybe you just get some cylinders lean, others rich and not that much difference in actual energy released?

Well, going by the videos @Daan posted, the main claim the manufacturers make is that it makes the engine smoother and more flexible by balancing the air flow between the cylinders - the guys in the videos quoted air flows they'd been given by the manufacturers for the standard manifold and the dual port one, which suggests there may have been some proper testing done (in which case the manufacturers should be able to publish it). I don't think they claim it does anything much to overall air flow*, just that each cylinder gets the same flow. I've no idea either whether they are correct about either the imbalance with the standard manifold or the balance they achieve with theirs - nor whether that has the claimed affect. @Chicken Drumstick and the guys in the video have both reported that subjectively they feel it works - personally I'd still like to see some objectively measured before and after data. I guess flow rates per cylinder would show whether the manifold works the way they claim - measuring vibration at the engine block might be the best way to establish if it's smoother? And I guess rolling road sessions should be able to show the driveability - broader torque curves? It'd also be interesting to see how the manifold interacts with various other modifications - is there a benefit on a well maintained stock engine? Is there more or less benefit when increased boost/fuel pressure/injector size/custom IC/etc. are added to the mix? * - in the video there's a comment that'll it'll increase overall air flow, but it doesn't sound like it's a claim from the manufacturer, just the guy holding it going, "Ooh, two pipes instead of one, that'll increase flow" - without thinking about whether there are other restrictions at play.