Retroanaconda

Shameful lack of progress as usual due to various other things draining my time, but I have been thinking about roof design and have settled on the below. Not to scale! On my previous workshop I used individual trusses constructed out of 47x100 timber with 22x100 cross-ties and a central vertical piece also. It did not have a ridge beam at all, and the structure of the roof was supported on 47x47 purlins which ran lengthwise. Rigidity was provided by the OSB deck which was screwed to the top and the roofing material was mounted onto this also. This worked very well however it made insulating it a bit of a pain and while it never gave me a single problem it wasn’t as strong as it could be. This time I am going with a more simple construction which will also be a lot stronger. The ridge beam will be of 225x47 and if I can source it, in a single (c. 6.6m) length. It will be semi-structural in that I hope to have a bay in the middle of the building where I can omit the cross-tie on two of the rafter pairs. At 600 rafter centres this will give me a c. 1.8m wide access to loft storage either side. As the roof pitch is going to be steeper (c. 35 degrees - lots of rain!) I will have lots of storage above the rafter ties, even with them raised to around 1/3 the depth of the roof. With 2.5 metres to the eaves and then likely another 750mm to the underside of these ties I will not be short of headroom in the building! With closer spaced and thicker rafters I will be able to fit 100mm thick insulation panels in between, flush with the lower space allowing 50mm above for eaves-to-ridge ventilation. I can then deck the roof with OSB and fit my sheeting on top. The interior of the walls will be boarded out to retain their insulation and if I’m feeling particularly flush I can do the roof too, but I don’t think it will be required. The underside of the rafter ties will be where I mount my lighting as per the previous building.

I am planning to be in Somerset briefly in early September and then heading back up the road, would be happy to transport if logistics suit.

It gets a smear of bearing grease whenever I’ve done mine, along with everything else that moves in there.

Just standard Wipac Quadoptic 7” units is what you are looking for. Dirt cheap from almost anywhere.

Should be able to pick up a useable 90 for about £5k I’d have thought. It won’t be perfect but should at least be roadworthy. Not sure about appreciation in value but you are unlikely to lose on it at the moment should you decide to sell. A Tdi or Td5 90 should give you around 25-30 mpg or thereabouts.

Just a bog standard M20 nylon nut. I think 2.5mm is the normal coarse thread pitch.

Each iteration improved the levels of noise and vibration through more refined engines, better transmission mountings, more sound proofing and (with the Tdci) higher gearing. All of that can be achieved on any Defender at a cost, however to a certain extent buying a later one does mean a lot of it is already done. The Tdci models are better for long-distance driving for sure as they have the higher ratio transfer box (hence the super-low 1st in the main gearbox to compensate) but this can be added to earlier ones at the cost of low-end grunt for towing. Or fit an overdrive which gives you the best of both worlds at a significant cost. It will never be anything like even a low-end modern car, the basic design is simply too crude, but you can improve on the factory levels of noise quite well. My rattly old 200Tdi 90 has a raft of soundproofing and comfort measures which I have applied over the years and it's very good compared to many Defenders - or so people who I have in it tell me. It's still a world away from a normal car though. Your last sentence hints at the crux of it - Land Rover basically did develop a modern version of the Defender with greatly improved comfort and only a very minor reduction in off-road ability. They called it the Discovery!

Suppose 440nm is enough for anything on a Land Rover! Shame it’s only the biggest one that’s brushless. Thanks - apologies for the diversion.

What model is your bigger Makita impact wrench? I’ve just bought their impact driver for doing screws and it’s damn impressive. Was thinking about getting an impact wrench from the same range (I’ve already got a cordless drill too which uses the same batteries & charger) and the DTW1002Z seems like a good price.

As I’m a relative ‘yoof’ I’ve only been driving 13 years. So haven’t had many, but mainly Land Rovers. 2006 - 2008 2000 Vauxhall Corsa Good little first car but slow 2008 - 2010 2000 Ford Focus Upgraded when my brother got the Corsa 2008 - present 1992 Land Rover Defender 90 First Land Rover and daily driver since purchase 2010 - 2016 1972 Land Rover 88” Rebuilt in 2010 then eventually sold due to lack of use 2010 - present 1993 Land Rover Defender 110 CSW Long term rebuild project 2012 - 2012 1989 Land Rover Defender 110 CSW Short-term summer car, swapped the engine and sold it on 2016 - 2016 2004 Ford Focus Temporary arrangement while the 90 got a new chassis

You just put them on with the white lettering on the inside.

Is the vehicle a factory 200Tdi or a conversion? I would test your new thermostat in a pan of water with a thermometer. That way you can see what temperature it opens at.

Speedos are designed to over-read slightly - usually by 5-10%. They are not allowed to under-read, so manufacturers err on the side of caution. It also gives you a useful safety margin of a few mph for those speed traps

With the blue one and 235/85R16 it will over-read by around 5% which is just about ideal. Transfer box ratio makes no difference. Only diff ratio and tyre size.

I’ve never found anything to suggest any appreciable difference between supermarket fuel and branded fuel either. And the data I have for the last 170k/6yrs backs this up: