Retroanaconda

Euro 2 standard is the minimum for the French stickers, and even then you’ll only get a class 5 which is pretty much banned anywhere there is an emissions zone. Sadly it means much routing faff when trying to get through parts of France in an older vehicle.

Doesn’t the column slide within the mounts a bit?

You need to look harder.

They still make the Disco Sport - it’s a very popular model and acts as the entry point to the range same as the freelander used to.

Sadly once you have involved the DVLA it’s very hard to un-involve them. The best approach is to tell them as little as possible, as their ability to misunderstand things and create a world of pain is legendary.

Simple thing to check - are all your induction hoses okay and not collapsing internally?

They are the air vents for the heater.

Yes, I have several of those which I use for phones/tablets etc. but it seems untidy and a waste of a nice device to wire it in behind the dash or something and then leave it hidden away. I will if I need to, but I’m keen to see if anyone has any other solutions. I’m aware that cheap and nasty power adaptors present a risk, but they are all made in China anyway - hence looking for others experience.

Okay, I upped my Google game and found this. Seems suitable? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ytesky-Inventor-Converter-Transformer-Adapter/

I am using an old phone as a basic tracker in the car, and I want to tuck away a permanent power source for it to keep it topped up. I can easily wire up a cigarette lighter socket and then use a USB adaptor but it strikes me as an untidy way of doing it for a permanent and hidden installation. Is there anything available off the shelf that I can more simply provide with a permanent 12v supply from the vehicle battery and which has a USB to plug the phone into? Doesn’t need to be very powerful as it’ll just be keeping it topped up, and I don’t want it draining the battery too much.

Was out all day in a colleagues new Grenadier yesterday, his is a fairly well-specced diesel station wagon. The much-awaited software update obviously hasn’t reached him yet as the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree all day even though everything was working. However the door open and seatbelt warning bongs were going off randomly for most of the day - quite annoying! The above notwithstanding it is a really nice place to be, and I think it’s going to be a great vehicle once the niggles are sorted. There is certainly a lot to like and so with my interest buoyed once more, I looked at the configurator again but it seems there has been a big price hike across all models as they launched the pickup version. The fairly basic vehicle I specified after my test drive (diesel utility wagon with smooth and rough packs, plus a towbar) has gone up from £63k to £70k. For me it’s sadly now just too expensive, and I am going to rebuild my 110 with a modern engine instead. It will never be as good as a Grenadier, and obviously won’t be new, but I can probably get a vehicle that is 75%+ as good for around 25% of the cost.

Standard 8.8 grade bolts will be fine.

Shims to adjust the rake of the bulkhead as required. I made mine out of HDPE plastic sheet rather than sandwiching some aluminium between two pieces of steel (bad idea).

Hi Ed. I’d suggest starting a new topic for your project, and people will be very happy to weigh in with opinion on different engines. There are a few options along the line of what you are thinking. The Mercedes OM606 is a popular one.

Just fit them dry. There’s no reason to use silicone - and many reasons not to! Some fresh paint is a good idea though.

I know the calipers got wider so they could fit thicker pads, but I’m not sure if the discs changed too. If you post up a photo of the discs/calipers someone may be able to identify them.

The Salisbury was discontinued around 2004/2005 so it will date from anywhere between 1999 when the Td5 came in (and ABS with it) and then.

They’ll be too small if it’s the original clutch pipe. Brake pipes are 3/16” and the clutch pipe is 1/4”.

An early 110SW with a working Boge strut is the best ride you’ll get out of a defender - soft and compliant but able to stiffen up when loaded. Later models use progressive springs which are okay but they're a bit of a compromise in my opinion. My plan was (is?) to use the earlier soft springs but with air bags inside to pump up if loaded or towing, to basically replace the function of the strut.

I’m not sure where you are getting that from but it’s wrong for most Defenders. From 1991 all 90/110/130 have the same size front discs. 110/130 got vented as standard, whereas it was an option on 90, but all same diameter and calipers. Rear brakes on the 110/130 are the same diameter as the fronts, just with smaller two-piston calipers rather than bigger four-pots on the front. The 90 uses a smaller diameter disc, same as the Disco/RRC. Obviously all had rear drums until 1993/1994 and the sizes were different same as the discs. Before 1991 90s had smaller front discs than 110s as well. The brake bias valve (‘G’ valve) is simple to fit and is all that’s required on a 90. For a 110 you don’t need any valves at all, just the reservoir cap as above. There is good info on the different braking systems in the workshop manual.

I finally got to test drive a Grenadier today, only for a few hours but enough to get a feel for it on the road and what it’s like to drive. In summary it drives well for a vehicle of this size, weight and design. It feels like a bigger and heavier Defender, but with an improved engine to match. This one was a petrol and scarily fast - with fuel consumption to match! With over half a tank of fuel left it was showing a range of 133 miles, ouch. I’ll start with the main negative. The steering is pretty poor to be honest, it has a proper steering box rather than rack and pinion which is more robust off road for sure, but the cost is the feel which could be better. The much talked about lack of self-centring is definitely there, you would adapt to it pretty quickly and it would cease to be a big issue but it seems a silly fault to let slip through the net given all the good engineering that’s gone into the car. It is also quite subject to bump steer, similar to old Defenders. Other than that it feels good to drive and handles well, you can hustle it down the road pretty fast. This was a commercial 5-seat ‘station wagon’’, which means the second row seats are further forward. It gives a bigger load space at the cost of passenger legroom - indeed with the drivers seat in a comfortable position for me (5’ 11”) to drive, my knees were in the back of the seat when I sat in the back. This model and the two-seat utility wagon are N1 commercials, and are too heavy to be dual-purpose vehicles, so van speed limits apply. The fancy Belstaff editions have an extra 4” of legroom and are non- commercial M1 class so car limits apply. The drivers footwell - another much debated subject. The left leg position I did find a bit awkward but I didn’t have any issues in the time I spent driving. I’d need to spend all day in it to be sure, but I’d be pretty confident that it would be no worse than an old defender footwell for comfort and I can easily spend all day in those. I think this issue is highly dependent on your individual size and frame. One small thing I did find a bit annoying was that the sun visor protrudes down from the top of the screen an inch or so even when stowed. On a very short screen like this that extra inch is noticeable at traffic lights etc. I also don’t really like the speedo etc. being in the middle or the aircraft-style switches but that’s just a personal taste thing. Build quality seems good, a small rattle from the dog guard but that’s all I could hear as we rattled over crappy country roads. The dash was full of warning lights and error messages (transmission fault, PDC fault, climate control fault…) but there’s apparently a software update due to solve those and I was told to ignore them. Comparisons then. In terms of comfort and refinement the vehicle sits between the old defender and the new one. It is quiet, comfortable and handles well, and is worlds better than an old 90/110, but it is still a heavy beam-axled vehicle with basic steering and it’s never going to be as nice to drive as the independently air sprung L663. I did not drive it off road sadly but I have no doubt it will be equally as capable as both the old and new defenders. It’s limiting factor off road will be the sheer size and bulk of it (2.7 tonnes) so some tight UK greenlanes might be a challenge, but with the flexible suspension and (up to) three diff locks I reckon it will go most places you could point it. I reckon as a long distance off road tourer it’s pretty damn good and could be a rival to the Land Cruiser, we will see what the US and Aussie markets make of it as that is mainly where those credentials are earned. In summary - quite honestly if I didn’t already have the 110 I would probably have put a deposit down today. There are a few niggles to sort and I’d want a longer test of a diesel one if possible, but it seems to be an impressively capable vehicle and very suited to the sorts of things I use my Defenders for. Long term reliability remains to be seen of course, as does the much lauded ability to self-maintain. The latter is of great interest to me as once the 110 gets older that will become harder, whereas apparently Ineos will be encouraging it with manuals made available etc. The cost is an issue. For a comparable spec station wagon version I’d be looking at ober £63k to replace the 110, a significant amount more than that cost, and with interest rates as they currently are and a frankly laughable part-exchange valuation I’ll be sticking with the Land Rover… for now

The two grey (black?) ones might be for the brake fluid sensor rather than the door switch? I think all the door switches use the same purple colours.

You’ll struggle to find me, I’ve just finished the run home. It’s as hot here in the highlands of Scotland as it was down there! Enjoy the rest of your trip

Can confirm weather dodgy to the south. Walked up to a viewpoint west of Grenoble this morning and enjoyed this