lo-fi

The one in the link you've posted is awful. Your current map you've posted is much better thought out! Have you booked some proper time on the dyno or just a power run? If so, is it capable of running steady state (holding to a certain speed no matter how hard you boot it)? With a spark advance table, you want to start from the 100KPa line and work down the table from there. The RV8 wants a lot of advance to make best power, but that opens up the risk of detonation if you go too far. As a rule you want to get almost full advance (probably somewhere a shade under 30 degrees in your case) just before the rpm where peak torque occurs. Keep it stable through peak torque and smoothly add a, few more degrees up to redline. The 90 kpa line should look the same shape - maybe a degree more from peak torque onwards. The danger zone for detonation is the high load, low rpm - peak torque area, which is why you don't want to run much more advance - if any more at all - than in the idle area. The lower-load, medium to higher rpm areas you can afford to safely run more advance, and this helps get the most out of the less dense mixture which combusts more slowly. Hopefully you can see how all of this reflects in your current map. I'm short: your current table is solidly thought out. Try a couple more degrees, not forgetting to adjust the fueling. Look at the power developed. If you're not making much more power, there's no advantage to running more advance and you're at the optimum level. Listen for pinging. It sounds like gravel being flung from a tyre into a metal wheel arch and will give spikes on the dyno plot. Back off the advance and add a little fuel if you find a problem area. Good luck!

They are reversible - the heads are not handed, after all - but a set of Disco manifolds might do the trick. One side of the disco set is pretty much central, the other staggered a little rearward.

I'm with Bowie, that's a very poor interpretation... It annoys me giving into pedants, particularly when they're wrong, but it doesn't always make life easy. Swap out the supply into or bypass the inhibit relay should sort you out without much hassle.

Agreed, only sane way forward is head off at this point - you'll be able to inspect everything you need to look at. Fingers crossed the gasket gave way before a rod, piston ring or piston.

Very unusual for regs change to be retrospective! This was, after all, correct operation for the period. I suspect the testers conversation with the helpline was coloured with their (I'm still sure incorrect) interpretation.

Remove the fog lamp for the test... Can't fail if it isn't fitted. Mine doesn't have one at all. Only a requirement after April 1980

Ford just charged a mate of mine £45 for a pilot bearing. Its a standard and common Koyo 6202zC3 bearing, which normally sells for £5... He wasn't best pleased. Measure them, then head over to https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/ or https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/ and you'll probably find what you're looking for

Likewise, I've not been let down by Bearmach yet.

Whip the sump off, check the rods. It's quite possible for an engine to run with bent but not broken rods. As it looks like the valve train is OK (though checking the lifters might be wise), the ticking could be broken rings which could also account for the smoke. Certain head gasket failures can cause ticking sounds and smoke too. Boo to the lorry driver! A good advert for having a dash cam

I think at this point it's safe to assume that not stating a brand means blue box. I used to like totalparts.co.uk because they didn't stock any; only genuine, Bearmach or Allmakes. Sadly they're now gone. I wonder if there's any way we can direct people to suppliers that aren't trying to stiff people with carp parts? I have two local suppliers: one won't even say the B word without spitting, let alone stock their parts. The other moans bitterly when I forbid them from giving me blue boxes in my order.

It's easy enough to see if you shine a light into the input gear. The cross drilled hole is pretty much in the centre and will be visible. You could also run a piece of thin rod with a bent over end down the splines to see if it pops into one of the the two holes. A foolproof way is to remove the bottom cover, of course.

Some ###### ####### always trying to ice skate uphill. /shrug I think it's an expectation thing. I suspect the same people think it's fine to drive around in a vehicle with everything on the verge of falling off/apart "because Land Rover". What really worries me is they now get to drive around with no MOT if the vehicle is old enough. I have a feeling it'll turn round to bite all of us [Land Rover owners] To add to the list: Series dumb irons: absolute GARBAGE. First up, the holes for the bumper are the wrong distance apart. This'll really fox you if you try to check alignment against them as per the book. Secondly: profile. The lazy halfwits clearly couldn't be bothered to recreate the gentle curve on the top, so the profile is straight. Unsurprisingly, it won't line up correctly. Thirdly: no crush plate or tubes for the bumper bolts. Fourth: as far as I could tell, the little angle plate that you're supposed to weld to the front crossmember for re-enforcement is at the wrong angle if you've got everything else correct as per the book. I suspect many a series is wonky at the front because of it. The lack of crush tube is most worrying as it gives very little in the way of solid mounting for the bumper. I'll keep fighting the good fight, but I fear its a losing battle when the market is flooded with this kind of cheap rubbish. When even eBay sellers do their best to hide the supplier until it lands on your doorstep in the dreaded colour box, you know its bad. "quality after market" is an outrageous lie.

Ah of course. The 110hp is VNT.... I had one for years, cranked 200,000 miles out of it myself on top of the 190,000 it had on the clock when I bought it and spent almost nothing on it. Fantastic engines, but agreed they'd be under powered in a landy. Though every diesel landy the factory turned out is under powered IMHO... I'll be looking forward to updates

Very cool. I take it you're not using a 130 engine, just the flywheel? 110hp with a mechanical pump?

I make adaptors which screw into the holders and take defender lenses. Stops that sort of thing right in its tracks! You can swap the glass ones back in if you want her in "Sunday best", of course. Be happy to send you a couple.

Welcome aboard! But we neeeeeeed pictures Joking aside, being able to see the space you've got and clearance issue would definitely help. Are the manifolds tubular, rather than cast? Don't forget that on normal rubber mounts an engine will move around more than you'd think.

Sorry to hear that, that's rotten! Do you mean the smaller glass type found on many British cars, or the military type that are roughly the same size as defender/later series ones? Either fetch a premium, sadly.

With a 12v supply, you can't get a reasonable output from an electric heater without a bonkers current draw. OK for a demist aid, but the little series heater will look heroic by comparison. If you're looking for something effective and non land rover, try something like this: https://www.t7design.co.uk/3-8kw-standalone-cab-heater-12v.html A few numbers... To get 3800 Watts output from an electric heater requires 316 amps. That's a chuffing big alternator!

There are some clever, very experienced people here, but the key thing for being able to help is info to think through. Detail out some more basic info (engine type, for example), the history of the problem, what steps your garage have taken (if you know), any fault codes, and anything else you feel might be relevant. The more detail the better, and take your time to make it as clear as you can. I've no experience with the Disco 3, I'm afraid, but lay it all out in detail and I'm sure someone will be along with some ideas to point you in the right direction

Skill comes with practice, but there's help at hand on YouTube, of all places... A soft start; not entirely machining focused, but an excellent machinist and engineer: https://www.youtube.com/user/featony Machinist Pro turned pro YouTube. Look to his older stuff for some excellent milling content: https://www.youtube.com/user/Abom79 Great for tips and tricks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpp6lgdc_XO_FZYJppaFa5w Serious old-school machinist. Old timer with a flair for creative setups doing whatever it takes to get the job done: https://www.youtube.com/user/KEF791 Long videos, but detailed by an excellent engineer: https://www.youtube.com/user/oxtoolco I'll suggest some particular videos if you're interested. Its all right there, from basics to "I had no idea you could even do that with a manual milling machine". You can learn how to tram a mill head or vise (or that that's even a thing you need to do and how), for example, by seeing someone who knows what they're doing actually do it. Then, when you get hold of a machine you can confidently go about getting into some projects with enough knowledge that you're not on the intensely frustrating "fumbling about in the dark" part of the learning curve. It's nothing like TV, as these guys know their audience wants detail and they don't have a moron exec breathing down their necks telling them to ham up the drama, dumb it down a bit and cut chunks out to fit into a half hour slot with three ad breaks. They're all enjoyable to watch too. I'll do a quick video of my single phase input to 3 phase variable frequency output gizmo when I get it next week. Looks like there's a bit of confusion about it, so as good an excuse as any for making a video. Guess I might as well chronicle my first attempts with a proper mill while I'm at it too, hadn't it...

Wooop!

They're pretty easy to rebuild, often a set of brushes is all you need. A quick solder and fiddle with a few springs type of job.

Loving the loco build thread!

That could be re-engineered to be a "split nut" design, which can eliminate backlash. It's essentially the same as a leadscrew on a machine tool. On the other hand, it may be easier to adapt the gubbins on the steering wheel to the later box/column - recirculating ball is the far better engineering solution. The "fix" in the video is still going to give vague steering; there's no way to dial out the backlash that's unavoidable with a single nut design. It'll be better than a worn nut, but still horrific.

I'm having trouble visualising it from the description, so pics definitely helpful I've never seen a series 1 steering box either; I take it they're quite different?