lo-fi

I was supposed to be going as a trader selling freshly minted Sankey parts, but delays manufacturing put pay to that. Thinking of heading up to have a look around as a punter, though.

The other thing to think about is the health and longevity of the supply line. I refuse to buy *anything* in blue boxes, not because everything they make is bad, but simply because I don't wish to support a race to the bottom business practice. As Gazza points out, they don't seem intent on producing quality parts, more like flooding the market with cheap parts. If people keep buying the cheap stuff, the quality items don't sell. If they don't sell, manufactures either cut quality to compete, or stop producing. Keep buying cheap rubbish, and at some point that's all we'll have. When even ebay sellers don't list the make (though you know darn well it'll turn up in a blue box) unless they're making a point of it being a-n-other brand, it should probably tell you something. All in my humble opinion, of course.

Thanks for the info Steve, I'll be in the market for a set soon myself. I'll look Jones up.

Genuine Mazda studs weren't expensive when I was buying for my RX7. And everything else on that car was expensive!

Glad I could help, keep us posted how you get on.

The key thing to remember is that the (proper) setups using DC have the diff angled to match the prop. The slight angle this changes by as the suspension cycles can more or less be ignored - the non linear effect of a UJ is negligible at shallow angles, and it sits pretty close to parallel at normal ride height. The other end, having the prop at an angle to the transfer output, needs the constant velocity nature of the DC to eliminate what would be quite a serious non linear relationship that isn't canceled the other end. Simples, really excellent explanations here: http://www.4xshaft.com/driveline101.asp I should add that a defender lifted without castor corrected radius arms angles the diff up like this, so DC could be used to try and help if you're getting prop induced wobble.

I've had a couple in pieces, neither as bad as that. Poor thing has seen some abuse, hasn't it. Rushed changes mostly, by the looks of it. This is a great opportunity to develop a good feel for what's right and what's not, and from what you're saying I reckon you're on the right track. I've seen some issues with after market synchro hubs not being riveted correctly, so go genuine if you can or inspect very carefully before fitting. There was also a thread about reverse popout recently, which turned out to be defective after market parts, but I can't find it right now. The synchro is probably going to be tired anyway, damage aside, so wise to replace. Clean the bearings up thoroughly, give them a light oiling and run round by hand to feel any roughness or wear - might as well change too if you're in there and they're knarley. First dog teeth don't look too hot, no, and possibly the source of your first gear issue. I'd be replacing that. Yep, pretty sure that's an oil groove, not damage. The inner teeth don't look terrible. Very small burrs can be needle filed, but overall its a judgement call as to whether it's more than just the odd burr. The 3/4 inner teeth are nicely chowdered, aren't they. Again, they'll work, but you'd be better off putting something better in if you can. The chamfer does look machined, but I can't say for sure I'm afraid. HTH, and good luck

Outside RHS dumb iron on my '64 88

Not uncommon for bits to get swapped. Just check the chassis number matches the V5

My 71 2A has a rover rear. No difference in the chassis, 109 rears just have the spring seats further apart.

If I recall correctly, the 88 ones are slightly shorter than 109, sitting the pin closer to the axle. But the parts book will tell you what's what

Hello Do you mean the shackle plates that go under the springs? Or something else? You can downloads the parts books here, should point you in the right direction: http://www.retroanaconda.com/landrover/2010/03/series-iii-parts-book/

Welcome! Engine turning by hand is a good sign, but they're often getting very tired these days anyway - you may be lucky and it'll fire up and run nicely with some fresh points, leads, plugs and the carb cleaning, though. All depends how it's been looked after. Some fresh oil and a compression test can tell quite a lot. Maybe have a poke around the rear crossmember, double check there aren't any horrors there that someone missed. That's almost always the worst place. I'd have to say, for £600, it looks like a goer Don't worry about being outside, I've never worked on my projects under cover! Can be frustrating when it's peeing down, but there's usually loads that can be fettled in a shed or, dare I say it, on the kitchen table I use my 109 around the livery yard quite a bit, carrying hay and water, harrowing the school etc. I don't know what we'd do without it! Something right about landys around horses too, they just fit together. Good luck, and please start a build thread when you begin tinkering - we all love seeing projects come together. Lots of knowledge here to help you on your way too.

The gearbox is indeed mounted further back in the 109. To accommodate this, the crossmember immediately behind the hand brake drum is also further back in the chassis - about two~three inches if memory serves. Do bear in mind that finding a six pot in decent order is pretty hard and/or expensive these days, and parts are also expensive. The humble V8 will be an easier fit in a SWB, return same or better mileage and cost far less. They also weigh a lot less! They're hefty bits of iron those old blocks, as you've already figured out. I'm doing a six pot for a late 2A restoration, because I want to keep it as originally built - the cost is vaguely eye watering. I bought the best "running" P4 engine I could in the hope I could get away without rebuilding the seized LR engine, but for many hundreds of pounds I got a block that's worn through the coating on the bearings shells and has bores worn enough to require oversize pistons and a rebore. It runs, but it's far from healthy. Now I know what I'm looking for, I'm struggling to find better. I understand the urge to do something different, and they're lovely old things, but I'd question it being worth the work. My 2p worth, anyway.

I'm almost disappointed that's not the actual steering wheel, Soren Very cool.

You might find the 1 horse a bit gutless if you're intending to punch through stuff with the large drills it's possible to fit in that MT3 spindle, but for smaller bits in a Jacobs chuck it should be fine. Rotation of single phase motors can be reversed if needed, you just have to fiddle with the start capacitor connection. Is it flat belt? If so, save yourself some pain and convert it to A section V belt with a couple of Ali pulleys. Not sure about the twist, though... Do they mean figure 8, or like a mobius strip? The lever might seem like a nice idea, but there's something to be said for the button type which drop out when power is removed. Much harder to accidentally start by catching a sleeve on, and you can mount a foot operated stop switch too. Looks like a lovely tool, though. Old school iron is so much nicer than flimsy modern stuff! I'll look forward to a few pics

Knackered brushes or a broken spring. They're easy enough and cheap to replace. Could also be it's just partly seized and expending a lot of effort turning itself. Pull it out and give it some TLC.

The normal hay delivery couldn't get through, so the rural life support machine did its thing: The little sankey behaved so well on treacherous roads, I was very impressed. It did amuse me having a mini snow drift inside the window in the morning: Blew in through the tiny gap between the two window panes.

If you wouldn't mind, that would be great

Just out of interest, can you remember where you read that?

That's exactly what I've done with mine in the 109 It started out as a 1.4. I probably should have included in my notes, but figured it was maybe out of scope for a "will this bolt up?" discussion. I agree, the ratios do come out well suited to a series. Like the sticker too!

Yes. And even so, the rear prop will be pretty short. You may also run into issues with clearance between the mid crossmember and the hand brake drum, meaning its impossible to remove to service without taking the transfer box out, which in itself is a tricky proposition with space being so tight. Literally nothing bolts up. You'll end up having to fabricate plates to pick up the series mounts. Unless you're happy running permanent 4wd with series UJ's, yes. No, it's independent either way on an LT230 The hand brake is on the LT230, which comes in cable operated or rod op like the series. I'm afraid I can't remember which comes in what vehicle. The rod can be made to work, as could the cable, but both need a bit of head scratching. Also think about gear ratios. Commonly available 1.22 transfer boxes are lower than the series 1.15, negating the benefit somewhat. 1.4 doesn't work well at all on 4.7 diffs if you want to go over 50. You can change diffs for 3.54, but then you've borked your low ratio too and added even more work. Everyone I've seen do this has taken their own path, be it making mounts to pick up existing series positions or adding crossmembers from existing vehicles, custom props vs scalloping bellhousing crossmembers, moving the engine forwards or not, using defender style high/low or making linkages to retain series levers, modifying or building custom tunnel... The list goes on. There are a lot of design decisions involved, and quite a bit of engineering if you want to do it well, rather than an smash it in, bodge as you go and hope for the best. A mate of mine bought an 88 S3 with 200tdi and LT77 with LT230, which was the most horrific bodge I've ever seen. It worked, but servicing it was just plain awful, and the rear prop at a mere 8 or 10 inches ate UJ's (and a diff pinion bearing) like they were going out of fashion. He sold it on quite quickly, or I'd have ripped it apart and started again. Hope that answers a few questions, anyway

Think of it as a triangle, is what Carlos is getting at, I think. What you've designed makes a very shallow one, which acts as a force multiplier when pressure is applied pushing the point between the short sides towards the longer one. The shallower it is, the more mechanical advantage it has. Whether that's a problem or not for the exact geometry and forces involved probably needs some calculation. I'm sure you've covered this, so apologies if I've no doubt missed it in long threads, but wouldn't 1 link have been a much simpler, more compact and easier way to go? Pick up on the original axle mounts to an A frame (which could itself have that cunning box section stiffener/steering guard built in) with a large spherical or multi axis joint at the chassis end? Ought to be skookum as frig as AvE would say...

Give these guys a shout, they make chassis parts and may be able to sell you a new tube: http://www.ddsmetal.co.uk I've bought brackets for swb rears, so I know they have a supply of correct size tubes, or possibly roll their own.

Is that the PRV sticking out towards the oil seal bottom right? See if you can get to it, might be a little plate held in with a circlip if you're lucky. Spring loaded and a bleep to get back on, though