mike4444244

I paid approx £50 for a second hand one, £20 to have it blasted, I then spent a day welding it up (I'm a philistine I don't like vent flaps!) then waxoyled/painted it to death, If I was doing it again I'd defo get it galved... Mike

quick answer is yes it will do, but you'd save a fortune by visiting your local paint supplier, the only things I will buy from Halfords are the tools, then again I don't have a discount card! Mike

Another vote for Richards, makes the job hassle free, and they are very nice people to deal with, when I went to pick mine up I had a guided tour of their new workshop and their new challenge truck one word of warning, when you arrive home get some help as they are chuffing heavy, its a 4 person lift with big people, safer for your back with 6 people... Mike

hmmmm its been 'different' after driving a 318 for the last 6 months, I'd forgotten how noisy and slow it was, and I need to work on my left leg muscles, and I got rained on.... I also remembered why I bought it in the first place...its brilliant! Mike

Any advice as to the best one to go for? Mike

Thanks all I suppose when I can be bothered I should really get round to writing a members vehicle build thread for it, then you can all read the epic tale of how quickly a rebuild can go nipples up!

Ok I think I have answered my own question, none of the bits are transfereable! Hmm shall I go slidy windows or windy windows?

I would be very surprised if you had managed to break a crankshaft.. as Dan said if the push rods are working correctly then the belt should be ok, what were the symptoms that made you suspect the belt had gone?

No worries Continuing the back of the envelope thinking, it must be possible to modify a sand ladder with a diagonal cut so the 2 halves could be rotated into a larger version of the snow anchor, you'd still have to get the spade out to bury it but it would be quicker than the spare wheel trick something like this... I'm sure Si can make it work, if so I'd like one please Mike

Fuel starvation?

Just to say a massive thanks to Pete (Pete Attryde on here) for helping me get my 110 through its MOT today, it sailed through a mere 4 and a half years after I took it off the road for a weekend chassis swap! Mike PS yes I have already got it muddy again

Hi I'd like to swap the push button doors on my defender for the earlier lift up type, apart from the lock/handle and striker are the other bits transferable ie window mechanism hinges etc? obviously the door trim won't fit but I can get that later Whats the forum opinion, should I get the early 90/110 doors or save myself £200 and get series doors? I do quite like the wind up window but the rate the doors corrode is it worth it? Mike

As a back of a beer mat idea, how about something along the lines of a snow anchor used for ice climbing? like this probably need to be scaled up a bit Mike

Mine is completely rewired from scratch using a vwp box will post a pic at the weekend when I get to the workshop, it was pricey but worth it to be lucas free! Mike

Well done, although if that doesn't convince people to go to Ashcrofts nothing will! Mike

Cheers I'll make sure they check its vented before it gets sent Mike

Hmmm I already have old one in lots of pieces, good job they are only a tenner to replace Ta Mike BTW the ridiculous price of decent 2nd hand PB doors, simmonites are selling brand new lift handle wind up window ones for £200 each, think I'll save up my pennies Mike

Evening all, Is it possible and if so how do I change the lock barrel in a locking vented filler cap? I'm beginning to have a serious sense of humour failure with adjusting my door locks.... On a related note, My doors are in very poor condition and I was thinking of replacing them with the wind up window lift up handle type? do these even exist or would you recommend just fitting some series ones? I plan to take the skins off the new ones and galv the frames so they last more than the weekend Ta Mike

If you have something better to spend the extra money on spend it on that, defenders work perfectly well out of the box, there are plenty of stock defender driving around the world theres no need to shell out lots of money if you dont want too, also steering dampers are not mission critical, in the unlikely event that it dies its not going to stop you driving just my 2p Mike

Yup them too if they're fitted, mine has never had them... Mike

yup, on mine (110 3 door) there are from front to back 4 bolts from wing to front x member + 2 tie rods from the slam panel 2 bulkhead bolts 2 or 3 seatbelt tie bars 8 front body mount bolts 10 rear x member to body bolts then it lifts off... obviously after you have disconnected brakes/clutch wiring fuel etc as I said 2 full days, bearing in mind that I don't have a ramp so we used an engine crane to lift the rear and a winch on a discovery round a snatch block on a beam attached to a big strop with a rigid tow pole wedged in the middle to stop it deforming the bulkhead! so take out the time required to set that little lot up and you're sorted!

I have done 2 now, it takes around 2 full days with 4 people who have all the tools and experience, make sure you have several sizes of M6,8,10,12 in stock and don't let the momentum stop, if you have ramps by far the fastest technique is to lift the whole body off in one piece then pull the chassis out from underneath, take the engine and boxes out, put the axles under the new one, put the engine and boxes back in and put the whole lot under the body and drop it down! Few tips: Run new brake / fuel / wiring (trailer cable) etc down the new chassis and p clip it first before the swap paint the chassis black or it will be pikied off your drive faster than greased weasel sh!t DO NOT STOP for any reason, any hint of 'oh while thats in bits I could change that seal' etc will slow your progress immensely, if your on a deadline just get it swapped! Read the many other posts on the forum about swaping it first! Mike ps I can recommend Richards chassis from personal experience

I find petrol or brake cleaner works well, you'll probably find that if you ask nicely at the place where they are skiming it they will put them through their industrial parts washer. Last time i stripped an engine (a V8) I took all the bits to the local engine reconditioners and they charged me £10 to wash them and they came up far cleaner than I could have managed, all in about 25mins no brainer really, I don't like elbow grease! Mike

as a side note to the above have you changed the slave too? if not I would as they tend to fail within a short time of replacing the master or vice versa... Mike

+1 I have pet hatred of strap line things, IMHO they are unnecessary eg when you see a police car with 'serving your community' on, why don't they just replace all of them with 'doing my job'! sorry rant over, I think (again IMHO) that the blue logo/forum logo is ideal, and doesn't make the wearer look like an anorak or part of a political party! Mike