Henry Webster

Comprehensive history JC, about how I remember it. I'm weighing down my house with copies of all the above (even one of the few issues of Four Wheel Drive, I think!), in case it felt like being blown away! There were no UK 4x4 Magazines in the 70's unless you count club publications, I think Overlander started in '83. I've got some old All Wheel Drivers (AWDC mag) that date back to about 1973. In those days if you wanted a glossy 4x4 magazine it was an import from the USA job. The AWDC club shop used to sell a few.

Good question to ask yourself is what problem are you trying to solve? As Retroanaconda says fully functioning standard brakes are very good and the usual limiting factor is the tyre's grip of the road. People are often surprised that we don't run vented discs on the racer, but we've rarely had any problem with fade.

Nice car. Think it may in fact be a former AWDC Championship winning car, admittedly a few years ago! Hope you enjoy it. My advice would be take it steady to start with and build up the speed as your confidence grows. H

You really want sipes (small cuts) for ice and hard packed snow. AT's or winter tyres would be much better.

I'm planning to be there again this year, to make up for last year's disappointing run.

So not dissimilar to the Esarco, then. http://www.lr-mad.co.uk/en/other-fc-types/8x8-forward-controls I think you would have to start again with the chassis to make it work. H

Actually as someone with a Sprinter, although admittedly not a 4x4 one, I have to say I've been pleasantly surprised by the price of Merc parts - even from the main dealer!

Talk to Roland at ACR, he had some blocks and specialises in top hat lining as well. Brilliant company to deal with. http://www.automotivecomp.com/

Another thumbs-up for Protection and Performance from me - they make some nice kit. In fact they built the RRC cage for Clarkson's Bolivia Top Gear challenge so may have an appropriate pattern on their files already. http://www.ppcages.com/news.php?do=showone&id=25&page=1 Custom Cages in Daventry also do a great job in my experience. http://www.customcages.co.uk/homepage

Changing the Nitrogen pressure makes only a small difference, but it would be worth checking that they are up to pressure. You can change the damping rates by changing the shims when rebuilding. I would suggest you talk to Andy Lees at Milner Off Road. They do a very cost effective rebuild service and will be able to advise the best options for your car. They have lots of experience and can get pretty close first time. They can also supply the regulator and gauge etc. http://www.milneroffroadracing.co.uk/

This is not all that unusual a failure on vehicles used heavily off road. It is quite a regular sight on speed events. I've had one fail, fortunately on a slow corner of a hillrally, shortly after we had been doing about 90mph on the gravel through the trees! They usually give just a little bit of warning. Enough to say 'steering feels a bit funny!'

Am I right in remembering that the system utilizes some free wheeling hub-like technology? If so it might be worth a look at some of the Japanese 4x4s which have auto locking hubs for some inspiration.

Are you sure Koni don't offer Defender shocks? With G90's on the rear are you really looking for 'fast road'?! ;-)

Potentially will be a bit stronger, especially the diff, but the diff is on the other side of the car, so not necessarily a straightforward swap! Also I believe that Disco 2 internals do not fit so you may struggle to upgrade them.

We have this problem when racing on really rough events. I have already spaced them, but I think I'm going to have to look at extending the links now. I would imagine that spacers will resolve your problem. I believe the links want to be pretty close to vertical at rest. H

Quite like the Jaguar. Alvin Smith's Strange Rover looked even better in its Flying Carrot livery! A real classic and it went well too. There was a SD1 bodied RR that did some Rally Raids in the early-mid 80's. I'll have to see whether I can find a pic.

Easy to get a ratchet spanner stuck when removing the swivels, but my Halford's one works a treat for this job! You do have to be equally careful not to overtighten bolts, which would be my concern with an 18" bar. I should have mentioned that I check these bolts regularly on the racer, in fact after most stages, but you won't be doing that on a road car!

That equates to a torque of what I would call FT! I just tighten them up as tight as I can on a 14mm spanner.

Might be a good idea, I certainly will take another look, but I think the causes were different. In the first case a mounting bolt worked itself loose and dropped out, which we didn't spot until after the event leading to much more stress on the casing.

I just have the little back box. Is loud, but well within the limits. Much better - when we ran the standard exhaust we kept finding spectators in the route! A little bit. Just took the casting marks off really. I didn't do much in the way of port matching or true polishing. Excellent, should be great. I was really pleased when I did mine. Think it is mainly the diff - but after that it gives alot more freedom. Have a look at the BCCC regs or one of the Scottish Hillrallies. Yes, Daan, I was quite impressed its quite a substantial casing. I have written one off before, but I believe that was due to a mounting working loose. I was impressed that we managed to knock a great hole in the bottom. It was a proper rough event, though, but with some fantastic fast flowing stuff too. Really good fun!

Good advice from The Real Muddy 90! Seconded!

I really know about it when I haven't been keeping in good shape! Being fit makes a huge difference to my performance on an event. I wasn't particularly fit in advance of the Borders!

Sounds like good progress to me! We've done away with the centre box, but otherwise the exhaust is standard and we have kept the standard manifolds. What diff do you have in the back? I run with an open front, the viscous centre and a torque biasing rear and it seems to be a good combination. Are you not trying to stay in the standard class and instead coming to join me in Super Production? The battery is just behind the transmission tunnel in MuddyMoo, and we too run electronic cut off - had too many 'Autolec' switch failures over the years! I like the sound of the PC and touch screen, we've been playing with the idea of some digital dash elements, but haven't got very far with it yet. The engine is pretty much as I built it with a cam in it, but not much else apart from care and attention putting it back together. Roland has fitted the Omex 710 and associated hardware, removed the dizzy (yay!) and mapped it. He also fitted a lightened flywheel and paddle clutch. Its a step change better. Its always been a good engine, but it really flies now and wants to rev and rev! I don't know what to do about the cage at the moment. I really should rip it out and start again, as it is rather over heavy as it is. But then I think, if I'm going to do that I may as well build a new car into my road Discovery and incorporate some of the other stuff that I have been thinking about over the years. Transfer box is on the bench, but garage has been too cold to do anything with it yet. I've got another one to build into, so I guess that will happen over Christmas. Regards H

Gussets are an unknown at the moment - my cage falls well short of the latest spec, but I'm wondering whether they will accept an MSA Rally Log Book - as there are dispensations for cars with old log books in France too! HANS is a given and I've been considering that for a while. How's yours? H

Hi Mark, thanks! I haven't yet worked out my plans for next year, but there is a new Hillrally planned for August in Wales, hopefully there will be something in Perthshire in July and I'd quite like to get back to France to do a couple more there, but I'm also toying with a crack at the British Cross Country Championship. I'll no doubt make some decisions over the holidays and will update the website accordingly. H