Chicken Drumstick

That simply isn't true.

Yep as others have said, very common the Td6. The V8's of the same era use a different box and they are rare to fail. With the TD6 it really is a matter of when, not if.

Thanks. Any idea where you can get anything like this from?

Any pics or links? Thanks.

I think you really need to ask yourself what you want the cage for. e.g. Competition use? Off road use? On road use? An internal cage will keep the external dimensions of the vehicle stock, so it'll fit through the same gaps it always has. But to be honest, an internal cage can be more dangerous to occupants than not having one at all in an accident. Hitting yourself against the cage in an impact will not be good. So for an internal cage you need proper supportive seats and full harnesses. And this needs to be for every seat in the vehicle that you want to use. Internal cages will also take up room in the vehicle and possibly mean hacking up bits of the interior. An internal cage also won't offer any protection to light impacts, such as rubbing against trees or rocks. If you want to enter any competitions, you need to check the roll over cage regs, as many bolt in cages will not meet requirement.

Hi. Just wondering if there is an easy way to fit an upper seat belt mounting in a Series pickup? Ideally for an inertia reel seat belt. I've had a look about, but not seen much. I know 90 truck cabs are different, as are Series hard tops. Thanks.

Curious, do you think it is actually flowing more cfm @ 20psi than it does @ 15psi? How about the IAT's between the two boost levels?

I can't comment on the cause of this. But boost pressure is just that, a measure of resistance, not flow.

Saw this the other day in a mag: http://timbertrail4x4.com/collections/frontpage/products/tdi-performance-tuning-pin Curious if anyone has tried it. Do you think it's worth it over just messing the standard pin? I guess if they got it bang on it should offer an easy way to optimise the position. But I wonder if it can actually achieve anything you can't without it?

Maybe a 5 speed also is a waste of time vs a 4 speed manual box. Plenty of people used to and still use Series LR's off road and for towing...

Well go get it then. But seriously, any car can have issues. I've had a couple of Nissans, both had faults.

Erm towing... lower crawl speed off road (HUGE POINT this one!!!!). Better in gear performance, lower cruising rpms. Higher mph per 1000rpm in top, better mpg.

This might be what some power crazed VOSA/DVLA bod might claim. But I think it isn't accurate or correct. You do not need to retain suspension arms and rods to keep it original. For starters they don't have any way of ID'ing or age locating them. So it is impossible to tell where or when they come from. Lets look at the table again: Part Points Chassis, monocoque bodyshell (body and chassis as one unit) or frame - original or new and unmodified (direct from manufacturer) 5 Suspension (front and back) - original 2 Axles (both) - original 2 Transmission - original 2 Steering assembly - original 2 Engine - original 1 So lets say you have a 1985 90 you want to refresh and use off road. Chassis is 100% perfect, so you retain it without mods. 5 points. You however want a flexy long travel suspension kit. That uses cranked trailing links, castor correct radius arms and new shock mounts. What you are saying is: Suspension 0 points. Axles. Well you want to ditch the rear drums and opt for a Disco 24 spline axle. You swap the front over so as to not have a mix and match of 10 and 24 spline. Axles 0 points. Transmission. The LT77 is knackered and it's just so much easier to get an R380 rebuilt these days (or maybe you opt for an auto?). Transmission 0 points. Steering assembly. Well it has been mentioned that even a new steering box would invalidate this, which is pretty crazy. Lets assume you do nothing for now with the steering (assuming an aftermarket steering wheel doesn't count as part of the assembly). Steering 2 points. Engine. Well sadly the stock engine is a tired 2.5 NAD. So you want to swap in a 2.5TD, 2.5 TDI or maybe a V8. In any case, they are all different engines. Engine 0 points. This means this fairly normal 90 retaining it's original chassis and bodywork and essentially is still a factory 90 only scores 7 and would obviously lose it's registration??? But wait, maybe it didn't have PAS. Steering 0 points. We are now down to 5 overall. But wait, you decide you do want a weld in cage. You also want to extend the cage to form a semi space frame front end to mount the wings on, so as to make it stronger off road. It will still retain the standard body work and look original. But oh hell... Chassis 0 points. So taking it as written (which I don't believe is the full story). But doing this, you could turn a vehicle that is still largely original and not radical by any means. But it "could" score 0? On a side note, how on earth can steering assembly we worth 2 points while an engine only 1 on the table? That makes little sense anyhow. To further this. Maybe you want to build a road going track day car. Say a BWW 328. Chassis. Again cage, or would adding a sun roof count as radically modified? Suspension. You go for a coil over setup. Obviously this does not retain the standard spring location points. And may even have adjustable shock mounts. Axles. Does an IRS rwd drive vehicle really have an axle? Ignoring this debatable bit. You swap in a LSD, change the CW&P ratio and maybe alter the hubs to mount larger discs on. Transmission. Would adding a quick shifter count here? different ratios? Steering. You ditch the PAS or opt for a quicker rack. Engine. Ported head. High lift cams, Double Vanos intake swap. Or swap in a latter 3.0 unit. I have no idea where something like this would fit with the 'radically altered' table. To me it would still seem to be the same vehicle. But reading it how it is written, it would appear it would be on shakey ground to retain it's registration too.

It used to state "welded". But that's even more vague. But would certainly include weld in cages. (not that this is my point of view on the matter, or my opinion, just stating what it used to say). Personally I'm not convinced swapping a 2.25 petrol for a Tdi is really a radical mod. The Tdi shares the same engine mounting points, mates directly the gearbox and the main block and crank are from the 2.25 anyhow. Just with some evolved and refined parts. Fitting a Td5 or a V8 would be far more radical. Same goes for axles. Is a 90 axle really radically different from a Series? IMO no. The diffs are interchangable, they are essentially the same axle, in design and type. Nothing radically different about them, just mild evolutionary steps. But you get that on production vehicles, such as fitting a 4 pin P38 derived rear axle on late 110's instead of the Salisbury. This is more radical.

Thanks. I'll take a look at it.

Also depends what you want from a tyre. I personally consider the BFG MT's to be an "ideal" all terrain in my book. A proper go anywhere, do anything tyre, despite them being a mud terrain. It's the sort of tyre I'd probably want to run on a Disco 3/FFRR (size permitting). However, if you are into more serious off roading and mud plugging, or competitions, you'll probably want a more aggressive tread pattern. Something that is hard to find in non remould tyres in the UK and even less so for sensible money. The Insa Turbo Sahara might visually resemble the Yokohama Geolandars from a distance, but the reality is, the remould is a far more aggressive tyre, bigger lugs, bigger lug spacing, deeper tread, etc.

That might be what they told you, but I don't think that can be the case. Let's face it, if you buy a 40 year old Land Rover, how the smeg do you know if the axle casings on it are original anyhow? What if you have a diff go and punch through the casing... would that mean you'd opt to scrap the car rather than replace the axle, but be at risk of it then losing its registration number.

While on sizing. Remoulds can be all over the show. The worst being those advertised as 7.50's when they are infact 235's. A HUGE difference in width as 7.50" is only 190.5mm!!!! Yeah there are some weird regs for tyres these days on legalities. I have some very aggressive remoulds that are completely legal with all the markings and even have a silly high speed rating, when in reality I suspect they probably should be for off road use only.

I think LR only rate the TD4 at 37mpg average. So consistently bettering that would also sound odd. That said, use and driving style are probably the biggest factors that affect mpg. The TD4 usually does low 30's to around 35mpg. The 1.8 used to do highish 20's, maybe just into low 30's on a good run. A difference, but not a huge one, even less so when 95RON is cheaper than diesel.

I don't disagree with you. Just taking the information on the direct gov site literally, as that is how it is printed. It clearly states direct from manufacturer (although doesn't define who the manufacture needs to be). i.e. is Land Rover the manufacture in question, as they make/made the vehicle. Or a 3rd party company who LR also have bought from? Kit cars have their own page. The page linked is specifically at Rebuilt or Radically Altered. Again, not disputing your common sense and logic, as I totally agree with you. But that isn't how it is written on the direct.gov site.

Remoulds are fine, I've run them loads. But it isn't as plain as that. A remould is just that, they take an old used tyre carcass and mould a new top layer and tread patter to it. The downsides are you don't know what carcass is under the tread and they can vary. So with a set of 4 remoulds, you may find they all behave slightly differently. Ideally you'll want to match pairs as similar as possible, so they ride and drive equal. Remoulds are often built to a budget, so it isn't impossible for lugs to pull off or separate, or even the entire tyre to de-laminate. You may also have issues with the underlying carcass due to age and other issues. Tread patterns often available in remoulds are of the aggressive variety. Some ride quite ok on the road for a tyre of this type. But usually not as good as a less aggressive new tyre. Due to the nature of the tread pattern you are likely to see more wear. This isn't usually because of it being a remould, more because of the tread type and compound. I also think some remould tyres are only borderline legal. Well they are legal in terms of markings and their 'legality'. But if a big tyre maker tried to get a new tyre legal with the same thread, then I'm sure it would be a no. ie the powers that be, seem to be more lenient for remoulds. However, none of this should dissuade you. And as I've said, I've run remoulds lots and lots and will certainly be buying more. As for the thread pattern. Really depends what you want from the tyre and what you will be using it for. It you only plan occasional mild off roading, then I'd maybe look at a new tyre instead. The Silverstone MT-117 Sport and Federal Couragia can be had for about the same money as many remoulds, but are new tyres. Maxxis also offer a couple of reasonable MT patterns at this price range too and are also new tyres.

Thanks for the link, although that isn't conclusive. Nowhere on that page does it say you can't replace like for like. It just says 'original'. But original what? Specification or the actual physical part it left the factory with? The latter I would suggest would be unprovable in either case. The rebuilt vehicle page also doesn't list the table being referred too. That seems to be under the Radically Altered section: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/radically-altered-vehicles But again, this is pretty vague. "Your vehicle must have 8 or more points from the table below if you want to keep the original registration number. 5 of these points must come from having the original or new and unmodified chassis, monocoque bodyshell or frame." For example, what is radically altered? What does it mean? If you take this at face value, then any Defender with a weld in cage is "Radically altered" and no longer has an unmodified chassis. So if this paragraph is true, any Defender, actually any car with a weld in rollcage is not entitled to keeps it's registration number. As it reads to keep your registration number you don't need 8 points, you need an unmodified chassis and 3 points from the other categories. Interestingly it is written as: "Chassis, monocoque bodyshell (body and chassis as one unit) or frame - original or new and unmodified (direct from manufacturer)" So even a Defender with a Richards or Marsland chassis does not meet "direct from the manufacturer" so should be on a Q plate And nothing is defined either. e.g. "Steering assembly - original" What does this mean? Where does the steering assembly start and finish, is it just the column, the rack, the box, all of it? how about the drag links, pitman arm, steering wheel, track rod ends and so on? "Engine - original" I think this one is an even bigger question. Where does an engine start and end, what bits are "engine"? Is the exhaust? How about the intake system? Heads? Cam. What if you stroke a 3.5 V8 to 4.3 but retain the same block, is it still the same engine? What if you convert an 8v engine to 16v with a head swap and retain the block, is it still the same engine?

Do you have any reference material for this? When I last read it I'm sure like for like replacements didn't count. Else any Land Rover that's had a suspension change, engine rebuild and new steering box would be at risk.

Can you define not very much? I don't mind messing about with stuff to an extent. If say you had a 3.9 with injection manifold, some wiring but no ECU. What sort of cost would be involved.

What points would it fail on? Nothing would be changed from the original design, you are replacing like for like with new part. The only difference being you are replacing everything. I think the points only mean if you change the design and the guidelines also say the word "radically", but never define what is meant by this.