jericho

I am thinking of buying a set of defender wing bars - not the 'extreme' type,just the normal ones.They are expensive,but I have so little time that I may have to spend the money. The North Offroad and Performance & Protection ones are pretty similar,but slightly different - Has anyone else pondered the question of which to choose? Are they both made of the same material,same size tube ?

Hello Todd, Cut the whole lower section off,just as you suggested. The prop will hit the engine mount - I've been there! The lower part of the mount is there to stop exesive upward movement of the engine - not really a big concern when you think that there is nothing equivalent on a 200 defender mount. I think Les got the wrong end of the stick and was talking about the chassis side of the mount rather than the engine side. If you trim the mount,watch out for your oil filter.My prop put a dent in the bottom of it,so I fitted a shorter filter - I could probably find a part number if you wish. Having said all that,I had no bump stops fitted,so had a lot of upward movement.

Only buy single hex sockets.The times when you will need bi-hex are very limited. Halfords Pro, Draper Expert ,Britool,and you can get snap-on blue point sets on ebay for a very good price.

Already bought an North external cage. Just welded on new hinge plates,then thought about fitting the front hoop.

Has anyone on here fitted a full rollcage to a series 2/2a. The windscreen hinges stick out so far that I can't place the front hoop anywhere sensible. Any suggestions? Looks like I may have to cut the hinges off,and use a series 3 screen - what a shame - I am reluctant to lose any of the distinguishing features of my 2a. Thanks, Jerry.

Joint on flat surface - yes,solves problem of bolts in tension,but they are still in shear from vertical accelerating/braking forces. Joint in a cup ? - not sure. Dolly - thanks.I found the thread on Pirate,but it looks like the chap has disappeared owing customers money! Found these - Evolution fabrications Frankenhiems Inch and a quarter though-bolt but no poly bushing - they could be a bit harsh (and pricey!)

It may not be out of the question,but again the strength of the bolts worries me - 3 M10 bolts to stop the whole front axle moving backwards.

Can anyone recommend a suitable joint to use for a 1 link and panhard rod suspension on the front of a landrover type vehicle? I am concerned about the shock stresses sent rearward through the single link when the wheels hit an immovable object. I thought about johnny/hiem style things,but the whole of the front end would depend on the shear strength of a single bolt.it might be possible,buy I haven't found a joint that looks big enough - and I would much prefer a joint with some sort of shock absorbing qualities ala johnny. There was a trailer hitch ball joint jobby - bit like an X-joint - on Pirate a while back.I think it as made by Ballistic fabrications,but their website is down at the moment. Any suggestions? Pics would be even better. Thanks, Jerry.

I have done it myself - very much as you did Les,except for two differences : I carefully separated the spring seats from a series axle,and used those,rather than fabricating them. I wouldn't say one method is better than the other,I just had some scrap series casings around. I didn't replicate the series diff nose angle,but rather adjusted the spring seats to suit the long military shackles and standard coil spung track rod that i was using.I lost a degree or so of caster. Very tidy job as usual,and very good write-up. Cleaning up of the coiler axles took me a hell of a long time.

Went in with a list of odd bits and pieces that I need for my build. Got most of them at very good prices before 10am Bought a Goldfish winch for rear of truck.New in box with guarantee £320. Ummed and aared about set of simex.Was glad in the end that someone else beat me to it. Not comperable in size to the old days,but the quality of the tat was generally good.

I have seen it done,but a neater job is to shorten a 109 or 110 rear tub to fit the 100" chassis,then use the series or defender front panels,doors etc. Wasn't there a TV program on this subject? Didn't see it myself.

I hadn't noticed that. Now I feel better.

The cheapest way to get a Defender-esque toy is to buy a defender - no doubt about it. What you are proposing is a lot of work,and only worth it if you are dead set on a series looking vehicle,even then,there are arguably better ways of going about it. You could buy a scruffy old pre tdi defender,put your engine and axles in/on it and have decent off-roader without much expense or time spent.Fit a series rad grill,windscreen and roof if you like. Or shorten your disco chassis. Or lengthen some series body work to fit the disco chassis. Building a vehicle will cost a lot more time and money than you expect. I fitted a 300tdi to my series 2.Then I fitted a defender 5 speed box.Later I fitted disco axles to it - so I know just what you are thinking about.It was a hell of a lot of work,and eventually I grew dissatisfied with it. Much as I tried to love them,Landrover leaf springs are terrible. I am currently building a series looking vehicle from scratch on a 100" range rover chassis. Dont let me discouage you at all.I love being in the workshop creating something.But if you really just want to get out and use it,then let someone else do the hard work,and buy a 'ready to go' truck. Almost anything can be made to work,and the chances are that anything you can think of has been tried by someone on here - so keep asking the questions. Best of luck, Jerry.

I would like to have a couple of pulleys for toothed belts machined up. Can anyone recommend an engineering firm that does this sort of work? Or,alternatively,a company that would sell small quantities of pulley bar stock? I have had a quick search around on google,but didn't find anything too promising. Thanks, Jerry.

Crown diffs 100%. Top quality and unmatched customer service.

Yes I'll be there as a seller,although my purpose is to find a few odds and ends.

Yes,I bought an Ingersol-rand 2135 ti max. Very powerful,small and light - but I don't have a compressor that can keep up with it for more than 5 seconds . 15 cfm and a reasonable size tank should be ok,but not over the top.

Wheel Masters - Industrial,plant and comercial bespoke wheels. Coleford,Gloucestershire. GL16 8PJ . 01594 835678 Jerry.

There is a firm in the Forest of Dean who make custom steel wheels at reasonable prices - a friend had a set made for his Mercedes 4wd lorry.I will try to get their name/number.

Hello Guppy,I have filter housing pipes ect. off a 300tdi - is that any good? - in stroud,gloucestershire. Tel 07814 358 319. Jerry.

I bought several over the years. Chewy,a bit sickly,but not bad.

Last time I spoke to them,Designa Chassis were producing nothing following a fire in the next door bussiness - Have they started up again? Many people have coil-sprung a series chassis - I dont see any reason against it in principal.Designa Chassis chose to build their chassis's with deeper rails than any RR classic or disco 1.Their stress analysis would need a little explanation before using their decision to rule out a series chassis coil conversion. A friend of mine had a coil-sprung series 1 on origional chassis for several years,and I have converted my series 2 on leaf springs to run on disco axles. Its all possible with a little research. Space to rent? Where would like it? Jerry.

John Sales is making and selling some basic internal beadlock wheels.Looked pretty good for the price. He had a pair on dislay at the Donnington show. I expect he will spot this thread soon,and reply. Jerry.

I dont think it will cost much. I phoned a small laser cuttinng bussiness near Redditch about cutting some 5mm steal rings for home made beadlocks - He quoted £9.90 each plus vat: thats on a production run of 5. Just search for local firms,and pick a small friendly one to phone.

Big pry bar,5 foot scaffold tube slid over it,someone stood on the end - hit axle mounting point with sledge.