Dr Goon

That stretch of dual carriageway is where I have come closest in recent times to getting pulled over for speeding. Heading towards Swindon on the bike, I spotted something in a green flourescent jacket in the distance and was able to slow down enough by the time I was within range of the LTI 20/20 he was holding and pointing at me

Just noticed that the above post was my 100th on here. A mile stone of some sort I suppose and, for once, on a subject that I do know a little bit about.

Dangerous Driving is an either way offence, which can be tried in the Crown Court if serious enough and an offence for which people do get sent down. 172, even on a dual carriageway, is likely to be charged as Dangerous Driving rather than just speeding. The fact that he has been arrested and bailed shows that the Police regard it as more than just a speeding matter. Add to that the fact that he had 'borrowed' the car from his employers, he could be charged with Aggravated Vehicle Taking on the basis that, after the vehicle had been taken, it was driven dangerously. I would not rate his chances of staying out of custody. If I was advising him, I would tell him to bring a toothbrush to his sentencing hearing

Good point, but as far as I am aware, Thames Valley Police don't currently have any Porsches on the fleet. SiWhite might know different though

Must have been either on the first bit of A420 after the A34 junction or alternatively on the stretch near Southmoor. Either way, at that speed, he will almost certainly be charged with Dangerous Driving and end up at Oxford Crown Court. He will be looking at custody and a mandatory minimum disqualification of 12 months, followed by an extended retest if he wants to get his licence back.

Thanks for that info Mike - I will be especially careful when retorquing after the first oil change. I have now done 600 miles or so with the overdrive installed and I too have found that it is well worth dipping the clutch when switching overdrive out as the bang and jolt even on power cannot be doing the rest of the drivetrain any good. The first full to full check on mpg has revealed a slight improvement, from about 23mpg to about 24.5, although much of that has been at higher speeds than before when on motorways and dual carriageways. There has also been more stop-start commuting than usual as I am using the truck everyday at present tp get the mileage up to the oil change point before I go on holiday in a couple of weeks time. The real test will come on the long haul down to the Pyrenees, 4 up and fully laden.

I think it was slightly longer than that. I dropped the truck off first thing in the morning and by the time he had dropped me off at work, it was probably about 1000hrs that he started getting things sorted. That did include removing the cubby box. He rang me about 1730hrs to say it was finished. I think the clock on his camera is a bit out.

Drive too close to a brick wall. . . . . . . . . [Coat on and making rapidly for the door]

I will respond to 2 of the posts above in this reply: Firstly the seat fabric: the drivers seat was replaced about 4 years ago as the foam in the backrest collapsed. I picked up an ex-display Modular seat from the Exmoor Trim stand at Billing in 2002. The fabric on the drivers seat is the 'Techno' cloth I think. I have now swapped the seat base back to the original as the foam in the replacement had collapsed. Secondly the spec of the vehicle: the truck was built in 1996 and exported new by Conrico to the British High Commission in Cameroon. It was used out there until 2000 and brought back by the woman to whom it was delivered originally. It was then registered on a 'P' plate. She seems to have used it in London for about a year and then traded it in against, I think, a Range Rover. I bought it in 2001 at 28,800km. It now has just over 140,000km on the clock. The dashboard is the old aircon style and does not have the shelf or the front vents. Where the vents should be there are plastic trim pieces. Underneath them the vent holes are not even cut in the bulkhead.

I have a Mountney in the 110. Been on there about 4 years and despite getting soaked and covered in mud many times, it still looks good. I have them in other cars as well, including a Triumph Stag. The sun (in the UK anyway) has never caused it any damage. They are reasonably priced and easily available in a variety of sizes and styles.

Very windy here in Swindon. Went out at lunchtime, and while crossing the main road in fromt of my office (Fleming Way) I was very nearly blown off my feet by a gust of wind. Given my size and weight - that takes some doing

Very interesting thread Les. Thanks. Just to follow up on the comment regarding the wiring, I have now plumbed that in to an ignition live feed as I found that, when I used the battery cut off, the red LED came on as the whole truck was then earthing through the gearknob The unit is working reliably now after the inexplicable hiccup on Saturday morning, when it engaged but wouldn't then disengage, even after I had stopped, turned off and started again. It makes such a difference to noise levels at speed and I am currently running a check to see the extent to which there is a difference in fuel consumption. An expensive modification, but one that I would wholeheartedly recommend. Thanks also to Devon 4x4 from whom I bought the overdrive. Excellent service - ordered it on the Tuesday before Christmas, to be told that the units were out of stock and on back order. Delivered to my office on Friday of the same week.

I find it useful to switch the aircon on to demist the screen as this clears it much faster than just the blower. It does keep the system running properly, although you can tell when it is switched on as the compressor cutting in has a noticeable effect on tickover speed. I had considered taking the belt off in winter but the demist function is too useful.

Bookmarked for future reference - thanks Ralph. The first couple of pix are, I assume, showing that there is approximately a 500rpm reduction in engine speed at 60 mph, from 2500 to about 2000. Useful to know.

Now that would be ironic! I don't need to use heated gear on the bike as I have a huge fairing, heated handlebar grips and heated seats (and pillion backrest). I had never through of using it in the truck but it is worth thinking about if the heater cannot be improved. Certainly cheaper than an Eberspacher unit. Now what would the current draw from 4 heated jackets, 4 pairs of heated long-johns and 4 pairs of heated socks be? Probably quite a bit more than my Alternator is putting out!

I do tend to agree that the DVLA is generally hopeless. I have had a running battle with them regarding changing the Taxation class of the Triumph Stag from PLG to Historic. At first they would not even accept a Heritage Certificate from Gaydon confirming the date of build as November 1972, due to the fact that the date the vehicle was despatched from the factory was January 1973! I have done what they wanted regarding retaxing the vehicle at the Local Vehicle Licensing Office and I now have a tax disc showing the taxation class as 'Historic' and the fee as 'nil'. I thought I was home and dry, and that I would receive a new V5 through in due course. No such luck. A couple of days ago, I had yet another letter from the DVLA saying that they still cannot issue a new V5 until I have relicensed the vehicle (which I have done) and that I then need to send a new application for a V5 off to them, with the serial number of the new tax disc.

I think the £2.50 charge only relates to payments by credit card If you pay by debit card there is no additional charge. I cannot fathom why there is the extra as the system seems to be much the same - I can only assume that the payee is charged more by the card companies for credit card transactions than for ones by debit card. I have taxed several vehicles online now and it is so much easier. The central Post Office in Swindon is a nightmare - I have never queued for less than 10 minutes in there.

If you have Ralph, I have not found it while looking and it does not appear to be in the tech archive, unless I have missed it. I searched when I was considering whether to go for an overdrive unit and the only reference in the archive is to the useful post with the engine speed comparison chart. Obviously if there is already a thread about fitting an overdrive then it seems pointless to duplicate it.

Tell you what may also make an interesting tech thread......fitting an overdrive to a red 110 csw....if you can find a willing volunteer for that as well

If we ask Mr Henson nicely, he may do a tech thread on stripping and clearing out the heater box on a Defender..............

Just thought it might be useful to others....... Sorry I spoke

I take it you didn't photograph the procedure for checking that the thermostat is operating correctly? It might be an idea to post a note on how that can be done, with the appropriate warnings and disclaimers of course

Not forgetting of course that a 110 would beat either............

Faulty or wrong stat was one of the first thoughs. Les checked it and it seems to open and shut as it should. Heater matrix full of mud is we now suspect, although we did get the heater pushing out reasonably warm air on Saturday out on Salisbury Plain

I didn't know that was being taken.....