Dave W

I think anything once advertised on ebay should run it's course. For the seller it means you get the best price (ish) and you don't end up with negative feedback from people who have actually "won" the item until you pulled it. Whenever I get an offer like that I just tell them to bid that amount on the item and take their chance just like everyone else. They are trying to circumvent the system in the belief they will get a better deal that way so as the seller you really have nothing to gain by getting involved with them. I don't bid on "advertised elsewhere" items because they usually just mean the seller isn't going to set a reserve but if it doesn't reach the value wanted they'll just pull it before it ends.

My fuel pump turns off if the engine isn't running.

I have both, there is a winch master switch on the dash that activates the winch isolation solenoid and the internal/external winch controls. The master switch is ignition fed so will only work when the ignition is turned on. I cannot foresee a situation where you'd want to winch and not be able to turn the ignition on. It means that to activate any winch or even to have power at the winch motor solenoids you need the ignition on and the dashboard master switch on.

It also depends on the status of the vehicle as commercial vehicles are exempt from the '98 on changes. If it's older than '98 there's no problem anyway.

I use an on/off to energise the isolator solenoid and power the winch controls (both internal and external). I then have mom off mom for internal winch control. On our overland vehicle with a single winch with air operated freespool I use an off/on/on for the isolator with the second position operating the freespool.

The TDi sender won't fit the 3.9 V8. The simplest solution is to use a small value variable trimming potentiometer between the sender and the gauge. Because the gauge over reads you can then simply get the engine up to normal temperature and adjust the trimming pot until the gauge is centred. Once done just drop a bit of nail varnish on the trimer pot to seal it into position and prevent it changing due to vibration etc...

I get my Dinitrol from Frost Auto Restoration, they also sell POR15 chassis paint which I have had good results from too. http://www.frost.co.uk/automotive-car-bike-maintenance/automotive-rust-products/dinitrol.html

In my "fleet" I have a Defender powered by an LS1/6, a Defender powered by a TD5 and a Range Rover powered by a 4.0 RV8. I love them all and they each have their own purpose, benefits and compromises. If MPG isn't a consideration then the LS1/6 is by far the best engine of the three. Flexible, powerful and sounds beautiful. The TD5 is nice to drive and has a reasonable power output over a comparatively narrow range. Having driven it on a lap around Australia earlier this year I have to say that I only missed the LS a couple of times but then in those temperatures I also know that the LS would have been thirsty and the heat in the cab would have been uncomfortable to say the least. I've simplified the fuel supply system so it's more akin to an EFI now and that has, in my mind, removed a great deal of the complexity that might otherwise have given reliability concerns. The RV8, especially the Thor version in my Range Rover is good at it's job and is a good compromise between the TD5 and the LS - more flexibility than the TD5 but without the fuel consumption (or the power/torque) of the LS. Just like comparing a draft horse with a racing thoroughbred, there is no single "best" it all comes down to which compromises you are happier to live with for your particular use. In my case I have resolved this by having one of each on the drive so I can choose the best vehicle/engine for a specific journey. If I had to plump for one it would be the LS simply because, MPG aside, it's the most fun, the most power and the most flexible engine I've ever owned in a LR. Electric has the potential to be a good option, if they ever figure out a practical way of storing the electricity that allows it to be quickly recharged and predictable in use over it's life time. The biggest failing of electric at the moment is the inability to "instantly" recharge it to full like you can with a petrol or diesel vehicle on the forecourt. I dislike "revvy" engines, mainly because all my vehicles are expected to head off tarmac at some point and low down torque is important to me. I dislike the transit engine Defenders for that reason but the TDV6 or, even better, the TDV8 would appeal to me if there was a practical way of shoehorning them into a Defender.

Yep, when I fitted the LS and gearbox the old military bonnet was in a real state after years of squaddies and the spare wheel bouncing on it. The Puma bonnet at the time wasn't ridiculously expensive and it resolved a problem with the gearbox dipstick sitting too high for the standard bonnet Since then Land Rover have had a rethink and quadrupled the price of the bonnets so if I was doing it now I'd use a TD5 bonnet and bend the dipstick tube !

Heat output is a direct result of power, you are bragging that you only have a small one, that's unusual but fair play to you

As I've said, I'm having pretty much identical problems. After much general fanning about with bits of wool and IR temperature probes I ended up putting a vent in the rear of the bonnet bulge. It has had some effect, it's definitely an improvement but I can see me having to add additional vents somewhere above the headers. I replaced the RHS wing top panel with one from a LHD motor and that has also helped a bit.

Not having a bulkhead isn't necessarily a problem... this is how I did mine: http://landytravels.com/2013/03/clearing-the-under-seat-box/ There's a pic of the cover for it here: http://landytravels.com/2013/11/mounted-and-covered/ The cover is only really there to prevent the wiring being damaged/pulled by people jamming stuff behind the seat.

I've been running my LS1/6 through Land Rover axles with Ashcroft internals since 2007, not yet broken anything in the axle although I have twisted a prop shaft off - since upgraded to BM props so it hasn't happened again. I'm running an LT230 using a Marks 4WD Adaptors adaptor kit on the back of the auto box (4L80E in my case). I have killed a couple of LT230s but that was entirely down to operator error - NEVER run the LT230 without diff lock engaged on a loose surface where you are putting power down, the centre diff simply isn't up to spinning one prop that much faster than the other and will die very quickly. With diff lock in the LT230 is bomb proof. If you're going with Dana or similar axles and want something more exotic/expensive, the Atlas transfer boxes are really good and you can order them with different output flange options both in type and position. If you get a rear axle with a central diff and a front axle with an offset diff you can get an Atlas box to suit. Selectable 2/4 wheel drive also gives real scope for some fun with tail sliding and burnouts ! One thing to think about is heat dissipation at low speeds - while a TD5 seems to be almost impossible to get warm enough for the heater to work unless your pushing it, the big V8s will almost inevitably give heat problems simply as a result of the power output and the confined under bonnet space, particularly on a Defender style of layout.

I use an old iPad 2, used it on our lap of Australia as our primary navigation system using HEMA maps, never missed a beat, never had any issues acquiring our position using the built in GPS receiver. We have it mounted to the dash with a Ram mount and it soaked up all the sand dunes, corrugations, gibber roads etc... without any problems.

Never really thought about the effect of faster coolant flow in those terms. So it doesn't improve heat dissipation as such but averages out the heat across the engine better, reducing peak high temperatures and increasing low temperatures. I'm still convinced my problems are down to air flow rather than coolant flow but if increasing coolant flow helps reduce the peak temperatures then that will also, presumably, mean that the temperature increases during high load use will be less extreme. I've measured mine looking at radiator performance using an IR thermometer and the difference between the top and bottom hose aluminium casting is as much as 20C with the bonnet open. I've added a vent to the back of the bulge on my bonnet that has helped a small amount - going to fit 3 computer fans under the vent as heat extractors next.

When is it giving you problems ? High speed, low speed ? Been thinking of fitting something similar to mine, currently cools fine at higher speeds but has a tendency to get progressively hotter at low speed. Opening the bonnet cools mine down so I'm looking at airflow but an electric water pump for better coolant flow is something I've been considering.

I'd look for a second hand one and get a better quality one rather than a "cheap" new one. If you keep an eye on forums and ebay they come up fairly regularly. I've seen Howling Moon ones with annexes come up a couple of times in the last month at good prices. When we bought ours we took a trip to Billing first and it happened to be raining (heavily !) and the first thing you noticed was that ALL the cheap roof tents were soaking wet inside, the mattresses were all wet through. The Howling Moon (which we ended up buying) was completely dry inside and for a tent you intend to use in the UK that's a deal breaker for me. We've since used ours in almost all weather conditions, from -10C in Scotland in the snow, gale force winds in Cornwall and sweltering heat in Yorkshire last summer and it's been faultless. Even in the gale force winds neither of us could sleep for the wind noise and the 90 rocking with each new gust but when we eventually ventured outside, the tent were intact with all pegs still secure. You really don't want to be side on to gale force winds in a roof tent if you want to sleep though , lesson learned that time, always pitch with the nose of the Land Rover pointing into the wind !

Find a good local trials club that offers trials for road going vehicles and go along to watch and/or compete. They will give you all the advice you need and you get to see what your vehicle is capable of in a controlled environment with advice on hand. You can then start to think about any modifications you can make to improve the vehicle off road. A standard Disco is a good base for trials and you really don't need to bolt half a ton of carp on it before you take it off road. For trials a decent set of tyres will certainly be your first option. Filling in your location on your profile will give people a better chance to recommend suitable clubs/locations/options

There's a BIG difference between digital publishing and simply delivering a printed publication in a digital form. Sending out a PDF, for example, of your printed magazine is not making a transition to digital media as a business it's simply delivering printed media in a different format. As a simple example, can you as a "digital" subscriber go to the LRM web site and pull up every article that mentions or is concerned with a "bobtail Range Rover" in the last 10 years ? Other than the convenience for you of delivery and storage and the saving of postage and printing costs for the publisher what additional benefit does the "digital" version give you as the end customer over the printed version ? It's a bit like businesses that produce a "mobile app" that is actually just loading their web site, on the surface it's delivering a "solution" but it actually adds nothing that a browser bookmark doesn't already provide and makes no use of the unique advantages of the particular device. I know Autosport isn't the most comparable publication because it has real "news" all the time but it is a printed magazine I used to buy religiously because of it's insight and quality of articles. I now subscribe to it online and as part of that subscription I have unlimited access, not just to current content but to content going back to the 1970s. On top of that people who don't subscribe also get access to those articles and can view so many per month without subscribing. They're not just bundling up a printed magazine and shipping out an email containing a "digital" version of it, they are making the transition to a digital business model, shaking off all the bad habits and mindsets that beset the print industry and moving on to join the rest of us. You can still buy the printed version and you can also get an enhanced digital version that includes video delivered to your mobile device weekly. For the publisher of course it also means that when I view an article from the 1970s they get new revenue from advertisers so that revenue stream is available forever not just for 1 month. http://www.autosport.com A better comparison might be FourWheeler network which is an amalgamation of a number of traditional 4x4 magazines by the same publisher. They seem to be going for more of a traffic oriented business model although they have the option at any time to change to something along the lines of the Autosport combined subscription model. You can still subscribe to the printed version but a lot of the content is available on the web site and because web space is less limited than printed space the web version of articles contains a lot more images and occasionally video. http://www.fourwheeler.com/off-road-magazine/ I'm frankly amazed and more than a little gobsmacked that this new "Landy Magazine" seems to be ignoring everything that's going on in the world of publishing and going straight for yet another traditional print media publication with no real digital offering. It looks more like a "spoiler" than a serious offering although I'm not sure who it's targeted at if it is a spoiler. If it was me that was publishing it I'd be launching it as an online offering as well as a printed offering, do the work once, get two revenue streams.

These are the apps I use regularly: Memory Map - spot on for green laning and other navigation as I have full OS 25000 and OS 50000 UK maps and now full HEMA Australian maps too. Music - I have my full music collection on my phone now and all my vehicles have USB connectors that allow me to play any music I fancy through the car ICE (Bluetooth is OK but the quality loss makes the sound a bit muffled by comparison). I haven't used a CD/Tape in the car since I got my iPhone. Podcasts - I set my phone to automatically download new podcasts for radio shows I like to follow, I can then play them in the car while I'm driving. Navigation - the built in navigation app (Apple Maps on the iPhone) is better than any standalone sat nav I've used, giving accurate directions and responding quickly when i use an alternative route Spirit level - surprising how often I use this when fabricating stuff as you can "0" it at any angle. Ebay app as above Calculator Notes app - auto syncs with my computer and iPad so if I make a note on any of them it appears on the other device iBooks - I have the rave manuals for my vehicles loaded into iBooks so I can use them as a reference should something go wrong while I'm out and about MegaReader - I have my large collection of eBooks loaded on the phone and use it as an ebook reader. Camera - auto syncs with the cloud storage so when I take a picture on my phone it's available on my other devices and also can be viewed (if I want it to be) on the shared web url. I'll be honest I can't remember how I coped without my iPhone !

The Landy comics have all been far too slow to react to the realities of modern publishing. They've been struggling to find a way to convert to digital media for years and none of them have been brave enough to make the transition either through lack of vision or lack of understanding. Finding a business model that makes the transition work is getting easier every day, particularly as print and digital use more and more common data, repurposing that data, particularly from print to digital, is simple and quick these days and mobile devices give easier access to revenue streams but the landy comics (as with most magazine publishers) seem to be stuck in a time warp. For content they rely so heavily on advertising revenue that they do their readers a disservice by actively promoting companies that they know to give poor service simply because they are paying the bills. Anyone that's been around the Land Rover "scene" for a while will remember how scrap iron racing effectively owned the magazines for years, ensuring that their sub standard and shoddy products and business practices got rave editorial reviews by buying up half the magazine in advertising. I had "discussions" at Billing many years ago with a number of "staff" regarding the problems of maintaining ethics given their apparent promotion of companies that they knew to be dodgy as **** and got the impression that nobody was happy with it but it was just "the way things are". The other problem for content, as perfectly illustrated in the "new" magazine linked above, is that there is little new content to sprinkle between the ads. Look at the articles "featured" on the front page - "building a better bobtail", because nobody has ever printed an article like that before have they ? The comics have managed to stick to the same formula of regurgitated stories and cookie cutter "ultimate xxxxx build" articles for years, trying valiantly to compete against each other to become as mediocre as possible so they don't upset their advertisers. I do miss the early LRW "ultimate trialer build" series though where they built (if memory serves) a series of 3 different trialers, built for different staff members, each of which was intended to be "the ultimate" and none of which ever actually got finished or was in any way any better than thousands of trials motors that were competing every week ! I don't think any of the current landy comics have any real credibility when it comes to editorial content, it's a real shame but that's been the cost of moving from a subscription based model (LROi prior to EMAP involvement) to an advertising revenue based model. Look at other publishing sectors and most of them are managing much better because they have real content to "sell" to the readers either through paper sales or online subscriptions. The Autosport model, for example, looks like a good balance using high content ratios to drive traffic and subscriptions while keeping the advertising low key. Finally, you have to wonder, given the bad press Britpart get on this particular forum, how this new magazine is going to approach that particular thorny subject when it relies on Britpart for it's distribution...

Not sure that converting to a soft top counts as "modified", you can reconfigure a Defender between soft top/hard top/truck cab in a day. For a basic model removing the hard top is around 10 bolts, about the same again for installing the hood sticks. The only time it gets more complicated is if you have a tarts Defender with lots of interior trim to get in the way. When I still had a vehicle that could be converted easily I regularly used to convert between soft top/open top/truck cab/hard top as weather and use dictated, often all 4 over a year. Obviously I'm assuming you're using a genuine set of hood sticks with seat belt provision.

I would double check that the coil is correctly wired up. The Coil is fed it's 12v from the amplifier loom (there's a T connection in there) and the -ve of the coil is then attached to the other side of the amplifier which handles the switching. It's worth disconnecting the amplifier and coil making sure you have 12v at the wire that was going to the coil +ve It's possible to get the wires swapped and if you have the coil inverted the ignition will run fine but connecting the ECU signal wire to the -ve won't give a pulse to the ecu.

Glad you found it useful I'll be shipping a new version in the next week or so, in test at the moment with some changes, mostly to take advantage of some iOS 7 features. The app at the moment is limited to the 10 control buttons on the main page although any of them can be reconfigured to suit a specific device. Do you have a manual for yours or a link to it ? It's probably safest for me to add a new device type to the configuration with 669+password replacing 666+password for the SMS locate button. The manual for the TLT-2H I have doesn't list 669 as a valid instruction so yours may be a later revision.

I use the Koni ones, although you have to remove the top eye on the rears to adjust them on the rear it's not really been an issue and with a heavily loaded overland 90 taking off over a hump back bridge and landing hard, even on the "soft" setting the damping worked wonderfully with the vehicle stabilising completely within one cycle - compressed on landing, rebound really well controlled, perhaps over extending by an inch and then settling back down to normal height. Compared to the Konis the OMEs used to cause the back end to jump about with poor rebound damping (leading to the rear end getting airborne on washboard sections). Bilsteins are OK but I always find them too harsh, they damp well when they do move but hitting minor bumps with them feels like they've seized solid. If you do hit them hard enough to move though they generally do a good job. Koni are the most "lively" shock I've ever fitted so be warned - a lot of gas shocks you can compress slightly as you fit them or at least hold them in one position. Fitting the Koni shocks I had to use my body weight to slowly compress them and a ratchet strap to hold them closed to fit them ! Unless you regularly bench press 100Kg fitting the top eye on the rear then pushing the shock closed to pop it through the bottom mount is NOT going to happen