Dave W

What format are the coordinates supplied in ? I've written a touchscreen app for Ozi-Explorer that gives you some additional off road features as well as allowing you to very quickly enter waypoints via a touchscreen interface. So far I've implemented OSGrid, Irish Grid and UTM formats. WGS84 lat and long would be the obvious next coordinate system to support but if events are using any other format and datum it might be worth adding that in too.

You should be able to solder it if it's copper, depends on how much pressure it needs to take. If it has to take pressure then you can either solder and sleeve it or put a joiner in if it's a standard plumbing size.

Be warned, there is a guy working out of Thirsk who has been responsible for screwing up a number of Land Rovers recently. He claims to be a qualified Land Rover mechanic but has no such qualification and has cost his "customers" a fortune to put right his "repairs". I've seen the results of his work at Maddison 4x4 (as the local Land Rover specialist they usually end up picking up the pieces) where some of his victims have had to have the work rectified afterwards. Not saying it is the same guy, more of a warning that you need to be careful who you pass on your hard earned to. There are quite a few good and trustworthy garages and mechanics in the area. I can recommend Maddison 4x4 or Station Autos myself, not had any experience with the others.

In a kind of oblique way I think it's referring to valve seat regression caused by using LPG in an engine that's designed to be used with leaded petrol. LPG is "unleaded" so you need an additive in the same way as you would for unleaded fuel unless you have hardened valve seats. Not sure how much help it will be though as most LPG systems only run on petrol for short periods of time... on the plus side the additive will last for ages !

To set it up properly you need to: 1) With the drag link removed make sure the steering wheel is centred, wind it from one lock to the other counting the turns, turn it half way back and if the steering wheel isn't in the straight ahead position, reposition it. reconnect the drag link. 2) Set the tracking up using the string method or have a garage set it up. 3) Adjust the drag link so that the steering wheel is in the straight ahead position when you are driving straight down an even road. There's no point in trying to set it to any specific length as every vehicle is different.

Not sure how many spring types BM do, their springs are made by Lovells to BMs own spec and they get the price down by ordering large numbers of the same spec. Maybe you get the same spring each time because those are the only springs they do ? Probably too late now but if you want to use Lovells springs maybe you'd be better buying them as Lovells that way you get the full warranty too.

I can't see it needing any additional power to lock up, on the ZF it's achieved by reversing the flow of oil through the TC, the oil would flow the same regardless of lock up, "all" that changes is the direction of flow. The real saving comes through increased efficiency in passing power through the torque converter when it is locked up.

It's all about keeping the box in the best gear for the conditions so the overall gearing can have unexpected effects. An adjustable shift pattern like the compushift offers can help mask the effects a bit but you still need the right balance of final ratios, torque convertor etc... Most RV8s, as an example struggle much below 2000 RPM so even when cruising on a motorway, if 70MPH drops you below 2000 RPM then the slightest incline or headwind will require you to kick down to keep a constant speed. As well as being tiring this will kill your fuel consumption. Whilst cruising at 70 with the auto box locked up you may feel that you'd get better fuel consumption at 2000 RPM but you'll actually get better overall consumption at around 2500-3000 RPM. If you have enough torque to pull 70 up a moderate incline without much increase in throttle then you're in about the right place, gearing wise IMV. Having played around with lots of combinations of transfer box, gearbox, engines, wheel sizes I always seem to end up altering the transfer box to that point. I'm currently running a 1.2 transfer box with 35 inch simex but that's only because I have the torque in the engine to hold it.

Is it an electronic box ? Either way that's a good deal but if it's electronic you'll need something to control it (Compushift as an example) which will increase the price considerably with the current dollar rate.

Sorry, can't help you there, we just looked in the parts book and, as we'd fitted a 3.9 auto setup figured 50th Anniversary would be the right setup so ordered the part numbers in the book. I'll have a look later and see if there are any colour codes visible on them still - they've been on there for about 6 years now. cheers Dave

Most of the suppliers are selling Mocal ones, Mocal items are manufactured by Think Automotive - http://www.thinkauto.com/ They do a really nice (not listed on the web site that I've found) relief valve that opens to let air out when the tank exceeds a certain pressure and opens to let air in when the tank exceeds a set vacuum. It means the rest of the system can be completely sealed with a single pipe venting. If you use a single none-return valve as your only vent you can get problems with the tank becoming pressurised due to gasses being released from the fuel expanding. I'd recommend requesting a catalogue, loads of useful info in there about different fittings/threads/standards.

We've not had any further queries/problems raised so I guess they'll stay as they are now. Most of the initial "problems" were down to interpretation, jumping to conclusions or people not reading all the regs and once they'd spoken with us on the phone it all got sorted.

Bit of T cut and some strategically placed chequer plate and it'll be sorted

All cages are a compromise between ultimate safety and practicality. Whilst some designs aren't the ideal they can make for a much more practical vehicle if you need a multi-purpose vehicle. When I had my cage built I had a choice between storage and practicality or going for a full MSA spec. In the end I went for the former simply because I'd spent too many years struggling around an MSA design that screwed up everything I wanted to do with my vehicle. My current design gives maximum storage for camping gear, food, clothing, spares and allows me to easily slot an Ifor Williams or crew cab soft top on the back if I need more storage for long distance touring. My comp motor even gets to tow the caravan sometimes ! We're not competing in high speed events and I've triangulated the rear stays to give the main hoop further support and there is also triangulation form the front hoop to resist the cage going into "shear". Having said all that a close look at my main hoop will also reveal lugs for fitting by the book MSA spec rear stays should I need to at some point in the future !

You need to be careful changing transfer ratios with a ZF auto. The torque converter isn't particularly efficient in an auto and to improve on this the ZF 4 speed "locks" the torque converter up at certain speeds/pressures/throttle positions. This greatly improves the MPG. If your gearing is preventing the torque converter locking up then you'll increase your fuel consumption. Sometimes, especially with large tyres, going for a lower ration transfer box can actually improve MPG because the TC stays locked up for longer periods, particularly when cruising at a constant speed.

My comp motor did about 6000 last year (not including shipping miles) My P38 did around 5000

I use In Car Terminal for my front end it comes with all the usual plugins and is customisable via a "skin designer". Getting a bit old now and not supported but it is free and works fine on XP http://www.cartft.com/catalog/il/444

The problem with +2 etc... is they rarely take into account the vehicle type or the weight distribution. The best handling Defender I've ever driven is Pam's 90 which is on 50th Anniversary LR springs, it uses a differently rated spring on each corner ! I have approx. a 2inch lift on mine by using LR OEM springs with HD 110 hard top springs on the back and Disco rear springs on the front (red and whites I think). Took a while to find the right combination of springs but I'm happy with them now and it handles really well and I know pretty much that any replacement I buy is going to be the same rating/height.

UPDATE The MT has moved a week after agreeing a change in dates between us and another event being organised on the main site. It will now take place from 20th-22nd March 2009 Entry forms are now available on the event web site along with the event regs. http://www.muddytruckers.co.uk/regs_and_entry.html If a mod could edit the subject to the correct dates ?

Sorry, been slacking in getting all the forums updated. Muddy Truckers entry forms are up as said. The membership is included in the entry fee, I'll make that clear on the site as I'd kind of forgotten about it. YORC is taking a very small admin fee to cover the costs of the membership card and the permit as we thought it unfair to charge £25 a go and with such a mix of people, some who are members of clubs, some who are not it was just simpler to include a token fee in the entry, especially as both driver and navi need to be members. Those of us who are already members also pay the fee as it makes the paperwork simpler and makes it fairer.

Britpart bush kits are Polybush, they come in a Polybush box. Same as my ARB compressor came from Britpart and my EPC disks and pads. I find the yellow Polybush from Britpart or anyone else too hard so use the blue ones on mine. I was fortunate enough to get a set of SuperPro bushes for use on the Outback Challenge, fitted a mix of those and the Britpart Polybush Blues just prior to shipping in March last year, did a few thousand k in Australia including the competition and have yet to need to replace either the SuperPro ones or the Britpart ones. It's going to depend on your use but unless you're doing a lot of miles fully laden I'd go for a softer option and if they don't last quite as long then at least they're easier to replace than OEM rubber ones.

Apart from the designs approved by the MSA/FIA where the rules and regulations are very specific and Jim's design doesn't meet any of them Only a problem if you want to compete in an MSA event that requires a roll cage of course. The single piece front hoop thing comes from the ALRC whose designs were incorporated into the MSA regs rather sharpish when it was realised that all their cages were about to be "illegal" for MSA use My cage doesn't meet full MSA regs either as far as I can tell but it's designed to do a job, as you point out.

lol, that's true, that could be a draw back !

Looking at this from another angle, IF you were to get some custom rims made up (I think Allied Rockathon do 16.5 inch rims so can make them with Land Rover PCD, I'm sure there will be others) although the wheels would be expensive initially you'll have an almost endless supply of cheap tyres to go on them

I wondered that too... I'd go for some really low profile ones myself, go for the cart wheel look