UdderlyOffroad

I love the 'aircraft' look too, but unless you have access to a CNC machine to create back-lit panels....oh, wait, you do!! :-) Carlings are reasonable quality and popular for a reason, i.e. they work and can be used at night! That's what I'm going for anyway.

Excellent thanks! Was going to fit some window-switches to the cubbybox (like a Disco) - good to see am not the only one comtemplating it...

Agreed - it's a bit bling, but will probably fit one to my build in black - not quite so chavvy hopefully! Also as said, Phil at Raptor will make custom front panels with his CNC machine for IIRC sensible money. Back on topic, what kind of 'look' are you going for? Obviously there's the usual carbon-fibre plastic merchants out there...but I guess you want a 'stock' look, as our colonial cousins would refer to it?

Gawd let’s not start this again…we all know real trucks don’t have spark plugs… Hat, coat, door

Do I smell a HfH custom-fab-job in the offing? Give you a chance to practise your TIG skills? Failing that, Raptor Dash with custom holes? Raptor will CNC cut panels it for sensible money if you send them a CAD Drawing of what you want.

Very nice! Have taken a look at your website, any chance we could see some more pictures of the cubby box? Thanks... Matt

I’m no motorcyclist, but I have loaded motorbikes a couple of times into trailers and pickups…and frankly, for what they cost, I would advocate a cheap’n’cheerful dedicated trailer,* preferably a 3-bike one. A 3-bike version means you can carry a single bike in the middle and keep the thing well balanced. Whilst you can get dedicated ‘pick-up’ ramps (and in the US they cost a fraction of what they do here), at the end of the day a 90 truck bed is too small to be able to secure two bikes without at least one of the loadpoints (i.e. the wheel) being outboard of the truck! In other words, if you don’t have an accident loading the blady things you might well have one driving home! Just my £0.02 * or adapting a trailer you may already have with a ramp and securing arrangement Edit: Just noticed you are in Finland so the ebay link may not help much, but get the idea ;-)

Very interesting thread so far, I hadn’t realised how affordable these had become…any chance of some pictures of your installs please ladies and gents, especially Rovernut and Mad_Pete (mud dash install, sounds very smart). My interest comes from the fact I have a floor-to-roof bulkhead behind the rear passenger seats in my 110 build, so wouldn’t have an interior mirror anyway. Was going to fit larger (LDV) mirrors, but these kits raise the possibility of having an internal ‘3rd’ mirror again – the only problem I forsee is at night you’d need to dim the screen?

Nah Mike would just fibreglass it ;-) Nice job, I was under the impression the alloy was a right sow to weld. What rods did you use?

See me afterwards, boy! It is your own truck, do it properly. A “Bodgit and Scarper” attitude will only add to this ‘Land Rovers are unreliable’ reputation -especially when it comes to electrics. If you even utter the word 'Bodgelok' you will be sent to the headmaster's office for six of the best, trousers down. Ahem. You may find that you have existing wiring already in place (e.g. for a not-fitted Heated Rear Window or Wash/Wipe) to enable you to wire up a worklamp without running extra cables all the way down the truck. A work-lamp that comes on with reverse light is a no-no, as it will be above the allowable Wattage for a reverse light, see here for a discussion: Note: Wattage in this will be 'equivalent' of an incandescent bulb. Also, you may want your work light on when not reversing, i.e. camping, hitching up a trailer in the dark, etc, which is why it would be better switched separately.

Excellent thanks Jason! Don't think the RAC will be getting my renewal this year.

Jason, Any idea how well it would work for in-UK cover? Do you (or anyone else for that matter) have ADAC in addition to AA/RAC/Greenflag?

Agreed, but it's necessary occasionally! There is real and lasting resentment accross the EU as no electorate has ever signed up for it, and those that have been asked have said no (viz. Switzerland, several times! Totally contrary to what the politicians want). You must be havin' a larf....the steering-wheel-feeders-society would probably welcome banning modified cars - comes back to the public perception problem again.

From my (limited) experience, you need to do the following: Make sure you've had your Weetabix in the morning Get yourself one of these 3/4" socket sets. Crack off nuts using the supplied breaker bar and a piece of scaffold tube extension

Bling Rover! I wouldn't even take that on a green lane, I'd be too scared of scratching it! But you do have to admire the work that's on gone into it. Why are double cabs useless Will?

It's the bank of England that sets the interest rate, not 'the banks'. And separating monetary policy from fiscal policy is pretty much covered in about the first lesson in basic economics classes. Trouble is, will MPs even get to see this on the floor of the house? Or will it be passed into law via the medium of Statutory Instruments (SI) by unelected and unaccountable lawyers and mandarins at the DfT? I guess some of the bitterness on this thread stems from the fact that we see no need for the EU to be legislating on this or many other things? When did member states give up this much sovereignty and did the electorate get a say in it? In the UK at least, the answer is definitely no. A referendum ten+ years before I was born on entering "the common market" does not count.

Nobody knows - it depends on the extent of the directive when/if it appears and how much gold-plating the mandarins at the DfT/VOSA (and how much jack-boot enforcement) they will sign into UK law (note, not 'English Law' in this case). Until then, it's all speculation, including my hyperbole

You think £114 for a pair of pads is bad.... http://www.lrdirect.com/FRC8530-Washer/?sfi=frc8530 £9.18 for a washer!!

Ahh the Bolton war-cry! :-D Lockheed is usually the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) for LR Brake components. Answer is of course to find a good local indie parts distributor who isn’t just a blue-box shifter, as well as online merchants who give you a choice of OEM, ‘Genuine’ or aftermarket…(lrdirect.com is my current favourite, but lrseries amongst others). Can’t help with your local supplier though - maybe Maverik can help?

I know you've probably already ruled this out, but I would seriously recommend insuring it for the full year on your own insurance and building up no claims bonus. It is ridiculously expensive, and it will seem like a waste of money, especially if your uni doesn't allow you to bring a car. But it will, long term give you benefits, I.e. the cost of your insurance coming down next year, and you to have transport. By the way, there are ways and means round the not having a car at uni thing - but you need do some legwork on the ground. In other words, you could probably find a parking spot near your halls/house but not until the second term. Or your uni might have a motor club or sailing team with space to store the car. The latter two clubs are usually glad to have Landie available for towing duties (ask me how I know...). In other words, rather than messing around 'laying up' the Landie, use it! Even if you have to leave it at home for the first term... Obviously you need to do some time online and on the phone with the insurers to get a decent quote, but try some of the specialist landie insurers who advertise in the back of the mags too... Think about it before you dismiss it anyway.

Don't see any problem with using an Econoseal connector pair for the engine loom. That's my plan too!

http://www.markevans.co.uk/mark-evans-contact.php

If it’s just for starting your own engine and for assisting others doing the same then I would take those measurements down to the agricultural dealers/battery place and buy the biggest batteries you can physically fit in that space! I’ve no personal experience of Optimas but on paper they appear to be overpriced for their spec. However somebody who has actually used them may feel differently. The above assumes that those batteries will be used for starting only and no split charge or winch is involved. I.e. if you go with two batteries they are connected together as a bank permanently.

Hence why I’ve been saying we need to point out that if this is introduced it will affect all MOTs by pushing up their duration and therefore cost. That will interest the media. Actually, the idea of involving someone like Clarkson or Wilson (and I appreciate the ‘marmite’ effect here) will be the only way to make political headway. Personally, I think we need to orchestrate some kind of campaign (together with Pistonheads, et al), that people who have modified cars are not just 19 year old chavs racing their body-kit’d Saxos round car parks on a Saturday night. As for local newspaper “journalists”…I’m sorry but any dealings I’ve ever had with any of them…well, I probably shouldn’t say anything else as this a public forum but suffice to say I shan’t bother wasting my time talking to them. But I guess it was ever thus. As this is a Landie forum, there’s a fair bet some of you will be involved in shooting of one kind or another. Trying to interest the media at large in countryside issues in general meets with staggering indifference, and as soon as (shock horror) guns are mentioned, all bets are off. </rant> My serious point is that is it worth looking, at, say, how some of the campaigns started by the Countryside Alliance, BASC etc are run and learning from that?

Wikipedia is your friend here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_engines#Td5_.28Engine_Codes_15P_and_16P.29