UdderlyOffroad

This pic any help? Snapped one morning in Aberdeen, stumbling bleary-eyed and hungover out of an overpriced hotel... Apologies not the best pic Matt

Cracked it! That did the trick - the spot welds duly presented themselves. I don't have an anglers filleting knife but used the flattest cold chisel I had knocking about. Yep, am sure I'll be buying a load of YRM stuff at the Donnington 4x4 show. The seatbelt anchorages are definitely being replaced, they were shot to absolute, cat-in-hell bu**ery. Cheer for the advice Jeff, spot on! Matt

Wow. Just lost an hour on that and the garage journal website. I think the conclusion to draw is: The British do take the tiddle out of the Yanks on a regular basis, but the one thing they do have is space. And money. Definitely money.

If you haven't already, have a look at Retroanaconda's guide to installing a TD5 instrument pack in an older vehicle (the sissy's version of what you're doing ). From looking at his schematic, it appears that the speedo transducer is directly plugged into the rear instrument pack? Difflock switch is a simple circuit, ditto reverse light, so you should be able to make up simple "transmission loom" yourself. That's my plan anyway, but I'm taking the sissy route.... Matt

Thanks Jeff some good tips there. Quarter panel stays are long gone. Self-tappers all rusted to bu**gery, so they met their demise at the hands of Mr AngryGrinder. The floor needed a large amount of persuasion with LR tool number 1 before it would part company with the tub. Couldn’t see any rivets on the side of the wheel arch boxes, but I’ll have another look. Hopefully that’ll be what’s holding this thing together. I know, my one is not shot (everything else is), it’s just I can’t persuade it to relinquish its grip on the two wheel arch boxes. Actually YRM now do a complete kit, soo tempting to splash the plastic on that and stop messing about, but £250+VAT is a lot of beer tokens!

Hoping the collective wisdom on here can help me out. Am currently trying to take my 110 CSW rear tub to bits as the fore-to-aft stringers have turned to white powder around the seat belt mounts, and there are various holes and dings in the tub after a hard life as a shooting brake on an estate. Rear Body Lower I’ve drilled through umpteen spot welds and rivets. Firkin’ thousands. Finally managed to release the floor (item 8) from the rest of the tub. That was stuck like a ferret to a rabbit let me tell you. Clearly not a Friday afternoon Land Rover. Mind I’m not sure that the seam sealer wasn’t structural. But no matter how many holes I make, I cannot release the two sides (3, 6) from the rear angle mount (9). Does anyone have any tips, clues or otherwise advice? I need to preserve that angle as a) there’s nothing wrong with it and b) the angle section replacement is expensive! And before you ask why I’m taking it to bits at all and not just replacing the rotten bits. Quite simply, space. I will only have room in the garage to spray up bulkhead-sized pieces, and that’s pushing it! Any ideas? Matt

Wrangler's date for the chop is 2018 I believe....and that's to do with regulations being introduced in the US. My particular contribution to this rumour-mill based thread is what a dealer in Aberdeen told me, and that is that from 2015, Defender production will continue in Pune, India. Am sure people will start importing them, though with 10% import duty, 20% VAT, you'll need deep pockets

Another vote for the above. Have also used Toolstations primer followed by a couple of coats of their metal paintpaint. Seems to be relatively chip resistant. Not bad for the price either

If you have the Defender 200 tdi engine, IMHO it would be far easier swap its inlet and exhaust manifolds over (fitting the good turbo, obviously), along with the timing chest. Solves all the exhaust/conversion kit issues at a stroke, because, effectively, you have all the correct parts already fitted. Or, put another way, the disco engine conversion kits from Steve Parker et al are to get around a problem you don’t have! But if you’re set on wanting to keep the disco engine ‘stock’ can I suggest that you at least swap the flywheel housing over from the Defender engine, this will save having to drill and tap holes to mate it to your gearbox. Whilst you have that in bits, you can treat it to a new OEM rear crank seal and clutch (depending on condition). Just my £0.02 Matt

The clothing from both seems to be of variable quality, but I haven’t noticed the tools drop in quality? Treated myself to the 3hp Lidl compressor before Christmas, certainly seems to do what it says on the tin.

Love it! I think it's a Kei car. Probably still has better ergonomics than a Defender There's something about Japanese TV adverts....(warning hooky copy content) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnaLRbbc-54

Most DRLs come with a control box that provide these two functions, so all one needs is a 12v feed, and to tap into the headlamp feed. Alt feed would do fine...possibly need an in-line fuse

The amount of 'good old fashioned engineers' I meet who will design/spec something with zero reference to practicallity - especially maintability - continues to flabber my ghast on a weekly basis. I've found it's usually the grads, who, because they've been on the shop floor having their ear bent by the technicians, are more likely to think about RAM*! Exceptions to the rule in both cases of course, especially the pillocks (from both camps) who turn up on the shop floor in a suit and tie. But yes, no substitute for experience. /OT-rant *Reliability/ Accessibility / Maintainability

Can't you just drop an bolt in from the top and use a square nut? A dab of superglue/bluetak/WHY would hold it in place if necessary.

Think very carefully about this choice. Are you absolutely sure that you won’t need to transport more than one passenger? Even as young+free+single chap I realised that cutting about in a 110 HT was ok, transporting sideways facing passengers off-road/green lanes was fine, but wasn’t going to cut it on road. So I ended up converting my HT to a utility station wagon. Not an issue as I’m doing a complete rebuild, but it would’ve been easier to start out with a station wagon. I’m not alone, there are many threads on this and other forums about options for rear seats for a hard top, usually because the poster has had a family and doesn’t want to give up the Landie, but needs to safely transport his/her progeny, as well as their partner. Now, there are options (Exmoor trim lock and fold), but they ain’t cheap. As for sleeping arrangements, as has been said, you have a blank canvas, plenty of pics online. Most build a platform to get that little bit of extra length, a 110 HT load area isn’t long enough for most people. An SW isn’t necessarily worse, in fact I contend that the lack of rear bulkhead will make it easier. You will definitely need to build a sleeping platform, have a look at JasonG110’s Build thread for an example. Some dimensions below for the load area:

Hi Lexxie, A lot of your Dutch Land Rover-Nut friends come over for the Newbury 4x4 Spares day...not quite like a scrap yard, but if you come early with a shopping list and cold, hard cash you will have a lot of vendors to choose from. Of course, you'll have to wait until April, but if you book ferry tickets now it could work out not too expensive. Matt

Work in aviation by any chance Ralph? I've kept all the receipts, not that I intend to sell or total it up, either would just depress me!! Matt

Tanuki, I'm printing this and putting it on the wall in my garage! The way I've always looked at it is: Land Rovers are the closest we come to adult Meccanco/Lego.

If 'fenders aren't your thing, why put in the graft for something that isn't your idea of fun? A contemporary Disco will have a decent heater, more comfort, and the same off-road performance. The appeal of the Defender, to me is its customisability (if that's a word). If you want to keep it 'stock' for an everyday driver, you might as well keep a Disco. That said, if you're confident that the rolling chassis has the correct paperwork for the Belgian authorities - and you've got the room to store it, go ahead. You could slowly build up bits and panels, and build it up as and when funds allow. This would allow you to drop on new/refurbed components and have a decent 'fender to sell/run as you see fit. Even if you change your mind half way through, you should get back what you've spent on it. Personally, I'd stay away from Camel anything. Too many beardy-weirdys demanding authenticity down to the last nut and bolt, as well as a massive amount of kit you don't want to carry around on a daily basis - that's my opinion based on no more than having had a sniff around one at show though! Matt

Mike, Go to an 'elf and safety shop near you (workwear specialist), and try on some workboots. I've got some light, comfy ones (composite cap) which cost £45 from my nearest branch of Arco. Perfect for 'fender pedals. Reasonably waterproof too. Mind you, my employer paid for those...

Hmmm Some way to mount a tow socket which is protected and reasonably water proof. I did look at trying to adapt one of the military sockets to take a ‘civvie’ connector, but a seller at Newbury wanted £20 for a knackered one! A dash which would allow permanent mounting of a 7in tablet. These are now at price where a permanent mounting makes sense, for GPS (on/off-road duties), OBD on-the-fly, as well as the jukebox. I personally have a hatred of wires running everywhere and ‘cluttered cockpit’ syndrome. I appreciate there’s some competition in the defender dash marketplace (MUD, Raptor, IronGoat) but I suspect a well-made, configurable X-dash would sell like hot X-buns (see what I did there?). If you could somehow add a side-mounted fuse/distribution board for auxiliary circuits, that would, I’m sure broaden the appeal even more. I second the battery box idea – perhaps similar to the one Mmgemini made - I.e. where you could fit 2 batteries in, but have a decent retaining mechanism, and room for a decent busbar? Perhaps sell as a deluxe x-splitcharge kit. A plastic fuel tank which fits in place of the 110 metal one (pre TD5) – without the need to make chassis mods. Going by MikeTomCat’s thread, seems 90 tanks aren’t great either. Yachty types have small volume, rotational moulded diesel tanks made quite often, so tooling/setup costs might not be as bad as you think Matt

He'll soon learn DD ;-) My advice? Don't start without: Plenty of WD-40, some Plusgas, MrAngryGrinder, a 3/4" socket set, and a selection of hammers. Plenty of beer, tea & bacon for you+your helpers.

Now that's an idea I like, build a shed out of decking. Pressure treated, chunky. Possibly not too expensive depending on source. That's not really an option as it will be on a patio, I've no wish to start lifting slabs and cutting chunks out of them. Good idea though! Does anyone have an off-the-shelf solution they're happy with?

The various workshop build-threads on here have got me thinking about my ‘man cave’ – full as its with various Landie bits. But it’s also full of various other detritus including bikes and gardening kit. Ideally I’d like to that stuff into a shed, as a couple of times this weekend I came close to injuring myself (not to mention scratching an expensive bike) carrying heavy stuff tripping over a bike. Had a look round B&Q as they’re only round the corner from me. They had a selection of ex-display sheds on special, for not a lot, but the quality was so gash-awful I wasn’t willing to part with my hard-earned. They did have a plastic bike shed, which would’ve been perfect size, but again, for £149 I thought the quality was terrible. So what have you got? Purchased or home-built? For £150 I could build something myself with Treated timber. In that case I’d probably build a (secure-ish) lean-to against my block garden wall. Plan B would be a 6x4 or 8x4 shed, but I would prefer the large side door to enable easy bike access.

Thanks for the responses all. So, it appears that there might be a reason it was cheap? No matter, for £60 it will make a good trailer winch! Or, rather than mount it on the trailer, I might mount it onto a Dixon-Bate slider plate for use at the back of the truck. There's already an Anderson connector there, after all. I took the plastic cover off today, and the motor did appear to be quite puny compared to the size of everything else. No sign of an ID plate or model number though, just a serial number. That said, googling 'Superwinch X6' has turned up broadly similar units.