101sean

On my lightweight the front right wheel sits further outside the wing than the left by about 15mm. I'd put this down to having one odd rim but today I pulled all the wheels off to clean the brakes (to find the inevitable blown hub seal ) and checked the part numbers on the rims; they are all the same! The vehicle was rebuilt on a new chassis about 18 years ago after it was written off and the body and chassis all line up. The axle looks to sit on the springs OK but measuring from the edge of the brake drum to the chassis, RH side is 15mm further out Probably find out why when I get round to fitting new springs (5 leaf ones have gone flat) but it has me mystified for now!

Change the thermostat as well, it's in the hoses down the side of the rad, easier while that's out. If you're feeling spendy, get the right tool for the spring hose clips or you'll be fiddling and cursing with a variety of pliers and mole grips!

Nice write up, the originals rarely get opened. I still have a shed load of 4 x 12mm rivets if anyone wants to pm me (I had to buy 1000 when I needed 50!), postage plus price of a pint.

T wash or mordant wash was invented in a railway workshop to allow galvanised steel sheet roof panels to be painted. I bought a gallon from my local galvanisers when I got some 101 stuff done which I didn't want to leave bare. Advise from the horses mouth here - http://www.galvanizing.org.uk/about_galvanizing/painting_and_powdercoating/guidelines_pre_treatment_for_painting

www.v8forum.co.uk is good for advice

I got fed up with rattling windows and constantly wet in the back. Peeled off the cover strip and several of the rivets along the bottom of both frames were loose. I drilled all the rivets out and took the frames out and cleaned them up. The foam seal is stuck in and rather than scrape the old seal out and replace it, I ran a bead of black silicone over it and put the window back in. Trouble is the rivets are 4mm, 4.8 heads are too big to fit in the channel, so I had to buy a box of 1000 from my local supplier for €16!! Between doing that and replacing the alpine seals I now have a dry 110 in the rear (still leaks like a sieve in the front ) If anyone wants 4mm rivets, pm me and I'll bring some back from Ireland in a couple of weeks, I have over 900 left I'll never use!

I reckon you need spacers on the chassis mounts and then ratchet strap the top of the bulkhead to line it all up. Just because it's new bits doesn't mean it's straight plus the outriggers could be slightly out. Don't forget the Defender build tolerances of +/- 25mm!

Go for it, I do a lot of CAD for work (mostly rail track drainage) and actually found drawing bits of Land Rover relaxing! I've only done stuff for 101s and Rapier trailers that are no longer available plus a full colour wiring diagram. Someone on the 101 forum is doing a 101 chassis but in 3D using Solidworks

If you want to keep them, there are overhaul kits available, the supplier has a page on fb that has a pic of every type FWH https://www.facebook.com/lroptionalequipment?fref=ts Personally I think they are a waste of time.

Yea, no one wants a DL plater as the suspension will be wrecked! They've buggered the registration system up even more now (rant developing here!) thanks to SIMIs influence. The system switched to Jan and July new registrations last year as the dealers thought no one would buy 13 reg cars so 131, 132, 141 etc came in. Also imports now have to have a separate numbering system with 5 digits in most counties and 6 in Dublin. Mate imported a GAZ jeep and got something like 53 D 120001. Classics can have the option of an old style plate but they only use ZV so those are now running to 5 and 6 figures which look wrong ZV12345 etc. They haven't got the common sense to use old unused county numbers, there's thousands spare from rural counties.

It's something I remember from all the holidays and up to the 80s, Beetles, Peugeots and Toyotas with rickety trailers and small tractors at the mart and lots of old wrecks parked in hedgerows. Now it's all Landcruisers and monster JDs and not a bit of scrap to be found. Wanted to find an old banger for my father to drive a couple of years ago and struggled to find anything thanks to SIMI's influence on the government with the wasteful scrappage scheme. Found him a 01 Polo eventually.

I have a similar tool and a length of copper pipe to run it inside. When I rebuilt my 101's V8 I used a tub of rebuild stuff I got from V8 Tuner which coated everything, when I used the tool in the drill to to spin up the pump it nearly whipped it out of my hand when the pump primed. The initial high speed start up was scary but very satisfying when the oil light went out instantly and the lifters quietened down quickly. First time I'd rebuilt an engine, wore a silly grin for the rest of the day!

I've always had my NCT test done in Cahir, don't think they've ever looked for the chassis no. They've always been sound there, last test the reversing light didn't work and the tester came out after to see if we could get it working and have a chat, he was probably bored with testing Corollas and Passats! The whole motor tax system, NCT/DOE testing and VRT is a crock of sh!te and confusing as hell. I'm a mod on boards.ie and it seems there's a rumour of further cracking down on commercial conversions going by the number of recent posts.

Yep, cheap, thick and treacly! V8s run a large volume of oil at relatively low pressure compared to most other engines. Because I have a 101 and a Lightweight, I buy 20W50 and EP90 in 20l drums, works out cheaper.

You have to apply on a form V10 rather than use your reminder, there's a section to apply for a different class. The form says you can do it at a post office. My lightweight's V5 says "declared manufactured in 1973" rather than a specific date, don't know if that will affect it when I apply. I'm on sorn at the moment as the gearbox renewal turned in to an epic then I broke a halfshaft and the MOT is now out! My 101 is registered in Ireland at the moment but if I bring it back here it will be tax free in two years, should really be three as the Reg document says 1975 although it was built in 76

To add the above, the 101 manual steering box is a bit of a weak point, the ball bearings can corrode or shear and the races pit until they fail and the column unwinds instead of steering, it happened to me! I t was years ago when spares were still obtainable easily. You can machine the column and put proper bearings in but it's a fair bit of work.

I'd bet on a wiring loom issue with it chafing around the bell housing. As it idles down from high revs under load the engine will shift more on the mounts. The wiring loom is a tight fit, I've changed one and there is no slack whatsoever. Td5s do not wear and if it was a failed oil pump bolt, the engine would be dead by now, you don't have low pressure.

Broke the one up in my lightweight with a fine centre punch without damaging the crank.

Had K&Ns on the 101 for a short while while I located the correct airbox. Sound good for about 5 minutes but the induction roar soon gets wearing. You could also hear the carbs take an almighty gulp of fuel when you blipped the throttle Sold them on for what I paid for them.

Use the powerspark, should be OK with that coil. If the dizzy is old it will probably be worn internally as will the drive gear, if so, I'd just bin and fit a new replacement electronic one from simonbbc. You don't have an amp with points but standard would have had a ballast resistor with a bypass when starting.

LR Fasteners will do all the correct bolts with the correct finishes for the body but will be very spendy unless you're an originalist. Majority will be M6 and M8 in various lengths, just get a bg supply in off ebay or a fastener specialist. Don't use stainless for anything structural. For things like the hubs, calipers and anything mechanical or suspension, buy the the correct bolts as many will be stronger than the standard 8.8

Don't bother waiting for the glow plugs on a Td5 unless it's -10 outside, they will fire instantly first turn when working properly even if it's been sat for ages. Change the filter first and purge the system. If you still have the problem then do the injector seals. How much fuel is in the tank? I've known a failing fuel pump to cause the same problem unless the tank was over half full.

I had an early 110 that we hauled the loom out of when we replaced the rear crossmember and the loom has started to chafe but hadn't gone through any of the wires. It stayed outside the chassis after that.

I've just done my alpine light seals, what a PITA job. Took me three hours each side with a struggle to get the seal around the curved ends. After I finished I checked an offcut of the new seal (which came in a blue bag ) and it was heavier in section overall than the original although the glass recess was correct.

Never had an issue with oil pump priming on a V8. Oil wise, stick to 20W50 or 10W40 if a later engine, V8s go for volume rather than pressure and thick and treacly is good!. Don't use semi or synthetic, too thin and it will sound like a bag of nails. Change oil regularly, buying 20l drums is cheapest but older motor factors sell cheap 20W50, don't be fooled by Castrol or Halfrauds Classic in retro tins, paying through the nose for the same stuff. Old Haynes manuals were great, now they're not worth the toilet paper they are printed on. Anything difficult is says take to a dealer. The LR V8 overhaul manual can be found on lots of sites and www.V8forum.net has some great advice.