Neil Marshall
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Posts posted by Neil Marshall
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I can see twice
Not any more Neil!
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Would this make a standard 200tdi more efficent without fueling up or any tweaking????
A larger intercooler generates denser, cooler, air so more fuel is required per volume for an efficient burn. So the answer really is no - you would have to adjust fueling. But you could manage it yourself as a controlled experiment - see here - or fit the intercooler then take it to a specialist. Don't Allisport offer free fits? [They certainly used to]
Neil
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smaller bin can go with that , more Yappy snappy Jack Russell than Rotty! but HELLO MAGS????????????
Made me laugh!!!!
Have a nice day!!
Neil
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Hope you arent talking about me again Neil!!!
You'd need a very much smaller, quieter, bin for a start.....and a supply of Hello magazines??
Neil
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That was a good read!! Now, Stephen, you have been selected to proceed to the next level of the game. First borrow a rottweiler and a bigger bin.........
Neil
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Enough of the cockpit shots, welcome to my sitting room
Steve, did you do all that yourself? Looks quite amazing....would you like to attack my kitchen next??!!
Neil
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Les, a pristine example went for £120 on Ebay three months ago [Dagenham] - looks a fantastic piece of kit.
Neil
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IIRC when I fitted my rev counter, I adjusted the slides 1 & 3 up with 2 down, to give approx 4000rpm max & 800rpm at idle
Ditto - my second guess on the DIP switch combination gave me an 800 rpm idle - close enough for me. Easy to re-site the other dials to get the tacho next to the speedo.
Neil
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As the NERC bill reaches a critical stage, the more our voices are raised in unity, the more we will influence the decisions which are made on our behalf. To those who would accuse us of causing a rift within the laning community, we would answer that we are here to support, not tear down, existing organisations.
Dave, my comments relate only to the NERC Bill, and I do not challenge your motivations on other issues, as they do not concern me, whereas the Bill does - if you are able to work contructively and coherently with all the other pressure groups, particularly GLASS, then you might indeed add force to the arguments in favour of green laning. It is a fact of political life that Government typically weighs up submissions on the basis of a simple head count of organisations lobbying for and against a variation in legislation, and another in favour will most definitely help.
Organisations new to lobbying will often focus on too many issues, and believe that Government is interested in subtle points of detail, which they are not - stick to three or four main points, make sure your supporting arguments are robust and repeat them endlessly. Four organisations getting precisely the same messages out to the media, to Ministers, to back benchers and to organisations charged with protecting the countryside is undoubtedly better than three from a lobbying standpoint.
You should take comfort that Government knows and cares nothing about the politics or background of breakaways.
If, on the other hand, your input or public statements are at variance with the other groups on any significant issue, then Senior Policy Advisers will alert Ministers, as will the countryside agencies, and they will exploit those differences mercilessly. This is what is termed a lobbying own goal.
Always bear in mind too that Government is not actively encouraging opposition to their draft legislation, only support, and nothing looks worse than a rabble of confused voices scrabbling to win position, not the argument.
This message applies equally to GLASS and TRF, as well as to CRAG, and relates to fundamental principles of lobbying. Your first steps - however hard this might be for any of the parties - should be to make your peace with GLASS and TRF and to begin working constructively with and alongside them. I wish you well in achieving these aims.
Neil
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Background: This post appeared on Friday on the Mud Club Forum - from Cadman [Gary Lawes], an Executive Council Member of GLASS, to Paul Humphreys:
1. As an area rep for GLASS, it would seem to be inappropriate to establish a rival organisation. A dignified approach would have been to resign first, prior to forming a seemingly competing organisation. I would hope that CRAG is not founded on such ethics.
2. GLASS, TRF and LARA combined are themselves small fry compared to the scale of the anti’s, further fragmentation further plays into their hands.
3. The urgency and quantity of work that we have had to undertake in response to NERC have brought GLASS and TRF together closer and better than ever before, the enemy has shown its hand and we finally have something concrete to go after. It is a shame when so much positive is happening, to have what has obviously been co-ordinated, persistent anti GLASS activity undermining the hard work of volunteers working for the benefit of us all. I hope this has nothing to do with the formation of CRAG.
4. GLASS in conjunction with TRF and LARA is investing tens of thousands of pounds in fighting the NERC bill. I struggle to see what a startup organisation can do to assist in such a battle, and obviously every GLASS/TRF member that moves to CRAG will further weaken our position and be detrimental to greenlaning as a whole.
5. I fully appreciate that from the outside GLASS may have seemed relatively inactive during this critical time, and there is no doubt we were caught cold, having been foolish enough to trust this two faced back stabbing government. But trust me from that moment on the work has been incessant, co-ordinated and very thorough, we are lucky to have some exceptional legal minds on the GLASS exec. Please understand the lack of visibility is an essential part of what is happening.
6. GLASS is a totally voluntary organisation, a lot of very good and hardworking people give up a great deal of their time fighting for our hobby, I for one get very angry when I hear their efforts being rubbished. I know for sure it will take years for a new start organisation to achieve the levels of skill, financial resource and capability of GLASS, right now we only have weeks !
Paul, as I said I am on the GLASS exec. But the above is my personal view, good luck with the venture and enjoy your laning, but please don't suggest for one minute that what you are doing is anything but negative to the cause.
Paul's reply:
I can not speak for the other founding members of CRAG. I do know that A top member of GLASS (carnt remember his name as I did not speak to him) was told of this going public this morning. I take it he had not passed on this information. I will try to answer your points from my point of view, this may not as the rest of CRAG see it.
1, I can not say to much about this as all of the founding members are/were members of GLASS, dose this say some thing about GLASS?
2, WE aim to work with LARA and the TRF if possible and maybe GLASS.
3, CRAG was formed by a group of people that felt that others were not done in he best way possible. As for volunteers then I was down at Sarn Helen tlast week, so were other founding members of CRAG.
4, On this one time will tell. We aim to work with County Councils and not just fight them as this was and is working.
5, I do agree with the bit "having been foolish enough to trust this two faced back stabbing government." But I was at the GLASS AGM.
6, CRAG is a totally voluntary organisation but was formed by people who have become disillusioned with the way thing have been done by other "groups".
As you this is my personal view and maybe not the same as the one taken by CRAG.
Time will tell if we get it right or not, we aim to do the best job we can. People will support us or not depending on how they feel and belive.
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I can understand the irritation about yet another group forming - all I can say is that if CRAG achieve something new, or inspire GLASS, LARA et al to find new energy to convince the regulators they are removing our rights, then that would be an enduring legacy. Below is an article from yesterday's Telegraph penned by yet another pressure group, the Trail Riders' Fellowship - airing the argument is of course an achievement in itself, but not enough to start winning battles, let alone the war. Time is also not on our side.
So CRAG now exists, like it or not, and I can only hope that they are moved to go one step further, to persuade commentators, regulators and Ministers to speak up for our rights of access. They do not have many weeks and they will need extremely well honed lobby skills to change the course of this legislation. We will all watch with interest. So my plea, Paul, is that you and your team make a robust game plan very quickly indeed, stick to it, make sure it is almost impossibly hard to achieve [because that is the nature of the problem we face] share it with the other interest groups and communicate the message widely, clearly and loudly to the right people. Oh and succeed - then everyone will take note of the new group.
Motorists face unsurfaced road ban
Daily Telegraph 05/11/2005
At its last parliamentary reading, the Natural Environment and Rural Communities (Nerc) Bill contained sections that will result in closing more than half of all vehicular rights of way.
Rumours abound that the anti-motoring lobby will go for broke during the Bill's passage through the Lords, extending the effect to all unsurfaced roads, writes Ian Packer of the Trail Riders Fellowship.
Even as it stands, the Bill will be devastating for the recreational motorist, rendering legal trail-riding and 4x4 use in some regions impossible or pointless. This is in spite of negotiations with DEFRA and minister Jim Knight, which had arrived at an equitable and sustainable process that DEFRA and the minister were apparently happy with.
The Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers stated earlier this year that vehicle use on Rights of Way (RoW) was "perceived as a problem, rather than actually being one".
Moreover, the Government's own Faber-Maunsell Report on the Impact of Motor Vehicle Use on Byways (2003) concluded that damage to unsealed RoW as a result of such use was minimal and that there were no grounds to assume that such use caused significant problems for other recreational users or those living in the countryside.
So what happened? During the Bill's passage through the Commons, politics and power took over from logic and reason. In early debates, Jim Knight had corrected the misinformed statements of those MPs set on banning vehicles at any cost, but then he seemed to join them.
Thus we are facing legislation that is likely to end a much-loved pastime, damage businesses and restrict access to the countryside to the fit and able-bodied, based on uninformed claims given to MPs by the Rambler community. Under the right to roam, walkers have access to 100 per cent of the country's trails and more than 95 per cent of them are already closed to vehicles, but it seems this is not enough.
This has been achieved by giving the impression that the Nerc Bill will stop the nuisance-use of vehicles in the countryside and town parks. Yet as the hooligans in question are already there illegally, why will they suddenly now stop at the introduction of a new law? Didn't we have this scenario with handguns? Those who enjoyed their use in clubs, under carefully certified conditions, lost them, while gun crime soared.
Much has been made of the fact that the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF), which I represent, has been applying for byway status for many trails. This has been presented as "claiming new byways", the implication being that new vehicular routes are being created.
This is absolute nonsense. The TRF and others have simply been applying for existing vehicular rights to be correctly recorded, because the RoW Act of 2000 required it. The task of research and correct recording has been given to local councils since at least 1968, but most have done little. Now we are to be punished for local authority failures and our own success at picking up the task.
There are claims that these unsurfaced roads exist through the legal loophole that cart and carriage rights give rise to motor-vehicle rights. This is nonsense, too. These same rights were given to provide the legal framework for the creation of our asphalt road network. Unsurfaced roads are simply those that escaped the tar machine.
What is more, the effects of this Bill will go well beyond trail riders and 4x4 users. Fans of outdoor sports, including the disabled, will lose their access to the countryside, especially where a 4x4 is the only practical form of transport. Rural householders and businesses may even find themselves landlocked without legal access, held to ransom by an unscrupulous landowner. Yes, they may apply for an "easement" but this can result in a lengthy bureaucratic process and an unpredictable public inquiry.
So how should we deal with nuisance vehicles? We must first accept the demand for sensible recreational activity. The public must be informed of a trail's vehicular status, rather than it being obscured. Signs and maps must be clear, with motorists retaining access to the unsurfaced road network, which is less than five per cent of all trails, leaving the remaining 95 per cent to people who wish to avoid vehicles.
Target resources at anti-noise legislation, the enforcement of existing laws, and, most of all, use the principles of tolerance and management, rather than "nanny-state" bans.
Neil
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coming from the country that detonated an atomic bomb in their own back garden
Yup, that's why all the wierdos end up in Vegas....did you notice in the news that 'hard man' Ross Kemp got beaten up by his wife, the Sun editor - they got married in Vegas a couple of years ago, so maybe the dust was still around.
Neil
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Siggy
I had a similar intermittent starting problem on my 300 TDi a couple of months ago....thought the starter was sticking....rocking in third would remove the problem. altho strangely heard no click. Got caught out a couple of other times, rocking cleared, then a week later, rocking no longer did the trick...RAC man diagnosed a faulty spade connector on the starter motor solenoid. Happened again a week later, not the connection, so I bought a new starter motor. Before I had a chance to fit the starter, same thing happened and this time I used my jump leads to go straight from the battery to the starter.....and it fired. Having checked the relay in the cabin fusebox which feeds the exciter on the starter I knew then that it was the alarm system at fault...the famous spider issue.
I gave the job to Marshalls of Cambridge - even if I'd changed the ECU I still couldn't have reprogrammed the keys which interface with a search coil around the ignition barrel. I also didn't fancy the fuel cut off solenoid, also part of the alarm system, cutting off unexpectedly on a blind bend. They installed the updated system and everything is now fine, including the disappearance of a problem causing my battery to run down every month. Apparently dealers are seeing masses of cases of failure in Discos and Defenders. Cost me £300, which is a bugger, but at least I now have a much better alarm system.
Neil
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Re:300 template
a pdf will do that,just scale 1:1
Unfortunately, despite the clever nature of Acrobat files, the actual size of the printed template will depend on your printer settings....hmmmm, can't think of a way round it.
Neil
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According to this morning's New York Times, the United States Forest Service has begun to designate which trails are suitable for use by off-road vehicles, a move intended to limit damage to national forests. The 155 designated forests and 20 grasslands have never had uniform policies for off-road vehicles - some give virtually unlimited access, whereas others provide designated trails.
Now designated trails will be the rule everywhere and individual forest supervisors will decide which trails are available to the vehicles, whether free-form trails created in recent months or years by riders going cross-country should be included, and whether vehicles and their riders will be allowed to stray off into open country under limited circumstances.
Environmental advocates gave lukewarm praise to the decision to enforce standards to keep the vehicles on trails, but criticized the lack of firm legal deadlines and of local forest supervisors' ability to include what the environmentalists call "renegade trails," paths carved willy-nilly by all-terrain vehicle users.
Jack Troyer, a regional forester, said SUVs have become a source of conflict on public lands. In the eyes of their detractors, they inflict a combination of noise and industrial odors, and deep scars into quiet, unspoiled landscapes. "Some of these routes have evolved over the years, have been enjoyed by the public, don't do damage and are good routes," Mr. Troyer said. "It's our expectation that some of the user-created routes" will become part of the approved system of trails for motorized recreation.
But Jim Furnish, a former Forest Service employee who is now a consultant to the Natural Trails and Waters Coalition, which seeks tighter restrictions on motorized recreation, said he worked for the service for 35 years and saw motorized recreation "on public land go from nonexistence to running amok. The new regulations are inadequate - they're throwing a bucket of water on a raging inferno."
Footnote: America might have begun to turn away from off-roaders - sales of big SUVs fell by fifty per cent in October, the beginning of the new model year and normally a bumper sales month.
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Dodge Viper V10 engine in a bike, Sir? Now to find someone whose underpants are rated to 400mph
I think it's just stonkingly gorgeous. Unfortunately my boxers cut out at 165 mph, the fastest I've ever been at the wheel.
Has anyone read the spec? 0-60 mph estimated at 1.9 seconds! Top Speed: 400 mph theoretical. 500 bhp!
Front brakes? Yes, a couple - in fact, 20-inch perimeter-mounted drilled machined stainless steel rotors, one per wheel and two four-piston fixed aluminum calipers (16 pistons total)....and, wait for it, hand-activated. At the rear, only 8 pistons.
Lessons for Land Rover fans? Nick one and flog it - apparently worth $200,000. Would buy a couple of Volvo portals.....and change to buy the wife a bag of chips.
Neil
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The MOT Test Manual simply requires that rear lamps are not broken or show any white light.
[From the Manual] The MOT Tester is required to do the following:
1. Check that two front and two rear position lamps are fitted to the vehicle, one of each oh each side.
2. Check the presence, condition, security and operation of the switch.
3. Check that the front and rear position lamps show light of the correct colour.
Reasons for failure are:
1. An obligatory lamp missing.
2. A switch missing, faulty, insecure, or not able to be operated from the normal driving position.
3. a. A front position lamp shows a light other than white to the front, (or yellow if incorporated in a yellow headlamp): or
b. A rear position lamp shows a light other than red to the rear.
So red LED bulbs with clear lenses are absolutely fine - hope this helps
Neil
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Paddock spares seem to have the best price - £124 + vat - I havn't seen them any cheaper. Andy.
Ahem, Andy - try LR Supermarket, currently offering Defender 300 Tdi and Td5 for £125 inc Vat - here
I bought mine for £85, but I had to go to Brisbane to pick it up. Fitting [300 Tdi] was simple and took under an hour. For what it's worth, I think the Safari is the most robust and best looking option. Fitment to the upper bulkhead is by six self tappers, so it offers a relatively strong mount at the most vulnerable point. Lower mounting is by three beefy studs. Subjectively, the ram effect spins the turbo slightly more readily.
Being an even-handed kind of guy, I draw your attention to this article on problems fitting one to a LHD Defender here - and it might well be that a RHD only item was bought by mistake [??]. He points out that it comes with a new flexible connection hose that will have to sit in the same area where the heater unit's blower motor is located on a LHD truck, requiring the connector to be cut off - see below.
In his view, a 1-part design may look good, but functionally it is inferior to 2-part snorkels that use flexible pipe between 2 parts, because upper and lower body panels are not properly aligned on all Defenders. The three main connection bolts are only accessible from the engine compartment, in a location that is impossible to access on LHD vehicle without removing heater unit first. So if the nuts loosen or the foam gasket will flatten over time and needs some thightening, you'll need to remove heater unit every time and that is unneccessary PITA, especially on an expedition. Mantec snorkel has screws outside, so you can install, check and tighten them easily. Also, Safari Snorkel uses separate studs, bolts/studs that are permanently connected to the snorkel. So more potential for something to loosen up. The studs are pretty loose (could be more precise fit), you'll need to use a lot of thread locker or glue to minimize the risk of loosening.
You need to drill 3 big (16mm suggested, although this size seems way too big for 8mm studs) holes around your air intake vent. Not a too big problem, but why isn't it possible to use existing mount as Mantec snorkel does, without drilling any holes to the car body. Finally, the bottom of the snorkel contains an unneccessary "pouch" -- air passing hole is way above the bottom of the snorkel - and this pouch will collect 0,5 kilos of dust and garbage which you can't get it out easily because there is no "drain" valve on the bottom of the snorkel. The only way to clean it is to remove the snorkel. But removing this is... see point #3 above. It will most probably fit better on a RHD 300TDI vehicle, using the supplied replacement air hose. My modification makes it possible to install it, but the connection will not be too good (unless you go ahead and make some more modifications).
No pleasing some bloody people.
Neil
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Easy to forget that Ebay isn't selling anything. It is merely facilitating auctions, and Trevor McDonald's piece was sensational, rather than accurate. I don't know any other auction service where you can read a constantly updated evaluation of both buyers and sellers, and where there is some [if not always total] buyer protection.
I have bought and sold 700 items via Ebay and have never had a problem - by and large, people like to lift their positive scores and try extra hard. Paypal is just such a brilliant, quick, transparent payment service.
Most of the problems I have heard about relate to people buying 'off' Ebay, paying direct, asking sellers if they have 'another one', asking the seller to close the auction. Nothing is perfect, but complaint levels to sales volumes are miniscule.
The secret to a successful purchase is to ask questions. If you're not happy, ask again or request images...if it doesn't sound kosher, then walk away. Just like London buses, unless it's LR portal axles, there'll be another one along in a minute.
Neil
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No prob wookie mate,each to his own. I'll print my own in a limited (1 print) edition...?
I really like your design, so I'd like one, Michele - does that make two now?
Neil
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right then LED's are in ..... now i cant have got the wires mixed up because 1 was male and the other side female....graham
Graham, as the bulbs are diodes they can only work one way round, so they can't be at fault [they will either light up or not and won't affect other parts of the circuit]....just check the power leads to the temp guage.
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Diff, James, you've hit it on the nose. We all like to show off our toys, but the simple fact is that the battery market is so over-supplied that there are mega bargains out there. My advice, buy a couple of no-names, get great service for five years out of them but pinch a couple of Optima stickers from the APB stand at the next LR Show and stick them prominently on both sides of the truck. I won't tell and you'll look like a hero.
Neil
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Was the Pucara designed to tow a caravan?
We have a whole one too at IWM Duxford - it comes fitted with two 20-mm Hispano MS 804 cannon IIRC - meaty stuff.
Truly excellent photographs. How much of the area is still mined?
Neil
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bought a set of LED's for the 90 off the auction site...first problem is that the led is physicaly bigger and wont fit all the way into the dial.
These bulbs should be a standard size - so they should fit whether or not there's an internal filter fitted.
When I fitted mine I recall they required a firm push to seat properly. You could try reducing the diam of the bulb slightly by rubbing with wet & dry if you don't think you'll get your money back.
I echo the point about Simonb - bought a number of things from him and very helpful.
Neil
Fork Handles, Mandy
in International Forum
Posted
Happy birthday Mandy - I hope your cake has only 4 candles.
Neil
[well, 4.1 if my maths are correct
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