Lara

The End

I "think" Goodyear Wrangler are available but need to check! am sure I have seen them in Iceland. Lara

Absolutely!! Donkey now pooing golden eggs on a daily basis Lara

Absolutely Jason, Those guys seem to be so stupid that they can not see the harm this sort of thing does even when it is right in front of their noses!! They ask for proof and even when Tibus himself admits it's a copy they still hang in there and try to weak arse flame! Good thing is that north America is probably the world's smallest market for GP winches so no-one really cares what they think! and we all know that they talk the talk but walking any sort of walk is usually quite hard for those with all the Gob!! The intelligent comments were usually positive so these are probably doing some good! The flamers probably don't even know that a winch can also "winch" as well as hold up your axle Lara I think Ced may have two motors on the rear of the buggy soon!! Money going where it deserves to go!!!

Us also, Many of you will have seen that Jim and I have had our "interesting" moments in the past and I am not one for licking arse, But he has helped US, and many others I can think of during off road competitions, even to the point of aiding others who were in direct competition to his chances of wining! We need to stand up for our morals and help people who try to further this sport and not just profit from it!! I will back you all the way Jim! Lara

Thank you for your correction, I am sure Jim will appreciate all of our support in this! Lara

I can assure you all that having just got off of the phone with a certain BRITISH manufacturer. THESE ARE ABSOLUTE BLATANT COPIES AND NOT CONNECTED TO GIGGLEPIN IN ANY WAY!!! OTHER THAN BEING A CHEAP COPY AND SHOULD BE TREATED WITH THE CONTEMPT THEY DESERVE Lara

To be honest if anyone on here (or anywhere else for that matter) who has uttered a word against Scorpion goes out and then buys one of these then you should brand yourselves as amongst the biggest Hypocrites on the planet!! This is the most blatant copy I have ever seen!!! There is absolutely no way that this was "designed" by anyone else but Gigglepin!!! just look at the total design! OK there are only so many ways to fit two motors on. BUT there are a billion ways to design strengthening ribs etc. AND what do the six bolt holes fit to? you have 3 on a standard 8274!!! Oh yes! it fits to Jim's lower doesn't it! Absolute LOW LIVES!!!!!!! no other expression describes them! Lara

You must be out of your mind! Or just like loads of work changing engines back and forth! You can pick up a good Tdi 2/300 for very little and you will just hate the VM unless you are fully skilled at fooling your self! If that is the case, then buy some snake oil and a fuel catalyser and an inlet twisty thing and you will be well away! Lara

Nice!!! Lara

Single motor or twin? Lara

Simple answer, 1.Drill a small hole somewhere that is out of the way, 2.Fit a Small one way valve to this hole, obviously going the right way so you can suck out and not blow in, 3.Boil a kettle full of hot water, 4.Get a piece of flexible tube strong enough to sustain full vacuum, 5.Fix one end of the hose to the valve and hold the other end in your mouth, 6.Take your shoes and socks off, 7.Get the wife to pour the boiling water onto your feet, and the resulting sharp intake of breath will create a very good vacuum inside the container. 8.Fill with coffee 9.Drink coffee in hospital waiting room while your burns are being totally ignored because you didn't go private Lara (Warning) This is a silly suggestion and no one should believe a word I say

VERY WELL PUT! Lara

Simples!! On every engine I have ever had problems on, all have been cured by the following method. Even turbo manifolds running big back pressure and glowing "See through yellow!" 1.Make sure manifold flange is very flat. Even lap it if need be. 2.Make sure head / exhaust face is flat. 3.Tube of (non bathroom) Silicone RTV joint sealer, (I use Wurth) 4. Spread medium film of Silicone on manifold and immediately tighten. NO GASKET ONLY SILICONE 5. Let harden for a couple of hours before Running engine. You will be amazed how resistant Silicone sealer is to heat! even after you oxy torch it, it is still better than exhaust sealer!! And the big advantage is that even IF you have some type of leak one day in the future, it will only be the smallest of tiny leaks as there is no 2mm thick gasket to burn out! Try it and you will probably never use a gasket ever again! Lara

Finish Ced's buggy and test before Mid Summer Madness in June! Stop ****ing my 90 bodywork up ;o) Lara

A Lighter flywheel will help response but will hinder "lugging" ability and will make it much easier to stall the engine. Would be the last thing I would do to an off road challenge type vehicle! Lara

Ced and I opted for 100" for similar reasons that Simon stated, we did have 100 as a goal though when we started, As it happened though, while building, it just "felt" better at 104" which it is now. Although it is adjustable from 100" to about 105" It all fits in so well at these dimensions. I know Pete did a similar thing, sitting in a 104" frame he just didn't fit!! so roof up, wheel base out and ended at 120" And his fridge of course Lara

Well said that man Lara

NICE!!! Tell us more Lara

Very true! Now what was the question Lara

A lot of sensible comments in the last few posts! And remember one thing that I come across weekly! People get put off by the cost and criticize the price of a professional build. But also remember when building for someone else, the finish should be perfect, the result without failure, no warranty issues etc etc, all the things we forgive our selves when doing a home build ! We see many many home restorations come to our doors and although there are one or two great jobs, the reality is that most are not fit to Enter the workshop let alone Leave it! Take the old Bathtub as an example of Pete's "home build" It did it's job, and was built for a similar job as the new "Humbug" and during the "extended" build, as Pete says, it probably cost the same as the new one. But now look at the new one! Which would you rather have!! And the bigger question, which would you want to pay for?? Lara

I would also add that as someone who spends night and day running a company that restores and builds cars, 80k is so easily gone that it is laughable! I have almost that in my 90!! and that was almost all done by me at NO LABOR COST! I have a spreadsheet to prove it (unfortunately) We have inquiries on almost a daily rate talking to us about restoring their car and they get told about 200k for a full nut and bolt restoration on the average type open sport tourer! now just remember that the car does not know it's an Alvis or and Alfa!! the work is about the same!! It could also be a buggy build!! ok less work and less finish needed but just sit down add it up and then treble it for a realistic figure!! Engine 5K Box 2K T box 2k Axles 15K (you can do it cheaper in parts but then you have a lot more labor to add in and then reliability) Portal boxes 5K (as above but I bet /jez has a pretty penny invested in all his work on his axles) Chassis 5K finished Shocks 1K Rad and coolers 1K Links and rose joints 2K Gigglepin winches x 2 6K Centre + PTO winch 1K Tyres and wheels 2K These are just rough estimates from my head and you can bet your life they are low! So we are already popping on for 50K on parts and we haven't even thought about Dash, lights, controls etc or one cent for work!! And then add in problems to sit and think about, work around, modifications to make when the plan slightly changes etc! You will not get rich in this game, believe me!! without ripping people off, "in this game - The only way to a small fortune is to start with a big one!!" Lara Vehicles like the Humbug and Mouse are spectacular creatures and no one should under estimate the cost of building them!! You pay for these special things one way or another! be it your own working hours directly or your own working hours to earn the money to pay someone better qualified in that field. That was my biggest problem when I started LMB. You just can't get your head round the cost!! I still struggle to believe it now. and that's 16 years and countless projects further on!!

Not sure if anyone knows or not but Pete and Wookie both worked a hell of a lot on the build! and when they both live over 500 kilometers away from the where it was happening that is a hell of an achievement! Seriously! one of the reasons for Pete and Andy not having so much fun on their inaugural event was the fact that they had been working flat out for over 48 hours non stop and then without sleep, drove non stop from Belgium to Wales to compete in the Baskaville challenge. That ain't cheque book! But it didn't stop things costing a lot either And remember Pete lives by my old moto "It doesn't matter if you die, as long as you look good doing it" And honestly that is all that counts!! We all die and I too would rather do it looking good!! Lara

Turning circle is also bodywork and axle geometry related in our sport! In Ireland the other year Dieter from D&G in his what is now Seff's "Fire Ant" tube chassis 104" WB buggy was out turning us, out foresting us, out hilling, out descending, out maneuvering and basically making us look even stupider than we are! in Ced's 90! He was just wiggling through the trees, using axle articulation etc to effectively shorten his wheelbase, Imagine the axle half way up a tree! the path of the radius arms effectively shorten that side of the truck! Interesting to watch! **** to compete against! Lara

Ah! you mean like this? Actually it's not that hard, just time consuming and dirty! Fun to do on an occasional one off basis but not much fun otherwise. Lara,