101nut

Hmmm ... or as one of our club members did end up with the 110 tow vehicle nose down in a ditch with the trailer still connected ... 3 hours of work to unhitch the trailer and get the 110 out again ... Ok I admit it, we laughed at him not with him! AndyG

It's obviously the size that matters AndyG

Welcome to the world of rotten 2-door range rovers Yes they are bolt-together to a large extent but wielding the big hammer and electric-glue-gun will still be required. Most (but not all) serious repair/replacement panels are available and the rest can generally be bodged up or obtained (if you're lucky) second hand. If you're transferring stuff between models watch for changes - metrication on brakes and changes in axles for instance. Lots of parts from 4-doors won't fit as direct swaps but can be persuaded to fit relatively easily. The 2-door won't handle as well as the 4-door but will still be able to drink like a fish and obviously cost much much more than the gas conversion you're running. Don't even consider putting a diesel in it ... that's just heresy! Having said all that my 2-door (1972) is currently undergoing 'restoration' (failed MOT!) and I prefer it to the 4-doors ... don't know why, perhaps I'm mad but the only other model that looks anywhere near as good is an LSE ... AndyG

Seems to help in my computer coolant ... oops /Sad git mode on/ - water cooled computer with a Seat heater matrix as the cooling radiator. Not done to keep it cool but to make it quiet, very quiet! AndyG

I got my bits from Beamends Spares. Managed to cut one sill out (mostly) before (somehow) smacking myself in the mouth with a crowbar followed by a visit to A&E as I'd put my top teeth through my bottom lip and broke off a front tooth! But, like the six-million-dollar-man, dentists can rebuild them! Next attempt this weekend ... assuming it doesn't chuck it down again ... AndyG

I believe you can etch prime the lot then paint as normal ... AndyG

Cheers for that. AndyG

1972 2-door Range Rover needs some brake pipes made up. Since wombats around here only have 10mm fittings and don't recognise anything else exists I've got find them myself. What sizes are the males/union nuts and bleed nipples on this vehicle. I know they're they're imperial and I suspect all pipe fittings are 3/8 UNF but can anyone confirm or deny please? As for the bleed nipples - I have no idea. I just know when I try to get one out, however much I smack it first it'll probably shear off unless I buy some in advance ... in which case they'll be easy ... AndyG

I do agree with that, having had both good and bad experiences of couriers. On the other hand when a firm continues to use a courier that is giving regular reported problems then that's also an issue with the firm and their perception of customer service ... (this comment does not necessarily relate to Craddocks) AndyG

Hmm ... just as I get peed off with Cradocks for allowing me to pay for stuff that isn't in stock (some of which won't be until the middle of next week) without telling me, and take my details in case of a problem then don't use them to let me know the entire order is being held up ... Ok, so the bloke on the phone was more than helpful tonight but I ordered the stuff on-line last Sunday for delivery before this weekend ... Last time they delivered me one of a pair of carbs then told me if I wanted the other it'd cost about 40% more than quoted on the web site ... grrrr (A plug for Beamends spares - put order through for a lot of stuff one day, delivered the next for £6.70 ... stuff was a good price and the delivery was a bargain!) AndyG

Front footwells and rear floor were done a while ago so should be ok. I've now stripped out the floor/seats/fuel lines. Got one front-to-back brake union to seperate which I just know is going to shear when I touch it ... I have removed the rear wing as it obscures the back of the BC pillar and it seems a lot easier to get at with the wing removed, I think the front is just about ok left on ... The new sills have the vertical upstand for the kick panel under the rear seat (early type). I think I'm cutting that off as the existing ones are good and fixed with about 5 million spot welds to the BC pillar and rear floor - just drilled out the spots onto the existing sill and I'll puddle-weld back onto the new one. I find the new sills don't have the reinforcing angle that the floor fixes to so had to buy that extra (more money!) About to attack things with a grinder - going to support the rear floor with a lump of timber onto the chassis just in case it tries to move. Everything else seems relatively solid. I still can't see how the old sill is coming out (ok, I can, in very small bits!) or more to the point how the new one goes back in ... there doesn't seem a lot of room to manoeuvre the sill about or maybe it'll be better once the old one is out ... AndyG

Hmm ... just been stripping out the Rangie to do the sills and contemplating whether to do 'half a job' rather than the entire inner/outer sill. However sticking the handle of the wire brush straight through the apparently good floor convinced me that I should use all the steel I bought! AndyG

Depends which payment method is used but c/card or direct debit from a validated account is more or less instant, an echeque is painfully slow though in my experience not used much. Having said that once the funds have transferred they can be clawed back for a considerable period afterwards by a snotty purchaser (the Paypal equivalent of clearing) ... though that may not be relevant to this question. AndyG

Technically my 1972 Range Rover (2-door) sills didn't fail the MOT but the bodymounts did. Looking at them I made the assumption that if I attempt to fabricate bodymounts and fit them it will a) be a pain in the proverbials and B) be like welding them to lacework ... My assumption was that if the mounts are that rotten the inner sills are going to be horrible as well. I made outer skin sills a few years ago to patch them up so I've taken the leap and ordered inners and outers for both sides. What do I need to know in advance. I'm aware that I may have to rebuild A and B pillar bottom ends. Am I correct in thinking the seats have to come out, the front and rear outer wings need removing and the fuel and brake lines need removing but that's all? I assume I need to do one side at a time and tie the A pillar, B pillar and floor all together to preserve geometry or won't things move on a two door with the roof still in place? I intend to chop out the sill as far as the new one goes, put new inner onto the (new) mounts then outer goes in place. Outer welds to A and B pillars and rear floor, inner welds along the bottom edge to outer and I assume puddle welds along the top edge to the outer ... bit of paint, put the seats back in and done ... Or does someone know better? I would have put a bit of box in (which has nice piccies in the tech area) but I need it done and I'll have to fabricate body mounts (with a vice and big 'ammer) (and which has no nice piccies or info!) and get it all aligned which will all take time! AndyG

Are they like the V8 ones in a blind hole in the end of the crankshaft? If so stuff them full of grease, insert any old bit of round bar which is a reasonable sliding fit into the end of the bush and tap the bar through the bush with a hammer ... bush pops out under hydraulic pressure. So simple it's magic! Just remember to remove the grease afterwards! AndyG

I'll have to tell Mike you said that! It might cause some joviality in the wee small hours AndyG

Drill a couple of small holes and stuff a couple of well-placed self tappers into the mechanism to lock it up ... AndyG

I did have two metal Duckhams cans, each modified with a dip/delivery tube and a car schrader valve in the lid. Fill with oil, apply crappy 12v tyre inflator to valve with delivery tube end stuffed in required orifice and that's that ... theoretically pressure can't build up further than the 'head' in the 1/2" delivery tube - a few psi - so it's safe and there's no pumping or running out of pressure. When it's full stop the compressor, job done. Unfortunately, ep90 in the cold is a bit thick. I was in a prone position, tube end stuffed in diff filler when a can exploded about a foot away from my head Somehow even though the whole top blew out, the can remained standing, 3/4 full of oil and not a drop was spilt ... luck or what? AndyG

As an ex committee member of Breckland LRC (ALRC) I've been round and round the block on some of these arguments and I think I'm still going. These are generally my views and not necessarily the Club's but here goes. 1) If you don't like the rules don't compete. Any sport has regulations which must be enforced. Two options - join the ALRC and change the rules from within or join another organisation. 2) Any Club running an event with rules (ALRC, MSA and their own supplementary regs) must enforce those rules else their permit for the event and thus their insurance may be deemed invalid. Any such Club running under a closed permit and insurance offered by the ALRC/MSA and knowingly allowing non-conformant vehicles to run is risking both its and its organisers' financial necks, whether simply for 'experience' or not. 3) Scrutineering has two parts 1)eligibility and 2)safety but only for that event. The MOT deals with neither so is almost irrelevant except as a guide. 4) Any complaints about behaviour, language or whatever cannot be generalised and I would take exception to tarring BLRC or many other clubs with such a brush. 5) Without doubt every Club has its own group of competitive drivers and those who are there for a day out. Decide which group you're in then go do it. If you're not competitive you won't be spending stupid money on modifications, otherwise you probably will ... accept that and have the day out you expect but don't complain when other don't take it seriously or somebody was 'point grabbing'. Personally I compete against myself - I know what I'm capable of and if I exceed my expectations I'm happy, if I muck it up I'm not ... easy. 6) Non standard parts are a moot point. When is a non-standard part equivalent to a standard part? The original ethos of the ARC was a level playing field without money being thrown at the problem. This has continued and to some extent has become too tight with too many historical indiosyncracies. The ALRC will no doubt address this in due course however don't slam the rules just because they are there without knowing why. For instance cranked radius arms were banned long before they were available as an aftermarket part in suspension kits. Yes they now help those with 3" lifts on the road but they used to be cut-and-shut parts which were potentially dangerous. Why should bumpers be of the same size and strength at the originals? Simply because of people cheating (yes) by having weakened bumper-ends which folded up on section one when the driver 'accidentally' ran into a bank thus giving a significant advantage. If you want to do it then do it, if you don't then do the other thing but whatever you do don't expect to take a tank with Metro body to a mini-metro race and expect it to pass scrutineering just because you spent thousands on it ... AndyG

There are various 'end of life' proposals that keep getting dredged up and thrown back in. I'm not sure if there's a live one at the moment. The really bad one, should it ever be passed, is the 'safety' legislation which will not allow reuse of parts in other vehicles and will only allow manufacturer certified replacement parts (read 'genuine only' here). In other words new replacement parts only, dealers rubbing their grubby little mits with glee as it was their cronies who proposed this to make oodles of dosh and 'old' vehicles disappearing off the road as genuine spares dry up ... This proposal may be killed under anti-competition law but I wouldn't bet on it. AndyG

Top of head answer but I think it's correct. For a braked trailer you need a breakaway cable suitable to activate the trailer brakes (the hand brake mechanism) in the even of hitch failure. For an unbraked trailer you need a breakaway cable or chain which retains the hitch of the trailer and is short enough to stop it hitting the ground. Some trailers have 'skids' fitted just behind the hitch in an attempt to stop this result however I don't believe they are a replacement for a breakaway cable just an addition. Breakaway cable should not be looped around the tow ball/hitch but attached to another suitable restraining point. The theory is that the braked trailer is 'dragged' to a stop by its brakes, the unbraked trailer could potentially stick its nose into the ground and flip base over apex which, although effective, is not regarded as a safe method of stopping! The offences quoted by Mr Plod would initially be generated under construction and use regs. Remember however that if you are in contravention of these then technically other offences may be committed - driving a non roadworthy vehicle therefore driving with no insurance, having the wrong colour underwear etc etc. The penalties are ... I don't remember ... but it's easier and, let's face it, safer not to do it wrongly! AndyG

Could be ... I'd jack up the front end and have a play with the fronts at full lock, that may pinpoint where your noise is coming from. Check the ball joints are tight just in case one has been left loose but if it was that loose it'd be scary! Could even be something stupid like the tyre tread blocks just clipping the radius arms ... If you replaced the original cv it can't be that ... unless the original was duff? AndyG

In general to drill stainless slop on some coolant, don't have too fast a drill speed but keep the pressure on and don't stop. If you back off (which people often do with pistol drills) the cutting surface will have work hardened and it will be almost impossible to start cutting again without a special drill as detailed above. Only use a pilot drill of a size equal to the flat 'tip' of the larger drill if necessary, smaller is pointless and larger defeats the object. AndyG

On a V8 the quoted figure with the overdrive fitted shows under 1mpg saving ... better for saving wear, tear and your eardrums than fuel. AndyG

I had this, changed drop arm and box and eventually concluded it was the drop arm 'relaxing' on the splines ... in the end I put the lightest smear of loctite on the splines did the nuts up FT with tab washers in place and the drop arm hasn't moved since ... though I'd better check it now ... AndyG