brianj

Just a quick thank you to everyone for your very helpful responses, which are superb, at least we have hopes of repairing it now without too much problem sourcing the parts. Phil, we're going to go with the spanish bits hopefully, but at least we know we can hold that option in reserve, thank you for looking. Here is the blog post, don't think I have posted it above, but been a bit busy over the last few days. http://justlandrovers.wordpress.com/2014/02/09/santana-water-pump-agua-de-bomba/ Thanks to everyone once again.

Ola. That is fantastic, where on earth did you get that catalogue? Your numbers and Eric's info match up perfectly. Do you know we could buy a catalogue? we have tried for ages, so far we have a few pages from the manual rather than the parts cat.

Eric, that's great thanks, there are loads of then out there. That is perfect. How on earth did you find that??!!

Sorry G, couldn't separate our comments! too long away from forums

First, thanks for comments and suggestions Yes, it's not remotely LR. Doubt it. Iveco came in much later. originally a LR engine but a couple of pots added on by Santana. Def classed as 3.5 on all paperwork.

Hi everyone First up, Santana, 3.5 diesel LWB, 6 cylinders, year 1988 Second - what type of pump is it and where on earth do I get a new water pump? plus all the extras! Don't seem to be able to upload pix on here so will link to blog tomorrow. Many thanks.

Thanks for that BM. There is no problem with me increasing the higher ratio diffs, as it is standard diffs with a SII gear box. Should just give me a slightly higher top speed - 60mph rather than 50mph . This disco is fitted with alloys, but otherwise I'm presuming it's the same procudure as normal - half shafts out and then diffs out. I've actually got it running now, so it's not as much of a basket case as I thought it was. Hey thanks for the link Pongo, can't really do much with it like that, as I don't have a garage or workshop

As the title says, I've just been given a five door 92 V8i Disco. The chassis is sound, the bodywork is rough, it has no MOT and it would cost quite a lot in both time and cash to get it up to scratch - more than it is worth anyway - so I am looking at taking the useful bits off. As I'm a Series person - this is the nearest I've got to a Disco before. Can someone please tell me - which bits are worthwhile saving, either for me or for anyone else? And will the V8 diffs fit in my series axles? as my Series III is already fitted with a V8. In terms of stripping - do I have to take off the rear wheels to pull out the half shafts - it looks totally different to a Salisbury axle. Here's a linky some pix when I was working on the starter motor on it before the owner got fed up with it. Also as I'm based here in Gib, if anyone is travelling down this way to North Africa or Southern Spain, and needs any bits - please let me know - no cost, unless you want to make a donation to the forum. *Mods* If you think this would be better in another section please feel free to move. Thanks.

Why don't you buy a late Series 109 Santana? I have: Rover 3.9L V8 EFI - No, 6 pot diesel, but there is space for you to drop in the V8 (I put a V8 in my series III, and it would be easier to drop one into the Santana) R380 5-speed - I have a 5-speed gear box although I never use fifth - only to check it still works Defender front panel - yes Defender windscreen - yes Defender roof - it's a Santana roof with double alpine lights Defender doors & windows - sadly yes Defender wheel arches - also sadly yes Defender suspension - parabolics as factory-fitted, very recommended, also fitted with anti-roll bars Defender brakes - disc brakes on the front (also factory-fitted) Defender power steering - natch Defender dash trim - yes Defender A/C - can be fitted There are far fewer adaptations to make to this vehicle for what you want. If you want a Series (you don't) buy one. If you want a Pretender, buy one. But as neither of these suit, this seems like your cheapest and easiest option. They are a bit thin on the ground but they are around. LHD as it is Spanish. And most parts are interchangeable with SIII parts so therefore reasonably priced via the usual suspects. There was also CKD Santana stuff in America Latina - which may be nearer/easer for you.

I don't know what type of axle is fitted to the rear of my 109 Station Wagon. I think the front may be a Rover one. But I'm not sure about that TBH. Piccies are here as I haven't worked out how to upload from my computer. (Are they meant to be visible in preview?) I know its not Salisbury. I've had some helpful comments on one forum in as much as I'm eliminating stuff. Apparently it isn't ENV or DANA. But I still don't know what it is. Any views?

Hmmm. I know where you are coming from. You can't do anything here in Spain without official approval from Land Rover which you can't get on older vehicles, unless very occasionally, at excessive cost for approval. Homolgisation or something its called. Interestingly we had our ITV a week ago. Usual procedure, guy lifts up bonnet ostensibly to check oil before doing diesel smoke test. Somehow I think if I had a different engine in he would have sprung it straight away. They are getting more and more sticky here in Spain with adaptations/modifications/changes, can't see Portugal being that far behind from what I've heard from people I know who live in Portugal and have older vehicles. Good luck, take care with your purchase. We assume its on Portuguese plates by the way. In your case I would be going for the 2.5 Santana or LR diesel. Easy to say from someone who has the 3.5 though - and they would notice the difference if I changed it.

Hi Paul - looks like you've caught people's interest here..... Thanks for your comments and hope you didn't find them too much of a pain. I think Jasper looks great (!) and you are obviously trying to work on the site while you are getting the rest of it up and running. The real reason for posting is that I am well impressed you have changed your signature on here to exactly the same as the title of your business, ie transylvania and not transylvanian. I don't understand the search engine stuff either, it is obviously a real pain, I've tried it and even if you key in the exact words it still doesn't come up. You'll get there though. Cheers Katherine.

Hi Paul My partner lured me out of bed to look at a fascinating thread this morning and suggested I look at it. I am not a website designer but have a background in professional PR, publicity, journalism, design and print, so I am commenting on layout, readability and overall good appearance. Before I start I should say to Chris (GBMUD) that I think Jenny's work is very good. I too like the simply pearls site, it is very clean and well designed, plus easy to use. I've got loads of comments but I'll stick to the really obvious ones. 1 I think the banner is too busy. I'm not sure of the added value of the five stars unless you want to call yourself fivestartours, and I think the .com at the end of the name is unnecessary. It is great for Jet2.com which is short and snappy but transylvania4x4tours is long enough. 2 Unless I missed something you don't say what country you are in. Don't assume everyone knows. You say you work with local people but you don't say what they do (what is an operator??) - and do they speak English, Rumanian, Transylvanian or what? 3 I think the font on the inside - with the exception of the three day tour - is far too small. One of the common problems with design and layout is balancing appearance of text and readability. But once you've got people inside, let's assume they are mildly interested. They won't be when it becomes a struggle to read - and I say this as someone who is short-sighted and can read very small print. 4 If you are worried about taking up too much space with your text (hence the small size) you need to change the content, and get rid of some of the padding. I am guessing you and your friend have written it. If you have paid a professional, go back and get a re-write. If you are doing it yourself, avoid passive verbs, superfluous adjectives, and give specific examples instead of generalities. 5 What is your strongest point? For me it is the wildlife. Incidentally are they your pix? If so you are a good photographer - if not, have you or your designer (?) received permission from the photographer to use them? Are they from a photo bank? Back to the wildlife, I would put far more info up, for example latin names etc, links to IUCN red list, and basically more info about the relevant animals. An expert will know these links anyway, someone who is interested but not too knowledgeable may not, but will appreciate this is a serious site. Are you sure the lynx was completely eradicated in Western Europe? And which lynx do you mean? Lynx lynx, yes? ie the Eurasian lynx. Double check all your info with a reputable source or you will not establish credibility. What is the real probablility of seeing any of them? I guess you are still in the midst of redesigning it at the moment - eg "what to take" on the front, translates to essentials inside. Photos implies photography and not pix of local town. Also tips for taking pix of wildlife looked good but would be more appropriately placed under either wildlife (yes??) or photography as a separate section, ie flora, fauna, buildings, heritage, whatever you have in your local environment. I think that's enough for now. If you pm Brian I will send you some more areas for attention and a couple of free examples of text as I would rewrite it - not huge long sections or the whole site - like Jenny, it's my job as well! - so I'm also available for internet/fax-based freelance work. Good luck with the business - Katherine

Peter Those pix are great, where were you, and when? (Obviously not Portugal or Spain......) Brian

Hi, yes, of course it's possible to plan something in advance. You need to keep an eye on the web site all year to see where its starting from. The last two years it has started from Lisbon on the first day, and stopped at Portimao. The second day it has gone to Malaga where everyone went across to Africa. I thnk before that one of the starting points was Barcelona, so it is by no means no longer Paris Dakar, hence the change in name. We know people who have arranged trips in 4x4s without using tour companies to go to Africa and watch it. We have only watched it at the European end. Even in Europe the proximity allowed to spectators is much more flexible than you get in the Uk. Similarly in Africa. Don't get too close though, sadly accidents happens to both spectators and drivers. http://www.dakar.com/indexus.html Brian

New to forum, but attracted by layout and content. Can't bear animated graphics, but a few pix of landies always nice.....if you really want to fill the bit of blue on the right :)