Davo

You've hit the nail on the head there. 4WD training, accessory fitting, and any other headaches a fleet buyer has to deal with will probably get worse with a curvy plastic body. That's why the old design was such a hit for so long, let down by the drivetrain and various quality problems. At least with flat panels you can bolt on autotune mounts or shovel holders without having to laser-cut a complicated product to suit a curved surface.

“This motorcycle is completely original and in Oily Rag condition. It runs, rides well (as well as a bike nine feet long can ride!!) and I am only the second owner, having owned the bike for 40 years.” The tyres were fitted around 1938 and may not be in the best condition, they hold air however and have a good tread, so may be of use if entering the preservation class!

I rebuilt a new factory engine, (it was a bit rusty from sitting around in a warehouse), and did a little porting on the inlets to clean up the castings, got an H180 cam from Turner, and used those nifty twin-outlet EFI manifolds with the big exhaust that was already in the car. I kept the CD175s for simplicity. It's only a 3.5, but it goes well with an LT95. (Obviously, I really want a 4.6 but this is what I've got for now.) If money ever allows, I'll Megajolt it, partly because it sounds like a beautiful system, and partly because getting decent ignition parts these days is laughably difficult. Rotors falling apart, no-name brand dizzy caps, it's just ridiculous. I'm not so keen on Megasquirt because I'm not convinced it would survive long-term use on corrugations, and trouble-shooting in the bush would be very difficult, but for you, (assuming you're in the UK), I think it would be ideal in the long term.

I don't suppose traffic or the risk of crashing is a big concern where they drive!

That's funny. Sideways seats have been a big safety no-no for years.

I thought the old design wasn't, er, "good enough", to hit pedestrians with, so I suppose this will have some sort of a crumple zone? It still needs to be a ute, trayback, single or double cab, etc., etc. I usually see about three new Defenders a year, so it'll be sort of a relief if they ever get this thing finished.

I've always been interested in British cars using copper pipes because while I realise they won't corrode as much, I never thought they were strong enough. I say this because I once put copper pipes on my Landie - until one day I undid a fitting and the pipe sheared instantly!

Which carbies? Later CD175s with the adjustable needle are easy to check if you can take the pistons out and check that the needles are flush with the bottom of the pistons as a starting point. SUs I'm not sure. They'd have to be way out to cause this much trouble though. I spent an enormous amount of time adjusting mine when I had some problems and found that once they're generally right they'll work.

Funny you should say that - I've almost finished rebuilding my old Rangie, and I did it because there isn't a Toyota that could match it in the things I wanted. I remember driving a Troopie a while ago after I'd been driving only the Range Rover for a long time, and despite having spent many k's in LandCruisers I was shocked because i'd forgotten just how bad the ride, noise, and even the steering ratio all were. I understand why people buy the things, but for the money involved you don't really get much.

Carbies have to be waaay out of tune to cause that much trouble. If they're near enough for the moment, the engine will run fine. Why is the rotor pointing at #1 cylinder? It should be pointing at #1 spark plug lead. Or am I missing something . . .

http://www.worldwidesalonmarketing.com/how-to-turn-disaster-into-triumph-a-lesson-in-customer-relations http://gibbadventure.blogspot.com.au/2014/07/a-range-rover-in-kimberley.html This story above, (same story, different versions), sums up what has always bothered me about the company's emphasis on the champagne crowd. They're making money, so great, but not with proper 4WDs any more. I don't think I've ever seen a new Disco up here that wasn't towing a caravan.

I think in the UK that would be simple enough, but because they lost so much of the world market, that would be trickier. I'd love to see them get on with it, though. Outfits like Great Wall and Mahindra have managed to get something of a foothold after starting from nothing, so it is possible.

Ah, the old "purist" argument, which assumes people arguing on Land Rover forums want leaky bumpy boxes. No, I'm talking about a powerful, not-dinky-engined utility vehicle with a non-explosive gearbox and strong diffs, which even cattle station people would consider over a powerful, big-engined reliable gearboxed and diffed LandCruiser. The market has been there for decades, and Land Rover have barely stopped snoring enough to consider it. I realise what people use in the UK for work, but in many other places like oilfields, fire brigades, mining, farming, tourism, and of course the military there's still a need for something Land Rover could produce. Not that it matters here - I think in the western third of Australia that I live in, there are three or so dealerships! They don't just need a new Defender: they need an entire support network. Good luck to them, though.

OMG sarcastic LOLs. Er, did I mention the word "utility"? I had a vague idea this thread was about the Defender replacement, not the leather-wrapped Asian tycoon segment of the market. We all know about their wonderful success in that unstable market called China, it would just be nice to see them tackling the other end of the market where the Defender used to be - sort of - available. With, you know, a replacement for the Defender. Which, given their caviar-level success, I don't see them bothering with.

I'm only going by their track record . . . so I find it impossible to believe they'll suddenly come up with something that would convince Australians not to buy a LandCruiser instead. It's fun speculating though!

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/167959-v8-arp-stud-torque-numbers.html What I came up with, years ago. About 9000kms later, it seems okay!

Ah, but Toyota have owned the utility market for many years now, proving the market exists. The difference is that for Toyota, the LandCruiser, Prado and Hilux are just a small part of what this huge company does. For wee little Land Rover, the Defender seemed to take up quite a percentage of factory space and money. If they really were serious about actually, really taking on the utility market - which I won't believe will ever happen - then whatever they came up with would have to be very good. Not with a dinky engine and wonky gearbox. So while they could take a good shot at the utility market, I agree with the above: they'll just make some sort of a nauseating "lifestyle" car based on an existing platform. It's just such a shame. They could have done much better. Starting in about, er, 1974.

I'm sure that, if they're aiming for the utility and leisure market, they'll screw it up as usual and hand more sales to Toyota/Hyundai/Great Wall, etc. Waiting for Land Rover to get their act together is like supporting a team that could make it all the way if only they didn't always get drunk before the big game and make a mess of it.

Wow, that Canuque really seems to know what he's doing. Should I ever upgrade from rocks and hammers to really nice power tools I'll check his channel first.

Sounds good. Though we have some hazy idea of a trip down to Perth then - I might have to look out for you on the highway!

I've been up in the Kimberley for over a decade and the distances are pretty annoying in the sense that if you go anywhere, it's going to be a long way. Freight is expensive, car parts usually take two weeks to get here from the other side of the country, and food is not only expensive but is of hopeless quality as well. I haven't been out of the Kimberley for over five years and while we're planning to drive down south this year, we may not have the sheer amount of time and money involved. The distance one way to a small town south of Perth is about the distance from Moscow to London, but with only one city and two or three big towns on the way. It makes everything difficult. Some people have been known to do the Perth-Kimberley run in one drive by swapping drivers, but that's without kids and pretty crazy anyway. Driving at night in Western Australia relies too much on luck to avoid animals/falling asleep/crazy people. I love the emptiness of the place and the above-mentioned resourcefulness required, (though many never figure that out), but my idea of a great holiday would be a summer in Britain driving only backroads and walking everywhere else!

Well that's a good ending. That's crazy about having another key to steal it with though!

This is all true, but the point I was clumsily subtly alluring to is that because the Defender design is so versatile it covers most situations, and the boxy shape makes it really easy to make/adapt/bodge things into and onto it. So here we have a great example of all this.

Good God man, did you sleep in the back as well???

Same here. I did it the hard way for years until I read about using a sprayer, (i.e. I didn't have the brains to think of it!), and it's great, so long as you don't lose track and have it running out everywhere.