Davo

It's just bizarre to see something meant to be used turn into something meant to be collected. I mean, I know it happens with plenty of things, but still . . .

Ah, but do they play "La Cucaracha"??? But yes, you're certainly on the right track with those.

Do you have a hydraulics shop you could take it to? It's no different than something a lot of heavy machinery would have, just a casting with a tapped hole. Maybe someone could TIG it and redo the thread.

I can't see anything about GKN Driveline being sold to the Chinese yet, but they certainly have quite the manufacturing base there now: https://www.gkn.com/en/about-gkn/locations/china/ The thing that gets me is that if companies want to make things there, and if the Chinese are so desperate to make everything for everybody, could they just please do a good job of it instead of the mess we're stuck with now?

And how is Dr. Evil keeping these days???

So in other words: "Any reference to any part is for reference only and should not be taken to be an actual reference to any actual part." I think that should clear it up for you! By the way, I feel your pain . . . we all feel it these days . . .

Thanks for bumping this thread up - I keep meaning to and forgetting! Hey George, I had a Cortina once . . . but it was an Aussie-spec model, so instead of that little British lawn mower motor, it had a straight-six 4.1 litre donk in it. "That's not an engine - this is an engine!"

Any Rover V8 from that era would be able to use unleaded. I can't see that ramshackle factory back then making specific valve seats for specific markets. I do have Des Hammill's book with something about this in it, if you're interested.

Oh no, I don't mean when driving, I mean in design and style. The latest Range Rovers look aggressive and thuggish on the outside, while the interiors appear to be some sort of gamer's idea of paradise. The OP's car has a nice understated look, especially inside, as if it doesn't really care about trying to impress anyone. There doesn't seem to be anything like that anymore.

If you're going to galvanise a bulkhead, be very very careful as they're so much more delicate than what those monkeys usually handle. I had one destroyed, and its replacement dented. It's the perfect way to protect that big collection of rust-traps, though.

Well that's an impressive first post. Welcome! I'll second the request for more photos, pleeeease. Does anyone even make a car this refined and classy anymore?

Don't be desperate, or you'll do something really silly! Bide your time and keep looking. It's amazing what pops up when you're in the right place at the right time, and you've done your homework so you know what to look for.

That is a beautiful piece of ingenuity you've got there, complete with machine-shop porn-stylee photos. I can't think of a name, but then I'm awful at that. (Hence my user name here.) I did a quick search for a lot of the suggestions and many of them are taken already . . . though I didn't expect this: https://www.lescouillesduchien.com/ I would be inclined to leave out all the "mega-ultra-xtreem" stuff because it's been done. I'm not saying "Lucky Charms" would do it but I think that's the more prosaic direction you want to head in to veer away from the competition.

I test critical new parts, such as ignition parts, by fitting them and not trusting them. If they survive for a while, I'll replace this known good part with another one. If that one keeps going, then the previous "known good part" becomes the reliable back-up spare, and the new "known good part" - er, that is, the one that's in the car, is on a probation period until it fails or I forget about it. You'd think that in this day and age we'd be wallowing in high-quality products as per various futuristic Utopian fantasies, but what those writers from long ago didn't understand was the modern human need to race to the bottom in everything.

Well, I don't know if there's a better alternative. I think galvanising followed by some sort of industrial paint would be best. I just found out after a few winters that the galv on some parts had corroded through to rusty metal, which was what I had been trying to avoid! I was surprised by how quickly and how badly it had happened. It looked like once the salt had found a weak spot, it had gotten in and enlarged the area. I seem to remember this also happening in between two galvanised parts that were bolted together as well. I had tried to keep the car clean during winter, and especially in the spring, but of course it's hard to wash under a car when it's below freezing. (Note: I had freewheeling hubs on the front and hadn't locked them enough during winter. Result: rusted front axle parts inside! Never again!) Do you have anyone you can ask, like snow plow and salt truck drivers, anyone in an industry like fishing, something like that? I solved the problem by moving back to Australia, but I've always wondered what I would have done over there.

New Defender??? What new Defender???

Are you doing all this because you're planning to drive it on salty winter roads? I've done that, and learned about how galvanising isn't the ultimate for that situation.

I've never heard of anyone putting body filler on top of a galvanised surface. It takes a bit just to get paint to stick, so with filler . . . I don't know. Do you have any pictures?

I love these stories. What a world we've wound up with.

That sounds like a nice find! Do you have any photos?

Is it weird or brilliant that somebody took a press release and stole it for a toy design?

That's a really good idea!

Nice bit of detective work there. Have you gone to the police?

I certainly wouldn't use anything like a grinder or a wire brush on Birmabright as it would gouge in a split second. You'll need some sort of paint stripper, and I'd ask a boatyard for advice since they would probably do this sort of thing a lot. Of course, I'm sure you realise that once the aluminium is stripped it will be exposed to air and will need some sort of protection or priming and so on and so forth.

I can only imagine how you found out Once you look into hose construction and the various layers used then it makes sense.