glen anderson

Hi, I've never had to buy an ATA carnet, but I've used them many times with work. The most important thing is to ensure you have adequate pages for the trip you have planned - as is pointed out above, extra pages cost more money, but you can find yourself stranded at a border in "no-mans-land" if you run out of the appropriate sheets! ATA's can have export and re-import sheets, temporary import and re-export sheets and transit sheets. You need to fill in an export sheet with customs at point of departure from the UK - this is important as if you wait until you get to point of departure from the EU, like if you're driving to southern Europe and getting a boat from there, you'll get sent back to Dover to get the forms stamped! - this is counterstamped when you leave the EU. If, when you get to the next country, you are just travelling through, then you should use a blue transit voucher - it's much quicker to process in the customs house and can save an eternity of checking. Two problems with using transit vouchers: 1) They're designed for lorries travelling with goods, so the customs will want to "seal" the load area so you can't dispose of your load whilst in transit between borders - unless you have a seperate load area for all your kit then this isn't going to be possible and can lead to delays while the customs officers decide what to do (or wait for someone sufficiently senior to clock on and decide!). 2) You will get a strict timescale to cross between specified borders - so there is no time for sightseeing or possibilities for deviating from your declared route. If you want to take your time, or keep your route flexible, then you need to do a temporary import at point of entry and re-export when you finally leave the country in question. This will often result in a check of the vehicle to ensure everything listed on the carnet is actually present at both ends of the country. Some countries have individual customs houses in major cities. At point of entry they make you use transit vouchers between border and the city you plan visiting, then you have to find the place and "import" when you arrive there, and "re-export" when you leave, and "transit" back to the border (Poland, before it joined the EU used to make you do this, as did Hungary). It is important that each page in the carnet is stamped and signed correctly, and that there is a "trail" through the carnet that corresponds to your route from the UK to where you are when it is presented. Any missing stamps or signatures mean delays. Some issuing authorities "pair" the import/re-export sheets together, others stick all of the imports together, all of the transits together and all the re-imports at the end. In my experience it's well worth unstitching the carnet (they're usually held together with a metal tag) and reassembling the lot in the order theyre going to be used/read by the customs. ATA's are relatively uncommon in the mass of T1 TIR forms that customs officers are used to dealing with and anything you can do to make it clearer for them will greatly ease your path! It can take loads of time to process an ATA too, and if it's near to shift "knocking-off" time you can find yourself getting the runaround major bigtime just to get rid of you for an hour or so so the duty shift changes. I remember queueing for about 2 hours in Poland to get to the right window only to be told "inspection" as soon as I presented my ATA's. As I had just come from the inspection bays I protested... The officer pointedly looked at the clock on the wall behind him and made it clear that I could either go for a coffee for twenty minutes, or go back to the inspection bays - it didn't matter to him which I chose provided I didn't come back until after he'd finished his shift! Most customs houses seem to work an early/lates/nights pattern so good times to avoid presenting yourself are just before 6am, 2pm and 10pm. Just before 6pm can be bad too if they're on 12hour rotas. I think the biggest thing to remember is to keep smiling - customs procedures are very time consuming and it's easy to get frustrated at delays and communication problems. The fact that you will be something different to the everyday stuff can work in your favour as, quite often, the officials will be interested in what you are doing and your vehicle. If you have any trinkets you can give away, like sponsor's stickers or sweets or the odd cigarette then this helps oil the wheels of officialdom too. Keep such things discreet though, bribes are not a good idea in most places - certainly not alchohol or cash unless you're in real trouble! Hope this helps, all the best, Glen.

A 1/2" drill is 12.7mm - more than close enough for the job. You should be able to get a good HSS one pretty much anywhere for under a tenner. As to the tap, well I'm afraid £15 is about right. Could you could drill a clearance hole and weld a nut to the outside of the plate? Regards, Glen.

As far as I can recall the only piece of equipment required to be fitted retrospectively is screen washers. Everything else, if the vehicle is manufactured before the cutoff date, can only be tested if it's working. The easiest way to fit hazards if you want them is to use an original Lucas switch and a second flasher relay, like later series III's have. Here's one: hazard switch on ebay They come up regularly from £1 or so, so be patient if you want a cheap one. Full list on a new one is about £25, so don't pay more than that! Once you have one it is wired so that when it's "off" the normal indicator wiring works as usual. With it "on" it switches out the original indicator feed, connects the left and right circuits and powers them through the second indicator relay (that you'll have to get) via an independent fused supply. Sounds complicated, but it isn't really! What it does do is garuantee that if you have a shunt (heaven forbid!), and one or more of your indicators is broken and the normal indicator fuse gets blown, then however many indicators are left are definitely going to work. I can dredge up a wiring diagram if you need one. All the best, Glen

Hi again MJG, Glad to be of assistance! All the best in your research and search for a vehicle, whatever it may turn out to be. This forum (although I am fairly new to it) seems to have some fairly switched on contributors, so I'm sure you can get plenty of advice when you need it. If you end up with a series II/IIA then the Series II club has a pretty good forum too, I can usually be found on there. Although there are plenty of originality buffs, we're not all "rivet-counters"! Series Two Club Forum All the best, Glen.

Hi again, Sorry for the confusion... Yes, you got it right, it's the springs/mountings that matter. Leaf springs are considered the "original" spec, so to have a chassis manufactured for coils means no 5 points. Galvanising is only a surface preparation and doesn't matter either way. Sticking with a leaf sprung chassis and leaf springs would give you 7 points on the DVLA scale. If you did this then it would be pretty obvious you'd be sticking with the standard axles which gives you another 2 making 9 in total so far. With these 9 points the status of the vehicle is unassailable in the eyes of the DVLA and would remain a series II/IIA/III or whatever the original vehicle was. Another good thing about Land-Rovers is that there are no detailed records of axle/gearbox/steering component numbers - so as long as you fit the correct type no-one can prove the axle or gearbox wasn't either the original fit or a factory supplied spare part. It wouldn't matter which engine/gearbox/steering you chose as long as you could fit them without major chassis mods - so a 200Tdi would be ok as it can be fitted without major work. My 109" has a galvanised chassis supplied in 1998 by Designa together with standard leaf springs, steering and axles. This means on the DVLA scale the vehicle, although the proverbial "blacksmith's hammer" is unarguably the 1960 series II I bought as a wreck in 1996! The fact I have a series III spec Sailsbury rear axle os OK because by the time Land-Rover stopped supplying complete series axles as spares the Sailsbury was the only option for a LWB - so it is considered "original" spec even though it's stretching a point a little. Likewise the Designa chassis is really a series III clone rather than a series II copy, but again that's all Land-Rover supplied as "genuine" after the mid seventies anyway. The fact I have a series IIA/III hybrid all-synchro gearbox matters not as I don't need the 2 points, and the 200Tdi meaning I lose another point is also no problem. At the moment I still have standard series steering, but am considering using a LHD power steering box on the outside of the chassis, secured to a bolt-on mounting. If this works out then although I'll lose the steering's 2 points, because the mod will hopefuly involve no chassis mods, I'll have no problem in the )pretty unlikely) event of any trouble with the law! I know there are plenty of people who will tell you that you can get away with all sorts of stuff, but speaking as someone who had been through the DVLA/Police Examiner mangle I can assure you that once they get a whiff that the vehicle is modified it will be up to you to prove to them it's not! I rebuilt an 88" a couple of years back and had no end of trouble getting it back on the road once it had been re-chassised - First I had to have a Police inspection to ensure it wasn't a "ringer" or built from stolen parts, then I had to prove (wih receipts) the chassis and springs were brand new, then I had to argue that the vehicle wasn't "built from spares" and that I didn't want an "age related" plate - which would have necessitated another inspection by an appointed club/examiner. I did finally get things sorted, but it took over three months of struggling. If I had built it as a hybrid I'd have stood no chance of getting it through the system without an SVA and a "Q" plate. My advice is to really do your research and decide exactly what you want before you spend big bucks. If you can live with leaf springs - and they are really not as bad as some people wuld have you believe! - then a modified series truck can be a real pleasure to own. The biggest problem with a modified series truck is you can find yourself in the position of having spent £5,000 to £10,000 on a vehicle that's worth, at best, half of that. If, however, you really feel you need coils and all the benefits of the later vehicles then I'd be much more inclined to buy a 200 or 300tdi 90 or 110 - particularly as they come with all the "modifications" as standard! All the best, Glen. PS, obviously all the stuff here only applies to the UK - other countries have wildly differing rules regarding vehicle title and registration, so don't take any notice of me if you're reading this from the other side of the world!

Hi MJG, The biggest problem with landrovers is also their biggest advantage... They're probably the easiest modified vehicle on the market in the UK. This would be no problem at all if it were straightforward to obtain insurance on a highly modified vehicle - it is possible, but so many people don't bother, and it can be stunningly expensive depending on the actual modifications involved, your age, intended use of the vehicle, and location. Some insurers look favourably on modifications - my insurer put no loading on my premium for the overdrive, uprated brakes (six-cyl drums), later seats, bigger wheels and tyres (235/85x16 on FC rims), and are only loading me £35 for the 200Tdi when it finally goes in. They have, however said I'd need an engineers report for a power steering conversion and would either accept or decline my business on the strength of it. The DVLA also have rules for modifications. You can get away with loads if they are done gradually over a long period of time. You can graft on home brewed steering and suspension and do all sorts of stuff, and I know loads of people who have done just that with no problems... But, they have firm guidelines that state that major modifications done on chassis and suspension require the vehicle to be submitted for an SVA test, much like a kit-car. This normally results in them issuing a new chassis number and registration on a "Q" plate. DVLA have a points system for retaining a vehicle's identity: Original chassis or monocoque (or new, original specification) 5 points Suspension 2 points Axles (both of them) 2 points Gearbox 2 points Steering 2 points engine 1 point You need to retain a minimum of 8 points, 5 of which must come from the chassis/monocoque. Using coils on a leaf sprung vehicle is going to mean either major chassis work, and an SVA, or a new chassis that is "not to manufacturers original specification"... and no 5 points an hence no original reg. On top of that, your spec means whichever way you look at it you're going to be in "Q" plate hybrid territory. As long as you're happy with that there's no problem - but it is going to mean owning a vehicle could potentially be akward to insure and hard to sell on. If you want all the refinements of a 90 with the look of a series 3 then there's nothing stopping you moving the radiator back on a 200tdi, using a series grille and bonnet, windscreen and hard-top (although you'd have to use a cut-down 109" hardtop as an 88" would be too short, and strictly speaking the smaller series 3 screen doesn't meet construction and use regulations for driver vision and wiper swept area). A 300 tdi is mounted too far forward to allow you to do the same thing. This would simply be a cosmetic modification and wouldn't affect the status of the vehicle - you could keep all the standard bits to put it back if you wanted to. Loads of people seem to be getting away with slapping the number plate and chassis number from an old tax-exempt scrapper on their 90 or 110, but personally the risks outweigh the benefits in my opinion! Hope this helps, Glen.

Why not just buy a 90 or 110 and get it rebuilt on a galvanised chassis? Seems like that's what spec you want... Using coils on a leaf sprung motor, particularly with the level of other modifications you list could mean a whole world of trouble with the DVLA and insurance companies (particularly if you needed to make a claim). Regards, Glen.

Hi, The bellhousing is different. If your old four cylinder bellhousing is OK then you can swap them over. The way to tell instantly is look at the bulge in the bellhousing to go over the starter motor bendix... if there's a mounting hole there for a flywheel housing stud to go through then it's a six-pot box (or a series 1 ioe box), if not then it's a four cylinder one. Obviously you'll have to swap input shafts/bearings etc too if they're worn, and fit a new gasket. Remember, the input shaft and first motion gear should be kept as a pair and if one is swapped then so should the other. All the best, Glen.

A 2.5 diesel has a different injector pump arrangement than the 2.25, and this can cause problems. If you use a standard Land-Rover engine you will find the injector pump fouls the driver's side engine mount and the battery. The only way around this is to move the battery (to under the passenger seat normally) and relocate the engine mount on the chassis. If you use an engine sourced from a 2.5 litre Frieght-Rover Sherpa or an FX4R Taxi then the timing cover is different and puts the injector pump higher and nearer the engine. This allows you to use the standard series mounts and to leave the battery in it's original position. The Sherpa timing cover can be used on a Land-Rover engine (and a 2.5 TD or TDI), but has the disadvantage of not being waterproof, so pretty rubbish if you want to do any extreme off-roading. They also have unique timing belts which I am led to believe can be hard to track down. A 200 TDI timing cover from a Discovery will fit the 2.5 N/A and TD and will allow you to use the standard chassis mounts, but you'd still need to move the battery. You'd need to use the Disco water pump and pulleys too, and possibly get a bit creative with your alternator mountings. All in all it's a worthwhile swap. If you don't really want to do any wading then the Sherpa/Taxi engine is pretty much drop-in. Standard Land-Rover engines require a little more work/creativity, but anything's possible!

Hi, If you decide to buy it, and then decide to swap the engine, please give me a shout... I am looking for a complete T16 engine in "Disco" spec to transplant into my Rover P4. If you decide to stick with the engine, but are looking for more power, then the engine is basically the same as the turbo'd engine fitted to 220, 420 and 820 cars. As far as I'm aware the intake/exhaust/turbo assemblies are interchangeable. You might need to swap ecu's too (TBH I'd be amazed if you didn't have to), and plugging the lot into a megasquirt or similar would probably be a good idea. Regards, Glen.

I did this with a load of Morris Minor engine parts a few years back - it didn't do a particularly good job of cleaning the parts, and the detergent caused flash rusting of the bare steel. It took longer to clean the dishwasher afterwards than it would have taken to clean the parts in the first place! All the best, Glen.

Flowers. Lots of them. And not from a petrol station... Somehow they can tell... I enjoyed the video, and your mrs' commentary at the end was agreed with wholehartedly by mine... Don't see the problem myself! All the best, Glen