Ed Poore

I think SiWhite was selling one here for not very much. He's not that far from me and I'll be passing you later in the year. Either in Novemeber or just before Christmas...

Looks like Scotland is off. So the question is do people want me to bring an 8 wheel amphibious (sort of) vehicle along? Would mean popping over to my parents on the Friday night and collecting it but they're not far away. If there's people familiar with two strokes (it's a bit of an odd one, no need to add oil to mixture and has proper lubricated sump), in particular its a Kohler Commander 18 engine (I think). Dad's now got it to idle and run smoothly but the moment you go uphill it runs out of power and stalls, if you're quick enough you can yank the choke out and it recovers. Basically looks like someone's bodged a new engine in and all the linkages are to cock but as its not standard we have had no luck in tracking down how they should be set up.

There was naff all. OK there's the RR seats but no rear bench seats or supporting bracketry. There was my socket set and a few tow ropes and shackles. So maybe about 20kg of stuff on top of the seats.

And muppet of the month award goes to me. Turns out I already had non levelled CSW springs on the rear. For some reason decided to check the ones I'd taken off and there was one remaining red + green mark denoting the appropriate spring. Oops Put them back on and she's sitting level now and took the dogs for another test drive and handles the same. It was the yellow HD ones up front as I suspected causing most of the crashing and bouncing. Dogs approved, although after 5 years Lyra's still bracing herself when she feels us coming around the corner off the Hogs Back. Some nasty bumps on the corner usually meant a bit of a bounce, no longer. Smooths it out nicely.

Thanks for the offer Mike. Dad's done his back in cutting down trees and playing with the Argocat so doesn't look like Scotland's on so Seven Sisters may well be so can see the Ibex there.(incidentally if anyone is knowledgeable about Kohler 2 stokes I could bring the dinky 8 wheeler along ), it's struggling on power / ascending. The front looks fine its just the reathat's squatting badly. But I've just taken it on the harshest proving ground known to man. A trip to Tesco with a lap of the Hogs "Broken" Back thrown in. I've got to say it's transformed the ride on that bumpy stretch of road, previously it as skipping and bouncing over the road. You can still feel the bumps in the road but it now isn't harsh in the slightest. I think I may order a set of air bags since it was always on the cards and see how that is. Can always swap out for some slightly stiffer springs at a later date. Or potentially a 2" lift on the rear would seat it about right.

Hmm. I think disappointed is the word of the day. Considering these are all CSW springs (for load leveller, but not fitted) I'm surprised at the difference in height front and rear. Yes I do have a reasonably full tank of fuel and a few bits and bobs in the back but nothing significant. Fell nice and soft but I've been hemmed in so haven't taken it for a drive yet...

At the risk of turning this into Project Binky if you've got access to a lathe have you considered turning your own?

Can you weld a simple locating pin onto the bulkhead while it's off the vehicle?that way the nut outside is securing it on but the pin stops it rotating? Or even just a bracket along the bottom for it to sit against. If I've understood the problem correctly that is...

I was going to book in but Dad's potentially asking me to talk him stalking up in the Highlands for his birthday (the same weekend) . He'll probably cancel at the last minute.

Sounds awful.

Hmm. Yes you can catch the boxes out a little but but I didn't find the ZF 6hp26 in my TDV8 as bad as you describe. It did have a tendency to pull off in second or third but my route home cuts across a busy dual carriageway (Hogsback) and I found if you hold the brake and a little bit of revs it simply took off like a rocket with you released the brake. If you wanted a stupidly fast response whack it into manual mode and select first and do the same thing. The way I found you could catch it out was if you were braking heavily and then stood on the accelerator. In general things were pretty good in normal mode, if you put it into 'sport' then even using it as a normal auto you didn't really feel any delay. Manual mode meant you had complete control then and even less delay when it was perceptible. Maybe it's because it's a 6 speed it doesn't have as many to choose from

Don't have a D2

You'd have thought a petrol V8 through an auto box would be a lot gentler on the drive train than a typical inexperienced Defender driver with a manual, heavy boot and relatively big diesel lump. I guess they can also map the engine to minimise lumpy torque which is going to hit the drive train hard.

Anyone considered / tried building one themselves using the 'kits' off eBay? I.e. the ones where you can just buy a load of angles and straight bits and weld them together. My exhaust is actually in pretty decent nick apart from the rear section on the 110 which I've had a number of different manufacturers on recently and they keep disappearing (to rust). Given I've got a TIG and a load of stainless filler rods I was thinking perhaps DIY stainless might be the way to go in the future.

Probably not torquey enough.

You can just about see it as a paint brush holder on the right of this picture.

If you're still after one then I've got a big floor standing pillar drill that's minus a motor you can probably have? Startrite I think - I got it off ejparrot but there was a three phase motor on it which has subsequently been repurposed at my parents.

If you know where they are then that would save me several hours of searching / tidying through the shed...

Use em?!

Gonna have to clear some space. Also got a donkey saw for not very much.

Hmm. Just done a deal on 3 Elliotts for £150 . They're all part of a bit T slot table. All working but middle one needs a little attention.

I'll have a hunt over the weekend if not sooner. I think I might have lopped off the end because I couldn't be ****ed to pull off the old spindles. For what's its worth it's just a cog...

Which bit of the wheel box - the little bits that clamp to the spindle and take the cable drive? I don't think I threw out the knackered ones when I replaced them on my 300 but the challenge will be finding them... It's only a small shed but it's got a lot of stuff. But I do need to clear it out because I've just done a deal on a donkey saw and 3 Elliott pillar drills on a T-slot table so need to find some space for them...

What age seats and vehicle? I've fitted a set of L322 seats to my Defender and they're self contained. Just gave them 12V and everything just worked, although I think the memory function has stopped working.

I've found if you use a thick cutting compound like Rocol and have a decent drill (Presta / Dorma and it's sharp) you can get most of it stuck to the cutting grease if you take it slow. You've got to be careful not to snap the bits, or if you've got a torquey drill like my Milwaukee, your wrist . I don't think the photo shows it well but I think it's an external thread, you can just make out one or two threads possibly.