Ed Poore

Also (but I'm biased) I'd say L322 rather than D4, it's not quite as practical but it's more luxurious and there's a certain air to it - also find it very relaxing to drive. I have a good friend who had a brand new D4 HSE Luxury or whatever it was called (top of the line) and I gave him a lift to the pub in the Range Rover one evening and he commented that the seats were waaaay more comfortable than the D4 (bearing in mind mine was 8 years older than his). And you don't have a V8 option in the Discovery

Guess I'm the only one with an L322 then... Although I know Chris (GBMUD) had / has one. I bought mine with ~100k on the clock for ~£16.5k about 5 years ago. I did my research and knew there would likely be a few issues but was semi-prepared for them. I'd rejected D3s because of the issues they seemed to have. D4s were within budget but stretching it, then the L405 was introduced and more L322s became available. I settled on a TDV8 because of the mileage I was doing and didn't want the gearbox issues associated with the Td6. Quick summary of the issues I've had: ~100k: Fuel pump in tank went (under warranty), relatively simple job to do if the tank is empty I understand. ~120k: Alternator packed up (known issue on TDV8s) - pig of a job did it myself and saved ~£800 (paid ~£130 for the alternator from AdvancedFactors), nothing particularly difficult just really inaccessible and working blind. ~130k: Front air struts developed leak - both for ~£600 from Island 4x4 and after Keith at Challengers quoted me £120 to swap them I left it up to them. ~130k: Diagnostics flagged a fault with EGRs - replaced them myself for ~£300 for the parts The single biggest expense was from me flooding the transfer box when on Strata Florida. As far as I know I'm the only person to have done this so it look a couple of garages quite a while to diagnose the problem (several days). In the end the fix was a couple of fluid changes... Since then it's been ~50k of absolutely plain sailing and racking up some seriously big trips. I wouldn't hesitate to jump in it and drive to the Highlands / south of France - in fact have done on multiple occasions. Knowing what I know now I wouldn't be put of by high milers, they're actually not that bad to work on (in fact most service things are nicer than on a Defender). Yes there are known issues but as long as you know what they are and budget accordingly I wouldn't worry about them. Definitely get an IID tool though (the diagnostics tool) - they're not cheap but you'll save the money very quickly and they do allow you to tweak the vehicle settings to your preference. I'd recommend sticking with the Ford era ones (i.e. 56MY onwards) - they sorted a lot of the other issues. The other thing is (particularly the diesels) is they like being driven, I've not had issues with things bunging up etc., but then again I regularly do long motorway journeys so gives it a chance to stretch its legs (and boy do they have some legs as I've found out to my cost). Towing wise there's not much that compares to them - pulled 3.5 tonnes behind mine effortlessly and will still out-accelerate the majority of vehicles on the road, with or without a trailer. Happy to offer more advice but I'd focus on whether its' been looked after over mileage. Mine might not be the most pristine example aesthetically but always looked after the mechanicals and it's served me well. Ironically I've been thinking of selling it for a while now...

L322 is 75.7" but I think that's the mirrors. Never had an issue with actual width of the bodywork unless you are fussed about scratches. Sidewalls was my only real issue. I've avoided a few lanes in Surrey because I known how scratchy they are, they're tight even for a Defender so even though I'm not precious over the paintwork I won't go out of my way to destroy it.

I quite like that Mike. I'm loath to increase the height of my 110 but I seem to be trying to shift longer and longer stuff these days so have considered building some roof bars but your design looks neat. Take it it was all steel rather than ali? Do you remember what spec the tube was you used (wall thickness and OD mainly)?

I've done most of the lanes in Wales and Surrey with my L322 which is a reasonable chunk wider than a Defender (I think technically it's not supposed to fit through 6'6" width restrictions but with the air suspension the mirrors tend to clear). The biggest issue I had rather than bodywork width was the fact the beam being wider meant I was continually scrubbing tyre sidewalls as most tracks are made by Defender width vehicles. Should be less of a problem if you keep sensible size tyres on but because of the 6 pot brembos the smallest wheel is 19" therefore (compared to Defenders) stupidly skinny tyres which means the sidewalls are made of cheese. First 3 years I spent £3k on tyres...

It is. Got a Salisbury axle going spare too.

Shame. I've got a 300Tdi 110 one I keep moving around the shed since I swapped out my rear axle for a Nige Ultra Spec short nose locker.

Just had a phone call from them - apparently the non tinted windscreens are no-longer being built as there's no demand. Apparently they've not sold one in 6 years, if I wanted one then it would be about 6 months wait for them to build 5. Not that fussed so changed to a tinted one.

True, at least I didn't order an LS3

Bored waiting for tests to finish in the lab this evening and before I knew it I'd ordered one.

Sorry not a 90 but 265/75R16 BFG KM2s as you wanted, on Zus on a 110. And testing the mud terrains...

Any recommendations on seals? Genuine I guess for longevity. Other people I'd forgotten were VGS who do stock seals as well as the windscreen.

Provided all sofas are out of the vicinity and I bring down one of the shotguns I might take you up on that

Should I order 2 then? Sorry couldn't resist

@miketomcat Appreciate frame is ali but let's just say life's got in the way and the 110 has been used and abused and slightly neglected so know I've got some lurkers in the bulkhead and might try and kill a flock of birds at once... To be fair the vehicle's not in too bad shape for a 23 year old, structurally and mechanically it's sound. Couple of small repairs to the front dumb irons and a bespoke C section style rear cross member (built with similar structural strength as Nige's typical fabrication) sees the extent of structural repairs from factory. Once he gets around to building my pegged Ashlocker for the front then that should sort out the drive train for another 20 years or so. Just slowly working through the 'I can live with that for a while longer' list when I get the chance. Such as on the way out hinges, rotten door bottoms etc. @western I have done my research but was more after if heatedwindscreen.com were still the guys to go for. Stupidly I had a windscreen in a frame several years ago but had just bought the Range Rover and was contemplating selling the 110 so sold the windscreen to John - its now in the ambulance. Not done a windscreen replacement myself but got a mate at work who's done several on various vehicles including 3 on his Rolls and has offered to help. Two of those were similar to Mike recently. Ordered one, fitted it, turned around to do something, put an elbow or something through it has he turned back. Subsequently had to then go inside and order another one. At least he got the opportunity to practice .

It's been on my list for a while but driving back from Salisbury today I started getting water dripping down from the passenger bulkhead from the driving rain. Didn't really matter since the bottoms of the doors had let plenty of their own water in . Since the seal is knackered and the windscreen isn't in the best of conditions (scratched and a few chips in it) I might as well just replace it with a heated one. The challenge will be finding a warm and dry enough weekend to not only swap it but also deal with the inevitable rusted patches. With my new found welding and tigging skills not not looking forward to it. Anyway where do people recommend sourcing one from? Think I'll stick with clear rather than tinted.

I think from memory the seat back hits against another tab (might be centre seat based) which takes the strain rather than spring. Beaten to it by James.

I used a couple of old 4x4 fence posts which had rotted at the bottom and an 18mm sheet of ply over the top. Took less than a morning to build - but did have the advantage I attached it to the wall of the shed so nice and rigid. As I do more and more welding been meaning to put a sheet of steel over the top to protect it a bit more (well don't care about the surface but I have set fire to it a couple of times).

Well I didn't have a 3" AF spanner to nip up the nuts. Asked one of the directors at work who was likely to have one. Thought his father did but couldn't remember where it was. Then pointed out the bleeding obvious, hence the photo. Much simpler than the plan I had in mind . Bit of flex in it so could do with a gusset or two if going into production with it but it served the purpose.

If mig welding does come back up look for posts by dieselsamurai as that's who's helping Clive out.

Well so far there's A "small backup" compressor (45cfm with 400 to 500l receiver) for £100... Large flypress £250 (lorry or really substantial trailer) 500A MIG NBC welder £175 (has a minor issue with wire feed). 330A BOC Arc welder £175.

These guys do a 6 pole single phase motor which will run at 1000rpm, gives you a bit slower speed if you're after that: https://www.mmengservices.co.uk/pages/capacitor-start-capacitor-run

Just need to source / build some tooling now.

There's a load of very heavy duty kit down there that needs to be gone soon or its being weighed in. If only I had a barn or three. Welders (500A plus), spot welders, lathes, radial drills, Mill, compressors. Pretty much all three phase and trailer jobs. To put it in perspective the small backup compressor is estimated at about 25hp and with probably in the region of a 200 gallon (gallon not litre) receiver. And that's the small backup one... Theres an Edwards press brake he wanted £200 for. A 8"+ bandsaw for £150. No 4 and 5 Norton Flypress (thick got the sizes right) but the spheres were about a foot in diameter... He'd rather sell it for nothing than scrap it. If you're interested in anything get in touch with dieselsamurai over on mig-welding but they need to be gone fast. But will be some real bargains there.