Turbocharger

Yes, I understand the ideas and the reasons behind them. I do have concerns about the knock-on price of goods but I support the idea. I just can't see how it's sustainable to allow everyone in this crowded city to each have a big car, and incentive schemes don't give the quick turnaround and results that a four or five year democratic system demands.

Personally, I support the LEZ, congestion charge etc. There's no need for most people to drive into the centre of London and there are still plenty of ways to get where you're going. If you don't like the Tube or the (most heavily subsidised in Europe) bus service and you absolutely have to drive, drive in before 7am. I live on the boundary of the CCZ and get resident's discount, £4 a week in a 1984 Ninety. I haven't paid it yet, there's nowhere inside the zone that I can't get to more quickly on the Tube. I'm on the cusp of deciding between two jobs, in London or in the West Country. London's not as nice to live in but it's half as much money again as working in Weston-Super-Merde and I want to buy a house in the next five years. Genuinely tough call... John (with absolutely no vested interest in public transport, oh no)

Actually, I could quite go for an electric motor. Loads of torque, all at zero speed, very controllable ... where's the downside?

I seem to remember it's as mentioned above - the fatigue stress limit is that at which the material will withstand 10 million cycles (I think). The general theory is that, if it'll do that many, it'll go on forever. Otherwise you're playing a waiting game based on the magnitude of the loading and the different between the max and min loadings. Unusually, Wikipedia is quite helpful on the subject.

I too have no cooling fan after chasing an overheating problem for weeks. My suggestion: lob a thermocouple in the header tank (£15 with a multimeter from Maplin), stuff a rag in the hole and go for a run to see if it's really getting hot - it could be the gauge that's lying to you. I bought a Racetech gauge (after changing nearly everything) and the problem just went away...

The 1.4 is on the car and will be for sale one way or another. The 1.2 is full of swarf in the selectors (which is why I haven't sold it, I don't want to offload a pup). I think the bearings have begun to break up, so I'll strip it down and see if it is rebuildable. Otherwise I'll poke my nose around for a 1.2.

... but half of the idea is to show me what's inside the t-box before I suddenly need to learn, lying on my back in a gutter or gulley somewhere. I'll also know it's been done properly rather than another unknown quantity.

They work accurately according to the reading they see for altitude, but the dilution of precision is quite large vertically, if only because the satellites in view are usually above you - sit still and watch your altitude drift around. Most use an algorithm to smooth this at low speeds, but this inaccuracy was a major downfall in my GPS rolling road programme.

Well, after considerable time and effort from me and Ian at Beast Motorsport near Bristol, I have a V8 4spd autobox behind a 300Tdi. The crux of the story - I bought a conversion plate from Hedley, who sold it frankly and openly as fitting a 2.5NAD, TD or 200Tdi. I'm a smartarse, and decided it would also be suitable for a 300Tdi. In case anyone's tempted to have a go in this direction, don't. After much thinking, worrying and experimenting with it, the whole thing bolted together but the torque converter didn't reach the flex plate. I considered machining the coverter plate but this seemed a bit 'one way' so Ian had a spacer ring made up locally. Then there was kickdown bracketry to be made and the shifter assembly to mount - more labour. Then the difflock lever was tweaked to get it to poke up through the existing hole in the floor, and some panel beating to stop it all joining me in the cab. More labour. Then the gearbox mounts were adjusted to allow for the thickness of the converter plate etc - more labour. Seven weeks later (and let's not discuss the bill), it works! It gets all the gears, moving into 4th about 35mph, and kicks down when required. With consideration, it can be driven as a manual on the shifter, or just leave it in 'D' and use your foot to change gear. Offroad there's plenty of engine braking when held in '1' and plenty of screaming-and-freefall when left in 'D'. To fit the box in, the catalyst has gone and the exhaust is now knocking slightly on one mount at the rear. Ho hum. Also, it came with a 1.4 t-box so it really rips up to speed and it'll only do 85mph before it revs out - very tiring at 60mph / 3000 rpm and running to London and back gave 22mpg too . My remaining qualms are: I need to stop the exhaust knocking - some pigeon attention required (AskWarne?) but it should pass next month's MOT with a rattle? I want to refit the 1.2 t-box I've got in the back but it has some swarf in the selectors, presumably from the centre diff bearings? Bearing in mind that I live in London and have no garage, do I: throw some money at Mr Ashcroft for a rebuild / replacement? rebuild it myself using gaskets, bearings etc from Ashcroft and the back of the car as a workbench? convert the 1.4 box to 1.2 ratio in situ in the car, using bits from the 1.2 box? Overall, the autobox gets a thumbs up and going to bigger tyres and 1.2 box should give it longer legs on a run - very pleased.

A thought that occurred to me: I have a full B licence for manual vehicles - if I take my B+E test in an automatic, what can I tow and with what?

Keep your ratios, throat diameters and v*/vmax. For reference, please see 02:54 into this 9min clip: Hoovering

Ten minutes earlier: "I'm just going out dear, I feel like a kebab"

Les, I put a Disco t-box on a Defender, with TroddenMasses "helping" me. If the two of us can do it, anyone can

Ah, that's where the story falls down. The torque is applied to the axle at the diff, no question. One long tube means the force at that wheel due to the torque will be less, yes, but it's not the force that is balanced, it's the torque. There's no requirement to have the same force at each wheel and it's the effect of more vertical force at one wheel than the other which causes dragsters to spin one wheel off the line.

Trev - I'm afraid not. A torque is a torque, no matter where along the axle it is applied. The lower the gearing, the less this torque is (for a given power transfer). Better or worse, I don't know. Are we including cost?

Could be the adjustment on the switch for the reverse light holding it out of gear?

I saw something like this at one of the shows. Sadly all I can remember is that it was called a Defender "fastback" and I think it was made in Spain. Or Portugal. Or Cornwall. Somewhere foreign-speaking, anyway.

Some of the more "extreme" rings look like they could be considered to present a sharp edge, and therefore a danger to other road users? It doesn't seem bright to draw extra attention to an item which has already been mooted as legally 'on the boundary', and rotating sharp edges are definately a no-no.

Flex plate? It's harder than that - because it's a conversion from bits that are available, the torque converter bolts directly to a manual flywheel and I 'thought' that's what the conversion plate (a replacement for the flywheel housing) was set up for, although it appears not. The guy who's doing it has done quite a few auto conversions including for a couple of guys on here, so I have faith that he's not feeding me a line. Rather than hack the kit about he's having a ring machined up to space the t/c away from the flywheel so it'll all bolt up. There'll be a little more inertia but with a flywheel and t/c in there too, not a massive difference and it's no racing car anyway.

How does the t/c locate radially? I'm facing a similar problem at the moment, surely just using washers is too easy and it'll all flop about?

I do only have one vehicle, but I don't really need it either. I'll push on and see where this road leads I think. At the very least I'll have a new rear main seal and a new clutch (90k miles on the old one).

He reckons he put the backplate onto the engine using a 200Tdi crank seal, put the t/c into the autobox and tried to bolt the t/c up to the flywheel but the bolts are too short. I can't easily get any photos because his workshop's a long way from everywhere else. Option 3 is to put the manual back in with a new clutch and forget the whole automatic plan but it's a bit defeatist.

Nice frame! I don't think much of the wooden chassis though... I think Bias's point is that the devil is in the detail, it's not just a case of kinking some steel round your knee and splattering it with a welder. One man's kink is another man's "witness mark". (I want a garage like yours)

I can't help feeling it'll cost me more to get a disc machined up than it will to lop half an inch of the flywheel housing though?

Progress continues, the backplate is bolted up to the engine with plenty of Locktite and the gearbox was offered up, but when he came to put the torque converter bolts in he found they aren't long enough. (Insert spiel about flex plates and fluid flywheels that I didn't really understand down the phone - I thought he was bolting the torque conv to the flywheel without using a flex plate... ) Problem is, it doesn't fit. He wants to mill half an inch off the conversion plate (the flywheel housing) to bring it all into line - he's checking his measurements. My question - can't I achieve a very similar thing by adding spacers between the torque converter and the flywheel? At that radius they won't see much torque - the only issue I can see is locating the t/c centrally - any ideas?