Pollywog

Series 2 Club do group buys, about £60 a side and delivered by forum relay. There was also a company at last years Malvern Autojumble selling them, I think they were about £140 a pair.

I don't have a g valve in mine, do you think they really make a difference? Thinking back my old TD 90 never had one either that was converted from a factory HT to a pickup. I do wonder if you're having more trouble with the back end because the springs are already making it nose dive and thus transferring even more weight to the front than usual.

I haven't had any trouble with the back going light since doing all my upgrades but in it's old state it was terrible for it. Could it have anything to do with your RM suspension setup being too stiff perhaps? If you're going for a change of master cylinder keep your eyes open for a defender pedal assembly, you can pick them up for £20 at an autojumble, if you get one with the type 50 servo it'll bolt straight in without doctoring the wings & bonnet all you need to change is the pipe unions to suit the master - easily done in place if you have a flaring tool.

I saw a DC100 Sport leaving Eastnor one day and putting practicality aside I must say I thought it looked really nice. If I were a betting man my money would be on the replacement being a double cab pick up aimed at the L200 / Navara market.

Holden do an upgraded copy of the old Smiths round heater, should be simple to plumb in with standard Series 2 hoses.

Yep it uses Defender discs & calipers. It's certainly not a cheap system but it does work well and using Land Rover parts should be future proof.

I fitted GME parabolics in place of a good set of British Springs multileafs and whilst the ride quality has been transformed there was no discernible lift. The amount of lift seams to vary with each brand. I am running 235/85R16's so approx. 31" - a pretty common size for a Series 3 and with the increased articulation the parabolics give they rub the rear arches when offroad to the point that during the last outing they've put a curve in the arches and cuts in the edge of the tread blocks - time for some extended bump stops and check straps! This is on a Lightweight so less bodywork to catch and I'd dread to think what you'd get from a set of 35" tyres.

Some people like the 19J TD option as they feel it's more sympathetic to the Series drivetrain but finding a good one for sale probably isn't easy. Also some people like going the 200Di option but it's more work and I like the power of the turbo. I fitted a Disco 200tdi in my lightweight and as Mikey says I wouldn't want to go back, it makes for a much more usable vehicle in both driveability and economy. As the others have said it's a fairly easy and straightforward conversion but it's up to you how easy or difficult you want to make it. As you can see from the pics I trimmed the front panel and wing allowing me to instal the Disco rad & intercooler complete which gives a lot more room at the front of the engine and means that I was able to use mostly standard hoses. I also have PAS (P38 box) which gives a bit more room for the rad and I didn't have to remove the pump. I didn't clock the turbo I just trimmed the wing around the pipework. Air box is a TD version. For the exhaust I used a downpipe from ebay with a flexi pipe coupled to a Steve Parker back box that I happened across cheap, when it goes I'll get a custom system made up. I just need to tidy up the wiring & remake a couple of brackets to finish it off. At present I'm running a Series 3 box with Fairey overdrive, 3.54 diffs, & 235/85R16's and it cruises nicely. I don't have any sound insulation and don't think it's objectionable but I do put ear defenders in on long journeys.

I've been running a Heystee kit with vented discs on the front since January, rear is standard 10" drums. When I fitted the kit I put in a complete brake pedal assembly from a 200tdi Defender with type 50 servo and master - I don't know if it came out of a 90 or 110. I do have a PDWA fitted because it was already plumbed in but no G-valve or pressure regulator. I've been very impressed by the way it stops. I've now had chance to run it with all 3 roof options and it's easy to get all 4 wheels locked up but I'm yet to have the rears lock up noticeably before the fronts.

Rover P4's had different ratios and are direct swaps if you can find them, I think they came in 3.9, & 4.2/4.3? 4.1 are available from ashcrofts. I don't see the point in you waiting to fit the overdrive, you may as well fit it now and if you don't like it with the current diffs just don't use it! You may as well try it now before swapping diffs or you'll never know what it drives like.

I'm running 3.54 diffs, 235/85r16's and a fairey o/d behind a 200tdi in my lightweight. I find it a nice drive, around town I'm mostly in 3rd, if it's a long straight at 30 I might pop it into 3rd overdrive otherwise I'm up and down from 3rd to 4th a lot. I tend to put it into 4th overdrive at around 50 and it will happily cruise at anywhere between 50 & 70 and probably more! With the original diffs I used to be in 4th by 20mph. The only time it seems to struggle is pulling away from a steep junction with a lot of steering lock on. I don't get any wheel spin anymore. I've had it off road a couple of times since fitting the diffs and the rise in low ratio gearing is not an issue for me, yes it is slightly faster but still very acceptable in my opinion. If you were using it for trialling every weekend then probably stick to the standard diffs but if it's only the occasional jolly then I dont think you'll have any issues with it. On the subject of how series 3 boxes cope with all this mine was all well and good in my old lightweight then I took it out and put it into this one with the 200, after a month or so it started to jump out of first, it had rattled the mainshaft nut loose and still jumps with a new one correctly torqued. I think the synchro is going also starting to think the same about 3rd. It also recently chewed up a shim on the transfer intermediate shaft which caused a terrible noise, and the speedo drive has stopped working. Lt77 is on my shopping list! How all that relates with the differences between the torque of a 200tdi compared to the high revving v8 I don't know.

Quick update, I finally got several days where I didn't need to use the car so off came the overdrive and yes indeed the main nut was loose, new nut & lock washer on and torqued up properly. Whilst I was at it I found the shim on the intermediate shaft had been chewed up so have fitted a new pair of thrust washers and shim. Good news is it's a lot quieter than it was before, bad news is it's still jumping out of gear Next up selector forks...

If you want to put on something unique how about a showcase of the alternative offroad fun from around the world; Tuck Trials, Tractor Pull, Bog Racing, Icelandic Formula Offroad, Trophy Trucks, etc. etc. All the stuff I used to watch on DSF but now can't get. Sure it might be a logistical nightmare but it would be interesting.

How about military snow blinds for the screen and doors?

could just be the wheel bearings in that case

Thanks for the further suggestions guys. I did wonder if a mag mount would be able to cope with having canvass between it and the ground plane I've heard that some don't stick so well even when straight to steel but I guess that all comes down to the cheapness of the mount. I'm tempted to go mag mount for the hard top anyway; bond a small steel plate to the roof instead of drilling holes.

Let's start from the beginning shall we. There is a breather channel between the transfer box and the main box, they then usually share a single breather, on some boxes the breather is in the square plate in others it's in the round plate, some may have one in each. The breather may be a small hole with or without a split pin in or it may be a larger hole with a plastic vent plug in it. Military vehicles usually had a removable round breather plate held down with a spring clip, obviously yours doesn't. If your box has been messed with and had bits swapped you may not have a breather in either plate. If the breathers are blocked you will usually get more oil leaks so it's a good idea to fit raised breathers regardless of if you plan on wading or not. If fitting raised breathers it's worth fitting one to each box as the internal breather channel can get blocked. Drill a hole in the plate on top of the transfer box and fit your breather fitting to it. Then find the breather hole in one of the plates on the gearbox and drill it out larger to fit the breather fitting. Check both plates and if you have a second breather either raise them both or plug one. Route the pipes up to the engine bay, if you want to join them do it as far from the boxes as is practicable. I'll be needing to access my gearbox in the next few days so will take some pics for you.

and if you can get them brazed onto the plate it would be worth getting a splash guard fitted over it at the same time like you find on the top plate of a fairey overdrive

No I mean the nuts used to secure the pneumatic fittings being used as breathers. The plates are too thin to tap a decent thread into so they need a nut.

But that relies upon the channel between the 2 boxes being open, it can apparently get clogged up quite easily especially if it has been apart at any point and put back together using Hylomar instead of a proper gasket. Personally I chose to fit separate breathers to each box. I'd also put a dab of thread lock on the back nut to prevent it working loose or better yet get the nut brazed onto the plates.

A quick update on this, the antenna works very well mounted in this way and I was very happy with the signal I was receiving BUT the drumming of the plate when traveling at anything above 40mph is quite deafening, not only that but it has also taken it's toll on the light bar having caused both of the bars mounting plates to fracture. The hard top will be going on soon so I will have all winter to come up with an alternative arrangement for next spring & summer.

How about one of the truck cab extension kits?

Depends on the type of plug. If it's the early type with a slot then a big screwdriver and a pair of grips on the shaft of the driver. If it's the later type then a 1/2" drive ratchet. If you have the early slotted type you can replace them with gearbox plugs that have a hex head.

NRC4880 PDWA valve fitted to Series. A lot of owners just remove them and don't replace when they stop working I don't know how much they're worth but I wouldn't expect it to be much.

Or cut a slot in them with a Dremel and unscrew with a screwdriver