Pollywog

I've just bought a 32mm deep socket to make one of these myself, if my grinder skills aren't up to scratch I'll definitely be in touch!

I have GME parabolics (Paddocks) on my lightweight along with the inevitable Procomp ES3000 dampers. 2 leaf on the front, 3 leaf on the rear. It sits nice and level with no noticeable lift. The ride quality is superb and articulation off road is brilliant, the rear tyres (235/85r16) now rub in the arches on full articulation. Since fitting them 6 months ago I've ran it as a truck cab and a rag top and the 3 leaf rears haven't been too much in either guise, I also regularly carry 300-400 litres of water in the back and they carry the load admirably. The springs aren't handed and it does tilt to the drivers side if I have a full fuel tank but it then levels off again as the fuel goes down - at least that way I can see how much fuel I have before leaving the house just by looking out of the window! The price was identical to GB Springs at the time I bought them and I plumped for the GME as reviews were very positive for both and I was ordering a lot of stuff from Paddocks at the time. I'm very pleased that I did as I've read recently on another forum that GB springs seem to be causing a lot of lift on the rear giving prop and camber issues. I guess only time will really tell how good they really are but so far they'd certainly get my vote.

I've heard good things about the panels from SP Land Rovers.

Second hand 2 speed motors are cheep on eBay; late Series 3, Defender, Mini, MG etc. all used the same so if you search around you can pick up a good used one for the same price as that part. As you'll be changing the switch and wiring also look into fitting a switch that's compatible with the programmable relay AMR2341 that way you can programme the delay in the intermittent wipe.

I had the same problem last year getting some made to suit a 200tdi pump to p38 box. Pirtek wanted £140+vat just to adapt the old 200tdi pipes, other hydraulics places weren't sure about doing them as they thought I'd either end up with jerky steering due to the give in their hoses or didn't think their hoses would be compatible with the fluid. In the end due to lack of options I had a local agricultural hydraulics company make me a set and have been using wilkos hydraulic PAS fluid rather than ATF. No jerky steering and so far so good.

They are called Castor and were fitted to 300tdi Discos.

When I was in the post office t'other day they gave someone in front of me the option to "tax with changes to V5". Not something I've come across before but might be worth asking in your local PO?

Run an additional longer thin wire that you can use to pull through any additional cables in the future.

I did a days BORDA training at Whitecliff back in Feb as part of 4x4 response training. It was a very good day, nice people, nice site and would definitely recommend it. The course covers all the basic maneuvers such as hill climbs & descents, failed hill climbs, side slopes, crossing ditches, etc.

Last time I was in there I overhead them say they still had the tailgate moulds so I assumed they still had the other moulds too, perhaps they don't have anyone that knows how to use them?

Have you actually contacted Martin Motors about theirs? I believe they have the molds so perhaps they could make one with strengtheners in for you?

I'm pleased to say it worked very well and I'm pleased with the reception I got from it, as well as a paint it also needs stiffening as it causes a lot of buffeting noise above 40mph.

P38 boxes are stronger than the adwest type and usually mount on the outside of the chassis, you could put a LHD box on the inside of the rail, or there are Toyota boxes that also mount the same. If you do a search through the Series section of the forum for power steering conversions you might find something useful.

If it performs well this weekend I'll tidy it up a bit with a coat of black and add some trim on the other edges. If it could go below the canvas I guess something else to consider would be a larger plate mounted on the center hoop, or better yet spanning between the center & rear hoops, I'm not overly keen on making a hole in the canvas to pass the antenna through but I guess if I put a properly fitted eyelet in to stop it tearing..... something else to keep in mind, thanks. It'll be much easier during the winter when I have a truck cab or full hard top on.

When I replaced mine I did run it through the chassis (I used traffic light cable) and it's had no problems with rubbing, over 10 years now but for ease of running additional cables for accessories etc. I wish I had run some trunking along the outside of the chassis instead, you never know what you might want to add / take away in the future.

If I were doing it again nowadays I would not run it through the chassis rail I'd run it in some trunking along the top

Had another play this afternoon... 34x16" plate so I have the full plane in 2 directions and 1/2 in the others, It's certainly a much better reception from the repeater and it now acts the same with or without the engine running. I'll go with this for now and see how it performs on Sunday when I'm able to test it communicating with the other guys in the team. Thanks muchly for your input

It's an Icom IC-F110S

Funnily enough I had to test mine this afternoon to check my new split charge system was working, multimeter set to DCV 50x

Thanks for your help guys, yes the power cable has fuses in both wires and is wired direct to the aux battery. I'll get the light bar mounted and cut some steel plate tomorrow.

It's a 200tdi, I was wondering would having the radios power leads running alongside the vehicles main power feeds cause interference? Also something else bugging me whilst I have you; I've just noticed the installation instructions show that the mic hanger clip should be earthed, what is the reasoning for this?

Hi, Yes it is a 1/4 wave antenna from co-star http://www.co-star.co.uk/prod/779/vhf-antenna-14-wave-antenna.html & one of their M8 bases http://www.co-star.co.uk/prod/376/m8-panorama-antenna-base-universal-modular.html I'll ask about the frequencies. I'm thinking a plate on the light bar is definitely the next thing to try, I can get the full 32" plane along the length of the bar and possibly get half the plane in the other directions. I re-mounted the antenna on the wing this afternoon and went for a drive around, out in the middle of open common land I can get a signal in all directions parked up with and without the engine running and also in 2 directions when moving so I think the problem is definitely the ground plane coupled with the antenna being mounted so low and a bit of added interference from the engine.

I was looking at the FFR mounts but other than raising the antenna a few inches I don't see how it would help with the ground plane? Looking at the light bar I can possibly get a disc with an 8" radius under the antenna, the antenna is 16" so I don't think that's going to really be enough either? I tried mounting the antenna on the bonnet this morning using one of the spare wheel mount holes and still had the same issue it works fine with the engine off but won't transmit or receive with the engine running. The size of the bonnet should of provided a good ground plane, I'm guessing the closeness of the antenna & coax to the engine is the issue but could I be missing something else?

Have you checked your wiring? Put a multimeter on the bettery with the engine off, and then again with the engine running, if it's all correct it should read about 14v when running. Also do you have anything fitted that could be draining the battery?

Evening all, I've been issued a VHF radio by my 4x4 response group but I'm in the position of being the only soft top in the group and as such am having issues finding a decent place to mount the antenna. I have the radio wired in to the auxiliary battery and at present have the antenna mounted through an existing hole in the wing originally meant for a wing mirror. The radio picks up 2 of the nearest repeaters with the engine off but as soon as I start the engine I lose all reception. I think things are made worse with the fact that being a lightweight the wings are 6" lower than standard and have the steep side of the bonnet to contend with and possible interference from the engine? Any ideas on where I could mount the antenna for better signal? I was wondering about using the lightbar on the roof, but that would have no ground plane so perhaps make a few radials from some wire? Or alternatively another roof bar mounted behind the lightbar with a flat metal disc mounted on it to form a ground plane?