Boris113

Thanks very much Si, I'll have a crack at it tomorrow and let you know how it goes. Harry

I'd be interested to see what you decide to do on this one, I'm looking at doing something similar but have run out of space on the walls. The current plan is to make a large draw that slides in under the top of the workbench, then throw a load of linbins into it so they can be removed and carried around if required.

Disco-Ron apologies I didn't explain the source of the noise very well. The base of the top hat is banging on the spring seat. I was going to fit the disco rubbers on the top of the spring seat to isolate the mating faces and hopefully stop the noise. My main springs are slightly too firm but once the Hi-lift, storage boxes etc are bolted in then I will look into changing the rear springs. The additional weight over the rear axle may even stop the noise. Si, I had thought about shortening the spring as many of my friends do with old VWs, but was put off by the fact it seemed like a bodge. Also by shortening it at the end, it won't have the tapered end that makes it sit flush on the spring seat and I wouldn't trust myself to cut a section out of the middle then weld the bits together. I spoke to a mechanical engineer friend and he also explained how it would affect the dynamics, ruining the whole reason for the X-spring in the first place. I like the idea of tempering them, that sounds like a job that is easy enough, and by picking up the back of the vehicle with a telehandler, I won't have to remove the springs outright. Could you advise a little more please? Do I heat the spring to red hot or a little off that? Would I start with a few coils and see how it goes? More importantly is this a job that is safe for an overly-enthusiastic amateur Many thanks for all of the advice Harry

The X-springs fitted to the rear of the 90 work really well but I'm after some advice. I understand that people say they can be noisy when off road and that's not a problem, but mine make a lot of noise on the road also. The 90 is a soft top with nothing in the back, resulting in the 'hats' of the X-springs sitting about 5mm off the spring seats. Once I'm in the vehicle and the fuel tank is full, they sit flat, but the slightest pothole causes them to lift away, then crash back down with a lot of accompanying noise. For now I've thrown 2 sacks of pheasant feed in the back to add some weight but that isn't really a long term solution. So that got me thinking, would some of the rubber isolators fitted to the rear springs of a Mk 1 Discovery work as a way of isolating the noise? Annoyingly the rear of the 90 already sits noticeably higher than the front so I am reluctant to increase it by much more. Any suggestions chaps? Harry

There's a thread on the third one here: http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/40056 It was a while since I read it properly, but IIRC there was something pretty dubious about how the rear suspension was bolted to the axle. The original build thread (which I can't find now) was great, the attention to detail was quite something. The series 2 with red wheels that you posted has a porsche engine mounted in the rear also!

I have this set and and am more than impressed with it, although if you have axle stands already then a similar jack with quick lift may be a better option. It's low enough for normal cars, the saddle fits most LR bits well and it's very stable at full height. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-3-Ton-Tonne-Hydraulic-Car-Van-Trolley-Jack-2-Trolley-Jacks-Axle-Stands-/200680103409?pt=UK_Lifting_Moving_Equipment&hash=item2eb9775df1 I've previously bought some from Machine Mart following a review from a LR comic, they were useless scrap and 5 broke in 4 years, purely through DIY usage.

If you are from Peterborough I presume you have tried Yarwell and Tixover P&P sites? Both of them have some densely wooded sections, as does Sibbertoft and being P&P sites, you can go as hardcore as you like. If you want to go further afield, we did a fantastic day in Bala, Wales a few years ago. I can't remember the name of the company that organised it but they have legal access to huge amounts of Forestry Commission land, we drove for over 8 hours and never used the same track twice. They were able to cater for everything from brand new vehicles through to challenge trucks, depending on the vehicles on your group.

I purchased Flo-Flex because they were cheap. They've fared ok but some need changing after only a few years, the panhard rod never lasted more than a year. I'm slowly changing them to Superpro or Genuine rubber ones now.

I painted mine with etch primer and some combi colour that was lying in the shed, then a very thick covering of waxoyl/hammerite gloop. If I was to do it again, I'd try the raptor/line-x stuff, simply because the waxoyl is messy and never dries.

Thanks all I'd love a plasma cutter but can't justify the expense, insurance for the 90 is bad enough considering I'm only in the country for 8 weeks a year! May have a ring around some mates to see if I can borrow one though The steel can't be any more than 2.5mm and I'd just need 2 rectangles approx 3 feet x 1.5 to line the doors so that should be do-able with a guillotine, come to think of it I think the local agricultural engineers may just have one! Cheers, Harry

Great stuff, thanks chaps Do you use something like a piece of wood/steel clamped onto the sheet to act as guide or just go for it free-hand? I'm reasonably practical but it never seems to go ruler-straight. Previously I've used 2.5mm disks and no guide with the grinder but they have always gone off slightly at an angle, although I fear that is my fault rather than the tools Harry

I have an old stainless steel chef's table that I would like to chop up and use for inner door cards on my 2-part 90 doors. Whilst in this case I plan to use a jigsaw with a metal blade and the guide that clamps on, what would be the best way to cut the steel perfectly straight if the edge wasn't straight in the first place, meaning that the parallel guide on the saw was no use? Is a standard steel jigsaw blade suitable for stainless steel also? Thanks in advance, Harry

I seem to remember from uni that if you are using it more than a certain number of days per year, then planning permission may well be required, much like a clay ground or similar. The water courses could also be a problem with the Environment Agency etc so it would be well worth checking that. Nonetheless it's a cracking idea, especially with quite a few sites having shut down. As has been said before, whilst limiting the site to MOT/taxed vehicles will reduce the number of people, along with those that have built their own non-road legal vehicles but it does prevent the 'buy it for £50 and treat it like a rally car mentality' that often brings the associated problems with insurance and can sometimes deter sensible users from visiting the site. The going rate for the ones around Leicestershire/Rutland seems to be £25-£35 a day which is reasonable. Would certainly be interested to hear how you get on though, please keep us updated! Harry

I have a Bosh professional for cutting and grinding which seems to be very good - no complaints after 5 years. Also a cheap Ferm jobby for wire cups, they tend not to last so long but the wire cups are large/aggressive versions that knacker bearings.

It is surprisingly cheap actually, I've dealt with Witham Specialist Vehicles previously, having had a couple of 90s and RB44s over the years. You need a V55/5 form first to apply to register a used vehicle, or a V55/4 form to register a new vehicle. It's can be ordered from either the DVLA online or collected from a DVLA office. You fill out the form and send it off with a cheque for £55 and they will send back a V5C (logbook) and an age related registration number. It's simply a case of get the number plates made, insure the vehicle, MOT it then tax it. The last one we did, I sorted the V55 form, they sorted the MOT because they have trade plates/insurance to drive it to the test centre. We trailered it home, got some number plates printed, insured and taxed it. For an additional fee, they will do everything bar insuring the vehicle. There is plenty of info here, but the website does make it sound more difficult than it is. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration/new-registrations

David, If you were to find a suitable material to make the initial board from, it would be interesting to see how something along the lines of skateboard grip tape would work. We use a marine version on the racing boats and it's very grippy with rubber soles on, it has a belt-sander effect on bare skin though. I've also used grip paint with good effect before, especially if you mix some extra sand into it and stir it well.

Jon there is someone making the newer type of wheel boxes to be retrofitted into earlier vehicles so that you can fit the new Puma seats into older vehicles. I'm not sure what the company is called but there are a few people fitting them on the Defender2 forum. Could you not take the Toyota to France if all else fails? - plenty of room for duty free in the back!

I recently purchased 2 door seals from Britcar, one Genuine and one Allmakes OE, they were absolutely identical (apart from the price) and neither had the insert in them. As Jon said, the Britpart ones do have the insert, I never realised until I cut an old drivers door one into pieces to stop the tailgate rattling. With the old seals the doors never shut properly but they do now.

I used thinners for the respray, but have previously used white spirit or even petrol without any issues. I would advise going for a satin paint rather than a matt, the latter marks easily and holds the dirt badly.

The same straps can be used from a 200tdi discovery, although they will require some modification to match the bolt holes on the Defender filter bracket. I have a set of 200tdi disco clamps you can have, but won't be back in the UK until early April. Someone on here used Quickfist clamps http://www.devon4x4.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&category_id=257&Itemid=14 After seeing them used in a build thread somewhere, I have a couple waiting to be used in conjunction with a larger Wolf air filter when time allows, they certainly look like they are up to the job. Edit: I stole the idea from Meccano http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=81634

I used the same stuff as JeffR on a Disco that was drawing air through cracks in the original pipes. Certainly can't fault it and if you use the clear stuff you can see if there is any air getting into the pipes. I just used jubilee clips onto the original LR barbed unions. It cost less than £20 to do the whole disco including return lines and I still have enough pipe left to do the 90 at some point.

I had a Terrafirma RTC version and was very unimpressed with it. The bush in the eye end wore very quickly and replacements are unavailable by themselves. The spring also used to unwind around the clamp-on collar. I've now got a nice OME version, it seems much better, so much so that we just fitted one to dad's 90 also. It did make the steering a little bit more firm as Eightpot said.

Much like RustyNissanPrairie and UdderlyOffroad, I like Rustoleum Combicolour. I sprayed all my cappings, roll bar and bumper with it and they came up very well. It's lovely to spray and can be applied straight to bare metal, although I put some old red oxide on first for good measure. A lot of people on the internet have sprayed or rollered complete cars with it. Unfortunately I found it does chip very easily if you ding it with something metal however, the nato green in the rear tub has faired much better than the combicolour on the inside of the tailgate. For the chassis/wheel arches the Waxoyl/Hammerite combination stuff works well because it never dries and so doesn't chip.

Having just rewired the 90 and used Econoseal connectors anywhere possible, I am very pleased with them. I purchased them as DIY kits and they can be a bit fiddly to construct but on the plus side it's a job you can do in front of the tv when it's raining! The main reason it proved fiddly was because I didn't know about the larger yellow seals and tried to use the smaller green seal on 2.0mm2 cable. Don't try to cut corners and use the ready-made Britpart ones, they are useless and don't work from new! As for a specialist crimp tool, most of the destructions on the internet simply used the cheap pressed-metal wire strippers/crimps.

After a chassis swap I chose to route the loom externally (with conduit and P-clips) for the following reasons: - sharp galvanising on inside of chassis legs could chafe the wires - fault finding or loom removal/modification is quicker - no need to fiddle with trying to get the loom through the chassis