Daan

They stole the bonnet vent ideas from LGT!

!.5 mil in base spec: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1142278_scarbo-sv-rover-price Air suspension with 30" travel is interesting. I am only a bit puzzled at the purpose of this car. The name suggests a visit to Pikes Peak, but that got tarmacked in 2011, so the wrong car for that.

Ok, so low power output. Yes, the 2.25 head fits. I fitted the head of my old 2.25 to a 2.5 diesel block with 2.5 petrol pistons. Both the 2.25 and 2.5 petrol have 8:1 compression ratio, so this should mean that the combustion chamber volume of the 2.25 head is smaller. So if you fit the 2.25 head to a 2.5, this results in compressing the gasses into a smaller combustion chamber, therefore increasing the compression ratio. I have never had a 2.5 head to hand, but I measured the volume of the combustion chamber of the 2.25 head and calculated what I needed for a 2.5 litre to achieve the 9:1 compression ratio. Use water and a syringe to establish the volume you have. Calculator here: https://goodcalculators.com/compression-ratio-calculator/ I still had to have the head skimmed, from memory 2 or 3mm to get to the 9:1 compression ratio. I had new unleaded valve seats fitted, which is potentially wise as leaded fuel no longer exists (not sure if this is the case in your country), and 2.5 valves, which are bigger from memory. This works well, and with today's 95-octane petrol, you should not have any problems with detonation.

An increase in compression ratio will make it more efficient. I was running my 2.5 petrol on a 9:1 ratio (from 8:1) by using a 2.25 head and skim it enough to get the right volume in the combustion chamber. I ran it on LPG, not sure if that is an option in your area. Electronic ignition, try to get rid of the points will also help. I found the ignition to wander quite a bit over time and it was missing on tick over. So a stronger spark that keeps the timing will improve things. Perhaps mega squirt it, but that is obviously more involved. Is your driving low speed or does it involve motor ways?

I have nothing to add to the printer tips, but can comment on the design, Hollow shapes with constant wall thicknesses is the future. It cuts down massively on material usage and process time compared to making things solid, while also reduce shrinkage.

ET0 gives you a 16mm wider track compared to ET8. This my landy with 35x10.5x16 tyres, which have a metric size of 285/85/16 size (same width as your tyres basically) with ET08 offset rims:

ET08 with 285 width tyres should be virtually flush with the eye brows (I assume you have a 90). Standard ET is 33mm, so the rim comes 25mm further outboard compared to standard, plus half the added width of the tyre. I don't think the lift matters much, but you might have to trim the eyebrows a bit on full lock, full bump.

It looks fairly well made from these pictures; thanks for posting. Thanks, Mik for posting this up. Daan

This may sound obvious, but a spare wheel is something not many people carry. 'I've got one on the trailer' is the usual comment, before they ask you to borrow yours.

Can't you just offer up the diff and drill through?

I think the reason that most people really couldn't do that is that they cannot maintain focus and motivation for that long. The main thing for finishing a project is not skills, money or facilities, it is to maintain the focus and keep at it. Many people give up along the way. You had 5 years at it, and still keep going back to it. You are part of a special breed!

Congratulations Stephen, and thanks for providing LR4x4 with meaningful content. To put things in perspective: We started our project threads at roughly the same time, you managed 174 pages in this time, and I managed 6! Regards, and keep going! Daan

Telling John it makes sense is probably the reason he won’t do it; how does owning not one, but two 4.6 v8s ever makes sense to, well, anyone?

Scrutineering is only needed for people that cannot read. So you don't question their build but their ability to read the rules.

I have always thought 35" diameter should be the bar for comps and possibly pay and play; beyond this land rover axles are not reliable, and you will need something stronger, which gets expensive very quickly. But people said it stops development so it fell on deaf ears. Now we are in a situation were comps cannot make up the numbers because the cars are running 40" tyres on spidertrax axles which very few people can afford. With regards to tyre size having an impact: on 35" tyres, you will have ruts that are 12.5" deep, on 40" tyres it is 15" deep, add portals, and the ruts are 21" deep. So I think there is an impact, but of course the driver is the main factor, no doubt about this.

I would welcome some regulations for offroad events myself, I have campaigned for this in off road competitions for years. but nobody likes to be bound by rules in this country. Ok, this is not about competition, but it means people have to amend their cars to comply, which would not be popular. I mean if you were to ban portal axles for example, you would have at least 2 forum members unhappy. I agree though that if we want to keep doing this, we need to be a bit more gentle with the land than we are now. Not sure what 'the rule of three' means?

A big loss for sure. I am somehow glad I went the last time.

Compared to £150 for OME, I'd say that is not expensive, and how does this compare to the Billys, which was the original question?

Fox ifp's are hard to beat in terms of ride and not that expensive: https://www.prolinx.biz/Catalogue/Shock-Absorbers/Truck-SUV/Land-Rover-Shocks/985-24-080-Landrover-PS-Front-2-Lift I have bent the shafts on full suspension travel though, due to the rubber bushes being very stiff (pin to pin mounting). I would buy them again, but run a spherical at the bottom.

This. Daan

That looks good Doug, definitely 16" rims at any price, The question is, will your axles get used in 2024? Daan

It appears Astonbarclay does allow civilians: you can turn up on the day, pay a £400 deposit, and make bids on cars. Ok, thanks, that could work. I noticed most cars at Synetiq don't have a V5. Does this mean you get it back after an inspection?

Which ones do you use?

Answers in red. Regards, Daan

I think it is actually a public road. The Google Maps camera car has been there; when dry obviously.