Ajlorton

Yeah, I know that he may well have a point, but I was just enjoying seeing a rambler being on the receiving end for once, especially as it seems like he made a bit of a prat of himself.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/glouces...ire/5282942.stm What a berk.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like the starter or the wiring & relay controling the starter. Have you checked those? Ahh, hang on. You say it does crank. Ignore me then!!

Show off. (I'm just jealous).

I had similar issues with the weedy horn. I fitted a simple air horn under the bonnet. It cost around £10 from a local motor factor place. It included the relay, pump and horn. It's much more effective. I've heard of a chap who fitted a long lorry-type air horn down the inside of one of the front wings. Apparently it was mighty impressive.

Well, yeah, I do get peeved at people using our road as a short cut. But you're one of the gang so we'll let you off ! Just wish I had known about it before I bought the place. Still, you live and learn. We are beginning to regret having Spike's nuts cut off, as loads of people are commenting on how much they like him and the waiting list to get one is huge.

I thought the greenpeace vid was hilarious. I feel utterly powerless to change any misinformed or unwarrented predjudice towards my choice of vehicle. I just laugh at the nutters now. The only thing which really winds me up in the whole 'should we shoudn't we own a 4x4 argument' are the people who don't really know how to drive them. These are the people who can't park them, or can't go around corners without mounting them etc etc. My current frustration is with a local here in Swindon who owns one of those vile Hummer H2 things. It is noticably wider than most other vehicles but still they insist on taking it on the school run where they take it down a very narrow back street and prevent anyone else from getting up or down it. To make matters worse they then park it either illegally or in a space where they simply don't fit. I don't mind them owning it (they clearly have poor taste, but that's another matter), I just can't believe the stupidity of them forcing it down roads it doesn't fit, screwing everyone else. It's the old problem of people wanting to exersize their rights, but aren't able or willing to accept responsibility for their actions.

Yep, another top one Les. Mark's wagon's going to be a lot healthier. There can't be much on it you haven't rebuilt!

Yay got them all. That's my viewing for the next week sorted then!

Excellent! The grand download has begun.

Any chance you could supply some more details as to why this has happened?

Way too expensive for a lump of plastic and a few switches IMO. If you have that kind of money to waste spend on a piece of dash, I'd have thought you'd own a new one with it already fitted.

I have a dial gauge + mag base if you want to borrow also. Let me know.

Ditto the other's advice. When I fitted series type doors to my tdi 90, I had to drill 2 holes each side for the different strikers. I took measurements from a military 90 and took some pics also. I'll see if I still have them somewhere. Incidently, I had some problems getting the doors to close properly because of the bottom door seal. I removed them altogether in the end. This also helps water to drain out.

Well, I've emailed the author to ask for clarification of how they catagorised 4x4s. I've also requested a copy of the list of vehicles. I doubt I'll get an answer, but you never know. If you read the very last bit of the article you'll see that the study was done as part of a medical student's honours degree. It received no funding, which probably explains why the study was only done in hammersmith, London.

In defence of the original researcher, in the original article, they do pretty much always refer to drivers in London specifically and have not themselves extrapolated the findings to the rest of the country. The BBC etc are guilty of that. E.g. "Drivers of four wheel drive vehicles in London were four times more likely than drivers of other cars to use hand held mobile phones and slightly more likely not to comply with the law on seat belts" As for the vehicles classed as 4x4s .... "Collection of data The survey was limited to private passenger vehicles; we excluded taxis, buses, vans, and trucks.We categorised passenger vehicles into cars (defined as vehicles that are not designed to travel off road) and four wheel drive vehicles (we compiled a list of these vehicles by searching the internet for major motor vehicle manufacturers and sales outlets)." Hardly clear is it. Maybe we should request a a copy of the list from the article's author.

Right, I've got the BMJ article. I don't know if it is publicly available yet ( I have access for research purposes). Try the link in the below press release to see if you can access the full research article. Here's the press release from the BMJ ... (2) 4x4 DRIVERS MORE LIKELY TO FLOUT MOBILE PHONE AND SEAT BELT LAWS Online First (Unsafe driving behaviour and four wheel drive vehicles: observational study) http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/rapidpdf/bmj.38848.627731.2F Drivers of four wheel drive vehicles are more likely to flout laws regarding mobile phones and seat belts than drivers of other cars, finds a study published on bmj.com today. This is a major public health concern and greater efforts are needed to educate the public and enforce these laws, argue the authors. The study took place at three different sites in Hammersmith, West London. Private passenger vehicles were observed Monday to Friday for one hour in the morning (9-10 am), afternoon (1-2 pm), and early evening (4-5 pm). The first observations were carried out in February 2004, within the “grace” period regarding use of hand held mobile phones, during which police only cautioned offenders. Observations were repeated one month later, after police began to impose penalties for non-compliance with the new law. A total of 38,182 normal cars and 2,944 four wheel drive vehicles were included in the analysis. Overall, almost one in six drivers (15.3%) was not wearing a seat belt and one in 40 (2.5%) was using a hand held mobile phone while he or she passed the observer. Drivers of four wheel drive vehicles were almost four times more likely than drivers of other cars to be seen using hand held mobile phones. They were also more likely not to comply with the law on seat belts. Levels of non-compliance with both laws were slightly higher in the penalty phase of observation than during the grace period, and breaking one law was associated with an increased likelihood of breaking the other. “Our data show a worryingly high level of non-compliance with laws on seat belts and hand held mobile phones by drivers in London, and almost no effect of the end of the grace period on the use of a mobile phone while driving,” write the authors. “Our observation that almost one in six drivers was not wearing a seatbelt is a major public health concern,” they add. The findings also support the theory of risk compensation, which predicts that drivers of four wheel drive vehicles feel safer and therefore take more risks when driving. Although four wheel drive vehicles are safer in a crash, their owners may be placing themselves and other road users at increased risk of injury, warn the authors. Contact: Lesley Walker, Research Associate, Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine, Imperial College, London, UK Email: lemorph@hotmail.com

I just read this ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5107708.stm It would appear that Imperial College London did the research and the BMJ published it / commented on it. This is the usual way of things in the medical journals. The BMJ is a reputable journal and all the published research is subject to peer reviews (See here: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/advice/peer_review.shtml). I haven't found the specific article on their website, so it may not yet be publicly available online. I'll have a look in the recent paper copies and see what it says.

That's pretty accurate Les ! He is a fantastic family dog also.

I know you won't get this message today, but that's OK. If you struggle to find someone who will take him, please let me know. I already have a big black male labradoodle (Spike), and my wife tells me we shouldn't really take on another dog, but I have a huge soft spot for black labs.

>> £20 to drive 3 flat fields with a few holes that were dug out by a JCB Sounds a bit pants. I'm not surprised they weren't impressed.

>> Erm won't it be imperial rather than metric? Well, I did wonder, but followed Tonk's advice. >> Has yours got the starter dog on it Ant? Unortunately yes. If yours won't fit, I'll grind the damn starter dog bit off and buy a new bolt for when it goes back together.

That's pretty much what I thought Les. However, further down Mill lane there is definitely some 4x4 thing setting up. Maybe I should get my lazy self down there and do some investigating.

This one's for the Swindon area gang .... What's going on down Mill lane? Is that a new pay and play site being set up? I've driven past a few times, but never stopped to talk with them.