Snagger

You can write to your MP, but the consultation survey is already closed.

I tried belt dressing spray once and it made things far worse. I'd try the talc. My 300 squealed at lower temperatures but would be ok once warm, so I replaced the water pump. It was fine for about a month and then started again, like yours, and once again it was the pump. I don't know if there is any way to lubricate its seal better.

The stupid thing is that they're pushing for electrification of cars as if that doesn't have environmental issues (digging up the roads to lay all the cabling for recharging points is going to cause traffic jams and more emissions, for a start!). The secondary effect of this legislation will be that more builders and modifiers hide their alterations, which will open a legal and insurance can of worms. They'd be fuelling an underground movement of illegal ownership and operation.

BHP is not what will bend springs, it's torque. Regardless, decent quality springs will get wrap but should regain their shape when the torque is reduced. Permanent distortion is indicative of poor quality, spring steel diluted with too much mild steel. Britpart are infamous for this, and their springs develop leans or sag within months of fitting to a road-going standard vehicle. So, an anti-wrap system shouldn't be needed for spring longevity if you pay for the quality. However, high quality springs will still suffer wrap under high torque and the bouncing that causes will reduce off road ability, so an anti-wrap system could be useful anyway. There have been some cunning systems made by forum members, and I think Fridge has them on his portalled109.

I can see why the authorities would want new kit cars or new projects of modified vehicles, which are for all intents and purposed new build vehicles using second hand parts ,to be compliant. The problem is that there are two unfair applications of the approach - the amateur builder who has already embarked on a project that will fall foul because of the time taken, like Mike, and the older vehicles which are modified over years of use and are in no way new build and more "Trigger's broom" affairs where a lot of the VIN scoring points have already been lost and any further mods will push them into IVA territory and this new scheme. I'm sure quite a lot of us on this forum are close to that position, where a single further mod to make the vehicle easier, safer or more efficient (altruistic mods, not performance, in other words) would result in these punitive measures. Paul, your observations about the kit car industry are very interesting, and could be right on the money - it could indeed be an opportunity to streamline their production because of more limited chassis variations (due to limitations on the choice of engines), and a revenue stream supplying compliant engines. Easy for them, and not to big a deal for new project starters if they can still find sufficiently high performance engines that fit the vehicle.

I wasn't being specific to the burning side - intake and exhaust apply to the cabin air as well as combustion side of the heater. My point was that the measurements are not minimum duct lengths but minimum distances of the opening to any obstruction, as per Anderzander's diagram above.

I tried the nut and bolt method but didn't get good results. I have a smaller rivnut tool, with the head at 90 degrees. It works well and didn't cost much.

A new battery isn't necessarily well charged - it could have been sat a long time.

If you're having starting problems due to sluggish cranking, there are a limited number of issues that can cause it on something as simple as a Series vehicle. Dirty electrical connections are the most common issue, especially the earth strap from block to chassis. A bad battery that only holds a surface charge is a common suspect, followed by a failed alternator that doesn't charge a good battery. Next is a worn out starter motor, and last a bad solenoid for the starter circuit. An autoelectrical shop will be quite able to check your alternator and battery, and bypassing the solenoid with a heavy wire or screw driver will test that item, leaving only the starter motor as difficult to test without spending on replacement.

That would work well with the MoD WInterised 110 tub radiators, I suspect, again with little noise for the same reason of using convective heat exchangers.

I suspect they mean that the end of the inlet pipe needs a 50mm open space and the exhaust 150mm clear from the opening to ensure adequate gas ventilation, not that the length of the pipes are limited to a minimum of those figures.

Test the voltage at the positive terminal of the pad with the pad fully connected, not at the terminal with the pad disconnected - I have been led a merry dance finding electrical issues in the past where a poor contact (corroded terminal) was allowing some small amount of conductivity but with high resistance, so with the load disconnected it read 12v, but on load the voltage at the device (horn) was insufficient. It's a bit like a tap with a blocked pipe - with the tap closed, the water pressure is full, but open the tap and the pressure after the blockage drops as the post-blockage water escapes.

They're not for that, though as seen, they can sometimes protect the block in that way. Their purpose is entirely to do with the casting process in the factory, allowing internal molds to be supported to create the voids for the water jacket and water and oil pathways.

That's a missing core plug, pushed out by ice formation. You're lucky it came out and drained the coolant before the block cracked. They're cheap to replace, but access is awkward. Ask Ed Parrot - he just did his.

My mudstuff pads cleared the mirrors very fast. Sure yours re getting full 12v? You might have some poor contacts or too thin wiring.

Mount it in an easily accessible point so you can put a sealed cap over the intake? I don't think a snorkel will work for the fuel burning side as it may stagnate the airflow.

I tried SilBlades before and was pleased with them. They did a better job and lasted much longer than the Bosch type I normally get.

I got the following responses: Thank you for contacting me about the Department for Transport's consultation on improving air quality and safety. I note the concerns you raise and I hope that you have responded to the consultation. Given the recent VW dieselgate scandal, and the strong imperative to improve air quality, I understand Ministers are investigating what more can be done. As a part of this, the consultation seeks views on new penalties for vehicle manufacturers supplying vehicles fitted with defeat devices and proposals to implement various safety and environmental rules. I can assure you that I want to see the UK retain a thriving car industry. This means supporting both the construction and development of new models as well as the restoration of classic cars and the building of new kit cars. As the consultation is still ongoing, I would encourage you to respond directly to it to make your views known. As I am sure you can appreciate, I am not able to pre-empt the results of the consultation but it is important that informed views such as your own are considered by the Government as part of its plans to improve air quality. Thank you again for taking the time to contact me. Kind regards And, after informing him that I had completed the survey and clarified a few points: Thank you for your further email. I appreciate your further points and have taken them up directly with the Department of Transport. As soon as I receive a reply from the Transport Minister I will write to you again. Kind regards

Can't you fit spacers or washers on the three other bolts to the same thickness as the bracket, so that you can use all four bolts to mount it? A shave of the top edge of the bumperette leg won't harm it, but lopping the entire corner off is going to make it much weaker.

Grind the visible parts of to knock what's left inside the bulkhead section and fit new rivnuts. You might be able to poke the old bits out with a length of stiff wire so they'll fall out from the ends of the rail section, near the door pillars on the engine side. I had similar fun with the steering column upper clamp rivnuts. If you try to pull them out or hammer them inside as they are, you'll distort the flat face of the bulkhead.

Those look like the type of mats that Mudstuff sell. Excellent items. I drilled the arm for the feed wire in the same way, running it up inside the door hinge and through the door seal lip gap between screen frame and bulkhead, secured by the back edge of the door seal. They were spliced into the rear screen circuit and didn't blow the standard rated fuse, so it's safe to do. he only difference with my fit was that I sanded the pivot ball and connected the earth from the pads to the bolt that tightens the pivot clamp, so the arm acts as the earth through the door hinges and bolts. A lot of grease was added to the pivots on reassembly to prevent any corrosion. So, I only had one wire out to each mirror to deal with, making the drilled holes smaller and the wire easier to conceal.

Peak, while the water heater unit itself is quieter than the air heater, the water heater type will need the vehicle's blower to be on, so you'll get comparable noise levels. The air type will be more efficient on the battery as it is only powering the tiny fuel pump and the air blower, while the water type is running a bigger fuel pump and a water pump as well as the car's blower. So, which is better depends on your needs. For most, the airblower is better, but if you need to preheat your engine, or want to merely supplement the heat from the engine (like the TD5, which runs quite cool) without fitting new ducts and vents inside the vehicle, then the water type may be better. Anyway, nice find, Ian. I quite fancy fitting some of their vents to my dash to have more air in the cab from the lower fascia, directable to the occupants, and might mod the heater system to have a bigger matrix for more heat and one of their big capacity blowers. One of their Bowden cable operated valves to control coolant flow through the matrix for temperature control, like on a SIII, would make the whole system perform better in winter without using up extra space. Otherwise, I may just stick with plan B of moving the fuse box from below the fascia and fitting a 300Tdi Discovery heater system in its place with supply ducted from one of those big double blowers through the lower fascia. That's need a lot of custom housing and some fiddly beautification, though...

As far as I remember, the latch is the same as earlier models, so yes, there is a simpler way that doesn't need that plastic panel removing. I had security hinges on our 09 90. they were pretty good - stopped the rattles and squeaks too, but once the torx screw heads were filled, it was difficult to remove. I have seen people use bicycle locks or loops of stainless wire from bonnet frame to engine lifting eye, which works but could be a nuisance when doing maintenance. Less of a nuisance than the bonnet going missing. The steel plates for the inside of the door hinges (TMD) look useful. I'll be fitting some of those. I fancy the X-Eng pedal lock, too.

TIA...

I'd pull the head off and check the bores and head. At least you can be confident after that, including about the head gasket.