Dunc

Browsing eBay whilst I await my hoe to bring me my dinner... I found this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1966-LAND-ROVER-88-INCH-HYBRID-V8-4X4-CLASSIC-OFF-ROAD-DEFENDER-BLACK-SILVER-/150671410366?_trksid=p4340.m8&_trkparms=algo%3DMW%26its%3DC%252BS%26itu%3DUCC%26otn%3D6%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D3287693429324318337 which is a link to this and is listed as a 1966 tax-exempt Landy. In the description he cites a RRC chassis, 3.5 V8 and somehow 'Series 3'... One bloke has asked a question as to how it's retained its original ID, but the response is minimal! Lovely looking little truck, but surely a candidate for getting nabbed for VIN-swap or not going through VOSA for potential 'Q' plate. Nowt to do with me I know, but just thought I'd share. Cheers.

Morning, Look, I'll freely admit I've no idea what the hell you call the numbers next to the gearstick on an auto, so I went with 'Selection Indicator'! Anyhow, does anyone know how the 'Selection Indicator' symbols are illuminated? My Missus moans about not being able to see 'D' and 'R' in the dark without putting the interior light on... I don't want to spend half a day taking the centre console out only to find the lights work off the selector cable or something daft. Cheers Dunc. P.S. Isn't she lovely? (the truck, not the wife!)

Great info, thanks. Still trying to do a deal with the vendor, who keeps on about 'needing to sell' yet wont drop under a grand and a half...

Not heard about the bearing thing, although it's possible that may be slight confusion between exhaust flow and dump-to-atmosphere valves. They supposedly have the added benefit of prolonging turbo life because of less see-saw effect on the bearings at high loadings; high boost gearchanges for example where the turbo can momentarily stall. Dump valves by virtue of removing boost pressure altogether to help assist with fast spooling will naturally affect that. From the racing cars I worked on, and I admit my knowledge of turbo exhausts is much less, the purpose of back pressure was to smooth out the exhaust gas pulses. If the pulses aren't in sync it's possible for the exhaust gasses to almost 'block' (for want of a better word) the exhaust momentarily, obviously having a detrimental effect on performance. Once you're used to listening for it, if you hold a screwdriver at the collector just past the manifold and then put your ear to it, you'll hear a whooshing noise with an exhaust that flows efficiently with smooth exhaust gas pulses. When those pulses aren't smoothed out you can hear a faint tinny ringing noise over the top of the whooshing sound. Not the most technical of descriptions I admit, but it's the best I can do! Just build it, then refine it. Loads of good books out there too. Powerpro book on building and one of Vizard's many great books Vizard book

Same as the Tomcat motor? Not sure how much back pressure they need, but yes the turbo will hush it down loads. There was a Vizzard book on Turbos I read years back, that had a load on building exhausts in it.

If by free-flowing you mean a straight through silencer with minimal baffles, then two would be marginally more restrictive. It wouldn't be due to the silencers themselves, but to the restriction on the flow of gasses caused by the short length of pipe between them. If it's for a V8, I built a system several years ago that had only one silencer, from a Ford Cargo. That was quiet enough but let things breathe nicely and seemed to provide adequate back pressure. Best of luck, remember to joggle the joints so you don't leave a weld flange on the inside. Have fun.

Around 800-1000 rpm

Cool, ok then. I'll let you know if the offer I put in gets accepted. Thanks for the advice.

Hello all, As it looks like we're going to have to replace our daily car and also sell my RRC 2-Door, I went to look at a local Disco 3.9 auto this morning. She was tidy enough, 1998 with about 100k miles on her with no discernable rot. Engine was sweet as a nut, just needed a good service. The only thing that set my spidey sense tingling was that as soon as she was in drive (D, 1, 2, 3 or R) you had to hold the brake pedal down or she was moving forward at a fair lick. Se wasn't just creeping an inch or two, must have been the best part of 10mph. Now, my knowledge of autos isn't exactly expansive, but all the ones I've driven previously haven't needed holding on the brake. What's the deal with torque converters? Could it just be a low fluid issue causing it to take up so early or something more serious? Cheers.

Nothing to do with being bothered, it has to do with affordability.

Absolutely Mo. There are some damned good folks hidden away in our little part of the interweb.

Thanks Ralph. If we find a chassis down in the west country, we'll get you to drag it up here next time you're on a Welsh rally! Just out of interest, when Ben was made redundant from his last job (he's a Postie now, so skint!) the last of his redundancy money went on the galv chassis. Now that's commitment to a Landy!

I've passed the info on and Ben is amazed, and very grateful. I've also sent him the link to this page and told him to register his sorry arse so he can thank you in person.

Guys, you rule. Thanks for the offers I'll pass them all on. To answer a few of the questions... The chief fire investigator reckons it was something to do with one of the fluorescent lights that ignited some of the insulation in the roof. Somehow. They hadn't done any hot-work or had lead lights or anything else going. Used 6 fire extinguishers trying to fight it, but once it caught it just went insane. Alloy wheels have melted to nothing, not little pools of molten metal, to properly nothing! Ben and Max (his lad) had just gone down to the house for a brew when the neighbour rang and said "there are flames by the workshop". Minutes later we were staring at a wall of orange 20 foot from the house... Anyhow, I'm going to give him a buzz just now and tell him what you've offered. Thanks again. You rule.

Yeah, his lad had to go to hospital with smoke inhalation, and two days after Ben was rushed in with a suspected heart attack, but they decided it was stress rather than a 'proper' heart attack. Incidentally, if everything was robbed they only cover £500! As everything in the Machine Mart catalogue came to about £15k, that's a LOT of tools not replaced. The Series 2a is in the pic on the right.

Hi everyone, You may have read some of my other posts asking advice on behalf of my mate Ben, who's been rebuilding a SWB Series 2a. He's been going great guns; brand new galv Richard's chassis, Autosparks loom, Disco Tdi engine, Steve Parker exhaust, parabolic springs, all new brakes and hubs with rebuilt diffs, axles and steering box. Just the body work to do, which was going to be sympathetic rather than making it look brand new. Then Ben had the fire in his workshop. His entire workshop, some 40' x 30' was raised to the ground. It was so hot, it did this to a 12" RSJ that was used as a hoist mount: In terms of the S2a, the gearbox and transfer cases melted, the waterpump and even the pistons and radiator were melted and distorted. The beautiful galv chassis could be 'reshaped' with simple finger pressure. It was so hot that spanners have melted and his allen keys are one amorphous mass! As with many of our projects, certainly as mine are anyway, Ben didn't have insurance on the S2a. He's waiting for confirmation from his insurers as to the rebuilding process and has had assessors round in respect to tools and possessions. I've helped his put the remains of the building and his possessions in the skips and it wasn't a happy process. So, the moral of the story is to make sure you have individual "automotive" items insured, because they aren't covered on your regular insurance. Even things like roof bars and his little trailer (which both melted!) aren't covered. I've given Ben my old Series 3 bulkhead to cheer him up and to act as the basis of his next project. If anyone has anything they'd like to donate, then drop me a pm and I'll give you Ben's email so you can talk to him direct. He doesn't know I've posted this on here so will no doubt be surprised when I forward him the page link and he reads people's good wishes. Thanks very much and stay safe in your workshop.

Like that, especially the rear carrier.

Hi, trying to get a value for my Dad on his Freelander. He's toying with the idea of trading her in and doesn't know whether to sell it privately, trade it in or keep it altogether. The prices on Auto Trader, on eBay and at Brightwells are so erratic it's hard to get an idea of where to price it. It's a '52' plate Td4 GS 5 door with 66k miles on, full dealer service history and one owner. If anyone can look it up in their book (if it's current!) and give me an idea then i'd be grateful. I went on the Parkers site and they reckon with 70k miles on it would be; Original Price £20,200 Independent Dealer £5,130 Private Good £4,515 Private Poor £3,385 Part Exchange £3,695 Thing is, of all the comparable ones we've looked at those values are loads lower. You can't find one below £6k at a dealer that isn't 100k miles or more! Thank in advance for any help, especially if it's how to get it through his thick head to just keep it which is what i've been trying to do. He's convinced it's going to start costing him money soon because it's almost 8 years old... Cheers.

Yep, i'm running with the 235/70 crowd here too, although i'd suggest Insa Turbo Rangers. They're a copy of the original BFG A/T pattern. Work really well in snow on a Classic in my experience.

Excellent idea. That'll stop me burning my fingers in the future!

Hi Colin, does it miss or do the revs just jump up and down? I imagine you've already checked the simple things like the linkage itself to make sure there's nothing loose, but worth a look if not. At those revs it's between idle and low use, so if there's any slack it could surge. If it misses rather than surges, CAREFULLY put your hands on the headers to see if you can find the cooler exhaust, at least that will give you a hint where to look next. If it's missing across all the pots sporadically then you know it's a component that interacts with everything which will eliminate plugs/leads/injectors etc. I know my post is 'basic', but i start with the easy bits before launching into the evil word of electrics and sensors!!!

Nowt like going in with a positive attitude...

All ordered and on its way. Ended up getting it from Paddocks in the end, free shipping as compared to Rimmer Bros. May have to find the odd gasket and clamp on eBay, but hey ho.

56mm external, should be the same one the Rangey one i'd have thought. Thanks Al. If google is right then those part numbers are for the model years after mine, but pre-cat. The downpipes still look the same. They're the corresponding RRC part numbers to the Disco system Al posted... Thanks very much guys, i'm obliged. So, this is what should go on mine and from your help hopefully this, minus the back box, is what will go on mine Crossing everything!

Thanks for the comments. Ideally, i'm after the comparison of the pre-'83 single outlet intermediate box and the subsequent twin outlet intermediate box. My old 3.9 was a single and was very different around the gearbox, especially where the cats were! I'll see if i can glean any clues from the Bosal link, although as i've now found the centre boxes for £16 + vat i may just give it a whirl and see! Cheers.