Night Train

I have done a fair share of 'helping' but it is limited to shifting snow and pushing by hand. Even when I move some snow I won't lend out my shovel as I'd rather do it myself in case the shovel breaks or there is a splinter in the handle. Also I know how and where to shift the snow to and it is quicker then watching someone else pick at it fashion model at a buffet. I do carry enough equipment to cut trees and winch myself about but that is for my own vehicle and no one elses. Back in the 80's I drove up the length of the M11 towing and winching vehicles out when I was on my way to Norwich one evening. People didn't claim against you then.

A gas soldering iron is also a useful bit of kit if it has the soldering tip, hot air tip, gas torch and hot knife. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=35516 Mine was from RS a decade ago and travels together with my Leatherman Wave.

Along with much of the above I also included a bundle of mini jump leads. Basically small insulated croc clips, the type used for test instruments, joined with varying lengths of various sized cable. It was really good for replacing cable runs for those intermittent electrical faults that are hard to find in the cold, dark and wet. Great for keeping lights or wipers working when switches have burnt out. I also packed cable ties from tiny plastic ones to big stainless steel ones. I have even used a coke can and jubilee clips to repair a broken exhaust so it is worth not keeping the inside of your vehicle too tidy.

I bought a couple of sets of spanners from Asda for £2 a set. They were Draper and seem to be quite good.

To make splicing a little less bloody you could weld the ends of each strand so the wires stay together. Carefully unwind the strands without disturbing the wires and then tack weld the ends. They end up as safe round blobs. Then you can get splicing. To open the rope for braiding you can use a 6" nail or centre punch.

Of course it will, unless it's a Series 1!

I think I will have to make up some heated washers. Trying to squirt deicer though the open door window each time I stop at lights or a junction is silly.

Any risk of veg oils damaging the seals? Just thinking of the problem with biodiesel and some pipes and seals.

I just like the proportions of the LWB, I think it looks better in profile, especially with bigger tyres. The Series 2 one ton pick up with 9.00x16 was one of the best proportioned of the basic leaf sprung models IMO.

I went to top up my washer bottle on Monday figuring I would use neat concentrate. The bottle was in the boot and it had turned to thick slush so I didn't use in the washer bottle. Splashed it straight on the windscreen instead.

I think if I was to start a new Land Rover project I would probably use a 90 TDi for the comfort. However, realistically I would most probably look for a Series 2 109 pick up with a shortened hard top to get a cab and a half for internal storage space and still have a decent pick up bed. I would most likely want to use a better diesel engine though I would also be tempted to make it an electric drive. Something that would get my pulse racing a bit for real lunacy would be to make a 6x6 Series 2B Forward Control on huge tyres with Unimog portals and twin steer. I think whatever came along that had a good chassis, mechanicals and engine and was sort of the right shape would probably be hard to pass by as a starting point.

I learnt to drive in the snow and can certainly vouch for getting a bit of experience in first if you can. You do need to know what your chosen vehicle will do in snow and ice. The Land Rover will be able to move off in more extreme conditions then the Fiesta but after that they both have about the same level of grip when you want to change direction or stop. A couple of big advantages with the Fiesta is that if you get stuck people will be able to help push you and get you moving again and they won't laugh. Get the Land Rover stuck and you will need to call a fellow Land Rover nutter to come and get you and every one will laugh!

This was at 40mph on the M66 in slush. ABS makes a big difference there. Unfortunately I can't switch the ABS off as it wasn't so useful on the fresh snow first thing. The approach to junctions is a particular issue. At J22 M62 Eastbound, the bottom of the slip road has a cattle grid on it. The ABS doesn't like cattle grids and will cut off the brakes and cause the car to over shoot the give way line. I've learn tto do all my braking before the grid so I know what you mean about the jucntion senario. The traction control is another really good thing. I was happily climbing compacted snow slopes with the TC working away merrily and flashing its dash light Now that I can switch off to see the difference. Anyway, the Series 1 was so close it was just two head lights in my mirror. When I let him past he tailgated the next car and then was weaving in and out of the lanes, sometimes even without gaining any advantage in the traffic.

I pushed a car this morning and did a bit of tree clearance with my front wheel drive Skoda Octavia. It is carrying two winches, (one electric and one manual) a shovel, a spade, an axe, a tree saw, lifting chains, towing ropes and strops, sand, timber, carpet and me!

Oh yes, if you are the owner of a very nice Series 1 canvas top barrelling up the M66 this morning could I remind you that although you can probably go better then me in the snow, my car, and most others, has ABS and will stop better then you can so please stop tailgating.

This is mine at 6.30 this morning. 10" of snow. It hasn't stopped falling all day. I had to dig my car out, clear the drive and the road, dig out a neighbour's car to get it back in the drive when she gave up , cut fallen branches off a tree that was blocking the road and then drive 35 miles to work. I got there ok but found only 3 students for my class. Then the college closed at lunchtime so I came home again and found this to greet me. The locals must have been busy.

I've never had any luck with the conductive paint. I have soldered little bits back together again in the past. The teminals are more difficult as the heat can make them come away form the glass but as long as the element doesn't break they can be glued back on.

From my understanding of the C&U Regs you must not be able to see any tyre tread sticking out from the arches if you were to look straight downwards from over the top of the vehicle. A bit of sidewall bulge is ok but not tread.

It would be better to get a proper radiator fan and cowling form a scrappers and fit a thermostat to switch it in and off. The cowling is important as it helps improve the efficiency of the fan by pulling the air more effectively and from a larger area of the rad. Find one from a similar sized rad or find two that will cover the same area. Needless to say, dump the viscous fan if you fit an electric one. Here's another more complicated solution. Remove the electric pulley from the air con compressor that you don't use and modify it to fit on the water pump spindle and fan blades. Use a thermostat to switch the electromagnetic clutch in the pulley on and off to spin the fan. Try to make sure that it is only the fan that is switched on and off and the water pump!

As far as I know that should work if applied gently to a rotating wheel or if the brake was applied before the power. Just need to be quick to release the brake when tracton is found again.

I probably will do, even just cutting and welding would be fine. Sleeving may make it over size for assembly. It looks like I will probably have the diff off centre using the short shaft as is and cutting the long shaft really short. I have now completely dismembered the axle and taken all the bits into the cellar workshop. I'm sure they didn't weigh as much when I was younger! Anyone in the north west want to swap a 10 spline 3.54:1 diff for a 4.7:1?

Didn't understand a word of that. Good pictures though. I would have thought those four bolts holding the assembly onto the axle tube would be a bit of a weak spot.

Happy new year!

The shafts are definately 10 splines at the diff end and 32 splines at the inner CV end. Then there is another 10 splines on the outer CV for the stub shaft/drive flange. Just been and had a count to be sure.

Off side off now. No problems there. No oil either but that's to be expected given the state of the chrome ball. It all came apart very easily. I could do with a parts washer really but a bucket of diesel will have to do.