Night Train

Yeah, the manuals may tell you all that stuff but it is what they don't tell you that matters, like how to carry out a repair on some part that has failed or broken or is on your own vehicle but not on the one they used as an example. I have found that there is more in how to identify the engine or gear box number then there is on how to get inside the thing to fix it.

Thanks for that, Pugwash.

I am really sorry to hear that. So much effort for nought. I must admit that I have been watching this with hope as were I to get another Land Rover I wouldn't be able to help but change it, that is most of the point of having one that is so adaptable.

I think my one, if I was to sell it would be about £4250 as a private sale according to Parkers but the Ambient version would be about £3700. But these prices are for 70,000 mile versons. Mine is nearly double that and still no problems. So if you can find a high mileage one with a service history you might be in luck.

I might give it a try with wood to see if the dimple effect will translate to industrial style furniture. Might mean a lot of wasted wood on the rear side of the dimple though.

I have a very old Sykes Pickavent one which served well and also a Halfords one. I haven't a clue how accurate they are though but I have used both to rebuild engines in the past without any problems. On the other side of things I have also used a 3' scaffold pole and a 5' scaffold pole on the end of a 3/4 drive T bar.

Nice stuff. Are you going to be marketing them?

You could try putting a trolley jack under it and then chaining (or roping) the chassis to the jack before jacking up to put the pressure on. I know of one chap who did that and when it went bang over night it was the chassis tube that came out of the crossmember still stuck to the relay but it worked.

As an aside, does anyone know the legislation that allows a small fifth wheel set up like that or can point me the right direction please. I have searched all over and can't find anything outside of large good vehicle regs.

Hey, that happened quick! Good luck with it, I hope all goes well.

Aha! I shall be posting a bit more in the next few days then as I am not that far from the 500. Thanks Western.

The best thing about the Skoda option is that it is essentially the same car as the VW Passat and the Audi A4 for much less money and so second hand ones will be that much more affordable.

So how many squares do you need to get your own tag then?

I use a Skoda Octavia 1.9tdi Elegance estate which I have had from new in 2001. I have done 125,000 miles without major problems. In town I get 45-55 mpg and on a run I get 55-65mpg. I used to get a bit more when the mileage was between 10k and 100k. I do a lot of trailer towing too, anything from 500kg to 1300kg The only thing that have failed is the aircon pulley. It went twice, both times failing just after I had the timing belt changed at 50k and 100k. I am leaving it broke until the next belt change as it can only be done at the same time for little more money. Otherwise it is £600. The front brake discs have been changed twice so far and the next change should be at the 140,000 service at this rate. Tyres are wearing at a rate of 25k for the fronts and 40k for the rears. Dealer service at about £120 at 10k intervals. Only thing mine hasn't got is cruise control but other models do. It is such a good car I will be replacing it with the same again but maybe with 4x4 for better trailer towing.

So the bolts are only on the front face with a plate behind inside the box of the bumper with, presumably, access for the spanner to hold the nut still. That should work. On the back of my 6x6 there was a peice of 20mm plate with 4 M16 tapped holes to hold the hitch on. The plate was then welded onto the 6mm plate that made up the rear crossmember. Never had any problems with it. Never had any problems with the pin hitches welded on either.

Is that on a fifth wheel trailer? I lost a timing belt on the 6x6 in Snowdonia many years ago and called the AA at 4pm. I told them it was a 6x6 Land Rover with a timing belt gone on a 3.6 Ford York engine and to recover me. 2 hours later - a van turns up with a fan belt for a Land Rover. 6 hours later - an RAC lorry turns up having been called out by the AA. 4 hours later - arrive at the AA depot in Birmingham. 3 hours later - arrive back in London.

I got a set of the blue waterproof covers from Argos for my work car as they were cheap. Having used them continuously for best part of 7 years they are still fine and I want to get the rear seat version too. However, I have side airbags in the seats and they are rendered useless with seat covers on.

I first fitted a stereo to my Land Rover in 1986. I got an early JVC CD player where the head unit was all CD drive and processing and the rest of the electronics was in a seperate module. The CDs had to be placed inside special cartridges before insertion so they looked like big 3.5"floppies. I used a pair of small studio monitors placed behind the seats to try and get some sort of sound quality. Great when I was stationary not so good when moving. Then some sod stole the head unit which was useless without the rest of the electronics module.

Nice work there. The only thing I would say is are you going to notice those corners when walking around the front of your vehicle? Nice touch with the twin towing jaws. I used to fit mine wth the pin horizontal to take an A frame and be a jacking point as well as a mounting for a removable winch tray with a matching pair at the back.

If you are not using it all the time it might be worth making something demountable both for security and to allow front and rear mounting. I did one once with two towing jaws on each end of the chassis as the receivers for a winch frame.

Many of the 15-16 year old I teach are on work experience weeks at the moment. They spend most of their time doing very little as the bulk of the experience is in getting them to turn up on time and stay the distance each day and that is what the employers expect at best. I guess you are actually looking to work and learn something though so it can be tough convincing some potential employers. In my day my motor vehicle tech teacher also ran a garage and took on the best of the class as apprentices, and so I learnt my first trade that way. Can your school put in a good word for you as well so that the places you are applying to get some sort of reference saying that you are genuine? We do do that sometimes.

If you find another one, I do sometimes drive from Manchester to Inverness to see friends so may be able to help with the forum relay.

Close enough, Happy Birthday Land Rover.

A (almost) exact copy of the Lancashire United Matador used for bus recovery at the Manchester Transport museum. Undriven but has a hand powered chassis winch and a fully working, twin winch Harvey Frost 8 ton crane, suspension and steering. This one was featured with the real thing at an event there a few years ago.

The Matador. Twin drive motors and motor driven chassis winch with folding crane jib. It can lift 1.7 kg on the crane and 2kg with the ground anchor down. has front suspension only though but can still climb walls until it falls over. It is a copy of the one I used to have on my front drive. the winch can be used ove the jib, out the fairlead rollers at the back or fed round to the front and out under the side of the cab.