Night Train

The Scammell, twin drive motors, seperate motors for the winch and for the powered shear legs at the back, pnumatics for the crane and the under reach, full front and rear suspension , 6x6 drive. It can lift 2kg on its crane at full reach and climb a vertical wall until it falls over on its under lift. Needs dusting though.

If they have not refunded you or suppled another free then the broken one is still yours and you should have it back.

Two of my favorite vehicles are in front of me built from Lego Technic. A fully working Scammell Contractor and a fully working AEC Matador with pnumatics and working winches. I have about £1200 of the stuff.

How about this by Osmos.

If you get on to hubless design have a look at what they do to choppers. One of the firsts designs used the rotor bearing from a military helicopter to hold the wheel, some have internal brake calipers while others have brakes on the transmission. Some of the ideas could be applied to the end of an axle tube instead of the end of a bike frame.

I am going from Manchester to Machynlleth, Powys on Tuesday 15 April and back on Sunday 20 April. If there is anything that is going one way or the other I will try to help. I am car sharing as well so nothing too big or my passengers will have to ride on the roof rack.

I think I should too, I was thinking 'If it just had walking beam rear suspension and six wheels....'

FridgeFreezer has pretty much said it but... Head lights moved out to the wings during the 2A period. I prefer the lights in the grille look myself. 2 and 2A didn't have full syncromesh in the main gear box and so need to be double declutched to prevent crunching the gears. The S3 also had a larger intermediate shaft in the transfer box which made it stronger as well as bigger wheel studs and a greater offset in the wheel rims to give a wider track. It also had the Salisbury axle under the back of the LWB. The door hinges are also flatter and look less agricultural and the same with the windscreen hinge. The skirts on the sills were also deeper on the S2 and 2A. The S2 and 2A chassis were made of flat plate edge welded on both the 88 and 109 whereas the S3 109 had a chassis made from two bits of channel pressing that was overlapped and welded with seems top and bottom of the chassis rails. What else? The vent flaps had mesh fly screens as standard on S3 but were optional on S2 and 2A. S3 had the DeLuxe bonnet where as that was the option on the S2 and 2A and bonnet hinges were different with plastic bushes on the S3. S2 and 2A had the fuel tank under the driver's seat, it is under the back of the chassis in the S3. There were also flush window catches on the S3 in plastic to match the dash board. The steering shouldn't really have more then about 1/8 of a turn play when stationary and it isn't as heavy as it might seem on standard tyres. My first Land Rover was a S3 safari and it had optional extras: twin silencers so it was quiet, dual rate rear springs so it rode well empty and the Police very kindly fitted new Michelin XCL radials so it handled quite well. It was a scary shock when it went on Firestone SAT cross plies. If I was getting another standard Series to play with I would get a S3 109 petrol safari, as late as possible and in the best condition I could find. If I was going to mess with it a little then I would get a S2 109 with the lights in the grille, fit a Sailsbury on the back and the bigger front brakes from a 6 cylinder on the front with matching S3 hubs for the bigger studs. I'd use the S3 brake servo with the larger bore cylinder to suit the bigger brakes. I would also use the S3 wheels. I'd fit the S3 gear and transfer box. The door locks would be changed to antiburst and the door mirrors will be S3 hinge mount type, standard on the off side and with the longer arm from the Sherpa on the near side. This would mean adapting the doors to fit the mirrors though. As for seats, I would use MGB seats. I've been thinking about this for too long.

I suppose at worst you can cut off those bits and weld them back on at the angle you need.

If you only have one rope and it is for off road use then I would probably take a 9 or 10m rope or strop as it can be doubled over to reduce its length whereas a short one can't be made any longer. Traveling with other vehicles I would make sure everyone had a different length rope if it were still only one each as they can be joined (without shackles) and used as bridles. What I took with me was a bag with the following (cut and pasted from the other thread on tow ropes): On top of all that I also had a 500kg hand winch and a steel shafted digging spade that doubled as a ground anchor.

I have a couple of those. Need to watch out for the little crescent bits of waste that come out of it, they are razor shar and spikey.

I'd go with the cheap router route myself with a V shaped cutter. Set the speed slow and go easy with a few passes until you get the depth you need. I wouldn't use a grinder on aluminium as the bits of ali will get trapped in the disc and if it expands due to the heat then it can shatter the disc.

Make one! Imagine getting that through the SVA test. I wouldn't mind working on it if you decided to make one though. I am sure there will be stronger ways of making up the pivot, that one looks like a steering swivel off something big.

Might? You mean you think I might have something useful to say? Well, maybe one day. But yes, the forum is fine I was just concerned that things might suddenly get stricter. As an aside, I am Aspergers and I find that I am generally very to the point, on topic and find it difficult to waste time with pointless banter in real life but I am able to chat, banter and have a joke when on line. Odd really.

My initial thoughts are that to specify a 25mm rope it is well over-rated for breaking strain and a visual inspection can show up wear and tear and damage whereas a webbing strap specified at 50mm wide could be rated for a maximum lift tonnage or rated for only holding your luggage together at the airport and the easiest way to tell is by having a label on it. Thats what it was a couple of decades ago.

Many years ago I got my ropes via a boat chandlers. A few of us got together to buy a whole reel of 26mm polypropalene rope and then had it cut into lengths with loops platted at each end. It spread the cost out for us all. I was the one who visited the chandlers and, having got chatting to the guys there, they showed me how to platt the eyelets in so I did mine myself to save some money. I got my shackles from a commercial hardware suppliers many years ago. I think Machine Mart do recovery kits with their winches and it has various bits and pieces in but you would be better off getting a canvas kit bag and then finding the bits that you need.

Didn't notice your location, sorry. If it is for a few, is it worth contacting a supplier and asking for a bulk discount or finding someone like an upholsterer who can make up a small batch to your design and send then out?

I don't know. I don't know what you are planning to do with it and what the priorities of it will be. I would probably stick to manual as it can offer more control and efficiency but an auto can be kinder to the transmission and be more reliable over the long run. Given the engineering facilities and a big budget I would fit a lockable torque converter between the engine and clutch so that manual gears can be selected, the clutch released and then the drive connected via the converter. The converter would multiply the torque and smooth the drive. The lock up in the converter would then remove the slip losses for efficiency and engine braking. The manual gear box can then have a wide selection of ratios with the converter 'filling in the gaps'.

I do have no issues with the moderation and think that a fine job has been done with good balance. But maybe the trial of an OT space as mentioned might help and allow for the short life threads like 'Watch 'x' on TV as it might be interesting though OT' or 'Here's the pole trailer I finally built around a set of Land Rover tail lights' or 'Crashed my car anyone local to recommend a garage?' types of thread. It might also allow for the 'Any one local to me fancy a pint or to lend a hand?' threads. If threads had an automaticaly short shelf life based on the date of first post then it would also stop conversations going on in there dominating the forum. Maybe a couple of weeks and it is locked and then deleted after four weeks? It would need someone with time to mod it though to save the existing mods even more work. I've got to be off now, too much work to do.

I appreciate what you are saying Mark and don't disagree with the basis of the rules and the allowence that is often made. That is one of the reasons I am still here. I can mention Scammells in a thread on six wheel drive, I can ask if someone knows about welding something non vehicle related once in a while as an off topic subject, I can post a link to a video that isn't of a Land Rover. However, if the rules were enforced too strictly then it can make it very difficult for someone new to the fun of off road driving, Land Rover ownership and forums to feel a part of the community. In the past I was a member of a Land Rover owners club. It was Land Rover owners only but then the secretary got a Suzuki instead and people joined because they liked Land Rovers but didn't have one, then modifieds joined and some were not Land Rover based so it was brought back to Land Rovers only rather then a general off road club. However, when we met in the pub every Wednesday evening we talked about everything and so we got on and got to know each other as real people, families, members of other clubs, folks with the same trade skills, members of armed forces, farmers etc. It was all kept out of the club magazine and the events but it meant that we were real people to each other and not just drivers and competitors. It makes it easier as the outlet was there when we met in the pub to just relax and talk about stuff that was more loosely related then would normally be acceptable.

I suppose that given I don't have a Land Rover, of any description, at the moment and it is unlikely I will be getting another one in the near future, I, therefore, have little to offer in the What I have just done, Where I have just been and Can you help me with... posts. I have a wealth of historic experience in driving and building many things but I wish to be able to do more then just say Do this Land Rover thing, Don't do that Land Rover thing, Try this Land Rover product and Use the forum's search function. I was looking to be on a forum of like minded people, people who like the brand and also who like other related areas, military, agricutural, engineering, etc. all around a theme of messing about off (and on) road rather then a data base of one make vehicle maintenance and parts supply. Maybe I am in the wrong place. So where does a build story sit when it uses non Land Rover chassis, axles, wheels, body, engine, transmission or appearance? Or a camping trailer build that isn't based on a Sankey? I can appreciate that some of you want to keep the forum within a very tight set of limitations but for those who are new to Land Rovers, or the forum, who might need more to help them get involved, who might not know what is there to be searched for, who have other experiences or interests relating to, or around, their chosen vehicle it, may possibly take the fun out of posting here if they have to think very carefully what they say and how on topic it will be. Deleting or locking someone's thread because it is deemed not on topic enough, especially for a newbie, can feel quite excluding and damage the chance of joining the comaradre that clearly exists between longstanding members. Some of you are friends, others may want to be friends but it is difficult to make friends with a limited range of communication. It is also difficult to get involved without a vehicle or when one is a novice. Some of you do amazing things off road and in the workshop, and that is great, but it is easy for a novice to be in awe of that but not know how to get involved further when they have little or no driving and building experience. It is worth remembering that we all, at some point, asked simple or stupid questions or just wanted to talk about, or around, something to get the confidence to become more involved. It will be a shame if that is lost for keeping on topic and telling people to use the search facility. I haven't found a forum as good as this (and recently I have been looking as I have been more and more aware of trying not to post anything not immediately on topic as it would get frowned upon) but maybe we could do with a little slack or a seperate bit of forum for slightly off topic discussion that has a short cut off for old threads, maybe nothing older then a month, just so that people can open up a little with the rest of their related interests and questions. Anyway, just my feelings. NT

Could you not make one? Get some vinyl from a seconds materials outlet and a set of brass eyelets and punch kit. Cut the vinyl to size, punch in the eyelets in the right places, fold the edge over so the eyelets are on the underside and then run it through a sewing machine. The cover should be the size of the pick up bed + enough to drop around the edge + some more to fold under to hem it. The eyelets will be on the hem folded over and the elastic, or draw cord can be fed through before sewing to make it easier.

You definitely deserve the pat on the back for it being as you wanted it to be with only minor adjustment needed. Good job and well done.

A really nice job there.

Sorry, pass on that, never tried but it would be the sort of thing I would just give a go to.