NikolaiV

Hi people I have a couple of questions, which the search function didnt manage to answer... I`ve currently got a 1978 2-door RR on LPG, but with two kids now its too much of a hassle getting them in and out of car-seats through the the narrow openings. I`m looking at picking up a series 1 discovery, say a 1998 5dr ES. What sort of fuel consumption (No landies have fuel economy...) can I expect, and would it be possible to fit the LPG system of a carb-fed RR onto the EFI Disco? I`m in NZ, so petrol is still relatively cheap, and TDi`s are like hens teeth. I`be be paying about NZD$5k for a 1998 Disco ES with around 130kms on the clock - anything in particular I should look out for? Thanks in advance

Thanks for the heads-up re: the Heritage Motor Centre. As soon as they have a Vista compatible one I`ll order it from them. In answer to why the electronic? I have an old lap-top set up in a tool cart which has all the shop manuals for my vehicles on it - just handy being able to scroll through things (you can also make back-ups of it which is handy). it just seems to suit the way I work on cars. Also the genuine manuals are like rocking horse poo over here in NZ - I have a parts-book (genuine) but have never seen the manual. If I did i`d probably like to keep in in as good condition as possible due the the rarity and photocopy pages out to work on. Of course if any of you guys can find them cheap over there, let me know and i`ll buy one from you/through you

Hi people, i`ve managed to download the RAVE manuals hoping these would be better for my 78 2dr than the haynes, but they only go back to mid eighties 4dr rangies. Does anyone have or know where I can obtain, an electronic workshop manual for the earlier rangies? Thanks, in advance, Nick

Interestingly enough, here in New Zealand, the same legislation has just been introduced, with almost no fuss from the 4wd lobby. It is now illegal for vehicles with SRS (airbags) or engineered crumple zones to be fitted with rigid (non-approved) bullbars. The ARB type which has been crash tested and approved is okay, as are the soft rubber/abs ones available from the factory. Vehicles manufactured before (I think) 1996 which generally dont have airbags anyway are exempt. This means my 78 2dr RRC can have what ever I want to put on teh front of it - subject to restrictions as to dimension, rake angle and lack of spikes/blades/ rams... So what you guys are discussing happening in the UK doesnt suprise me much. The government agency I work for (Transit NZ) is in the process of merging with the road safety agency (Land transport NZ), so I will be working with the people behind the ban in a few months. As a civil engineer (who specialises in roading and traffic), I hate to admit it but i`m happy for the legislation. There are numerous studies out there which show the serious adverse effects of rigid bumpers in accidents. I note a previous poster referred to anecdotal evidence of higher injury rates among modern vehicle fitted with bull bars. He`s bang on the money. Even the standard girder type fitted to my S2 bent when I ran into a corolla (his fault) if it`d had a high bar on it, instead of crushing the section of his door just under the window, his head would have come into contact with a chunk of steel tube - resulting in his liklely serious injury or death. The argument that people should be responsible for their own safety i.e. that roads are for cars, and pedestrians shouldnt be there anyway - a lot of peds are either young <12 or elderly, both groups having impaired abilities when it comes to juding a[pproach speed and gap acceptance. These are the people who a reduction in speed from 50kmh to 30kmh in urban areas and the removal of rigid protection bars will benefit. I would estimate that the vast majority of bull bars are un-needed and for looks. Obviously us LR owners are slightly different, but how many discoveries and range rovers with road tyres do you see with bars fitted? May be its me, and my job which makes me think this way, but i cringe driving through towns sometimes in the RRC, knowing whats likely to happen to anyone who walks in front of it. not that I intend to sell them and buy a prius covered in bubble wrap, but anything whch protects anyone silly enough to get hit by my car has to be a good thing. Maybe its because I cycle to work 2 days a week and dodge the maniacs in cars, so i`m aware how scary it can be on the other side of the windscreen. Yes being hit be any 4x4 is going to hurt, but compared to the relativley flat front of a LR, concentraing that force in a smaller round tube is not a good thing for survivability. Just my 2c worth. I know i`m a stirrer, but someone has to do it.

Thanks for the advice guys - have made the big cut and stitched the two part-looms together. On the tacho front there is a nice wee note attached to the blue wire saying 'coil -ve terminal) so i think only the efi RRC have a feed for the tacho from the alternator? My big question is now whether the fuel and temp gauges will work. (all idiot and dash lights are working nicely). As the original dash had a seperate voltage stabiliser (which fed the gauges) and then feeds from the senders, i`m unsure whether the input from the senders will be appropriate for the later model gauges. There is a wee board in the top corner of the back of the dash with a few resisitors and what looks like a wee chip on it - I`m assuming that the 12V feed goes into this, then to the instruments? Do we think this will work?

Hi there from NZ. I have a 1978 2dr Rangie, whose speedo has just died in a clicking frenzy. I have it on good advice that its the angle drive (they all do that sir...). I`ve checked the price for a new one - $NZD 232, about GBP91... which is a bit expensive for my tastes. My question is this, I can obtain a complete instrument cluster from a later 4 door rangie (with tacho etc) - will the speedo drive be geared the same, and will the gauges work? The trusty haynes manual shows all the wire colours as being identical between the two so i might be lucky. Also i`m sure the senders look the same (and in all likelyhood are the same) This would let me have a tidy factory tacho added on, as i dont want to have some boy-racer looking tach on my dash (so everyone can see how high the beast revs...), as well as getting me a warrent of fitness (like your MOT) I look forward to your sage advice