HoggyN

That was very well done. I need to get on with mine.

If I remember correctly, I had nearly 2 mm taken off an SD1 flywheel without any problems. It was used in a fully balanced, high reving engine. The guy doing it had to go deeper than he originally thought to get under some nasty hard patches on the flywheel face. I didn't know about the minimum thickness. Out of interest, I might measure it if I get time.

I wasn't sure where to put this but way back in the early '80s, Hot Car magazine ran a series of articles on putting a V8 into a Series 1. I've got them somewhere but they are at my parent's house and my dad could feature on one of those hoarder programmes. Even if he knew exactly where they were, I'd need the help of International Rescue and their Mole to extract them. It's a long shot, but can anybody tell me the relevant month/year is that the articles were published?

I replaced all mine with Lemforder ones a year or so ago. IIRC the price was about double the cheapest alternative.

Thanks for the replies. Ashcroft has some series shafts listed at the moment which is what prompted me to start thinking about upgrading the axle. Until I saw those the Salisbury seemed like the cheapest (only) option. It doesn't give me a locker though and when that is taken into consideration, plus it's other disadvantages, a beefed up series starts to look less extravagant. It also means I can get it on the car now without even having to take the wheels off.

I've been pondering over the best rear axle option for a V8 (Rover 3.5) engined S1 86". My thoughts so far are a S3 case with an Ascroft locker and HD halfshafts. I'm unsure over whether a pegged diff, HD ring and pinion or both would be worthwhile. Any suggestions? Use is pottering about and green laning with a few longish 130 mile journeys thrown in. Oh, and I've managed to break two halfshafts with the 2.0 litre engine which probably doesn't bode well for the V8. Green laning is almost always solo so I want something reliable... or as reliable I can get without swapping the S1 for something else. TIA

That's today!

What I'd like to know is just what is the minimum amount of vehicle the will ATF accept. I can't see them issuing a CoD in exchange for a gear knob and a pair of number plates. Also the intent behind these new regulations is to wipe out unauthorised vehicle dismantlers. At what point does a private individual selling off unwanted parts on Ebay (for example) from a car bought for spares become an 'unauthorised dismantler?

The chemicals used in the chroming process are toxic, but whoever told you that the process had been banned was wrong. There must be some other reason that teflon is now the preferred coating. It's probably just cheaper.

Not mine... Aluminium, colour, neighbour, tyre, programme, theatre. Not a red line in sight. If you go to 'Options' > 'Under the bonnet' (note not 'hood') you can set the spell checker language to whatever you want. Mine had UK English by default. /hijack.

If anyone as a spelling problem, I can recommend using Google Chrome as a browser. It will spell check your replies as you type.

Ha ha! They were fine. They are retired and had nothing better to do. I think they both put on a stone in weight with all the free food that was provided. On the other hand, quite a few of the lorry drivers got a bit agitated as some of their loads were perishable. Apparently, it was a bit stinky on the car deck by the time they docked.

My parents used it a few years ago. The way down was fine, but on the way back they hit bad weather and had to seek shelter. They were on it a week!

I had the misfortune to have my wallet nicked just before Christmas, complete with my Halfords trade card. After reading some of the posts on here I thought I was going to have a right old game getting a replacement. Not a bit of it, I called in my local branch, told them what had happened and they set me up with a new card there and then. Excellent customer service.

I've had the throttle stick open on me a couple of times. Both times I turned off the ignition to kill the engine. However, there was a time delay from WTF?!!! to turning the key. I was lucky that I wasn't in a situation where the time delay mattered. I also remember a similar situation where I set off from my house, approached the T junction at the end of the road only to find an invisible force preventing my right foot moving from the throttle to the brake. I ended up stamping on the brake with my left foot but still stopped a few feet over the line with my arseh*le fluttering from half-a-crown to sixpence. Turned out I'd trapped my shoelace in the door when I got in.

I'm not sure about the wooden drag link though.

What are you talking about?

A few months ago when my S1 was playing up I considered ripping out the original engine and gearbox and fitting a later engine with an LT77. The trouble was that even with the shortest bellhousing I could get, there wasn't going to be much room for the rear prop. Anyway, in the end I sorted the problems and kept it standard. I'm really glad I did. How have you overcome the steering tie rod clearance issues with Range Rover axles and leaf springs?

No, that is a common misconception. I can remember a case a while back where a bloke was prosecuted for driving a friends car with no insurance. His defence was that his friend had become unwell and he had to take over. He still got done. It could be that certain insurance policies do include cover for such circumstances, but you would need to check the small print. I'm pretty sure none of mine do.

We fiddled with electric superchargers at work a while back. They were properly designed for the purpose with a large electric motor driving a centrifugal blower - like the compressor side of a turbocharger. The problem was that they used kilowatts of electricity when they were running and, given the battery limitations we had, were only suitable for very short bursts. As it's used temporarily only it could suck from the battery and no additional engine power would be used to drive it. What do you think? That is not quite accurate... engine power has been used to make the electricity that is stored in the battery. The more electricity you use, the more petrol/diesel/lpg you burn.

I also queried this and was told that if the vehicle is not otherwise insured than it is only covered to the minimum level required by law (third party) while I was actually driving it. They added that it was only really intended as emergency cover - say for example if I had to take over the driving because the usual driver was too ill to drive. It's worth bearing in mind that now, if a motor vehicle is used (or parked) anywhere the public has access (not just on a public road) then it needs to be taxed, tested and insured.

I used that stuff too. I left the washer unused with the lid down for a couple of months and when I went back to it a hideous slimey green jelly monster had taken up residence. The pump was choked with the stuff. I replaced it with some proper parts washer fluid I bought off Ebay. It washes off with water to leave a grease free surface. Diesel and paraffin leave an oily residue which, while good for rust prevention, still has to be removed before painting.

Yes. If it's fitted properly they are warmer and quieter than a hard top. I'd say drier too, because you don't get any condensation. On the downside, there is little or no security. It's also worth bearing in mind that they don't last forever, although regular reproofing helps. Getting them on and off isn't a two minute job... getting them back on takes ages! Steering damper? No need if you set up your swivels and relay properly.

Adding holes would reduce the weight. If you swaged the holes you wouldn't lose any stiffness and might improve the grip too.

I can't say that spring wrap has been a noticable problem on my S1. I'm happy with them... although IMHO their ride enhancing qualities are vastly overstated.