simonr

I wouldn't give up that easily! Drill a hole through the middle of the two yolks that make up the middle of the joint and stick a compression spring through the hole. Make a top-hat thing to go in either end of the spring to push on the middle of the spyder - it should be enough to hold the whole thing straight(ish) if the spring is man enough. Si

Do you know something I don't Les? I hope to have a small number available at Billing this year (no promises though!). Things are a bit hectic at the moment with the launch of the mystery object (featured in TOR this month), the X-Lite and X-Cap. It's stretching my project management abilities! I'll do my best though! Cheers for the feedback Chris. Si

Arrange a flexible overdraft! Si

Bigger motors are even harder to find! I have no doubt that this will be very good - but it's hardly 'out of the box' thinking. I like the Sumitomo cyclodrive - essentially an epicyclic achieved with rollers. Very clever - but I have an even better idea! Just need to find that 10k to develop it! Si

What about CO2? Although I've not tried that on fuel, it seems to work pretty well on most of the kinds of fires that appear around me! Anything else gets a cold cup of tea or diet coke (usually have one or the other to hand) - but I don't think these would be all that good for plumbing in. Si

This is quite clever, by changing the symbol in the table which coresponds to the multiples of 9, you tend not to notice that all the multiples have the same symbol. About the best implementation I've seen! (even had me going for a bit!) Si

Magic banana indeed! It's called an X-Zag. Has the mag got the competition right? Both the best and silliest answer to what it is getting one? The best so far is "An IUD for Elephants" - but it might be a bit of a squeeze even for an Elephant! (not that I have any direct experience of this you understand!) I'll look forward to getting my copy! Si

We (Simon & I) spent the weekend at Eastnor - and bumped in to a few of the forum members! It was quite a nice, friendly show - but dreadful from a sales point of view. The car park was almost a mile from us and up the side of a mountain! Nobody wanted to buy anything heavy which they'd have to lug up the hill. The people selling real heavy stuff looked terribly depressed! We watched a couple of chaps carry an axle up the hill. It took them over two hours, but I guess the temperature must have been about 30 degrees. Just plain daft! On the way back, the water pump on my Tdi gave up. The viscose fan gave up on the way there (fixed with cable ties). As we were towing a heavy trailer, it took the AA almost 5 hours to find someone to bring us home. We finally got back at 4am - then up at 7 to do working. Feel a little bit shagged now! Si

Looks good Andy - you have indeed been busy! Si

I've slept under my Landy once in an improvised tent (more like a bivvy) made from a couple of bin bags. You could do that! Easy, waterproof, sweaty, cheap..... Si

Do we know any of the parties involved? I would imagine the onus would be on the perp to prove the bits that he/she actually own and have paid for. Any of the remainder is then up for grabs so to speak. I suspect for most people that would be pretty much the whole truck - unless he/she has kept all the receipts? Si

Thought I could feel my ears burning! There are a couple of issues with using the mechanical calipers as fiddle brakes - and believe me I have though long & hard about it! Firstly, the calipers are designed for a 3/8" thick disk. Most wheel disks are 1/2" or more. The calipers will deliver just about enough torque to work, still within spec - but I think you would need to go on a body-building course to pull the lever hard enough. Remember, you are not stopping the vehicle, but the vehicle plus the torque transmitted through the gearbox which can be significant. 110 front hydraulic calipers work well with non assisted levers, but with servos fitted, RR rear calipers can work just as well. It all comes fown to the amount of force you can put through the lever. Generally when you want to use them, you have better things to do than pulling on a lever for all you are worth! I would go Hydraulic for the fiddle brakes and arrange a simple, low torque handbrake on the transmission for the MOT. You could use something as simple as a go-kart caliper and a 120mm disk for this. It will not be terribly effective - but who cares. Si

I'm not too keen on viscose fans (must remember to replace mine before France next week!) - they are not terribly reliable. Electric fans have an advantage in terms of cost and controlability (and they are easy to bodge a replacement in an emergancy) Although I'm still using viscose, I have installed the wiring harness for an electric 'just in case' fan. I have read that an engine driven fan is capable of drawing 6hp from the engine a high speed. It would seem reasonable to assume you would need a 4.5kw electric fan to shift as much air. However, engine fans are generally designed to run at low speeds and as the speed increases, the efficiency drops like a stone so it is possible that the fan spinning at 5000rpm is barely shifting more air than at 2000rpm. One way or another, it seems that a typical 200w fan can shift sufficient air to provide the cooling you need. This is one of the major savings associated with going electric. The saving in power could easily be 5% of your engine output - most of which is being wasted as extra heat! My Mag-clutch-fan should provide a best of both worlds solution to this - but it's still at the prototype stage (Mk3 being machined next week with a bit of luck!). Si

The domain name is only one of the factors in achieving a high search engine ranking so it's not the be-all and end-all. I agree that perhaps GBMud casts the wrong impression for green laning expeditions - but it could still be suitable for other types of trip. To that end, I would have a number of domains reflecting different subsets of you target market. Some people will be put off by thoughts of deep mud & ruts, but at the same time, others will be put off by the idea of just 'rambling' in a 4x4 through easy terrain. OK, company/domain names: HillAndDale ValleyTrack AncientWay WheelTrack Adventures Incorporated I'll keep thinking! Si

I'm wiht Chris on this one. Bind it with either wire or string/twine. Either will be much stronger, lower profile and longer lasting than tie-wraps. Si

X-Eng use: http://www.interparcel.com/ Interparcel beats all of the above on cost, at least for parcels over 5kg and having sent several hundred parcels through them - I'm quite impressed with the service, the tracking and the response when it all goes wrong. You get a choice of which individual courier they send it with so if you have a particular like or dislike of a courier you can select appropriatly. Most couriers tend to ignore booked collection times. They do their deliveries in the morning then collections in the afternoon. DHL almost always pick up around 2pm from me. Si

Count me in - I've always wanted to visit the Pennines Camping or Hotel - or even a mixture would suit. Sarah would probably come too if there is enough notice. Si

Connect it to the oil light? I suppose the trouble is, it will pass, you'll forget all about it - then find you are wearing a bus one day! Si

Apart from Capel, Sleep & Sunburn - on Sunday, Sarah & I went for a day out. We figured we'd stop at the first brown sign we came to heading in a particular direction. In fact we stopped at the second one cos the first one looked sh@te! We went to the Amberly Working Museum. I expected it to be naff & boring - but it was brilliant. Had a really good day. If you need somewhere 'nice' to take your family which will not bore the pants off you - this place is hard to beat! Si

Don't know if it is still the case, but RS used to do nice grey flexy hose suitable for vacuum in 3m lengths not too badly priced. Agricultural sellers are also a good bet. Si

Can I be a tele-worker? Si

I know how to fix the sh@@s! Drink a bottle of JD - it kills the bugs & makes you feel much better! Si

I typed in X-Eng and it said: "Why Can't Everything Orange Be X-Eng?" How about that! Spooky huh? Si

In my experience, the wreckers option is pretty good. I like the fans made by 'Gate' used on French & Italian cars. They have big, wide blades and slow, high torque motors. The motors are good for electric skateboards and bicycles too! Pacet ones seem to be the best of the purpose built after-market fans - if you are keen not to rummage around a breakers yard. Si

I think you need to rub your self down to your local main dealer and buy genuine ones. The 'cheap as chips' (sorry Nick) ones are made from recycled chewing gum (or so I believe). Good quality rubber seals and components are expensive. There is no two ways about it. If it's cheap - it will be rubbish. Don't believe me? Try buying one of each & see for yourself. Si