xychix

really noone? I'll lift one of the front wheels and have gearbox neutral and rotate the wheel (should work) thereafter I'll put the difflock on and test again (should not turn as it should be locked to the back). Thats about as far as my logic goes..... is this correct? any other hints!? I'm going there tomorrow.

Hi all, As I'm still chasing my dream of owning a defender before they end the productionline I've now found an 110 build in 1985 with a 2.5 non-turbo engine in there. The car has done 275.000 km, the current engine has done 85.000 km's. It's a 3 person 'van' model. The series III lightweight (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=87349) is still out there as well but I've not yet had the guts to start such a project. The 110 is road legal and still on active MOT (CT as they call it here in france). The car has bean (ab)used to drag wood from the forrest by it's current owner (only for 2 years, he's using a quad now) What to look out for? - rust on crossmembers (it will be there but how bad is it) - rust on shock and coilspring mounts - how can I determine if the cast iron 2.5 engine has cracks? - how can I detemine the working of gearbox / reduction box/ diff-lock / .... - how hard is it to do the timing belt on these engines (certainly one of the first things I need done)

ah ok, in that case you might have a point. A defender 130 would suit me better. Unfortunately their out of my budget as is a full restauration of a series III. However a mechanical driving car with some new alu and sheet metal might be my perfect second car for the summers. Somewhere along my life I've lost my heart to the basic landrovers, so don't tell me to get a Nissan Patrol or Daihatsu Rocky Next to that, running this thread and googling my @ss off has learned me a lot on Series in general as I was always looking in the defender range.

that's a quick judgement. I've only looked after a non petrol engine so far I'm not that good with petrol stuff and prefer a diesel. You might be correct however I won't fit the bill for a full restoration (as in museum ready), however once I'm into a vehicle I will go great lengths to keep it on the road.

correct I'm driving a 2.5 di non-turbo manual bosch pump at the moment in my transit mk5. Love the machine. Doesn't break complex parts because there aren't any. And since the transit itself rusts away around the drive-train & engines are available cheap.

Likely transit engines with turbo's A 2.5 di has only 69 horses...

An arduino would be great for such a project. Have a look at an arduino mini pro as well. Does have USB connector for patches and updates later on and is much smaller an with pins instead of sockets it's easier to solder to a permanent board.

sounds like air in the fuel lines (or some hole that allows fuel to return to the tank and leave a air filled fuel line). Most likely an incorrect connected fuel filter. So a change of fuel filter is likely welcome cheap and easy to do.

What kind of engines would fit to the standard gearbox? I wonder if a ford transit 2.5di (or any basic french non-turbo diesel engine could be an easy fit).

I've figured something out that also might be interesting to you. The seller of the car must apply for a CT (if current one is older than 6 months) however it's ok to fail this CT. A fail for CT will still allow the Carte Grise to be changed on your name.

Dropped by today to ask for papers. Guy said he had the papers and there was one 'tuyau' that needed replacement, for under 1000 Euro's it would be 'back on the road but not perfect'. 1000 euro's for a hose seems a bit much I'll now dive into the paperworks that would be needed and how tax works out if the car sits here doing nothing.

And yes, it's still on my mind. In holland I'd go for a Defender 130, but with tax regulations on driving a commercial vehicle that is owned by the (my own) compagny at the end of the line I'd pay ~7500 Euro's of extra tax, while on my current Ford Transit that would be ~1500 Euro's.... I don't mind paying for a hobby, however I refuse throwing money at my government (especially regarding what they do with it). Therefore I'd have money and time available to keep a french landy on the road. (time is shared with building a 6 meter * 10.5 meter garage out of cement and stones on my own, this can be the workshop in the end...) I'll have a look if it's still there in a little and aks what is needed regarding paperworks to get it 'ct' (road legal) again. First demand would be to get it road legal asap and then slowly improve it. I don't fancy a 100% project rebuild. I'd rather keep it on the road. However I tend to dive at stuff as they go. Started cleaning/painting the wheel arches of my transit today (was planning all four in 1 day) and now 1 wheel is of and i'll fetch the welder tomorrow as its all rotten...

@marieholm I live in Holland as well (unfortunately no defender owner but my ford transit build in 2000 will suffer the same anytime soon in Amsterdam). - Do they already have a official sign to stop me from driving in Utrecht without noticing, as far as I know only C22a is legal at the moment (http://www.verkeersmaterialen.nl/gesloten-voor-vrachtauto-s-die-niet-voldoen-aan-de-gestelde-milieueisen.html) but that's trucks only. - Isn't the blacklist based on production year regardless of engine? (In Amsterdam their discussing no new parking permits for diesels older than 2005) - Have you looked at the newer for transit engines (As I believe LR also used ford in later models). - Is Santana easy for parts ? I'd doubt that.

That would likely be impossible as well. Atleast in the Netherlands the Lada Niva isn't available anymore at dealers and can't be imported anymore for the same environmental reasons.

does that mean production will go on for elsewhere? Time to move outside EU

I've come a cross a few more DC100 movies. Does anyone know if it's still the plan to stop with the defender in 2015? Is the plan still to produce a DC100? I really don't see the difference between a Evoque and DC100, a moving computer, ow yes off-course the evoque is way prettier. Or will the world get another alternative for the Defender, something that can run on bad fuel, can be taken apart to pieces and put back together... cause thats what (in my opinion) the defender is. If one wanted something thats welded and can go offroad one would buy a Discovery... right? note, I hope this is the right forum for this. May be moved if necessary.

make sure the fuel return is from the highest (from ground level) cylinder. In a ford transit MK5 this was done from the cilinder closest to firewall, over time when the van lowers in the rear because of all the heavy loads some air can get trapped in the fuel return lines near the most front (and highest) cylinder. Just something to keep in mind if in the end there seems to be no airleaks at all. A bubble in there (after fuelfilter change) can live there for a LONG time.

just make sure noone drops a bag of sand in front of it, it'll get nowhere.

And then we're talking 500.000 kilometers or do these blocks go every 100.000 on '95 fuel?

How to get this vehicle, just get the papers and car and take it with me. Can i take 5 years for patching it up or do I need the previous owner in order to change it to my name? Can I change it to my name without CT?

I've looked back to the pictures, in France its apparently normal to have a sticker on the vehicle lisiting these ratings. I've found: PTAC = Poids Total Autorisé en Charge PV = Poids à Vide PTRA = Poids Total Roulant Autorisé (exemple : PTAC voiture + PTAC PTRA = 4646 kg PTAC voiture = 2020 That leaves 2626 for the trailer I assume...

Does anyone know what the towing capacity of series III (and /or series III lightweight) is? Defender 90 / 110 / 130 are allowed 3500kg on the towbar in the Netherlands.

I'll stick with diesel then. My old transit 2.5di (diesel) runs on everything, just as happy, as long as it has a proper fuel filter in place I could pee in the tank after a night of good drinks. Thanks for all the info guys, it was a pleasure. You'll see me around more (here and in defender forum) as a Defender is on my list for years now, no proper alternative found so far. Love them or leave them (and yes I know a Toyota is easier, especially if you have a dealer to service it :P )

I was hoping to find a cheap 110 2.5na here in france until i noticed this lightweight that might be a giveaway... Other option is to sell my transit and buy a 130 in holland (where i live) and have the 130 as daily driver. I'd assume my simple old tranny will be cheaper to keep on the road. Especially since it only has 80.000 km/s now. So although 13 years old, it is just waking up. I'll keep my eyes open for a 90/110 to have on french license and maybe check out the lightweight once more to see if it makes my hands itchy. Bye the way, I'd assume the lightweight runs on normal '95 gasonline!? no old led coated stuff... ? (I'm not into gasoline at all.)

uhm ok.... zo basically Its a tractor that drinks expensive fuel. Buying this would then likely make my wife hate a landrover that much that my defender dream is gone and I'm stuck in my transit mk5 for another era.