Where has all the projects gone?

[CwazyWabbit]

I suppose as the forum gets older the vast archive of solutions to issues grows to, I know it is very rare that I can't find an answer to a question by searching the old threads.

So if more people are searching an ever increasing archive of knowledge then less questions will get asked..... especially as series vehicles have been around for years and 110/90's and Defenders haven't exactly changed in years then there will be less truely new questions/problems surely?

This leads to remaining questions being grouped around parts availability/quality, new legislation and new products.

The vehicles that have changed a lot in recent times don't seem to get that much coverage on here, although I could be wrong as my primary interests are not in the newer vehicles.

[UdderlyOffroad]

This thread appears to be attempting to answer two questions:

1. Where have all the exciting projects gone

2. What is this forum’s raison d’etre, and should it be updated

My response:

1. Legal, climatic, financial difficulties are changing the 4x4 scene, as discussed by Si, et al

2. No! The ‘technical’ content of this forum is one of its benefits, the reason I check it multiple times a day (waiting for the IT system at work to catch up, honest gov). Yes sometimes SVA police but their jack-boots in, but frankly these people should be humoured a little. Given the environment we know live in, in the UK (ANPR, continuous insurance, HATOs, HMRC and VOSA inspectors, Tacos for 3.5 tonners, the list goes on) – an armchair bureaucrat playing devils avocado isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

There may be lots of answers on a google search to common questions, but more often than not, i end up on here for the most concise ones anyway. I do think its a shame that people like Les Henson seemed to have stopped posting, but i guess there is a limit to how frequently someone wants to repeat their advice!

I think the point is, most ‘newbies’ (myself included), can with a google site-search (adding “site:lr4x4.com” to your search) find the answer to a question – and the technical content is still second to none compared with other forums. Also, google sitesearch works properly with this forum. Trying doing that with, say, Defender2.net.

In addition, oftentimes people will revive an old thread to post an update, or ask another question. Technical situations do change – e.g. Teflon-coated swivels. Once considered second class, now often the only option if you need your truck back on the road. Yet still, some wise hands are guilty of parroting their knowledge (valuable as it is) without bothering to update it when things change.*

Also, the fact that we are pretty intolerant of poor English, gay-bashing, lack of SPG, and banter in general, adds to this forum’s usefulness, it doesn’t detract from it. Yes that might be a barrier to people’s whose first language isn’t English, the hard-of-thinking and the literacy-challenged. But tough, that’s their problem, not ours.

Finally, as a ‘noob’, I wouldn’t touch the competition scene with two barge poles strapped together. Expensive, cliquey, unfriendly on hardware, and real life contains more than enough ‘competition’ already. Why the hell would I put myself through any of that?

*I find this happens in ‘real life’ too, especially in the work environment. Experienced people may have been there, done that. But when ‘that’ changes, it takes repeated attempts to convince them to listen that their hard-won experience needs updating.

[Smego]

I have repainted mine, insulated the inside added lighting both in and out, required bits and changed the dash since the Peterborough show all on the cheap, I posted some updates on another forum but mainly got criticised for cost cutting so I never bother ant more, looking to replace the suspension and get replacement rubber next but won't be posting it up.

[Bowie69]

Money, first house, baby, and illness.

Those are my excuses and sticking with them

[UdderlyOffroad]

I have repainted mine, insulated the inside added lighting both in and out, required bits and changed the dash since the Peterborough show all on the cheap, I posted some updates on another forum but mainly got criticised for cost cutting so I never bother ant more, looking to replace the suspension and get replacement rubber next but won't be posting it up.

I think I speak for the silent majority* here by saying that there is very much a place on here for budget, keeping your truck on the road, on-going repairs and mods. Please do make the time to post up, you will find an interested audience. Pre-empt the rivet-counters and peanut gallery by stating 'budget build'.

Matt

*And by doing so have immediately removed myself from that group!

[CwazyWabbit]

I think I speak for the silent majority* here by saying that there is very much a place on here for budget, keeping your truck on the road, on-going repairs and mods. Please do make the time to post up, you will find an interested audience. Pre-empt the rivet-counters and peanut gallery by stating 'budget build'.

Matt

*And by doing so have immediately removed myself from that group!

I think I have to agree there as well, I'd love to see more budget build stuff. Don't get me wrong I love the no expense spared stuff but it is an area I'll never be able to play in so I'd welcome more budget stuff that I will be able to do on my 110 without having the Mrs going totally mental at me.

[Night Train]

I have been ill (physical and mental health issues) and so all my projects, except the house renovation, have been on hold for a while.

I am still on the look out for a Series Salisbury short half shaft for my ongoing tractor project though and will try to get on with that again later this spring. I am also drawing up plans for a small 4x4 electric load carrier, along the lines of a 'monster trucked' Bradshaw FB2.

[Landy-Novice]

Money, first house, baby, and illness.

Those are my excuses and sticking with them

lol, mine are financial, weather (i dont like getting wet ) and the constant criticism about my chassis hence why i dont update my 110 thread.

[CwazyWabbit]

lol, mine are financial, weather (i dont like getting wet ) and the constant criticism about my chassis hence why i dont update my 110 thread.

Maybe I am partly guilty on that front James, if so I apologise. How is work on the 110? The miserable weather this year has been a bit of a spanner in the works to all us open air mechanics

[dirtydiesel]

The main reason i used to post my build threads was to connect myself and my projects to a group of people i considered my peers.

I found the opinions and experiances of others could greatly influance the project direction and enhance the build.

It also acts as a great motivation, and i find it helped me attain better quality and attention to detail. because every aspect of the build could be examined and cross examined by a widley skilled audience.

From this i would judge the merits of peoples comments, by what little i had read about them on here and most importantly what i had learned of their skills in their own build threads.

The reasons i don't post any builds now, pretty much boils down to my (probably arogant) view that most of the active members on here aren't my peers.

Mostly i belive this is because the most frequent posters have not posted anything showing their skills/achievments that would lead me to respect their opinions or view points

[Daan]

As an example; if someone were to post up asking about full hydro steering above 90% of the replies would be concerned with its legality and the Iva. Ram selection, mounting solutions and Ackermann would be buried if they were even brought up at all.

Agreed with this to be honest. But, the people that were writing their stories, like Jez did, have now mostly moved on to things that dont involve offroad comps. Family, households, well you know what I mean. I havent done a comp since 2009 myself because of all this. People that write on Devon are mainly new to the scene, i never met them and they choose to write on devon because thats were the comp guys are hanging out.

But if I google anything landrover related, 9 out of 10, I will end up here again, so there is still a lot of info around here.

Daan

[Les Brock]

I found the opinions and experiances of others could greatly influance the project direction and enhance the build.

It also acts as a great motivation, and i find it helped me attain better quality and attention to detail. because every aspect of the build could be examined and cross examined by a widley skilled audience.

I agree 100% with this, it does spur you on to finish things (Well in my case it did otherwise it would have been sold as spares by now ) and strive to build to a better standard.

[mmgemini]

For LR4x4 the frequency of new topics and responses to those are definitely down, the amount of organised trips are definitely down, the amount of organised events are definitely down. It seems, however, that the people that mostly post here seem to be happy and the funding is in the green so it looks like it is going to stay that way for now

Just my personal opinion :)

Our trips are out just now. Money wanted for the trailer. Neither are we going to Land Rover shows. We think and find they're too expensive.

We expect to visit three shows this year. The first being Donington. After that again the trailer. Very important as we both want/ need to get away

There is another side to think about. Getting stale with the project, although I haven't noticed that on here.

[task]

I'm building something that isn't a Land Rover so that's my excuse for not having a build thread going on currently

[JeffR]

I'm, still, rebuilding the Disco and the 110 V8 and the the other 110 is still stuck down in Devon whilst I'm in Northumberland. Time is the problem with posting projects. I'm self employed and spend more time chasing work than I used to, my own suspicion is the economy is the greatest problem. Folks just don't have the disposable income anymore. Most of my mates are functioning on a make do and mend philosophy.

[Snagger]

Thankfully, it looks like the worst of the threat from the Eu over historic and modified vehicles is over, though that may just be my (mis)interpretation of the latest news. But, that may also have delayed or even curtailed the start of many new builds - why risk the time and money if the vehicle will be banned? At least my next project will be safe - I'll be rebuilding my RRC with no mods from original spec other than the heated seats and front screen and aircon from the SE models and keeping the existing police-spec rear springs. That means I should avoid all legal issues, regardless of what happens, as everything will be an original LR spec item for the vehicle. I do wonder how many builds have been delayed until the proposals are introduced, altered or discarded, though.

[Part1cle]

Lots of interesting stuff posted, agree with most of it - and put much better than I could.

Dirty Diesel, Les Brock and others - don't forget you guys are the peers some of us look up to now

Les, I've been following your build (only found it recently) but have thoroughly enjoyed reading it and the attention to detail.

DD, always read your posts with interest as they are based on practical experience, or appear to be!

Lots of others, Western for his never ending part numbers, I could go on, are also here to be fair.

I always come here for info. and when time permits for a read of what folks are doing.

Nothings perfect, and things change, evolution I guess.

[Boothy]

Forum police full stop.

I did not put on my new hydrosteer project last year because i would start by stating it is an off roader and only off roader but it would be followed by countless post telling us again of why it can never be driven on the road,

My Supercharged 5 litre V8 build will not be on for the same reason, nor will my Toyota 80 axle on to Land-rover chassis project which is just about to start, purely because I'll get fed up of "bolt on babies" telling me whats wrong or why it wont work and eventually it becomes a chore to try and share ideas, then its far easier for some prick to show us his new wiper blades and whats wrong on ebay, its what YOUR creating and why it will strangle you I'm afraid.

If we try and have some fun on the competition forum to keep an post lively on the forum then the police and admin's are in again telling us to stick to the topic or else DELETE or your thread will be removed, fair play, play elsewhere, its seems that what you want.

Go back 2 or 3 years and have a look, and there are a lot of superb builds coming along that have not posted for the reasons above, but stick to fitting mudflaps and LED lights if thats what you want.

[SteveG]

And don't forget the gramma and speling police!! ;)

[NickMc]

I'm building two 90's and a 110 at the minute, but i don't post in the project forum because it's for a living and they will get sold at the end.

[Phantom]

And don't forget the gramma and speling police!! ;)

not sure what you mean..........................'I iz gonna b a'

On a serious note, too much slagging off other people’s vehicles and parts suppliers for my liking, but that’s just my opinion

[Snagger]

Forum police full stop.

I did not put on my new hydrosteer project last year because i would start by stating it is an off roader and only off roader but it would be followed by countless post telling us again of why it can never be driven on the road,

My Supercharged 5 litre V8 build will not be on for the same reason, nor will my Toyota 80 axle on to Land-rover chassis project which is just about to start, purely because I'll get fed up of "bolt on babies" telling me whats wrong or why it wont work and eventually it becomes a chore to try and share ideas, then its far easier for some prick to show us his new wiper blades and whats wrong on ebay, its what YOUR creating and why it will strangle you I'm afraid.

If we try and have some fun on the competition forum to keep an post lively on the forum then the police and admin's are in again telling us to stick to the topic or else DELETE or your thread will be removed, fair play, play elsewhere, its seems that what you want.

Go back 2 or 3 years and have a look, and there are a lot of superb builds coming along that have not posted for the reasons above, but stick to fitting mudflaps and LED lights if thats what you want.

That's a shame. I would like, some time in the future, to build a 4-wheel steer, air suspension replica of the Warthog from the Halo games - partly because I really like the visual design of the games, partly for the challenge of building the project, and partly to have a trialler that I can get into that scene when I retire (long way off yet). I can't see why it would automatically fail to be road legal, either - there would be a lot of hoops to jump through, SVA just being one of them, but with a lot of research and planning, I suspect it's possible.

Some of the "policing" going on is quite inaccurate. Some is due to individual interpretation, and some will be pointing fingers my way when I say that, perhaps justifiably. The best thing would be if people raise concerns about legalities of certain vehicles in a constructive manner as sometimes the owner may benefit if they were unaware of potential problems, but avoid blanket and negative comments that don't explain or justify concerns. The same applies to the "pass the bucket" type threads, where individuals are running down others just because the can. There are many things I see that I don't like or agree with, but when I wade in, I'll try to give a technical explanation why I don't feel an idea is a good one (eg. a recent post in a thread about oversize wheels and tyres), but I think blunt criticisms without explanation is a bullying culture and really needs to stop.

[Nigelw]

Forum police full stop.

I did not put on my new hydrosteer project last year because i would start by stating it is an off roader and only off roader but it would be followed by countless post telling us again of why it can never be driven on the road,

My Supercharged 5 litre V8 build will not be on for the same reason, nor will my Toyota 80 axle on to Land-rover chassis project which is just about to start, purely because I'll get fed up of "bolt on babies" telling me whats wrong or why it wont work and eventually it becomes a chore to try and share ideas, then its far easier for some prick to show us his new wiper blades and whats wrong on ebay, its what YOUR creating and why it will strangle you I'm afraid.

If we try and have some fun on the competition forum to keep an post lively on the forum then the police and admin's are in again telling us to stick to the topic or else DELETE or your thread will be removed, fair play, play elsewhere, its seems that what you want.

Go back 2 or 3 years and have a look, and there are a lot of superb builds coming along that have not posted for the reasons above, but stick to fitting mudflaps and LED lights if thats what you want.

Sorry but I just got a little annoyed by that!!!

Do you know I would and I am sure others would love to read threads on those vehicles, I am especially interested in the hydrosteer!!! But if it is what the rest have to say and those that just pick holes then you don't have to read them posts and just continue with your build, the only things to note are posts offering advice(and I mean if it looks like yr stuck or have hit a prob type advice) and as for the nay sayers ignore them, I hardly ever get a comment on any of my build threads but it's no bother to me whether they are good or bad, good is better but the bad just gets glanced at glossed over as that person has a view that does not relate to me nor my project or the aims being achieved by the project.

Boothy I think you should actually look at the V8 porn thread and see for yourself how Nige has often skipped over comments and posted what he has done rather than used his thread as a discussion point, maybe you should do the same? Don't let criticism become the death of the forum just because you don't like it, take the attitude of " LIKE I GIVE A F**k" and carry on, this is a techy forum but without the threads and builds on the more outlandish and untrodden paths there will only be old tech and nothing new will come forward for fear of scrutiny.

Sorry to all for the ramble, just wish I had the funds and the ingenuity to pull something like that off, but will carry on refurbing the Disco in stead.

[dirtydiesel]

So between SimonR's jimny build, tomcat404's buggy, Zims new buggy. Boothys new car, my projects and others........

Just how much tech is lr4x4 loseing!!!!

[Bowie69]

Thicker skins required then!

DD, your roll cage project and PTO re-work were fantastic reads actually, really enjoyed it, as no doubt I would any other build threads.