No its not broken its just an ongoing resoration project )

[nicks90]

blahblahblah - love hate love hate
Nick

I guess the posts reflect the Love/Hate relationships one has with one's Land Rovers...

Bit confusing though for Richard - same person, two opposing recommendations!

i know, i know. Time to quantify
A 90 is a brilliant trialler 'out of the box'.

But i still think a 90 is flawed as a daily drive. I drive mine every day and if i had to do any significant mileage it would be gone like a flash. Its cramped, uncomfy, damp, noisy and hardly the most practical vehicle. The thought of having to spend more than an hour a day at A road or motorway speeds would drive me to suicide. I do love my 90, honestly i do, but i am not blind to its many shortcomings and would definitely get rid if i had to do any real 'driving' in it. Maybe i'm just spoilt as i drive a disco2 at a weekend.
There are Jap alternatives that can make good trials machines, i was just highlighting them. And most of them are more car like day to day than a 90.



Richard, apologies for being confusing. But my 90 really winds me up sometimes and at the moment its really doing my nut in.
You fitted extended shackles on the front axle of your jeep havent you? If you have that will affect the castor angle and therefore affect your steering and might be why it wanders about. And simex-alikes are noisy wandery things anyway! Could be a few slight tweeks, a change to normal mud tyres and an lpg kit could sort your problems and you end up keeping the jeep

nick

[tecnick]

Please disregard Matthews comment, I always talk total sense and am never scatter brained or useless. There, record straight.

Cheers Nick

[Zedman]

The front shackles went last weekend, it wasnt to improve the steering but to avoid them digging in on sections, steering improvement will be a bonus ).

I would like to say after browsing Ebay, Autotrader and reading a few Land Rover mags the array of vehicles and parts is is impressive, the total opposite of the Jeep, I'm dreading anything seriously going wrong with the Jeep)

I have not made any decisions yet but I can now see why so many people favour the Land Rover route.

Another big consideration will be if I can rent a garage come workshop near where I live in Knaresborough as this will have serious implication on work I would be able to carry out on a new vehicle.

The 90 still looks tempting as it would primeraly be used for trials and a short 4 mile commute to work, but lets see whats on offer when I have saved up a bit of cash ).

[Matthews]

One of the main reason the Grren Ovals are so popular in this country is modification/repair/running costs compared to using Jeep or Jap products, in a different part of the world things are completely different but over here they are bloody good value for money as well as being very capable in the conditions we have in this country. They fit our market and what we want to do with them.
Nick has a very good point about the 90 not being the most comfortable daily drive but it's not that bad on long journeys as long as your not doing them every day (I drive the 90 to southern Ireland to do events without any major complaints but it's no where near as nice as the Disco or Legacy for long journeys).
You've got to look as your primary usage and needs and pick the best motor for the job within your budget.
BTW the 110 was by far superior to the 90 in every aspect apart from squeezing through forests and turning round canes but it was competitive for the years I ran it and you could carry all the c**p you wanted in the back .
Matthew

[Zedman]

Bearing in mind the wife has a Skoda if I need a normal car.

I think I have found something that really appeals, it looks like a Jimny but its really er...... mini defender/ disco ????

http://www.automotto.org/entry/f8-from- ... n-vehicle/

I'm not sure how pricy it will turn out, 6k for the kit plus a donor disco and then all the other stuff you never thought of (but secretly suspect you would need but never told the wife)

Actualy compared to a Mint condition defender with brand new chassis etc does it sound that bad ?

Mathews I might be wanting a quote for assembling one please, at the moment its just pie in the sky but its the first option that ticks every single box, but price dependant )


The galv chassis photos )))))))))))

[Matthews]

Richard , go for it as it'll pay for me a new motor in the near future, don't even go there unless you've got a spare 20k+.

[davew]

I've looked at Ibex just about every time I've come to changing one of my motors and always come to the same conclusion... they're a LOT of money for what you get.

The new one is an improvement as it's supposed to be a lot lighter than the old one (not seen any figures yet though). Not a bad thing as, compared to a Defender they're normally a lot heavier. As a comparison, mine weighs around 2.3 tonnes with all the gear and occupants on board - the two Ibex weighed at the same time in similar trim came in at 3.4 tonnes each...

There's a lot of excess steel in them, all galvanised so it weighs more than plain steel. You also need to buy a complete Defender as a donor because you need the dashboard, all the running gear and so on. They are stronger than a Defender but if you fit a roll hoop inside a Defender the Defender is just as strong.

If you're looking at that sort of money it'd be simpler to buy an MOT fail Defender and rebuild it with a galvanised chassis and a galvanised bulkhead. No SVA/IVA to worry about either !

Don't get me wrong, I love Ibex but having seen so many of them built I've never seen one come in under budget

[Zedman]

Seems the 3.4 Tonne Ibex is a none viable option, can anyone fill me in on the pros and cons of a Light Weight, price seems very cheap and must be for a reason, plus I'm not sure what "free wheeling hubs" are.

As a pure trials machine and a prefferance to being a little bit different (can also be taken as having a larf and taking much enjoyment in beating folks in more expensive machines) what do you make of the following, the price will allow a fair bit of spare cash for renovation and mods, i have no idea what the lightweight refers to, None rust Aly chassis ?

tax exempt appeals to the Yorkshire man in me )

Ohh and its diesel, never had one before but after that Langdale Ford they seem a good idea, likley mpg anyone ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Lightweight-Land- ... 45f5c650ef

[Bo]

Hmmm! where do we start?
The Lightweight is a basic series 2a Landrover (yes I know you can't get much more basic than a series but trust me they are) built with narrower bodywork to allow it to be air freighted by the military. They are very compact inside, leaf sprung and have selectable 2 or 4 wheel drive. The freewheel hubs you mention are not standard and are designed to disconnect the drive from the front wheels, so stopping the axle and propshaft etc turning when being driven in 2 wheel drive. When selecting 4 wd you must reconect the hubs to get drive at the front. I had a Lightweight with a V8 in it (as did Matthew and probably a few more in the club) I loved it but was a lot younger then and put up with its inherent problems of ill fitting panels that let the rain in, lack of space, crap brakes, no power steering, having to remove the drivers seat to fill up with fuel, a lack of syncro on first gear and acres of rust. Most lightweights will be 30yrs plus now (don't rely on the reg plate as most were registered at their demob date) so rust must be a major concern, especially across the vent panel under the windscreen. These are no longer available and can fetch £300 second hand. I periodically promise my self another as a toy which I would build on a galv coil sprung chassis with a 300tdi in it but then after a couple of days or once the beers worn off I slap my head and come back to reality.
Nige has one fitted with a TDi, when he eventually comes out to play you could have a chat to him about his experience.

[Matthews]

Uncomfortable, cramped, crap brakes, crap suspension, crap interior,crap wipers, you need full waterproofs on inside when it rains and full thermals when it's cold (sorry forgot crap/none existant heater), crap engine, impossible to get hold of body panels when it rusts/you bend it.
I had one for 8 or 10 years but would never have another (mine did end up as V8 coiler with auto/ p/steering and full spaceframe body/cage by the time I'd finished with it .

Eventually Richard you'll come to the same conclusion as most of us
If you've got a bottomless wallet you can have whatever you want, if like most of us your on a limited budget and want a vehicle that usually does a good job at everything you'll get a 90/110 or a Disco.
Matthew

[Zedman]

"mine did end up as V8 coiler with auto/ p/steering and full spaceframe body/cage by the time I'd finished with it "

And did you fall in love with it, and did you reget letting it go, and do you still have tabs on it ?

And does everyone go down the same route only to move onto a disco as they get old ?

[tecnick]

Here we go again, with 6k you could find a really great 200/300 tdi 90 with a galv chassis and throw all the bits you fancy including lift (if you like) and tyres . Mine was just over 3k and seems fine so far, does 70 on road with all my kit in the back, if I find another speaker I could also listen to the radio.

I have tried or thought about other motors but hope to own this one for a VERY long time.

Buy one, use it, if you dont like it, sell it and you will get your money back. In fact, sell it to Phil who will then sell it again.

Cheers Nick

[Zedman]

Mathew, to put a little perspective on the topic.. how did the old "Hybrid" compare to your current very capable truck in pure club trialing ability £ per Smiles ?


Forget the on road stuff, I have a car for that if ever needed, nearly came to a club meeting but the thought of driving the Skoda with no off road fun at the end of it put me off )

[Jabba]

I also had a lightweight similar to the one on ebay. 2.5TD engine. Mine had overdrive and 4.1 ratio diffs and flew on road. I never really tried it off road but it had all the 'problems' of a series vehicle - leaf springs giving a hard ride, no power steering, drum brakes that are useless after a bit of water. As others have said, the heater is next to useless and does nothing to demist the screen. The door is even closer to your elbow so you really have to keep them close while trying to drag the steering round.

However, I had both soft and hard tops for it and loved having the roof off in good weather. It was a 'fun' motor while I was younger and more able to tolerate that. I did miss the comforts of coils, disc brakes and PS. I do still have fond memories of it but would not get one again.

I can't comment on the cost of panels as I never had to do anything to them and managed to source quite a few bits secondhand.

You are looking to change from your Jeep because, it rattles, has a hard ride, keeps breaking or bits fall off and it's expensive to repair. Why are you even considering a Lightweight?

[kingsonlim]

Richard, I had an 88" Series 2a, heavily modified as a challenge vehicle. However, I WILL not be going back to a leaf sprung 4x4 ever again, mainly for all the discomfort Matthew mentioned. However, if I am to build another challenge vehicle, I will do a 100" hybrid, similar to what Dave did (if i can afford the V8 in his) but matched with a 300tdi, auto. This is UK, any other 4x4 that doesn't originate from here are bound by expensive parts, which again may be hard to sourced too.

I somehow gathered that you wanted something special, different from everyone else. How about the forward control 101". Tho sourcing parts are also a pain too. Or do up a Series 1 hybrid on coils. Many people did, but have mostly disappeared now.