mike65

So the BBC used the picture from the good side. Should be fixable after all the 2 Mk1's were much worse. MIKE

It is still sitting/floating thesr so I took a picture whilst I was down there. Mike

A Spitfire has come down in Kent http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-34174822 This appears to be the T9 that is based in Germany and would have been heading for Goodwood Thankfully nobody appears to have been hurt and plane dows not look too bad. Mike

Yes I spotted that, so that is 2 trips to Goodwood in 3 days for me. Currently there are 36 Spitfires, 8 Hurricanes and 1 Blenheim on the list. Entry to Goodwood on the day is by ticket only https://grrc.goodwood.com/battle-of-britain/battle-of-britain-day-flypast#Jb666F1pIu5o7TL3.97 Suppose they need to control numbers (it is free though) After take off they are splitting up into groups and covering a large swathe of Southern England before landing at various places. Mike

I shall be there always enjoy days out at Old Warden, hopefully no mishaps this year. For those who have never been it is well worth it. Not the massive hussle and bussle as you get at Duxford and the likes and nice friendly atmosphere. Oh yes and if you like the odd picture but not of dots, the display line is one of the closest I can think of. No need for that ultra long lense. In fact last year I believe I entertained a few people with the words "damn its too close" as the Spitfire made its last pass. Must remember - will not need long lense for Vulcan. Mike

Well having read the book you are not that far wrong. The airframe is completely new. The tyres are of course brand spanking new, remanufactured to original bald type at great expense. De Havilland 2 pitch propellor was reverse engineered from crash salvage, as no plans available. There are a few iriginal parts that are not critical and could be salvaged. The engine block is the one that was in it when it crashed, been rebuilt of course. The guns in it are not original as the French army had them away shortly after it was dragged up the beach. They actually fired one. Mike

Let me know how you get on, I have a grumbling thrust bearing . There is one good thing about a military Land Rover. The gearbox has a removable cross member for those occassions when you need to remove a gearbox. Beats the civvy job of remove the interior seats and all. I believe you can just do the clutch by moving the gearbox backwards. Still not an easy job Mike

Well I have managed to survice the winter and the truck has passed another MOT. Due to rule changes I am driving around displaying an out of date tax disc Maybe I should remove it and ree up a huge section of windscreen. Between the rain I have managed to clean up a replacement wheel and some YUAAM boxes. Weather now seems to have picked up so I have stripped the dexion of the 351 bits and bracket and added another mount to the radio table. Thought I better see if things fit. Seems OK Not sure do you think I have enough in there? Mike

When I did mine I took the drivers floor plate out, makes like a bit easier for removing the cover plate that bolts to the front of the transfer box. But you still need to be a bit of a contortionist. I did not bother draining my transfer box as mine was a bit of a big failure and most of it was on the driveway in any event. The joys of a sloping drive. Mike

My 109 runs two 075 batteries in the standard location Mike

Well according to one of my manuals, does not say 3mb or 5mbso assume they are the same. 7:1 comp head = 145 8:1 comp head= 160 both should be at 300 rpm But looks like you are well out on all Mike

Whilst trawling a few websites I cam across this. Has to be the perfect TV stand for any MV enthusiast. Except maybe us Land Rover ones:D Alternatively he may have forgot to sort the brakes, Mike

Neil Fingers crossed for you and I hope it is the head gasket. IIRC you said you initially drove it and had an issue which was resolver by retorquing the head as it was loose. This may well have damaged the gasket and it hence failed. Although would expect a bit more than . Mike

Yes they are normally mounted under the bonnet by the servo, mine has a very nice shiney expensive replacement one there but it refuses to work correctly or for more than 5 minutes. So I obtained and mounted one inside where it can be adjusted easily and works no problem. Oh yes and it was a much cheaper switch. Mike

All new Land Rover brake light switches are a PITA. They cannot make things like they used to, you need a very sensitive switch and the patience of a saint to adjusted and readjusted avery trip. The prblem is the switch is mounted almost on the pivot fulcrum of the brake pedal. I adjusted mine 3 times going to Duxford last year. Before I left, before going down the runway, before going home, each time it stopped working very quickly. It was an expensive switch not a Britpart one, that might actually have worked:undecided: I have now made a slight modification that works every time regardless of how long it is left and was really easy to adjust. This was done following a chat with the MOT tester, who spent a while getting it working for the MOT. He said it was a common fault these days and there was one good way of fixing it which he has seen on a few occassions. So my break light switch is now located here All you need is a switch that is ON in the out position and a home nade bracket. Mike

Excellent news on the MOT and congrats on all the hard work paying off. looking forward to seeing your personalisation progress, that will probably be the expensive bit. I find the satisfaction you get from actually doing something yourself to be one of the best things about our slightly insane hobby. Good to see you shared it around aswell. Mine is only on here and EMLRA (http://www.emlra.org) Mike PS If only I could get through mine as quick, maybe I should stop driving it:D

I find most flexihoses are between two metal pipes. If this is the case you can make the new metal pipes up with a metric end for the flexihose and an imperial end for the other connector. Mike

So what about Buffalo Airways who operate DC3s on scheduled passenger flights. Not forget a C46 http://www.buffaloairways.com/index.php?page=passenger-service Mike PS: I watch Discovery channel

I totally agree, it is an outstanding collection. It is well worth a visit to their open day to view in a field, with interspersed technical talks by some very knowledgeable people on all things Land Rover. The 2013 one on the evolution of the WMIK was very good. Next years open day is on the list already. http://www.dunsfoldcollection.co.uk/open-days

You can however go flying in a Spitfire but only if you can reach the bottom of your deep pockets. http://www.boultbeeflightacademy.co.uk/#!passenger-flights/c1exu Mike Currently delving down the cushions of any sofa I can get at:D

mike65

Next on the agenda was to fix the blowing exhaust, it has been doing that for ages but it has passed MOTs with help from gun gum. I always new it blew where the manifold and downpipe met, but seemed to be getting worse. So it was strip the manifolds off it only had gaskets on the inlet manifold (I know its an option) Hmm it appears to be blowing at No. 4 and is that a crack? Gentle tap with the specialist percussive maintenance tool and it was definitely a crack. Good job I had already bought a new one. Whilst in bits I decided to try out the other thing I did over the summer, I built this Air inlet pipe before and after It then got painted and refitted. i also took the opportunity to change the carb over as this one never seemed to want to run right. Now has a proper Zenith 361V (at least that is what is on the side). Replaced gaskets and cleaned up and fitted. It now seems to tickover more reliably, starts better, revs better, all I need to do is see if it runs better, a job for the weekend. So far it seems to be one of the best tenners I have spent. Mike

Well another summer has passed us by and I seem to have got nothing done on the truck. I reckon the only thing slower than s Series 3 is my restoration pace.. My excuse was the weather was good so I went out to play, OK only once Shortly after this weekend it rained most or was alternatively busy. Bank holiday weekend I noticed a new oil leak. Then went to Bournemouth for the airshow. Got homw and OPEC had set up camp on my driveway. Sloping drives are very good for letting the oil run out passed a failed front oil seal on the transfer box. So floor out and prop off Those old leather and steel seals are right pigs to get out. Cleaned chassis and painted the floor UJs on the prop were a little bit stiff but a good clean, paint and a large injection of fresh grease fixed that. That is an improvement. Mike

You are a lucky bloke.That's two recent lucky saves. Have you bought a lottery ticket? They say things come in threes. Mike

I found a rat rod kit for a Dodge Mike