friday

Vini mate, you're a bloomin' star, thanks chap! If you find them let me know how much for P&P etc and I'll sort you out :) Would be great to have some to play around with, as until I get the filter sorted and finalised I can't move any further with it. Cheers chap! :)

I'm currently designing a snorkel for a Land Rover Defender but hopefully with a difference: a built in air filter. I was going to build a housing for K&N's brand new, state of the art, enclosed filter (as I've got one already) but it's a pricey bugger and ideally I'd prefer to be able to fit a filter in the existing pipe work without having to fabricate anything else. As the majority of car filters are quite large they won't fit in the 3" diameter pipe. The ones that do, like one from ITG's range, work out to be as expensive as the Apollo. However, it's been suggested to me that bike filters might be the way to go. Someone suggested filters for Harleys due to their size and a CFM rating that would be more than adequate. I know there are a few bikers on the site and i was wondering if you guys could think of a filter that would be suitable and reasonably priced? If you could point me in the right direction that would be great! :) Cheers, Leigh.

Cheers for the advice chaps. Seems like PayPal it is next time...just got to get over my deep mistrust of it's payment wizardry! :rolleyes:

Unfortunately I didn't pay via PayPal :( It was delivered via registered delivery so I believe that insures it up to a certain value...but I'm probably wrong! trouble is, I don't see how it could've happened in transit as the packaging was secure and undamaged. Item number is: 330174264820 :http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330174264820&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=014

I don't use Ebay that much, I've bought and sold a few things but nothing major and I certainly don't know all of the tricks and traps. I recently bought a second hand MOMO steering wheel from a woman who described it as in perfect condition accept for a slight scuff on the centre boss. It arrived today and, yep, the scuff is there (albeit slightly larger than she made out, but no biggie) BUT, there's what appears to be damage caused by a sharp object in the form of a noticeable 1 inch cut on the outside of the wheel. I really don't see how this could've happened during transit so I emailed her, very politely, to tell her, and, giving her the benefit of the doubt, said that I wondered if it might've occurred during packaging (maybe with a knife when cutting tape?). She's replied back categorically stating that there was no damage when it was sent. My question is, what do I do now? Do I leave negative feedback and be done with it? Or something else? Or do I just chalk it up to experience? I'm a bit worried about leaving negative feedback as she hasn't left any for me yet and I reckon she might go down the "tit-for-tat" route...:( Advice appreciated! Cheers, Leigh.

Lol! Thought that was where this was going! :rofl: You missed out "haven't driven my Z in nearly 3 years and so p1ssed off I've considered torching the fecker"! :rofl: ;)

Solihull, about 10mins in good traffic from the NEC....[cautious mode]....Why Pete....? [/cautious mode] ;)

Not too sure about the orange. It's good but might look a bit OTT on a standard car. Like the idea of gunmetal grey...or if you fancy going non OEM take a look at the almost battleship grey used on the Lamborghini 640...very nice indeed. BTW, while I'm here and talking about spraying...is the offer still there to borrow your gun chap? If so...yes please! :D ;) Edit: BTW, do you mind me asking which bodyshop are you using? Still in need of one to respray the Z! :)

Although I'm putting in SPA gauges for the Z project (and fabbing up the custom carbon fibre binnacle for JD as we speak ;)) I need something a little less...er...expensive for my Landy project. Being a glutton for punishment (and since I don't have enough to do already :rolleyes: ) I'm gutting the cabin, making a metal/fibreglass hybrid dash which is going to be flocked (preferably by me, rather than sending it away, if I can find someone good at electrics to build the flocking equipment I have the circuit diagrams for! Anyone game and fancy helping me out? :) ;)), installing this which I bought last week for a knockdown price with all the upgrades: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110179076643&sspagename=ADME:X:RTQ:UK:11 and fitting some Z seats (hopefully retrimmed eventually by my other half). Throughout all of this the rule is, "if it isn't cheap or something I can do myself it won't be done", as all my finances are still being poured into the V8 Z engine build. So, I need some gauges for the dash. Ideally either of two extremes would suit the build: either a very traditional "classic car" look or very modern with digital readout but TBH anything at a good price would be considered! What would people recommend?

Stunning.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6589157.stm http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070424_hab_exoplanet.html http://www.allthesky.com/constellations/lib35.html http://cosmographica.com/gallery/extrasolar/Gliese581c/index.html http://gnews.wustl.edu/gn131/gliese581c.htm Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space. Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (While you're at it, check out the rest of Don Dixon's art when you follow the fourth link. Breathtaking stuff.)

Chap on my Land Rover forum was one of the main guys behind getting her off the ground...he's been posting progress reports for a while now on the project. great to see her airbourne and back where she should be :)

Site was too busy when I checked the link Chris, but...just been signed up as a Beta tester for HG. Which is nice :)

Alright mate :) Well, found out that the TD it (which cost the owner before the one I bought it off just over £1000 fitted!) is a bit on the sh@gged side but luckily I managed to get hold of decent 200Tdi Disco engine for £500 inc rad, intercooler and all the pipework the other week so I'll hopefully be dropping that in soon. I'm hoping for much better fuel economy with the Tdi than the TD (tbh, it's only not so great when I'm caning it on the motorway...and by caning it I mean topping out at 73mph on a downhill stretch with the wind behind me :D ). When I'm not working on the Z I've decided to design and build a custom made ally snorkel...which is a bit mad...here's some bits and pieces ripped from my posts on one of the Landy sites as there's a possibility I might make a few up for other owners if it all comes together: From my other car projects I've been lucky to get to know a couple of excellent fabricators and it was while talking to one of them recently, a great chap called John who runs John Sharp Engineering in Leicester, that the subject of Landrovers and offroading came up. The upshot being, we've decided to design and build a custom made ally snorkel for my 90. What I'm wondering is if this is something that other owners would be interested in? I know a lot of owners tend to build them themselves from plastic piping which I can understand, but speaking personally, for my peace of mind I'd rather have something a bit more substantial...plastic piping won't take much in the way of damage if it comes into contact with some of the local flora while off-roading...hence constructing it out of ally (on a side note, we're currently looking at the snorkel entering the bay from the flat top of the passengers side front wheel arch rather than in from the side. This is to minimise the chance of it taking a major knock. Whilst ally is going to be far more durable than plastic, a tree or large branch could still be problematic so the less parts standing proud from the sides of the vehicle the better we thought). One of the other major differences between the plans for this snorkel and the others already out there is that it will house the air filter. By keeping the filter under the bonnet it brings with it a possible issue: if the filter box is not entirely water tight, the car is partially submerged and there is water ingress in the bay, the filter will suffer the consequences. By using an in-line filter inside the snorkel "upright", you are keeping it well away. The other significant bonus of siting it in the snorkel is that it will receive a far cooler air feed and, hopefully anyway, greatly improve it's performance. At the moment we're thinking of making it so that an "off the shelf" top duct can be used. A forward facing top would suit best rather than the "mushroom" style to maximise the ram-air effect. However, there's a possibility that we might make one of our own to go with it all, again in ally. As it stands at the moment, we're only making one, in case there are any problems, but if people are interested and all goes well, I know John would be willing to make more. Price is an unknown at this stage and is obviously going to be a major part of most peoples decision (along with the final design and possible the aesthetics of the snorkel) but that will be known for definate once mine is finished. Hey, it keeps me out of trouble! :D Only problem is, just been quoted £155 for K&N's Apollo enclosed air filter ( http://knfilters.com/universal/apollo.htm ) which is a damn sight more than I wanted to pay! Need to find some decent in-line filters that would be up to the job...so far drawing a blank unfortunately. Hope you have some good luck in finding a decent Tdi yourself chap. Whats the availability like over there?

Hi. I'm waiting for Chris (from the previous post) to get back in touch with me and a response from a talented student web designer I was introduced to recently but as yet nothing has been agreed upon. Are you offering your services? :) If so, feel free to drop me a line on friday76@lycos.com All the best, Leigh.

Thanks chaps. Not in a desperate hurry as I'd be quite happy with the seats as they are at the moment, but it's something I'd definately do if a cheap option became available. Anything around the £200 mark would be ideal. If anyone else has any other alternatives it would be good to hear them :)

After my 7th or 8th surgery (can't remember exactly which...which I know sounds bizarre) which didn't go to plan I ended up in hospital for 3 months during which time I contracted MRSA which manifested itself in my wound site (it stopped healing and essentially started disintegrating into mush). I went from being unwell but healing to unwell and deteriorating very quickly and I have to say it scared the living hell out of me. Thankfully I was one of the lucky ones that managed to fight it off but I always think how things could've turned out very differently as I was already severely underweight, weak, anaemic, with a very low immune system (kept suppressed on purpose with medication) and already on several courses of anti-biotics. Having been in and out of hospitals all my life I've seen first hand how poorly they are kept. The cleaning staff are, quite often, a joke. While I was barriered they used to swan in and out without masks, gloves or disinfecting their hands then move right on to the next bed. Even now, it's hardly any different. TBH, I'm suprised the situation isn't worse than it's reported to be. I should say that the quality of the cleaning service is only one aspect that needs addressing. The care system doesn't just need a massive injection of money but a complete overhaul and re-evaluation of the current standards otherwise it's only going to get much, much worse :(

Still considering my options in regards to putting non-Land Rover seats in my Landy. Thanks to Mr Dixon I have a pair of Z32 cloth seats anytime I want them, however, it would be nice at some point to tart them up a little (particularly handy when I eventually come to sell it) so...what are the cheapest leather or (more likely) vinyl seat covers out there for the Z32? I know with most of the cheaper options, if you fit them yourself they ruck and gather like nobodies business. Although I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible I'd definately pay to get them put on by a pro as there's nothing worse than seats that are poorly fitted...I'd rather keep them cloth. Cheers, Leigh.

Or just put a VH45DE in it...

Would be ideal if they'll retrim your door cards/panels as well...reckon Plum and Charcoal could look pretty good together as well...not something I would've immediately thought of but definately could look the part! Think I'll be giving them a bell on Monday to see what they say...still thinking about the Z32/Mazda swap but keeping my options open! Cheers Mark :)

You're not as green as you are cabbage looking you know Mark! :D ;) That's a damn good idea! Yep, Telford isn't that far and it would be worth the trip to get a pair of decent seats (providing they're comfy!...I sound like an old codger don't I? Lol! :D). Did you speak to anyone in particular about them before mate? If not I'll give them a bell and see what they say! If it's around that price it's definately do-able...plus it'll help the resale value when I eventually part with her (not yet I hasten to add...I've got a 200Tdi lump sitting in the workshop at the moment waiting to be shoehorned in...glutton for punishment? Me? Nah....:D ;))

Lol! :rofl: :D ;) That did go through my mind matey...you could fit two of me in them buggers with room for a little one! :rofl: :D

Cheers for that :) The price isn't as bad as I thought...just not sure if I like the style of them. Will bear them in mind though as I imagine they are comfy as hell! :)

That's interesting to hear chap, think I'll get on Google now and see if i can rustle up a few images! You don't happen to have any pics yourself by any chance? Would be great to see if you do! Have to get something sorted as I'm so thin and bony at the moment through my ghey dodgy health you could use me as a xylophone! Lol! :D Mind you...I've just spyed a set of Mk1 seats with slight damage to the arms going cheap...and after getting off the phone 5 minutes ago to a guy in Cov who will recover them in leather for £180 cash the pair, the MX5 route is still tempting...they're just so damn comfortable! Will be interesting to see how much I can pick up Vogue seats for as that will probably swing it for me :)

Need a bit of advice if that's ok. The seats in my new..er...old Landy 90 are a bit bloody uncomfortable on long journeys particularly as I'm a bony bugger! Been thinking it would be great to take out the old ones and replace them with Z seats (or possibly Mazda MX5 seats as, aside from the Z, they are the most comfortable seats I've EVER sat in). How much is involved in swapping them over? Is it just a case of welding some Landy subframes to the base of the new seats? Would there be any MOT issues? I can't weld for toffee so would have to find someone to do it though :( But, saying that, something has to be done as I can't carry on like I am. Senor Dixon has, very kindly, offered me his spare cloth Z seat which would be absolutely spot on...athough I have to admit I'm watching these at the moment on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280160953341&indexURL=0&photoDisplayType=2#ebayphotohosting If it's do-able (and not going to be expensive as the coffers are well and truly running dry at the moment) it would be great to know so I can place a bid :) Cheers, Leigh.