Hello from Yorkshire

Introduce yourself and your vehicles and post (or link to) photos
disco2hse
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:51 am
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by disco2hse »

Yes, I need to check and replace my fuel lines at some point.

The downside of having a roof tent on a Stage 1 is the width of the car. They are designed for these new wider vehicles that have good lateral stability, assisted braking and whatnot. With that much weight on your roof, it could make your vehicle quite top heavy. On the other hand, you can take a roof tent off but you can't take out a built in set of bunks so easily when you want to move stuff.
Alan

1983 ex-army FFR 109 Stage 1
2005 Disco 2 HSE TD5
CaptainSlow
Posts: 63
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:16 pm

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by CaptainSlow »

Thought I'd better post an update, if only to let you all know the Stage 1 is still in existence!

Well I'm still waiting for my friend to recon the gearbox, so the old girl hasn't moved since that memorable drive back - and the gearbox noise did actually do me some permanent damage - I now have tinnitus :roll: On the upside, I've seam sealed the fuel tank and painted it, plus I've sourced a few bits n bobs - the correct matching oil temp gauge for example. We've also sold the roof tent and will be replacing it with a ground tent - we're debating whether to get an Oztent RV4/5 or the cheaper Howling Moon copy which is around half the price but has a noticeably more flimsy frame...

I've also acquired a set of cappings which I'll refurbish and then fit on the landy to replace the painted ones that are currently fitted. I hate that look on a Series lol.

Apart from that I haven't done much at all on her - most of my time has been spent overhauling the daily driver (a classic volvo) and the house - the wedding has been booked for this December, so I very much doubt that the Stage 1 will be the wedding car unfortunately. We might just make it, but if we do, we'll only manage to use her as a basic 'rustic' landy, rather than as a fully overhauled one which is what I was hoping for :( I think I'm going to have to send the gearbox away as my friend keeps on finding other things to do and my gearbox keeps getting knocked down the list :(

I'm also considering fitting EFI to the engine. She runs very smoothly at the moment, but I think I'll see better reliability from her (and less going out of tune) if I fit EFI. Lots to think about, but don't worry, we're not selling her any time soon ;) In fact, its quite the opposite - we're still thinking of what we're going to do once she's actually drivable!!!
disco2hse
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:51 am
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by disco2hse »

We have the Oztent RV5. Brilliant piece of design and well made. The materials are high quality (remember that if the alternative is cheaper, there is a reason for that). We got the fly cover and extension walls too. They add a bit of cost but are well worth the expense. We took it for a test one year, during the worst storm that winter :? It stood up well but we also found where all the leaks would come in. I sealed all the seams with a PVA horse cover sealer after and it has not leaked since.
Alan

1983 ex-army FFR 109 Stage 1
2005 Disco 2 HSE TD5
CaptainSlow
Posts: 63
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:16 pm

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by CaptainSlow »

Thanks Alan, thats reassuring. Its hard to say that tent A is worth paying £500 more for than seemingly identical tent B - and lets face it, even the Howling Moon tent is hardly a cheap option!

While I'm on here, I don't suppose anyone has a good 109 Safari / Tropical roof that they want to sell on??? :D
CaptainSlow
Posts: 63
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:16 pm

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by CaptainSlow »

Just wanted to say hello to everyone again, and to reassure you that I still have my Stage One :D

Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to do any work on it as I've had too many other projects to attend to. The gearbox still hasn't been replaced (still waiting for my friend to help me with that), in fact all I've done is replace the fuel tank!

She's been on the back burner for a while as I've had a few disastrous car purchases (don't mention that cursed P38!!!) and I've to keep the missus happy too, so housey projects have taken priority, but I've given myself a deadline of 2020 as the absolute latest that she'll be roadworthy again! I think of her as sleeping beauty - she'll get her kiss of life eventually and then she'll blossom once again!

My current daily driver is a Discovery 2 V8 which needs some attention for the MoT, but I'm hoping to start doing 'stuff' with the Stage One this summer. At the moment she's a drinks cabinet - she keeps the tonic water lovely and cold ! :lol:

I keep looking at the pics on here (Alicerover in particular) and thinking that I'd really love my Stage One to be back on the road!
disco2hse
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:51 am
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by disco2hse »

Good to hear.

Snap! I had to replace the side tank on the weekend. The previous one has developed an annoying leak behind the bash plate layers somewhere.

So umm... what's the story about the P38 :lol:
Alan

1983 ex-army FFR 109 Stage 1
2005 Disco 2 HSE TD5
CaptainSlow
Posts: 63
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2015 6:16 pm

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by CaptainSlow »

The P38...

If I said 'beetlejuice beetlejuice beet...' (not going to risk tempting fate again!!!) The damned thing hated me.

I bought it off a friend - a 2001 P38 2.5DT in Monte Carlo Blue. Beautiful looking car that had previously had an overheating issue, but the engine had been replaced following that. I followed my friend home as I was going to give him a lift back to his place after the delivery. All fine, no exhaust smoke, no overheating, everything hunky dorey. He parks it up on my drive as I hadn't arranged insurance on it at that point, and I drove him home.

Insurance is then acquired, and the following weekend I take the wife out for a test drive. That was the plan anyway. I reversed it off the drive... and thats as far as we got. Total gearbox failure - the pump had died. So its recovered to the local LR indy who confirms that gearboxes can fail without any prior warning, so fair enough, my friend probably didn't know anything about it. £1600 later its collected and I drive home. It still doesn't feel quite right, perhaps a bit hesitant in changing gear, but it was driving ok otherwise. Maybe I was seeing something that wasn't there.

Starting was an issue, diagnosed as failed glowplugs, so I replaced them and noticed a lot of disconnected wiring. When I mentioned it to my friend, he said that the 'new' engine was actually an older generation so didn't have half the sensors fitted.. He didn't mention that little detail and I'm not impressed...

Two weeks later I find the P38 sitting on its bump stops - the rear airbags have suddenly started to leak. I replace these, and decide to renew the entire cooling system in order to prevent the replacement engine being damaged by overheating. It also gets a thorough service, so the bills have passed £2500 now. In 3 months.

The brakes start to feel a bit strange, so I take a look at the hoses etc, and find a big vacuum hose has split. And is missing securing clips. The vacuum pump has yellow paint, so its a used replacement and I suspect the pipe was never secured properly after that. New hose fitted, and away we go again. Heated screen fails. I can live without that. The radio sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. The dreaded 'handbook' icon appears on the climate control - it now needs a new blender motor. At least its stuck directing the airflow to the screen.

Apart from these niggles, its going reasonably well. Slow, noisy, but it has a fantastic wafty ride quality. List of faults continues to grow daily, then on the way home from work one day... whoosh! Massive overheat, head gasket gone.

So that was the last journey, which ended up on the back of an AA wagon. It was dropped off on my driveway and my friend bought it back for not a lot. I lost a lot of money on that car, but I was just glad to get rid of it in the end. Too many issues and bodged repairs, and the list of faults continued to grow on a daily basis.

When it was drivable, it was superbly comfy, albeit spoilt by the diesel clatter, but with the money already spent on it, and the amount needed to be spent on it there was no other option but to sell it as spares/repair heap of junk or just scrap it.

So that was the P38 fiasco. I hate P38s now. And so does my bank account.
disco2hse
Posts: 1637
Joined: Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:51 am
Location: Auckland NZ

Re: Hello from Yorkshire

Post by disco2hse »

Wow, but I gotta say. It was a P38 after all.

Ideas ahead of their technological time.
Alan

1983 ex-army FFR 109 Stage 1
2005 Disco 2 HSE TD5
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