Treewolf

Perhaps they have swordfish, not koi. I did see the report and had exactly the same thought as you - it is ridiculous get-up for a 'safe' area.

This isn't a new problem. When I was about 6, I was watching some builders working with a JCB when they dug though the phone cable service my parents' house and about a dozen others. All they did was reconnect the severed wires and backfill the hole. After a few days it dawned on all of us that we were all getting a lot of wrong number calls, and eventually the GPO (no BT back then) realised what had happened - all the severed "pairs" in the cable had been randomly reconnected, swapping all the numbers round. It took them about a week to sort it all out. I never found out what happened to the blokes who did the damage.

Thanks guys! I'll try to get some photos but it won't be till next weekend now. What you say makes sense though, since to start with the torx screw was rattling about loose, and although tickover was OK the engine simply wouldn't pick up beyond about half speed (and had no power, but that is probably to be expected at half speed). After I had screwed the torx screw in, with the throttle open, to get a decent running speed, then the idle is way to fast. I didn't realise that it was a fixed jet carb, but in view of this I will investigate further. Thanks again!

A little while ago I inherited a Stihl FS55 petrol strimmer and over the weekend I thought I'd see what if anything it could do. However I was having trouble getting the carb adjusted right, and my main problem was that the carb shown in the manual (downloaded from a Stihl website) is nothing like the carb on the cutter. The manual shows the conventional three-screw carb, but the cutter has only a single screw (with an LH thread) in the area where usually there are three, and a further screw (Torx socket head) just on the cylinder side of the plastic guide for the throttle cable. Randomly fiddling with these two screws got the machine running and cutting quite well, but the idle speed is way too fast. I can't seem to slow down the idle without also killing the cutting speed and power. Can anyone offer any advice on tuning a carb of this type? Sadly I have little knowledge of the history or age of the machine, or whether in the past it's had replacement parts fitted. Genearlly it seems to be little used and in pretty good condition, certainly too good just to chuck away. My intention if I can get it running properly is to keep it as a spare machine. Thanks.

Nowadays I either buy Genuine Parts, as long as it's not a reconditioned item such as a steering box, but more often I'll find out who supplies LR and go direct. For example Delphi for brakes, AP for clutch parts, Adwest for steering boxes. That way you get OEM quality without the huge price hike LR puts on, and the ridiculous overheads of the Caterpillar-contracted (I believe) supply chain. It seemed much cheaper in the old days when Unipart had the contract.

I don't remember EVER buying a Britpart part which wasn't defective in some way. I haven't bought many Britpart parts because I try to avoid them likwe the plague (so only when I've needed something in a hurry and nothing else has been available) but the list has included:- - A Disco2 air filter which didn't fit in the air filter housing - A set of Defender hub nuts which had the wrong number of TPI and destroyed the first stub axle (making the repair much more expensive) - A Defender door mirror which didn't fit the mirror arm. The most recent Britpart part I bought was a bump rubber for a Disco 2 (needed urgently because of an MOT). The original part's metal backing plate was perfectly formed and about 1.5mm thick; the replacement's was bent out of recognition and so thin you could bend it between finger and thumb like cardboard. The parts are cheap for a reason. Cheap LR parts are like cheap tools - more expensive in the long run. Buy quality, buy once.

I have to admit that when I think of the things that float down rivers, scrap metal isn't high on the list! Doesn't it tend to sink and stay where it's thrown in?

I have found KL71s tend to wear about twice as fast as BFG Muds. I am presently on my 3rd set of BFG Muds and managed to get 100k miles out of each of the last sets (the original pattern). Now on the KM2 type and they look as though they should do about the same. For me there is no other tyre!

That is indeed a rare vehicle and would make an intersting project. If I had the time/space/money I would be very tempted!

In that case you and your team are to be congratulated! Driving past now you'd never even know they'd been camped there. Brilliant job! As someone who drives that round everyday and takes great pleasure from doing so, please thank your team for their efforts.

Dodgy listing has now been pulled. So now we wait for the next one.

They arrived on the Kinston Lacey estate over the weekend, and were camped up under the famous avenue of pollarded beeches on Sunday and Monday nights. This morning they'd vanished like the dew in the morn, but (to my surprise) there didn't seem to be any refuse left behind, and didn't seem to be any damage done, at least not that I could see. I dunno how the Nat Trust managed to move them on so quick, unless of course they just went of their own accord. All the vehicles seemed to be transits with chip boxes or transits signwritten for tarmacing/roofing. The usual tethered ponies were also present.

Bearing in mind that all this user's account has done ins buy clothes, and not sell anything, and also that the wording of the ad seems much more sensible (eg price £6500 etc) and reads like a classified, then I have little doubt that the user's account has been hacked and the ad stolen from somewhere else. You wouldn't specify price £6500 in the body of the ad and then not set a reserve, unless you were stupid or dishonest! I would certainly not bid on this, and it is probably appropriate to report it to eBay.

No, it's ok, you're among friends here!

There's a guy on the Defender2 forum who is thinking of converting his 2002 Td5 DC to a USW and is looking for someone who'll swap his existing DC roof, cab rear etc, for the roof, sides, etc of a USW. Not sure if that's any good to you. Link to thread

Exactly! The voice of common sense.

Defender Puma 110 on portals, photo from the Defender2 forum:- Defender Puma 130 on portals, photo from Devon4x4 forum:- I believe in both cases these are the Tibus portals. Nice, eh?

One on eBay at the moment, a very interesting and rare vehicle and a great restoration project. Very tempted. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1960-Landrover-S...1219870244

You can now get purpose-built bolt-on portal kits for Defenders from Tibus off-road in Germany. Not cheap, but top quality and much more satisfactory than Mog or Volvo portals on a Defender. Wanted some for my 110 but SWMBO says "no", reckons she won't be able to climb in!

Perhaps it is actually an elaborate hoax intended to boost sales put about by another manufacturer. Mind you I haven't seen this much activity in such a short time on this forum since the "Favourite TV Girls" thread.

Outlawed on new vehicles in 1998 due to safety concerns. In a hard frontal the wheel can come through the windscreen and kill the occupants. So a bit like the 3rd front seat, LR could not obtain type-approval with a bonnet mount. You cannot legally retrofit a mount to a 1998-on vehicle even though a Tdi mount or bonnet will fit. Another victory for the interfering do-gooders!

Correct. It is illegal to fit a third front seat in current (or recent) Defenders since the seats must have type-approved 3-point belts.

No, you can't, and it would be illegal now anyway. Also I think illegal on Td5 models, although I'd have to look up the exact year. On the Puma bonnets you wouldn't see past the wheel anyway!

That is a priceless story! Sadly though it appears to be fictional, created to illustrate the legal complexities that can arise. See Ronald Opus

Provided that it is being used by someone who knows how to use it properly, a good scythe should always cut quicker and with less effort than a brushcutter. It is also silent in operation, and very much cheaper to run! However it is very evident that there are relatively few people to day who know how to use one, and for that matter how to sharpen one. I am sure that I remember being told (back in the '60s by an old Norfolkman who started his farming career as a harvester, harvesting with a scythe) that an acre was originally the area one man could harvest in a day with a scythe. Perhaps we should start a "scythes" thread!