6-Wheel Drive Discovery II - Am I totally mad ?

dave658 said:

...`but I'm not sure about the legality in terms of on-road use and how easy it would to get past the IVA scrutineers...`

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I`d have thought they`d give you extra credit for thinking it through rather than seek to penalise you.

The headlights do bother me, the standard facelift lights are already desirable and easily nicked, and the mods I have made potentially make them even more desirable. The rear lights, which are being modded right now, will also fall into this bracket I think, and in some ways are even easier to steal. I think I'll just need to invest in a 20' long steel safe !

There are special security straps available that are visible at the front, will secure and do deter undersirables. I`d use them AND put grills over them too, you know the OFF-ROAD Bearmach type with inaccessible securing points.

Me likes that a lot!

one of the first shows i went to was at Peterborough some years ago and there was a six wheeled range rover looked great spoke to owner said had nothing but probs was not allowed to carry anyone in it and they was an issue vosa classed as a cut and shove so make sure all you do will be good

There are special security straps available......called dog leads. A couple of Rotties might help....

Malcolmcelyn said:

There are special security straps available......called dog leads. A couple of Rotties might help....

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I wholly agree that I need something to stop the thieving ba****ds, but I am really torn about which way to go. I am putting huge effort into the aesthetics of this car, and although a visible deterrent is good, it looks like crap.

I borrowed this photo from the excellent post by Jordan at D2BC http://thed2boysclub.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=37918&start=84



He has gone for stronger mounting brackets to prevent the ease with which these lights can be removed and I think I prefer that route

Any thoughts ?

The only issue I see with Jordans mod to increase the strength of the brackets, Is that unless you have a label fitted to let thieves know they will potentially cause more damage to the surrounding area trying to remove them.

To deter the opportunist , I prefer a more visible means of security. Security bars or similar. Although I have seen how these can be overcome and cause damage to the bumper.

Cheers

neilly said:

The only issue I see with Jordans mod to increase the strength of the brackets, Is that unless you have a label fitted to let thieves know they will potentially cause more damage to the surrounding area trying to remove them.

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I absolutely agree, but it's the old dilemma - beauty over practicality

Well, good news and bad news. I got the engine to fire up yesterday

No cooling system (ok for a very brief test run) and no exhaust (VERRRY loud !)

But the good news is that the engine and the engine management both seem to be running just fine

The bad news is that under heavy load, the A/C pump on the left impacts with the metal bracket for the engine mount (could probably cut some metal off that without impacting its performance too much)

The worse news is that under similar loads, the alternator on the right impacts with the steering box , and I don't think I can cut any of that away !

I think I'm going to need a few days to think about this one, but it's been a mixed emotional weekend

You didn't start this thinking it'd all be easy did you?

I certainly find that your approach helps. Step back and think for a while.

If it helps, I'm about three weeks from seeing if my engine measurements meet the real world of the chassis - and I'm having preemptive nightmares involving the most ridiculous possibilities. That said, I already know that only the starter will fit on the sides of the cylinder block - the alternator has to go up into the V where the aircon was.

The problem is that although the engine initially slotted in quite nicely, the ancillaries are all a lot lower down on the AJ133 in comparison to the THOR which has the alternator and A/C in the V as you can see on these comparison pics

Thor V8


AJ133S


So what to do ? I could start with the arduous task of re-locating the alternator and A/C pump

Someone suggested using stiffer engine mounts to limit the movement of the engine, but that's also going to transfer a lot more vibration into the chassis, which won't be pleasant to drive

Anyone else face similar issues ?

I don't suppose that you have enough room in front of the engine (anywhere) to fit the alternator 'backwards' in the gap?

Well now here's a frisky idea. What about getting a steering box from a left-hand drive vehicle and fitting it on the right, but outside the chassis ? Looks like there may be room for it and I've seen something similar done on defenders



Any thoughts ?

dave658 said:

Well now here's a frisky idea. What about getting a steering box from a left-hand drive vehicle and fitting it on the right, but outside the chassis ? Looks like there may be room for it and I've seen something similar done on defenders

Any thoughts ?

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Sounds like what the old French cars did, left everything on their side and just put linkage bars to the right to make a right hand drive car, which tends to tear your legs to bits in a crash! Would you link it to the other side or jimmy something up so it worked as normal?
I might be talking blabble,
Looking great BTW!

RyanDay1 said:

Sounds like what the old French cars did, left everything on their side and just put linkage bars to the right to make a right hand drive car, which tends to tear your legs to bits in a crash! Would you link it to the other side or jimmy something up so it worked as normal?
I might be talking blabble,
Looking great BTW!

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No I'm not talking about putting the steering box on the wrong side of the car, it would still be on the driver's side, just on the outside of the chassis rather than the inside

That'll do it. And how lovely that it all works so that the link arm moves the same way as the road wheel.

Well I've had a good look at the space around the steering box, and mounting it on the outside of the chassis will require some collateral rework

1. I am going to have to relocate the chassis mount for the front axle panhard rod and customise the panhard rod length accordingly
2. Although the intention is to use a LHD steering box, I will need to use the drop arm from a RHD one (which I already have of course) and customise the drag link length accordingly
3. It looks like clearance of the ACE roll bar is going to be very tight, so I may need to tweak that too

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The good news however, is that my initial concerns about the intermediate steering shaft clashing with the shock absorber turret appear unfounded, there appears to be plenty of clearance for that.

So I've ordered an LHD steering box, then it's out with the angle grinder again !

Adjustable panhard rods are available (for users of lifted suspension) - might well have the scope for yours.

boguing said:

Adjustable panhard rods are available (for users of lifted suspension) - might well have the scope for yours.

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That's true, and in fact I have a bearmach adjustable panhard rod on there right now, but I don't think it's going to have the range necessary for the mod I'm going to have to do, but we'll see

Love your work! inspiring,

A thought on the alternator. Classic car builders are installing 'dynators' - an alternator mechanism built into a dynamo housing so that it looks original. They're quite a bit slimmer.

First link I found:-

http://www.fossewayperformance.co.uk/dynators-dynamos/