may not be popular... lowering a FL1

gstuart said:

that's what spirit told me, or was it Dr who

can't seem to remember , lol

oh hang on could have been the dalaks

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EXTERMINATE!!!...i seem to remember thats what the daleks were good at...ish. I could do with a Dalek in my old barn to deal with the rodents!

Sorry, but i have thought about this, and there should be (sincerely) no criticism of Dan. He is a dyed in the wool good old fashioned British eccentric. Great inventions and really useful stuff throughout the ages has been spawned by such people.

So i say the best of luck in whatever he does....as long as there is no interference with the space time continuum.

Not really into sci-fi films, but may the force be with him.

Apparently you can put a Lexus v8 in and make it rwd

Diesel Do said:

Apparently you can put a Lexus v8 in and make it rwd

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Aww, thats a nice engine. had a LS400 with one of their V's in it.

Very good on fuel as well!

Guess I'm a bit late for this party . Sorry , I was a bit busy under my money pit to notice .
But as I tell my transport manager and all my customers , I am never late , just delayed .

Dan you seem like a bit of a saditionist , you started this wasps nest before you even had a freelander . I think in your heart you knew some old boys would get their feckles up ... But I do like your projects .

I used to go to V'dub meetings with a mate who was into it all . Do ya think the cal look boys slated the baja boys ? Or the classic look people slated the Cal peeps ? No , they had open minds and appreciated all forms and styles .

But sadly this does not transfer to Freelander members .
The freelander is a compromise for the masses , to give them that feeling they could go anywhere , but in truth that compromise is a sloppy handling S.U.V. that could go many places , but just not with the assurity and confidence of a defender , disco or even a range rover . It's a compromise .

So I fiddled with mine . It'll never go green laning . I got a 1959 swb landie with big fat tyres if I ever want to do that . Though I don't .
It's a road car . It's my all weather winter car for when the MG is tucked away in the garage .

So I changed all the suspension as it was so sloppy and had ridiculous body roll .

I fitted new strut mounts with new Monroe gas struts , and fitted new H&R uprated springs . The bushes we're changed for superpro .
It sits 74 cm up to the wheel arch on the front and 73.5 on the back . No idea what that is compared to a standard H.S.E. Freelander . I never measured it before . But what I can tell you is the ride is firm and solid , without all the ridiculous body roll . It's never going to behave like a sports car , it is and always will be an S.U.V and I it drive accordingly . But I do believe I have made a safer everyday all weather car .

And as for anyone who wishes to slate me for what I have done , well , what can I say ? Let it go . I'll enjoy my style and you can enjoy yours . Let's just respect our differences .

Before and after pics ....

Nothing wrong with making your Freelander suit your needs. I'm curious as to why you didn't fit Freelander Sport springs. These are 30mm lower than standard and 20% stiffer too.

Duplicate post

That's a fair point Nodge . Now why did I simply not do that ?
Guess I just went my own way . But I think I have similar results , possibly better . And I only posted this , to show it can be done , and it is OK to do .
I just got carried away in the moment of trying to improve the bad investment I made . I bought a pig for cheap and spent loads of time and money trying to make it suitable for me for years to come .

But in all the hindsight I should have just bought a sport to begin with .

I'll remember this when I get an FL 2 , or maybe I'll remember all the other headaches that owning a Landrover gives me and buy a Shogun or X5 ... He he ...
But thanks for your reply ...

DastardlyDan said:

some people like something known as a "challenge"



Also:
I stated I only wanted a 50mm drop at most. Not the 100mm+ drop of my old 406. Just to bring it slightly closer to the ground, not to be scraping the sump on the floor. If I wanted an offroader, I'd buy a Discovery, not a Freelander...

The respray will be a lovely, tatty, rattle-can job. Much like some of my previous cars.

Electrically, OR cable. Cable looks to be the way forwards with the parts I can easily get.


And I can see you're one of the people who assume if you have an engine with 10000000bhp, then of course, you're obviously going to drive like a lunatic, and need race-spec brakes, etc, etc. I'll still be driving like a grandad, but being able to overtake nicely on the motorway makes a car much nicer to drive.

I like the L series, and the early Freelander is the last of Rover models I've to own which came with this engine (excluding the Rover 600, which is similar enough to the R45 for me to not be worried about missing out on anything)




I'd also love to know, how swapping 4wd to 2wd, makes a vehicle "unsafe", when possibly 20% of all freelanders have the propshaft removed anyway. Actual proof, not anecdotal "my m8 did thiz, an he dieded"








But I digress

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Dan check this thread out for ideas
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/alternative-to-the-fluid-coupling-vcu.301629/

Shoguns and X5's aren't really that much more reliable than a Landy. You just hear more about landrovers due to the massive user base and the type of people that own them. And if an X5 goes wrong, bottomless purse needed.

But getting back to the point. When I looked at the picture I honestly thought you'd put sport suspension on, as @Nodge68 suggested. Looks really nice and not too low. And I fully understand what you mean by the body roll.
Anyway, well done, nice job.
Mike

To lower an FL1:-
1st obtain JCB
2nd dig large hole
3rd "lower" FL1 into said hole and backfill
Job done!

waldamar said:

To lower an FL1:-
1st obtain JCB
2nd dig large hole
3rd "lower" FL1 into said hole and backfill
Job done!

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...dig up in 5 years and it would still be less rusty than a Defender.

davidsmith1307 said:

...dig up in 5 years and it would still be less rusty than a Defender.

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Plastic doesn't rust.