Best start to any build I've seen on here. We do like heavy machinery... :)

I have just looked up BFG All-Terrains on their website, and the recommended rim width is 7"-8", so at least with some tyres there is no issue. I had thought that it was 285's that need wider rims. I just fitted Land Rover steel wheels to my Ninety (6.5" wide), and decided to go for 235 85R16...

Not sure what the problem is with 265's on 7" rims, people put them on all the time. Personally I think standard Land Rover alloys look much better than those ZU or Mach 5's anyway. Sorry:D

The engine in our diesel Freelander is the best bit, the rest.... not so much. I did take it off-road a few times, and it performed admirably, but the body ended up coming off the chassis - they are not built well, very lightweight. The traction control means that the Freelander performs...

Don't forget there are all those of us who look at the thread in silent admiration. I often don't post if I don't feel there's much I can contribute, but it is looking good so far. I always enjoy seeing project threads where people do a really thorough job.

I had an auxiliary belt smoking just the other day. I thought that a bearing must have gone somewhere, but it turned out that one of the alternator mounting bolts was missing, so the alternator had some movement in it, causing drag on the belt. The alternator was taken apart at an...

Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be leaking any oil at the moment (touch wood:)) I did the swivel housings only about a month ago as the seals were shot, and the inner axles seals turned out to need replacing as well. Now seems to be oil leak free!

Here are some pictures I took a few months back when I recoated the chassis with GM underseal.

The zinc-arc spraying does not generally tend to flake, and the rims were properly primed etc. before painting. The reason I decided to get the zinc arc spray done was because if you go off-road, then it will only be a few months before your rims start rusting. Paint and primer come off the...

I have just recently added some jackable sills to the Ninety, and some genuine Land Rover rims (in place of the nasty old white 6 spoked steel wheels). The rims only cost me about $20 NZ, but were a bit scruffy so I had them sandblasted, zinc-arc sprayed and then painted black. I finally...

That quote I put in is from the Land Rover manual. It sounds as though you are meant to coat something with loctite 270. (I believe that Loctite 270 is stronger than normal loctite.) I have noticed that on how-to threads people seem to simply put the paper gaskets in and do not mention any...

Have got all the materials for doing my swivel housing seals and am planning to do it this weekend. Question: I am wondering what the paper seals (like the axle-end gasket) need to be coated in before fitting. Do they alll need loctite? I found these instructions in the manual: Fit swivel pin...

The paint job looks great. Have to say I like these Ninety's with the windowless commercial side panels. Mine has those silly narrow side windows they fitted in the eighties. Would rather no windows at all!!!

If you're on a budget, and you want a Defender, then you could go for a 1980's Ninety. It's pretty much the same as a Defender, they just hadn't come up with the "Defender" badge yet. If speed's not too much of an issue (no Defender is fast) and you want a bulletproof engine, I believe the...

Look at the back of a 130 and you'll see that they have a very large overhang. The body is considerably longer than the wheelbase, which is 130 inches from hub to hub as stated above.

I think that the benches in the back of the new Defenders are much smaller than older ones, so I doubt the seats from one of these newer vehicles would fit.

Is it possible for a thread to deteriorate to the point where everyone gets blocked from posting any more comments?:D:D:D

Just had a look at the axle number. Has prefix: 22L and suffix:B Does this mean anything to anyone?

Are you all saying that you didn't even need to replace the seals?

Just be careful not to overdo the chequerplate. Don't want to cover up too much of the new paint-job (though I have to admit that chequerplate looks much better in black than unpainted).