Just to join in, 'cos I like a good moan!

Mine was the only P38 when we did the Mac 4x4 Challenge a good few years ago. Bog standard too. Everyone pointed and laughed until the blizzard in Radnor Forest at three in the morning when she really wanted to play hard. It all went strangely quiet after that.

Here in Manila the "off roaders" - 99.999% Japanese - have huge wheels, 20-22" some of them, really, really low profile tyres and lovely suspension lifts. Must be a twat on the roads here. Came back from a trip down to Matabungkay where, as Madam proceeded to get all the beach vendors absolutely hammered, I had some superb solo off roading around Mt Palawan. Got back to Manila, car absolutely covered in shite and the off road boys were still working out how to get their immaculate and lifted Toyotas over the speed bumps. Gotta say, to be fair, out in the 'provinces' there's some serious kit being used. Just not here.

And yup, as Richard says, because they don't understand EAS, coils are touted as an upgrade. Saying that, an oil change is considered an upgrade too.

Despite all the naysayers, in over three years, she starts, stops and has never thrown a single job-stopping fault. It must be that kiss on the steering wheel every time I park her up. Preventative maintenance!

Thing that gets me is that whenever a P38 get's mentioned on a forum, I'm on Retro Rides, you'll notice all the "Ah yes, a mate of mine down the pub had a neighbour with a cousin who knew a man with a Range Rover P38. He said it was crap" come out of the woodwork. Oh well, that must be right then, best not buy one.

'Nother beer please. Ta.

Hey Spiggy,

Still here but I've had a crappy connection for around two months, which is apparently perfectly acceptable according to my provider's customer service.

After eight weeks I finally got them to send a technician (after having to go through the CEO of their parent company that I happen to know) and in two minutes he'd replaced the modem and hey presto. His comment? "These modem shit. We always have to replace." Good to know.

Just in time for me to go to Thailand for four weeks!

Thanks for the pointers guys. I'll be investigating in the morning.

Did new tyres and wheels (19" down to 16") which made a massive improvement. That, coupled with reinstating air, have been the two biggest improvements in ride and drive.

Crowbar-ed all the joints and can't find any play.

Did ARB bushes and drop links recently

Going back to investigate the steering box as there's really nothing else I can see that would change immediately like that apart from the adjuster coming loose. I'll check for cracks as well at the same time.

Will report back.

Downloaded this the other day and one of the biggest differences I found is that the touch screen is much more responsive. For those of us with sausage fingers, a major bonus!

Okay, so when I first got this thing, it had slightly wandery steering, reminiscent of my old Series 2. However, with a little bit of judicial adjustment at the box, we eliminated that and it's been spot on ever since. Well, nearly...

The other day I was on a dead straight road doing around 40kph (a massive achievement here) when it felt like the road wheels had become disconnected from the one in front of me. Cranking the wheel to the left caught up with things, but now it has a distinctly, and I mean distinctly vague feel about it in the straight ahead position. The wheel has to be at around 45 degrees left to maintain level flight, whereas before, it was dead straight.

Got underneath, yanked and levered stuff around, but there was no untoward movement in any of the joints or bushes that I could detect. Moving things via the roadwheels is smooth and easy with no hangups or tight spots. Moving the steering wheel, even a tiny amount when stationary, results in a corresponding movement in the road wheels, and vice versa. It only seems to be an issue on the move, when sometimes you have to give a larger input than normal to keep things straight. Like there's a bit "missing" between me and the road, if you get me.

If I'd hit a bloody great pothole, my first stop would have been tracking, but I was on one of the roads that was re-done for the Pope's visit, so it's like a billiard table - for now anyway. It also doesn't account for the suddenness of the occurrence.

Not seeing anything obvious, I seem to remember a post on the "Other Place" about an issue with the slip joint for the steering wheel adjustment. Only problem is a) I'm damned if I can remember anything about it and b) I can't find the post anyway!

Can anyone remember it or have other ideas?

Ta ever so.

Had this on mine. Was needing about a cupful to top-up every week or so. I'd just replaced the radiator for an all ally one, all new hoses and stat but just couldn't find where it was going from until one day I'm sitting having a beer and notice, literally, a tiny drop of water underneath. Lifted bonnet, nothing, all nice and dry,
Drove home and before I switched off, got into the bay with a torch which revealed the tiniest fine spray coming from behind one of the clips. it was evaporating almost immediately with a combination of 30 degree ambient + under bonnet temps. On this one occasion however it had dumped just enough to show underneath. Eluded me for weeks that little bastard!

Gilbertd wrote:

They can. Instead of two nice clean jets of water on my windscreen, I get two sprays that look like they are coming from shower heads that sometimes hit the correct part of the screen.....

Hey, I've got those as well!

Ferryman wrote:

Slowly working my way through the list of issues I had the AC system pressure tested yesterday.
A loud hiss from under the slampanel showed a leaking condenser, indeed from under the sponge.
Ordered a no-brand from Germany but I think it is Hella for €95.- incl. p+p.
Not a bad deal I think.

Hope it fits better than the OEM one I got from the UK. It was an absolute pig and nothing lined up. A stark contrast to the radiator I had made up here in some little back street shop, which just slotted into place like it was made for it. Oh, hang on...

Got one!

I was looking for some double sided tape and wandered into the local 'American Bazaar' (think Pound Shop but not as expensive) and came out with the tape, an oilstone (been looking for ages) and a super duper magnetic pick-up tool for picking up dropped metallic stuff. I quantify that as living in the area I do, then walking around saying I've got a magnetic pick-up tool will either get me a crowd of interested young ladies, or a slap!

Yeah, I've got to the swearing stage with this mail. I really hate bullshit!

"I’m kind of thinking that your promise of 24 hours (again – remember December?) for the tracking details may just have passed?

Funny but the more I ask around, the more I realise I’m not alone. I’d go public on RR.Net, but I also know that your mates would delete my post within seconds.

Scotty, I operate my own business as well and I’d be fucked if I did it the same way as you do. And no, they aren’t all in Manila, I treat them the same, no matter where they are in the world. I operate railways for a living and dead relatives, travelling, daughter’s weddings and sundry other excuses don’t wait for that.

Fucking disappointed."

Now Gilbertd has named and shamed, then let 'em Google!

Oh, and italics aren't working.

Orangebean wrote:

It is. Be even better if it were a private forum though. Being public any opinions expressed on here are accessible via Google or even just surfing to the site. Kind of stifles the fun of free speech! <br>
Just for fun I put "What sort of stuff are you after, George?" (quote from above in this thread) into Google and it brought me straight here!

Good job it was a nice clean answer then!!!

Still no response from the good Doctor regarding his 24 hour turnaround of proof of posting. Hmm, wonder why?

Trouble is that neither will send to the Philippines. I'll have to have a look and see if RS Components do one. They have an office here and delivery is only a couple of days.

Been there, seen that. Crows foot spanner on a short extension. I found the slightly bent jack extension handle was the only way I could manoeuvre it a) close enough and b) upright, allowing me to spear the extension with another longer one and retrieve the whole lot to safety.

It took nearly two hours to get the bloody thing back at which point, I said sod whatever the job was and, roundly cursing the P38 design team, went for a cold beer instead.

I promised myself then I'd keep an eye out for a magnetic pen but have I seen one for sale since...?

OldShep56 wrote:

What sort of stuff are you after, George?

The following interior trim parts:

Right and left rear carpet finishers (biscuit)

Parcel shelf surrounds, L&R (biscuit)

Centre box lid (black)

Instrument binnacle surround

I'd take black carpet finishers but then I'd need to two front ones as well.

Strangely enough, I actually got a reply to my last mail on Tuesday. Two in fact. One basically saying, wow, you haven't got anything? and when I replied in the negative, responding that I would have confirmed delivery otherwise, I then received another tale of destruction and woe. He also promised me the proof of postage he promised me in December, within 24 hours. That was Tuesday.

But never mind, he's $3,000 dollars out this year in refunds on stuff sent overseas apparently, although obviously not to either Spiggy or myself!

I know you're away Marty, working with a potential belligerent enemy of the glorious Republic of the Philippines, but if you or anyone else on here come across the stuff I'm after, I'd be happy to hear from you. I can do credit card, PayPal or, depending where someone is, even cash, using a mate over there.

SpiggyTopes wrote:

I'm the victim whose aluminium radiator was lost on the way to Dubai ..... actually, it was Portugal last July.

I'm USD 500 down and no response to e mails now.

Actually, I'm more disappointed than angry.

What to do now?

Got to admit when I got the mail of excuses including the Dubai radiator, I did wonder. The guy I met here had a similar experience.

To be honest, I tend to agree with Gilbertd here. When I first got the '38 I tried the US part suppliers, thinking that shipping would be better than from the UK. The fact that 99% of their websites insisted that the Philippines was part of the US and demanded a ZIP code and that not one, and I mean not a single one, ever answered e-mails put them very firmly into the bullshit department. Of course, we know that there isn't a world outside the US, don't we?

The UK gets all my business now, and there's been a lot of it!

I'm in for just under half of what you are, but as I say, after 12 months I'm going to write the whole thing off and put it down to experience. Unless work ever takes me to SoCal of course...

However, if anyone in the UK cares to throw the bits I need into a box, let me know!

Get yourself a pint and pull up a stool...

Just wondering if anyone else on here has had a similar experience ordering stuff from a certain “doctor” on the other place. If not, then take this as a possible heads up.

Previously, I had a valve block rebuild kit from him, which although slow, did finally arrive. To be fair, the timespan wasn’t his fault, the delay occurred with the post at this end.

So back April 2015, I agreed to buy some interior parts that he had sourced for me, namely :

Right and left rear carpet finishers (biscuit)
Parcel shelf surrounds, L&R (biscuit)
Centre box lid (black)
Instrument binnacle surround (black)

Along with those, I also ordered a compressor rebuild kit for my stock and a rover raiser as well. The latter not because I couldn’t knock up something similar, but the idea of trailing from place to place here just knowing each one would only have one bit I need in stock and no idea when they would get any more, made it not worth the candle. Anyway, sorted, price agreed and paid for. I also paid for the stuff to be couriered so that the Philippine postal service were kept well out of the loop!

I then had a string of mails telling me of a litany of problems he was having with couriers and how everything he sent outside the USA was being returned by three different ones. Not just me, but a radiator bound for Dubai as well and a steering rack to Ireland. We got a whole host of other stuff about travelling, losing family members, daughters getting married in Thailand as reasons for not responding to mails and messages.

Eventually, we agreed that we’d try the US Parcel Service as a last resort and risk the inevitable involvement of PHLPost. That was 13 December 2015 and his last mail said he’d get them away on the following Monday and send me proof of postage that I’d need for here. “George DEAL Brother! They’ll go on Monday and I’ll follow up with the tracking.”

Since then nothing. No proof of postage, no kit, no updates, no response to my mails (last one yesterday), a big fat zero.

I’ve also spoken to a fellow ’38 owner here who had similar experience over a radiator and I ended up sorting him one out from the guys who made mine. He’s very happy with it, as am I, but he’s not so chuffed about his dealings with the good doctor.

I considered raising this on the other place but have the feeling the post would last for around 30 seconds before disappearing, due to being an insult to a “forum god”.

I know most of you, being in the UK and Europe, can source this type of stuff fairly easily, but for me it’s not so simple, hence, when the doctor said he could supply the interior bits I needed, I went with him. I can't help but feel that I'm going to write this off as a bad job.

So to anyone else thinking of going down this route, beware.

Still need the bits though!

In my experience, trying to install a wife into the dashboard is a real pain, with some serious cutting to be done. All ways up, it gets messy. The only real advantage is having someone on the inside when it comes to heater o-rings, blend motors, etc. But even so...

I was going to try it but even using a small Filipina, there's not a lot of room in there. The other downside is that the Philippine watch only has hours, no in between bits, so not much use either. However it does have a handy predictive mode for the times of future occurrences which are; soon, later, after lunch and tomorrow,

No, I recommend sticking with the clock if you can.

Used to be lots of pubs down that way with accommodation. That's what I used when I was down there a week at a time.

All the ones I used were north of Swindon though, I never stayed south, so can't really recommend one.

Don't worry, you guys, I've got you all down for my new "Filipina Brides in a Box" business. They come in plain brown wrappers, so you should be okay.