That is concours condition. Well done David.

Shows might be back on later this year. You have got to try for a best in show certificate.

Mine sticks on zero when the level is low and I park on my sons drive which is about a 30 degree slope.
When I drive over a bump, the needle bounces back into life. It is OK when the tank is full.
None of this is much help to you. It was a cheap level gauge from Island4x4.

Good point, thanks.

Nice write up and pictures Pierre. I am psyching myself up to do mine. My 12 year old grandson is going to give me a hand! I have agreed with him £5 an hour. Hope he doesn't spin it out.
I was undecided about the sound deadening panels but having seen your pics I am going to do the same as you did. I don't have a sunroof which makes it a bit easier.

I recently read that the RAC (UK) has introduced a new car insurance based on a simple cost per mile. I thought that is a good idea, so I checked into it.

With the covid lockdowns I am not doing the mileage and I also sorned the p38 for 5 months earlier this year.
Their scheme involves putting a sensor in the windscreen and there is also a requirement to carry a mobile phone with location data turned on.
After filling out page after page after page of questions it eventually said not for drivers over 65 and also not for cars over 15 years old.
There must be a fixed element as how else would it cover fire and theft for zero mileage? I didn't get that far with the quote.

Not quite the same subject but I have got a spare BMW M51 diesel engine that I am putting together. I have just got a head for it.
I am not a big lover of stretch bolts. I like the idea of being able to take the head off and put it back on without buying a new set of bolts each time.
Another issue is the bolts maybe also be of variable quality if not OEM.
ARP do a set for the M51. They are rare but I have seen them listed for £360 a set !
Looking at the spec it says the studs are made from 160,000 psi tensile strength steel. I was considering getting a set of studs made up instead.
How hard can it be? There are 14.
Also a comment on ARP's website says tapping out the stud holes on an old engine to clean the threads up can weaken the thread by removing a small amount of metal but how else are you supposed to do it?

I found a new link for a Microcat download as the usual ones seem to have dried up. I recently posted it on the .net site after a request.

I thought it would be useful to post it again on here: http://landroverklubs.lv/microcat/

I have got it running on an old Win7 computer that wakes up on LAN just when I want it and goes asleep the rest of the time.

I agree, South Africa is a wonderful country. I lived in Durban for a number of years.
I could finish work at 5pm and be walking the dog on the beach by 5.30pm. Not see another sole on the beach. Just me, the wife and the dog.
There are pluses and minuses wherever you live.

I have got too many projects half started I need to tick a few off. Waiting currently to get my transfer box changed and headling replaced.
I have just ordered a snorkel (don't ask why, I just fancied it) and I have also just taken delivery of a diesel cylinder head.
I have a new BMW diesel block that I want to build up. Not sure if the head is early or late. The later ones have an extra stud so I might need to drill and tap it. I have a set of new pistons and rings and a used crankshaft off another engine. I am short of a new camshaft and valve springs. I also would like to fit new valve seats.

Is he the guy with the bleached teeth?

Most annoying guy on tv is the welsh opera singer who does the "go compare" ad. Who speaks welsh on here? What is welsh for twat?

The wheel bearings are another source of grief. You are supposed to buy the whole hub from Landrover.
It is only DIY nuts like me that press the bearings out to save a few bob. Then spend more on a press.

As it was a rainy day and a few jobs are on hold, I took the opportunity to go round to Martrim in Sandbach.
They were very helpful and we matched samples in the daylight. I can confirm that the best match, for me at least, is Oatmeal. I am 99.9% certain I have the Lightstone. I can rule out Grey /Silver Grey and the others. Oatmeal looks near identical to me.
The kit was only 60 quid all in. That is for 3.5M of headlining and 3 cans of adhesive.
I asked about the adhesive: Said I knew someone in Ireland and was there a problem shipping the adhesive? Said it was the courier pushing up the postal charges to something ridiculous since we left the EU. I asked what was special about it so it could be sourced locally and he said it was just the temperature rating. Their can says 80 deg C but adhesive needs to be good for 70 deg C at least according to the man. I asked about Evostick he said any adhesive that can be sprayed on. Just spray both surfaces and let it go tacky.
They also have some "how to" videos on their website which I haven't seen yet.
I asked about sound deadening panels and they have heard of it being done but have no experience with it.

This is the sound deadening I used:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heavy-Duty-Sound-Deadening-Mat-2-5mm-Silver-10-Sheets-Pack-300mm-x-400mm-Car-Van/154131444403?hash=item23e2f332b3:g:oPEAAOSw-qlfgKEO
It is a big area so it would need a lot of panels.

Pierre, you really should consider doing the job yourself and find an extra pair of hands to help. That labour charge you have been quoted is high.

Also I don't want my mates coming round and doing my headlining half pissed.

addendum: the roof is about 5ft wide inside and say 12 ft long? 60 sq. ft area or 5 packs of accoustic panels @ £36 ... £180 total.

Are you talking about the rear prop shaft?
If so remove the 4 bolts. They are imperial and you need the special socket to make it easier. The propshaft will then slide up on the splines at the transfer box end and allow you to remove it. The diesel is a bit different. It has a rubber donut in the middle.
Safety ... chock the wheels securely. The handbrake will not work with the prop off.
I also had to raise one of the wheels up to rotate the prop a bit when the bolts where inaccessable.

You will obviously need to take the half shafts out to get at your diff. They just come out with a gentle tap (or mine did) once the brakes and axle bolts are removed.

The new black cabs in London are going, or rather have gone, hybrid and now even to all electric.
They are made by Geely, the Chinese firm that also owns Volvo.
I have got a Volvo hybrid and the black cab seems to have a similar mechanical layout. The taxi has only a small 3 cylinder petrol engine however.

Not sure I would want a classic E type converted with a 3 cylinder petrol / hybrid engine.

The Toyota Prius uses the old NiMH batteries so not worth doing conversions based on that imho.

Holland seems to be the place where old hybrids go to die. I looked at Volvo bits for mine just as a matter of interest and there were loads of Dutch breakers.

Yes, I think you are right. I will try and match it to what is already there rather than changing colour.

I bought some soundproofing panels last year to line an acoustic enclosure I built for a generator. I have had good experience with them and would buy the same again if I was going to do it. Sort of like a bituminised panel about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. They are quite heavy and have a peel off backing.
No way would they move. They can also withstand high'ish temps.like right next to a petrol generator in a box.

I would go with Martrims adhesive for the actual headlining. The job is expanding into a bigger job now.

The lockdown is not helping either. Can't get any mates to come round and help. In the UK, there is a rule of 6 meeting outdoors from 29th March I think.

FYI the accelerator pedal on my DSE sits about 1 1/2" lower than the brake pedal. I have never heard that about pedal travel being for off road use.

I changed the fuel mapping on mine early on and fitted another chip. The new chip is a lot more sensitive on the pedal than the factory chip, which is more leisurely and sedate. It takes off a lot quicker.

I am about to start on my own headlining. I had a look at Martrim and they are only 17 miles away from where I live. They are based in Sandbach, Cheshire. I was going to pop round there this week to have a look at the colours they have. They are showing 6 for a RangeRover:
Cashmere, Champagne, Grey, Oatmeal, Silver Grey and Black.
I have got black leather seats with ash grey trim panels lower down and I think I have lightstone above that. Looking on their website, I think Grey would be the best match but I would like to see samples in the daylight first.
I did toy with the idea of changing the headlining colour to black, it would go better with my car which is Blenhein Silver. Problem is all the fittings would then be the wrong colour like sun visors, grab handles and pillar trims. It would then be a mega job painting and retrimming everything.
Mukiwa (Hoppy) also recommended fitting sound deadening panels to the inside of the roof while the panel is out. Reckons it makes a big difference. Anyone tried this?

That is cheap from Ashcrofts. Wish I had known at the time.

Yes, I can vouch that they are bloody heavy. I had mine replaced a couple of years ago by a local indy shop.
They fitted a recon 2 pin rear diff which was around £600 exchange plus labour from memory. A 4 pin diff would have been the best part of £1000 just for the diff. If yours is for a 4.6, it will have the 4 pin diff at the rear.
Or buy just the bits which are needed like the crownwheel and pinion and get a local transmission shop to rebuild it. They need to know what they are doing. It is quite specialist.