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From: "Gray, Allan" <agray@oldstreet.agw.bt.co.uk>
Subject: RE: BMW Powered Discovery
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 96 10:40:00 GMT

It seems a bit expensive, even for Essex, to change the engine in a vehicle 
that is new and only done 1200 miles. I could understand it if there was a 
big saving in running costs or a large improvement in performance but who is 
going to pay good money to remove a 300TDI and replace it with a BMW.

I think it is more likely to be a LR demonstrator of some sort.

Allan Gray
 ----------
From: David Olley at New Concept
Subject: BMW Powered Discovery
Date: 05 March 1996 15:22

The BMW Diesel has been available for some time as a retrofit, as have
many other engines (including the GM 6.2 litre V8 diesel).

You say it was in Essex.

'Nuff said.

 --
David Olley
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...
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Winchester, England
Tel: +44(0)1962-840769      Fax : +44(0)1962-867367
    Home Page:  http://www.tcp.co.uk/~newconcept
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...
.......

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From: "Paul Hazell" <p.hazell@worc.ac.uk>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 14:17:24 +0000
Subject:       cold engine problems

I've got a couple of engine quires and wondered if someone may be able to help.

On cold days my Series III lightweight can be very reluctant to start (original 2,286cc 8:1 compression petrol). Once it has 
started it ticks over very unevenly and you have to "tease" the throttle to keep it running until it warms up a bit. The choke 
seems to make little difference when pulled out (I assume the tick-over should increase), and yes I have checked that the arm on 
the carb is moving when the choke is used :-) (although I aint done much more than that yet). Once warm, its fine, and runs 
happily. However, (and this may or may not be related) when the engine is switched off it is prone to running on for a second or 
so, particularly after working fairly hard. 

I've been told the cold start problem could be anything from a coked up engine (this is quite likely at 24yrs old) to my carb 
needing an overhaul. An LR mechanic told me the running on may be due to an over rich fuel mixture. Any thoughts or advice would be 
great to hear before I get "stuck in".

Paul Hazell

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From: "Paul Hazell" <p.hazell@worc.ac.uk>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 1996 15:31:46 +0000
Subject:       Re: cold engine problems

>>On cold days my Series III lightweight can be very reluctant to start
>>(original 2,286cc 8:1 compression petrol). Once it has
	 [ truncated by lro-digester (was 12 lines)]
>current set.See if it makes any difference.
>Cheers
>Mike Rooth

Yeah, tried that. Plugs were changed about 1500 miles ago :-( However, I do alot of short trips so I'll look again to see what 
state their in. Thanks.

Paul

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 14:55:34 
From: Geoff Wilkin <geoff@g0ddx.demon.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Rear leaf springs

In article: <199603051008.CAA03118@playground.sun.com> 
steve_reddock@uk.xyratex.com writes:

> The extra power will apply a greater twisting force on the springs. It
> is feasible that you could cause problems in the long run because this
> force will tend to lift in front of the axle and pull down behind, but 
I
> would have thought that this would apply less force than hitting bumps
> hard, even though when you hit a bump the spring compresses uniformly.
	 [ truncated by lro-digester (was 7 lines)]
> OK with springs in good nick.
> I suspect that it is not the V6 which is causing your problem, just 
old
> age.

Well consider the springs that are fitted to the Stage 1 V8. Are they a 
different part number?. (perhaps yours is a SWB). Can they be fitted?.
If they can take a V8 then the V6 should not be all that different 
(roughly speaking). 

----------------------------------------------------------------------
| Geoff Wilkin                Personal EMail geoff@g0ddx.demon.co.uk |
|                             BT       EMail wilkingj@btinternet.com |
----------------------------------------------------------------------

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From: Graeme Booth <Graeme.Booth@src.bae.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 6 Mar 96 16:52:13 GMT
Subject: Re: cold engine problems

Paul,

Your engine problems sound very familiar to me (also a Series III ltwt
(2,286cc petrol, not sure whether 7:1 or 8:1). Exactly the same
symptoms happened to mine just last month - you may remeber emails
regarding Carbs and Timing queries.

My fuel mixture problem was also the same - a Colortune kit showed
that the mixture screw made not one bit of difference, hence CO
emissions of around 18% !!

As my experience with carburettors was minimal (an overhaul of my old
one may resolve this), I opted for a new carburettor (Weber 34ich from
Craddocks, or was that Paddocks!) for 50 quid (including choke cable,
fuel line filter, gaskets and even a choke warning light and
associated electrics). Not bad I thought!!

After replacing the old one, let me just say that the difference was
incredible! What are your fuel consumption figures like? How many
miles to a full tank (10gal)? I was getting around 70!! However,
bearing in mind I've upped my tyres, the speedo is out -> trip is also
out! Accleration was terrible.....and, as you say, cold starts were
not at best.

I also fixed the timing - my old set of points were well pitted, so I
replaced them (about 3 pounds - can't remember distributors name. Will
get it if your interested. Aside: I was quoted 11 pounds for 24v
contacts by my local dealer!!! Now that's a profit!).

My landy is now running pretty well (considering) - far better than it
was.

So, it may be an idea to check the mixture screw and associated
workings (vague or wot?). As I say, my experience of carburettors is
minimal. If you figure out exactly what the problem is, let me know!

I was told (by my local dealer) that a lot of carburettors were
packing in due to our cold winter......

Best of luck.

Graeme
(1976 SIII Lightweight, Petrol)
--
          +--------------------------------------------------------------+
          |                  From  :- Graeme D Booth                     |
          |                           Research Aerodynamicist            |
          |       /\                  Applied Aerodynamics               |
          |      /  \                 Aerodynamics & Vulnerability       |
          |     /|  |\                British Aerospace (Operations) PLC |
          |    /\|  |/\               Sowerby Research Centre            |
          |   /\ |  | /\              F.P.C. 267                         |
          |  /__\|__|/__\             P.O. Box 5                         |
          | /____________\            Bristol BS12 7QW                   |
          |      |  |                                                    |
          |      |__|        Phone :- (01179) 363949                     |
          |                  Fax   :- (01179) 363733                     |
          |                  e-mail:- Graeme.Booth@src.bae.co.uk         |
          +--------------------------------------------------------------+

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Date: Wed, 06 Mar 1996 18:19:51 +0000
From: David Olley at New Concept <newconcept@tcp.co.uk>
Subject: Re: BMW Powered Discovery

Gray, Allan wrote:
> who is
> going to pay good money to remove a 300TDI and replace it with a BMW.

Believe it or not, Allan, there are quite a few people who do just that. 
There are 300 Tdi engines in the market which are available because of 
this swap. These are bought by people taking out older diesels or V8s. 
There are also 200 Tdi engines available for the same reason.
Look at the number of BMW Alpina conversions, Mercedes conversions, and 
you will see that there are some who spend money on their hobby, and why 
not? Yachting, powerboating, car racing all take a lot of maney. Some 
are quite prepared to spend their money on things they WANT, rather than 
NEED.
The six cylinder BMW diesel gives smoothness and power superior to the 
Tdi engine, and there is a market for it. The second hand value of the 
300 Tdi engine is quite high, which goes some way to pay for the 
conversion.
By the way, there was a 110 fitted with the GM 6.2 V8 diesel at last 
years Wycombe Show.

>  --
> David Olley
	 [ truncated by lro-digester (was 11 lines)]
> ............................................................................
> ...
> .......

-- 
David Olley
.....................................................................................
Winchester, England
Tel: +44(0)1962-840769      Fax : +44(0)1962-867367
    Home Page:  http://www.tcp.co.uk/~newconcept
.....................................................................................

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From: bartlett@hlalapansi.win-uk.net
Date: Wed, 06 Mar 96 21:03:34
Subject: Re:Sleeping on an  Africa Expedition

>Hi all

>David (Green with envy) wrote that he had some Africa experience. So
>my question to David and to all and sundry is what is the best thing
>to do about sleeping. I assume that a rooftop tent is the best but
>has anyone else got any suggestions? Or any hints on making a budget
>(that's a nice way of saying 'cheap') rooftop tent.

This is quite a good question, for which the answer is probably not clear-cut. I always preferred to take separate freestanding tents. Actually I preferred to use a 3-man hiking tent of the isodome type. The reasons for this were:

- It was not always possible or desireable to camp right next to the vehicle and a hiking tent meant one could really get off the beaten track.

- When staying several days in one place a rooftop tent is a pain if you want to go anywhere.

- These tents (2/3 man hiking tents) are very good in foul weather with inbuilt ground sheet and mosquito netting throughout and a double skin to control condensation. All of these attributes are necessary. Without a completely sealed tent you will have all sorts of undesirable insects sharing your sleeping bag, the least of which are mosquitos. The outer flysheet is great in rainy, cold or hot weather - and you will have ALL of these in Africa. The bell is also large enough that you can cook in shelter when you need to.

- It is possible to arrange a roof-top platform on which one can pitch one's isodome hiking tent for occasions when it is safer or simply more convenient. I drew up plans for such a platform but never got around to building it. It was actually pretty simple, and would not have cost much. The isodome tent suits this well, as it can be pitched without the need for guy-ropes.

I looked long at hard at all the rooftop tents on the market (several years ago now) and decided that they all fell short in one or more ways. Either they were not double skinned, did not have adequate mosquite netting, suffered too much dust, had no storage space, etc etc. Also I did not believe that I could get away with having only a rooftop tent - there are occasions when one cannot drive right to the campsite. 

These were just my personal preferences, and they worked for me - I'd do the same again.


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