Your newest purchase

[SaintK]

I am inches - inches -away from buying a knackered 1990s Land Rover Defender.

Please talk me out of this idiotic notion.

(I realise they're massively impractical unless you're a farmer, but I've always wanted one)

So either a late TDI 200 or early TDI300 - We currently have a 1992 TDi 200

If you do buy one , congratulations , you have just paid the Uni fees for the children of the owner of your local landy garage.
People always say chassis or bulkhead , and yeah that's important , but you need to consider a lot , lot more , what you are looking to buy is 30 years old

So what could go wrong , its just a ball hair away from a tractor - right , well that's true , its noisy , I mean really noisy , headache inducing noisy , and no matter what sound proofing , its still fucking noisy

The engines are actually pretty bulletproof , - if you change the oil every 6000m , and everyone does that

Front axles , rear axles could be shot , Transfer box , gearbox , diffs high pressure fuel valves - iIve replaced all of those
although the rear axle we got was off a Disco with disc brakes , but at least she stops pretty well
Steering box and dampers , fuel tanks, I could go on ( and on , and on )

It's a bit like painting the Forth road Bridge - you think nothing else will fail - until it does

Saying that we all love her , and shes a member of the family so will never get rid

Just prepare for the constant - and I do mean constant bills and large bills

Learn to weld

Learn that getting parts is not as easy as you think , often better to get what you have rebuilt ( like a high pressure fuel pump )

Get a decent pedal box ( and tracker ) because at some stage some bastard will try to steal it

One of the best things was to add a head unit with a rear view camera - which was dead easy , until you find out a previous owner had been buggering about with the wiring loom

Other than that go for it - for all the times you swear at it , you will still love it ( I'm mad - my other car is an Alfa !)

My next weekend is to repair the rotten door sills ( welding again ) assuming my tinnitus isn't too bad - did I mention they are fucking noisy

If you have any questions, other than the phone number of a good psychiatrist - just let me know

Post of the year

[inactionman]

Please talk me out of this idiotic notion.

So either a late TDI 200 or early TDI300 - We currently have a 1992 TDi 200

If you do buy one , congratulations , you have just paid the Uni fees for the children of the owner of your local landy garage.
People always say chassis or bulkhead , and yeah that's important , but you need to consider a lot , lot more , what you are looking to buy is 30 years old

So what could go wrong , its just a ball hair away from a tractor - right , well that's true , its noisy , I mean really noisy , headache inducing noisy , and no matter what sound proofing , its still fucking noisy

The engines are actually pretty bulletproof , - if you change the oil every 6000m , and everyone does that

Front axles , rear axles could be shot , Transfer box , gearbox , diffs high pressure fuel valves - iIve replaced all of those
although the rear axle we got was off a Disco with disc brakes , but at least she stops pretty well
Steering box and dampers , fuel tanks, I could go on ( and on , and on )

It's a bit like painting the Forth road Bridge - you think nothing else will fail - until it does

Saying that we all love her , and shes a member of the family so will never get rid

Just prepare for the constant - and I do mean constant bills and large bills

Learn to weld

Learn that getting parts is not as easy as you think , often better to get what you have rebuilt ( like a high pressure fuel pump )

Get a decent pedal box ( and tracker ) because at some stage some bastard will try to steal it

One of the best things was to add a head unit with a rear view camera - which was dead easy , until you find out a previous owner had been buggering about with the wiring loom

Other than that go for it - for all the times you swear at it , you will still love it ( I'm mad - my other car is an Alfa !)

My next weekend is to repair the rotten door sills ( welding again ) assuming my tinnitus isn't too bad - did I mention they are fucking noisy

If you have any questions, other than the phone number of a good psychiatrist - just let me know

[inactionman]

So, if I were to follow this idiotic idea through, is there actually a model year/version that would avoid the worst of the problems without breaking bank (recognising that I'm happy to spend money annually but can't stump up £20k for a recent model)?

Is there a way to know what cars have had galvanised crossmembers/chassis, and any things that I should avoid (e.g. certain age/mileage that haven't had certain bits replaced)?

I should just join a land rover forum, but they'd never talk me out of it.

It gets worse btw - I'd need to fit 2 kiddie seats (3 and 4 years old) which is likely to be a contortion, utterly stupid but very great fun for me and the kids. Was a a bit worried about crash safety but it's a fucking tank and we'd not exactly be speeding in the thing. Was looking at getting the centre front seat and having them both up with me - I'm quite tall so getting a 10 would help with leg room but think it'll end up a 90, if it happens.

The more I write the more stupid it sounds. I didn't thin my midlife crisis would involve what is essentially farm machinery.

[Wylie Coyote]

So, if I were to follow this idiotic idea through, is there actually a model year/version that would avoid the worst of the problems without breaking bank (recognising that I'm happy to spend money annually but can't stump up £20k for a recent model)?

Is there a way to know what cars have had galvanised crossmembers/chassis, and any things that I should avoid (e.g. certain age/mileage that haven't had certain bits replaced)?

I should just join a land rover forum, but they'd never talk me out of it.

It gets worse btw - I'd need to fit 2 kiddie seats (3 and 4 years old) which is likely to be a contortion, utterly stupid but very great fun for me and the kids. Was a a bit worried about crash safety but it's a fucking tank and we'd not exactly be speeding in the thing. Was looking at getting the centre front seat and having them both up with me - I'm quite tall so getting a 10 would help with leg room but think it'll end up a 90, if it happens.

The more I write the more stupid it sounds. I didn't thin my midlife crisis would involve what is essentially farm machinery.

A late 90s 300TDi on a galvanised chassis (it's the first thing folks mention in their advert) would be a good start. I have 3 kids around your age, I'm a bit wary of long drives with them in the front as safety wise it wouldn't match a new car with airbags etc, but you're right you'll be moving pretty slowly. I have a 90 hardtop, but have a friend with a 12 seat 300 tdi 110 station wagon. With it's roofrack, towing capacity and off-road ability you'd be hard pressed to find a more versatile machine than one of those.

[Sandstorm]

Go back a page and see the smart bloke who bought the old Isuzu instead.

[clydecloggie]

Go back a page and see the smart bloke who bought the old Isuzu instead.

I was just going to say...why not go for a '90s Land Cruiser instead for the exact same feel without the bankruptcy?

[inactionman]

Go back a page and see the smart bloke who bought the old Isuzu instead.

I was just going to say...why not go for a '90s Land Cruiser instead for the exact same feel without the bankruptcy?

It doesn't have the same character.

By which I mean it isn't a noisy, bad-mannered cantankerous old sod who will pack up in a huff every ten minutes.

[colonel]

Have changed shape since the beginning of the Pandemic, I expect this to be the first of a very expensive re-wardrobing

[Dogbert]

Well you could buy a an old Land Cruiser , or Isuzu , and they are probably much better cars - but that is not the point

If you buy an old Landy , you will be the coolest dad going as far as the kids are concerned ( my son learnt to drive on ours )

Did you see Elsa the Lion on a Land Cruiser , or the Hulk sitting on the back of an Isuzu, did Steve McQueen drive a Rav4 , Will other Jeep owners give you a wave as you pass them ?
When your sitting on your Isuzu and see a Landy go past - will you regret not buying the Landy ( The answer is yes )

( you do not wave a new defenders )

Owning a Landy is a bit like joining a cult - its madness , but only Landy owners understand - at some point you will end up discussing with some random stranger in Sainburys car park the benefits of a 24 spline diff compared to a 10 spline diff

Should you buy one - no , if you do your mad - didn't stop me though

If you can get a decent one with a recent Galvi Chassis - it will probably save you money in the long run , but just because they get advertised as having a Galvi Chassis , doesn't mean that it will be sound , or even that there is much of the Galvanization still left.

I personally think that the TDI 200 is the better engine , mated with the LT77 gearbox , but the 300 is fine too.

Just go in with your eyes ( and wallet ) wide open , Do your research , find a local independent landie garage , if you can , see if they know of anything for sale

If you find one without a bundle of invoices / Service histories that would put war and peace to shame , them it will be you who will be spending the money

Oh yeah roof racks are great - but even on a bricked shaped car you would think that you have a hole in your fuel tank , and don't even think about multi storied car parks

Life is too short what have you got to loose ( part from your savings / marriage etc )

Oh yeah did I mention how fucking noisy they are

If you do take the plunge stick some pics up

[Slick]

Post of the year

Yup, a definate contender!

[Wylie Coyote]

Go back a page and see the smart bloke who bought the old Isuzu instead.

I was just going to say...why not go for a '90s Land Cruiser instead for the exact same feel without the bankruptcy?

They are extremely rare in the UK, I think I see one on Autotrader for instance. IIRC Most Toyota Landcruisers in the UK aren't real Landcruisers like you get in Australia, they're rebadged Toyota Prados. Ultimately a 20 year car of any brand is going to require regular maintenance.

[clydecloggie]

Go back a page and see the smart bloke who bought the old Isuzu instead.

I was just going to say...why not go for a '90s Land Cruiser instead for the exact same feel without the bankruptcy?

They are extremely rare in the UK, I think I see one on Autotrader for instance. IIRC Most Toyota Landcruisers in the UK aren't real Landcruisers like you get in Australia, they're rebadged Toyota Prados. Ultimately a 20 year car of any brand is going to require regular maintenance.

Once you get up to the Pecuniocratic United Estates of Grouse Shooting (or what Visit Scotland unimaginatively calls the 'Highlands'), there are plenty old Cruisers on show. Still dwarfed by the numbers of broken-dwon Land Rovers of course...

[TB63]

Old friend of mine runs a 4 by 4 garage specialising in LR, also races MGBGT V8s, after totalling (again) his race car, decided he needed a new engine so slapped his old racing V8 into a 1990s 90 inch, plus lots of mods...
Took it out for a spin...
Comfort level.. chiropractor.
Acceleration...not bad, didn't need a calender for 0 to 60.
Noise.. "WHAT, SPEAK UP".
Handling...
Torque..Yes..

Verdict, great fun, looked lovely, would climb a brick wall but at 10mpg........

[TB63]

Old friend of mine runs a 4 by 4 garage specialising in LR, also races MGBGT V8s, after totalling (again) his race car, decided he needed a new engine so slapped his old racing V8 into a 1990s 90 inch, plus lots of mods...
Took it out for a spin...
Comfort level.. chiropractor.
Acceleration...not bad, didn't need a calender for 0 to 60.
Noise.. "WHAT, SPEAK UP".
Handling...
Torque..Yes..

Verdict, great fun, looked lovely, would climb a brick wall but at 10mpg........

[Globus]

Old friend of mine runs a 4 by 4 garage specialising in LR, also races MGBGT V8s, after totalling (again) his race car, decided he needed a new engine so slapped his old racing V8 into a 1990s 90 inch, plus lots of mods...
Took it out for a spin...
Comfort level.. chiropractor.
Acceleration...not bad, didn't need a calender for 0 to 60.
Noise.. "WHAT, SPEAK UP".
Handling...
Torque..Yes..

Verdict, great fun, looked lovely, would climb a brick wall but at 10mpg........

My schoolmate had one and we disappeared into a ditch down Marsdon Lane in Norwich.

Two gals in the back. Nobody was injured, thank the Lord.


Edit. It was an MGBTC.

[Globus]

[inactionman]

I've got the same chair, so much better than any other I've tried.

(for the tightwads amongst us, these go for well over a grand new but you can get ones from office clearance companies for about £300, we got my wife one during lockdown and it was brand new, still with labels. It's a Hemran Millar Aeron for anyone interested.)

[Globus]

I knew the owner of this company when I lived around the corner.
https://www.insurancebook.co.uk/busines ... e-services

His wife gave birth to a son at the bottom of their house stairs.

Pretty frantic all round as I had to go to his workplace to tell him junior was on its way.

Got there just in time. Broke the speed limit a bit! It was in my late lamented Porsche.

[Dinsdale Piranha]

I've got the same chair, so much better than any other I've tried.

(for the tightwads amongst us, these go for well over a grand new but you can get ones from office clearance companies for about £300, we got my wife one during lockdown and it was brand new, still with labels. It's a Hemran Millar Aeron for anyone interested.)

Personally, I paid extra for the executive version.

Best chair I have had.

[inactionman]

The Defender I had eyes on looked too much work so that's been binned, but will keep eyes peeled.

As some recompense, the missus signed off on a trail camera we can use for the hedgehog house we just built for the kids.

The hedgehog house itself is a simple wood and slatted roof cheapie from Dobbies, I nailed some boards underneath to give it a base and used bricks to make a tunnel to keep foxes etc away from the entrance.

The trail camera looks a decent bit of kit, can't wait to give it a go - bought it from naturespy, a non-profit who do loads of this stuff around the world.



https://shop.naturespy.org/product/brow ... tc-7e-hp4/

[ASMO]

LG C1 65 inch 4K TV and the Samsung HW Q950A surround sound system to go with it, arriving tomorrow, cant wait! :-)

[FalseBayFC]

The Defender I had eyes on looked too much work so that's been binned, but will keep eyes peeled.

As some recompense, the missus signed off on a trail camera we can use for the hedgehog house we just built for the kids.

The hedgehog house itself is a simple wood and slatted roof cheapie from Dobbies, I nailed some boards underneath to give it a base and used bricks to make a tunnel to keep foxes etc away from the entrance.

The trail camera looks a decent bit of kit, can't wait to give it a go - bought it from naturespy, a non-profit who do loads of this stuff around the world.



https://shop.naturespy.org/product/brow ... tc-7e-hp4/

We use those trail cams to keep track of porcupines and bushpigs on our KZN farms. Amazing what crops up on them. The Pietermaritzburg university guys visits regularly to download the data. On one of the farms where Eland ( a huge antelope ) hadn't been seen for 50 years, a couple of them sauntered through and got captured.

[Mr Tim Buktoo]

Anyone got any experience with breadmakers? Want to get the missus one. Are they any good?
Dont want to go crazy on budget. 150 euros or so.

[Dogbert]

Anyone got any experience with breadmakers? Want to get the missus one. Are they any good?
Dont want to go crazy on budget. 150 euros or so.

Honestly don't bother , It will get chucked into the cupboard of unused kitchen appliances with 6 months , may to reappear at Xmas ( maybe)

If you want to make bread - do it by hand - much more satisfying

If you ( your wife ) want to make bread , by a book for 20 Euros , and spend the other 130 on some decent wine

[Dogbert]

Anyone got any experience with breadmakers? Want to get the missus one. Are they any good?
Dont want to go crazy on budget. 150 euros or so.

Honestly don't bother , It will get chucked into the cupboard of unused kitchen appliances within 6 months , may to reappear at Xmas ( maybe)

If you want to make bread - do it by hand - much more satisfying

If you ( your wife ) want to make bread , by a book for 20 Euros , and spend the other 130 on some decent wine

[Mr Tim Buktoo]

Anyone got any experience with breadmakers? Want to get the missus one. Are they any good?
Dont want to go crazy on budget. 150 euros or so.

Honestly don't bother , It will get chucked into the cupboard of unused kitchen appliances with 6 months , may to reappear at Xmas ( maybe)

If you want to make bread - do it by hand - much more satisfying

If you ( your wife ) want to make bread , by a book for 20 Euros , and spend the other 130 on some decent wine

Yeah she is well able to bake and does it often enough. Just handy to have one when feeling too lazy for it! She was about to bake some at the weekend but was too tired so started giving out to me about not buying her a breadmaker instead of stupid trinkets for her recent birthday! Cant win i tells ya.

[ASMO]

I've got the same chair, so much better than any other I've tried.

(for the tightwads amongst us, these go for well over a grand new but you can get ones from office clearance companies for about £300, we got my wife one during lockdown and it was brand new, still with labels. It's a Hemran Millar Aeron for anyone interested.)

Personally, I paid extra for the executive version.

Best chair I have had.

Bought myself a Secretlab Titan Evo gaming chair, the most comfortable office chair i have ever had.

turntable_2020_TTXL_pu_stealth_2-min.jpg (82.05 KiB) Viewed 1780 times

[inactionman]

Anyone got any experience with breadmakers? Want to get the missus one. Are they any good?
Dont want to go crazy on budget. 150 euros or so.

Honestly don't bother , It will get chucked into the cupboard of unused kitchen appliances with 6 months , may to reappear at Xmas ( maybe)

If you want to make bread - do it by hand - much more satisfying

If you ( your wife ) want to make bread , by a book for 20 Euros , and spend the other 130 on some decent wine

Yeah she is well able to bake and does it often enough. Just handy to have one when feeling too lazy for it! She was about to bake some at the weekend but was too tired so started giving out to me about not buying her a breadmaker instead of stupid trinkets for her recent birthday! Cant win i tells ya.

We've got a breadmaker and a food mixer (one of the big Kenwood Kmix ones) and the breadmaker generally sits in the cupboard but we use the kmix quite regularly. Although there's more steps to it, it's pretty easy to hoy the ingredients into the mixer, roll it out on some parchment and put in oven. You can do more varied styles and sizes as well - the misuss is dab hand at soda bread.

The breadmakers are limited to a pretty small loaf, and our one doesn't have a retractable mixer/paddle so you have to go digging into the loaf to extract or completely forget and blunt your breadknife on it..

It's admittedly handy to be able to set a timer so there's a fresh loaf in the morning - although you might have a timer on oven you could use for same purpose. It's also easy to just clean one baking tin/paddle, it's not exactly tricky to clean up after the mixer/baking tray but it's usually a bit messier with flour for rolling etc.

One issue is that sometimes the bread just doesn't 'work' in the breadmaker and its not clear why, thought it might be dead yeast but not entirely sure. Pre-bought packets always worked well though.

Our breadmaker is a Panasonic, bought about 10 years ago so sure there's a more recent version. Scored well in all reviews and we've found it OK - it's just a bit redundant at the minute.



mixer is the kmix:



It's pretty pricey (around £250-£300) so the smaller prospero might be an option, goes for around £100-£150.

[Mr Tim Buktoo]

Thanks for the detalied reply there.
Yeah we have a decent mixer too which gets used for cakes/sponges etc.
Think i might go with the Morphy Richards Homebake Breadmaker. (cant seem to post pics on here)
Seems to be in all the review lists at the midrange level.

[Line6 HXFX]

Just bought the Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph.
Beautiful thing, with the superb ST19 mechanical column wheel movement.
Every watch collector should have one. A mechanical chronograph with this type of movement for under 1000 quid is unheard of and it makes this watch an anomaly.

Ps)don't start fucking watch collecting.

[assfly]

The Defender I had eyes on looked too much work so that's been binned, but will keep eyes peeled.

As some recompense, the missus signed off on a trail camera we can use for the hedgehog house we just built for the kids.

The hedgehog house itself is a simple wood and slatted roof cheapie from Dobbies, I nailed some boards underneath to give it a base and used bricks to make a tunnel to keep foxes etc away from the entrance.

The trail camera looks a decent bit of kit, can't wait to give it a go - bought it from naturespy, a non-profit who do loads of this stuff around the world.



https://shop.naturespy.org/product/brow ... tc-7e-hp4/

Great buy. I borrowed one from my mate when I went camping a few months back. Managed to capture an elephant checking out our car whilst we slept in our tent a few meters away. Lots of outdoor fun to be had!

[weegie01]

I was just going to say...why not go for a '90s Land Cruiser instead for the exact same feel without the bankruptcy?

They are extremely rare in the UK, I think I see one on Autotrader for instance. IIRC Most Toyota Landcruisers in the UK aren't real Landcruisers like you get in Australia, they're rebadged Toyota Prados. Ultimately a 20 year car of any brand is going to require regular maintenance.

Once you get up to the Pecuniocratic United Estates of Grouse Shooting (or what Visit Scotland unimaginatively calls the 'Highlands'), there are plenty old Cruisers on show. Still dwarfed by the numbers of broken-dwon Land Rovers of course...

At least half of our friends and acquaintances own farms and estates. I can' think of any with a Toyota other than a modern pickup, nor can I think of anyone in the area with one. There used to be Landcruisers, Isuzus etc about. They are all gone but the Landies soldier on.

[Calculon]

They are extremely rare in the UK, I think I see one on Autotrader for instance. IIRC Most Toyota Landcruisers in the UK aren't real Landcruisers like you get in Australia, they're rebadged Toyota Prados. Ultimately a 20 year car of any brand is going to require regular maintenance.

Once you get up to the Pecuniocratic United Estates of Grouse Shooting (or what Visit Scotland unimaginatively calls the 'Highlands'), there are plenty old Cruisers on show. Still dwarfed by the numbers of broken-dwon Land Rovers of course...

At least half of our friends and acquaintances own farms and estates. I can' think of any with a Toyota other than a modern pickup, nor can I think of anyone in the area with one. There used to be Landcruisers, Isuzus etc about. They are all gone but the Landies soldier on.

Here in SA the Toyota Hilux seems to be the go to vehicle for farmers. Lots of Land Rover Defenders about but they're used by suburbanites for... whatever.

[FalseBayFC]

After years of scoffing at the brand I finally relented and bought a couple of Le Creuset casseroles. I've used a plain cast iron Dutch oven and skillet for ever but felt like a change.

They are great pots I have to say. I've been trying my hand at classic French stuff and the white enamel really helps with guaging sauce colour etc.

There's a YT channel called French Cooking Academy and the chap gets into the Escoffier techniques. His endorsement finally tipped me towards getting them. First time I've been hooked by YT product placement

[inactionman]

The Defender I had eyes on looked too much work so that's been binned, but will keep eyes peeled.

As some recompense, the missus signed off on a trail camera we can use for the hedgehog house we just built for the kids.

The hedgehog house itself is a simple wood and slatted roof cheapie from Dobbies, I nailed some boards underneath to give it a base and used bricks to make a tunnel to keep foxes etc away from the entrance.

The trail camera looks a decent bit of kit, can't wait to give it a go - bought it from naturespy, a non-profit who do loads of this stuff around the world.



https://shop.naturespy.org/product/brow ... tc-7e-hp4/

Great buy. I borrowed one from my mate when I went camping a few months back. Managed to capture an elephant checking out our car whilst we slept in our tent a few meters away. Lots of outdoor fun to be had!

I was feeling quite proud of my photos of a fox but feel I've been trumped a bit now.

I've got a David Yarrow print on my wall where he uses remote controlled cameras to capture wildlife - in the print I've got, a Lioness - and I reckon these sorts of cameras are tailor-made for Africa.

The cheeky fox was eating the cat food we'd left out for the hedgehogs. Which really should have been expected. We get a few cats as well, the golf course opposite has deer but I'm not leaving my trail cam out for the local neds to pilfer (although I think they're generally put off by the IR glow)

[inactionman]

A bit of a rip - even with discount vouchers they were £80 each - but they work exactly as described. A mug with a small heater that keeps your tea/coffee at whatever temperature you set it at.

I bought them mainly for the missus who barely gets a chance to drink her coffee with the kids giving her the runaround, but I'm finding it quite handy as well.

[robmatic]

Just bought the Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph.
Beautiful thing, with the superb ST19 mechanical column wheel movement.
Every watch collector should have one. A mechanical chronograph with this type of movement for under 1000 quid is unheard of and it makes this watch an anomaly.

Ps)don't start fucking watch collecting.

That looks decent for the price, to be fair.

My best budget watch purchase was a vintage 70s Seiko Lordmatic which set me back about £80.

At some point I will need to replace my SKX007, which I like wearing but turned out be quite poor quality, with another budget diver.

[Enzedder]

[Line6 HXFX]

Just bought the Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph.
Beautiful thing, with the superb ST19 mechanical column wheel movement.
Every watch collector should have one. A mechanical chronograph with this type of movement for under 1000 quid is unheard of and it makes this watch an anomaly.

Ps)don't start fucking watch collecting.

That looks decent for the price, to be fair.

My best budget watch purchase was a vintage 70s Seiko Lordmatic which set me back about £80.

At some point I will need to replace my SKX007, which I like wearing but turned out be quite poor quality, with another budget diver.

Ahh the SKX007, a superb watch. I recently bought one of the Seiko Street Tunas, which is a very versatile and robust bit if kit, where you can take off the shroud and basically have a completely different watch.
This thing though is solar powered, which some automatic fanatics hate...but it loses just 15 seconds a month.

[Tattie]

Just bought the Seagull 1963 mechanical chronograph.
Beautiful thing, with the superb ST19 mechanical column wheel movement.
Every watch collector should have one. A mechanical chronograph with this type of movement for under 1000 quid is unheard of and it makes this watch an anomaly.

Ps)don't start fucking watch collecting.

I’ve been wanting a Seagull 1963 for a while now, lovely watches, but there are so many fakes going about.

Personally I love Vostok Amphibias, amazing value for a fully automatic watch and there is an almost infinite amount of case/face/bezel/hands combinations.