I've just bought a 101 Ambulance... (YAY ME!)

rubix101 said:

With your Ambi's chassis now galvanized I suspect the differential convoy light was probably not re-fitted. Having pumps sucking through other pumps is never a good idea & it is certainly a good idea to get this sorted before you are left beside the road somewhere with the recovery man/lady saying "I'm not putting that on here!!" I've been out of the 101 circuit for a bit now & am curious what tyres are on offer out there now, the 300's which were mega perfect made by Michellin now a distant memory sadly. At the time I found it impossible to obtain the correct 33"/34" height without the fashionable extra width & the bar grips are getting very old now. I have heard of some MOT stations failing vehicles on the date stamped on the tyres. The tallest BF Goodrich offered without the extra width never quite stepping up in the height dept either. If you are feeling very adventurous & not seeking originality, Unimog wheels fit (just) & being 20" have a great selection being aimed at the commercial world. There was a lot of debate going around years ago whether this was a design insistence of Land Rover by the military which would explain the 6 wheel studs. Dunno.

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I've nipped outside and got my hands and knees dirty looking under the back for the convoy light.
I'm happy to report that it is present. Blending in nicely with the rest of the underside's light coating of crud!
My chassis hasn't been galvanised though. As for tyres, i've just sent a message to Vrakking tyres in Dutchland enquiring on the availablity of their Michelin remoulds. Toyo LT255/85xR16 are 846mm tall and fit onto the 6.5inch rim. From what i gather, the bargrips are 33 inches tall which is 838mm so i might go for a set of these. I expect i'll get over the cost of five @ £206 if i go into extreme denial mode...

Try Martin at Able.

I must measure my bar grips, those Toyo look viable. Good spot.

Cheaper?


No association, just googled

Wildefalcon said:

Cheaper?

255/85R16 119P Toyo Open Country M/T | Tyres Direct

An aggressive off road tyre specifically designed for applications where off road capability is essential, Open Country M/T is also a civilised road tyre....

tyresdirectuk.co.uk

No association, just googled

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Yes, i spotted those after my initial search. A very nice saving!!!

Wildefalcon said:

Try Martin at Able.

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They were one of the places i checked yesterday in my two hour search. The 255/85x16s were suggested in the 900club.org forum.

yfo866 said:

They were one of the places i checked yesterday in my two hour search. The 255/85x16s were suggested in the 900club.org forum.

9.00x16 equivalents - 900 Club Forum

900club.org

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Have you tried a truck tyre place for these tyres? I done this for 7.50x16. Not good for off road but cheaper than most places

Hicap phill said:

Have you tried a truck tyre place for these tyres? I done this for 7.50x16. Not good for off road but cheaper than most places

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Not specifically no, but i have learnt that a good many tractor front tyres are 900x16. As for fitting truck tyres to my 101, i feel i wouldn't be able to take it out in public if i didn't have decent looking tread on my tyres.
I'll be happy to go out with a set of these Toyos though.
After having a good look in the back of the 'daily' car, an old 320d BMW, with a tape measure in hand i can't thinking i'll only get four out of the five tyres in the back of the car. I reckon the fifth will either be belted onto the front passenger seat (just thought of this while typing) or ratcheted down onto my single blow up mattress on the roof.
Don't laugh, it's how i've collected two kayaks in my old Seat Ibiza 3 door a couple of times. I do admit that when i turned up at a farm to collect the first one, the posh lady seller pointed out that she didn't think the kayak would fit inside the boot. I agreed with her and whilst chatting proceeded to remove from the boot, and start blowing up, a single inflatable mattress. Between blows i said i reckon if i inflate the mattress and put it onto the roof and then the kayak on top of that, a couple of ratchet straps, one under the tailgate hinges and the other through the front doors and then over the kayak should be secure enough. She grabbed her son of about 8 years old and backed away from me towards the house muttering that if i need anything just knock on the door. I got the distinct impression that she thought i was nuts!
That trip was from Oxford back to Worcestershire. When i proved the concept worked ok, i used the same method to collect the second kayak which i bought from Skegness. The only hiccup the first time was the front strap vibrating in the wind as i drove along. It not only made a loud noise but transmitted vibrations through the car. It felt like how i imagine putting your head onto the handle of a pneumatic drill while it was working would feel.
I'll tell you how loud it was, while driving at about 40mph, a man walking his dog about a hundred yards in front of me both stopped and turned around to look at what was making the noise coming from behind them. I had to pull over a bit further down the road and tied some cable i'd got in the boot to both pieces above where the strap went into the door aperture to stop them twisting in the wind. The back one didn't do it as i'd accidentally got a couple of twists into them. That's what i did when i collected the one from Skegness. A couple of twists each side stopped the straps from twisting.

Some of the tractor 900”s have no tread,just 3 ribs. At least you won’t get road noise.

Yes, I've looked at tractor tyres and trailer tyres. Also military bar grips from Turkey and India. Whilst rated for 101 weights, none are speed rated above 50kph. Which is a tad slow for a 101. Just. There are Chinese copies of the Michelin zxl, but......

There are Portuguese camac tyres that are also close with a 50mph rating. But not really available.

The Michelins and the Toyo look like the best options.

I've just measured the Goodyear bar grips and they're 33.5 inches centre of tyre thread to centre of tyre thread, less that that at the shoulder of the grip. There are well worn examples, though.

So, definitely on my the short list.

A few weeks ago on Jeremy Vine live 5 the usual bunch of journos bloggers and presenters were asked had they ever changed a tyre the answer was no... doh...of course they haddent becausd when you get a puncture you change the wheel with a tyre on it...none of them mentioned it...

Shouldn't sneer, really, it's lack of experience. Once you've the kit and experience it's a really great workout!

Shippers said:

A few weeks ago on Jeremy Vine live 5 the usual bunch of journos bloggers and presenters were asked had they ever changed a tyre the answer was no... doh...of course they haddent becausd when you get a puncture you change the wheel with a tyre on it...none of them mentioned it...

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Um, yes, I'm also a bit picky over the mis-use of the term 'tyre'. Its actually used more often than not. I don't think I am insisting that anyone using these terms becomes a specialist, just that they use the correct terminology or actual tyre fitters would quite likely feel their skills may disappear into that over-used bin of 'not very interesting', whereas, that is not strictly true having had a friend who spent many years fitting tyres to rims, on & off the vehicles. Skill is indeed required - plus big muscles!

rubix101 said:

Um, yes, I'm also a bit picky over the mis-use of the term 'tyre'. Its actually used more often than not. I don't think I am insisting that anyone using these terms becomes a specialist, just that they use the correct terminology or actual tyre fitters would quite likely feel their skills may disappear into that over-used bin of 'not very interesting', whereas, that is not strictly true having had a friend who spent many years fitting tyres to rims, on & off the vehicles. Skill is indeed required - plus big muscles!

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A mate of mine never carried a spare wheel on his Series 2(ex mine) He carried a couple of spare inner tubes, bloody huge tyre levers and his hi-lift jack. He'd take off the punctured wheel, place an axle stand under the axle then use the jack to break the bead of the tyre by jacking the car up on the sidewall. Then grunt and swear a lot removing the punctured tube. I said he's a bloody idiot. Just carry a spare wheel!

Here are a couple of pics from today. One outside Demon Tweeks with three tyres inside and two on top, then one outside the house next to the 101. You can hardly see the dent in the roof...
It did pop out with a few smacks from inside. I'd say it's now as good as new but many people had tried to work out what had caused the existing dents on the roof added before i bought it. I'm now wondering if a previous owner also carried tyres that wouldn't all fit inside...
The BM is more of a shed than the 101 is!

These tyres are rated at 93 mph.
I don't think i have the required testicles to drive one at that speed!

yfo866 said:

Here are a couple of pics from today. One outside Demon Tweeks with three tyres inside and two on top, then one outside the house next to the 101. You can hardly see the dent in the roof...
It did pop out with a few smacks from inside. I'd say it's now as good as new but many people had tried to work out what had caused the existing dents on the roof added before i bought it. I'm now wondering if a previous owner also carried tyres that wouldn't all fit inside...
The BM is more of a shed than the 101 is!

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Excellent stuff! Nice to see vehicles used in the real world.

Has anyone replaced the shoes on their 101 and found the drum wouldn't fit over them? That's what i found today. Leading shoe facing the front, trailing facing the rear. Pointy end mated to the cylinder, flat end poked behind the plate at the bottom. Both adjusters back fully off. I filed a small angle onto the lining material outer edge and then when the drum still wouldn't slide on, i took the drum out back and introduced it to Mrs Anglegrinder and her mate Mr Flapdisc and when they met it was murder, well sparks anyway...
So even with no lip at all on the drum it still wouldn't fit over the shoes.
The new and old metal parts are the same size. The only difference that i can see is the amount of lining material bonded to the new shoes. Where as the old riveted on material ends further away from the cylinder on the leading shoe than on the trailing, on the new ones the lining goes much further on both leading and trailing. Using the end of my thumb against the last inch of my screwdriver i measured the distance between the face of the shoe to the edge of the back plate to get them as central as possible. The drum STILL wouldn't slip on. At the moment to get the drum and the wheel back on i've removed the shoes. I might have to brush the old shoes off and refit them if you experts can't come up with a solution. I'll accept anything along the lines of YOU MUPPET! You haven't... or You have... if it sorts out my problem. I'm thick skinned

The annoying thing is, these shoes are Ferodo. I haven't looked at the front set yet which are Britparts. It wouldn't surprise me if they are for a cement mixer! Or are all trailing shoes.

yfo866 said:

Has anyone replaced the shoes on their 101 and found the drum wouldn't fit over them? That's what i found today. Leading shoe facing the front, trailing facing the rear. Pointy end mated to the cylinder, flat end poked behind the plate at the bottom. Both adjusters back fully off. I filed a small angle onto the lining material outer edge and then when the drum still wouldn't slide on, i took the drum out back and introduced it to Mrs Anglegrinder and her mate Mr Flapdisc and when they met it was murder, well sparks anyway...
So even with no lip at all on the drum it still wouldn't fit over the shoes.
The new and old metal parts are the same size. The only difference that i can see is the amount of lining material bonded to the new shoes. Where as the old riveted on material ends further away from the cylinder on the leading shoe than on the trailing, on the new ones the lining goes much further on both leading and trailing. Using the end of my thumb against the last inch of my screwdriver i measured the distance between the face of the shoe to the edge of the back plate to get them as central as possible. The drum STILL wouldn't slip on. At the moment to get the drum and the wheel back on i've removed the shoes. I might have to brush the old shoes off and refit them if you experts can't come up with a solution. I'll accept anything along the lines of YOU MUPPET! You haven't... or You have... if it sorts out my problem. I'm thick skinned

The annoying thing is, these shoes are Ferodo. I haven't looked at the front set yet which are Britparts. It wouldn't surprise me if they are for a cement mixer! Or are all trailing shoes.

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Could you try 1 new 1 old shoe mix to see if the drum goes on?
This may only prove to much friction material

I've done the rear shoes and had no problem.