After quite a long time I finally ordered a set of shiny new wheels and tyres. Can't wait to go on some trips to try them out.

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Lovely boots. Seems like they are finally available. I was recently told that they would not be available until September. May I ask who you bought them from, what size are they, whether they deliver and how much you paid for them? I would like to import a set.
 
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Various holes in the rear crossmember so decided to put on a new one with extentions

A worthwhile modification you could make to your new cross-member would be weld caps on the ends where it is wide open into the box section. I did this to my new chassis after it was fit for a couple of years, I had the tub off as part of my bodywork rebuild (see my Defender Bodywork Rebuild post) and in that short time, and no real off-roading the collection of mud in there was a joke. I also seam welded right along the back where the outer C-section is spot welded over the inner C-section to help mitigate water ingress between the metal. I also added extended mud flaps to the tub that drop down over the cross-member to reduce the volume of filth that gets flung onto it. Fill it with Dinitrol and, stone-chip and paint the exterior, job done.
 
Lovely boots. Seems like they are finally available. I was recently told that they would not be available until September. May I ask who you bought them from, what size are they, whether they deliver and how much you paid for them? I would like to import a set.
I've heard about something to do with Cooper redesigning the tyre but not sure if that was the STT or the STT Pro. Certainly the normal STT is almost impossible to find in a 265/75/16. I bought these as a wheel and tyre package from ebay through tyres direct online with free delivery in the UK. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/x4-265-75...959828?hash=item3f631fac94:g:POIAAOSw5ZBWO0bB
The package isn't cheap but should last a fair few years.
 
Small update: Over the last couple of months I decided to take the plunge and try running on SVO. Performance was just as good and the engine ran much quieter........until it blew a seal in the fuel injection pump. Now looking at new injection pumps would be around £500 of which I just don't have after buying the new tyres. I happened to find a used 200TDI nearby so I decided to buy that to allow me to use the car over the summer while I do a full engine rebuild on my current engine. It turns out after a bit of investigation that the engine I bought on ebay has done 50000 more miles than the seller advertised, but that's another story....... Also bought some special plastic spray paint so I could get the wheel arch spats smartened up.

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Please don't rub any more salt into my wound by showing me those tyres. The bloody things are out of stock all over the damn place :(
 
Got a bit done on the engine. Was originally planning to drop it in the car and rebuild mine but turns out it was hardly a running engine! Haven't got any pictures of it yet but the keyway on the crank has been destroyed so the timing gear has worn the end of the crank so new crank required. Also the shells are worn down to the copper. Pistons don't look too worn. Going to get the head skimmed in the next few days.

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Bit of cleaning done. Got a quote to get the head sorted with new valve guides, skim and valve seat cutting at £120 all in which seems reasonable. Taking that to the engine shop as soon as the valves and guides get delivered. Also going to get them to hone the bores while I'm there.

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More progress on the engine.

Took the block and head to the machine shop to have the head skimmed, valve guides changed and valve seats cut to the new valves. Also got the bores honed while I was there. Block is now painted and crankshaft is in. Head is starting to be put back together now.
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Also went on a greenlaning trip to Oxford last weekend- Video here-

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Hats off to you mate for the work you have put in. Same year as mine. Hope you had stern words with the dog that sold you the engine. I near fell off my seat when I seen your "carpets", but each to their own eh. Well done.;)
 
That is looking very tidy. It'll be well worth the hard work and time you have put in to it. Excellent looking job.
I like the look of the front of your Landy! Same as mine :)
 
I have finally got around to picking up the engine crane so will begin the engine swap tomorrow if everything goes to plan. Hoping it should only take a couple of days max. Also received the temperature gauge which I ordered from China many weeks ago which is now fitted in my raptor dash.

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Well it's been a tough few days changing the engine. Started around 11am Tuesday and have worked most days solid since then to finish it. The first two days were spent taking the old engine out, swapping over some of the bits and then fitting the new engine. By thursday evening the engine was running but only just. It turns out the stop solenoid in the injection pump had a broken pin so I can only assume the bit is in the pump somewhere? Once the solenoids were swapped over I took the car for a run just to run the engine in. Got back and there was diesel running out of the timing case.

Friday came around and after some investigation, the pump has a blown front seal so the only solution was to swap it for my "old" known working pump (Not a small job). So Friday was spent stripping the front of both engines to swap injection pumps. While taking the timing cover off, I damaged the gasket on the cover. Anyway, get it all put back together using sealant instead of the gasket and what a surprise, I have a water leak.

After that I called it a day and spent yesterday morning making a new gasket for the cover where the water feed to the head is. Finally, after some knuckles missing and scratched arms and a few headaches, the engine was finally run yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately still waiting on some new engine mounts as the old ones were split. In the meantime I've taken it for a drive and all seems well, maybe even a bit more power.

Some photos:
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Back at university now. Done about 200 miles and seem to be averaging 20mpg as opposed to the 30mpg from the old engine so something isn't right. Going home this weekend to prepare the car for the MOT so will change the injectors over and check the timing. Also needs the middle box on the exhaust changing.
 

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