Strange taste in furniture but each to his own, glad it wasn't a Classic :rolleyes:

Good idea but the entire cluster is out of the car, so no gauges or warning lights either. The car is used to being idle for anything up to a month sometimes, so I'm not under pressure.

Unnecessary, original condition with just 63k miles FSH & just 2 previous owners. Just as well as I wouldn't know where to start o_O

Appreciate that, but the moment I read that soldering was involved I decided to suffer the dim dash lighting that I've put up with for the past 16 years ;) Cluster is at the repairers since yesterday, hopefully a fairly quick turn around. The RR is only a second car, but you can bet your...

A few months more than that for mine, because it was built in June '87 it will have to wait until April 2028 to be classed as Historic.

Got the same dilemma with my '87 RRC, owned for 16 years but not yet old enough to escape VED at £350 a year. Add to that the insurance premium increases we've all suffered & the on-going £hundreds it costs to maintain it's original condition .. all for a motor that over the past few years has...

Whilst not disputing the answers you've had I'm wondering if it could be for a car 'phone? My old BMW is from the same period as your RR & still has a working 'phone; if I unscrew the antenna on the rear 'screen the connection looks the same as yours.

Being the heavier Safari model mine rode quite well I seem to recall, went like a train with the P5 lump installed & no worse on fuel either, thanks to the abundant power & overdrive. That was back in the 'eighties .. I still miss the old girl.

Thanks guys, I wasn't aware of any 'sheath' over the bulbs but will investigate that before re-installing the cluster. nb: what was the purpose of them anyway .. heat containment perhaps?

I thought the Cherokee Chief did well, for such a big soft-sprung lump, with a time close to that of the more agile vehicles. Ok it didn't crest the final hill, but then neither did others including the RR.

With the complete instrument cluster currently out of my RRC ('87 3.5efi) to rectify a faulty speedo, can I ask if anyone has been successful in retro-fitting brighter bulbs/LEDs to improve the pathetic level of instrument back-lighting on a Classic? Also, Speedy Cables have confirmed that they...

The only occasion I ever had the need to do this (to retro-fit a P5 engine) I used a borrowed garage hoist .. pukka thing used in a friend's commercial workshop. It broke it :oops:

Genuine original Classics in good condition (corrosion is by far the biggest concern) are rare & expensive. Refurbished are cheaper, but to what standard? .. always ask for photographic evidence of the rebuild. The asking price is a clue to the workmanship involved ;)

That's good news, insurers tend to be picky :rolleyes:

Be careful, what you are suggesting could be deemed as a major modification (effecting handling) by your insurer.

That's a bit of a surprise as the 2.6 lump is a hefty 'ole thing (owned a '79 Safari version years ago) so I would have thought it would have had some effect on the springs. As said remove any extended shackles to bring the ride height down. Can't you get a gang of local kids to 'bounce' the...

My local garage & I have that arrangement. If either of my cars ('87 RRC & '98 BMW) are serviced I supply the engine oil leaving them to supply filters etc. When it comes to maintenance/repairs I source the components & accept the responsibility for them; saves the guy a stack of time trawling...

Depends on the year? My '73 had the tank on the driver's side.

You do get this, I had a wartime truck with some of the V5c documentation transposed ie the vehicle's weight was listed as the engine capacity & visa-versa. I never alerted the DVLA of the error as doing so could open a can of worms ;)

My '87 has been retro-fitted with the genuine LR sway bar kit by one of it's two PO's (yes, I'm still only the third owner in 36 years) After experimenting with (firstly) HD rear springs & latterly a Harvey-Bailey kit, to counter customer's complaints regarding handling, they developed their own...