I suppose it depends on the electrical contact between the roofrack and the vehicle structure. If it's part of a roll cage one would expect metal to metal contact all the way down to the chassis, but if it's merely clipped on to the gutters you've got paint and possibly a rubber pad, and then...

It's perfectly possible to do gearbox out work at the side of the road, because I've done it. The main disadvantage is having to hide all your tools every time you go in for a pee or to put the kettle on. I've got a little transmission lift that I use for this sort of thing so it doesn't even...

I had something similar a few years ago when my ECU was in the process of failing. It would run very roughly with a good deal of smoke, and leave 'peak charge long' errors on the Nanocom. If these were cleared it could be started and would run fine, until it happened again. Eventually it would...

Yup, if you don't start the engine the pump runs for a while and then stops. I think there's a pressure switch in there somewhere that turns it off. There's also a rubber valve in the block that the fuel filter screws onto. It's in the spout that's closest to the chassis on the side that's...

Sounds like there may still be some air in there. It can hang around for a while after the fuel system has been apart. After a fuel filter change I find I have to run the purge cycle about two or three times - you know, the one where you switch on and them press the accelerator about five times...

I see the price has gone up on that AEC Matador. Opening bid of £5000 and a buy it now of £10,000...

What, 'sold elsewhere after I bought it'? Yes, people do that a lot on Ebay. They've probably got it on Gumtree, Autotrader, their local paper and no doubt a card in the newsagent's window too. I've had that when trying to buy cement mixers, dumper trucks and even a chainsaw once. Something...

I've always liked the AEC Matador. I was saving up to buy one a few years ago but as a result of a couple of windfalls I rather overshot my savings target and bought some land instead. I got as far as buying a manual and a Whit/BSF socket set, and having a couple of phone conversations with...

There's an AEC Matador for sale on Ebay. Nobody's bid on it yet and it has a very reasonable starting price...

I think the later ones may be metric. I can get a metric bolt into mine, and it's a 2006 model. Usually, I can move the shaft out with a hooked seal pick on the threads, with is enough to get the circlip and washer on when I've replaced the drive flanges. So I get by without having to put a bolt...

You can take the master cylinder off the servo and gently bend it away - there's enough flex on the pipes so you don't have to undo any of them. Then you'll be able to see a rod peeping out that pushes on the plunger in the master cylinder. If you wedge the brake pedal down it will stick out...

Those battery finder web pages where you put in the registration or make and model seem to give you the minimum you can get away with, rather than something that'll keep you going reliably through a few British winters. I tend to go for something in the neighbourhood of 100 AH and 1000 CCA if I...

Yes, looks very like a Hillman Avenger Tiger to me. With a large valve head and twin Weber carburettors they managed to get over 90 bhp out of the little 1500 engine, which was a lot in those days. Sundance yellow and wardance red were the colourways. Decent examples are getting very collectible...

Thanks for the update. I'm pleased to hear you made the most of it despite bad weather and loss of wallet. I tried a recumbent bike back in the 1980s and things don't stay in your pockets. It's the angle your sitting at - a bit like how change finds its way down the crack of sofas.

Presumably you won't have people sleeping in the tent while you're driving around. The recommended maximum loadings are so that the car doesn't lean over too far when cornering and risk capsizing. The actual weight it can support before the gutters break is considerably more. I'm not sure how...

It's certainly cooler here in the east midlands this morning,so the brief burst of summer earlier in the week seems to be over. To stop it getting too hot in here I tend to open the windows at the back, which is north facing, and draw the curtains at the front which gets the full force of the...

Yes, they hung on to imperial sizes for some of these well into the 2000s. Mine's 2006 and still has the imperial sized bolts. Similarly, the bolts that hold the radius/trailing arms onto the back axle will probably still be imperial ones. So it's worth checking someone hasn't fobbed you off...

Well, I'm glad it's not just me. The nut holding the central ball joint to my back axle is positioned so you can't get a socket on it, because the body of the axle is in the way. On mentioning this on Landyzone I was met with some scepticism, even from the late great James Martin, who'd worked...

The Sweeney was my favourite of the police series when I was young because the others seemed rather insipid by comparison. Softly Softly and its successor, Barlow involved far to much talking for my liking. Z Cars seemed to be preoccupied with trivia. The Sweeney by contrast, generally began...

Mine does this occasionally too. It's fine after the engine has been worked for a short while. If you manage to solve it come back and let us know. Another suggestion I've had from a mechanic who seemed to know a lot about Land Rovers and built competition vehicles in his spare time is that...