I stripped the engine and identified some issues with #4 bore and piston...typical! https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/piston-bore-wear.328409/#post-4226828 The (knackered) 300tdi bulkhead was also delivered for blasting this week; a significant amount of metal will need replacing...

Thanks James - I've touched base with a local (and reputable) engineering firm to get the ball rolling; I'll likely get them to de-coke the head, remove and refit the valves, as well as re-bore, re-hone, and fitting of new pistons/rings. I may drop the conrods over too as a couple of the bushes...

Thanks - you were the man I had in mind when I saw the piston! The core plugs are already out and it looks like the rear one has been replaced before. Would oversized pistons be required following a rebore, or just slightly larger rings? Or does it depend on measurements?

Where there's a will, there's a way! The grooves look much deeper in the photos than in the flesh:

Thanks for the very swift feedback!

I'm trying to upload photos at the moment, but the site isn't letting me; it's saying that the files are too large when they're only 3mb!

...doesn't appear to work at the moment. I get presented with an error message saying the file size is too large for the server to handle, yet the file is only ~ 3mb. Is this a site-wide issue, or are others experiencing similar problems?

As part of my complete restoration/modification for overlanding, I stripped the engine completely today and cleaned up the pistons for inspection. All was well until I looked at piston #4. You can see that it has been rubbing against the bore, which is consistent with some marks inside there...

I had already invested much time and effort in the chassis by the time I noticed the flaw. Sorting it out was preferable to returning etc. etc.

My chassis is from Shielder. I had to cut and re-weld the offside/front coil mount as it was noticeably misaligned. I provided feedback to Shielder but do not know what they have done with this information since. I also had to trim a very small amount off the front crossmember for the tub...

See here for inspiration/potential pitfalls. It's a bloody expensive affair! https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/sting-rays-89-90-complete-restoration.317719/

I'm a Product Safety Engineer; supplying a safety critical component of such poor quality is not only hazardous, but potentially unlwaful. If you are concerned about the safety of a product, make your concern clear to the retailer, manufacturer or the Citizens Advice consumer helpline: 03454 04...

300tdi bulkeads are different to 200tdi and 19J bulkheads, due to the different gearboxes (R380 vs LT77) and the tunnels that sit over them. I believe that td5 bulkheads can be fitted to 300tdi with a couple of mods. TDCi bulkheads have been fitted to 300tdi etc, but requires more work. If I...

Gears are simple; it's one of the reasons why I retrofitted a gear driven cam engine into my motorbike. Chains need to be tensioned, and tensioners routinely fail, causing wear of the chain guides when the chain isn't under the correct tension. The chains do eventually stretch, contrary to what...

As you may imagine, I’ve not been able to make much progress in the past few days. I have however been able to identify where the fuel pipes will run, and sourced a 300tdi bulkhead. It needs extensive repairs, and I’ll need to make a trip to Essex on Saturday to collect, but at least I’ll have...

I REALLY want to whack the person who concocted the fixing arrangement for a 300tdi fuel tank!!! It took around 2 hours to get it and the cradle secured correctly, although I did learn that there are two handy holes in the bottom of rear crossmember that allows a 1/4" socket to secure the rear...

Retroanaconda.com is your friend.

It rolls! (See attached photo)