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Post by valhalla on May 8, 2016 0:19:12 GMT 1
....you know how it is with a certain online auction site, even before the cork's come out of the bottle?
Managed to win an auction on a Defender 110" 300Tdi hardtop. Not the prettiest thing to look at, but an honest vehicle with an honest description. The price just did not seem to be rising as the auction ended, and in a rash stupidity I pushed a derogatory bid in just above it, only to win. I'm not sure whether to be pleased or cry.
The trouble is, everywhere is a long way from everywhere else in Scotland, and this one's in the Central Belt, so it looks like I'm going to have to convoy it back (or borrow a working trailer) next weekend. A nice little 6.5-hour run each way.....
I'm also undecided which way to play this vehicle; do I insure and register it on the repair business, and do it up over a couple of years whilst using it as a tool, or treat it as purely personal and keep it off the books? It would certainly make a fine mobile works vehicle (that's what it has just done for the last few years) and it has a better tow-ball arrangement than my current Defender, but although it needs a good paint and polish, everything seems straight enough on the outside to warrant a decent cosmetic overhaul and "tart-up" to attract another buyer. The inside, being a utility, is better for working out on the road than my County Station Wagon as well, which has suffered badly since being on the West Coast (and really needs a thorough overhaul before it disappears into aluminium dust).
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Post by mayfly on May 8, 2016 11:33:27 GMT 1
Can you find a haulier to collect it for you ?
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Post by valhalla on May 8, 2016 23:26:29 GMT 1
It might be a nice day-trip out for all the family (the dogs would have to come along too) but a better option is to drag-out my old flatbed trailer and see if that still tows. It has ben stuck down the croft for nigh-on 7 years now, but is made of stern stuff.
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Post by valhalla on May 10, 2016 0:03:23 GMT 1
Turned the flatbed trailer drag-out into a project this afternoon. Not everything is great with the trailer, it has sat around too long. The biggest problem is that all the brakes are dragging to some extent or another, even though everything was left "off" when it was parked. To be frank, it wasn't brilliant for occasional brake drag when it came off the road, so I'm wondering if the linings are a bit loose. It needs good brakes, as the trailer alone weighs-in at around 1700kg.
I tiffled around with the electrics, which are all German (Hella) to military-spec, so everything came back to life with some new bulbs and a new plug on the connecting lead.
Then I realised that the tailgate is seized in its stowed (up) position. Really seized.
Then I realised that the hydraulic hoses that feed the two masive rams under the trailer (to raise and lower it for loading) are perished/burst. So it would have to be used in its spragged-up "road mode" 100% with some loose ramp-plates on the back to load the vehicle. Not a major problem, but all time out of the calender this week.
I then took it out for a road-run this evening (scare the tourists, that sort of thing) and re-acquainted myself with how heavy the thing is on the hills, how badly the Defender pulls it when the brakes are dragging, and how much it needs a foot taking off the track (the wheels spend more time straddling the road in the verge than running on tarmac). When I got back, three out four of the wheels were baking hot, so that's not a great omen for the weekend. Definitely needs a brake overhaul first.....
The thing is so big and cumbersome, it's tempting to just cut it down to a decent size, but that's a job for another month/year/decade!
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Post by Noberator on May 10, 2016 15:23:09 GMT 1
Is this Defender 110" 300Tdi roadworthy?
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Post by Karl on May 10, 2016 20:19:27 GMT 1
Think you should bid on an trailer now from eBay
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Post by Noberator on May 10, 2016 21:24:13 GMT 1
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Post by valhalla on May 11, 2016 0:28:15 GMT 1
Is this Defender 110" 300Tdi roadworthy? Yes, on the MT Policy from today, will tax remotely with the buyer's slip reference number tomorrow evening.
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Post by valhalla on May 11, 2016 0:33:14 GMT 1
Think you should bid on an trailer now from eBay Now that's just nasty.... I did have a little look a few months ago, until the missus asked what I was going to do with the truck....... Somehow I feel that this could be "an adventure" worth having.....driving an unknown entity back through the night, in the middle of nowhere, unable to carry any tools on the bus on the way down, no garages open for 80miles of that journey (about 300miles total). It does have 11months ticket, and looking at the history, nothing that would suggest the impending doom that will no doubt come my way!!
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Post by valhalla on May 13, 2016 20:02:30 GMT 1
Turns out it was more stupid than I thought.....
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Post by valhalla on May 13, 2016 23:54:12 GMT 1
I phoned the guy a day or two ago, started to arrange a date to go down and pick it up, then I thought to myself,"He sounds a bit 'yocal' for a South Lanarkshire lad". The conversation comes around to directions, and I'm thinking to myself, "What the fr***ing hell is he talking about? He's got his motorways all over the place......" Then the penny dropped (as well as the contents of my stomach) as I realised that the Ebay listing was not all that explicit about the county in which the vehicle was located. What is quite a big town in South Lanarkshire is, as it happens, also the name of a farm on an obscure lane in the middle of South Gloucestershire... So a day-trip out is going to turn into a 4-day holiday whilst I tour the sights and sounds of the Wurzels (well, not quite, but getting there....) whilst proffering all my lovely Clydesdale Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland currency for favours and car-purchase....
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Post by Noberator on May 15, 2016 16:20:16 GMT 1
I phoned the guy a day or two ago, started to arrange a date to go down and pick it up, then I thought to myself,"He sounds a bit 'yocal' for a South Lanarkshire lad". The conversation comes around to directions, and I'm thinking to myself, "What the fr***ing hell is he talking about? He's got his motorways all over the place......" Then the penny dropped (as well as the contents of my stomach) as I realised that the Ebay listing was not all that explicit about the county in which the vehicle was located. What is quite a big town in South Lanarkshire is, as it happens, also the name of a farm on an obscure lane in the middle of South Gloucestershire... So a day-trip out is going to turn into a 4-day holiday whilst I tour the sights and(well, not quite, but getting there....) whilst proffering all my lovely Clydesdale Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland currency for favours and car-purchase.... As requested.
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Post by chippie on May 15, 2016 17:13:27 GMT 1
So this Landrover may as well be from the other song.... 'I got a brand new combine 'arvester....'
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spud
Apprentice
Posts: 1,275
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Post by spud on May 16, 2016 8:11:13 GMT 1
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Post by valhalla on May 16, 2016 23:54:36 GMT 1
If he wants a lift back.... then again an 'arvester is going to be more comfy than a Defender!
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