Author Topic: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?  (Read 94147 times)

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #195 on: March 23, 2020, 10:52:23 PM »
I forgot I copied this advertisement a ways back.

I thought it was well written, like automotive poetry...

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #196 on: April 03, 2020, 07:07:53 PM »
Had the 109 re-engineered as it was time to transfer the rego into the Qld system, which was completed today.
It’s now registered as a 6x seater and everything else was transferred across without any hassle.
Pretty happy that it all passed with flying colours.

Touched base with a bloke about having the Weber carb rebuilt.
Touched base with Scorcher about having the distributor serviced.
Still looking at getting a new harmonic balancer.
Tossing around the idea of fitting a new mechanical high volume fuel pump, which will then be augmented by the electric fuel  pump.
Eyeing off a set of Crow Cams roller rockers.
Can’t find my screw in studs and guide plates so might have to spring for a new set of those yet.

Going to remove the hatch and drop down tailgate soon, in favour of the barn door, simply because I’m too old and fat and I’m feeling too many aches and pains to want to climb in via the tailgate anymore.
I love the tailgate but the time has come.

Still a million things to do...

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #197 on: August 06, 2020, 06:23:04 PM »
43990 views...

What the?

Can that be right?

It seems a lot of people like old jazzed up army trucks.

Zero has happened to the 109 in the last few months due to cold weather and general laziness.

The distributor and carburettor are yet to be sorted as I’ve been simply too fatigued or lazy or whatever it is, to get them done.

There’s really no valid reason for the delay, it’s pure laziness on my part.

I have to say though, as a means of defence, piss weak though it may be, that it’s bloody hard to find the moxy to do anything after I finish my day work.

I’m not getting any younger and have put on stacks of weight, such that I’m verily on the last hole of my waist belt.

Truth is, I can go literally weeks without casting so much as a glance at the 109, and while I do feel a slight pang of guilt for being so old and creaky myself, I am starting to look at using it again now that the weather is improving.

Here’s what I’ll do, tomorrow I promise to pull the distributor out and ready that for shipping down to Mexico for a service.

That’ll do it for now.

Upon return of the dizzy I shall get the carby rebuilt, then fit the mechanical fuel pump, new harmonic balancer, then install the passenger side fuel tank.

Seriously, while I’ve never been so fat in my life, I am conscious of the fact that carrying all this extra weight isn’t doing me any good.

I’m blaming my missis, she cooks, I eat.

Might have to shanghai her just so I can get skinny again.

Offline Lionelgee

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #198 on: August 24, 2020, 05:29:09 PM »
Hello Navigator,

How are things going? It has been a while since you posted up your exploits on the 109. Or about your workday challenges. It has been awfully quiet in fact. I hope everything is okay?

Kind regards
Lionel

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #199 on: August 26, 2020, 04:07:45 PM »
Hi Lionel,

I’m still kicking, thank you for asking.

It seems I’m no closer to finding out what’s wrong with me and am still consulting with doctors regularly in order to identify the problem.

I’m sick of having blood tests etc and not getting any answers.

Changed doctors and this new one is open to trying new ways to identify the problem.

The 109 hasn’t been touched since my last post as I kind of fell in a heap and am really struggling just to get through each day.

No clue what’s wrong, haven’t been right since 2017 when I was diagnosed with septicaemia, stemming from what they think was a small cyst on the bone above a molar.
They reckon I was only hours from death and it took several months to regain sufficient health so as to enable them to operate on me, during which time the infection ran amok and transited the top jaw, costing me all my top teeth and I never had a single decay either.
Since then they’ve been treating me for the heart damage though not much can be done for that other than keep the blood pressure stable.

Can’t seem to get on top of it, but I’m certainly not going to stop trying.

It’s a real pain in the backside being afflicted with this, because my mind is still active but my body isn’t.

Just goes to show you how a super fit person can go from athletic to invalid, just like that.

It’s depressing, such that I’m losing fairh at ever recovering.

I’m even contemplating selling the 109 just to see it go to someone who can appreciate it.

A friend in Indonesia contacted me a while back asking if I’d sell it to him if I ever buckled and sold it and yeah, I’m thinking about it.
If I sell it to him I’ll try to get him to continue the updates here, see what happens.

It doubly depressing seeing it sitting there day after day.

It’s been 10 years since the last big rebuild.

Best regards to you Lionel.

Offline STDDIVER

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #200 on: August 28, 2020, 12:50:17 PM »
G'day Navigator - I bet the land rover won't mind one bit waiting for you - no matter how long it takes!  Sometimes things take a lot of time and don't always turn out how we expect, but that's when we keep our faith and find another way of getting things done.  If you don't get the right answer from one person, Doctor or otherwise, ask another.  Never let up until you get the best answer that satisfies you.  Be mission focused!   I am too far away from you to just jump in the car and visit to say hello.   There must be someone locally who can help with some advice or hands on.   Victoria is in lockdown but this doesn't mean a mate close by can't help with cheering you up; as you have kept a lot of people very interested and ediucated through your post and excellent work you have done.  I'd be sad to see your landy move on just yet - lots more stories, bad and good to look forwards to! 

Feel free to write what you want to - I will always read and answer!     Keep the faith brother      STDDIVER      Frank 

Offline Rob6x6

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #201 on: August 28, 2020, 09:54:57 PM »
Well put Frank,  and keep your chin up Navigator.
Cheers, Rob

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #202 on: August 29, 2020, 12:15:55 AM »
Thank you very much for your kind words fellas, I sincerely appreciate it.

Latest series of tests once again proved to be inconclusive so the new doctor has taken a punt and decided to treat me for diabetes, even though there’s nothing indicating I have it.

Started on the medication last night and for some strange reason I couldn’t sleep, whereas I normally bomb out immediately upon arrival at home.
I didn’t get much sleep but went to work today and while it was still pretty tough going, I made it through till about 1:15pm before sneaking off to the pistol club for my Friday recreational shoot.

Arrived home and wasn’t tired and haven’t had a nap at all, which is quite interesting as normally I sleep like a bear, or rather, since getting sick in 2017 I can’t stay awake.

It’s weird because all my life I always rocked along nicely on 3-4 hours sleep a night/day.
Had low blood pressure and slow heartbeat, in the super athlete range they reckoned, at about 48 beats a minute and when sleeping I was only drawing 12 breaths per minute.

I was a machine but not anymore.

I can’t believe this, it’s almost midnight and I’m still wide awake.

I’m super hungry too, can’t stop eating.

I have a feeling this medication is invigorating me somehow, fingers crossed it results in a recovery of sorts.

I’m going to get some help with my weight too as the doctor said I need to get back down to my former weight in order to take the pressure off my feet etc.

It’s early days but the consequences of taking only 2 doses of the new medication appears to be waking me up.

Let’s see what happens.

I’ll attach my latest target from todays effort. It’s 50x shots @ 10 yards rapid fire.
The grouping is significantly improved over my normal efforts due to the fitment of a G3 Speed Ledge/gas pedal.
The G3 is basically a thumb rest which you can stabilise the gun with using your weaknhand thumb.
I’m happy with it, it’s moving my accuracy along in a positive direction.
Still awaiting delivery of the Burris Fast Fire 3 red dot optic @ 3MOA along with a new standard length barrel.
The longer barrel is necessary as I’m having a custom made compensator fabricated for it in order to further reduce the recoil and if all goes to plan I’m hoping to place all my shots within the 10x ring.
It’s a massive ask and won’t be easy to pull it off but what the heck, it’s the challenge that drives me.

Gee I’m really hoping this treatment snaps me out of the sleep and fatigue nonsense for I would sure like to be fit again.



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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #203 on: August 29, 2020, 04:51:48 AM »
I got about 3.5 hrs sleep.
This is very interesting.

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #204 on: August 29, 2020, 11:11:21 AM »
And...not going anywhere today by the looks, cannot get out of bed due to extreme pain in the left leg and ankle.
It’s like a gout attack except it isn’t gout.
This is the nonsense I’ve had to deal with since 2017.
Sometimes it takes the whole weekend to recover and then off to work I hobble and struggle through the week only to repeat the process week after week.
I used to run about 13 km per day in 44 plus degree heat out in The Great Sandy Desert, Canning Basin and Kimberley Ranges areas of WA as a young man, and stomped hundreds of thousands of geophones into the ground over the years so I kind of think that all contributed to my current state but then again, I was firing on all 8 cylinders until the septicaemia attack in 2017 and from that time on its been total hell.
Not a week goes by where I don’t struggle and suffer extreme pain, enough to put me into shock.
With pain comes the fatigue.
I have an incredibly high pain tolerance but this oain is different, it comes on really fast and can stop me in my tracks within about 30 minutes and if I don’t retreat to rest at that point, odds are good that I’ll start going into shock shortly afterwards.
It’s a b****** getting crook.
I’ve noticed a rattle coming from underneath my SS Commodore too but can’t stand up and hobble out there to investigate it yet.
Sounds like something to do with the exhaust.
This is most of the reason I stacked on so much weight.
I went from size 97R in coveralls to 117S, cringe.
None of my clothes fit me anymore and I’m on the last hole of my waist belt.
Nobody can believe how big I’ve become, even my mother didn’t recognise me, true.
Sigh...

Offline Dozer

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #205 on: August 30, 2020, 09:12:55 AM »
Hang in there and hopefully the pain will subside and you can get back to doing the stuff you love to do.
Perentie RFSV ARN 48002;  No.5 trailer ARN 177277; No.5 trailer ARN 173261;  Haulmark PT1-1.2 Cargo Trailer ARN 205034; Half-ponton ("Bailey or Ugli") bridge boat 63447; Silverwood dual axle RAN boat trailer NIC 20104; Marston Mat hoarder; Suzuki DRZ 400 E military spec

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #206 on: August 30, 2020, 12:26:25 PM »
Thanks Dozer, there’s always hope.

About 2 hours after yesterday’s post the pain subsided, miraculously.
It didn’t go away altogether but dissipated enough that I could build up the courage to stand on my left foot, gingerly.
Got out of bed, pain shooting left and right, legs buckling, but managed to carefully place weight on my left ankle such that within a couple of minutes I was away like a herd of turtles.
A couple more lay downs and tries to get up and I felt ok enough to go grocery shopping.
Upon arrival at the supermarket I alighted from the car drenched in sweat but it’s a weird kind of pain, one that if approached at the right time, can be overcome if care is taken and footsteps are placed with care.
The sensation is pretty bad, like a third degree burn, with flames...
After walking on it a while you can get past the worst of it and if it stays away you can almost forget that it’s there, until it stabs you again and brings you back to reality.
Took it fairly easy yesterday afternoon and started on the Man Shake weight reduction regime.
So far so good.
Slept ok last night and awake at 6 am, in mild pain but the flare up is thankfully staying outside the zone and is making for a reasonably pleasant day today.
The shame is that as usual I lose the whole weekend and have to soldier off to work again tomorrow and hope the week goes reasonably well.
Anyone who’s suffering Ross River Fever might appreciate the pain level because it does remind me of that, or gout.
Very similar pain but it stops and starts.
They’re giving me medication for nerve pain and I think they’re on the right track.
Managed to flop down and suss out the rattle noise coming from beneath my car and it appears to be fractured exhaust pipes.
Hard to get undrr there to inspect it more carefully as there’s no ground clearance, unlike that of the 109, which allows even a fat monkey like me to roll under there without even bumping my head.
Sick of having blood tests. Asked the last nurse to make sure she left enough blood to get me home on.
Been sitting and staying awake today which is a change, because normally I flake out and sleep all day every day.
Apparently these Man Shake drinks cause weight loss, so here’s hoping I can lose a bit/a lot of weight and get mobile again.
Have threatened to sack the missus for dishing me up too much food but it’s not all her fault, she cooks, I eat.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the medication or diet switches off the trigger and lets me get back to playing with the 109?
Too right, I’d be wrapped just to be free of pain again.
I have to shake my head at the doctors though, they automatically declare it to be gout and won’t listen when I report the symptoms coming on fast and leaving just as fast. Gout doesn’t do that, it hangs on tenaciously for days at a time.
Fingers crossed I’m on yhe right path now.

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #207 on: August 30, 2020, 02:49:08 PM »
Hi Nav, could it be CPDD?

Can mimic gout - which is what I read from your post - have a look at Dr Google for Calcium Pyrophosphate deposition disease, lots of GPs seem to be unaware of it.

« Last Edit: August 30, 2020, 03:01:48 PM by dugite »
2a 109 114-341,
No.5 173-589,
W/S Platform 178-000,
PT1 204-796

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #208 on: August 30, 2020, 03:49:37 PM »
Hi dugite,
Thanks for the input.
I’m aware of CPDD as I’ve done copious amounts of research into this and was steered away from it by the thyroid tests presenting well.
I’ll bring it back up with the new doctor because anything is worth a try.
Today I’m feeling pretty darn good, with only mild burning in the feet.
I guess the best way to find out is to treat for it and see what happens.
All I want is to regain some mobility.
Thanks again.

Offline STDDIVER

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Re: Is there a place here for modified ex army Land Rovers?
« Reply #209 on: August 31, 2020, 04:53:33 PM »
Good on you Nav - Keep trying things until you get to the thing with the most advantages and the least number of negatives - It's still a step forwards anyway you look at it -  sometimes things aren't a quick fix!
Thanks Rob6x6 and Dozer!   

Each day at a time!    One step at a time!    Frank