1983 Land Rover Series 3
Discussion
Greetings
I've wanted to own a Land Rover for over 20 years and on Friday I picked up a 1983 Land Rover Series 3 2.25 Diesel. Its got Fairy over drive and Disco 1 steel wheels, but thats it for the optional extras!
The body is a bit shabby, but underneath is perfect. Outriggers replaced along with rear 1/4 chassis and front spring hangers. Quality of welding is superb and its all been painted under there too, so I think there a good ten years in that chassis yet
I drove it back nearly 100 miles and it didn't skip a beat. Temp gauge stayed dead centre through out my entire journey including when I got lost in the centre of Cambridge in traffic!
Future Plans
- Ditch the Disco steel wheels and replace with standard series wheels which thankfully came with the car and fit them with Insa Turbo Dakar tyres.
- Replace both door tops
- Replace all three seats
- Fit inersia seat belts
- Fix Speedo cable
- Sort out door catches
- Refurb the brakes (New shoes, pistons & springs)
- Service and replace steering components
If I keep it long term, I'm planning on putting a 200tdi lump in. The diesel engine seems ok mechanically, but its very slow and loud. May look at the petrol engine too, but the 200tdi offers much more benefits.
I'd also like a delux model bonnet, so I can mount the spare on there. I test drove a couple that had the spare mounted on the bonneta nd I loved the view!
I'm pretty excited to finally own a Land Rover. I love the look of the series and it was incredibly cheap to insure at £120 from Adrian Flux. I originally wanted a Disco, but I got fed up at looking at failed electrics, shot bodywork and numouerous warning lights.
I'm hoping to make it to some of the trips on the PH trips on the plains.
Will probably post in Land Rover sub forum too
I've wanted to own a Land Rover for over 20 years and on Friday I picked up a 1983 Land Rover Series 3 2.25 Diesel. Its got Fairy over drive and Disco 1 steel wheels, but thats it for the optional extras!
The body is a bit shabby, but underneath is perfect. Outriggers replaced along with rear 1/4 chassis and front spring hangers. Quality of welding is superb and its all been painted under there too, so I think there a good ten years in that chassis yet
I drove it back nearly 100 miles and it didn't skip a beat. Temp gauge stayed dead centre through out my entire journey including when I got lost in the centre of Cambridge in traffic!
Future Plans
- Ditch the Disco steel wheels and replace with standard series wheels which thankfully came with the car and fit them with Insa Turbo Dakar tyres.
- Replace both door tops
- Replace all three seats
- Fit inersia seat belts
- Fix Speedo cable
- Sort out door catches
- Refurb the brakes (New shoes, pistons & springs)
- Service and replace steering components
If I keep it long term, I'm planning on putting a 200tdi lump in. The diesel engine seems ok mechanically, but its very slow and loud. May look at the petrol engine too, but the 200tdi offers much more benefits.
I'd also like a delux model bonnet, so I can mount the spare on there. I test drove a couple that had the spare mounted on the bonneta nd I loved the view!
I'm pretty excited to finally own a Land Rover. I love the look of the series and it was incredibly cheap to insure at £120 from Adrian Flux. I originally wanted a Disco, but I got fed up at looking at failed electrics, shot bodywork and numouerous warning lights.
I'm hoping to make it to some of the trips on the PH trips on the plains.
Will probably post in Land Rover sub forum too
Seriously, don't put the spare on the bonnet unless you're a PH standard-issue 6'4" well-built director of multiple companies. They're f
king heavy to open with it on, and the bonnet prop is rubbish and flimsy; if you must have the safari look, take the bloody thing off before delving under the bonnet to avoid it closing itself onto your head.
king heavy to open with it on, and the bonnet prop is rubbish and flimsy; if you must have the safari look, take the bloody thing off before delving under the bonnet to avoid it closing itself onto your head.hidetheelephants said:
Seriously, don't put the spare on the bonnet unless you're a PH standard-issue 6'4" well-built director of multiple companies. They're fking heavy to open with it on, and the bonnet prop is rubbish and flimsy; if you must have the safari look, take the bloody thing off before delving under the bonnet to avoid it closing itself onto your head.
I've been thinking about that. I have to admit I popped the bonnet on one with the wheel fitted to the bonnet the other day and yikes it was heavy! king heavy to open with it on, and the bonnet prop is rubbish and flimsy; if you must have the safari look, take the bloody thing off before delving under the bonnet to avoid it closing itself onto your head.Its on the last of my things to do as the delux bonnet doesn't come up very often and I want to fix everything else first
Glad you finally got one. I did wonder if you ever would. We've talked about L/R's before on a different forum (where I had a different user name). I used to own a Series 2a LWB. Brilliant things. Mine is still going strong - not with me owning it though unfortunately.
I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
If you do upgrade the engine it might be worth considering uprated brakes as well - bigger drums on the front aren't difficult to retrofit. Something I found useful as an upgrade was a hand throttle. Very useful as a crude cruise control!
If it hasn't been done, it's also worth carpeting the interior with a sound deadening kit. It'll never be quiet, but it will make a huge difference.
Worth also looking for a set of free wheeling hubs. Makes a noticeable difference to the fuel economy. Speaking of which, putting the spare on the bonnet will make a difference to the fuel economy as well - they're noticeably worse with the spare wheel on the bonnet.
Should be a good wagon for all of the dive gear.
Edit:- regarding the inertia reel seat belts, take a look at what the seat belts are mounted to. I've never looked closely at the cab bulkhead on a series 3, but I had no faith that the bulkhead in a series 2 would withstand any form of strain from a seat belt, and anyway it doesn't come up to the top of your back, so the best case would be a compression injury. Easier to do with a Series 2 because of the age and when seatbelts were introduced, but I never bothered with seat belts and made sure I avoided crashing.
I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
If you do upgrade the engine it might be worth considering uprated brakes as well - bigger drums on the front aren't difficult to retrofit. Something I found useful as an upgrade was a hand throttle. Very useful as a crude cruise control!
If it hasn't been done, it's also worth carpeting the interior with a sound deadening kit. It'll never be quiet, but it will make a huge difference.
Worth also looking for a set of free wheeling hubs. Makes a noticeable difference to the fuel economy. Speaking of which, putting the spare on the bonnet will make a difference to the fuel economy as well - they're noticeably worse with the spare wheel on the bonnet.
Should be a good wagon for all of the dive gear.
Edit:- regarding the inertia reel seat belts, take a look at what the seat belts are mounted to. I've never looked closely at the cab bulkhead on a series 3, but I had no faith that the bulkhead in a series 2 would withstand any form of strain from a seat belt, and anyway it doesn't come up to the top of your back, so the best case would be a compression injury. Easier to do with a Series 2 because of the age and when seatbelts were introduced, but I never bothered with seat belts and made sure I avoided crashing.
Edited by 6fire on Sunday 6th May 13:16
6fire said:
Glad you finally got one. I did wonder if you ever would. We've talked about L/R's before on a different forum (where I had a different user name). I used to own a Series 2a LWB. Brilliant things. Mine is still going strong - not with me owning it though unfortunately.
I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
A popular upgrade at the moment seems to be a Tdi with the turbo removed; it produces a useful amount of extra power over the 10/11J, but not so much that it pops bits of the drivetrain and detuning it means it's (theoretically) going to be unburstable.I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
6fire said:
Glad you finally got one. I did wonder if you ever would. We've talked about L/R's before on a different forum (where I had a different user name). I used to own a Series 2a LWB. Brilliant things. Mine is still going strong - not with me owning it though unfortunately.
I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
If you do upgrade the engine it might be worth considering uprated brakes as well - bigger drums on the front aren't difficult to retrofit. Something I found useful as an upgrade was a hand throttle. Very useful as a crude cruise control!
If it hasn't been done, it's also worth carpeting the interior with a sound deadening kit. It'll never be quiet, but it will make a huge difference.
Worth also looking for a set of free wheeling hubs. Makes a noticeable difference to the fuel economy. Speaking of which, putting the spare on the bonnet will make a difference to the fuel economy as well - they're noticeably worse with the spare wheel on the bonnet.
Should be a good wagon for all of the dive gear.
Edit:- regarding the inertia reel seat belts, take a look at what the seat belts are mounted to. I've never looked closely at the cab bulkhead on a series 3, but I had no faith that the bulkhead in a series 2 would withstand any form of strain from a seat belt, and anyway it doesn't come up to the top of your back, so the best case would be a compression injury. Easier to do with a Series 2 because of the age and when seatbelts were introduced, but I never bothered with seat belts and made sure I avoided crashing.
Did you used to have a Impreza Station wagon? If yes, great to hear from you I always found the 2.25 diesel to be not very good. Enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding. Just. And they always seemed to smoke a lot. A Tdi motor will be a good upgrade - everyone will probably tell you that the halfshafts will snap. They won't so long as you drive it with some sympathy. And even if they do, take the half shafts out, pop it in 4WD and drive it home on the front wheels.
If you do upgrade the engine it might be worth considering uprated brakes as well - bigger drums on the front aren't difficult to retrofit. Something I found useful as an upgrade was a hand throttle. Very useful as a crude cruise control!
If it hasn't been done, it's also worth carpeting the interior with a sound deadening kit. It'll never be quiet, but it will make a huge difference.
Worth also looking for a set of free wheeling hubs. Makes a noticeable difference to the fuel economy. Speaking of which, putting the spare on the bonnet will make a difference to the fuel economy as well - they're noticeably worse with the spare wheel on the bonnet.
Should be a good wagon for all of the dive gear.
Edit:- regarding the inertia reel seat belts, take a look at what the seat belts are mounted to. I've never looked closely at the cab bulkhead on a series 3, but I had no faith that the bulkhead in a series 2 would withstand any form of strain from a seat belt, and anyway it doesn't come up to the top of your back, so the best case would be a compression injury. Easier to do with a Series 2 because of the age and when seatbelts were introduced, but I never bothered with seat belts and made sure I avoided crashing.
Edited by 6fire on Sunday 6th May 13:16
I'll be rebuilding the brakes in the summer as I'm not happy with them now. It will be new pistons, shoes and springs. If I have the desire to go for bigger brakes, I think I can just fit the br`ke assembly from the 109. If memory serves they have bigger brakes than the 88s.
I'll certainly be getting a carpet kit for the front and lining the back with heavy duty waterproof sound proofing material. I still want the back to be wipe clean.
When I've sorted the doors, I'll also be getting some sound proofing in there and I'll then put a piece of ply over the door and wrap in black vinyl. Should like nice after that.
If I do the engine upgrade, it would be the 200tdi with out the turbo. I've done a bit of reading and it makes it much easier if you don't use the turbo. You can use the standard radiator and you don't have to worry about intercoolers
Nice Landy! A bottle of T-cut would soon have that paint looking a treat, and the standard steel wheels you mention would really set it off nicely.
You mention Delux bonnets - you already have one, as evidence by the rolled lipped edges on it. A "standard" bonnet is a plain sheet of metal like this one:
The TDi engine conversion is a divisive issue - I am of the school that it ruins the character of the vehicle but obviously it is your choice. As you say, one thing to consider would be to remove the turbo as many people do, to massively reduce the risk of breaking the gearbox or halfshafts, unless you drive with a featherlight right foot. When it comes to soundproofing the interior, I can very highly recommend these:
http://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/part_page.ph...
Yes I know its a lot, but it is tough, wipeclean and makes a hell of a difference to the noise levels. A good trick for the doors is to make up some copies of the door lining cards from a station wagon model, with the usual vinyl covering. But then, when fitting them, fill the big cavity between door skin and card with expanding foam. When lining the roof, don't use plain carpet - hardtop roofs condense inside very easily so carpet will go damp. High density foam (like the stuff on the underside of noiseproof mats) normally works a treat. Lining the roof and sides will make it much warmer in the winter as well as the reduction in noise.
I would definitely recommend leaving the spare on the back door, bonnet mounted ones look cool but as mentioned they are a monumental pain.
seat-wise, get some high-back station wagons one if you dont already have them. they are a huge improvement in comfort over the standard slab seats, your back and bottom will thank you!
Finally, on the subject of door catches... unusually for an '83 model, in the photo it look like you have the older style catches that work like a house door with a striker wedge? if so, upgrade so some anti-burst catches - they dont pop open over rough ground unlike the sriker ones....
Overall, I hope you enjoy the experience of owning an old Landy! Are you planning on doing any greenlaning or off roading outside of PH?
You mention Delux bonnets - you already have one, as evidence by the rolled lipped edges on it. A "standard" bonnet is a plain sheet of metal like this one:
The TDi engine conversion is a divisive issue - I am of the school that it ruins the character of the vehicle but obviously it is your choice. As you say, one thing to consider would be to remove the turbo as many people do, to massively reduce the risk of breaking the gearbox or halfshafts, unless you drive with a featherlight right foot. When it comes to soundproofing the interior, I can very highly recommend these:
http://www.famousfour.co.uk/new_parts/part_page.ph...
Yes I know its a lot, but it is tough, wipeclean and makes a hell of a difference to the noise levels. A good trick for the doors is to make up some copies of the door lining cards from a station wagon model, with the usual vinyl covering. But then, when fitting them, fill the big cavity between door skin and card with expanding foam. When lining the roof, don't use plain carpet - hardtop roofs condense inside very easily so carpet will go damp. High density foam (like the stuff on the underside of noiseproof mats) normally works a treat. Lining the roof and sides will make it much warmer in the winter as well as the reduction in noise.
I would definitely recommend leaving the spare on the back door, bonnet mounted ones look cool but as mentioned they are a monumental pain.
seat-wise, get some high-back station wagons one if you dont already have them. they are a huge improvement in comfort over the standard slab seats, your back and bottom will thank you!
Finally, on the subject of door catches... unusually for an '83 model, in the photo it look like you have the older style catches that work like a house door with a striker wedge? if so, upgrade so some anti-burst catches - they dont pop open over rough ground unlike the sriker ones....
Overall, I hope you enjoy the experience of owning an old Landy! Are you planning on doing any greenlaning or off roading outside of PH?
Edited by mat777 on Friday 25th May 17:55
Edited by mat777 on Friday 25th May 18:01
If it's a genuine 1983 build then there's a chance that it already has the larger LWB brakes, so check before you buy anything. A plastic Land Rover badge and 90/110 light set up on the back are good indications of a late model.
I've got an '83 station wagon with the spare in the bonnet, but tend to leave it off most of the time because of the weight and visibility.
I've got an '83 station wagon with the spare in the bonnet, but tend to leave it off most of the time because of the weight and visibility.
JimexPL said:
If it's a genuine 1983 build then there's a chance that it already has the larger LWB brakes, so check before you buy anything. A plastic Land Rover badge and 90/110 light set up on the back are good indications of a late model.
Ah yes, forgot to mention that but like Jimex says, best to check. The easy way to tell is to have a front drum off - if it is 11" across and has twin leading shoes then its the later servoed LWB setup, if its 10" SLS then you need SWB partsThought I'd do an update. The plans that I set out when I bought the vehicle kinda went a bit sideways...
One of the All Terrain tyres blew as I was entering my driveway, so I ended up replacing the wheels and tyres with the standard series steel wheels. I needed a spare, so I managed to buy 4 army 90 wheels on Ebay for a tenner. The wheels were rubbed down, primed and painted using Land Rover limestone paint. I used Halfords Laquer, That really didn't work too well.
I went for Insa Turbo Dakar 2 tyres. Yes they are remoulds, but this is a second car and they were great value for money.
A few photos of the wheel refurbishment.
I should have bought white primer instead of the usual red oxide stuff. I won’t make that mistake again. The wheel nuts rub through the laquer and top coat to reveal the red primer.
November came up, so I took it in for its MOT and that is where it went a bit wrong...
The MOT tester was actually a bit odd. He insisted that he couldn't give me a failure sheet as it was unsafe to finish the test due to the failed universal joint in the rear prop. I went away with no official failure sheet, but instead I got a scrap of paper that I scribbled the failure points on. It could have been a lot worse.
front spring bushes
rear shocks leaking
left and right track rod ends
headlight alignment
left indicator not working (worked on the journey there!!)
play in tractor joint
excessive smoke (It came out of the factory with excessive smoke!)
No seatbelt on the front centre seat.
Universal joint on rear prop.
The front spring bushes are notoriously difficult to get out of the springs, so I decided to buy a completely new set of parabolics from GB Springs along with four new heavy duty shocks from paddocks.
I thought this would be a relatively easy job and my Dad and I would have it done in a couple of days. Turned out to takle much longer than that. Thankfully none of the bolts were actually sized, which I was quite surprised by. Lining the springs up with the axel and the hangers took a lot of time and levering using things like plumbers wrenches.
The shocks are held on with a bolt at the top and a split pin on the bottom. The hole and the split pin had rusted solid, so they had to be drilled out. When re-assembling, I tried to use the LR split pins, but I couldn’t get the bushes to compress enough, so I had to resort to slightly smaller pins.
The track rod ends required a lot of heat to get them unstuck from the rod. Had to cut the ball joints off as the split pin has very badly corroded.
Tractor joint was quite easy. Just removed it and played about with different shims.
I also had some issues starting the vehicle. So much so, that it had to be pushed into the garage. Pushing a 1.5T Land Rover on a gravel driveway with new mud terrains was hard work and took four of us!
The battery is actually fine and was holding its charge, so I put in some brand new glowplugs bought from the local Landy specialist. Turned out they were knackered, so the specialist replaced them for new ones. The Landy now starts much better
Yes, I know there is an oil leak. I suspect its coming from the rocker gasket. Will probably sort that before the cold weather starts.
Whilst all this was going on, I drained the oil and fitted a new oil filter. All very cheap as the Landy uses mineral oil Oil filter design means oil dribbles down your arm 
New oil was put in the front and rear difs. Back one was quite easy, but the front one required my mate and his 500m 1/2in socket wrench to get undone. The oil really did smell bad. I'm not too concerned as I remember the dif oil smelling just as bad in my Pajero.
This weekend, I finally got round to fitting the front recovery eyes. These are genuine Land Rover items. I bought them on Ebay earlier in the year. I stripped the original paint and applied primer and silver paint. The bumper bolts were the originals and were very hard to get off. My friend of mine was round working on my wife's car and he lent me he Snap On Cordless Nut gun and that made quick work of the bolts. Mental note: Must buy Machine Mart cordless nut gun!
The rear of the recovery eyes are held on by new Land Rover bumper bolts and the fronts are held on by high tensile bolts complete with 6mm steel spreader plates, which I cut myself. These are designed to stop the bolts pulling through the bumper when you are being pulled out. One of the spreader plates had to be modified to fit. Drilling the 13mm holes for the front bolst was quite difficult. AT one point the drill locked up and spun into my man bits. QUite painful
When I bought the car there was nothing on the rear cross member at all and I thought it looked a bit dull. The first thing I fitted were lift handles form Paddocks. They are quite flimsy, but are useful for heaving your self out from underneath the car.
I bought a towbar kit for it from EBay, which had a spacer plate, which allowed it to be fit flat against the cross member. The towbar plate was sanded down primed and painted with what ever black hammerite I had in the garage. The forums and Land Rover recommend you have a spreader plate behind the cross member to stop the bolts pulling through the cross member. I did this using a large piece of 6mm plate. There is no chance those bolts will pull through now!!
I ended up having to angle grind parts of the cross member so I could fit the spreader plate into the gap. Unfortunately a bit of hot metal came off and dropped onto my fleece and promptly set light to it!
We fitted a new speedo cable, but the speedo still isn't working! More investigation required. New front indicators were fitted. Old ones were quite tough to get off and I had to grind the fixings off. Also replaced all the dash bulbs and the fuses, so I can now see the gauges at night
I bought a new center seat belt for the front, but I could never see anyone ever sitting in the centre seat, so I decided to fit a center cubby box instead. Makes the interior look much nicer and a useful place to store stuff.
Air filter cleaned and new oil added. There was a lot of sludge in the bottom of the original one.
The steering was quite bad, so I decided to see if I could adjust the steering. Was actually quite straight forward and the steering is now much better. I've spotted another ball joint with a bit of play in it, so I'm hoping if I replace that, that should make the steering as good as I can get it without resorting to trying to remove the dreaded relay unit
We also fitted new wing top mirrors as the current ones are woeful. Its made rear visibility a bit better, but I know I'm going to have to fit Defender type mirrors at some point.
The Landy was presented for its MOT at a different testing station a few weeks ago and I forgot to pout all five wheel nuts on, which I didn't spot until the tester told me!! I also forgot to do up the track rod end clamp. It also failed on my lack of battery clamp. I went back and fixed all those things and finally it passed. Only 9 months after its first failure in November of last year!!
I also fitted a new bump stop to the front driver side as it was missing.
I've still got the original to-do list to go through and a few others have been added to the list.
New door tops
front brake rebuild
gearbox and transfer box oil change
New locks fitted to all doors
I don't know how many hours I've had to put in to get to an MOT pass, but its a lot and its highlighted a few things that I need to buy to make working on the LR easier. The main thing is a compressor. Watching my mate undo bolts with ease really did cement that. I also want a compressor so I can re-paint it at some point.
So far I have spent approximately £1100 on it on top of the purchase price and I'd say, I've still got another £500 to £1000 to go to get it in a good state and £300 of that should go towards a rebuild of the gearbox. However, I'm aware that I could also put that money into buying a 90 which would have luxuries such as power steering and a 5th gear and will be much more comfortable. Even with new parabolics and shocks, the ride is still quite bad.
As for the near future, I am hoping to take it off road and sort the doors so they shut properly
if you stayed with me this long, thanks for reading
I’ll do another update when I've done more to the vehicle.
One of the All Terrain tyres blew as I was entering my driveway, so I ended up replacing the wheels and tyres with the standard series steel wheels. I needed a spare, so I managed to buy 4 army 90 wheels on Ebay for a tenner. The wheels were rubbed down, primed and painted using Land Rover limestone paint. I used Halfords Laquer, That really didn't work too well.
I went for Insa Turbo Dakar 2 tyres. Yes they are remoulds, but this is a second car and they were great value for money.
A few photos of the wheel refurbishment.
I should have bought white primer instead of the usual red oxide stuff. I won’t make that mistake again. The wheel nuts rub through the laquer and top coat to reveal the red primer.
November came up, so I took it in for its MOT and that is where it went a bit wrong...
The MOT tester was actually a bit odd. He insisted that he couldn't give me a failure sheet as it was unsafe to finish the test due to the failed universal joint in the rear prop. I went away with no official failure sheet, but instead I got a scrap of paper that I scribbled the failure points on. It could have been a lot worse.
front spring bushes
rear shocks leaking
left and right track rod ends
headlight alignment
left indicator not working (worked on the journey there!!)
play in tractor joint
excessive smoke (It came out of the factory with excessive smoke!)
No seatbelt on the front centre seat.
Universal joint on rear prop.
The front spring bushes are notoriously difficult to get out of the springs, so I decided to buy a completely new set of parabolics from GB Springs along with four new heavy duty shocks from paddocks.
I thought this would be a relatively easy job and my Dad and I would have it done in a couple of days. Turned out to takle much longer than that. Thankfully none of the bolts were actually sized, which I was quite surprised by. Lining the springs up with the axel and the hangers took a lot of time and levering using things like plumbers wrenches.
The shocks are held on with a bolt at the top and a split pin on the bottom. The hole and the split pin had rusted solid, so they had to be drilled out. When re-assembling, I tried to use the LR split pins, but I couldn’t get the bushes to compress enough, so I had to resort to slightly smaller pins.
The track rod ends required a lot of heat to get them unstuck from the rod. Had to cut the ball joints off as the split pin has very badly corroded.
Tractor joint was quite easy. Just removed it and played about with different shims.
I also had some issues starting the vehicle. So much so, that it had to be pushed into the garage. Pushing a 1.5T Land Rover on a gravel driveway with new mud terrains was hard work and took four of us!
The battery is actually fine and was holding its charge, so I put in some brand new glowplugs bought from the local Landy specialist. Turned out they were knackered, so the specialist replaced them for new ones. The Landy now starts much better
Yes, I know there is an oil leak. I suspect its coming from the rocker gasket. Will probably sort that before the cold weather starts.
Whilst all this was going on, I drained the oil and fitted a new oil filter. All very cheap as the Landy uses mineral oil
Oil filter design means oil dribbles down your arm New oil was put in the front and rear difs. Back one was quite easy, but the front one required my mate and his 500m 1/2in socket wrench to get undone. The oil really did smell bad. I'm not too concerned as I remember the dif oil smelling just as bad in my Pajero.
This weekend, I finally got round to fitting the front recovery eyes. These are genuine Land Rover items. I bought them on Ebay earlier in the year. I stripped the original paint and applied primer and silver paint. The bumper bolts were the originals and were very hard to get off. My friend of mine was round working on my wife's car and he lent me he Snap On Cordless Nut gun and that made quick work of the bolts. Mental note: Must buy Machine Mart cordless nut gun!
The rear of the recovery eyes are held on by new Land Rover bumper bolts and the fronts are held on by high tensile bolts complete with 6mm steel spreader plates, which I cut myself. These are designed to stop the bolts pulling through the bumper when you are being pulled out. One of the spreader plates had to be modified to fit. Drilling the 13mm holes for the front bolst was quite difficult. AT one point the drill locked up and spun into my man bits. QUite painful
When I bought the car there was nothing on the rear cross member at all and I thought it looked a bit dull. The first thing I fitted were lift handles form Paddocks. They are quite flimsy, but are useful for heaving your self out from underneath the car.
I bought a towbar kit for it from EBay, which had a spacer plate, which allowed it to be fit flat against the cross member. The towbar plate was sanded down primed and painted with what ever black hammerite I had in the garage. The forums and Land Rover recommend you have a spreader plate behind the cross member to stop the bolts pulling through the cross member. I did this using a large piece of 6mm plate. There is no chance those bolts will pull through now!!
I ended up having to angle grind parts of the cross member so I could fit the spreader plate into the gap. Unfortunately a bit of hot metal came off and dropped onto my fleece and promptly set light to it!
We fitted a new speedo cable, but the speedo still isn't working! More investigation required. New front indicators were fitted. Old ones were quite tough to get off and I had to grind the fixings off. Also replaced all the dash bulbs and the fuses, so I can now see the gauges at night
I bought a new center seat belt for the front, but I could never see anyone ever sitting in the centre seat, so I decided to fit a center cubby box instead. Makes the interior look much nicer and a useful place to store stuff.
Air filter cleaned and new oil added. There was a lot of sludge in the bottom of the original one.
The steering was quite bad, so I decided to see if I could adjust the steering. Was actually quite straight forward and the steering is now much better. I've spotted another ball joint with a bit of play in it, so I'm hoping if I replace that, that should make the steering as good as I can get it without resorting to trying to remove the dreaded relay unit
We also fitted new wing top mirrors as the current ones are woeful. Its made rear visibility a bit better, but I know I'm going to have to fit Defender type mirrors at some point.
The Landy was presented for its MOT at a different testing station a few weeks ago and I forgot to pout all five wheel nuts on, which I didn't spot until the tester told me!! I also forgot to do up the track rod end clamp. It also failed on my lack of battery clamp. I went back and fixed all those things and finally it passed. Only 9 months after its first failure in November of last year!!
I also fitted a new bump stop to the front driver side as it was missing.
I've still got the original to-do list to go through and a few others have been added to the list.
New door tops
front brake rebuild
gearbox and transfer box oil change
New locks fitted to all doors
I don't know how many hours I've had to put in to get to an MOT pass, but its a lot and its highlighted a few things that I need to buy to make working on the LR easier. The main thing is a compressor. Watching my mate undo bolts with ease really did cement that. I also want a compressor so I can re-paint it at some point.
So far I have spent approximately £1100 on it on top of the purchase price and I'd say, I've still got another £500 to £1000 to go to get it in a good state and £300 of that should go towards a rebuild of the gearbox. However, I'm aware that I could also put that money into buying a 90 which would have luxuries such as power steering and a 5th gear and will be much more comfortable. Even with new parabolics and shocks, the ride is still quite bad.
As for the near future, I am hoping to take it off road and sort the doors so they shut properly
if you stayed with me this long, thanks for reading
I’ll do another update when I've done more to the vehicle.
So its been nearly 6 years since I purchased the Series 3 from a garage owner in Kings Lynn.
At the end of 2016 I decided that I was going to have to make it more appealing to roll out the garage or I was going to have to sell it. I decided to to take a dive into the unknown and re-paint the bodywork using a compressor and a gun. Some people just roller the paint and get some good results. It’s quicker, but I wanted to learn a new skill. It was much harder than I expected. My Dad also bought me a compressor for Christmas and that helped! Only £118 delivered for a 2.5bhp 50Ltr, which is pretty good.
I bought a pair of window side panels approximately two years ago. They are from a series 2 and ended up needing some modification to work with the later seals. I have to grind off a lip for the rear doors seals to still work.
I bought these panels for £18 a pair and they were pretty scruffy. At least three to four coats of paint. You had two shades of camo, primer and the original marine blue, but they had been hand painted very badly. I originally attacked them with a normal sander, but then had a go with a angle grinder flap disc. That turned out to far too aggressive and it took chunks out of the ali. I also used a heat gun and scraper. Just wanted to get rid of as much of the bad paint as possible.
I then wiped them down with panel wipe and sprayed them with etch primer, then normal primer and some Land Rover Limestone white, which is basically cream. This was one of many purchases from PaintMan who are well known in the LR community for series enamel paints.
I didn’t end up with a glossy finish, but they were considerably better than what was there before. I only paid £18 for the window panels and I’ve since been offered four times that for them. I even managed to sell the van sides for £80.
I scraped out the old window seals and replaced with new items and fitted them in the channels using Polyurethane sealant (Messy stuff).
There were also a random hole and the top of the panels, so I just replaced it with a dome bolt and cut off the bolt part and glued it in with gorilla glue. Worked well as there are rivet. heads all over the panels anyway
Sorry about the quality of some of the images. I've been looking back at all the images and its a reminder of how much work went into this car!
|https://thumbsnap.com/TYg7tDKU[/url]
[url]
Adding these panels make the inside of the car much brighter and I've never liked van look. More updates to come...
At the end of 2016 I decided that I was going to have to make it more appealing to roll out the garage or I was going to have to sell it. I decided to to take a dive into the unknown and re-paint the bodywork using a compressor and a gun. Some people just roller the paint and get some good results. It’s quicker, but I wanted to learn a new skill. It was much harder than I expected. My Dad also bought me a compressor for Christmas and that helped! Only £118 delivered for a 2.5bhp 50Ltr, which is pretty good.
I bought a pair of window side panels approximately two years ago. They are from a series 2 and ended up needing some modification to work with the later seals. I have to grind off a lip for the rear doors seals to still work.
I bought these panels for £18 a pair and they were pretty scruffy. At least three to four coats of paint. You had two shades of camo, primer and the original marine blue, but they had been hand painted very badly. I originally attacked them with a normal sander, but then had a go with a angle grinder flap disc. That turned out to far too aggressive and it took chunks out of the ali. I also used a heat gun and scraper. Just wanted to get rid of as much of the bad paint as possible.
I then wiped them down with panel wipe and sprayed them with etch primer, then normal primer and some Land Rover Limestone white, which is basically cream. This was one of many purchases from PaintMan who are well known in the LR community for series enamel paints.
I didn’t end up with a glossy finish, but they were considerably better than what was there before. I only paid £18 for the window panels and I’ve since been offered four times that for them. I even managed to sell the van sides for £80.
I scraped out the old window seals and replaced with new items and fitted them in the channels using Polyurethane sealant (Messy stuff).
There were also a random hole and the top of the panels, so I just replaced it with a dome bolt and cut off the bolt part and glued it in with gorilla glue. Worked well as there are rivet. heads all over the panels anyway
Sorry about the quality of some of the images. I've been looking back at all the images and its a reminder of how much work went into this car!
|https://thumbsnap.com/TYg7tDKU[/url][url]Adding these panels make the inside of the car much brighter and I've never liked van look. More updates to come...
OP, did you (V8) ever get round to (V8) thinking about (V8) the engine (V8) swap? There's only one (V8) answer and one (V8) way to go.
I used to have a Series 3, which, did I mention, was a V8?
Been out with the dogs this morning in my Defender. Virtual pint for anyone who can guess which engine that's running…..
Seriously, go for it. This is PH after all. Economy schmonomy. How many miles do you do in it a year? Work out the difference on fuel and it's probably less than the cost of a night in the pub. And how many diesels make that V8 burble? It's not as if LR never did it, the Stage One had the V8 as standard.
Have I convinced you yet??
I used to have a Series 3, which, did I mention, was a V8?
Been out with the dogs this morning in my Defender. Virtual pint for anyone who can guess which engine that's running…..Seriously, go for it. This is PH after all. Economy schmonomy. How many miles do you do in it a year? Work out the difference on fuel and it's probably less than the cost of a night in the pub. And how many diesels make that V8 burble? It's not as if LR never did it, the Stage One had the V8 as standard.
Have I convinced you yet??
Very nice indeed. I would guess the love for old series Landies extends beyond just PH and into the wider public. I seem to meet at least one stranger every time I take mine out, interested I how old it is, what's it like to own etc.
Definitely an icon not only for those of us who grew up around them, but the kids nowadays who see them as a British style icon (yeah I know that's the only time Land Rover and stylish come close).
Good to see yours is getting some TLC, I really ought to do a bit on mine, waiting for things to warm up a bit first though! Plus it seems to be too busy working all the time, earning it's keep!
Definitely an icon not only for those of us who grew up around them, but the kids nowadays who see them as a British style icon (yeah I know that's the only time Land Rover and stylish come close).
Good to see yours is getting some TLC, I really ought to do a bit on mine, waiting for things to warm up a bit first though! Plus it seems to be too busy working all the time, earning it's keep!
I removed the roof. That was fairly easy, but not something you can do on your own. It’s not heavy, but it’s quite unwieldy. Used a couple of jacks to help get it off.
I sanded it down using wet and dry and normal DIY Sander. I also filled a few of the nics along the way. I attempted to etch prime the roof using the gun and the compressor, but I really struggled with runs. Looking back on it now, my guess I just didn’t get the mix right and it was just too cold. I ended up finishing it with rattle cans from PaintMan. The roof was taking up
so much space, I just needed to get it finished and bolted back onto the vehicle. Looks pretty good though, but I need to finish the edges at some point. There is a lot of paint on that roof. Original primer, original paint, two/three coats of etch and a couple of top coats.
Long term plan is to remove it again and add sound deadening, lights and a roof lining. Should be able to manage that in the new workshop at the bottom of the garden.
I sanded it down using wet and dry and normal DIY Sander. I also filled a few of the nics along the way. I attempted to etch prime the roof using the gun and the compressor, but I really struggled with runs. Looking back on it now, my guess I just didn’t get the mix right and it was just too cold. I ended up finishing it with rattle cans from PaintMan. The roof was taking up
so much space, I just needed to get it finished and bolted back onto the vehicle. Looks pretty good though, but I need to finish the edges at some point. There is a lot of paint on that roof. Original primer, original paint, two/three coats of etch and a couple of top coats.
Long term plan is to remove it again and add sound deadening, lights and a roof lining. Should be able to manage that in the new workshop at the bottom of the garden.
Muddle238 said:
Very nice indeed. I would guess the love for old series Landies extends beyond just PH and into the wider public. I seem to meet at least one stranger every time I take mine out, interested I how old it is, what's it like to own etc.
Definitely an icon not only for those of us who grew up around them, but the kids nowadays who see them as a British style icon (yeah I know that's the only time Land Rover and stylish come close).
Good to see yours is getting some TLC, I really ought to do a bit on mine, waiting for things to warm up a bit first though! Plus it seems to be too busy working all the time, earning it's keep!
Good to see that yours is out and working. Mine used to be used for tip runs. Was really good for taking tree cuttings or similar as you could just sweep it all out. I'm now using my D3 for tip runs and the interior is getting wrecked because of it. I keep thinking that a 110 would be better for what I use them for. Definitely an icon not only for those of us who grew up around them, but the kids nowadays who see them as a British style icon (yeah I know that's the only time Land Rover and stylish come close).
Good to see yours is getting some TLC, I really ought to do a bit on mine, waiting for things to warm up a bit first though! Plus it seems to be too busy working all the time, earning it's keep!
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