1983 Land Rover Series 3
Discussion
That's a lovely picture. Not sure I will ever venture as far as Wales but we will see. Part of me is considering selling my Subaru which will force me to use the Series as and when I need a car, but it's a seat short as I have two kids 😁.
Fitted the driver's side door card last night and tested my 12v panel. Will try and bolt that in today as I'm planning on doing a video on it for Jonny Smiths Late Brake Show YouTube Channel. He's known to not be the biggest LR fan, but I don't know if I don't try. He has a section called Projects Of The People and invites viewers to send in photos of their own projects for inclusion on his videos.
Anyways, driver's door looks much nicer with the panel fitted. Like the passenger side one, I made it over a year ago.
My original plan was to drop the Series off to get the clutch done on Thursday, but the more and more I look round the car, the more missing items I'm seeing, so now considering an alternative garage, but that would mean missing the Bicester Heritage event the following weekend and my mate was coming up specially from Somerset, so not sure what to do.
Fitted the driver's side door card last night and tested my 12v panel. Will try and bolt that in today as I'm planning on doing a video on it for Jonny Smiths Late Brake Show YouTube Channel. He's known to not be the biggest LR fan, but I don't know if I don't try. He has a section called Projects Of The People and invites viewers to send in photos of their own projects for inclusion on his videos.
Anyways, driver's door looks much nicer with the panel fitted. Like the passenger side one, I made it over a year ago.
My original plan was to drop the Series off to get the clutch done on Thursday, but the more and more I look round the car, the more missing items I'm seeing, so now considering an alternative garage, but that would mean missing the Bicester Heritage event the following weekend and my mate was coming up specially from Somerset, so not sure what to do.
So its been three moths since the work was completed on the Series and on Friday I collected it from another garage where it had the following items replaced:
Clutch
Clutch Master Cylinder
Handbrake re-build
Transfer box outer seal (This is what caused the hand brake to be useless as the drum was full of oil. Quite a common issue.
Radiator
Theromostat
Waterpump
Adjustment of all four drums
It was a hefty bill, but this should at least give me some reliability in terms of it over heating.
The engine still needs some work though as the power really drops off if on an incline if the revs aren't maxed out. Possibly the timing needs adjusting. Who knows.
Indicators had stopped working when I collected so that was an challenging journey home...However the following day, they did work, so happy days
Went to the classic car show at the NEC with my dad at the weekend and picked up a SuperLite badged wooden rimmed steering wheel. I've had a Mountey in there up till now, but that looks pretty rubbish.
My guess is the new Wood rimmed are probably made aboard, but it was only £100, so can't grumble. Cheaper than Ebay and its certainly lovely to hold and to look at
Still haven't managed to fit the sun visor and the garage is nervous about drilling the windscreen surround and I get that, so I might have to brave that one my self. Want to get it fitted as it was a present from my Mum.
Took my eldest round the block in it last night, just because I could and it felt pretty good.
To do list is getting shorter, which is nice.
Finish painting and fit the roof bars
Fit the sun visor
Trip back to garage to get the quick shifter fitted (Garage accidentally broke a part, so they have ordered a new one)
Fitting of speaker board (Long over due task)
Wiring up of 12v outlets
That will probably tie in with a few of the local shows, so looking forward to that.
Next year is an unknown. It goes VED free and its value will increase, so I may decide to call it a day at that point. An Engine swap will cost me the best part of £2-3k all in and I am just not sure if its worth it, especially as I can only take one passenger at the moment and even converting it to fold up Defender seats will be the best part pf £1k.
Clutch
Clutch Master Cylinder
Handbrake re-build
Transfer box outer seal (This is what caused the hand brake to be useless as the drum was full of oil. Quite a common issue.
Radiator
Theromostat
Waterpump
Adjustment of all four drums
It was a hefty bill, but this should at least give me some reliability in terms of it over heating.
The engine still needs some work though as the power really drops off if on an incline if the revs aren't maxed out. Possibly the timing needs adjusting. Who knows.
Indicators had stopped working when I collected so that was an challenging journey home...However the following day, they did work, so happy days
Went to the classic car show at the NEC with my dad at the weekend and picked up a SuperLite badged wooden rimmed steering wheel. I've had a Mountey in there up till now, but that looks pretty rubbish.
My guess is the new Wood rimmed are probably made aboard, but it was only £100, so can't grumble. Cheaper than Ebay and its certainly lovely to hold and to look at
Still haven't managed to fit the sun visor and the garage is nervous about drilling the windscreen surround and I get that, so I might have to brave that one my self. Want to get it fitted as it was a present from my Mum.
Took my eldest round the block in it last night, just because I could and it felt pretty good.
To do list is getting shorter, which is nice.
Finish painting and fit the roof bars
Fit the sun visor
Trip back to garage to get the quick shifter fitted (Garage accidentally broke a part, so they have ordered a new one)
Fitting of speaker board (Long over due task)
Wiring up of 12v outlets
That will probably tie in with a few of the local shows, so looking forward to that.
Next year is an unknown. It goes VED free and its value will increase, so I may decide to call it a day at that point. An Engine swap will cost me the best part of £2-3k all in and I am just not sure if its worth it, especially as I can only take one passenger at the moment and even converting it to fold up Defender seats will be the best part pf £1k.
The indicators packed up on mine on the way home from buying it, and a wiper fell off. It's only a two seater (and one of those has the dog carrier on it) too, but my wife moans about the noise/vibration/rattles etc, so that's OK anyway. I went to the NEC too. Saw a few nice Landies there, but there seemed to be more in the car park.
Red9zero said:
The indicators packed up on mine on the way home from buying it, and a wiper fell off. It's only a two seater (and one of those has the dog carrier on it) too, but my wife moans about the noise/vibration/rattles etc, so that's OK anyway. I went to the NEC too. Saw a few nice Landies there, but there seemed to be more in the car park.
There was a bodyshop there who had a Consiton Series 3 on display that was their show car. Amazing bodywork and much better than when it left the factory. Well past what it was intended for 
There were also some nice G-Wac Discoveries on display too.
I could have driven to the show in the series but it would have taken twice as long and I would wold have been deaf by the time I got there. They are so far removed from modern vehicles, its ridiculous. My eldest asked where the window switch was and laughed when I told him he had to slide the window across having broken a nail trying to undo the so called lock
bakerstreet said:
There was a bodyshop there who had a Consiton Series 3 on display that was their show car. Amazing bodywork and much better than when it left the factory. Well past what it was intended for
There were also some nice G-Wac Discoveries on display too.
I could have driven to the show in the series but it would have taken twice as long and I would wold have been deaf by the time I got there. They are so far removed from modern vehicles, its ridiculous. My eldest asked where the window switch was and laughed when I told him he had to slide the window across having broken a nail trying to undo the so called lock
That series was there last year too, parked in the same place. It was absolutely gorgeous, as you say, better than new. There were also some nice G-Wac Discoveries on display too.
I could have driven to the show in the series but it would have taken twice as long and I would wold have been deaf by the time I got there. They are so far removed from modern vehicles, its ridiculous. My eldest asked where the window switch was and laughed when I told him he had to slide the window across having broken a nail trying to undo the so called lock
My Landie stayed at home too, partly as I had an eye op a couple of days before, so got a lift with a couple of mates. If you saw someone walking round with their sunglasses on inside, looking like a dick, that was me
So they have been trying to sell in for well over a year then 😀.
Another minor achievement this evening. Squeezed it in the garage 🙂
We had the new garage door fitted over 3 years ago and even then I was relying on width measurements of the Series taken from an Australian website...
Mine is running Defender mirrors which do actually fold unlike the standard fixed arm mirrors so that made it a but easier. Defender mirrors also allow you to actually see behind you too (novel!)
Pleased it fits as we are going on holiday soon as didn't want to leave it on the driveway even with a wheel clamp and steering lock.
Another minor achievement this evening. Squeezed it in the garage 🙂
We had the new garage door fitted over 3 years ago and even then I was relying on width measurements of the Series taken from an Australian website...
Mine is running Defender mirrors which do actually fold unlike the standard fixed arm mirrors so that made it a but easier. Defender mirrors also allow you to actually see behind you too (novel!)
Pleased it fits as we are going on holiday soon as didn't want to leave it on the driveway even with a wheel clamp and steering lock.
Just a small job this weekend. Also bought this at the classic car show in Birmingham. Yes, its not period correct, but I really don't like the square ones and yes I am an AA member. We tent to alternative between RAC and AA depending on what offers are on the NHS site
Sadly I ruined this badged by accidentally grinding the face when trying to remove one of the seized screws, so will probably end up buying another one at some point.
Anyways, it was a satisfying five minute job. Does make me want to refurn the old grill though as the replica grills looks horrible compared to the originals.
Sadly I ruined this badged by accidentally grinding the face when trying to remove one of the seized screws, so will probably end up buying another one at some point.
Anyways, it was a satisfying five minute job. Does make me want to refurn the old grill though as the replica grills looks horrible compared to the originals.
bakerstreet said:
A decent battery is a must for a series. They are incredibly basic machines, but need a lot of grunt to crank especially when cold. Because of this I wanted to rig up a permanent solution for keeping the battery on trickle charge and I didn’t want the cable to be flapping about in the engine bay, so I built the below which will bolt to the underside of the front bumper
This won't be fitted to the car until December now
You can get chassis mount SAE connectors, but I didn't want something on the front of the bumper. Wanted it hidden. This is just a normal connector glued between plastic, aluminum and then wrapped in tape. Was going to paint it, but no one will ever see it so didn't see the point.
This won't be fitted to the car until December now
You can get chassis mount SAE connectors, but I didn't want something on the front of the bumper. Wanted it hidden. This is just a normal connector glued between plastic, aluminum and then wrapped in tape. Was going to paint it, but no one will ever see it so didn't see the point.
https://www.rpidesigns.com/shop/item.aspx/magnetic...
Polly Grigora said:
Thanks for this. I ended up ditching the solution that I originally built and ended up buying more robust connectors. Still haven't fitted them though. Yours looks much better, so will look into that
bakerstreet said:
Polly Grigora said:
Thanks for this. I ended up ditching the solution that I originally built and ended up buying more robust connectors. Still haven't fitted them though. Yours looks much better, so will look into that
Am pretty sure there is also a cover
These magnetic connectors can be found at ebay and amazon amongst other places.....Google......
You've done a classy job on the Land Rover
Not been a lot of progress on the Series over the last month or two apart from the odd but of electrical work.
Connected the first of my two ground cables for the rear cabin light and 12v outlets. Thankfully there was already a cable path that was relatively easy to follow.
Made a start on the wiring for the audio and tested it on the bench with a small battery. For such a compact amp, it works really well. Decent sound quality too and that was with the speakers laying on a bench so no boxing at all.
Made up and painted some spacers for the amp so the cubby box lid stay still fitted. Yes I know the best place for the amp isn't in the cubby, but I much prefer it hidden and not on show.
Aux fuse box is also coming on nicely too. May end up relocating this box to the underseat storage as I will probably have to move the battery there eventually if I go down the V8 or 300tdi route. Trying to keep the cabling as neat as I can so I can easily remove the battery from the tray.
Got a couple of 4in speakers coming from Amazon and some $2 spacers from AliExpress, so will eventually fit those in the seatbelt top mount trim panels. I'm hoping this will all produce enough noise for me to actually hear any music. Trying to purchase as much as I can from AliExpress now as first show is 27th July, so got plenty of time.
Also on the hunt for a new alpine window roof, as the current roof has a few battle scars and also, fitting a headlining is much easier if I take the roof off and ideally I don't want to put the current one back on. Would much prefer an alpine window roof. Safari roof would be great l, but they are rare and expensive now.
Connected the first of my two ground cables for the rear cabin light and 12v outlets. Thankfully there was already a cable path that was relatively easy to follow.
Made a start on the wiring for the audio and tested it on the bench with a small battery. For such a compact amp, it works really well. Decent sound quality too and that was with the speakers laying on a bench so no boxing at all.
Made up and painted some spacers for the amp so the cubby box lid stay still fitted. Yes I know the best place for the amp isn't in the cubby, but I much prefer it hidden and not on show.
Aux fuse box is also coming on nicely too. May end up relocating this box to the underseat storage as I will probably have to move the battery there eventually if I go down the V8 or 300tdi route. Trying to keep the cabling as neat as I can so I can easily remove the battery from the tray.
Got a couple of 4in speakers coming from Amazon and some $2 spacers from AliExpress, so will eventually fit those in the seatbelt top mount trim panels. I'm hoping this will all produce enough noise for me to actually hear any music. Trying to purchase as much as I can from AliExpress now as first show is 27th July, so got plenty of time.
Also on the hunt for a new alpine window roof, as the current roof has a few battle scars and also, fitting a headlining is much easier if I take the roof off and ideally I don't want to put the current one back on. Would much prefer an alpine window roof. Safari roof would be great l, but they are rare and expensive now.
Edited by bakerstreet on Saturday 30th April 07:12
gareth h said:
Chaps, sorry to derail a little, I have just bought a series 3 which is in need of some tlc, we have got it running and having poked about underneath the chassis doesnt appear to be too bad, except for this rear section, any recommendations on the best way to tackle it?
Are actual holes on that rear cross member? Picture makes it hard to tell. If there are holes, then it might fail an MOT as they are near the spring hangers. If its just surface rust, then I would:
1. Remove the grab handles if you can
2. Give it a good clean an check over to see if there are any actual hole. Don't forget to check inside
2. Apply 2 coats of some good old fashioned red oxide from Hammerite or even Screwfix
3. Then apply Chassis in one (CIO) from Buzzwelld. This is what I painted my rear cross member with and its a really nice finish and easy to apply too. If you have any issues finding it on the Buzzweld site, then contact Craig on the Buzzweld FB group as he owns/runs Buzzweld and is very helpful.
You can re-attach the grab handles with new bolts and I'd paint those as well. If you do have holes in the cross member, then they can be saved by a welder. New Cross Members aren't expensive, but the labour can be a day ish to remove old one and fit a new one.
So, after a lot of faff, the front speakers are now fitted in the seat belt trim panels. Was limited in size due to the depth available behind the panel, so had to go with Vibe 4in speakers from Amazon and even that required 10mm spacers from Ali Express (Only $3 delivered!)
The original speakers came with a silver/black finish which I didn’t like, so sanded them down and painted the grills silver and the outer rings satin black. These match the rear speakers too.
Made up a loom and hand wrapped it. These include cables for the load bay light. I can now see why AutoSparks charge so much for their looms as it’s a slow process wrapping the cables and laying them out, let alone feeding them though the car.
My cables run in the roof channel and behind one of the trim panels and end where the centre cubby is.
Next job is securing the speaker board in the roof. Made up some right angle brackets and painted those (Not sure why I bothered if I’m honest) The speaker board stays up there on its own without fixings, so I am tempted to just wedge it up there and not bother with the fixings. My only concern is the Series ride is pretty harsh and I don’t want to come clattering down as soon as I go over a speed bump
Because of the cable route I used, I now need to run cables back to the rear light switch and forward again to the new fuse aux box. Been putting this off as it will involve crawling under the car and trying to find the best route. I’m hoping I can feed some of the cables through the gaps between the spars that support the rear load bay.
Trying to rein in the spending on the Series and these were made from steel box section that was left my the previous owners of our current house. OK, I had to cut it up and paint it all, but I don't mind that.
Still got several more looms to make as well and the crawl under the Series to fit it. Suppose I should get the car up on axel stands so I can at least crawl under the thing without banging my head!
The original speakers came with a silver/black finish which I didn’t like, so sanded them down and painted the grills silver and the outer rings satin black. These match the rear speakers too.
Made up a loom and hand wrapped it. These include cables for the load bay light. I can now see why AutoSparks charge so much for their looms as it’s a slow process wrapping the cables and laying them out, let alone feeding them though the car.
My cables run in the roof channel and behind one of the trim panels and end where the centre cubby is.
Next job is securing the speaker board in the roof. Made up some right angle brackets and painted those (Not sure why I bothered if I’m honest) The speaker board stays up there on its own without fixings, so I am tempted to just wedge it up there and not bother with the fixings. My only concern is the Series ride is pretty harsh and I don’t want to come clattering down as soon as I go over a speed bump
Because of the cable route I used, I now need to run cables back to the rear light switch and forward again to the new fuse aux box. Been putting this off as it will involve crawling under the car and trying to find the best route. I’m hoping I can feed some of the cables through the gaps between the spars that support the rear load bay.
Trying to rein in the spending on the Series and these were made from steel box section that was left my the previous owners of our current house. OK, I had to cut it up and paint it all, but I don't mind that.
Still got several more looms to make as well and the crawl under the Series to fit it. Suppose I should get the car up on axel stands so I can at least crawl under the thing without banging my head!
Tuesday night is choir night for Mrs Bakerstreet and usually I put the kids to bed and then browse Netflix and YouTube trying to find something to watch, but having had quite a bad day at work, I set about the wiring which is a job I’ve been putting off for a while now.
Connected the front and rear looms together. Joins are next to the Gearbox as it's easy for me to access through the seat box. The Eldest even helped me thread the wires through from the battery area, He laid on the floor and pulled the cables through whilst I fed them through from the top. Worked pretty well and it was nice that he was involved in it. OK, it cost me a Pokemon card as bribery, but he was still quite willing.
Wiring is all silicon, so it's pretty easy to strip and solder together. I then add some heat shrink which I happily shrank using my new mini heat gun tool (Very satisfying)
I’ve threaded a wire through for the front cab light as well. Remember commercial body Series Land Rovers literally came with no interior kit at all. County Station Wagons were at least fitted with an interior light
Rear Interior light is designed for motorhome awnings and is way too bright for what I need it for. But I wanted an angled design rather than flat and not something that was designed to go up in the roof as it’s currently a single skin roof.
Also, for reasons unknown, I decided to make a start on the headlining. 5mm closed cell foam and I will eventually add four way stretch carpet. Should have taken the roof off for this as its only about an hour to take the roof off, but then I have a challenge of where to keep the roof whilst I am doing the work. Also, this is more of a practice run as I am constantly on the lookout for a safari roof.
I went with 5mm deadening as I didn’t want it to take up too much space in the roof channel, but when you tap the roof, the 5mm really isn’t adding much at all. I’ve bought some 10mm to do the underside of the bonnet, but the material feels so light, I really don’t think it's going to do much, so I may go all out and add the 2.5mm silent coat and then the 5mm on top of the Silent coat for the bonnet.
It’s heading off to a small car show on Sunday, so trying to get the cab section headlining all finished and the stereo all wired up before then. Sadly the car show looks to be pretty small, so may take one look at it and turn round and go home
My rear 12v outlet box located right by the rear door so super easy to turn the light on when you open the rear door. This enclose was an Ali Express Special and I trawled the net for ages trying to find something just the right size to fit in the gap. Had to paint it black too.
Load Bay light switched on. Very bright. This came in white. Original plan was to paint it cream to match the roof, but then changed y mind so sanded it down and went with satin black to match other parts.
The headlining project that I wish I never started. This is the 5mm sound deadening which really doesn't do much Corner part was pretty tricky. Cut out is for the light which will be eventually fitted.
Connected the front and rear looms together. Joins are next to the Gearbox as it's easy for me to access through the seat box. The Eldest even helped me thread the wires through from the battery area, He laid on the floor and pulled the cables through whilst I fed them through from the top. Worked pretty well and it was nice that he was involved in it. OK, it cost me a Pokemon card as bribery, but he was still quite willing.
Wiring is all silicon, so it's pretty easy to strip and solder together. I then add some heat shrink which I happily shrank using my new mini heat gun tool (Very satisfying)
I’ve threaded a wire through for the front cab light as well. Remember commercial body Series Land Rovers literally came with no interior kit at all. County Station Wagons were at least fitted with an interior light
Rear Interior light is designed for motorhome awnings and is way too bright for what I need it for. But I wanted an angled design rather than flat and not something that was designed to go up in the roof as it’s currently a single skin roof.
Also, for reasons unknown, I decided to make a start on the headlining. 5mm closed cell foam and I will eventually add four way stretch carpet. Should have taken the roof off for this as its only about an hour to take the roof off, but then I have a challenge of where to keep the roof whilst I am doing the work. Also, this is more of a practice run as I am constantly on the lookout for a safari roof.
I went with 5mm deadening as I didn’t want it to take up too much space in the roof channel, but when you tap the roof, the 5mm really isn’t adding much at all. I’ve bought some 10mm to do the underside of the bonnet, but the material feels so light, I really don’t think it's going to do much, so I may go all out and add the 2.5mm silent coat and then the 5mm on top of the Silent coat for the bonnet.
It’s heading off to a small car show on Sunday, so trying to get the cab section headlining all finished and the stereo all wired up before then. Sadly the car show looks to be pretty small, so may take one look at it and turn round and go home
My rear 12v outlet box located right by the rear door so super easy to turn the light on when you open the rear door. This enclose was an Ali Express Special and I trawled the net for ages trying to find something just the right size to fit in the gap. Had to paint it black too.
Load Bay light switched on. Very bright. This came in white. Original plan was to paint it cream to match the roof, but then changed y mind so sanded it down and went with satin black to match other parts.
The headlining project that I wish I never started. This is the 5mm sound deadening which really doesn't do much
Corner part was pretty tricky. Cut out is for the light which will be eventually fitted. Wired in the Bluetooth amp today and screwed the cubby box to the top panel and then screwed the top panel to the seat box. Even went round what looms like random holes in the seat box and blocked them with rubber grommets and nuts and bolts.
Noise comes out of all speakers at a reasonable volume but it's lacking bass so might add a separate sub one day. They are pretty cheap on Ali Express.
I'm pretty happy that after much faff that I now have four USB2 outlets, 2 cigarette sockets, volt gauge, four speaker Bluetooth Stereo and a a load area light 🙂
I was so pleased I even forced the family into the garage to celebrate my modern car tech 😁
Going to now crack on with the front headlining and the cab light.
Noise comes out of all speakers at a reasonable volume but it's lacking bass so might add a separate sub one day. They are pretty cheap on Ali Express.
I'm pretty happy that after much faff that I now have four USB2 outlets, 2 cigarette sockets, volt gauge, four speaker Bluetooth Stereo and a a load area light 🙂
I was so pleased I even forced the family into the garage to celebrate my modern car tech 😁
Going to now crack on with the front headlining and the cab light.
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