Land Rover series 3 for a newbie?
Discussion
I was looking to buy a Landy series 3 and wondered if anyone had any experience of owning one? I have one in mind that is tax exempt and has just passed its mot with only one note concerning one of the outriggers. It's a petrol 88 hard top. What are the things I should be wary of. I am aware they are 40 year old vehicles and come with problems, but its something I've always hankered after. Sayng that I don't want to get stuck into a money pit!
depends what you want it for to be honest. a daily driver it isnt, a much loved hobby then absolutely.
Most important to check for is rust, rust rust..... and the outrigger is one of the places where they go. Check the chassis and bulkhead with a fine tooth comb. The rest is just landie ownership ups and downs.
Most important to check for is rust, rust rust..... and the outrigger is one of the places where they go. Check the chassis and bulkhead with a fine tooth comb. The rest is just landie ownership ups and downs.
Thanks for the reply, it's only going to be a secondary car to have and use once in a while for a bit of fun. Only a little gentle green laning with the kids ( and I don mean gentle!) Using in the snow, dropping things off at the dump etc. I don't have any great plans or expectations tbh just dont want to buy a lemon and have trouble selling it on after its done its service if it isnt what I'm after. I know the reality doesnt live up to the pipe dream sometime, but you only live once as they say!
ibisti said:
I was looking to buy a Landy series 3 and wondered if anyone had any experience of owning one? I have one in mind that is tax exempt and has just passed its mot with only one note concerning one of the outriggers. It's a petrol 88 hard top. What are the things I should be wary of. I am aware they are 40 year old vehicles and come with problems, but its something I've always hankered after. Sayng that I don't want to get stuck into a money pit!
Rust on the chassis is the biggest bug bear. Although it can be fixed.Foot wells rust too, but don't matter that much and again can be replaced.
Nothing much to go wrong other than that, they truly are one of the most simple vehicles you can buy.
Engines are stout, gearbox and drivetrain relatively weak, although more than upto a standard Series engine. Plenty of oil seals that can leak, none terminal but can be annoying. The hub seals are felt and go hard and brittle if the vehicle has stood a while.
But basically you can change and replace everything. An entire new chassis is only £1200 and if you put one of these on a vehicle you'll get most of that back in its increased value.
300bhp/ton said:
Rust on the chassis is the biggest bug bear. Although it can be fixed.
Foot wells rust too, but don't matter that much and again can be replaced.
Nothing much to go wrong other than that, they truly are one of the most simple vehicles you can buy.
Engines are stout, gearbox and drivetrain relatively weak, although more than upto a standard Series engine. Plenty of oil seals that can leak, none terminal but can be annoying. The hub seals are felt and go hard and brittle if the vehicle has stood a while.
But basically you can change and replace everything. An entire new chassis is only £1200 and if you put one of these on a vehicle you'll get most of that back in its increased value.
As you say, the gearboxes are weak and the OP really must triple check these when you test drive. The chassis parts are reletively cheap to replace if you have patience and you can weld. Foot wells rust too, but don't matter that much and again can be replaced.
Nothing much to go wrong other than that, they truly are one of the most simple vehicles you can buy.
Engines are stout, gearbox and drivetrain relatively weak, although more than upto a standard Series engine. Plenty of oil seals that can leak, none terminal but can be annoying. The hub seals are felt and go hard and brittle if the vehicle has stood a while.
But basically you can change and replace everything. An entire new chassis is only £1200 and if you put one of these on a vehicle you'll get most of that back in its increased value.
Take said vehicle for a test drive and take it down an incline, then pop it into second and lift up the cluth as you come to a junction. If it pops out of gear then the syncro has gone and its a rebuild job. Same can happen with first, third and fourth. You'll find some stuff on the net about just replacing a spring, but many people aren't that lucky.
You can do it your self and buy the bits or pay a transmission specialist like Ashcroft £400-£500, but you'll have to take the box out yourself.
Yes series vehicles are easy to fix, but please don't go into series ownership thinking those simple things are cheap to fix. New springs and shocks can set you back £350 and a couple of days labour.
Lovely looking vehicles though
Bakerstreet, that's interesting about the synchro, my 1976 Series 3 jumps out of third on downhill runs but with no use of the clutch, is this likely to be a similar issue?
OP are you able to do any of the work on a Landy yourself? OH looks after both of ours (his is tax exempt mine isn't), I imagine having a garage keep one of these on the road would be pretty pricey.
OP are you able to do any of the work on a Landy yourself? OH looks after both of ours (his is tax exempt mine isn't), I imagine having a garage keep one of these on the road would be pretty pricey.
Thanks for all of the replys. I am not the most mechanically adept person but I have a very good friend who is more than happy to help and who owns a mechanics garage. I know it will be more expensive to do it this way but I am prepared for some of the costs. I am going into it with eyes open, even though sometimes I have rose tinted specs on! What would be your advice on a cost for a well sorted series 3 tax exemp be? Just ball park and not a garage queen restored one.
ibisti said:
Thanks for all of the replys. I am not the most mechanically adept person but I have a very good friend who is more than happy to help and who owns a mechanics garage. I know it will be more expensive to do it this way but I am prepared for some of the costs. I am going into it with eyes open, even though sometimes I have rose tinted specs on! What would be your advice on a cost for a well sorted series 3 tax exemp be? Just ball park and not a garage queen restored one.
Prices of series 3s can be a bit of lottery. £2k should get you a good one. £2k-£3k starts to get very close to 90/200tdi money, so alot of them sell for high ones low twos. The 90 is a bit more refined with a better gearbox and 200tdi engine is leagues ahead of the 2.25D. I would be tempted to put more money into an early 90 rather than a series, especially if you have two to 3k+ to spend. If you've only got £1500, then you are well into series territory. Overdrive is a nice option if you can find it. Try and go for something that is original rather than heavily modified. Series Land Rovers with the LR 200tdi engine installed are always worth more. Van sided vehciles are a bot of pain, so a lot of people put windows in.
Please remember that running old Land Rovers can be more about fixing the blasted things rather than using them
. I spent this morning putting in new glow plugs and splitting ball joints and thats after approximately 3 days putting new springs and shocks on the car. I was thinking of about 3 to 4k tbh to get one that had had quite a bit sorted before I buy it. The prices do seem to be all over the place to a novice like myself. As I've seen ground up restorations for 12k and up. Thats not what I'm after and I'm not interested in a defender as I've had experience of them and want more of a "classic". It's more to do with the iconic look with a bit less fragility of say a series 1.
ibisti said:
I was thinking of about 3 to 4k tbh to get one that had had quite a bit sorted before I buy it. The prices do seem to be all over the place to a novice like myself. As I've seen ground up restorations for 12k and up. Thats not what I'm after and I'm not interested in a defender as I've had experience of them and want more of a "classic". It's more to do with the iconic look with a bit less fragility of say a series 1.
Can't say I've ever seen a 12k series 3. I can understand Series 2 and 2A There have been £5k series on the Bay for weeks and weeks. People know for that money you can get a reasonable 90 complete with luxuries such as power steering and some token sound proofing!
The 4Cyl petrol engine is much better than the diesel unit.
£3 to 4k should get you a genuine station wagon. Have you considered a 2 or a 2A. Bit more desirable than the Series 3. You still get your required split screen, but the centre binnacle non plastic dash interior is a bit more pleasing to the eye
On car and classic there seem to be a few nudging the 10k mark plus this one http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C339203 . I know it's the advertised price not the selling price that counts. I quite like the dash in the 3 and I thought they might be a move on from the 2 and 2a's, correct me if I'm wrong. I think as they get older they might become more desirable due to the tax exempt status, I was looking at a '72.
ibisti said:
On car and classic there seem to be a few nudging the 10k mark plus this one http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C339203 . I know it's the advertised price not the selling price that counts. I quite like the dash in the 3 and I thought they might be a move on from the 2 and 2a's, correct me if I'm wrong. I think as they get older they might become more desirable due to the tax exempt status, I was looking at a '72.
Yes, they become more desirable as they get older. Tax exempt cars start at £2k to £2.5k. I can see he values of Series 3s shooting up in value wen the government alter the tax exempt year to suit. Pre 84 would be ideal for me 
I can't see anyone paying £12k for that series 3. I'm not a fan of the rag tops, but that car does look nice. If I was doing a full rebuild, I would certainly stick parabolics on there rather than traditional leaf springs. At least you wouldn't find your self having to apply on the grease/petrol mix, wrapping the springs in cling film and then finding a bumpy road and hoping the rust removes itself.
I sold a fantastic series 3 swb last year - it had a galv chassis, and had Ben competely rebuilt. It had all the ,out desirable things - overdrive, full canvas tilt - but looked completely standard. I eventually sold it for £2800. I liked the car - but just couldn't get on with thee plastic dash and front grill. I now have a battered old series 11am and am much happier! The lights are also in the right place! It's a bit of a bug and I now also have two defenders...
I started off with a s111 spent a fortune on restoring it but it was a good learning curve I really liked it but just found it a bit underpowered on the road. I replaced it with a 90 and that is in a different league if you intend to use off road,if you are using it as a weekend toy the tax free S111 sounds like a good bet along with classic insurance it will be good fun.
shunter V8 said:
I started off with a s111 spent a fortune on restoring it but it was a good learning curve I really liked it but just found it a bit underpowered on the road. I replaced it with a 90 and that is in a different league if you intend to use off road,if you are using it as a weekend toy the tax free S111 sounds like a good bet along with classic insurance it will be good fun.
underpowerd is an understatement! I recon most of the standard petrols and diesels are putting out under 50bhp now unless they have been rebuilt. Low gearing doesn't help either.
I just stay away from motorways
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