Just bought a 1980 series 3 .... I know nothing about them!
Discussion
Hi all, Just bought my first land rover, always wanted one, been looking on Autotrader and eBay for about 6 months, but nothing worth getting out of bed for down here in Kent.
anyway, Saturday, my wife sees a nice one on Autotrader, we jump out of bed and are there in a hour to view. Lovely old fellow and his wife had this land rover for 15 years,
looks in really good untouched condition that i can see in the failing light. So after a bit of negotiation, basically asking price!, we buy it.
Picking it up tomorrow, so need to be steered to a good classic Land Rover forum (apart from here obviously) so i can get to grips with what I've bought!
Any help appreciated!
anyway, Saturday, my wife sees a nice one on Autotrader, we jump out of bed and are there in a hour to view. Lovely old fellow and his wife had this land rover for 15 years,
looks in really good untouched condition that i can see in the failing light. So after a bit of negotiation, basically asking price!, we buy it.
Picking it up tomorrow, so need to be steered to a good classic Land Rover forum (apart from here obviously) so i can get to grips with what I've bought!
Any help appreciated!
Welcome to the wonderful world of old Land Rover ownership. You'll never be short of something to do
You could try:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/
http://forums.lr4x4.com/
http://forum.lro.com/
Umpteen others to be found with a Google.
You could try:
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/
http://forums.lr4x4.com/
http://forum.lro.com/
Umpteen others to be found with a Google.
http://www.landrovernet.com One of the best forums for all Land Rovers.
My first drive ever drive tonight in a landy from Hertfordshire to Kent at night in the rain on unfamiliar country roads was interesting! For the first 30mins I was terrified!
Steering like the titanic, comedy brakes, gear lever like a routemaster, 50mph top speed, boy was I unprepared for this and I thought my TVR had stiff suspension!
But after that half hour of terror, things settled down, got used to the gearbox, had fun with the steering, got familiar with the switches (never found the heater though) and my 11 year old couldn't stop laughing, he loves it!
Car behaved perfectly though, temp fine and never missed a beat.
Roll on daytime and the sun.
Steering like the titanic, comedy brakes, gear lever like a routemaster, 50mph top speed, boy was I unprepared for this and I thought my TVR had stiff suspension!
But after that half hour of terror, things settled down, got used to the gearbox, had fun with the steering, got familiar with the switches (never found the heater though) and my 11 year old couldn't stop laughing, he loves it!
Car behaved perfectly though, temp fine and never missed a beat.
Roll on daytime and the sun.
My first drive ever drive tonight in a landy from Hertfordshire to Kent at night in the rain on unfamiliar country roads was interesting! For the first 30mins I was terrified!
Steering like the titanic, comedy brakes, gear lever like a routemaster, 50mph top speed, boy was I unprepared for this and I thought my TVR had stiff suspension!
But after that half hour of terror, things settled down, got used to the gearbox, had fun with the steering, got familiar with the switches (never found the heater though) and my 11 year old couldn't stop laughing, he loves it!
Car behaved perfectly though, temp fine and never missed a beat.
Roll on daytime and the sun.
Steering like the titanic, comedy brakes, gear lever like a routemaster, 50mph top speed, boy was I unprepared for this and I thought my TVR had stiff suspension!
But after that half hour of terror, things settled down, got used to the gearbox, had fun with the steering, got familiar with the switches (never found the heater though) and my 11 year old couldn't stop laughing, he loves it!
Car behaved perfectly though, temp fine and never missed a beat.
Roll on daytime and the sun.
Edited by markbigears on Wednesday 23 December 00:57
Any amount of info online about the heaters.
Couple of random examples off Google 'series 3 heater':
http://mud4fun.com/2012/11/25/repairing-the-heater...
http://www.thelandroverclub.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic...
http://www.conehead.org/Projects/LandRover/Enginee...
Don't be surprised if your son refuses to be taken to school in anything but the Landy!
Couple of random examples off Google 'series 3 heater':
http://mud4fun.com/2012/11/25/repairing-the-heater...
http://www.thelandroverclub.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic...
http://www.conehead.org/Projects/LandRover/Enginee...
Don't be surprised if your son refuses to be taken to school in anything but the Landy!
Two of the cars I own genuinely scare me at times. One of those is my 1973 Series III.
They were designed for roads in a different era where cars couldn't brake, accelerate or travel anywhere near as fast and efficiently as they do now.
Gentle A and B-roads are simply wonderful places to gently drive a Series along. A rutted lane, track or field is even better.
But, my God are they fun!!!! My children love the thing dearly, as does my wife who I bought the Series for. They're a car you actually have to drive and they really reward the input you provide.
A Land Rover (or three in our case) is for life, as you may soon discover. Lovely example you have there!!
They were designed for roads in a different era where cars couldn't brake, accelerate or travel anywhere near as fast and efficiently as they do now.
Gentle A and B-roads are simply wonderful places to gently drive a Series along. A rutted lane, track or field is even better.
But, my God are they fun!!!! My children love the thing dearly, as does my wife who I bought the Series for. They're a car you actually have to drive and they really reward the input you provide.
A Land Rover (or three in our case) is for life, as you may soon discover. Lovely example you have there!!
They are fantastic vehicles aren't they! I bit the bullet earlier this year and bought a Series 3 County. The steering takes getting used to, but the gearbox in mine feels pretty good! I haven't been in a bad one so can't compare, however the mechanic at the local LR specialist said it's lovely. Also, the brakes are excellent too; I do have a bill from the previous owner showing they had a full overhaul - and being one of the later S3s it has a brake servo and larger drums.
My plans for it are:
Turner gas flowed head (also will run unleaded fuel)
Fit electronic distributor
Fit auxiliary electric fan (if I decide to tour Europe)
Fit overdrive
New doors and door tops (I have Rocky Mountain door tops already, but it needs new door bottoms ideally).
Maybe one day a galvanised chassis and bulkhead. Maybe.
According to the speedo it's only done 35k miles; and being as it's so tidy inside, and that it was SORN'd for nearly 10 years, means it could be the right mileage.
My plans for it are:
Turner gas flowed head (also will run unleaded fuel)
Fit electronic distributor
Fit auxiliary electric fan (if I decide to tour Europe)
Fit overdrive
New doors and door tops (I have Rocky Mountain door tops already, but it needs new door bottoms ideally).
Maybe one day a galvanised chassis and bulkhead. Maybe.
According to the speedo it's only done 35k miles; and being as it's so tidy inside, and that it was SORN'd for nearly 10 years, means it could be the right mileage.
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