To Buy or not to Buy?

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
T

TheoMc

New Member
Posts
8
Location
Dundee
Is that a question?

Hi everyone. I've been wanting for quite some time to buy either a defender or a series and recently this example popped up very close to home https://www.gumtree.com/p/land-rover/1972-series-3-land-rover/1203277401 for the purposes of bumming around Scotland climbing mountains and satisfying my land rover desire.


As a student, with no car, its rare to have something pop up literally within arms reach. I'm wondering if theres any pointers you guys can give me in regards to viewing a series landrover? I've never owned a car, and have never viewed one. Thankfully, I do have a friend who is willing to come along to help. He also happens to have his own series rebuild going on.

Any help would be great, and of course, If I end up with something, this vehicle or not, i'll put up a thread with plenty of pictures.

Thanks,
Theo
 
Three things to remember.
It will be knackered
It will cost you lots to keep on the road
It will be the most fun you can have with your vest on.
Other than that get it bought.
 
It's a military version. Check if its got 12v or 24v electrical system. As a novice avoid the latter; too many specialist parts. It's had an engine change by the sounds. Need to understand what it is. Older diesel engines can be fickle for emissions for MOT. At under a £1k it'll be a bit rough all round. Check the chassis rear cross member, the outriggers, foot wells and bottom of the bulkhead, the springs and steering. Personally as a novice car owner with limited knowledge I would suggest caution in buying such a vehicle unless you have the space,time and money to keep working on it to maintain it roadworthy. Tooling around Scotland doing off road stuff is a romantic notion. The reality is starkly different cos you cannot access the wilderness off road easily.Breaking down in some godforsaken car park in the Highlands isn't a nice experience. A very old landy would need to be driven with great care, it will not like sustained high mileage - high likelihood of something breaking down. Sorry to be a bit negative just pointing out the realities..
 
Thanks for the replies guys, tempers my ignorant enthusiasm with experience :)

The reason for looking at a cheap thing, is at somepoint in the next 1-2 years i would be rebuilding the thing from the ground up. New chassis etc. So was thinking, get a cheap base that will pass a mot with some do it yourself work and put it in a safe dry barn till the summer.

Would I be better off with a similar priced defender for (eventual, with work) reliability?
 
TheoMc said:
Would I be better off with a similar priced defender for (eventual, with work) reliability?
Click to expand...

Both will be reliable if looked after and maintained. The main difference between the two will be comfort and speed if it is going to be your only car. What are you planning on using it for?
A series motor is not very happy doing long motorway journeys, even with an overdrive fitted. Whereas the defender is not as bad and can be more easily made to be happy at motorway speeds (tdi engine + discovery trasnfer box).
 
Short and long journeys (always wanted to see Norway, Sweden , Finland etc) but on back roads. Even when driving a normal car I prefer the slower pace of b roads. Weird I know, for a 20 year old.

Thanks again for the help
 
If you are serious about driving longer distances, I think overdrive is essential in reducing revs by 28% or thereabouts. It makes cruising at 50 a real possibility. You are right to stay off dual carriageways if you want to avoid trucks up your exhaust. When I bought my 1974 S3 last year we had a 200 mile trip home, 7 hours including stops, average speed about 28 mph and petrol about 20 mpg. Without overdrive I bet these figures would have been much worse. On hilly back roads in North Devon I quickly learnt that a Landy is one of the few vehicles where you can continue to accelerate into a 40 limit. I'm lucky in that my S3 had a galvanised chassis in 2003 and a new engine in 1999, but in a couple of years its had new fuel tank, full exhaust, steering rod ends and rear springs/shocks, plus its first service since 2004.Love it though
 
TheoMc said:
Is that a question?

Hi everyone. I've been wanting for quite some time to buy either a defender or a series and recently this example popped up very close to home https://www.gumtree.com/p/land-rover/1972-series-3-land-rover/1203277401 for the purposes of bumming around Scotland climbing mountains and satisfying my land rover desire.


As a student, with no car, its rare to have something pop up literally within arms reach. I'm wondering if theres any pointers you guys can give me in regards to viewing a series landrover? I've never owned a car, and have never viewed one. Thankfully, I do have a friend who is willing to come along to help. He also happens to have his own series rebuild going on.

Any help would be great, and of course, If I end up with something, this vehicle or not, i'll put up a thread with plenty of pictures.

Thanks,
Theo
Click to expand...
Question 1. Have you got the facilities to undertake the repairs? (All weather work area, knowledge, tools etc.)
Question 2. As a student who wishes to travel will you have funds to do both?
Question 3. If you want to travel in this Land Rover, have you considered the total cost of recovery from some far flung corner of Scotland?
 
Colonial said:
Question 1. Have you got the facilities to undertake the repairs? (All weather work area, knowledge, tools etc.)
Question 2. As a student who wishes to travel will you have funds to do both?
Question 3. If you want to travel in this Land Rover, have you considered the total cost of recovery from some far flung corner of Scotland?
Click to expand...

1: Yes, got a friend in dundee willing to share his garage space + tools. Back home on the west coast i know some people with a garage that gets used kind of communally, funnily enough it has a never ending series project in bits in it. Both can be used in exchange for some whiskey and some banter. I personally have very little mechanical knowledge, but i'm very eager to learn.
2: I'm one of these rare students who doesnt spend money on nightclubs and booze. With 2 jobs and uni I wouldn't have the time too if i wanted to.
3: Unfortunately, yes :/


Its always been a defender/110 thats been the main objective. Get the "right" one and store it till ive got the funds to do it all up at once full time. Due to my two jobs being quite flexible this has always been an option. But this thing popped up in my back yard for cheap and I cant resist going to see it, which could lead to me making a very good decision, or a very bad one. But I dont know much about the series landy other than their even more ancient than a 110/defender. But with extra style points.

Thanks again for the advice.
 
the one you put up is road tax - ved or whatever its called now - free btw that is a big plus imho and adds value for resale once its working and on the road
 
TheoMc said:
1: Yes, got a friend in dundee willing to share his garage space + tools. Back home on the west coast i know some people with a garage that gets used kind of communally, funnily enough it has a never ending series project in bits in it. Both can be used in exchange for some whiskey and some banter. I personally have very little mechanical knowledge, but i'm very eager to learn.
2: I'm one of these rare students who doesnt spend money on nightclubs and booze. With 2 jobs and uni I wouldn't have the time too if i wanted to.
3: Unfortunately, yes :/


Its always been a defender/110 thats been the main objective. Get the "right" one and store it till ive got the funds to do it all up at once full time. Due to my two jobs being quite flexible this has always been an option. But this thing popped up in my back yard for cheap and I cant resist going to see it, which could lead to me making a very good decision, or a very bad one. But I dont know much about the series landy other than their even more ancient than a 110/defender. But with extra style points.

Thanks again for the advice.
Click to expand...
Good Luck TheoMc.
You might need to buy your mate in Dundee some quality Malt.:)
 
Haha! thanks for the replies guys. Will see what happens on the day.
I think when it comes down to it, practicality and sense dont factor in. Else I'd have some reliable, stress free Japanese thing i can scrap when it dies. But id be bored and envious of landy drivers :)
 
TheoMc said:
I think when it comes down to it, practicality and sense dont factor in. Else I'd have some reliable, stress free Japanese thing i can scrap when it dies. But id be bored and envious of landy drivers
Click to expand...

That's what I did, at 18 I suddenly got access to to enough money to go and buy one spent a couple of weeks looking and bought my 110. I had no real mechanical knowledge and it was an awful initially and definitely shouldn't have had the 12 months mot it had. But I had always wanted one and wouldn't change it. Like you I spent my money as a student on the land rover rather than clubs and alcohol and I never regretted it. Just remember that you will spend as much on tools as you will on repairs if you are starting out with nothing.
 
TheoMc said:
Haha! thanks for the replies guys. Will see what happens on the day.
I think when it comes down to it, practicality and sense dont factor in. Else I'd have some reliable, stress free Japanese thing i can scrap when it dies. But id be bored and envious of landy drivers :)
Click to expand...
Thats the spirit. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RedDevil72
Which Diff to upgrade to ??
Replies
19
Views
1K
norseman
norseman
L
Series 3 Dashboard
Replies
4
Views
554
Bobsticle
Bobsticle
M
To buy or not to buy
Replies
14
Views
797
Malpas
M
joerowelll
Series 3 Whats this part called?
Replies
2
Views
647
steve2286w
steve2286w
JIMBOB LR
Less Is More. The LR Series lives on.
2 3
Replies
40
Views
3K
steve2286w
steve2286w
Back
Top