A Swedish Series 3 brought back to life

Ok, it´s not Swedish just because it´s here, but it´s here..
Landys are a new chapter for me - and I already like them - I´m grateful for all and any tips I can get during this process.

This car belonged to a dear friend of mine, who helped me with a couple of my own projects. We used to say we´d be doing his Landy next time. Long story short, I inherited this one and I will do my best to resuscitate it. I really admire (read "am envious of") you girls/guys who can take on a nut and bolt restoration, but since I have visited the Rabbit Hole before, this time I will try my best to work with what I´ve got.
So, my friend bought this S3 21 years ago. I think he knew the engine was shot, so he found another 2.25D and planned the swap, though he never got arround to it. Now, when I pulled it up from where it sat and home to my garage, I could actually see where he gave up. All bolts/nuts/wires were removed in the engine room, but when he came to the transmission plates/floor boards, he just put the tools where I found them 21 years later. I suppose he just planned to take a break, which then was extended 21 years. Reason for this prolonged break could be everything inside was glued together. Floor boards to the body, transmission plates to the floor - everything was joined together, is´nt that nice? I got the biggest pipe wrench and crow bar I could find. Those and a nice canned torch got the job done. Who needs a straight floor anyway?

Anyhow, this is what it looked like when I took a better look at it for the first time. It sat under a "roof" with wheels burried down to the hubs in the dirt. We actually had to lift and pull it to get it out. Amazingly the tyres held air when inflated. Tyres looks to be new btw.

After towing it 100 meters to my home I - naturally - took a few more pics.

First task was to get the engine out. I thought we could need a little more "push", so will replace that one with a 2.8 TD from a Dxxxtsu, which I learned would be an easy swap. It already sat in another Landy, so does "Bolt-In" apply?

Engine room has been properly cleaned. Paint was brush-bettered (is there such a word?) where needed. Frame horns, battery box and front axle got a layer of black chassie paint, in the US it´s called POR15. I call it "gluey stuff that can´t be removed from anything you put it on". Everything that can be removed, vacuum tank, battery clamp, air filter, blower/heater house, engine mounts etc etc has been blasted, and are right now waiting for the gluey stuff to come on. Radiator support was pretty rotten at the bottom, but structually ok, so it got a bath with rust stopper and then the same brush treatment as the engine room. Last pic shows exterior side after a nice rub and wax. I like it
Before/after.

Now, I´ts the matter of seized clutch and brakes that calls upon my attention. Hopefully I can report back about that in a few days, or weeks. Oh btw, my time frame is "done by atumn". This year.

Cheers!
//Car1

Good write up. Looking forward to seeing more!

The Clutch
Sitting the last 21 years or so, everything on this little 88 seems to be seized. After compromising with my site manager, clutch work began last Saturday afternoon. I soon realized my feeble plan to remove as little as possible during this "light" rebuild, was not going so well. Driver side fender would obviously have to be removed. Bottom screws either snapped or was torched to comply. The 4 bolts to the firewall came out without fuzz. Or at least 3 did. I could´nt see how I was supposed to reach the upper one, until I noticed what was done by a PO. He/she had cut the fender right off at the top close to the firewall, creating a "hatch" which allowed access to the last bolt. This hatch was later mended with a piece of aluminium and rivets. It can be seen in the pic, beneath the vegetation. DS fender was now removed and encouraged by this I also removed the passenger (R) side fender. At this time site manager came around for an unannounced inspection and laconic muttered "well, price for aluminium seems to be rising".
Inside I was supposed to see the 6 bolts holding the box, but the rug, which was glued, did a good job hiding them. Anyway, a paper knife solved that, and a few minutes later the bolts, after primed with rust solver, were out. The box itself was ok, surface rust but ok, before/after below. The main cylinder was added to the pile of valuable scrap metal. So was the slave one, which was easy to remove. New parts ordered. Pics also shows the non existing floor boards, by previous owner replaced with aluminium ditos, firmly glued to the body, chassi and also to the transmission plates.


The brakes
It was a while since I did work on drum brakes, and I remembered why as soon as I started sunday morning. Site manager, again after some negotiation, agreed to vist the local parts store, to pick up the nr 27 socket for me. Biggest i ever used on cars before was nr 21... In the meantime I did a change of oils in another project, and also had time for a quick test drive. I was happy when sm arrived with the 27 socket. First helped unload a ton of new garden plants - part of the before mentioned negotiation. Most expensive socket i as yet have bought... Wheel nuts were ugly but came off quite easily. I backed the adjusting nuts, got confused which way was "back" and ended up turning them forth and back during the operation. Naturally the drums initially refused to budge, but with help from a couple of big screwdrivers, a mallet and the mixed gas burner they finally began to move. They came off without too much damage done. These will be reused so I put them to the steel wheel guy - guess who - to get to work on later. Brake cylinders were, as foreseen, frozen/corroded and ended up in the growing pile. Brake lines, hoses and joints had all merged together. These will all be replaced, so I used my new favorite tool, the p/a disc cutter to remove them. I rounded up this rewarding weekend, first with the steelbrush wheel, followed by "brush bettering" on the parts that earlier couldn´t be reached, mainly the rest of the frame horns. Clutch box/pedal, brake drums and other miscellaneous parts also got a spray before I called it a day The leafs are painted in a greenish nuance, which i quite like. I haven´t decided wether to paint them black or try to find a green version of POR15 to use on them.

Oh, after digging around in the 88, I found the only set of keys - the avatar

//Car1

The leaf springs look in remarkably good condition and there isn't a spot of oil on the ground in the first pic. You've got a gem there.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

The leaf springs look in remarkably good condition and there isn't a spot of oil on the ground in the first pic. You've got a gem there.

Col

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Thanks, though the engine was shot/had no oil in it where it sat. Leafs must have been changed together with shocks somewhere on the road, as the seem not more than 20 years old
//Car1

Last weekend nature offered sunshine, hail- and snowstorm all in the same day, making it a challenge to work outdoors under the car. Saturday I continued cleaning the front hubs using the wire wheel, and then primed/prepared the hubs for paint. I went on removing the brake box, which seems to be in order. Pedal travel and doing its work, but it had to come off for paint, and I also want to clean up the fire wall - which now I´ve learned is called bulk head. I used what was left on the wire wheel and finished off with 240 paper, got the box ready for paint.
On Sunday morning I painted the hubs, using a fine brush as I want paint where it´s supposed to be, not anywhere else. I also painted the brake box, air cleaner and a few other small items. In the afternoon I got time to put the brakes back together, new cylinders, lines and hoses, and I also put the wheels temporally back on. There´s a large play in the left side hub, app. 3 mm, and I guess I have to adress that somewhere down the road. I also installed the new clutch cylinder. I stole a neat solution I ran into, using a conic drill bit to make an adjustment hole for the clutch.

Still a lot to do, but at least one bite of the elephant.
//Car1

Slow progress here, due to nasty weather - and of course - repairman´s high age. Site manager have also pointed out a number of tasks that cannot wait. Did at least manage to rebuild rear brakes, need to adjust piping though. Bulk head fixed and brake/clutch boxes are reassembled/put back.

Have also got all items back from blaster/paint. Now is the time to regret the fact that very few pics taken when this stuff was removed, but we´ll figure it out. Another bite again..
//car1

Great project! Following with interest

Thanks kermit_rr. My initial aim is to get this, hm, vehicle running/stopping by itself, then we´ll se what happens. Did not get much done this weekend, but at least changed a faulty brake cylinder, got the wrong size from the supplier. I also had a closer look at the rear and realized I really need new shocks. These ones looks to be stock, there´s not much left of them.

From what I can see, crawling on a cold bed of 0-40 gravel, the frame looks to be not too bad. It has been extensively repaired, there are more ugly welds than original steel, but I hope it´s ok for now anyways. Also found 2 rotten pieces of fabric, hanging from brackets above, and looping the rear axle. After a quick search & read on the forum, I concluded there´s no urgent need for replacing these. Cool looking things though, I think I´ll have to get them in place at some point. Right now I really want to put the 2.8 "back". It´s supposed to be a straight swap, but as we all know it never is. I´ve done some measuring, and am afraid I´ll have to delete the battery tray. If anyone done this swap before I´d be glad to hear about it.

As mentioned before, I´ve also got a ton of items - vacuum tank, air bracket/cleaner, heater, fan etc painted and waiting to get installed.
//Car1

Last weekend was supposed to be engine weekend. More details here The 2.8 was supposed to just slip into place and mate perfectly with the gearbox. No. It turns out my research on the gearbox/es left out the fact that there are 2 different types of stud patterns on the bell houses, 4 resp. 6 cylinder engine. I got this 2.8 out of another LR, but an 109, which originally had a 6 cyl engine. Hence this engine will not fit the stud pattern on my 4 cyl gearbox. This fact left me with a couple of options; 1) Swap bell houses. I have access to the one I got the engine from, so that´s doable, but with the Crazy 88 on the gravel/outdoors not that appealing. 2) Unbolt the adapter ring from the engine, ship it to Cambridge/MD Engineering to have it machined to fit a 4-cyl bell house. 3) Put this project on the burner for unknown amount of time and commit to others, more rewarding ones. I´m leaning towards #2 - but have not ruled out #3 - and am waiting for estimates from MDE. My guess is somewhere in the £600 range. Strange, it cost more to ship 10 kg of aluminium to UK than a passenger boat ticket. On the other hand, a bell house will not eat that much, nor spend a fortune in the tax free. I think I´ll try to put my hands on that 6-cyl bell house also, just in case. TBC.
//Car1

This Saturday I did the 400 km trip - again - to collect the 6-cyl bell house. The procedure was pretty much as described and it´s now on my bench, cleaned and ready to go in the 88. A lot of other things to attend to now, and "done by autumn" seems quite optimistic right now.

//Car1

Well, I´ve decided to use the 6-pot bell house, and yesterdays chore was getting the bell house out from the 88/4-cyl gearbox.This time I used an impact wrench to loosen the layshaft security bolt, it worked like a dream. Next step is to replace bearings, get the correct bell house in place and then hopefully be able to put the 2.8 in. I believe I´ve said it before, or in another thread, that I´m afraid this engine, and the position of the alternator will interfere with the battery. No matter, relocate the battery can´t be a problem, right? At least I´ve done some vehicle logistic planning, which have allowed me to get the Crazy 88 in the garage. I hope this will help getting things done. Site manager frowns, seems not convinced.

//Car1

Ok, so bellhouses swapped after replacing the bearings. Got the 3 needed bearings from our local goto guy an found 1 made in China, 1 in India, 1 from the UK Saved the old ones jic. Engine, 2.8, put in just for checking clearnces. Bad pics, but engine mounts will have to be adjusted, oil filter fights steering linkage so will try to relocate that. Same goes for battery tray, think battery will be somewhere in the rear. Guess I will have to prospone autumn
//Car1

Been a while, but the engine is back in. We will have to adjust frame engine mounts an inch or so, to fit better but we´ll get there. The oil filter is in the way for steering linkage, so that will have to be relocated, and as predicted the battery tray has to go.
Unfortunately my engine hoist decided not to play ball anymore, arm slowly sinks when load, will have to be sorted.
The interior has got a first very needed cleaning. Obviously we will have to go aver it again, but it doesn´t look too bad.
Exterior - have been between leaving it as is or rub/polish it up. I decided to try rubbing on a smaller part on the rear door, which turned out really nice. Just went on from there. Maybe I will leave a part of a door or fender, just to show how it looked like after sitting +20 years. Plan was to have the 88 back on the road in a couple of months, let see how that turns out.


//Car1

Car1 said:

Well, I´ve decided to use the 6-pot bell house, and yesterdays chore was getting the bell house out from the 88/4-cyl gearbox.This time I used an impact wrench to loosen the layshaft security bolt, it worked like a dream. Next step is to replace bearings, get the correct bell house in place and then hopefully be able to put the 2.8 in. I believe I´ve said it before, or in another thread, that I´m afraid this engine, and the position of the alternator will interfere with the battery. No matter, relocate the battery can´t be a problem, right? At least I´ve done some vehicle logistic planning, which have allowed me to get the Crazy 88 in the garage. I hope this will help getting things done. Site manager frowns, seems not convinced.
View attachment 241043 View attachment 241042 View attachment 241044
//Car1

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Great thread!! That is one cracking garage you have there ----- sooooo jealous!!!

Its scrubbed up well

Col

Thanks guys
//Car1

Ok, this morning site manager suggests "let's take the car for a drive". Should have known better,. We ended up in an kitchen whole sale. Will I ever learn...
Managed to aquire some quality time when we got back tho. Battety tray now deleted. I saved the brackets, think something wants to attach there later.
Also bled the brakes, or sort of, I'm sure it will stop. Eventually.
I am a little impressed over the fact that this little... vehicle seems to almost want to survive. I do like it more and more.
Next step is cutting/adjusting engine mounts and relocate oil filter. It can't be that hard, uh?
/Car1

I ordered this relocation kit for the oil filter. It appears to be good quality and all, and it will work, but still a very tight fit. I will grind a little on the steering linkage and hopefully avoid future disasters. The engine is now in a position where I believe it will have to be. It´s level relative to the body, but leaves only maybe 10 mms gap to the front cross member, sorry for the crappy pic. If anyone knows, wants to crawl under, I´d really appreciate to know how much space it´s supposed to be there. My cross member is banged up quite bad, and I may have to replace it somewhere down the road, so one way or another it will work out. Still on the list are the engine frame mounts. With the engine in this position it´s app 20 mms space to fit the rubber mounts. I guess I could use or fabric something else to fit, but i would like to use the stock ones, which are 35 mms thick. The frame mounts will also have to be adjusted forward some 10-15 mms, and it´s a b**** working that with engine where it is. A plasma cutter would be the best option, but site manager insists I learn to weld before buying any more tools.
//Car1

Car1 said:

I ordered this relocation kit for the oil filter. It appears to be good quality and all, and it will work, but still a very tight fit. I will grind a little on the steering linkage and hopefully avoid future disasters. The engine is now in a position where I believe it will have to be. It´s level relative to the body, but leaves only maybe 10 mms gap to the front cross member, sorry for the crappy pic. If anyone knows, wants to crawl under, I´d really appreciate to know how much space it´s supposed to be there. My cross member is banged up quite bad, and I may have to replace it somewhere down the road, so one way or another it will work out. Still on the list are the engine frame mounts. With the engine in this position it´s app 20 mms space to fit the rubber mounts. I guess I could use or fabric something else to fit, but i would like to use the stock ones, which are 35 mms thick. The frame mounts will also have to be adjusted forward some 10-15 mms, and it´s a b**** working that with engine where it is. A plasma cutter would be the best option, but site manager insists I learn to weld before buying any more tools.
//Car1

Click to expand...

When it comes to site managers, what they dont know wont hurt them. I always keep mine in the dark about shed contents.

Col