Series 3 Advice when looking to buy a series 3

As per the title, what should I look at when considering a nice series 3?

What sort of money would a nice honest example demand?

Thank you in advance.

A decent Mig welding set! Series ownership is great fun and can be low cost but only if you do the jobs yourself, they are definitly not a vehicle to pay others to fix. There is a truism that all Series owners buy at least 2, their first and the one they should have bought once they have learned what to look for. Engine and gearbox repairs are simple as are the brakes, assume that brakes will need an overhaul and I would factor this in just to be safe. Brake parts are cheap. chassis outriggers are simple to replace (£25each and £100 each welding if you pay, nothing if you weld), bulkeads need to be examined closely as replacements are near impossible so you are looking to repair. Rust in footwells looks bad but it s simple cheap repair, the same in the hinges and double skinned parts could be a showstopper. Dented panels are a real pig, Birmabright is hard to repair, mine has dent in every panel and its going to have to stay that way. Take old clothes and spend at least as much time under it as in it before you buy. Why S3? S2As are nice too and the interiors (dash) are simpler.

Thanks ever so much for the input there...always fancied a Landy (or indeed a suffix Ranger but that obviously isn't going to happen now looking at the way prices have gone) but if truth be told I don't know an awful lot about them.

Land Rovers are unfamiliar territory to be honest...Mk2 Escorts RSs are where I feel more comfortable and they are a far cry from the series Land Rover!

It doesn't desperately have to be a series 3 but having had a look at the market place, it seems as though the S3 might be slightly cheaper (correct me if I am wrong).

I would happily consider a 2A pending price and of course condition.

I'd like something unmodified in nice original condition (a decent history may be nice too).

Just out of interest, what sort of money should I be looking to spend on a 2A or an S3?

The most important question you need to ask yourself is: 'Am I mechanically competent?' As Rob has already said: you need to be able to fix it yourself. Paying a garage to do it for you will soon empty your bank account and you won't have a vehicle, the value of which will justify the expense. If you do plan on farming out the repairs you'd be better considering a series 1 as their value is high and climbing much faster than later models.
Values/prices? I don't know; prices vary wildly and I haven't and can't be bothered to try to keep up with them. I paid £1200 for my S3 about nine years ago and still spent another couple of grand getting it up to my standards and that was just parts. No labour as I did it all myself. Currently it stands me at well in excess of £6000 including a new overdrive unit, twin tank/dual fuel system, gearbox re-build and a 200Di engine. The thing is: you can soon spend a small fortune; add in garage labour and the small fortune becomes a large one.

Just get one.
No body in their right mind can afford one. Least of all plan for one.
Yes it’s going to be expensive, frustrating, near impossible to live with and may cost a marriage or two. But it’s a Land Rover.

We paid well not me £2.000 for our 1970 S2a swb and since buying it have been totally restoring it inc a new chassis if it was me buying it I would have stopped haggling at £500 and that would have been to much, I've seen S2a's and 3's go for really low hundreds if you want a basket case to restore or a couple of grand for an half decent one that still needs work doing to it

Best peice of advice would be take someone with you who knows about them when you go and look at it and do not buy the first one you see.
As has been said any that you buy at any price, even if only just restored, will need work now or in the near future to keep it going. If you have to pay someone to do this work it very quickly becomes very expensive.
I would have thought the best/easiest/most economical way to get into series ownership would be for find one that is around 2-3k and is on the road. That way any work can then be done as a rolling project while still being used. But I would budget at least 1k over what ever you buy for basic parts and repairs to things that will need doing fairly soon. Eg brake overhaul, bits of welding, suspensio springs, bushes and bearings etc.

My advice would be go and drive one 1st if you have no experience of them. Find a local Rovers owners club folks are very helpful ,should be able to get a look at one of there trialling days.

Absolutly agree with above, take someone who knows, drive one, and buy a runner with an MOT. They all need work but if its drivable with an MOT you know the main bits are working and you have a choice to do a rolling restoration or have fun with it as it is. Rolling restorations work on Series because you can unbolt a bit, improve it and bolt it back. This is why the bulkead is so critcal, its a big job to take it off and fix it. The chassis is quite accessible in most of the paces it rots but not all so an expert eye is vital to sort the easy repairs from the near impossible (nothing on a series in unrepairable, its just time and hard work). Techinical skills are vital but they don't need to be advanced. Most Series gearboxes get rebuilt and its DIY job over a week and will need £2-300 in parts, but an exchange box plus labour could run to £2000 so you can see how important it is to do the work yourself. You can pretty much replace the whole brake system for £200 in parts, but the labour would be north of £1000.
Or do what most of us on here did; just buy one and learn from your mistakes!
Look on the bright side, I see you are in Scotland, you'll be able to drive whatever the weather throws at you. My 47 yr old S2A has a wading depth of 2ft6,* when the Thames flooded even the white vans stopped following me.
(*slightly wet feet)

You’re not that far from an S3 landy mechanically if you’re familiar with Mk 2 Escorts. Same era with straightforward engines and peripherals. Get out and buy one. Make sure it’s a runner so you can enjoy it. You will spend money and have frustrations maintaining it but that’s part of the the enjoyment .

If you are near East Kilbride I am happy to let you try mine. I might be selling it but I really don't want too.
Billy

Have you ever driven one as others say....maybe a huge culture shock for you...they bounce the hell out of you....see so many burn there fingers over the years...I hate to see it...they love the look but find they or there wife cant live with one.

By the best you can afford...prob work out cheaper...how are you with spanners...and can you weld....a must as others say.

Owned my series 3 from new 1975...still love it to bits...never part with it.

Old series 2.25d engines are slow not very economical...if only doing low miles a pertrol is prob better and a much nicer engine.

Parabolic springs make em more comfy...thats what I have.

Good luck and be careful....ask loads of question and dont rush into anything.

Nick in Cheshire.

Make sure it's a Series and the paperwork adds up rather than a 90/110/Defender with a dodgy v5 bought off fleabag because having an honestly bought vehicle seized would be sad.

Read up, this is a good place to start https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/what-series-yawl-got.56680/.

A recent MOT is a good sign for a rolling resto but take enough time prodding and poking to be convinced it's genuine and worth more than the paper it's written on.

Remember it won't tell you if the engine/boxes are about to implode or if the chassis/bulkhead is ever likely to pass another.

88's are small, great if that's what you want but a large dog and the...erm...unscheduled maintenance kit you'll want to carry will fill it up.

109's feel like they have something resembling actual suspension but with the turning circle of a medium sized continent.

Originalish makes buying spares a lot easier, many parts are interchangeable, some not and engine/transmission changes while practical will involve fettled parts that might not exist on a shelf anywhere. Fine if you know what was done, with what and how. Not so fine if you don't.

Their beauty is their simplicity, while I've had my toolbox out on the side of the road more times than I care to remember, even with my limited mech skills I've only had to hitch a ride with the AA once in 10 years with a Series as a daily driver.

They're cold, draughty, leaky, uncomfortable and take up far too much of my free time.


But they still make me grin

Very true about ringers, a trawl of e-bay will soon show up some series that are definitely not the vehicle they are descibed as. The ability ot change body panels and the chassis plate makes this too easy and you have to be very careful. The other thing is people trying to get tax exempt by passing of later vehicles as pre 73 when the only pre 73 thing is the reg plates. Best protection is still to take somone who knows what to look for.

Doesn't tax exemption now apply at the 40 year point?
I bought my S3 SWB station wagon with overdrive in Aug 2015 from my wife's cousin so a bit mate's rate. It had new Richards chassis in 2003 and a complete Turner 2.25 petrol engine in 1999. Since getting it I've had to call RAC once (condenser packed up away from home) and replaced rear springs (broken main leaf after a pothole) and shocks, new rear brakes, complete new exhaust, new steering arm ends, rear axle welding, new right footwell, new ignition system complete, new tank and fuel sender, 2 new alternators (first was duff), new battery, 4 new tyres. Plus a 10000 miles service. It now starts and goes properly, and can be used with confidence even if it is green with mould. And it only costs about £100 a year to insure of which £40 is the admin fee. Even my wife will drive it if necessary, her first go was through rush hour Taunton the day we collected it from Tavistock to the Midlands, 6 hours, 30 mph average and 20 mpg on the back roads. And in a beaten up Landy, even WVM will sometimes give way! Very smile worthy

gipsybilly said:

If you are near East Kilbride I am happy to let you try mine. I might be selling it but I really don't want too.
Billy

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Roundabout helI. I was brought up there, out Hairmyres way went to Duncanrigg.

Thank you to you all for your advice.

This thread has certainly made for an interesting read this evening...certainly lots to consider.

I wouldn't be planning on using something like this for any more than the occasional SHORT run!

I'm sure driving one of these might make me appreciate the Escort a little more but there definitely is a certain charm about them.

Not expecting to pick something up that is straight out the box but equally not looking for something which is more resemblant of a patchwork quilt.

Will keep on the look out...not in any desperate hurry...will wait till the right one comes along.

Thanks again to you all.

Best wishes,

Conor.

Leaky, yes. I drove through a monsoon the other day and had water flowing down the inside of the windscreen. I think some bath sealer is needed outside between windscreen surround and roof where the current seal has obviously perished

Rust.... Mine looked fine apart from 2x 10p sized holes on the rear and 2x same size on the front look at the pictures of the size of metal that I had to cut out then fish plate after I tapped it with a hammer....

BritishLeylandLover said:

Rust.... Mine looked fine apart from 2x 10p sized holes on the rear and 2x same size on the front look at the pictures of the size of metal that I had to cut out then fish plate after I tapped it with a hammer....

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It will definitely give you an incentive to buy and learn how to weld. The first thing I did after buying my series was buy a welder and mine already had a new chassis fitted!