Brought a Series 3

I brought a series 3 and I would like to put my own touch onto it and really look after it. If I find slight rust is it best to leave it or wire brush it etc. Will getting it resprayed will it devalue it as its original paintwork at the moment. Thinking of maybe putting a LPG Conversion on it or having engine changed to diesel is pretty expensive on petrol and how many mpg do you get if it runs on gas. Its a lovely land rover its my first and I don't want to devalue it or wreck it any thoughts advice tips would be great.

Thank You

if your talking chassis along the rust comment your best bet is work your way through it with the wire brush and red oxide primering the bugger as you go along at least then when you got a little more time or got over the back ache you can either use underseal or a good heavy coat of chassis paint or hammerite works just as well but will need redoing 2-5 years later

just rust in general have some rust in the foot wells aswell any advice for that?

some rust around where the engine goes just few spots where the coil goes and was think bout respraying it would that devalue it?

Spartan88 said:

just rust in general have some rust in the foot wells aswell any advice for that?

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if your respraying it sand the fook out of the footwells red oxide them then a coat of grey primer and blow it in with the same colour of whatever your doing the rest of it with

as for devaluing it it shouldnt depreciate it too much aslong as its a neat job and done with atleast some dignity such as choice of colour

in my opinion theres too many landys out there that have been just walloped with nato green or painted camo to look military

personally i dont see the reason behind the hype if it were mine and it came out of solihull blue id respray it blue just a nicer shade that way it dont need the logbook changing and wont depreciate the vehicles value

to see what i mean have you seen my thread

johnnys series 3 resto project

ok ive gone a bit anal and obsessive with it but the principal is all there

If its just surface rust then just wire brush it and red oxide it, it should be fine then. with the footwells they always rust i had to cut mine out and replace them, they arnt too difficult to do, but pictures would help!

Doing a Diesel conversion isn't that big a job or that expensive - get an old disco 200tdi engine and drop it in.

You're not going to de-value a series 3, if anything you'll increase it's value.

Bump said:

Doing a Diesel conversion isn't that big a job or that expensive - get an old disco 200tdi engine and drop it in.

You're not going to de-value a series 3, if anything you'll increase it's value.

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Im with Bump a 200tdi will add value and make it much better to live with. Ive drive a friends 109 with a 200di and its so much quicker and quieter also much better mpg!

Have a look through some of the build threads. Series Landies are like big Meccano sets put together with seized nuts and bolts. With a bit of perseverance , the whole thing comes apart.

I had similar questions to yours. I've since decide that yes, I will repaint the body. As for engine conversions - I'm going back to standard, see if I can live with it, and if not - then consider the 200Tdi conversion.

I disagree regarding value - a vehicle in original paint, in original spec will always be more desirable than "yet another" Tdi converted series. Original-spec machines are very, very thin on the ground these days.

22900013a said:

I disagree regarding value - a vehicle in original paint, in original spec will always be more desirable than "yet another" Tdi converted series. Original-spec machines are very, very thin on the ground these days.

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I'd agree with that. I decided to go for origainl rather than other cars that had been no less that three different colours in their lives!

Also some 200tdi conversions are much better than others!

Depends on the condition of the car, if its in show room condition dont bother changing anything, but if its anything like mine then its had 30 years of repairs and alterations. putting a tdi in mine would just make it easier to live with therfore more desirable.

philsefo said:

Depends on the condition of the car, if its in show room condition dont bother changing anything, but if its anything like mine then its had 30 years of repairs and alterations. putting a tdi in mine would just make it easier to live with therfore more desirable.

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Completely depends on who is buying, I for one would never ever buy a Land-Rover in anything but original spec as far as possible. I don't mind like-for-like replacement but I just lose interest once I see the modifications, especially if they are not easily reversed. The highest priced vehicles going to Europe are all very authentic machines most of the time, as engine changes are not allowed over there. In the UK it has been shown time and again that good, original vehicles will always sell for more than the heavily modified ones.

Period modifications are a whole different kettle of fish however,such as 3 litre six cylinder engines and so on.

I understand there is a market for collectors as such but im not the sort of person who keeps a land rover locked up keeping it in good condition i wanna be using it intended but i do agree its worth more origional but only if the paints good and the cars good.

philsefo said:

I understand there is a market for collectors as such but im not the sort of person who keeps a land rover locked up keeping it in good condition i wanna be using it intended but i do agree its worth more origional but only if the paints good and the cars good.

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Who says you have to lock it up to keep it in good nick? You just use it and look after it...a vehicle deteriorates when it is used and abused with no rectification done. You can use one just as intended (whatever that might mean) without causing any damage anyway.

philsefo said:

I understand there is a market for collectors as such but im not the sort of person who keeps a land rover locked up keeping it in good condition i wanna be using it intended but i do agree its worth more origional but only if the paints good and the cars good.

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There are as many different opinions as people here.....it's yours....do want you want.

From my point of view it more important that it gets used. Mine is my only vehicle I have on the road (and off ) and I do tend to think very carefully before doing anything that is not easliy reverseable.

Just approach things sensibly. If the paintwork is never going to be showroom then why not paint it? If a panel is dented with random holes then nobodies going to weep if you drill a few more. I'd rather see a Series on the motorway with a 200 under the bonnet than not see it all.

Having said that I'm very wary of changing the overall look. I like wider than standard tyres because it gets me a bit further at work in the woods and would probably go wider still if it wasn't for needing to stick on 'eyebrow' arches. I'm sometimes sat in there all day so decent seats are important.......I went for canvas deluxe......not original but look the part.

As an aside.....If you want another engine I prefer the 200 without the turbo. Enough speed with an overdrive for modern traffic, standard Series rad etc, no disc cutting or welding (unless it's a 6cyl), no half-shaft snapping and no butt-clenching brake experiences

Most of all................Enjoy it

Right on!

Usability first. Rivit counting second.

I find pristine gleaming series landrover desperately saddening. I suspect the people that made them all those years ago would feel the same. They didn't make them to be museum pieces/toys.

i think thats one of the things i love about land rovers, you can either have one that wins competitions for originality or you can have a shed that keeps running no matter what you put it through, so if you a shed thats been repaired and altered then throw in a 200tdi in it and keep it on the road, but if u have one worth a couple of grand with origional parts then dont touch it!

Well, I was going to keep the original colour - but the only way to bring the finish back is to put more paint on. I don't feel I need to apologise for that.

if you need the parts list in pdf, drop us your email on my page and i'll mail it to you. it's a bastard to find parts if ye dont know the numbers, been at my 109 S3 project now for 6 weeks now and its helped me alot