Converting a series 3 4x2 to 4x4

hi,
Since i always was a fan of Land Rovers especially of older once,so i decided to buy one.
Unfortunately here in Luxembourg it is difficult to find a series cheap and in quite good condition. Last Summer i found an ex-army in a very good condition but it was a 4x2.... so i searched if it is possible to convert it to 4x4 and yes it is!

The vehicle stood in a garage in Belgium and had only around 26 000 KM (16 600 miles)on the clock. I called the owner and went to him the next day. My father borrowed a trailer..
I bought it with my father together for 2800€ (around 2400£).
The chassis was in a really good condition the only issue was that the engine didn't ran very good.

Here are some pics of that Day :

its years since ive seen one that good underneath that hasnt just been restored and better than some that just have,soft tops are the real landy

So what i needed for the conversion is a second gearbox and the front axle with the drive shaft..

here's the gearbox...



and the front axle and drive shaft bought from a guy in France :



all for 700 € (620£)
gearbox had over 130 000 km (80 777 miles)

have you got the levers and cut out with plate for 4wd rod

jamesmartin said:

have you got the levers and cut out with plate for 4wd rod

Click to expand...

Yes you can see them on the second picture , i only need the transferbox

Because the engine was leaking oil and petrol from the broken exhaust manifold i took it out to clean it and repaint it:

I like those tyres!

jai_landrover said:

I like those tyres!

Click to expand...

Those are the original tyres from the army

I always love seeing pictures with old landrovers being towed by new, especially when they are to be restored or just driven again. Reminds me when I was 17 and my dad and I drove 120 miles with trailer behind his 90 to pick up a 1956 series 1 (on a mission to find a photo of that now) that I had spotted being neglected in a farmers yard amongst his other redundant machinery. I had to have it. Lovely looking series by the way and good luck with the project.

Those are pretty rare in unmolested form if memory serves, particularly in that good shape. I'll be the odd man out, I'd have left it as a 4x2.

Very nice photographs, always appreciated on the forum. Good luck.

Thank you all
,here is what it looked like when i cleaned the engine from all this rust and bad paint:


nearly everything was cleaned..

The front axle was sandblasted completely by a company..





A special engine colour was put on it:


looks like new, doesn't it?

Looks lovely but personally i would have kept the rubber hoses black as the paint will crack on them very quickly

scrappyloz said:

Looks lovely but personally i would have kept the rubber hoses black as the paint will crack on them very quickly

Click to expand...

I forgot them completely at this time,, will change it soon

After that i paint the sandblasted exhaust system and some other parts. some parts of the engine were painted red:



I bought a second gearbox because in the transfer box they replaced some gears ... what a pity.:doh:



I am going to change the hole box ... its just easier.

Coming along nicely. I wish my engine looked that nice

here are the latest progress of the engine, chassis and front axle which got completely stripped down...







Actually i am waiting for some parts, they should come in a week or so.

I have not worked for a while because of school but now i restart with my project