Drove a Series 3 today

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lightning

Well-Known Member
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4,163
Location
High Peak
l've been looking for an old Landy to use as a second vehicle.
l've had TD5's and a 300tdi. Both can be used as daily drivers, which l did.
(l've now got a 2022 Defender Commercial as my daily)

Bloody hell the S3 was a wake up call. lt was terrible.
No wonder all the old farmers are deaf, if they drove these back in the day.

The steering was almost impossible to move when not driving and there was no self centering at all (should there be?)

The one l drove was a diesel and it was incredibly noisy, so much so that l actually opened a window to try and let the racket out.

The gearbox was okay except about eight inches of play at the lever end.

Performance was fine for the type of vehicle. Wouldn't want to go any faster.

The overdrive worked and is definitely necessary for road driving. The first time l tried it, l ended up in neutral and a line of cars behind. But figured it out (you have to press the clutch first)

The suspension didn't really seem to do very much on the road. l've never driven a leaf spring one before. Fortunately there was a headlining to prevent your head from bashing the roof over speed humps.

All seemed very clean underneath. It was a rebuilt one on a galvanised chassis so goodness knows what a rough one is like.

l still want one!! l imagine improving it is possible, to an extent. Or just adjust driving technique to compensate.
l Have a budget of up to £15,000 if anyone is selling. l would prefer a factory SW if such a thing exists. And with overdrive!

Is there any way to reduce the racket a bit? Is the petrol version any better, what about fitting carpets? Did any versions come with carpet from new?

There was nothing in this one except what looked like a pair of door mats in the footwells.

lt did appear to have a heater, in the fact that the controls claimed to offer the option to supply heat.
In the event it got pretty warm inside from the engine and transmission.

The old girl seemed happy to bowl along at 45mph in overdrive, which was fine.

Stationary at idle all the gauges vibrated so much it was impossible to read the engine temperature or fuel quantity.
l turned off the ignition and took the key out but the engine carried on running. So l put it in gear and stalled it, afterwards l was told "you pull the knob under the ignition column"

And l am still in the market for one. Wait until my missus has a go in it. "Go on, take it to work instead of the Jimny" l won't hear her when she calls me at the end of our street unless she stops the engine.
 
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I'd get a Series 2, more desirable. I would also get a petrol with overdrive, still noisy at speed and speed bumps need to be taken slowly.
 
No carpet, so the leaked-in water could leak-out too...

We moved from town to the middle of nowhere in 1972, and at age 16 I got a lift in a farmers newish Landie (thinking it must have been a series 3 ?) & loved it and Landies generally, ever since. Don't remember it being noisy at all !

But then again, in '72 most family cars were noisy cheap ****e & rusty wrecks after about 5 years, so they were probably all about the same noise level - and anything was better than walking, the bus, or cycling ... :vb-poke-with-stick:

I guess you might need heavy rubber matting, or stick-on patches, or both - or a bangin' stereo and speakers...
Good Luck 👍
 
I'd get a Series 2, more desirable. I would also get a petrol with overdrive, still noisy at speed and speed bumps need to be taken slowly.
Apart from Willy waving how is a Series 2 more desirable??? :rolleyes: They are about 99.8% the same as a Series 3 anyway….
 
l've been looking for an old Landy to use as a second vehicle.
l've had TD5's and a 300tdi. Both can be used as daily drivers, which l did.
(l've now got a 2022 Defender Commercial as my daily)

Bloody hell the S3 was a wake up call. lt was terrible.
No wonder all the old farmers are deaf, if they drove these back in the day.

The steering was almost impossible to move when not driving and there was no self centering at all (should there be?)

The one l drove was a diesel and it was incredibly noisy, so much so that l actually opened a window to try and let the racket out.

The gearbox was okay except about eight inches of play at the lever end.

Performance was fine for the type of vehicle. Wouldn't want to go any faster.

The overdrive worked and is definitely necessary for road driving. The first time l tried it, l ended up in neutral and a line of cars behind. But figured it out (you have to press the clutch first)

The suspension didn't really seem to do very much on the road. l've never driven a leaf spring one before. Fortunately there was a headlining to prevent your head from bashing the roof over speed humps.

All seemed very clean underneath. It was a rebuilt one on a galvanised chassis so goodness knows what a rough one is like.

l still want one!! l imagine improving it is possible, to an extent. Or just adjust driving technique to compensate.
l Have a budget of up to £15,000 if anyone is selling. l would prefer a factory SW if such a thing exists. And with overdrive!

Is there any way to reduce the racket a bit? Is the petrol version any better, what about fitting carpets? Did any versions come with carpet from new?

There was nothing in this one except what looked like a pair of door mats in the footwells.

lt did appear to have a heater, in the fact that the controls claimed to offer the option to supply heat.
In the event it got pretty warm inside from the engine and transmission.

The old girl seemed happy to bowl along at 45mph in overdrive, which was fine.

Stationary at idle all the gauges vibrated so much it was impossible to read the engine temperature or fuel quantity.
l turned off the ignition and took the key out but the engine carried on running. So l put it in gear and stalled it, afterwards l was told "you pull the knob under the ignition column"

And l am still in the market for one. Wait until my missus has a go in it. "Go on, take it to work instead of the Jimny" l won't hear her when she calls me at the end of our street unless she stops the engine.
Sounds like there is a lot wrong with that one. But not unusual tbh. Shiny bits done for rebuilds while ignoring important components.

Firstly why are you looking at diesels??? The petrol is a lovely sweet engine and much more refined. Mpg shouldn’t be as vastly different as you’d think either. Although I’d guess you aren’t planning big mileage, so mpg likely hardly matters.

The gearstick might wobble a bit. But overall a Series box should have a nicer “snick” feel to the gear change than the 5 speed Defender boxes.

Steering should also be acceptable. It will be heavy. But on narrow tyres on tarmac you should almost be able to turn the wheel with the ball of your hand at walking/parking speeds. Once moving it should be perfectly light and yes it should self centre. It sounds like the steering has been massively neglected.

As for the suspension. Leaf springs can rust up. There are also different spring rates. Something used off road or used for hauling should ride ok. Parabolic springs should make a big difference. My modded 88 rode better than some coil sprung Defenders on certain terrain.
 
Apart from Willy waving how is a Series 2 more desirable??? :rolleyes: They are about 99.8% the same as a Series 3 anyway….
Rarity, no plastic dash to curl up.

Bits will fit each model, but there are many many differences. even between early s2 late s2 and 2a models, the parts manuals are full of amendments.
 
There's a few lovely looking Series 2's for sale in the range £15-20k

A Series 2 would be great.

l wasn't looking for a diesel, it's just that the one l drove happened to be diesel.
 
Rarity, no plastic dash to curl up.

Bits will fit each model, but there are many many differences. even between early s2 late s2 and 2a models, the parts manuals are full of amendments.
Rarity??? Not convinced at all. Dash is one difference, but can’t see why it should be a deal breaker in the grand scheme of things. Not that I’ve ever seen any “curl”. Crack maybe, but not curl.

Parts wise nope not really. There might be a bolt or so here and there. But considering most of the population probably can’t tell a Mini from a Roll Royce. The Series 2 and 3 are “almost” identical.

Any differences are completely minor.
 
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There's a few lovely looking Series 2's for sale in the range £15-20k

A Series 2 would be great.

l wasn't looking for a diesel, it's just that the one l drove happened to be diesel.
I love Series motors. And of course you have to pay what the market demands. And hopefully they will retain that value as an investment.

But in reality they are not worth £15-20k not even close. Not when you look at what else you can buy for the money. And what they can do as a vehicle. It really wasn’t all that many years ago that a Series was a £500-800 motor with the best examples struggling to top two grand. Sadly they have become trendy handbags for the rich and look at the mess of the market it has made.
 
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