Hello and Series 3 check please?

Hi everyone, I have lusted after a LR for years and now I have a job where I need to access farmland and off road sites I can finally justify one. I always assumed that I would get a Defender, but having also always wanted a classic car I am very much drawn to the S3's I have seen.

I have a couple of questions if I can;

1) Is it possible and legal to fit a child seat in the front of an S3 - in this case the seat is a Maxi Cosi Tobi. If not then I do have access to a second, modern car so not a major issue.

2) I have read a bit about the lack of comfort (I don't care) and utility type of the Series LR's - but would the S3 cope on regular journeys of up to 50 miles? Most will actually be under 20. Anything longer I have the modern car.

Finally would those in the know mind taking a quick look at the S3 below and give their opinion, albeit on limited information. I want the 'van' back and love the blue/white colour combination. And what should I check in particular on viewing?

Land Rover Series Iii SWB 2.25L PETROL 1978

Many thanks
Matt

First thing to check is "Introduce Yourself"

You will find it as the second from the top when you came on here!

Expect Dr Evil to admonish you for not introducing yourself first off.

You can fit a child seat, i have a maxi cosi cabriofix that fits any regular seat belt which my s3 has ( inertia reel or whatever) but my missus would castrate me and then set me on fire if i ever put the baby in the s3. She has never even sat in it
Just remember to turn the airbag off, very important.

They are not great to drive 50 miles. My 15 miles to work this morning was lethal as my brakes hadnt bled properly (my fault), think agricultural but awesome fun.

For £2k it wants to be mint chassis, bulkhead and drivetrain. Dont believe the classic car price tags just yet, theres a list of checks long as your arm to do on google someshere.
sorry ****ed reply, its my birthday! (what the f@ck am i doing on an internet forum?)
good luck

No idea about child seats. What do they need to allow them to work?

That one you link to looks really straight but there are no photos or description of the engine/transmission/chassis. Doesn't look like it has an overdrive either, which you'd probably want if you're doing 50 miles fairly often. I'd have no problems driving that far but the fuel bill would add up. Gearbox tunnel panel and floors aren't original and I'm not sure if I'm looking at it wrong but the passenger footwell looks weird, it's kind of bent up at the corner?? Those 07079 phone numbers are funny ones too, I'd google about them before phoning one. I can't remember what's weird about them but I'm pretty sure they're a lot more expensive than a usual number.

I really don't find mine that uncomfortable at all. I have been known to break a sweat when heaving the thing round tight car parks but apart from that it's fine.

Hi and welcome.

You can fit inertia reel seat belts in the front, even high back seats if you wish for just a few quid. These are cheap and easy to fit and should allow you to use a child seat.

The Landy you're interested in looks fine cosmetically and well looked after. It could be a peach.....or it could be a load of trouble!

I assume its on its original chassis so I'd expect it to have been well patched by now. You need to get under it and have a good look I would expect at least some welding to be required soon - check chassis rails, outriggers dumb irons, seen lots with corrosion around the suspension bump stops.

My second concern would be bulkhead. From the photos it looks good but you can't see the footwells where corrosion is common.

3rd concern for me would be gearbox. All gears working? Change ok & no crunches? Jump out of gear on he over run? If you can't fix yourself then repairs could be expensive.

Are they good for 50 miles? Some will argue yes, but they're quite slow, noisy, cold in winter and rather primitive to drive. Nothing like you'll have driven before. They're fun but I personally wouldn't want to do more that 25 miles per day in one from work transport. I have a series 3 and can't really justify one....runs lovely but have to be in the right frame of mind to drive it as you really do have to drive it rather than operate it, like other vehicles

You could really do with someone local having a look with you who knows about Landy's. bear with some of the fellas on here....they'll give you a little blasting for not putting up an intro thread but no real offence meant just a little sport for them

In short: looks nice on the outside but can't tell anything about the important parts.

OSD has beaten me to it

The 07079 number is a service offered by Auto Trader to protect the seller from unwanted canvassing calls.

They cost around 35p per minute from a BT landline.

Dr_evil said:

OSD has beaten me to it

Click to expand...

:5bcheers2:

is that a custom transmission tunnel?

looks a bit funny to me

For regular use you may want to consider changing the engine for a 200TDI or 200DI engine...

You would really need to go and see the one on autotrader - as everyone else has said, it looks fine from the outside, but, there are no photos of the important parts.

If you go and see it expect to be there for a minimum of 30 minutes. You need to go over every part of the chassis and check it all carefully. Take it on a good test run and see how it feels to drive yourself.

If you can get a pre-1973 (soon to be pre-1974) model then you will save your self the cost of the tax.

standard tunnel joe

A well running petrol - with over drive - is perfectly fine for a 50 mile trip. Seats aren't the comfiest but not back breaking. I find after a trip to Glasgow (about 4 hrs) my arse has gone to sleep but not as bad as the missus' VW Polo!

Impossible to tell from the pictures but the question you have to ask yourself is "Do i like being covered in oil and spending every spare minute fixing problems?". If you're not a mechanic you soon will be if you buy that. Even if it is running right now its a 40 year old car and will need things fixing regularly and if you don't do it yourself it will cost an absolute fortune!

I'd factor in the cost of an overdrive if it hasn't got one (£300 2nd hand fit and hope, £1200 new Roamerdrive) plus a few hundred quid for fitting if you can't/won't do it yourself.

Also, remember that you'll be lucky to get 18mpg unless you drive everywhere very very carefully.

Having said all that if you do get one you will either hate it to bits or end up obsessed and probably buying another as a project...I'd recommend having a go in someone else's to see if you like driving it first.

As its literally a 30 minute job to fit that doesn't involve any rear skill (as long as the lever hole is cut) Can't see a problem with anyone doing that but as said you'll hate it if you cant use spanners

I'm not at an advanced level with mechanics, but not beginner either. I certainly don't mind having a go at things, and usually with a combination of the internet and swearing I get things done!

If you can round up someone to look at a land-Rover who either owns one or has experience with them it is invaluable. An experienced individual will know what noises are OK, which not, where to look for rot and patches and so on.

i've done this many times for folks over the years and found some real surprises on cars that a newbie would have missed - and been very angry about later.

Also have a look round the Web for condition guides - it will give you an idea of what to look for if you can't find a cooperative landy owner to go with.

ajr

ronsealdeath said:

You can fit a child seat, i have a maxi cosi cabriofix that fits any regular seat belt which my s3 has ( inertia reel or whatever) but my missus would castrate me and then set me on fire if i ever put the baby in the s3. She has never even sat in it
Just remember to turn the airbag off, very important.

Click to expand...

airbag (drunken joke?)

If you are into it they are fine to drive, just not quickly. If you don't want to do regular diy mechanics and you don't have a stack of cash, then I'd walk away from any series or defender. Fuel economy is crap too.

Personally, I'd go for a petrol s2 with a galved chassis and possible galved bulkhead.

The one you linked to looks good. Straight, clean and in pretty good nick.
Looks can be deceptive.

There is relatively little write up on it and it's a private sale.
The pictures are obviously aimed at presenting it in it's best light, but they avoid showing the areas of most potential concern, such as the bulkhead, chassis, engine bay and so on.
All of which suggests to me that either the seller knows little about old landys, in which case you need to know plenty before committing to it, or they know plenty and are keeping quiet, in which case you need to know plenty.

I know when I got mine 6 months ago I had a "good" look and decided it was in great condition. Since then endless small(ish) jobs have raised their heads and I'd now look at it very differently were I buying again.
Having said that, I'd not have turned her down. She's the best "big boy's toy", as my wife calls her (and the wife hates me referring to the landy as a "her" ), that I've ever had. I might just have haggled a little harder on the price

Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best of luck and I'm sure you'll enjoy it as long as you accept it's a hobby at least as much as a mode of transport

If the guy is a landy man and he doesn't know what's next on the list of jobs.. then he's talking arse

Remember there is always something wrong with a Land Rover and they can be a money pit. I use my series three daily for a 36 mile round trip to work and it is fine also bloody slow.
Last year my Mother was ill and I did 120 miles a day in it for 11 weeks at around 28/30 mpg (2.25 diesel) Money wise you need to fix em yourself, me i enjoy the tinkering and last year spent about £160 the year before about £1000 and this year is going to be expensive as i am into a serious engine rebuild.
You have to want to drive a series Landy your Missus wont travel in it cos of the noise/smell and ride quality. Yes it is a Marmite situation.
If you want to work indoors check the height of the garage door. I run a series because a coiler is to high to garage.