rugbynut129
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Unfortunately already have a custom cubby box between the seats that holds CB radio and some 12v connections. maybe could try to work around that.
My Series 3 Lightweight ground up ongoing rebuild
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rugbynut129
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Have been going through all the paperwork i have on the lightweight and have come across a list of work that was done the last time it was rebuilt before the previous owners took it through Africa on an expedition. Unfortunately, no pictures of there expedition were included in the land rovers history. Luckily most of the modifications are still in place and only a couple of bits of equipment have gone missing from owner to owner over the last 20 years. If anyone has any thoughts on any of these points then let me know?
rugbynut129
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Haven’t posted in an age but I have been making progress, still need to find out why I can’t get fuel past the fuel pump to bleed it and also need to work out why the gearbox doesn’t seem to be playing ball but apart from that very happy with where I’ve got to!!
wireman
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if you're having trouble bleeding the fuel system, make sure you have power to the fuel cut off solenoid (and its working). Is the lift pump working? You have to turn the engine to the correct position for the hand primer to work.
rugbynut129
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currently i cant even get fuel to the fuel filter. im pumping the pump whilst the its not even attatched to the engine to avoid that problem. if you have any other ideas that would be great!!
wireman
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Firstly check the pump actually works, disconnect the outlet pipe and see if it squirts fuel out. Is your pump new? You might have to prime the pipes, inject the fuel lines with diesel from the pump to the tank , then from the pump to the filter. You have got fuel in the tank haven't you...?
rugbynut129
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Haha, yes there is fuel in the tanks. I checked the pump when it arrived and i could get fuel to pump out but now it won’t pump anything. Priming the lines will fuel is a good idea though I’ll get on that tomorrow. Spent so long on this now really just want it running!!
Hi everyone. I've been in touch with Rugbynut129. I owned this land Rover back in 2001-2004 ish. I have some images that I can post to add to it's history. Remembering that most people didn't have a digital camera then so there a lot less photographs taken of anything. Here goes with a few though and I'll add some more.
I was in the British army and stationed at Bovington in Dorset. The rebuild was done in an empty room at the back of Stanley Barracks, a great facility to have. Coincidentally the same barracks where I started my career as a Junior Leader aged just 16 some 22 years previously. A fitting way to end a career.
I paid £600 for the Lightweight from another soldier, the idea being to patch it up and head into Africa at the end of my army career Nov 2002. The pal who did most of the work with me kept pulling bits off so what was a patch up job ended up being a full off chassis rebuild along with modifications deemed necessary to conduct a proper Africa overland expedition. That expedition was from November 2002 until December 2003 and went from Plymouth and ended up in Lagos just over 12 months later.
I was in the British army and stationed at Bovington in Dorset. The rebuild was done in an empty room at the back of Stanley Barracks, a great facility to have. Coincidentally the same barracks where I started my career as a Junior Leader aged just 16 some 22 years previously. A fitting way to end a career.
I paid £600 for the Lightweight from another soldier, the idea being to patch it up and head into Africa at the end of my army career Nov 2002. The pal who did most of the work with me kept pulling bits off so what was a patch up job ended up being a full off chassis rebuild along with modifications deemed necessary to conduct a proper Africa overland expedition. That expedition was from November 2002 until December 2003 and went from Plymouth and ended up in Lagos just over 12 months later.
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All in. Front end back on. New gas shocks and parabolic leaf springs....Also front and rear axles rebuilt, overhauled differentials, brakes and bearings all renewed. The list of what we did was endless, basically anything that could have presented a reliability problem in Africa was replaced, improved or added to. The total rebuild was probably around £10k including extras like spares, equipment, VHF radio, GPS etc etc....
We did a hell of a lot. Best to refer to the list that Rugbynut has posted earlier in this thread. Good to see that he has the list that I wrote when I sold the Landy on in around 2004 - 2006 ish. Something like that.
We did a hell of a lot. Best to refer to the list that Rugbynut has posted earlier in this thread. Good to see that he has the list that I wrote when I sold the Landy on in around 2004 - 2006 ish. Something like that.
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Fast forward. Have now left the UK in November 2002 having done Plymouth to Roscoff, down through France, over the Pyrenees and across the top of Spain. Gibraltar crossing to Ceuta on the north coast of Africa and now in Morocco. This is just one image I dug out last night but I'll find some more....
Roof off, doors off. Different pal Matt Anning - Royal Tank Regiment. Near the Moroccan/Algerian border east of Foum Zguid somewhere. Sometime around 1st Jan 2003. Top of the Sahara desert. Lots of sun burst rock.
Fortunately I put notes on the back of the images when I later had them developed. A very worthwhile thing to have done. You can also see the roll bar we put on. Not an original Lightweight item however we decided that there was a very real risk of rolling due to the terrain so this one was attached to modified outriggers on the chassis and welded to capping's on the top of the rear cargo bay.
VHF antenna for the radio at the rear.
Roof off, doors off. Different pal Matt Anning - Royal Tank Regiment. Near the Moroccan/Algerian border east of Foum Zguid somewhere. Sometime around 1st Jan 2003. Top of the Sahara desert. Lots of sun burst rock.
Fortunately I put notes on the back of the images when I later had them developed. A very worthwhile thing to have done. You can also see the roll bar we put on. Not an original Lightweight item however we decided that there was a very real risk of rolling due to the terrain so this one was attached to modified outriggers on the chassis and welded to capping's on the top of the rear cargo bay.
VHF antenna for the radio at the rear.
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rugbynut129
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This is great to see! Love to hear about the history of my lightweight. Any photos/stories/ routes taken would be excellent!
1988smithy
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Great thread with the best updates I've ever seen 
rugbynut129
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1988smithy
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No sarcasm. Genuine comment.Life got in the way of it lad, not sure we need the sarcastic comment
I'm editing to add
I found this thread browsing new posts and skimmed thru during my 20min break at work. I thought you'd done some great work and always enjoy a military LR.
Then @Nitch added the history and awesome photos, plus the story behind why they rebuilt it.
So no @rugbynut129 not sarcastic at all. A genuine comment on a thread i found really interesting with updates that go far beyond what you usually find on a LR forum.
I'm not in the habit of pìssing on people's parades on here, I'm sure other long term members will vouch for me
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