Series 3 New to Series... advice needed for potential purchase.

Hi all,
I'm new to the Series side of Land Rover, having previously owned a Discovery 2 and currently a 1993 Range Rover LSE that i am selling due to not having the time to justify having it, plus i cant bear to have my kids in there getting it all sticky and jumping all over the place...

I've been offered a 1975 Series III for around the sort of money i wanted to spend, it's had a diesel engine stuck in there at some point and the engine has covered 83k miles but the vehicle itself is unknown.

Are there any basic things i need to be aware of or need to check in particular on the Series III when i go and see it in the flesh on Friday?
It's had a parabolic spring upgrade but other than that i am not aware of any other changes.

Any help appreciated.

Jim

Best advice is take someone who knows about series land rovers. There are a million things to look out for. Chassis and bulkhead are the most costly to put right but you need to be sure it is the same car as the log book says.
No good spending anything on it until you are completely sure.

You're in for a bloody shock driving a diesel series after having a discovery and a range rover

Ha. A mate of mine did say that, it's just for pottering around the village in and collecting a few logs so no rush

jimalmighty said:

Ha. A mate of mine did say that, it's just for pottering around the village in and collecting a few logs so no rush

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Fair enough, as said chassis and bulkhead cos pretty much everything else is aluminium. Series vehicles are a bit like mechano. What engine has been put in it?

Not sure yet.
Going to view today at 1pm so will report back.
It's a 1975 P reg.

Well it all looked pretty good. The bloke comes well recommended and he's a Land Rover nut so I feel comfortable with that.
It's got a pre-200tdi 2.5l turbo diesel lump in it that started up and ran fine.
It's had a 2" lift that I'd probably undo but all panels and fitments looked straight and good.
Chassis was good, bulkhead was absolutely fine too and the transmission all works fine.

Just gotta sell my RR and then get some serious looking round on the go.

Loads of advice on the interweb for buying a series Land Rover =>

http://www.series123.com/s3buyguide.html

http://www.lro.com/features-reviews/reviews-buyers-guides/1304/land-rover-series-iii-4x4-review

http://4xoverland.com/land-rover/

To name but a few.

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Thing is there's always something out there waiting to catch ya by the hairys so I would just pick one you think will be OK. It probably won't be OK but that seems to be part of owning a Land Rover. If you want something to be reliable buy a Honda!

That's great, thanks very much

If it's a td or n/a diesel engine as opposed to a tdi make sure you see it started from cold, check the engine temperature by hand if needs be as they can be harder to start and smokey when cold started if they are worn and also need a session on the glow plugs

If the seller has been recommended to you, that is a good thing. Ask him what needs doing to the landy, if he says nothing at all, he is either a fibber or knows bugger all about landy's cos every one of them needs something doing, even ones that have just had a 3 year restoration. When I buy cars, I study the seller more than the car, if the seller seems honest, reliable and has integrity, so will his car.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

...When I buy cars, I study the seller more than the car, if the seller seems honest, reliable and has integrity, so will his car.

Col

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You don't see that advice on the interweb much but I agree with you: In my experience if the seller is a total cock the car is total crap.

I have been to see cars owned by people who seem to be honest and reliable, however, and it turned out that they had their heads well and truly up their backsides and didn't know the first thing about simple things like putting oil in engines...

jimalmighty said:

Chassis was good, bulkhead was absolutely fine too

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Obviously not impossible but seems a bit unlikely unless recently restored. Did you get a really good look at everything? Can be expensive if it's not as you hope.

Going for a proper look tomorrow as I've sold my RRC now.
Will make a hit list of things to look at.