Rear lights why is mine different

Hi guys sorry if i am asking a dumb question here as i am new to series landrovers im restoring one and ive noticed my tail lights are different to 99.9% of all the other location wise most are like the top picture but mine are totally different one at top and one at bottom of rear 1/4 panel why is this ?? any ideas.

Different galv corner plate, so different light set up, blue car looks like series set up, and yellow car looks to be 90/110/defender set up?

The blue one is a series whereas your vehicle is either a very late series or early 90 or 110.

What year is your vehicle?

There are various difference even within series 3s. For example the blue one here is a later series 3 as the number plate is on the left instead of on the right. I think this change was introduced around 1976-78.

There are a lot of details to learn!!

Mines a 1983 Y REG series 3

Another Y Reg here, reg 1982 and has same light arrangement.

neo2 said:

Hi guys sorry if i am asking a dumb question here as i am new to series landrovers im restoring one and ive noticed my tail lights are different to 99.9% of all the other location wise most are like the top picture but mine are totally different one at top and one at bottom of rear 1/4 panel why is this ?? any ideas.

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Series Land Rovers were made for a long time, almost 40 years over all the series.

So quite simply, ancillary parts weren't available for the entire length of production, or weren't available at a price Rover/BL wanted to pay.
So they used what they could get, there are many minor differences between vehicles.

Further complicated by some Ninety/One Ten and Defender parts fitting on Series, so later owners have retro-fitted them.

I was trying to work out if its got the wrong rear end on or it was correct as I've only seen a couple the same, my chassis number is a late one i believe at 190### and when I've done some revision online it appears approx. 192,000 series 3 were ever built so i just was curious more than anything as i like the lights next to each other to be fair more...

My 84 series has one at top and one at bottom

neo2 said:

I was trying to work out if its got the wrong rear end on or it was correct as I've only seen a couple the same, my chassis number is a late one i believe at 190### and when I've done some revision online it appears approx. 192,000 series 3 were ever built so i just was curious more than anything as i like the lights next to each other to be fair more...

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Not sure if there is a wrong or correct with this, so long as the lights work, and comply with RTA for the age of vehicle.
Most series owners just make it up as they go along.
But as that is pretty much what happened at the factory, I don't see a problem.

The simple answer as to why is changes in road lighting regulations in various country's and Land Rover needed to come up with a set up that suited most of them.
It is why 2a headlights move from the grill where they were safest from off road damage and into the wings in 1967/8

I think I've found the answer i was looking for it appears at the end of production of the series 3 the late built cars were starting to use the 90/110 parts as they were running out of parts it appears mine has the later 90 style rear light set up which might be about right i suppose i will never know for sure but it seems to fit as mine allegedly is in the last 1400 made before they went to the 90/110 builds.. Rightly or wrongly it sounds right...

Series continued to be built for several more years after 110 production started to full fill contracts with things like electric company's.
As Green 88 said above late series, from sometime in 82 to 85.
It was not a running out of parts situation. Series corner caps are shorter than Ninety One ten ones.

neo2 said:

suppose i will never know for sure but it seems to fit as mine allegedly is in the last 1400 made before they went to the 90/110 builds

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my 84 chassis number is approx 200100 so yours might be in the last 10,000 ish in the series 3’s, I think series 3 were still being made in 85 as below