Recommend upgrades for Series 3

I've bought an '82 rolling chassis.

I want to build it to look original, but wondered if there were any upgrades or modifications I could do to improve things?

Depends what you start with and what you want to end up with
Me I would go big v8 lt85 gearbox and lt230 transfer box then go for a pair of modified axles (defy or disc) great big tyres and power steering

Should keep you busy for a couple of weeks lol

pobby said:

Depends what you start with and what you want to end up with
Me I would go big v8 lt85 gearbox and lt230 transfer box then go for a pair of modified axles (defy or disc) great big tyres and power steering

Should keep you busy for a couple of weeks lol

Click to expand...

yup - that'l look original

It'll look original till you open the bonnet
Ok I guess the axles are a little wider to
Just make sure you use the right body parts
Nobody will notice lol

Depending on what you are going to use it for, and your budget to what mods to make! And exactly how far you would be willing to keep it looking original.

'pends what you are gonna use it for. If it's mostly on-road use, looking at the photos in your other thread, you don't have an overdrive. with the little bit of extra top-end go of your petrol engine I'd be looking to fit either an overdrive, or the poor-man's alternative, a pair of range rover diffs.

the only other accessory needed for prolonged use is a pair of ear defenders ...

Better look into the dvla's points scheme too if yer doing mods, I'm doing some mods to mine now, and I'm looking at how far I can go before I loose the registration.

I live in a hamlet 5 miles outside of Stone in Staffordshire, so main use will be local short trips on single track and B roads into Stone.

If it snows, I may drive the wife to Tesco and back, about 5 miles away, as last winter, on her way home, she slipped over and smashed my bottle of brandy.

EDIT FROM HERE:
The kind of upgrades I had in mind were; brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, re-jetting the carb/increasing airflow, exhaust, sound proofing. Fairly suttle changes so's to keep it looking standard even when I lift the bonnet.

No disrespect to anyone who's made major changes to the appearance of theirs, but I like the look of the standard car.

This may all change, as with my last hobby. I had a Yamaha Vmax motorcycle which cost £7k as a standard bike, but then I got into drag racing and spent £15k on modification. Over a period of 5 years, not all at once! So you never know, if I get into off roading, it may end up with a supercharged V8 with an extra couple of 100 bhp via a NOS kit.

rustybolts21 said:

I live in a hamlet 5 miles outside of Stone in Staffordshire, so main use will be local short trips on single track and B roads into Stone.

If it snows, I may drive the wife to Tesco and back, about 5 miles away, as last winter, on her way home, she slipped over and smashed my bottle of brandy.

Click to expand...

So what you're saying is...last year you sent your wife out to walk 10 miles in the snow for a bottle of brandy?

Good man....i hope you sent her back to get a new bottle.

If it will just be short trips here and there I would leave it as is!

please see my editted post above. you guys are too fast for me!!!

been told range rover diffs will fit a series 3 with not to much hassle going down scrap yard tomor to have alook unless anyone on here knows best .

RR to about 1994, Disco 1 to about 1994 or 90/110.

Later RR and Disco look similar but when you withdraw the halfshafts you'll find a different number of splines. You want 10-spline shafts.

is it easy to do weekend job ?

rear - yes, couple of hours tops including withdrawing the halfshafts, you can actually do it without even jacking the car up or taking the wheels off [rear only].

front, theoretically yes, but easiest way I've found to withdraw halfshafts is possibly to undo the flange behind the steering swivel ball, and you might find the nuts have to be ground off, which takes time and can be awkward.

make sure you've got new diff gaskets, drive flange gaskets for the rear and swivel flange gaskets for the front ... and if it were me I'd budget for a new set of swivel flange bolts/nuts too.

you might as well change the axle oils while you're there so that's a load of EP90 too.

do-able in a day if you're handy and not too much goes awry. don't forget you gotter undo the prop ends too, which can take more time than anticipated when you find the nuts are rounded off!