Series 3 109 Station Wagon, full ground up resto and 88 redo careless resto driving project

Thank you auld duffer, that looks like a no nonsense serious read and invaluable resource.
I just came across this in Tesco
With a free calendar
I had no idea there was a Landover magazine lol

There is Classic Landrover too...
I find there is far more content on older landies as you would guess with a title like that

Thanks GSF 109,
Sounds interesting, I wonder where I may get it ?

Try WHSmith’s or you can download it. You can find the app on App Store etc. Pity you are so far away from me as I have loads of Classic Landrover magazines you could have borrowed

Thank you, a very kind offer.
On another noteHas anybody seen thus persons auld Landy?

Happy New Year to all.
I've wrestled the rolling chassis into the garage and have been removing the front axle and suspension.
By g, them springs is heavy but nothing like the front axle lol ¯\(°_o)/¯
But hey the Chassis is way more manigable to handle without the axle and springs ◉‿◉
Restoration of a Series 3 chassis doesn't seem to happen !
Repair, yes lots are repaired with a new section cut and welded in, outriggers replaced even entire sections disgarded and replaced.
But all the replacement leg parts are 4bits of steel welded at the edge, and the origonal was constructed of two U shaped halves welded together. Which rather reminds me of the look of the seam which runs down a stocking leg.
All the new/replacement chassis are made from four bits welded at the corner, usually of 3mm steel and often galv too.
But but the origonals' legs are of two halves welded and of 2mm steel, all the crosmembers and some other stuff being of 3mm steel.
For most folk I don't think these subtle differences matter.
Ok so having a 3mm replacement section on a 2mm chassis will not flex in the same way, transferring extra stress on to the original parts, but a Landy's chassis is well over any required strength, so this doesn't really matter that much.
But anybody that knows their stuff can immediately see the differance at a glance.
In the original 2mm chassis, there are unseen internal structures in key places. They can reveal themselves when you try to cut a bad bit out to replace.
I have seen just one professional chassis restorer who completely OTT, had an entire Jig set up to every bolt hole in the chassis. So it must have cost tens of thousands, well beyond reality for all but the ludicrously wealthy.
Having said that I have built a car on a Jig which used several hundred pieces specific to that car, in a Vibba approved body repair shop. It was decades ago, but great experiance.
Anyway what was interesting was that this guy was restoring a chassis which used the same two U sections welded together as my Landy.
What interested me was that for the section he was restoring, he cut half of the U section along the weld and then through at each end.
Consiqently he pulled a section away from the side, leaving the other original half in place.
This ment he could remake the corroded part to weld back using the removed section as a pattern, but also that he had awesome access to the inside of the chassis all round the affected area, so this could be cleaned and made good too.
He was careful to well support the rest of the chassis as to place no stress on the section being worked on.
It got me to thinking; maybe the original chassis can be repaired and in a way that would be completely undetectable even to the most experienced eye.
Would this not be a concourse restoration ??

Something else I find interesting too, is that outriggers which have been replaced with completely new ones appear to be more susceptible to corrosion than the original chassis parts.
Does this mean they are made from recycled non virgin steel.
All the areas of structural rust damage on my chassis are from built up damp muck having sat in some parts for almost four decades.
This does not speak badly of the quality of the metal, more poor design alowing such hidden buildups and a lack of maintenance. Although the areas just in front of the rear spring hanger is remarkably well hidden, and in the line of fling from the rear wheels.

Your better not to overthink it . If you start down that road you will be bogged down with a long term restoration. Also if you set the bar high, the rest of the restoration usually follows, its a knock on effect, resulting in engine rebuilds, axle rebuilds gearbox rebuilds and discarding slightly used stuff thats perfectly useable with a bit of clean up and servicing . . If your doing this for yourself and have no intention of selling the finished item then its fine to go over the top. It all depends on what you want at the end of the day..

Splitting the chassis is an option, but its probably a bit overkill. If you cut windows in the chassis especially to eliminate the corroded areas and insert repair pieces of the same gauge and fully weld and clean up you wont see the repaired areas and they will have the same integrity as the rest of the frame. Cutting additional widows in strategic areas will give you access to clean out and treat the inside on the box section and flood it with rust converter or even provide enough access for the blaster to get his nozzle in . Cutting round holes in the frame should result in less stress areas when welded back in..

I gave mine a good power wash in the box and got the workshop vacuum in there to suck out the old debris . I dont like seeing badly patched and over patched patchwork frames though, . I would prefer a well repaired frame to a full replacement if I were doing it myself ( as we do ) . But I wouldn't knock back a new frame either , chances of using an old landrover for the uses it was built for is probably pretty slim . If I could afford it and the project warranted it I would consider a new fabricated frame

I dont like the idea of the replacement outriggers having a flat plate on the back side . My chassis had one replacement outrigger "welded" on but the gaping hole left when they cut the original out wasnt welded up, they just left it and covered it with the convenient plate on the replacement .. So zero integrity in that area of the frame . As it was I ditched the replacement, and repaired the chassis before fitting a home made outrigger welded on in the same fashion as they did them originally ..

I think if they can be saved and are repaired to a good standard they can give good service for years and years and just need looking after. .I wouldn't worry about them being square, they most likely never left the factory square..

This is a replacement

And the surface is badly pitted thin and just nasty.

The original has a bit if surface rust, but as you say is completely serviceable with a clean up.
I will be stripping and rebuilding the engine with new bearings and rings etc, the head was reconditioned to stage one and hardened valve seats fitted. So the engine will be ok for unleaded fuel. The original rings bushes and bearings are so reasonably priced and available, it would be my way to go.
The gearbox unfortunately does need a rebuild as there are bits of bronze that came out with the oil .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.
So I have no choice but to rebuild or have rebuilt, the gearbox.
Yes this project will take ages, and never be finantialy viable, especially if you factor in the time.
But it's good fun, and I have just fallen for this pile of scrap lol.
However when I look at the bulkhead which I restored from such a disaster which any sensible person would have just replaced with a new one, I feel a huge sense of achievement. Also I did notice several subtle differences to the original. I had to fabricate many of the repair panels myself which was fun.
My schedule for this renovation is there is no schedule lol. Each part is a project in it's self which is the beauty of a Landy. It can be split in to many parts.
The chassis is a biggie , but it's what everything else atatches to

I never count the time when the projects are personal, That only matters if your doing the work for other folk. Its easy enough to go over budget Looks like your making good progress looking forward to seeing more posts and progress pics ..

I agree that you can overthink a way of doing something - I’ve been there myself and you are in danger of taking a direction that could end up with the project ending up unfinished. You’ve made a great start and it has good bones for a great build.
As I have found with my 109, you will have repairs that need done on the chassis that you can see at first inspection and some that you can’t! However, they are agricultural and over engineered and as long as you do sound accurate repairs you will get many more years of service from it. That’s what I’m aiming for
Looking forward to seeing your progress!

Thank you,
Just sharing my thoughts which may not be prcatical as I get the chassis stripped down to start some serious metalwork and fabrication with proper chunky stuff.

Some of the nuts need my 950mm big breaker bar on quality impact sockets after a good soak of wd-40, to get them moving
My garage is big enough, but it will be easiest working on the bare chassis, as I can use my crane to re-position it as suites
Then my needle de-scaler is going to get busy,
And I can get good access to everywhere. Just brake lines and internal wiring left which I may remove leaving a pull wire behind so that I can add complete trailor 13 pin wiring to and some other bits like a reversing/flood light and 12v power... Yep over thinking lol

The chassis doesn’t look beyond saving for sure. Certainly better than mine was! You may be able to get away with small repairs for the most. I left my axles on for as long as possible to keep it mobile, but that may not work for you.
Looking forward to seeing your progress

It's useful that everything is mostly symmetrical so if parts are re-fabricated I can accurately place them.
I do hope I can do a good job. Don't know if stuff like the U bolts will be re-used, but I'm cleaning up the threads of more stuck bits as I go and put them into plastic ziplock bags, with a favirite old toolI've had this threads file for decades lol

Thanks Mitch,
Your probably right it's salvagable , once I get focus on just the chassis with all the bits off I'll feel better but having not worked on a Landy chassis before just need to do it !
It will be a lovely antidote to work when I get home each night for a couple of hours.
Not much beats metal fabrication for fun (θ‿θ)
And I'm back to work tomorrow ...

Haven’t seen a thread file for a while! I would check out YRM and Paddock who I use for parts. There are many other suppliers of course!
It’s useful to have a look at their parts and prices, as there are bits such as ‘u’ bolts which are really cheap to buy new. I decided to buy new ones as my old ones were really crusty and not worth re-using. It was also quicker to chop them off with a cutting disc in a grinder.

I was tempted, especially with the rear shock bottom mounts, a b;+-"h to get off, but the windy gun got thereI like to have the original parts intact so when I get replacement ones I can compare.

Have spent quite a bit with YRM, and like the quality of their stuff No doubt I will spend more lol.
But right now I need only the bare chassis and time

That's it,
Finally down to the bones/chassis
I will begin designing and making a couple of heavy duty steel trestles to sit it on tomorrow.
The axle stands have it too low and I could easily push it off.
Now there's great access to everything <(￣︶￣)>

that brings back memories

Good ones I hope lol