Series 3 What are some fun mods for a daily driver.

I have around a year to work on my series 3 before it will be used and was wondering if anyone has any fun mods that they would suggest. It will be my first car and i would consider myself an outdoorsy person.

My plan so far...
- extended roof rack with ladder and light bar
-Bright coloured - leaning towards matt orange with gloss black features and respray the military engine.
- Removing the middle seat and having a cubby box with a radio in it. 4 speakers roof mounted
- Higher air intake and custom box around the oil filter.
- possibly converting from petrol to gas and petrol.


Most Mods are to make it easier day to day although looks are important to me.

Are there any mods that will make it better or any here that you believe are a mistake.

I know they are not on your list, but be carefull about bigger wheels, they can make it hard to drive and lift becuse the propshafts angle changes. I have a rack and its very handy. We use the centre seat every now and then but have a tool box under it. The mods I have found usefull are:
Rack with lockable box on
Rear work / reversing light
Headlamp flash
Intermittent wiper
LED front running lights (LED spots)
Overhead cubby shelves and roof mounted radio (and everyone likes switches on the roof!)
Sun visors
Side lockers (home made, not as much work as they sound and very handy)
Ammo box on the front bumper (intended for recovery gear but usually full of plastic spades and buckets from the beach that I don't want in the back)
A switch to change over the fuel gauge so I can see how much is in each tank (if you have twin tanks)
I've also rivetted small lashing rings along one side so I can rope an awning up.

Before thinking about mods, make sure the base vehicle is in a good condition- no sense bolting bits onto a car which is fundamentally broken. Fix it first.

Then it all depends on what you want to use the vehicle for. Carpets and sound-deadening can be fitted to the interior, storage can be improved etc. For auxiliary lights, I'd stick to one or two extra high beams rather than going mad. The problem is that if you have perma-noon high beams, you still have to switch back to the two low beams when something comes the other way, and since your eyes are used to the extra illumination from your high beams, you can't see a thing. A discreet LED bar in front of the radiator is simple and effective.

88 or 109? Pickup, hardtop, canvas or station wagon? That to some extent dictates what mods make sense. On a pickup, having some secure storage in the truck bed makes sense and frees up space in the cab, for example.

T-Series 2.0 litre Turbo conversion would probably be pretty fun.

You might need to upgrade your alternator if you are going to put a lot of extra lecky bits on. Cigar lighter power sockets front and back. I wouldn't bother with carpets if you are planning to use it off road, rubber mats are better.

Col

Colthebrummie said:

Cigar lighter power sockets front and back.

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I've wondered about finding a panel-mounted USB socket to replace the red/black plugs on the dash. The oval slot is just about the right size for it. Even better if the socket can interface with the radio.

That original socket isnt fused, it's direct to the battery I think. I'd recommend wiring any new sockets through a suitable fuse and the ignition switch so you don't leave anything powered accidentally.

Col

Yep, direct connection with no fuse- like a lot of the original circuits! If the radio has a rear USB input, you'd just need a suitable USB extension and panel mounted socket. The old socket gets safely disconnected and insulated. On mine I'll be doing a total rewire anyway so everything will be properly protected and modernised a bit

Forgot that, yes I have 2 panel USBs - really handy, one is doing the sat nav and the other charging the phone or tablet (aka keeping son occupied). Aslo a cig / 12v in the back by the door, very handy for airbed pumps and coolers (so long as you park facing down hill in case you flatten the battery) and a 70A alternator. Good bit of advice I got was think about Cof G, its easy to bolt too much up high and with no anti-roll bars you can get a lot of body roll. That's where the side lockers are handy. Remember everything adds to the weight so (as said above) make sure the brakes and suspension are tip-top. In "full camper" mode we got weighed at 2 1/4 tons.

You need to replace the front grill with a large plastic flower and re rout the washers to it. Fit a box to carry your spare red noses and remove any pedal rubbers for your comedy shoes.
You might need to improve the turning circle as them big tents ain’t as big as they used to be.

Orange

I did wonder about the orange. A series looks so much nicer in a tasteful red, green or blue with an almost-white roof. Orange is a bit G4-challenge at best and Max Power at worst.

I am going to buck the trend a little bit here and say do not modify it at all. You say it will be your first car, therefore I am assuming you have no current driving experience and do not currently know exactly what you will predominately be using the vehicle for. spend 12 month following @FlyingPete advice and make sure the base vehicle is completely reliable and mechanically and structurally sound. Paint it if you must but I agree a series needs to be tastefully colored, think pastel shades with limestone roof and wheels.

Than go and spend at least 6 months driving it before doing any modifications to it. In this time you will find things that you need (e.g. 12v sockets, sound proofing) and things that would have been unnecessary (raised air intake). I would then carefully think about any of the modifications that you do making sure they are suitable for your usage and carrying them out with a forward thinking view to being able to return it to standard easily.

Remember this is a series motor so looks even more silly with a big lift, huge wheels, driven through Halfords with a magnet, etc. than the defenders do. I would recommend making anything you do do discreet, low key, and in keeping with the age of the vehicle. They are also in demand as vintage vehicles and for that originality is key.

Do not get me wrong I am not against modification but I got my 110 when I was 18 and nearly all of the modifications I did to it then I have subsequently removed or changed because they were not suitable for my use of it. The modifications I have now done are more standard (think eon/water-board utility truck) and all of the adventure/expedition modifications have been designed to be easily removable so day to day they are not fitted to the vehicle as day to day none of them are used.

Jestall said:

Most Mods are to make it easier day to day although looks are important to me.

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If this is the focus of your modifications I would forget most of what you have listed and be looking to fit an overdrive, or, Ashcroft high ratio trasnferbox. With this it will then be capable of keeping up with modern traffic and being used on the motorway.

Gas converting it will make fuel chaper but it costs a lot of money for a decent kit so you will need to work out how long it will take the fuel saving to pay for the inital instillation. If the payback period is a couple of years it is probably worth it, if it is 10 years I would suggest there is little point. Also remember that unless you under sling and chassis mount the tank which comes with other problems you will lose a considerable amount of load space to it.

I sort of have to agree with the "proceed slowly" concept. I've had my red 1970 Series IIA for a few months now, and after getting it mechanically all set to be roadworthy (brakes, clutch, steering, gearbox), I find that I've got many tiny projects ongoing with it to keep me busy enough. Water leaks, switches, replacing this or that bolt or nut, new windshield washer system, vent flap cotter pin, and so on. Yes, I put some recovery points on the the front which look very cool, after all, I do have a winch that came with the vehicle, right? Even this decision was debatable because the D-ring recovery points would not really fit right next to the winch. So my front approach angle is compromised with this extension in front. BUT - I almost ordered the D-Rings, so the lesson is to take your time with each mod. I noticed that when I put on the wing mirrors and interior mirror, I found these very minor fixes very satisfying. I find that it's a lot of fun simply planning these little chores, looking for parts online, and squeezing these fixes into my days-- it's all fine for now, and I notice that by going slowly, I change my mind a lot, and am relieved I didn't do anything too drastic. Just sharing what's working for me... Good luck. In any case you will really be happy with your Land Rover.

Fun mods? For sure consider that but don't pimp what is a classic vehicle. You'll devalue if you're not considered and careful.

Avoid non standard paint and outsized wheels. You'll achieve more with mechanical mods. Anything is possible.

Mazda rx8 seats are going in mine but the cloth ones this time as the electric ones are pretty heavy and going for grey and black this time aswell

I would certainly put the piant off for now, once its done its a big job to change. Bright colours really go out of fashion quickly.

Painting is best done during a rebuild as you can work on each of the larger panels one at a time. I repainted my 90 (original off-white colour) with a roller a few years ago which is doable but more hassle. When repainting a different colour you really need to be able to get to the whole interior as well to make a proper job of it- if you have on colour on the outside and a different colour on the exposed interior metal it just looks bad.

FlyingPete said:

Painting is best done during a rebuild as you can work on each of the larger panels one at a time. I repainted my 90 (original off-white colour) with a roller a few years ago which is doable but more hassle. When repainting a different colour you really need to be able to get to the whole interior as well to make a proper job of it- if you have on colour on the outside and a different colour on the exposed interior metal it just looks bad.

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Where as that is true, this is a series vehicle, so other than the bulkhead it only takes a few minutes to completely remove each panel, or things mounted to the panel to allow access for paint. I roller painted my series this way one panel at a time on the kitchen table when I did mine a few years ago. The only things not painted in this way were the replacement bulkhead, (painted before fitting) and the rear tub which was painted in situ.

Orange is lush