Someone Else's Problem: 1977 Land Rover Series III

If you buy a 300TDi swapped Range Rover or Disco S1, I will have to steal it :p

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argatoga said:
Disco Is are the way to go. Would you be getting the Diesel or v8?
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It really depends what's around. V8s are cheaper and make a better noise but hate water. Diesels are much better in water but are more expensive and Tdis need more maintenance. I've been watching this on eBay:

1992 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY V8 GREEN WITH LPG

airmenair said:
Can you register it as a classic or antique vehicle and circumvent the really strict MOT? Or is there no way around it regardless?
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Unfortunately unless it's registered as a farm vehicle then it has to have an MOT. If I put an electric motor in it I'd also get away without an MOT but who'd want to drive around in an electric Land Rover? :D

Actually what I just said only answers part of your question. Because it's 1977 it only has to comply with the 1977 requirements, which is how I get away with emmissions. :)

Der Stig said:
If you buy a 300TDi swapped Range Rover or Disco S1, I will have to steal it :p

:heart:
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300tdi Discos might be a bit too 'new' for my purposes, an early 200tdi Disco or RR would be perfect if the price is right. I'll take the wheels off and turn it upside down to stop you. :p
 
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^Oh it's been done on Scrapheap challenge before. :lol:

Anyway, bump because I changed the engine oil today, and I still have the horrible taste of meths in the back of my throat from cleaning out the sump and oil filter canister.

For those of you not familiar with the oil change process in an old Land Rover I'll give you a quick run through.

Step 1. Run engine up to temperature or until bored, whichever comes first.
Step 2. Dump engine flush into oil filler tube, use RPM governor (shovel on the pedal) to set high idle.
Step 3. Wait 15 minutes, worry about fuel running out despite tank being 1/4 full. Stop engine.
Step 4. Loosen drain plug bolt until loose, place drain bucket in what you think is the correct location.
Step 5. Remove plug, panic as oil misses bucket and goes over the road, quickly correct the bucket placement. Let oil drain and blow into face.
Step 6. Wipe face.
Step 7. Struggle to loosen oil filter canister bolt which is positioned so there is only around 25 degrees of spanner movement. Try to catch oil dripping as much as possible. Continue to wipe face.
Step 8. Finish undoing canister bolt, lower canister without tipping as it is still full of oil. Pray it won't leak past the seal on the bolt.
Step 9. Empty canister into bucket, grab sharp object and fight to remove the canister oil seal from the housing.
Step 10. Undo sump bolts. Grow extra arms to support sump while undoing the last bolt or enlist help.
Step 11. Optional - lose at least 3 bolts in the full oil bucket.
Step 12. Use mind-altering chemicals to clean sump and filter canister, worry about metal shards. Place new paper oil filter element into canister.
Step 13. Fit new oil seal to oil filter housing using all fingers available to stop it popping out again.
Step 14. Refit canister, curse placement of filter housing due to the problem explained earlier. Torque to 12lb-ft, or 'tightish' as the torque wrench cannot be used in such a small space.
Step 15. Fit new sealing washer to drain plug, after finding it in the 'safe place' you put it. Refit drain plug.
Step 16. Place new paper gasket onto the sump, attempt to keep it in place and fit a couple of bolts using any body parts available.
Step 17. Wipe face as oil will have dripped from the crankshaft onto you.
Step 18. Refit all other sump bolts (there are lots) and tighten to 12lb-ft. Guess the ones that are in a space too tight for the torque wrench. Curse more at BL.
Step 19. Fetch full 5L tin of oil and empty the entire contents into the filler tube. Check level and run engine to circulate oil.
Step 20. Check oil level again (it will have dropped a considerable amount as the oil filter canister is filled up). Top up as required.
Step 21. Finished, wonder where the afternoon went.

I hope that was an interesting if useless guide to changing the oil on one of these old beasts. I really don't mind going to the trouble and expense (a 5L tin of classic 20w/50 is ?17 and you need 1 and a half tins to get up to the correct level) once a year. I haven't touched the axles and gearbox yet as I only have around 2.5L of EP90, my supplier didn't have a delivery this week and I'm buggered if I'm buying lots of expensive 1L bottles from Halfrauds.

Also this month I've been to an off road play day and was a passenger in a Discovery V8 which made light work of the course. Photos can be seen here.

Buying a Discovery or similar and putting it on trailer isn't looking like a feasible plan any more because A) the Series isn't really capable of towing that kind of weight and B) I would have to spend around ?600 passing my trailer test before I can tow that kind of weight. So now I may be looking at a small Suzuki SJ or similar and a light trailer for playing.
 
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Wait? You run the engine while draining the oil?
 
argatoga said:
Wait? You run the engine while draining the oil?
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Not while draining, but after putting the engine flush fluid in. It has to be in there for 15 minutes. Corrected now.:)
 
As I read on I was becoming more concerned with what you were doing with a running engine. :p
 
I definetly recomend a Suzuki.

They get a bad rep. But the Samurai's (and even the Sidekicks) can be quite formidable little 4x4s. My Neighbor has 2 of them. One done up for mild 4x4ing with 31s and another he has dubbed the "tubezuki" which no longer resembles a suzuki, but more of a tubeframe with big nibbly tires.
 
JipJopJones said:
I definetly recomend a Suzuki.

They get a bad rep. But the Samurai's (and even the Sidekicks) can be quite formidable little 4x4s. My Neighbor has 2 of them. One done up for mild 4x4ing with 31s and another he has dubbed the "tubezuki" which no longer resembles a suzuki, but more of a tubeframe with big nibbly tires.
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The other day someone near here crashed their Vitara into an ambulance station, taking out a brick wall. Took the impact surprisingly well for such a puny looking thing. And here too, the little Jimny's are actually commonly used for real off-roading, when they're not advertising hairdressing salons or being towed behind motorhomes. There's a wide and readily available range of off-roading gear for them, like bullbars, winches, lift kits, snorkels, etc. etc. They have a fairly good rep in that field, and one with a decent lift and winch is certainly nothing to laugh at.

Here's the picture from the fantastic local newspaper which has nothing else to report:
https://pic.armedcats.net/h/hb/hbriz/2010/09/23/DSC_4170_-_Copy.JPG
 
Yah, that's what we call a sidekick here. Good little cars. The samurai is the one with the more boxy look to it from the 80s.
 
Just to make things more awkward, that's called a Vitara here. :lol:

They're good because they have bigger engines than the little SJs but the plastic bumpers can be a pain off road. A few people in on an off road forum I visit have them and they're pretty capable, one of them was selling a set of tractor-pattern tyres too.

Bought some EP90 last night so this weekends task is to change the oil in the gearbox, transfer box and both diffs.
 
The bumpers are just going to get wrecked anyways, might as well take them off and weld up a steel tube bumper, you get a better approach angle with it too.

The Sidekick (Vitara) also has a spongier frame than the SJ, the SJ is a lot stiffer.
 
How to change a clutch pressure plate on a 1977 Land Rover part 1: Disassembly

How to change a clutch pressure plate on a 1977 Land Rover part 1: Disassembly

Another insight into the methods of maintenance for old Land Rovers.

For about 2 weeks now the old shed has been out of action with essentially no clutch, as in if you press the pedal down, it's still engaged. This was diagnosed on Friday to be a cracked pressure plate but I'll only know for certain when it comes apart.

So following on from my oil change guide, here's the guide to dismantling the interior of a Series III thus far.

Step 1: Remove mud from around passenger side floor panel screws/bolts.
Step 2: Attempt to undo screws. Bathe any screws that refuse to budge in WD40 and move on to the next one.
Note: As the previous owner has inevitably replaced some of the floor screws with a mishmash of different fixings of the years, try to group matching fixings together to save time
​
Step 3: Continue this circle of failure until all screws are undone.
Step 4: Grab a handy chisel or knife and cut through the industrial sealant that the previous owner used to glue the floor panels down.
Step 5: Use chisel to lift floor panel off.Step 6: Unscrew the 3 screws attaching the high/low selector lever gaiter to the driver's side floor panel, place screws in a 'safe' place.
Step 7: Repeat steps 1-5 for the driver's side floor panel.
Step 8: Undo the 2WD/4WD selector lever knob and remove it, along with the long coil spring on its shaft.
Step 9: Undo the two bolts attaching the 2WD/4WD lever guide to the transmission tunnel. Lift over lever shaft and store with the bolts.
Step 10: Lift off the transmission tunnel, guiding it over the gear stick and being careful not to dent it on the roof or hit oneself over the head with it. Store in a safe place.
Step 11: Remove bolts attaching seats.
Note: These bolts will be almost impossible to reach inside the seatbox.
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Step 12: With the seats removed, undo all bolts attaching the seatbox to the tub and chassis.
Note: Many of these bolts are likely to be corroded so may need to be drilled out as brutally as possible. As with the floor panels they are likely to be odd sizes.
​
Step 13: Remove seatbox.
Step 14: Discover large rusty hole in the chassis.

Currently I've completed step 14 and after being told that the chassis can be welded up, I'm going to get hold of a clutch kit.
 
A summary of what I've been doing in the last month or two. My video skills still need work.

 
Nice vids dude!

I only watched two, because they were long, but they were good :)
 
Bump. I have very mixed emotions at the moment because I'm putting the old girl up for sale. As much as I love her she's holding me back, driving anywhere more than 10 minutes away has become a chore rather than a fun drive. I've considered an engine change but I'll have to spend money that I'll never get back and in the end it won't be much easier to drive.

I'll be sad to see her go, Series Land Rovers just have an awesomeness about them that the replacement Discovery won't quite have, but it'll be much nicer to drive. Hopefully I won't regret this too much. :(
 
When you feel that a short drive is a chore, you definitely have the wrong car / a car that shouldn't be your only vehicle, so you are doing the right thing. Although if it was me I would probably have take the plates of it and parked it somewhere.

:comfort:
 
Sorry for making you realise how much more comfortable a real car is :lol: Hope it sells quickly for a decent price :)
 
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