Advice needed for long journey!

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neilcmusic

Active Member
Posts
383
I would appreciate your help on this one , I am about to travel 400 miles in series 3 landy 1983 petrol and I have so far packed cab with these items , apart from good luck and a pair of crossed fingers any advice on anything else I may need.

so far

New Fanbelt
LOTS of Oil
coolant
Water
Tyre Pump
Spanners
screwdrivers
LOTS of petrol money
Tow rope?

Not taking spare tyre so not taking jack , as I say fingers crossed.

Any sensible advice would be appreciated , its my everyday vehicle so its not in bad nic to be honest.

Thanks
 
are you going on an expedition or just doing a long trip in the uk, I wouldn't have thought 400 miles was anything to worry about if you are staying in the uk and have breakdown cover

if you are not taking a spare I would get some of that "flat mate" stuff or such like, in case you do get a puncture
 
I always like to have a bit of lecky cable, a few crimps and a roll of tape in case any of the magic blue smoke escapes.

Despite having Series' as daily drivers the exhaust seemed to always part company on an epic journey so lots of jubilees and exhaust putty.

Split water pipes will stop you dead anorl so a few spare bits and something to use as internal collars to clamp onto.
 
Thanks , just heading up north from midlands , mostly motorways , nothing to hard going. Can you buy "flat mate" for series tyres? and yes I have breakdown cover.
Not in too much of a rush will do a few stop offs for essential sandwich breaks
 
neilcmusic said:
Thanks , just heading up north from midlands , mostly motorways , nothing to hard going. Can you buy "flat mate" for series tyres? and yes I have breakdown cover.
Not in too much of a rush will do a few stop offs for essential sandwich breaks
Click to expand...

Back in the eighties I often used to do Hampshire to Northern Scotland in a series.

Never had any issues, just carried my toolbox maybe a few hoses and clips, wire ties, that sort of thing. My series was pretty carefully maintained and serviced, though.

If your tyres and tubes are in good nick and plenty of tread, you would be unlucky to get a puncture on the motorway. If you have a spare, I doubt you would need the stuff!

Take it in short stints, or you will knacker your back. I did :(

Just read your first post, I think you would be crazy to go on a long trip without a spare. Why?:confused:
 
Last edited:
neilcmusic said:
Thanks , just heading up north from midlands , mostly motorways , nothing to hard going. Can you buy "flat mate" for series tyres? and yes I have breakdown cover.
Not in too much of a rush will do a few stop offs for essential sandwich breaks
Click to expand...

ah, you have tubes?

both mine are tubeless
 
Turboman ,

Tyres are all 3 months old , reason for not taking tyre? , 3 kids in back , luggage , dont trust mounting it on back door or want it on bonnet as my bonnet isnt made for it
 
neilcmusic said:
Turboman ,

Tyres are all 3 months old , reason for not taking tyre? , 3 kids in back , luggage , dont trust mounting it on back door or want it on bonnet as my bonnet isnt made for it
Click to expand...

You are wise not to bonnet mount or rear door, often causes problems. :)
You can get a dish to bonnet mount, that isn't usually a problem on the open road, but limits visibility off road. Check condition of bonnet frames if you get one.

But I would try and get it in somewhere, possibly strapped to the roof.

The spray stuff will not fix all tyre damage, and it makes a godawful mess of the tyre and rim. I certainly wouldn't put all my faith in it, although as I said, you will be unlucky to get a puncture in new tyres, but it can happen.
 
The magic ingredient is time. Older vehicles usually run all day if they're not pushed too hard. 45 on A roads is fine, trying to do a couple of hours at 60/70 on a motorway may be pushing your luck. Last couple of long trips I made I only used motorways for short bursts to avoid places (like Bristol) and spent the rest of the time on A and B roads. You get to see a lot more stuff that way. Another tip is to heavily sedate the children. It'll really help.
 
Agree with Oxide. You'll be heavy laden n doubt you'll get much above 55-60 on the motorway. S3's not designed for motorway travel. I'd chug along the A roads. The foam stuff is totally useless especially a big landy tyre. I'd also stick in some fencing wire and garden plastic coated metal twine - it'll secure things like dropped exhaust pipes and loose connections. Check oil level in the differential. Good luck. I'd like to take my SWB S3 petrol from Scotchland to Pembrokeshire but I think it would take days!
 
I used to do regular West Midlands to just past Penrith in my series three diesel. Just take things easy and slow, why shouldn't it get there ? I did Brum to Aberdeen in my six pot towing a heavy trailer, only filled the tank fourteen times on the way up........
 
Galvanised soft iron wire, culled from fence wire/garden wire/cable reinforcement.
Pliers & cutters to suit.
The above will hold on an exhaust, or a lump of bodywork; also reasonable running bodges in conjunction with the self-tapping screws you also carry.
Held the rear suspension of a Triumph Vitesse together with this stuff, driving back from France...


Self amalgamating tape - butyl rubber tape that sticks to itself - overwound with iron wire will repair a hose.
 
honolulujoe said:
I found the opposite was true for the foam stuff, worked a treat on my big chevy tyre when I used it did jack for the lil tyre on the wifes Peugeot 307
Click to expand...

Entirely a matter of the shape of the damage. It will repair a hole, as caused by a nail. No way it will repair a split or a gash.

And I don't know if it will work with tubed tyres at all. Might be better to carry tyre irons and a spare tube if absolutely no possibility of a spare.
 
OK, I'm going to play devil's advocate a bit here...

You've got breakdown cover.
You're taking a bunch of parts and tools. Do you know how to use them? Are you willing ti fit those bits at the side of the m'way in the rain with your three kids in the back of the Landy? No? Then you'll be ringing the nice man anyway, so why carry tools?

If you think the fan belt's knackered, it might make sense to change it before you go.
If you get through "LOTS of oil" or that much coolant in 400 miles, something's buggered on your Landy, so it might make sense to do something about it.

There isn't one single vehicle (on the road) in my fleet which I wouldn't just jump into and do 400+ miles today, if I needed to, with no prep or additional parts or tools.

Obviously, if it was the Landy, I might need to save up a bit for fuel, but...
 
Give it a check over before the off. If it's leaking sort the leak. I often do more than 400 miles in a day and I've always got there. Main things I've had to tinker with have been electrical and once a stuck open throttle...

If you need much more than £100 you need to sort your engine out!

I always carry a set of bulbs including a 7" Lucas beam. A _decent_ jack is worth taking if you have the room - I've got myself into a pickle with my ****ty bottle jack...

Plenty of water and Murray mints and some loud music. If your seats are knackered / soft a new set of squabs are worthwhile. I've been quite impressed with the Britpart ones I got I thought they'd disintegrate after half an hour but have stood up well and are firm and comfy....though my missus might disagree
 
Ok , apart from coming to a complete stop 1hr into journey up North the journey was without problem , thanks for the advice , Landy came to a complete stop on way up and all electrics went , new battery and 1 hr later I was back on track , 440 miles round trip , approx £85 in petrol so wasnt as bad as I thought.
 
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