How hard to....

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Jaspermowatt

Jaspermowatt

Active Member
Posts
230
Right,

I've seen a few Series 3's that have been modified such that they are now on coil springs rather than leaf springs. And i was wondering how hard it is to do this change and what does it entail?
Cheers,

Jasper
 
It usually involves stealing a defender and sticking Series number plates on!

Some people really do slog away at the conversion but it's a lot easier to just buy one as said.
 
Simmer Simmer! I am only asking as its cheaper on insurance and there seems to be more series 3s for sale near to me than defenders 90...
 
If the nearest Defender was 1000 miles away, it would still be a thousand times easier than basically rebuilding a series as a 90/110 from the inside out.
 
Jaspermowatt said:
Simmer Simmer! I am only asking as its cheaper on insurance and there seems to be more series 3s for sale near to me than defenders 90...
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Series are a classic, they aint making no more. They are a good vehicle in their own right and increasingly sought after. Real shame to waste one.
Land Rover took years to get the coil spring design off the drawing board, it will not be easy!
90/110 are quite obtainable, and probably slightly more practical in modern conditions than series. Older Defs are also widely available at good prices. Insurance on me 90 is pretty cheap, cant imagine a series would be much less.
 
blue beasty said:
Just greased...well, mix of grease, oil and petrol.....mine on one side, not got to the other side yet and she's sitting about 1 1/2'' higher :)
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I need to do mine yet. :eek: rears are seized solid, the only give on the rear end is in the tyres:eek:

Im in the process of building a bath for them as i plan on drowning them in a mixture of used oil grease and diesel for a day or so :p
The fronts leaves will get the same treatment even though they are ok :)
 
robbh said:
I need to do mine yet. :eek: rears are seized solid, the only give on the rear end is in the tyres:eek:

Im in the process of building a bath for them as i plan on drowning them in a mixture of used oil grease and diesel for a day or so :p
The fronts leaves will get the same treatment even though they are ok :)
Click to expand...
Ive always found a good way with leaves is to jack up the chassis and put it on stands so the axle is hanging on the springs. This will tend to open the gaps at the side of the leaves and you can work in graphite grease with scraper or fingers.
 
Yebut if you modify a series and then tell your insurance company how much is the premium? So save a series and buy a 90.
 
Insurance on a 90 can't be much more than a Series, and will surely be less than for a heavily modified Series. Leave the Series motors for those who appreciate them as they are, and go for a decent 90!
 
as the others have already said, put coil springs under a Series and it becomes a modified motor, quite heavily modified

now if you don't tell your insurance that it's been modified in this way you'll still get cheap(er ish) classic insurance BUT if you have an accident that requires your motor to be checked over you may find yourself in deep sh*t

and if that should happen, just try getting insurance again, you'll be paying through the nose for a very loooooooooong time

not to mention the possibility of court cases and possible results there

if you want something that LOOKS like a Series but more (?) comfort there's the easy way of buying a 90/110 as they're a very similar silhouette with as far as i can make out not much more in the cost of insurance

then are you looking to avoid paying VED ??, that again counts out 90/110 and legally counts out a coilsprung "historic" (pre 73) Series on the major modification to the chassis and axle/suspension swaps (again the risk of court cases, defrauding HMG is particularly frowned upon)

it's all a minefield with one of the mines waiting for you to step on it

anyway if you want a better chance of comfort in a Series without testing any legal limits i suggest you get a 109, i have both an 88" and a 109, my 88" hasn't turned a wheel in just about a year now as i enjoy driving my 109 so much (both have been my dailies over the last 5 years), the 109 is a far comfier vehicle with more space to chuck junk in, more space for fat and/or tall drivers (i'm skinny and small :D ) and so far no less capable when laning in Wales

i hope that's given you a few options to consider
 
I should imagine the easiest way to convert would be to buy a galvanised chassis from Designachasis. I'm sure they used to make a coiler chassis specifically for Series land rovers to make the conversion easy. As said though, a lot of trouble and expense for little gain. In the long term an original Series will fetch more money than a hybrid one on boingies.
 
Land Raver said:
I should imagine the easiest way to convert would be to buy a galvanised chassis from Designachasis. I'm sure they used to make a coiler chassis specifically for Series land rovers to make the conversion easy. As said though, a lot of trouble and expense for little gain. In the long term an original Series will fetch more money than a hybrid one on boingies.
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+1

last time I looked on the designachassis site they still did an 88 inch coil chassis it was about 6 months ago.

surely an early 90 from the mid 80's wouldn't be much more than a series to buy or insure
 
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