Italian 88 Series III - Should I or Shouln't I?

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Mandy said:
My dad passed away in March and life has been pretty pear shaped until now! I've moved my mum over to Italy so I can look after her and it's only very recently that my life has taken on some sort of normality!

And so now I can finally start to dedicate some time to doing up my Series III. I've been thinking a lot about what I'd like to do with it and I've decided to start with a brand new chassis. I'm also considering opting for coil springs instead of leaf springs. Are there any chassis manufacturers who'll add coil spring mounts to a chassis before galvanising it? I'm not looking to create some sort of prototype or anything like that but I'm not convinced by leaf springs. Also, is it possible to get the vehicle's serial number stamped onto the chassis? Over here it's illegal to drive a vehicle without the serial number stamped on it!
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Sorry to hear that Mandy! Condolences to you and yer Mum.

Hope the series takes your mind off it for a while.
 
We used the garden hose to fill the radiator and also had to top it up while the engine was running. There was also a puddle of diesel fuel because we changed the fuel filter and I didn't insert the bottom gasket properly so then had to take it off again. The injectors and pump needed bleeding but you could hear she wanted to start once we got her connected to a decent battery. I've been wanting to get the engine turning since December when I brought her home but life got in the way. I feel like I've finally got a set of wheels again although it will take me a while to get her sorted!

I've decided on a new chassis and parabolics. I'm doing my homework! I've also gone through dad's tools so I have a better idea of what I'm missing.
 
Glad you are going for parabolics instead of coils. Coils might improve a series but they also stop it from being a series because you take away some of its character. Same with pas and disk brakes. Well done on getting it started and rescuing another classic landy. We all look forward to watching your progress.

Col
 
I've finally started to take the Series 3 apart and was wondering if there are any good threads, websites or you tube channels I can use as a reference? I've started trying to detach the wings and have to work out how to get the bonnet off on my own. Was thinking of putting a few layers of heavy duty cardboard over the engine just in case I drop it!
 
Mandy said:
I've finally started to take the Series 3 apart and was wondering if there are any good threads, websites or you tube channels I can use as a reference? I've started trying to detach the wings and have to work out how to get the bonnet off on my own. Was thinking of putting a few layers of heavy duty cardboard over the engine just in case I drop it!
Click to expand...

It is easier with an assistant. But if I am on my own, what I do is undo all the fixings, remove the bonnet stay and stand the bonnet up against the windscreen.
Then I stand on the wings, straddling the engine bay, and holding the nose of the bonnet central, I lift it up so it is balanced, and lower it down beside the vehicle.
If you are not as tall as I am, you may need to stand with one foot on the wing, and one on top of the engine.
 
Managed to get the bonnet off by standing on the wings and lifting it off its hinges. Then laid the bonnet on top of the wings, hopped onto the floor and got it off that way.

I've taken the first wing off (left hand side) which was a bit of an odyssey seeing as I had no idea what I was doing and every wing removal video I've watched shows you a shot with the wing on and then another shot with the wing removed and what goes on in between is a mystery! I also discovered that it's a pretty fiddly job to do on your own. I sprayed loads of lubricant on all the nuts and bolts and left it to do its thing for 24 hours. Amazingly some of the nuts and bolts came off really easily but others were so badly rusted I had to use the angle grinder to get them off. The worst were the screws on the floor panels - some came off with an impact driver and others had to be chopped off with the grinder. I didn't have one of those 14mm extra long socket spanners for getting the bolts fixing the wing to the bulkhead off but managed to join up a couple of extension bars and that did the trick. A little while ago I was tempted to buy one of those trolley things for getting around underneath but have discovered that a 20kg bag of dog kibble does the job pretty well.

I started on the the other wing this afternoon and the second bolt down was a total nightmare: not enough room to get the socket spanner on the bolt and nowhere to wedge the spanner in on the other side. I eventually managed to get the thing off with a back nut tap spanner and a large screwdriver holding the nut on the back and a bog standard spanner to get the bolt off. Anyway, got all the bolts joining the wing to the radiator off, the floor screws off, the bottom nuts and bolts on the mud guard. Hopefully I'll get the top ones off tomorrow along with the bolts on the bulkhead and finally get the second wing to come off.
 
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Mandy said:
Managed to get the bonnet off by standing on the wings and lifting it off its hinges. Then laid the bonnet on top of the wings, hopped onto the floor and got it off that way.

I've taken the first wing off (left hand side) which was a bit of an odyssey seeing as I had no idea what I was doing and every wing removal video I've watched shows you a shot with the wing on and then another shot with the wing removed and what goes on in between is a mystery! I also discovered that it's a pretty fiddly job to do on your own. I sprayed loads of lubricant on all the nuts and bolts and left it to do its thing for 24 hours. Amazingly some of the nuts and bolts came off really easily but others were so badly rusted I had to use the angle grinder to get them off. The worst were the screws on the floor panels - some came off with an impact driver and others had to be chopped off with the grinder. I didn't have one of those 14mm extra long socket spanners for getting the bolts fixing the wing to the bulkhead off but managed to join up a couple of extension bars and that did the trick. A little while ago I was tempted to buy one of those trolley things for getting around underneath but have discovered that a 20kg bag of dog kibble does the job pretty well.
View attachment 138418
I started on the the other wing this afternoon and the second bolt down was a total nightmare: not enough room to get the socket spanner on the bolt and nowhere to wedge the spanner in on the other side. I eventually managed to get the thing off with a back nut tap spanner and a large screwdriver holding the nut on the back and a bog standard spanner to get the bolt off. Anyway, got all the bolts joining the wing to the radiator off, the floor screws off, the bottom nuts and bolts on the mud guard. Hopefully I'll get the top ones off tomorrow along with the bolts on the bulkhead and finally get the second wing to come off.
Click to expand...

I always found a lot of LR jobs went better with an assistant. They don't need to be particularly skilled, just with at least one hand to hold the spanner on the back, and similar. Long extension bars for sockets make a lot of jobs easier.
 
Turboman said:
I always found a lot of LR jobs went better with an assistant. They don't need to be particularly skilled, just with at least one hand to hold the spanner on the back, and similar. Long extension bars for sockets make a lot of jobs easier.
Click to expand...
Plus
A phone to call an ambulance
A gag to try and muffle the swearing
A pack of tissues to wipe the tears.
And a get away car for when the wife sees the mess on the drive
 
raywin said:
Plus
A phone to call an ambulance
A gag to try and muffle the swearing
A pack of tissues to wipe the tears.
And a get away car for when the wife sees the mess on the drive
Click to expand...

I always liked working on them. Don't get much chance nowadays, moved onto boats, they are much more difficult.
 
I haven’t got the luxury of an assistant so I’m doing it on my own. I got the other wing off today and used a bit of ingenuity to get some of the bolts off.
 
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Mandy said:
View attachment 138511 View attachment 138510 I haven’t got the luxury of an assistant so I’m doing it on my own. I got the other wing off today and used a bit of ingenuity to get some of the bolts off.
Click to expand...

Necessity is the Mother of invention! :) Nice one! :cool:

Bobsticle said:
Just caught up with this...................

Its in great condition. My daily drive looks worse :eek:
Click to expand...

That is exactly what I thought. I would have fettled that up a bit, and driven it for years! :D
 
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