J

JohnnyP1

New Member
Hi all my name is john I recently purchased a 1971 Land Rover series 3 109 (ffr/ military chassis) with 2.25 running gear but is in need of electrical and engine restoration can any one point me in the right direction here as to were I can get this done it is not drivable at the moment.
Thanks
John
 
Hello John, welcome to the zone and congratulations on the purchase of your series 3. Regarding fixing the engine and electrical system, it's more fun and agony in equal measure to do it yourself. It will be a great way of learning about your vehicle. I can't recommend anyone in the London area but I suppose Google will be a place to start. Getting a garage to fix your pride and joy will cost and lass and less of them are happy to work on the oldies.

Col
 
Colthebrummie said:
Hello John, welcome to the zone and congratulations on the purchase of your series 3. Regarding fixing the engine and electrical system, it's more fun and agony in equal measure to do it yourself. It will be a great way of learning about your vehicle. I can't recommend anyone in the London area but I suppose Google will be a place to start. Getting a garage to fix your pride and joy will cost and lass and less of them are happy to work on the oldies.

Col
Click to expand...
Hi Col,
Thanks for the reply unfortunately I actually am not mechanically minded enough to do it myself however as it is not in London at the moment I can trailer it to wherever it needs to go to get it road ready if you have any persons or garages in mind that would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
John
 
JohnnyP1 said:
Hi Col,
Thanks for the reply unfortunately I actually am not mechanically minded enough to do it myself however as it is not in London at the moment I can trailer it to wherever it needs to go to get it road ready if you have any persons or garages in mind that would be greatly appreciated
Click to expand...

You don't need to be mechanically minded currently to be able to do it yourself. Just start with something small and manageable and you will be amazed how quickly you pick it up and even the largest jobs become manageable. I got my first land rover 10 years ago at 18, not knowing which end of spanner to hold. I started with the things that needed fixing as they broke using the workshop manual, haynes manual and the forums. There are lots of very good how to guides on her and online, and plenty of youtube videos explaining how to do things. Half the fun of having an old land rover is working on it yourself. Not to mention if you start paying a garage to do everything that need fixing you will very quickly have spent more than you paid for the vehicle and become resentful of it being a money pit.

If you give some more details of what the problems are im sure people here will be bale to give you suggestions and point you towards guides to fix it. some might even be local enough to you to come and have a look with you and lend a hand.

Does the engine run? is it petrol of deisel? Is it not drivable beacuse there is not mot or is it not drivable because it does not drive at all?
 
Thanks but I don't feel confident enough to have a go and fear of cause more damage than it already has the vehicle is a petrol and hasn't been started since 1995 the last owner said Mechanically -nothing has been done to the engine with exception to the bores being filled with diesel electrically it has all been cut off and I think it will need a total rewrite and new brake system fitted it is a big job that I don't think I can do as I don't even own a spanner set lol but I would like to get this repaired as soon as possible if I can get a garage to do the main bits I can have ago at others like interiors and stuff?
Thanks
John
 
You really do need to do the wiring yourself and it would be best to do the brakes yourself too but get someone to help you and check your work. The costs of a rewire and brake replacement could easily get to more than the cost of the vehicle. The whole point of Series ownership is that these are vehicles that are owner maintained and there's no better time to start than now. Start with the wiring, read up - get some basic books on vehicle wiring and get started. If you wire it yourself you will truely understand how it works and why and you will know how to fix it at the roadside. Land Rovers were sold as "field serviceable", that's a whole step below "user serviceable", its a user in a field! I think we would all agree that Land Rover assumed a signficant degree of skill, but the core point remains, they are very simple.
 
Welcome aboard :)

I agree with everyone above, DIY is the way forward - you will learn an enormous amount, gain confidence in equal measure, and an immeasurable amount of satisfaction too.

There are garages out there who are trustworthy, but they are so thin on the ground that you could spend thousands and be no further forward :(

Best of luck with it - if you post some piccies up, folk will help with advise on where to start ;)
 
JohnnyP1 said:
Hi all my name is john I recently purchased a 1971 Land Rover series 3 109 (ffr/ military chassis) with 2.25 running gear but is in need of electrical and engine restoration can any one point me in the right direction here as to were I can get this done it is not drivable at the moment.
Thanks
John
Click to expand...
Hi John
Welcome to Landyzone and well done for the purchase of a series 3...you will see from my profile I only joined in January as myself and my son have bought our 1st series 3 too..to be honest I nor my son have any experience but we have bought the repair operations manual (green bible) , the parts book and the Haynes manual and in a month we have managed to correctly restore the electrics ..properly. The one thing though that has helped us both is Landyzone and don’t be shy of posting a question or feeling silly doing so as we all have to start somewhere...in fact I see that Col has answered you and he helped me last night. One final point...enjoy it..I have to say it is great bonding with my son and I finding it relaxing...all the best Spencer
 
Thanks disco and Spencer I will see what I can do but I do not have a garage or a drive so i would have to use the public road to Carry out the repairs or rent a garage which would be as easily costly as I only get one day off work every 2 weeks at the moment but once again thank you all for the support I will look for these manuals and see what I can dontongetbstarted on this
Thanks
John
 
If you search under "stuck rings help" you will find pictures of me re-sleeving a cylinder block in situe in the street, first time I'd ever done it. Not ideal but it can be done. I did a complete rewire outside in November - ran an extention lead out with a work light and fan heater. Trouble was I'd aways forget one tool or crimp and have to open the door and loose all my warm air again. Hardest part - not stepping on the soldering iron!
 
Talk to all your mates about it, one of them will probably know someone who would be willing to take a look at it and do some of the work just for the fun of working on an old landrover. It's amazing how many people stop to talk to me when I'm tinkering with mine. Lots of them begin by saying "I had one of those years ago" and then give you their life story. Alternatively ask around for a recommendation for a local, friendly garage and then have a word with them about what they can and can't do and how much it might cost. Not all local garages have a qualified auto electrician so a complete rewire might be something they won't be interested in doing that bit of the work but they may then recommend someone who is. Not having any spare time or mechanical ability is a definite drawback in owning a series landy. What made you buy one that doesn't work.

Col
 
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