Series 3 109

[ashc]

Hi, been on the forum a while but not much action until now. I have finally dragged my 109 out of storage and the task of getting her running again has begun, a lot easier now it is home and not and hours drive away. Here is the run down so far:

1974 Series 3 109
Registered
Holden 186 conversion
- Appears to be a Seatons conversion
- HEI ignition
- No chassis cutting or modification
Has an interesting oil filter plumbed in through the oil pressure sender hole and back in through the sump. This will go as it leaks badly (has been great for chassis preservation over the years though)
Oil sump has been modified to hold more oil maybe? has a another 1/2" plug on the drivers side.
Electronic ign and a 350 Holley.

Immediate Tasks
- Cooling system overhaul
- Braking system overhaul
- Clutch hydraulics overhaul
- Rear X member repair (should get away with a few patches)
- New oil/filters/plugs
- New tyres (second hand)

Once these are done it will be drive able and roadworthy. I have set myself a budget of $1500 to get her back on the road as i have some of the parts already.

Long Term Tasks
Fuel system overhaul
Simplify/tidy up/modernise electrics
Bulkhead repairs Only a minor amount of rust around passenger side windscreen and drivers footwell (thanks to a leaky Clutch MC)
Suspension overhaul

[Homestar]

Always good to get the motivation to dust off an old project and get stuck back in. 👍😊

[ashc]

Thanks, hope the motivation hangs around!

Pulled out the radiator today and it is stuffed. Lucky I had a spare that looked OK, however it was tested and it leaks from the core.......bugger.

Radiator shop quoted $550 for a re core, which shoots a massive hole in the budget. There seems to be a mixed bag of results from ebay aluminium radiators and the Land Rover to Holden ones seem to have tripled in price since I last looked. I like the idea of a Torana radiator and they seem reasonably priced for the ally knock offs.

Anyway here is my collection of stuffed radiators. I might strip them down, keep the tanks and scrap the cores. They may be useful.

[ashc]

I had my suspicions that my Land Rover may have been a six cylinder from the factory, but was not sure owing to the fact that I have not seen many two door 109's in this configuration. The fact that the chassis was not cut for the Holden conversion, the shape of the lift pump under the drivers seat and the factory oil cooler behind the grill raised my attention, however I though the six cyl had a dual circuit braking system (mine does not).

Clifton scientific confirms that the 943 prefix on the chassis number is indeed a six cyl. The next phase of my investigation will be to pull the front wheels and check the brake diameter.

[gromit]

The radiator looks like a Series III 4-cyl one, reasonable price from the UK but shipping adds considerably Radiator 2286cc/4cyl Standard type (3 core) - Paddock Spares (http://www.paddockspares.com/577609-radiator-2286cc-4cyl-standard-type-3-core.html)
Most of the local LR suppliers will keep them.

The front brakes were wider on the 6-cylinder. You only have to look at the brake drum to determine which it is..... the standard 11" has a wide chamfer on the outer edge the wider 6-cylinder ones don't have the chamfer. I'll take a picture tonight if I remember.


Colin

[nickcundy]

Nice car! That looks like an oil cooler behind the front grill?

Should be able to tell wether it was a 6 or 4 by the bulkhead shape - particularly the removable panels around the gear stick lever.

Good luck with the budget - I failed at that!

[67hardtop]

You can buy new radiators from between $250 and $450 locally if you look around on ebay.

Cheers Rod

[gromit]

Front brake drum differences 6-cyl & 4-cyl LWB are shown below.

As mentioned, the bulkhead and panels round the gearstick are different but you'd need pictures to show the differences.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/633.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DTL4v4)Brake Drums (https://flic.kr/p/DTL4v4) by Colin Radley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152321353@N07/), on Flickr

6-Cylinder bulkhead
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/635.jpg

Another 6-cylinder (Series III)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/637.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DTMFAP)DSCN3996 (https://flic.kr/p/DTMFAP) by Colin Radley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152321353@N07/), on Flickr

4-Cylinder bulkhead
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/636.jpg


Colin

[Sideroad]

Hi, been on the forum a while but not much action until now. I have finally dragged my 109 out of storage and the task of getting her running again has begun, a lot easier now it is home and not and hours drive away. Here is the run down so far:

1974 Series 3 109
Registered
Holden 186 conversion
- Appears to be a Seatons conversion
- HEI ignition
- No chassis cutting or modification
Has an interesting oil filter plumbed in through the oil pressure sender hole and back in through the sump. This will go as it leaks badly (has been great for chassis preservation over the years though)
Oil sump has been modified to hold more oil maybe? has a another 1/2" plug on the drivers side.
Electronic ign and a 350 Holley.

Immediate Tasks
- Cooling system overhaul
- Braking system overhaul
- Clutch hydraulics overhaul
- Rear X member repair (should get away with a few patches)
- New oil/filters/plugs
- New tyres (second hand)

Once these are done it will be drive able and roadworthy. I have set myself a budget of $1500 to get her back on the road as i have some of the parts already.

Long Term Tasks
Fuel system overhaul
Simplify/tidy up/modernise electrics
Bulkhead repairs Only a minor amount of rust around passenger side windscreen and drivers footwell (thanks to a leaky Clutch MC)
Suspension overhaulLooks tidy. Those engine mods look interesting. I've always thought remote oil filter is a good idea where it hard to get at, but that's not a problem in a LR with a golden.
The extra sump is also interesting, maybe the PO extended to oil pickup into the mini sump for when at odd angles off-road. Not sure how much benefit it would have for the effort though. Maybe don't ditch the setup just yet.
I always had over heating issues with my Holden/LR setup, maybe adding an oil cooler inline with the remote filter could help with cooling. Just a thought.

[Sideroad]

Thanks, hope the motivation hangs around!

Pulled out the radiator today and it is stuffed. Lucky I had a spare that looked OK, however it was tested and it leaks from the core.......bugger.

Radiator shop quoted $550 for a re core, which shoots a massive hole in the budget. There seems to be a mixed bag of results from ebay aluminium radiators and the Land Rover to Holden ones seem to have tripled in price since I last looked. I like the idea of a Torana radiator and they seem reasonably priced for the ally knock offs.

Anyway here is my collection of stuffed radiators. I might strip them down, keep the tanks and scrap the cores. They may be useful.I had no end of trouble with Torana rads, they just couldn't keep up with the cooling. Maybe the alloy ones would make the difference, but not confident.
I ended up finding a recon GQ patrol 4 core at the wreckers. Much better cooling, but still got hot on slow hill climbs.

[ashc]

Front brake drum differences 6-cyl & 4-cyl LWB are shown below.

As mentioned, the bulkhead and panels round the gearstick are different but you'd need pictures to show the differences.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/633.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DTL4v4)Brake Drums (https://flic.kr/p/DTL4v4) by Colin Radley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152321353@N07/), on Flickr

6-Cylinder bulkhead
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/635.jpg

Another 6-cylinder (Series III)
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/637.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DTMFAP)DSCN3996 (https://flic.kr/p/DTMFAP) by Colin Radley (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152321353@N07/), on Flickr

4-Cylinder bulkhead
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2018/01/636.jpg


Colin

Thanks Colin, will check mine out on the weekend. The 6 cyl bulkheads look very similar to mine.

[ashc]

I had no end of trouble with Torana rads, they just couldn't keep up with the cooling. Maybe the alloy ones would make the difference, but not confident.
I ended up finding a recon GQ patrol 4 core at the wreckers. Much better cooling, but still got hot on slow hill climbs.

This sounds like an interesting option, how did it go fitting behind the radiator support panel? They look massive!

[Sideroad]

Fitting the GQ rad was easy. I ditched the engine fan and ran an electric thermo in front of rad. I was able to fit the rad even though it is much higher than an LR unit. I dropped the bottom of rad down behind the front cross member. Just needed to make a couple of simple mounts to suit the GQ factory mounts.
When I bought the 2a it had a toran rad and filler was same or even a bit below engine thermostat housing. Easy to have air lock, so rad change fixed that too.
Must use good big thermo fan and mount tight to rad face. I ran a 5mm gap that allowed too much air to bypass giving too much heat on hill climbs.

[Sideroad]

I just realised I had a brain fart.
It wasn't from a GQ, but the P60/G60, late '60s early 70's patrol.
Sorry for the wild goose chase, but I'm guessing they may be even rarer than good LR rads.
I was lucky to find one in a wrecker, recently reconditioned and almost as cheap as scrap.

[ashc]

Ha, thats ok. I have measured up a TB42 radiator (6 cyl petrol GQ) and it may actually fit, will need custom brackets but should do ok. Piping on the correct size and should be short enough to clear the bonnet. Heaps available and cheap as.