My Beast - 1973 LWB SIII [Archive] - Australian Land Rover Owners

subasurf

22nd February 2010, 08:28 PM

Hi guys, haven't really posted up any pics of my beast so I figured I oughta start a diary thread. Anyhoo, details:

1973 Series III LWB 2 door hardtop with Holden 202 conversion.

Bought her for $500 around September 2009. Wasn't running when I bought her (hadn't moved in over a year) so we towed it off the previous owners front lawn and around the corner to a park using my Subaru. I spent the day playing around in the engine bay an realised the only reason she wouldn't kick over was because of crappy fuel lines. Not wanting to make a mess at the park I filled a juice bottle up with fuel and plumbed it straight into the mechanical fuel pump. This got me home (was only a few kilometres but we didn't want to tow because we had to cross a lot of very busy highways).

Replaced fuel lines, ignition leads and gave her a general service and tidy up and she was running a treat.
This is a rough clip of her after a bit of a light service. She's running much better these days. Blew the cobwebs out.
YouTube- Series III Land Rover running a bit rough
Popped her cherry by taking her down to Pemberton for a week of great 4WDing, fishing etc. Took my Subaru down there also, blew a clutch and we ended up towing the Subaru 400km back home at night using the Beast. Love it.

Anyway, pics.

subasurf

22nd February 2010, 08:33 PM

Spent today cleaning up the wiring. I'm fairly confident in the mechanical sturdiness of the beast but I know all to well how shocking the wiring is. It is an absolute bodge job of poor terminations, lack of solder and all round poor cobbling together. I don't trust it. I don't want to cross a river with it. I don't want to have to rely on it.

Replaced the two front lamps with sealed lamps I got from Malz auto (one was dead anyway). Replaced the shockingly old and rotten relays for the front beams and installed much smaller ones and started cleaning up. The wiring really was shocking. Redundant wires everywhere. Pulled loads out that didn't even need to be there. Got to work replacing all the ignition wiring but ran out of time for the day. I'll have a crack at it again tomorrow. I just really cannot stand wires everywhere, especially if I cannot make sense of it all.
Grease and grime I can handle, spaghetti wiring I cannot.

Anyhoo, that's where I'm up to so far. She needs a lot of work. I've got no plans to restore or even make it neat. Just want it reliable and somewhat comfortable enough to do some small trips in.

d@rk51d3

22nd February 2010, 09:10 PM

Excellent stuff. :cool:

She sounds great.

banjo

23rd February 2010, 10:52 AM

Good stuff

subasurf

23rd February 2010, 04:36 PM

Got a bit further with the wiring today but I'm taking a break. Been fiddly with the car for days on end and need a rest ;)
She's definitely running better than in her previous video. Took a quick vid today.
YouTube- 1973 Series III Land Rover update

I'm looking at removing the belt driven fan and installing electric fans. Should yield a VERY VERY slight increase in power/fuel economy but more importantly it'll make river crossings a bit safer. Anyone done this with a Holden Red? Is it just a matter of taking the fan off and that's that?

Also, I wired the lights up today so that they only run when the ignition is turned. I'm so use to the lights turning off on my Subaru when I kill the ignition that I get caught out a few times in these older vehicles.

Next on my list is to run a sight bit of water through the engine to blow out some of the built of carbon, then run a tank of BP 98 and then have a crack at tuning the timing properly. Fingers crossed.

agrojnr

23rd February 2010, 04:53 PM

With the fan you are right you just take off the old fan and install the electric one, just remember if you install in front of the rad then the fan must blow through and if installed on the engine side it must suck other wise when you start driving it won't cool correctly.

There are lots of mods you can do with the red motors running them on 98oct fuel will work and a better breathing exhaust will also help.

Ive had 2 with red motors.

Adam

subasurf

23rd February 2010, 05:00 PM

There are lots of mods you can do with the red motors running them on 98oct fuel will work and a better breathing exhaust will also help.

Ive had 2 with red motors.

Adam

Other than fuel and exhaust, what type of mods would you recommend. I'm intrigued :D Having this Landy has really made me fall in love with Holden reds. My dad was pretty stoked too when I showed him as he spent his youth screwing around with Toranas with reds in them also.

agrojnr

23rd February 2010, 07:28 PM

Cams, heads, holly carbs, shaving and porting etc etc

Its proberly wasted on the landy but you can do alot of the littler things to make it more everyday friendly

Adam

banjo

23rd February 2010, 08:53 PM

I got the blue 202 with holley 350...

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/02/354.jpg

The build pics are here if your interested .I rewired all of mine to tidy it up a bit..
Pictures by mebanjo - Photobucket (http://s247.photobucket.com/albums/gg122/mebanjo/)

subasurf

25th February 2010, 01:39 PM

Well I took the "beast" for a trip to the beach this morning for a surf. Much to my disappointment I noticed the clutch starting to slip on the way home :( Such a pain in the arse.

So basically, a SIII with a Holden 202, I'd be looking at buying a Holden clutch right?

banjo

25th February 2010, 05:15 PM

Na rover clutch ,The flywheen would of been welded & redrilled for the rover clutch...

subasurf

25th February 2010, 07:07 PM

Na rover clutch ,The flywheen would of been welded & redrilled for the rover clutch...

aaah spewing. Hmmm, wonder where I should get a new one.

Austin

26th February 2010, 12:08 AM

I did very similar to you and bought a S3 that needed work for cheap

Assuming its the landy gearbox then I have used these guys before and they were good (Vic)

Four Wheel Drives - Land Rovers New and Used Spare Parts - Home (http://www.fwd.com.au/)

I have just rebuilt the gearbox on mine and I did the clutch at the same time. I have to say I underestimated the time it took as I had to take the seat box and floor out to remove the gearbox through the passenger door. Still I am new to the game so maybe there is any easier way to do the clutch.

Good luck with that anyway

Cheers

A

banjo

26th February 2010, 07:41 AM

While you have the gearbox out cut the cross member out from the top so the cuts are are straight down on the inside of the chassis,then weld some 6mm plate on the ends so that it goes over the bit of cross member left on the chassis then drill 2 holes in each end on a diagonal then cut some plate to go inside the bit left on the chassis.Hold the cross member up & mark then drill all holes to suit .weld nuts to the bit that wll go in the chassis bits & tack in, then put the cross member back up to check everything fits ok..then it becomes a bolt in cross member....Thats what i did i now can take my gearbox out with out removing the floor or seat box..Much quicker.. Hope that helps..

JDNSW

26th February 2010, 08:04 AM

Actually you can do the clutch without removing the gearbox completely by moving it back as far as it goes (just). You still need to remove the seat box though. Did this in the middle of the Simpson Desert 45 years ago.

John

banjo

26th February 2010, 08:23 AM

Gees i'm a nice fella i just went & took use some pics..

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/5865/sdc10618k.jpg (http://img708.imageshack.us/i/sdc10618k.jpg/)

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/1676/sdc10619f.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/i/sdc10619f.jpg/)

subasurf

26th February 2010, 11:24 AM

wow thanks for the advice and photos banjo. Appreciate it. Might be something worth considering. Maybe not on this clutch change, but down the track if I decided to rebuild this, or another landy later in life.

Still haven't had a chance to strip the body work and inspect the chassis on my current beast to determine if it's even worth working on. The firewall is shot, I know that, but haven't been able to inspect everything else.
Don't have the room to pull her apart. :(

subasurf

1st March 2010, 10:29 PM

w00t. Getting some nice tyres for the beast tomorrow hopefully. Local guy is selling 4 desert duelers that are the right size for a very good price. Not brand new, but close enough. Finally, some half decent traction. Pics tomorrow. Hopefully.

subasurf

12th March 2010, 03:19 PM

Planning on changing all the drivetrain oil on the beast tomorrow. Looking at using Mild EP Penrite gear oil as recommended on this site. Was reading up on the technical info for this oil on the Penrite homepage and came across this:

"Use with caution if the oil is likely to come in
contact with water."

Is this anything to be concerned with? River crossings and all.

Sideroad

17th March 2010, 10:51 AM

Hey Jason,
I notice you have fitted a powersteering setup, I checked out your photobucket link and am wondering if you have a thread on the mods? What are the make and details on the column, pump, shafts and relay? I have plans to do the same mod one day, but would like to be as prepared with information before I pull the ute to bits:)
Thanks in advance for any help,
Nathan

Don't worry, i found the thread, thanks

Lakey

18th March 2010, 09:11 PM

Wish I had seen this twenty years ago! I did mine slightly differently - a bit more complex than this.

Hopefully it will hold when I get it back on the road.

Cheers
Lakey

subasurf

24th April 2010, 05:06 PM

After a long time not working on the Landy I
decided to get back into it.

Replaced the vacuum line today to the distributor today as the old one was cracked.
Also removed the distro and rebuild it and put it back in. Advanced the timing slightly which has FINALLY gotten rid of the hesitating nature of the engine when you really put the foot down.

Stoked.

series3

29th April 2010, 04:38 PM

I like the workbench, and your selection of tools!

subasurf

29th April 2010, 05:22 PM

A real man shouldn't need much more :D

Picking up some various parts for free this weekend off a semi-nearby fellow Landy owner. Including a truck cab :)

Desperately trying to decide what to do with the old beast. Needs a rebuild to be honest. Chassis needs a slight makeover and the holes in the firewall need patching.

agrojnr

29th April 2010, 09:14 PM

Keep an eye on my thread as Im about to start bulkhead repairs soon

Did you get the parts from Jonno???

Adam

subasurf

29th April 2010, 10:13 PM

Keep an eye on my thread as Im about to start bulkhead repairs soon

Did you get the parts from Jonno???

Adam

Picking up parts from HBWC in Serpentine :)

Also just sourced a decent bulkhead, new springs, shocks, windscreen and other bits from over east for a very good price. Just gotta get a quote on freight.

I desperately want to keep my Landy. I would feel like I'm letting her down by parting her out or getting rid of her. Basically I want to build up a reliable expedition rig.

Don't care about looks, paint etc. Just want solid mechanics (which I've got) on a solid chassis (chassis looks good at the moment, but haven't had a chance to strip the body for a proper look) with a decent firewall. Been pulling the dash apart on my Landy tonight (continue it tomorrow) to see if she's repairable or needs replacing. But to be honest, I've got no idea.

agrojnr, would you mind if someday I drove the beast around and got you to give me a more experienced opinion?

agrojnr

30th April 2010, 08:42 AM

subasurf

30th April 2010, 10:33 AM

Yer come round anytime ya more than welcome or I can pop in to you

Also on shipping give this mob a try I have used them in the past and they have been pretty good www.e-go.com.au (http://www.e-go.com.au)

Adam

Mate, you're a life saver. The quote was more than half of what other companies were giving me!!!

I'll be in serpentine in the morning tomorrow, maybe I should swing by Kelmscott if you're free?

agrojnr

30th April 2010, 11:50 AM

Yer I will be around till 10.30 or I will be home all day sunday

Adam

subasurf

30th April 2010, 12:16 PM

awesome. cheers.

Had another poke around the chassis today and found a couple more holes. Keeps getting worse and worse. I have a feeling I may be getting rid of the old girl :(

Pretty devastated. Don't think I can justify the time and money to rebuild :( I'll be looking at anothe S3 over the weekend hopefully. Looks to be in GREAT condition.
I just feel really gutted about my current baby. Don't want to see her scraped. Can't really afford to go on with her.