Thread: Series III SWB Soft Top Rear Seats - Advice Needed

Check with the Hohars on here as they have a Series 3 88" soft top registered in Qld.
It may have rear seats.


Cheers, Mick.

As early as the 1960s Australians were buying lwb four wheel drives for almost all purposes. And these were, by then, tending to tray backs for utility use (probably as forklifts started to become generally available for loading at the rural store), unless security was necessary, when a hardtop was specified.

If it was intended to carry passengers, either side seats in a lwb hardtop, as in the FJ45 troopie, or the 109 wagon (although by Series 3 time, it would mostly have been a Landcruiser if passengers were in mind).

Soft tops, either long or short, lost favour in Australia in the 1960s, probably because of their relatively short life in Australian conditions, high cost of replacement, and lack of security, together with increasing disposable income meant that the cost difference was less important. Another factor may have been the noise when travelling at increasing highway speeds and dust ingress.

The final refuge of the swb rag top was the farm runabout - without rear seats. And this function was largely replaced by the Suzuki 4x4 and then four wheel motorbikes.

John

Now that you have reminded me John. Suzuki soft tops were available with a rear seat. I recall a couple of friends who had Suzuki Sieras in the 1980's, and they were fitted with forward facing rear seats. So the series 3 soft top would been in the category. Cheers, Mick.

Originally Posted by mick88

Now that you have reminded me John. Suzuki soft tops were available with a rear seat. I recall a couple of friends who had Suzuki Sieras in the 1980's, and they were fitted with forward facing rear seats. So the series 3 soft top would been in the category. Cheers, Mick.

And Mokes

Originally Posted by mick88

Now that you have reminded me John. Suzuki soft tops were available with a rear seat. I recall a couple of friends who had Suzuki Sieras in the 1980's, and they were fitted with forward facing rear seats. So the series 3 soft top would been in the category. Cheers, Mick.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

And Mokes

I had that conversation with the DoT chap and he acknowledged the point, both about the Suzuki and the Moke, but said that because they were built like that it was fine... but SWB Series IIIs were never supplied to the Australian market as soft tops with seats in the back, which means that I can't do it now.

Which really brings me back to the crux of the issue which is that I need some sort of official record or document to demonstrate that the Series III was marketed by Land Rover as a soft top in Aus with inwards facing bench seats.

I can do this for the 109, because the ADF had over 2000 of them. I can also do it for the Series IIa SWB because the ADF had lots of those as well. The problem is that the ADF didn't have any Series III 88s in this configuration so the best source of records doesn't apply. (Actually I believe that they may have had 6 SWB Series IIIs for trials purposes, but I can't find any official records about this, nor determine if they were fitted with rear seats).

I may be able to blag it with the man from the DoT, show him the evidence from the ADF about the 109 and try to steer him towards the idea that it applied to 88s as well. That is certainly what I will try if I can't find a single example of soft top SWB in the records.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

And Mokes

As a matter of interest, do you happen to know how Mokes are classed in Australia on the registration documents?

Are they 'UTE' or something else?

Originally Posted by Alistair

As a matter of interest, do you happen to know how Mokes are classed in Australia on the registration documents?

Are they 'UTE' or something else?

My Victorian registered ones are Body Type: UTIL
Even the four seater (which I no longer own).

The other four seater I have is SA registered. Body Type is listed as: TOURER.

PM me you email address.

Originally Posted by Alistair

As a matter of interest, do you happen to know how Mokes are classed in Australia on the registration documents?

Are they 'UTE' or something else?

My Moke is WA registered as a 2 seat UTE even though it has 4 seats using factory seats and seatbelt mountings. I possibly now regret not forcing this issue more vigorously when I registered it recently. Watching your progress with interest!!