Tips when buying your first series III

**Jasedefender** · 5th May 2020, 10:23 AM

[QUOTE=gromit;2995913]This one ?
1977 Land Rover Series 3 SWB | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Port Stephens Area - Nelson Bay | 1245480481

Restored 2008.
Looks complete & original.
Have the galvanised parts been re galvanised, can't really tell but look like they're painted in the pictures.

Not sure Series III's are worth $20K yet but it is nice condition.

Colin

Is it a bad thing they are painted not Gal?

**goingbush** · 5th May 2020, 10:47 AM

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

I did look at this one but it would cost well over $6000 to even get it looking great and original dont you think.

And that 59 Series2 is 10K more than its worth in my opinion. Your right, it would cost way more than 6K to get it looking as good as the Series3 .

**Tins** · 5th May 2020, 11:04 AM

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

the good ones with no work needed.

**Tins** · 5th May 2020, 11:12 AM

You could do worse than watch these. Sure, they are specifically Defender vids, but there ain't that much difference.

**gromit** · 5th May 2020, 12:40 PM

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

Is it a bad thing they are painted not Gal?

Gal is correct and will last 50 plus years, paint is a low cost solution.
For a purist it devalues the vehicle if the galvanised parts are painted.

If you put it out for painting to the majority of paintshops they would probably paint rather than re- galvanise.

Is it painted rather than galvanised ??

Colin

**101RRS** · 5th May 2020, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

Is it a bad thing they are painted not Gal?

If you are paying top dollar for an "original" vehicle - it needs to be gal. If painted, indicates a shortcut not a restoration so what else is a shortcut.

As I and others have said, you need to research more to increase your knowledge before buying - you have come to the right place to develop that research.

Garry

**Jasedefender** · 5th May 2020, 01:30 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

If you are paying top dollar for an "original" vehicle - it needs to be gal. If painted, indicates a shortcut not a restoration so what else is a shortcut.

As I and others have said, you need to research more to increase your knowledge before buying - you have come to the right place to develop that research.

Garry

I just want to make sure I get a good Quality one my love for landys was from being in the Army. So I do know my way around the military ones but really want a series III. All very good points and I thank you all heaps. Hard when it is in Newcastle and I am QLD.

Gal does see the right way to go as I want to be able to pass this car off onto my son.

Thanks again

**Tins** · 5th May 2020, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

"original" vehicle - it needs to be gal.

Garry

Save the Perentie, which Series or Defender was "original"ly gal ( Mick Marsh will argue that the Perentie is neither Series nor Defender. He's probably correct. )? I've never seen one. They all rust.

If I had the $$$ every LR I ever own would be gal ( I have a 69 FIAT that I wish was ), but it ain't original. The ARA specified gal for the Perentie chassis, and they will last your lifetime.

**Tins** · 5th May 2020, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

I just want to make sure I get a good Quality one my love for landys was from being in the Army. So I do know my way around the military ones but really want a series III. All very good points and I thank you all heaps. Hard when it is in Newcastle and I am QLD.

Gal does see the right way to go as I want to be able to pass this car off onto my son.

Thanks again

I don't believe that you will find a Series III that fits your needs. They were not galvanised, they are most certainly not something that " won't need any work", they seem hugely over priced, and they aren't any better than S IIs, and they lose the charm of a II or IIa. I own a S III. It's a Land Rover, no question, but my one, at least, ( 1980 ) had to comply with crash pad laws, and instrument viewing laws, and it lost all the charm of the older cars, without giving the benefits of the newer ones. In a way it was an orphan of the brief laws of the time. The only advantage of a S III in my opinion is that it will be cheaper than a Series II or a County ( I believe the designation was 90 or 110, but there is a whole murky argument right there, so I use the County to designate the first of the Defenders. You could write a book on this and end your life arguing..). The earlier Series will be dearer but will hold value, they will have the 'quaint' instrument "cluster" in the middle, and will be mechanically virtually identical, and the County will be superior in every way while still being a Land Rover. Depends on what you want, but the S III is possibly the worst car to choose barring price. No way is a S III worth 20K unless it once belonged to the Queen ( my opinion with some sarc.. ), or some old Sheik put diamonds in the switches. If I'm wrong then I'm sitting on a gold mine......

**JDNSW** · 5th May 2020, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Tins

I don't believe that you will find a Series III that fits your needs. They were not galvanised, they are most certainly not something that " won't need any work", they seem hugely over priced, and they aren't any better than S IIs, and they lose the charm of a II or IIa. I own a S III. It's a Land Rover, no question, but my one, at least, ( 1980 ) had to comply with crash pad laws, and instrument viewing laws, and it lost all the charm of the older cars, without giving the benefits of the newer ones. In a way it was an orphan of the brief laws of the time. The only advantage of a S III in my opinion is that it will be cheaper than a Series II or a County ( I believe the designation was 90 or 110, but there is a whole murky argument right there, so I use the County to designate the first of the Defenders. You could write a book on this and end your life arguing..). The earlier Series will be dearer but will hold value, they will have the 'quaint' instrument "cluster" in the middle, and will be mechanically virtually identical, and the County will be superior in every way while still being a Land Rover. Depends on what you want, but the S III is possibly the worst car to choose barring price. No way is a S III worth 20K unless it once belonged to the Queen ( my opinion with some sarc.. ), or some old Sheik put diamonds in the switches. If I'm wrong then I'm sitting on a gold mine......

For many people the 'advantage' of a Series 3 is the all synchro gearbox - most of the modern generation have never learned to live without synchromesh. There are a few other improvements, such as the alternator, but these are easy upgrades to the 2 or 2a.

The successor to Series Landrovers was the '110' followed a couple of years later by the '90' (but not in Australia). The 110 became loosely known as the 'County' here, because most of the ones sold were station wagons, all of which were fitted with the County level trim (carpets, tinted glass, rear window demister, probably a few other trimmings that escape me for the moment), and had the name 'County' in large letters on the sides. All 110s sold in Australia were fitted with either the V8 or the Isuzu, and uniquely Australian models included an extended wheelbase cab/chassis and a 6x6. The 110 was also the basis for the Perentie in its various forms.

The 110 ceased production in Australia in 1989 (although some may have still been on sale in 1990) and no replacement was initially intended, as the company moved to the new Discovery as its mainstay. With the introduction of the Discovery, the term Landrover was changed to a marque name rather than a model name, and the 110 and 90, updated with the new 200Tdi engine (only) were renamed as the Defender. Because of local pressure, by about 1992 the Defender was reintroduced to the market as a fully imported vehicle, mostly only the 110 and 130, but from the late nineties every few years a few 90s were sold.

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painted not Gal

Thanks heaps

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