Thread: Tips when buying your first series III

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......

Awesome right up so thank you, puts some things into perspective, I might start researching the 2 a or 2 also, I am not in a bug rush at all and the current global climate suits that also for a buyer. So I will keep having a look. I only like the SWB variants and want to also be able to take the roof off as I do live in QLD and tolling country side for short drives is just behind where I live.

Thanks again for your informative info.

So great that on here people actually take the time to write back and provide great info.

I look forward to finding my right fit and joining the club.

Jase

Originally Posted by gromit

We're talking about the door cappings, tailgate hinges, windscreen frame etc.
Galvanised on Series I, II & III but not on County onwards (maybe early Countys ?)

In the pictures it looks like the parts that were originally galvanised have been painted.

As has been mentioned.....To get a Series III into the condition of the one being sold would probably take more than $20K if you had to outsource a lot of the work. Will you get your money back short term most probably no so it's not an investment but it's a fast way to getting a Series III restored & ready to use.


Colin

So true I have been looking for a long time and what comes up is a lot of S III that need a big garage and work space to work on them. I do not have the luxury of owning such space. I am pretty handy Mech and just need to make sure I buying the right one. If its been painted over Gal it should be even more protected?


Thanks for your Reply Colin.

Keep in mind that as prices have risen in the UK scouts have scoured Australia looking for decent condition Landys to repatriate and sell there.
This includes JLR's Classics division, which restores them to as new and sells for big sums. One is featured in a Land Rover Monthly I'm reading now. So its getting harder to find good Series here.
That's one reason I mentioned the Frontline vehicles, as at least they were maintained by the military.
Good luck with your search.

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

If its been painted over Gal it should be even more protected?

John,
Depends what they did to the galv before painting......
To the purist it's not right so would devalue it.

My Series I was fixed up (not restored) under a tarp on the driveway.
It now has a shed but by fixing some timber on the roofrack the tarp was held off the vehicle and i lifted a section to work on it.

Colin

Originally Posted by JDNSW

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.

That's true, I'd forgotten that as I always double declutch going into first out of a long standing habit, even in the D1 with the R380.

Originally Posted by gromit

We're talking about the door cappings, tailgate hinges, windscreen frame etc.
Galvanised on Series I, II & III but not on County onwards (maybe early Countys ?)
.......

Colin

They were galvanised up to the change to push button door handles in 1987. Not windscreen frames, as all coil sprung Landrovers had alloy frames (painted). Military ones probably continued the galvanising later, and all(?) Perenties had galvanised chassis, and I think so did the civilian 6x6s.

Originally Posted by Jasedefender

I am looking at buying a 1977 Series III for around $20,000 what should check before purchasing.

Your Bank account would be a good place to start. Good luck with whatever you buy.

If the LR you are looking at that is in the Gumtree add , I would be asking how often it had been on the beach as one of the shots shows it on the beach.