Thread: Series 3 Rebuild.

The first attempt at bolting the gearbox back together was futile as the mainshaft ended up being 5mm too long. I pulled the whole thing apart again to find a synchro ring had fallen as I was putting in the mainshaft and jammed on an angle. I replaced he synchro ring as it was now buckled. As I had to hit a bearing on the outer race during disassembly I forked out $60 for another imperial bearing. Lesson learnt.

On the second attempt I put too much force on the layshaft bearing support bracket on final assembly, crossthreaded two of the bolts and had to pull the whole box apart again to replace it.

The gearbox is now back together and filled with oil. Let's hope it works...it's my first attempt at ever building a gearbox

Still waiting for the chassis and firewall to come back from hot dipping.

I've added a breather, sender, suction and return to my custom fuel tank.

I've checked the axles in my Discovery and found them to be ten spline which means the diff centres will fit into my S3 assemblies.

I've started pulling the rear diff apart ready to replace bearings etc.

Also currently looking at solutions for correcting the speedo after the diff ratios are changed.

As you can see, I'm a mechanical imbecile on an emotional roller coaster, but I'm getting there! Good thing this is a Land Rover and not a Porsche.

Picked up the chassis and firewall from the hot dip galvaniser today. The chassis has minimal warping. My measurements from front to back off the floor have shown that it has warped vertically less than 5mm, which does not worry me at all. The only place it has warped has been on the two wings that support the front of the tub. It looks to me as though they have pulled it out and rested it upside down on those two tabs while hot which has caused them to bend in. Nothing I won't be able to fix in 15 minutes with a rubber mallet and a piece of solid steel.

As I predicted, the firewall is much, much worse. The drivers side outer support has bent like a banana! I'm confident that if I support it the right way and apply some even hydraulic pressure, I'll be able to get it straight again.

I know I've told you one of my brothers is an industrial welder and heavy duty truck body builder... well the other is an automotive panel beater and he'll be around tomorrow to lend a hand.

Overall I'm very happy I went down the hot gal route. By the end of tomorrow everything should be straight again and I won't have to worry about rust or holes in the footwells for a long, long time.

By the way, the cost of sandblasting and hot dipping both items came to just under $500.

Nice work TJ!

It looks to me like some Bozo on the forklift has dropped your chassis on the ground, which is what they did to my S1, necessitating a cut with the angle grinder and weld to fix the fuel tank outrigger

I don't think a rubber mallet will be much use to straighten it - try using a bottle jack sitting on the floor with a block and chain underneath it and stretched over the top of the chassis. Protect the chassis with timber blocks and push on the underneath of the attachment points with a suitable piece of steel cut to shape. When the load comes on, relieve the stress by giving the top of the bent bit a tap with a heavy hammer. Your brother will know how to do it in any case.

I suspect the drop not the heat caused your chassis to warp - mine didn't warp at all.

Bad luck about the bulkhead I have heard from others that they can warp, so I didn't get mine done. In your case a brace made from tube between the lower mounting points and one across the gearbox tunnel, might have helped to stop it moving.

Finally, whilst you are cleaning up threads etc. of excess zinc you might like to hear of this tip sent to me by a friend. When cleaning the zinc out of the suspension bush mounting holes, he uses an LPG torch to soften the zinc and a small rotary wire brush in a drill, to wipe it off.

I had already painted the chassis when he told me about this, so I used the small emery flap-wheels that can be used in a drill to do mine. It worked surprisingly quickly, however, the hot method has the advantage of leaving a smear of zinc to protect the surface - I used Loctite Anti-seize to protect mine,

Cheers Charlie

Thanks for some good tips Chazza. The idea of the little wire brush on the end of the drill with some heat is great. I have heat available and will buy one of those brushes today. I have an imperial tap and die set too, so I'll see how I go.

For anyone galvanizing a firewall in the future, yes, a piece of square tube bolted between the chassis supports would have prevented most of the warping I have, so take note!

Nice Work TJ
Have you considered using the Disco gearbox/TC???
Im sure its possible,would be nice having 5 gears in a Series.
Im always keeping an eye out for a shorty.My first was a Ser2 88 inch.
Got all the bits to build a Stage1 Shorty,running either the rover V8 constant 4x4 or Ford V8 and auto
Andrew

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Nice Work TJ
Have you considered using the Disco gearbox/TC???
Im sure its possible,would be nice having 5 gears in a Series.
Im always keeping an eye out for a shorty.My first was a Ser2 88 inch.
Got all the bits to build a Stage1 Shorty,running either the rover V8 constant 4x4 or Ford V8 and auto
Andrew

Thanks LandyAndy. Yeah I had considered using the gearbox, but I'd need to update my front axle as well to update to full time 4wd and I think you end up with the gearstick too far back. While I have everything out I'm going to check it all out for myself though and see what fits.

one thing i have found with a friends 1971 IIA is that the gearbox number wasnt stamped anywhere where it shouldve been.... it was actually stamped on the top cover for the gearbox where the shifter sits

Originally Posted by LandyAndy

Nice Work TJ
Have you considered using the Disco gearbox/TC???
Im sure its possible,would be nice having 5 gears in a Series.
Im always keeping an eye out for a shorty.My first was a Ser2 88 inch.
Got all the bits to build a Stage1 Shorty,running either the rover V8 constant 4x4 or Ford V8 and auto
Andrew

A Fraud engine!

I think I have read that an auto box in a SWB makes the rear prop shaft too short Andrew but I am probably wrong

I have considered all of this as I want to make one of my S3 wagons into a ute and I have decided the easiest way is to fit an overdrive. As soon as I can get my hands on a 200tdi Disco at a reasonable price I will give it a go,

Cheers Charlie

PS drop around and have a look at the S1 progress next time you are in Narrogin on a weekend