Thread: Land Rover Series 3 Bonnets

No that information is incorrect.

• The bonnet on the left is a deluxe bonnet that is not supposed to have a wheel carrier on.
• The bonnet on the right is the standard bonnet.
• There is a third bonnet, also a deluxe bonnet that has a recess and the fittings for the spare tyre.

The deluxe bonnets were fitted to vehicles with deluxe trim, such as station wagons. They were first fitted in 1958 and continued alongside the standard bonnet right through series 2/2a/3 Land Rover production.

You are correct about the heights of the bonnets, and that is also the reason that the deluxe bonnet for spare tyres has a wheel shaped recess so that the tyre does not obstruct forward vision too much.

Diana

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

No that information is incorrect.

• The bonnet on the left is a deluxe bonnet that is not supposed to have a wheel carrier on.
• The bonnet on the right is the standard bonnet.
• There is a third bonnet, also a deluxe bonnet that has a recess and the fittings for the spare tyre.

The deluxe bonnets were fitted to vehicles with deluxe trim, such as station wagons. They were first fitted in 1958 and continued alongside the standard bonnet right through series 2/2a/3 Land Rover production.

You are correct about the heights of the bonnets, and that is also the reason that the deluxe bonnet for spare tyres has a wheel shaped recess so that the tyre does not obstruct forward vision too much.

Diana

The deluxe bonnet is the only one listed in the 2a parts book (implying the standard bonnet was limited to Series 2), but most 2a Landrovers I have seen have the standard one. Despite "not supposed to have a wheel carrier on" almost every undished deluxe bonnet I have seen has a spare wheel carrier on it! (as has almost every standard bonnet I have seen)

John

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The deluxe bonnet is the only one listed in the 2a parts book (implying the standard bonnet was limited to Series 2), but most 2a Landrovers I have seen have the standard one. Despite "not supposed to have a wheel carrier on" almost every undished deluxe bonnet I have seen has a spare wheel carrier on it! (as has almost every standard bonnet I have seen)

John

All Series III that passed through Leyland Truck and Bus in my time had the standard bonnet except station wagons which had the fancy one which we always referred to as the station wagon bonnet.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The deluxe bonnet is the only one listed in the 2a parts book (implying the standard bonnet was limited to Series 2), but most 2a Landrovers I have seen have the standard one. Despite "not supposed to have a wheel carrier on" almost every undished deluxe bonnet I have seen has a spare wheel carrier on it! (as has almost every standard bonnet I have seen)

John

John
In regards to the SIII parts manual you need to look a little deeper:



You will notice only one graphic showing what appears to be an un-recessed deluxe bonnet. However when you look at the circled numbers we find 1 = standard bonnet and 2 = Deluxe recessed bonnet.

I also believe there were differences between Solihull made components and the Enfield PMC made components understanding that many aluminium panels were pressed and assembled in Australia from bare aluminium alloy sheet. We had the very flat profile bonnet right through the 1970's (just look at the Au Military SIII Land Rovers) while in the UK most photos of SIII Land Rovers had the Deluxe non-recessed bonnet without the spare wheel bracket.

The spare wheel bracket has always been an optional part for fitting to anything and yes I have seen many non recessed bonnets without the spare wheel fittings, both my 1971 SIIa suffix H Land Rovers had them. 1 was a 10 seat station wagon the other a Solihull assembled export model 109.

Diana

Originally Posted by Lotz-A-Landies

No that information is incorrect.

• The bonnet on the left is a deluxe bonnet that is not supposed to have a wheel carrier on.
• The bonnet on the right is the standard bonnet.
• There is a third bonnet, also a deluxe bonnet that has a recess and the fittings for the spare tyre.

The deluxe bonnets were fitted to vehicles with deluxe trim, such as station wagons. They were first fitted in 1958 and continued alongside the standard bonnet right through series 2/2a/3 Land Rover production.

You are correct about the heights of the bonnets, and that is also the reason that the deluxe bonnet for spare tyres has a wheel shaped recess so that the tyre does not obstruct forward vision too much.

Diana

Hmm, strange. I'm the third owner of the 1979 Series 3 SWB Ute Land Rover, and that was standard when we got it. Also, this one also has a factory Dual circuit braking system. (Which was why I had a hard time getting a replacement brake booster and master cylinder for it. Everyone I kept getting was the wrong one..)

Thanks for the info...

So I guess then the question is... Where can I get another Deluxe Bonnet??

Wolf

Originally Posted by Wolfman_TWP

Hmm, strange. I'm the third owner of the 1979 Series 3 SWB Ute Land Rover, and that was standard when we got it. Also, this one also has a factory Dual circuit braking system. (Which was why I had a hard time getting a replacement brake booster and master cylinder for it. Everyone I kept getting was the wrong one..)

Thanks for the info...

So I guess then the question is... Where can I get another Deluxe Bonnet??

Wolf

It is quite possible that yours had a deluxe bonnet from new - since in 1979 they would have known the stage 1 wagon was about to be released. They probably wanted to use up their stocks of wagon bonnets while they still could (although the normal SIII was produced in parallel, civvie 109" sales dropped almost to nothing once the stage 1s came out).

Where to find one - look for a SIII wagon being wrecked.

Originally Posted by isuzurover

It is quite possible that yours had a deluxe bonnet from new - since in 1979 they would have known the stage 1 wagon was about to be released. They probably wanted to use up their stocks of wagon bonnets while they still could (although the normal SIII was produced in parallel, civvie 109" sales dropped almost to nothing once the stage 1s came out).

Where to find one - look for a SIII wagon being wrecked.

Thanks, for that.. I have been looking at SIII's for wrecking. But none have this type of bonnet.. Just thought I'd ask around here in case anyone may have seen or come across one somewhere..

Originally Posted by Wolfman_TWP

Hmm, strange. I'm the third owner of the 1979 Series 3 SWB Ute Land Rover, and that was standard when we got it. Also, this one also has a factory Dual circuit braking system. (Which was why I had a hard time getting a replacement brake booster and master cylinder for it. Everyone I kept getting was the wrong one..)

Thanks for the info...

So I guess then the question is... Where can I get another Deluxe Bonnet??

Wolf

I have one don't need it call me on 0413190072.
Kindest regards
Garry