Thread: making a Series 3 more driveable??

You are in a similar position to me, My ex army series 3 has a (poor quality) holden engine conversion.

Depending on what sort of distances and roads you are traveling will depend on what is good.

Power steering would be nice, but not really available at all, at least i've not heard of any for some time.

If you are doing highway miles, an overdrive is a must. 80km/h is about all i get out of my series 3. I can push it to 90, but that's getting to some pretty high RPM for the engine. What sump do you have on it?? a larger sump is a good idea for highway miles as it can boil the oil due to the low volume of oil.

Electronic ignition is the ducks guts. the coil and distributor from a blue motor will drop straight in and give a far superior spark, bordering on vicious! I got mine from a wreckers in reasonable condition. A larger diameter exhaust can also help, as can extractors. However extractors also put a lot more heat into the passenger footwell.

Comfort wise, the original seats aren't too bad, but a simple cushion can really help. High back seats are also good if you can get them. Sound and or heat insulation can also work very well if done properly. Radial tyres can also be good, however I found my series 3 drove better with original style cross ply tyres. Just remember that cross plies run at much lower pressures, even on the highway.

Try getting some parabolic leaf springs with upgraded shocks, a bit of an investment but makes a world of difference to the ride and articulation. Check all the bushes and shackles and replace if they are worn, I did this recently and it has made the steering much tighter and no more clunks when cornering

cheers
Paul

either trade it in on a series II ... :P

or get

1) overdrive

an overdrive will change your life, worth every penny you spend on them. massive difference in usability.

2 ) parabolic springs

turns them into a much more civilised unit

see how you feel then
....

Don't forget to check all the universal joints, they clank and clunk.

If you are game, Holden Commodore power steering looks like it will fit.
I have a setup in the yard to try. Fabricate mountings on the front axle\diff housing to bolt the rack and pinnion gear into place, and hook straight back up to the King Pins. Modify the steering column to mate back up. Not just yet.

At the moment, I am using a Toyota (SR5) steering box, mounted on the front right chassis rail, it's Pitman arm connects directly up to the Landy's drag link, a Daihatsu steering wheel and upper column, a Commodore lower column and uni joints, do away with all the ball joints, linkages, pillar shaft, and the Landy steering box on the Firewall.
The Toyota box has more turns lock to lock (51\4 vs 31\2?), making it feel lighter, the Toyota's longer Pitman arm gives the extra push to take some wheel turn out, and brings all the links into a better, more even line.

For a better ride, lots of people remove one leaf from the suspension.

And the only Holden engine to run is a 186S. It's the only one that can actually rev faster than the Landy engine.
A stock Holden can only spin to about 3,500 RPM. LESS than a Landy can do.
Holden powered Landy's can't keep up with Landy powered ones.

I'm using a Jap diesel, with it's 5 speed gearbox. Currently in the process of fitting the Daihatsu gearbox rear into the Landy T\case. That's how I'm making mine gallop at 95 to 100 KPH highway.

Oh, and more modern seats DO help.

Photo's and story will be posted in Projects/ S3 Change.

There is a very simple trick to amking the smile come back on your face whilst driving it (take the scenic way home)

Power steering wise there have been one or two convertions from the original Armstrong power steering to a hybrid Toyota/Landrover setup. See Banjo's or Slunnies posts.

Gearing wise you could always change the gearing or diff ratio's, change the box to an LT95 or something like that. From memory doesn't a series transfer case have the ability to be bolted behind anything? A 5 speed conversion could be an option.

I know off a couple of low KM's high speed diffs to suit a series 3.

They where in my Dad's Ser3 for apporx 5000k's before the gearbox spat a mainshaft bearing. We are looking to part it out for spares soone.

My be a tad expesive to **** to the east cost tho.

Luke

The speed thing is best fixed with a "high speed transfercase" as your low range gearing is unaffected, you dont have an overdrive to service/repair/worry about, and you probably dont even use your current 1st gear with the 186 . But you mentioned "cheap", and a HST is around the $1000 mark so your next best bet is an overdrive if you can find one , or the later model 3.54 diffs.

I found the steering in mine was fine if I adjusted/serviced it properly and ran skinny tyres, and was also good exercise in the carparks

I was faced with same issues as your self, but in the end I sold it and got a 97 V8 Disco as a family wagon, then upgraded that to an 86 County

Have fun with it.

Bruce.

New bushes and removal of a couple of leaves made a big difference to my series3. Other than that I started thinking the same way as you - how can I make this "easier" to drive - but it gets expensive and at the end of the day you are trying to turn it into something it is not and never will be! Compared to almost anything else, a series Landrover is rough as guts, but we seem to love them anyway.