Rover Fever?

[Alaska Mike]

A little advice required...

I've been a Jeep CJ guy forever. Vehicles that exude "funk factor" just own my soul. Recently a friend dropped by and noticed the Jeep. Then he casually mentioned that he had a Series III 88 hardtop sitting in his backyard and asked if I was interested. Rusted frame and bulkhead, but he says it runs and drives well. I could probably get it for a song.

Now I have Rover Fever. I've had Jeep Fever on several occasions and it ended up with me spending waaaayyyy too much money and having waaaayyyy too much fun while alienating my wife more than a little.

Any suggestions?

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Avert your gaze, turn and run like you have never run before....:shakin:

You probably already know what you could possibly be getting yourself into. Very cool vehicles but starting with a rusted out one is going to be expensive.

 

[Mercedesrover]

With a bad frame and bulkhead you'll spend $5k in a heartbeat just getting it safe for the road. It just gets worse from there.

If a stockish 88" is what you're looking for, save up the bread and come down below and find one with a new, or at least decent frame. For $7k-$10k you can usually find yourself a pretty nice truck. Get the one up there for spares.

jim

 

[Linus Tremaine]

a song is pretty cheap though

My rover has a "rusty" frame and bulkhead, but its safe. I would look at it and see how bad it is. Just because you have a hole in your floor board or an out rigger doesnt mean you need a new frame and bulkhead- you can still drive the heck out of it and it may still be a good truck. If you want to restore it, have it be nice, dry and warm (if you can have that in a rover?...?) look elsewhere.


Rust holes and less than perfect frames should not be a death sentence to an otherwise good rover. It may be perfectly serviceable as is-just more expensive to restore if that is your intention.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

It all depends on the individual. If all you want is a clean vehicle, yup, you're far better off buying it clean. But if you take satisfaction in doing things yourself, and if you might even have a more sentimental aim in rescuing a decrepit classic, dive in. Plus, when you're finished, you'll know every nut and bolt on it.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Let's be honest- I'm coming from a Jeep background, so nothing is too sacred to swap out or modify for me, with the exception of the body (which is the only reason I really want the vehicle- the looks). I understand that is heresy in the Rover world, but I'm not in the resto mindset. First and foremost I want a vehicle that won't leave me stranded in the woods, since being stranded up here is a serious matter.

I'll sleep on it for a week or so and maybe then go over and take a gander at it. No use in rushing into another money pit based on a passing fancy.

 

[Alaska Mike]

Well, as it turns out my friend dropped me an email. Looks like I misunderstood a bit. It's a 1973 Series III that doesn't run (he doesn't know why) that was purchased as a parts car but never pulled from. He was told there was frame rust and bulkhead rust, but he's not sure since he didn't look at it that closely. He says the exterior is in good shape, but this would be a project car for sure. He'll be forwarding me some pictures to get an idea of what I'm looking at.

He's asking $500, which I think is what he has into it.

Thoughts? I'm intrigued.

I have all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head right now, so I'm going to wait a couple days and see if I calm down.

 

[Jonathan Hanson]

Hard to go wrong at that price!

 

[OverlandZJ]

I have all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head right now, so I'm going to wait a couple days and see if I calm down.

At least until the pics hit your inbox.

As Jonathan stated... the price is right, and a SeriesIII project sounds awesome.

Just out of curiosity, how wide are Series axle assemblies? Wheelbase?

 

[TeriAnn]

At least until the pics hit your inbox.
Just out of curiosity, how wide are Series axle assemblies? Wheelbase?

The model number of a Land Rover is its wheelbase in inches. In his initial posting he said it was an 88, so it is the short wheelbase version with an 88 inch wheelbase.

Series III Land Rovers are 66 inches (5.5ft) overall width. Its a tad early for me to go out and crawl under my Land Rover with a measuring tape but figure the axle will be a tad narrower than the body.

 

[Schattenjager]

Alaska Rust

The three years I spent in Alaska amazed me at how well preserved the older cars were. Take a look at the rust and give us a report of how bad it is - surface rust or holes the size of text books? I moved back to Colorado about four months ago and amazed how newer cars here look like crap. Anchorage only uses sand in winter and the lack of sunlight - (far less intense in the summer than down here and the winter... well...) If the Rover spent a lot of time up there it just might be a good find!

 

[Alaska Mike]

Here I go...

What $500 will get you:

The deal is pretty much done. The interior is shades of duct-tape, there's probably some body work to be done, and I didn't look all too closely at the frame. The engine has an old sock shoved in the carb, but it looks like most of the parts are there. The dash is partially removed, and there are no jump seats in the back. The roof rack in the back is something I may just leave off.

On the upside, it's in better shape than I expected, and it's painted a color in the froggy tone spectrum, which I'm very happy about. I'll try to get it home sometime this week so I can start making my shopping list. I know the guy who sold it to the current owner, so he can give me the lowdown on what's wrong with it (he used to own the best 4x4 shop in town). Something tells me this ain't gonna be cheap, though...

Looks like I'm in the club. What's the secret handshake?

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Hey Mike, she is a beauty; Congrads!!! The secret handshake ehhh? Well, I'd say it's not really a handshake, but take your left and right hands and bring them together in front of you with the plams up. Press hands very tightly together, curving downward and forming a "bowl" were the hands meet. Keep pressing them very tightly now as you do not want to see any daylight between your hands. Now, this will work great for catching all those fluids that will be flowing straight thru all the weathered gaskets Keep us posted on the build and how about some interior pics?

 

[Alaska Mike]

I know it's heresy, but if the frame is more or less sound I'm going to look at replacing the engine/drivetrain with something... um... less leaky. I haven't decided yet, but a GM Iron Duke (2.5L I-4) backed by a T-18 and a Spicer 18 sounds interesting. There are others that I'm looking at, but that looks to be the cleanest install with the least amount of hassle/overall expense. I need to do some measuring to see if the package is feasable, and a lot of this depends on the condition of the stock drivetrain/engine. The axles will probably stay stock, but I may look at better shafts in the future. One step at a time. I'd love an overdrive transmission or a modern fuel-injected engine, but the parts just don't seem to line up right when it comes to adapters, lengths, and component strength. If it was a 109 this wouldn't be an issue, but I have to be practical- especially on my budget.

I have nothing against the stock components, but they may be more expensive to fix than they're worth in the long run. Reading the Turtle Expedition's page about the Series III Turtle I, this quote jumped out at me:

"Every time we replaced a Land Rover part with an American part, the truck got more reliable."

Also, my shipping is twice what most people's is, and the heavier the package the more I get hosed. Last time I tried to ship a bumper it was well over $150 in freight for a $130 part. No thank you. A reliable rig is all I'm looking for in the end. Of course, the end may be 15 years from now.

So, now all I have to do is get it from the icy mountainside where it now sits (steep roads) down to my house, where I can go over it and give it a name. Then it's a long journey towards resurrection as my finances allow. We'll see where it goes...

 

[Andrew Walcker]

Nothing wrong w/ replacing with better parts IMHO. One of the coolest Rover builds was one that was featured on 4 Wheel Drive Magazine a few years back. It has a complete Toyota drivetrain! I'll see if I can't find some pics. Also, check out MercedesRover on this site. He has some great Mercedes powerplant ideas.