Series III daily driver/short trips?

[Wander]

That's a good simple, inexpensive solution Tom!

 

[Antichrist]

That's a good simple, inexpensive solution Tom!

People don't call me cheap and simple for nothing.
In spite of my chronic shipfitter's disease when it comes to Land Rovers.

 

[czenkov]

Encouragement Pics

Here is a picture of mine. And the pickup cab does help. The red one is my buddy's - hope you don't mind the posting Mike.

 

[stevenmd]

If it is something you want to do, just do it. This group has validated your choice. If it is not something you want to do, poll a group of people who like to be warm, comfortable and live uninteresting lives. Get the Land Rover, a block heater, good Defender door seals, insulation and at least a Kodiak heater and live the life you want to live.

"How can life grant us the boon of living if we do not dare to live?" Amelia Earheart.

How true.

Will you be back in time for Mendo in 2011?

 

[riverguide]

It seems as though I struck a cord and that wasn't my intention at all. So I apologize. I really wanted to know if it was worth it to drive a series everyday. I didn't know the answer. And my question of Am I crazy, was more of a rhetorical question.

Thanks again for all the replies and pictures. You have given me a lot to look think about.

 

[TeriAnn]

How true.

Will you be back in time for Mendo in 2011?

Current plan is to be away for as long as I'm having fun. Dormobile interiors are basically outside temperature at night. So I suspect if I'm not tired of living full time in a 4 foot by 6 foot space by the time Europe gets cold, frozen dish water will get me thinking of warmer places. Also they frown if you overstay a visa. But I'm not booking a return trip until I'm ready to come back.

Also, back is relative. Everything I own will be in storage and when I return to the US it will likely be to a different part of the country.

I'm dreaming of the possibilities and expect to go with the flow of whim and serendipity.

 

[RBBailey]

On Series Rovers with full top, I've rigged a plastic sheet right behind the driving compartment in the winter to retain heat.

I was just thinking about this as I was reading through the previous page. Sounds like a good idea, especially with this global warming thing coming on the way it is -- it's not even winter yet and it's been between 15 and 25 degrees for almost a week -- in Portland!

Anyway, this thread makes me wonder about muffing the radiator grill. My engine temp really does not climb at all during these cold months; that also keeps the cabin temps way down. How could insulating the radiator grill work correctly? Have any of you done it?

 

[Alaska Mike]

I used to put cardboard between the radiator and my grill, which was essentially a radiator muff. Since I was running an engine-driven rigid fan that couldn't be turned off, it certainly helped limit the airflow through the radiator and increased the engine temps a bit. How the fan is shrouded and other variables like engine/road speed can affect how effective it is. Can't hurt.

 

[stevenmd]

How could insulating the radiator grill work correctly? Have any of you done it?

Interested in this as well.

I picked up an aftermarket heater that I will be installing, hopefully, this weekend. That should help a bit.

 

[crusader]

I have a Rovers North rad muff for my SIII w/2.5 diesel & electric fan (with on/off switch installed). True winter is easy--just button it up. The lead-ins to winter and spring is a bit trickier--You've got to account for the outside temperature and the type of driving you'll do (city or highway) and open the muff accordingly.

Back on topic, if you want to use a series rover as a daily driver, go for it, but remember--more so than other vehicles, you'll not just be getting an old rover daily driver, you'll also be getting a whole land rover lifestlyle, which can cover all the extremes of emotion, sometimes in the same day!

 

[Wander]

When I opened this today I noticed that Alaska Mike's thread on the Series III from hell was right below this thread-coincidence, I think not.

 

[Antichrist]

I was just thinking about this as I was reading through the previous page. Sounds like a good idea

Oh, I don't deny that a half cab is nice in the winter.

How could insulating the radiator grill work correctly? Have any of you done it?

Like Mike, I've found a piece of cardboard behind the grill works fine. Even used that method on my Disco in the mountains here in GA when I found the thermostat was stuck open a couple winters ago.

 

[KingSlug]

I have been driving my S2a ambulance for 10 years in Socal traffic 50-60 miles daily, well I also have a Vespa for short trips. I find the series rover to be zen like. Its a constant attentiveness to small items, that grounds me. Although I make a large salary (200k+) and wear a suit quite often, I continue to drive the rover because it is the truck I like and wouldn't trade it for anything.

My wife gave me a card for my birthday accounting for how much money I saved driving the old rover. It is also very green, well its not very effecient, but it was made from recycled WW2 Al and its long 44 year service is much less than a Prius with a 10 yr life span in carbon footprints. If I save $5k a rental or payments and insurance its alot of fuel costs.

Jared

 

[Wander]

King Slug,

Just curious, does the Vespa fit in the back of the Rover? With the extra room of an ambulance body I can see how it could.

 

[Alaska Mike]

You know, maybe all of those years driving my CJ led me to rarely listening to music when I drive. In the CJ, the vehicle noise (engine, tires) was loud enough that I would have had to really crank the radio (which I don't do). But also I was constantly listening to the sounds the Jeep was making and diagnosing as I went. It was kind of like a game I played on my commute.
"What's that noise?"
"What's that smell?"
"What's that fluid?"
After a few years, you get pretty darn good at it.