[BlackPearl]

Introducing our 1972 Land Rover Series III 88"



and 1983 Land Rover Series III 109"



Background:

We had got a 1991 Defender 110 for greenlaning and offroading. I had created a thread on the Defender and had started calling it the "Unstoppable" as it was literally unstoppable. But that was the point that started alienating the vehicle and instead of being happy with such a capable vehicle, I started to get a bit annoyed. There was a strange feeling that car was doing everything and I was not learning anything! One of my friends here, Sam, had told me that he would get the Defender if I planned to sell it ever. So I brought up the idea with him and he agreed to take Defender off my hands. It was a long weekend and on Saturday morning Sam came and drove the Defender away! It is always difficult to let go of a car.

Long weekend and cash in hand is a bad combination. I started looking for a replacement vehicle immediately. Rajsri got a bit annoyed and told me to wait for some time before jumping onto another one and she was unhappy that I had sold the Defender. She loved driving it. Anyways that evening went out with Sam and his newly acquired Defender for greenlaning with a few others. I hitched a ride with Sam and some of the lanes were the toughest I had seen in the UK. I had already started regretting the decision to sell the capable Defender.

By Sunday night I had found a vehicle online and had booked a viewing the next afternoon. Went all the way to Kent in our Range Rover Sport to see the vehicle - a 1972 Series III 88".

The vehicle:



The Series III was standing inside a barn of a huge estate and it started at the twist of the key. Everything looked nice and fine except the front seats which were tattered. Not a big problem. There were some leaks around the injectors, but that is expected from a 50 year old car, that too a Land Rover! Took permission from the owner and drove the vehicle for a few minutes inside the estate. Everything seemed to be in place and I was keen to finalise the deal and be on my way. Spoke to Rajsri for a minute and found that she was a bit apprehensive, but did not tell me the reason. She just told in a nonchalant manner to go ahead if I think it is a good deal.

To be frank I did not have much idea about the Series III and was amazed that the 50 year old car was running at all. So I must admit that my judgement was clouded to say the least. More on that later. I told that the owner that I would take the vehicle and drive it back to London, about 75 miles away. The shock on his face was quite evident, he said that he had not driven the vehicle more than 10 miles in the last 2 years that he had it. Said all the best to me, did the paperwork and we took some picture before leaving.



Driving out followed by our trusted old Range Rover Sport!


Forgot to mention one thing. Before we left the owner told us that he wanted to give us something. After a few minutes he came back with a basket with 5 bantam eggs in it. Over the years I have bought many used vehicles, but this gesture was a first

[BlackPearl]

First signs of trouble:

On the way back stopped at a fuel station to fill up diesel. I used the auto cutoff method that I have always used and went to pay inside the shop. When I came out I saw quite a few people pointing at something beside the car. At first I thought they were excited to see an old Land Rover. Getting closer I realised that there was pool of liquid beneath the vehicle which I cannot remember seeing earlier. I got down to see what was happening and was shocked to see diesel pouring out at an alarming rate from the fuel tank. By the time I could think of what to do I saw a gentleman crawling underneath the car and saying something to me. He was reassuring me that there was no leak in the tank and it was overflowing as I had put more fuel in it. He then asked me if I had used the auto cut off method and said never to do that in old Land Rovers.

Next bit of shock was that the car did not start when I turned the key. The battery had gone completely flat. I could not understand what was happening. It had started at one go at the owner's place and then I had driven it a good 20 miles before stopping for fuel. Anyways, the gentleman who had crawled beneath the vehicle again came to the rescue. He had asked a few people from the fuel station to push the car to a side and then see what can be done. Fortunately I had jumper cables in the Range Rover Sport.

Range Rover to the rescue of the oldie


Rajsri gave a little gift from the adjacent shop to the gentleman for his help. After that a funny thing happened. The gentleman was driving a very old Citroen. When he went back to his car and turned the keys it refused to start. After a lot of coaxing and a bit of pushing the vehicle fired up. We had hearty laugh about the incident before going our own ways.

The rest of the journey was uneventful but excruciatingly slow. I was driving such an old car after a long time and was scared to drive fast due to the terrible brakes!

The next morning I had a look at the engine bay and realised that the fan belt was loose and as a result it was not charging the battery. Ordered a belt online and it was quite easy to change it. Over the next few days I kept on fixing things like replacing the door locks, a few electrical issues, changing headlight bulbs etc. I was enjoying it as I was able to work on a car myself!

The car turned 50 the day after we got it. A few photos of the interior -















The Experience:

The Series 3 was originally a petrol version but somewhere down the line one of the owners had put in a 2.5 litre diesel engine from a British Leyland van. It is called the Sherpa engine. It is crude but reliable and has a bit more power than the original 2.25 diesel LR used to supply. It is good in terms of fuel efficiency as well, easily giving 10 to 12 Kilometers per litre. The rest of the car is mostly original and has got a Fairey overdrive as well. It makes it a bit more easier to drive on the highways but it makes a howling noise. There are many articles on the Series Land Rovers on the internet, so not getting into too much details about the driving experience here. But I would like to mention that it gets a lot of attention on the road, especially from little children who get very excited to see the car.

The vehicle is exempt from MOT, Tax and ULEZ charges as it more than 40 years old. So I started taking it to office in Central London most of the days.

The main reason for getting the vehicle was to go greenlaning and I started doing that after gaining a bit of confidence driving it on road. Being a Land Rover, it was superb off the road. We took the car to a famous spot near London, it is called the Devil's Punch Bowl. Sam had come with my ex-Defender and another person had joined us with his Defender 90. One part of the track was challenging. Sam's Defender went up the obstacle quite easily after locking both front and rear differentials, but I was quite skeptical and was almost sure that the Series 3 and I would not be up to the task. Nevertheless gave it a shot and it went up after a bit of a struggle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOFYX_V_ufI

Same video from another angle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzMyeB8rGxI

The Defender 90's owner had said that he would give it a go if my Series could make it. So he had no choice but try The 90 is an older model and does not have traction control. It struggled a lot on the slopes but finally made it up with some guidance.

Over the next few months we did several greenlaning trips and the car performed beautifully every time.

Trouble again

Rajsri carried the apprehension towards the car from day one and did not want to sit in the car. Initially I did not ask the reason, I thought that she did not like such old cars with tattered seats, strange smell and horrible ride quality! But on pressing her for an answer she replied that she did not like the previous owner. She said that she has never seen anyone so happy to be selling a car, so there must be some inherent problem with it. Fair point! So whenever I had to go somewhere alone I would drive it.

One such occasion was the cricket matches that I used to play a few times a week in the evenings after office. That day I had scored a golden duck and was dejected. It was our last match of the season as well, so all the more reason to be unhappy. On the way back from the ground which is about 12 miles from our home, the car started shuddering after a few miles. Then it shut down at a junction. Tried several times and it would not start. I was blocking traffic at the junction, but I could not do anything. Just as I was going to call RAC for help, I tried once more and it started. For the next few miles it ran as if nothing had happened. Then on the highway it started shuddering again and I somehow was able to take it off the main road and park it on the grass before it shut down again. This time it did not start after quite a few attempts. Called for help and was waiting outside the car as per the rule here. Before the RAC could come for help, two police officers came and towed the car to a safer place. They chatted with me for quite a while as they were fascinated by the 50 year old vehicle. The RAC vehicle came about 10 minutes after the officers left. Strangely when the person tried to start the vehicle it started at the first twist of the keys! I did not know what to say. Anyways the person said that he would follow me till I reached home just to ensure that the issue does not happen again. Thankfully it happened after a couple miles, to confirm that there was indeed a problem and not make me look like a fool for calling the breakdown service. This time the vehicle did not start after trying for 20 minutes, so the RAC person said that he would tow the vehicle to my home. The rest of the journey was uneventful and the vehicle was parked safely in front of our apartment late that evening.

[BlackPearl]

The solution

It is very difficult to get a mechanic for old cars in London. The only option seemed to be to get the vehicle towed to the garage where I had got it serviced a month back. However after a long search got hold of a person who was willing to come and check the vehicle. After the initial checkup he said that the fuel pump seemed to be the culprit. Order a fuel pump and he back to fit it after a few days. The car started, ran for a few minutes and died again. He could not get it started after trying for the next half an hour. The mechanic said he would come back at a later date as he had another appointment. The next day he cleaned the entire fuel line. Again the car started, stuttered for a few minutes and died. This kept on happening for a few days and we were not able to find the root cause of the issue. When we were on the verge of giving up, the mechanic said that he wanted to take out the return valve and give it a last try. Voila, it worked. All this time the culprit was the fuel return valve! The car came to life and started running as if nothing had happened.

The hunt for another car

Though the car was fixed and it was running fine, I was not getting the confidence to take her out for greenlaning. Usually the places were quite far and I was not willing to take the risk. During the next greenlaning event I took the Defender 90 and regretted the decision as the lanes were quite scratchy at few places. After coming back I realised that I had to get a reliable car for these events as I did not want to damage the Defender. So the hunt began again.


I kept on looking at old Defenders and Series vehicles, but either I did not like what I saw or they were out of budget. Suddenly one morning I saw an Instagram post of a dealer in Ely, Cambdridgeshire. I had been following them for quite sometime and saw a post about a Series 3 109". The price right within my budget. I called up the number posted and said that I would buy the vehicle that evening. The guy said that he could not guarantee that the vehicle would be there till evening. The place was about 2.5 hours from my place and I would not be able to get there before evening. But I was desperate to get the car and asked if I could put down some money to secure it. He said I could pay £500, but I would not get the money back if I did not like the car cosmetically. If the car had any mechanical problem he would be happy to return the money. I agreed to it. Meanwhile I was checking their website and it said the site was not secure. I thought that it might be a scam and I told the person on the phone about what I felt. He said that it was very nice of me to be upfront and that he would ask the person taking care of the website to fix it. Meanwhile he asked me to check on trustpilot regarding their reviews and said that they were a legitimate business of more than 30 years. After doing some further checks, I was convinced and transferred the amount. The person called Kevin agreed to pick me up from the nearest station at 7 pm that evening.

The photos of the car posted in the advertisement -













I was getting impatient to go to Ely and get the vehicle but was not able to leave before 4 PM due to prior commitments. Finally at 4 PM got a taxi to King's Cross station and boarded the train to Ely. When I got down at the station I was expecting to see Kevin waiting outside. But I could not find anyone and I called the number that I had on my phone. To my horror no one picked up. I was getting a bit scared that I had lost my money as well as the time and effort in reaching to that place. In a few minutes I got a call from a number and asked me if I had reached. I said yes and the person on the other side said that the Land Rover is parked just outside the station. He was surprised that I had missed it. I went back the way I came and saw the vehicle parked and felt like a fool to have missed it!

Parked outside the station


Kevin drove the vehicle back to his place which was just 10 minutes away. The car felt quite nice and there was no strange noise coming from anywhere. The vehicle would not win any beauty contest, it looked quite knackered from outside, but the inside felt vey good. It was looking mechanically sound. Kevin sounded very confident about the car and showed me around and even going underneath the vehicle to show me how good it was for a 40 year old one. Convinced, I paid the rest of the money, went online to pay the road tax and insurance and was ready for the long drive back. Just before driving back I had one doubt, I was not able to see the fuel filler cap. Asked Kevin about it and he started laughing. He said that all ex-army Series Land Rovers have the fuel filler cap beneath the driver's seat. So much to learn!

Ready for the long drive back to London


The drive back was really exciting. This was my first petrol 4WD and the smell of petrol after such a long time was intoxicating. Every Land Rover is unique and it takes time to get used to vehicle. After about an hour or so I was feeling confident with steering, braking and the length of the car. Stopped for a fuel break in between. Another thing I learnt was that army vehicles had their speedometers marked in Kilometers per hour rather than in Miles per hour!



At a roundabout near our home an elderly lady in the car beside me rolled down the window and gave me a thumbs up. She shouted at the top of her voice that they once had a vehicle like this and it was lovely. She was extremely happy to see this one still on the road.

Siblings, Short Wheel Base and Long Wheel Base

[BlackPearl]

Munchkin the Series III 109"

Technical Specification :

Document from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust:



The vehicle is more or less stock, only changes from the ones mentioned above done by the previous owners are, soft top to hard top conversion, paint changed from NATO green to somewhat closer to bronze green, parabolic springs, stainless steel exhaust and a Fairey overdrive.

Provenance

Provenance is a big thing when it comes to classic cars and there is no doubt that this Series III has loads of documented history, thanks to the previous owners. When I got the vehicle I was given a file containing a lot of pages of history of the vehicle. Uploading a few of them.







Life with Munchkin:

It has been many months since the day we got the Series 3 109". She was lovingly called Munchkin by the previous owner and we have not changed it. We do not call her the Series 3 anymore, she is always referred to as Munchkin. Rajsri loved the car from the moment she saw her, so it was a huge relief as well. Munchkin has been on many greenlaning trips, Land Rover events and has been extremely reliable till date.

Immediately after getting Munchkin, we went to attend a Land Rover event in the south of England. It was called the Rover Social. I knew the people who were arranging the event and they gave a few stickers that we happily put on Munchkin. A few photos from the event -

[BlackPearl]

I loved the old school charm of the vehicle so much and the smell of petrol and oil that reminded me of childhood cars, I took every possible chance to get her out. I took her everywhere and almost stopped driving the Range Rover Sport and the Defender.

We took her to every greenlaning and pay-and-play days possible and Munchkin turned out to be extremely reliable. This was my first petrol 4x4 and I was apprehensive about the performance on inclines, but she did not give me a chance to complaint. Of course she is not as easy to drive as our previous Defender 110, but that it made it all the more exciting and challenging.

Video from Slindon, one of the pay-and-play day sites

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeY3j7gYg6U

Another video from Slindon showing the articulation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OxE95bwqno

One of my favourite greenlaning tracks, The Devil's Punchbowl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZIhXlVxgFk

A comparison with Defender and Discovery at the same obstacle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VNtaDeZkJg

A few of my favourite photos from the greenlaning trips -





















I was really worried before going through this stretch of water as Munchkin does have a snorkel, but she did absolutely fine. Only one of the headlights collected water and looked like a fishbowl.

[BlackPearl]

Munchkin gets featured in Land Rover Owners International magazine

We do a lot of greenlaning trips with a group called Surrey 4x4 Tours and Training. Stuart is one of the instructors there and one evening he called me to say that Land Rover Owners International (LRO) magazine's editor Neil Watterson (landroverwatty) wanted to do an article on greenlaning and was looking for an old Series Land Rover. I jumped onto the invitation and one fine wintry morning drove down to Kent to attend. It was a lovely day of greenlaning in snow and learnt a lot of things from Stuart and Neil. The next month Munchkin got featured in the LRO magazine. I was so excited that took a digital subscription as well as bought quite a few physical copies!

[BlackPearl]

LANTRA 4x4 Certification

I had wanted to do a LANTRA 4x4 certification for a long time and when I got to know that Surrey 4x4x Tours and Training were qualified to give that certification, I reserved a place. The cost was £375 per head and it was a 2 day training. However, since I had a bit of prior experience it was agreed that I could complete it in one day. I was so happy with the reliability and performance of the Series 3 that I decided to take the test and certification with it. Munchkin performed quite well that day, but there was one issue. There was a tendency to stall on an incline. Tim Harrower, the instructor, told me that it was due to the tick over and had to be adjusted. But at that point nothing could be done. So for all the tests on inclines, especially where there was a stop and go required I had to put an extra effort to heel and toe in order to keep the engine running. It was quite difficult as the brake and accelerator pedals in the car are not best placed for the heel-and-toe technique.

I was so happy to get the certificate at the end of the day with just 1 fault. To quote the instructor, this is what he wrote in the comments section -

"Outstanding driver, fantastic car control and vehicle empathy. Was a little quick through one obstacle but if I am honest probably the car's age let him down."



A few photos from the day -





















Getting the LANTRA certificate from Tim after a couple of weeks-

[BlackPearl]

Repair and Maintenance

It is not easy to maintain a 40 year old car, especially if you you use it daily as well as for greenlaning and offroading. The car has extremely reliable till date, but I have spent quite a bit of amount to keep her in the best possible condition. I am not bothered about the looks as she is quite knackered and wears the scars proudly. As someone has told, every scar and scratch has a story and adds to the charm of an old working vehicle. Frankly speaking Land Rovers look best in this form. The car is serviced at a place called Safari Engineering in Surrey, quite far from our place, but they are one of the best when it comes to old Land Rovers. The labour rate per hour is very expensive, almost at par with the Land Rover dealers, but then one has to pay for expertise and experience. The best option to maintain these cars is to be able to work on them yourself, but then I do not have the luxury of a space to do that.

First major service after I got the vehicle was very expensive as a lot of things had be changed or fixed.



The second service was done after driving almost 8000 Kilometers, most of which have been over pretty bad terrain and through lot of mud, snow and water. This took a toll on the brake cylinders and had to be changed as they had started to leak.




Since I do not have the gift of the gab or the writing skills, I will leave it to the British writers to explain why this old British warhorse still continues to win the hearts of thousands of people from all generations around the world. There is an article which sums it up perfectly and I would request anyone interested to have a read - https://buy.motorious.com/articles/f...s-ultimate-4x4

An excerpt from the article -



The timeline of the Series Land Rover -



A sudden find -

Last time I went to India I was surprised to find this among my collection of model cars. I had completely forgotten about it. Almost two decades back I had got this little model of the Land Rover Series 3 109” from a shop in the town of Morley during my first visit to the UK. Little did I know that someday many years later I would be driving the real thing! Now waiting for the yellow Lamborghini Countach to get real, I had got that model three decades back



Finally a few parting photos, though I will keep on updating this thread -

[benbsb29]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing and welcome to yet another Land Rover in your stable!

[Pennant1970]

You sir, are one of the people whose posts I never miss. Enthusiasts are one thing - you seem to be a good way past that! That's what inspires someone like me to keep the flame alive. In fact, it was yesterday I was watching this piece on YouTube. Admittedly, it's a bit of a puff piece for Ineos - but still...

https://youtu.be/ZWCTmyOFKik

Happy motoring...

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

..The best option to maintain these cars is to be able to work on them yourself, but then I do not have the luxury of a space to do that...

You are indeed a True LR-head by now- if that is even a term they use out there.

Your passion shows. Last I saw some pix of yours, you were parking all your cars street-side. Assuming it is still the same, your street might as well be renamed 'Land Rover Lane'.

I can clearly foresee you buying a Rural piece of land with a Barn to wrench your LRs over the weekends.

Looking forward to updates. I still haven't planned my UK Trip and when I do, I sure hope to meet you and your growing collection.

[JoshMachine]

Man, your love for the Rover family is at another level

I mean, who would just go on to replace a Defender with not just a vintage LR, but end up with two of them eventually!

Still see the RR Sport lurking somewhere, is that also planned to be out-phased sometime?

[AVR]

So apparently, the solution to living with a rather unreliable Landy is to buy another one.
Hmm...I think this only makes sense to a petrol head with a slight twinge of masochism. You are one crazy guy. And I think what you did is quite impressive in a very warped way.

The dashboard pic was nostalgic for me.

Be crazy always.

Cheers
Adi

[johy]

Your story telling has gone up a few notches, sir, as has your taste in Landys and Greenlaning skills. I like them both, although I am biased towards the SWBs Land Rovers. There is a red one in your pictures that catches my eye a lot. Which model is that one?

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by Pennant1970

You sir, are one of the people whose posts I never miss. Enthusiasts are one thing - you seem to be a good way past that! That's what inspires someone like me to keep the flame alive.

Thank you Pennant1970!

Originally Posted by Pennant1970

In fact, it was yesterday I was watching this piece on YouTube. Admittedly, it's a bit of a puff piece for Ineos - but still...

Yes it is a lovely video, quite emotional one to find the first ever production Land Rover. Agreed that it is an ad for the Ineos, but Sir James Ratcliffe is a true Land Rover aficionado.

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

You are indeed a True LR-head by now- if that is even a term they use out there.

Ha ha, thank you 14000rpm!

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Your passion shows. Last I saw some pix of yours, you were parking all your cars street-side. Assuming it is still the same, your street might as well be renamed 'Land Rover Lane'.

I do not have a photo of all four of them parked, but here is one with three lined up

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Looking forward to updates. I still haven't planned my UK Trip and when I do, I sure hope to meet you and your growing collection.

Looking forward to meet you in person.

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Man, your love for the Rover family is at another level

I mean, who would just go on to replace a Defender with not just a vintage LR, but end up with two of them eventually!

Still see the RR Sport lurking somewhere, is that also planned to be out-phased sometime?

Thank you JoshMachine. The Range Rover Sport is there to stay I hope. Only problem is that the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding at the end of August and the place where we live will fall within it. So it will be a £12.50 charge every time we drive the RRS. Either we will have to pay the charge or relocate somewhere outside the zone. Other option would be to sell the vehicle and get a complaint one. But a compliant RRS with a similar condition will be at least £10K more and it does not make sense if we do not plan to drive the vehicle everyday. Let's see what happens.

Munchkin with the RRS

Originally Posted by AVR

So apparently, the solution to living with a rather unreliable Landy is to buy another one.

Ha ha, I would not say that the Series 3 88" is unreliable. Such minor hiccups are expected from a 50 year old vehicle. It has been the only issue in more than ten thousand Kilometers. The bigger problem with the vehicle was that my wife did not like it at all.

Originally Posted by AVR

Hmm...I think this only makes sense to a petrol head with a slight twinge of masochism. You are one crazy guy. And I think what you did is quite impressive in a very warped way.

Ha ha, I don't think it is masochism when it comes to loving old Land Rovers, or any old car. Yes they are crude, difficult to drive, but they have so much character that you tend to fall in love with them, especially if you are a retrophile, which I am

Originally Posted by johy

Your story telling has gone up a few notches, sir, as has your taste in Landys and Greenlaning skills. I like them both, although I am biased towards the SWBs Land Rovers.

Thank you Johy! Agree with you that the SWBs look far better than the LWBs. That is why we still have the Defender 90. But the LWBs are much more utilitarian and the ride quality tends to be a tad better due to the longer wheelbase. It is very easy for us to put our cycles inside the 109" instead of putting it on a carrier at the back.

Originally Posted by johy

There is a red one in your pictures that catches my eye a lot. Which model is that one?

It is a 1991 Land Rover 90 which was converted to have an automatic gearbox. A couple of more pictures of it -