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View Full Version : Series III dash and vents



B. Wallace
04-09-2007, 10:18 AM
Does anyone see anything odd about this dash? No one has been able to give me a good answer so far, but it seems as if the vents are completely covered, except for the 2 holes on the driver's side. Where is the air supposed to come through with the vents open? The black panel that the levers are attached to looks perfectly stock, i was thinking about removing it for the warm weather, but didn't know if I could or not. Any suggestions or pictures of others?
Thanks,
Ben

Moose
04-09-2007, 03:32 PM
Is yours a '72? I have seen three other trucks with the vents blocked similar to yours and they were all 1972's. Don't know if they were all like this from that year but the ones I have seen were. Mine is a '74 and the vents have cut outs.

No reason you couldn't open your up.

Brett

yorker
04-09-2007, 03:34 PM
That is normal. when you open the vents the air comes up through the defrosting vents IIRC. it doens't blow directly on you like in a IIa. Some people cut holes in the black panel so they can get more direct fresh air. I know I saw that modification on Ben Smith's SIII.

Bostonian1976
04-09-2007, 03:35 PM
whoever designed that wasn't in design school very long, were they? :)

B. Wallace
04-09-2007, 04:52 PM
Yeah, mine is a '72. Like I said previously, it seems original, but so do the ones I have seen with the cutouts. It doesn't seem too difficult to do, but I've seen so many that do have the square holes, it seems a little odd that that many people would also cut theirs out.
As far as coming through the ducts, it would appear that way, but not really the case with mine. I live in Alabama, and we've already had 1 warm week, and this thing is like an oven. The air coming through the defrost ducts isn't really sufficient enough. So I'll probably end up cutting the holes.
Are there any other SIII owners on here who have a similar setup?

Ben

bamarover
04-09-2007, 07:55 PM
One thing we did was to insulate the roof. Take the headliner out, take the old straw material out. Replace with foil-backed material (our was about 1/4" thick from home depot) using some headliner glue. I do not know how it is in your III, but with the vents open and the door side windows open even rear side windows help, it is quite breezy. Might be worth retrofiting IIA set up. We are about 6-8 degrees warmer being on the coast than you are. One final thing to consider is the bulkhead and floor. Much heat comes from the engine bay through bulkhead and transmission tunnel. Take your bulkhead upholstery down and install foil backed insulation. We had a local seamstress sew a new piece of vinyl with a soft windshield aluminum board for the dash of a car cut to fit for the backing. Rovers North has a really nice tunnel cover that we recently purchased - cuts down on the noise and insulates, also. We ultimately used Dynamat under our upholstery on the bulkhead to reduce noise, but we had refurbished it recently and knew it would not give us trouble for awhile.:)
Here is a link to our headliner solution about halfway down the thread: http://www.landroversonly.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12605&highlight=lasalle

Good luck
Greg

siiirhd88
04-09-2007, 08:23 PM
My RHD '75 SIII has large openings in the steel panel that lets some air through. My RHD '80 SIII has the same large openings, and has a small opening just above the instrument panel that lets air blow directly through when the vents are open. The opening was made by forming an indented area in the dashtop foam pad. Apparently Rover knew then lack of air to be a problem on the early SIII trucks.

Bob

LH Drive
04-09-2007, 09:19 PM
I also have a 1972 Series III with the same set up. Not sure if original but mine came with an old school metal fan like the ones school buses have. It blows alot of air but watch out for chopped fingers. I took the side caps off to blow any trash that was inside the dash. The dash has its own vents aimed toward the driver to allow the outside air in the cab, the small narrow defrost vents are aimed toward the window.


What do the metal badges in front of the shifter read? Mine are missing and I would like to find some on e-bay.

B. Wallace
04-10-2007, 08:30 AM
What do the metal badges in front of the shifter read? Mine are missing and I would like to find some on e-bay.[/quote]

The one in the upper left shows transfer case pattern and towing stipulations, and the upper right is the chassis number. Lower right warns of "reduced tyre life" from driving in 4 wheel drive on pavement.

LH Drive
04-10-2007, 12:35 PM
Thanks,,,, I have one of the three so I only have to search for two. The VIN plate was relocated to the door jam.

No,,,I just checked. That plate on the door jam is different so I guess its lost.

yorker
04-10-2007, 03:30 PM
The no vents thing was a feature on all 1972's, at least those sold in the USA, I'm not sure when it changed. The one I had was the same way as were all others I've seen, any 1972's I've seen WITH vents had them altered by the PO.

Moose
04-10-2007, 04:27 PM
Yours is original. All the '72's appear to be that way. Some one at Land Rover must have given their head a shake because from '73 and on the panels all have cut outs including my '74.

While I wouldn't claim my interior is that much cooler on a hot summer day compaired to my buddies '72 with out the cut outs, there is a noticeable difference. Take that big round black thing off the bonnet and the airflow is even better ;)

If you can make a neat job of it, cut 'em out.

Brett


Yeah, mine is a '72. Like I said previously, it seems original, but so do the ones I have seen with the cutouts. It doesn't seem too difficult to do, but I've seen so many that do have the square holes, it seems a little odd that that many people would also cut theirs out.

Ben

Leslie
04-10-2007, 08:03 PM
A)
Guys, watch using the term *all*.

My LHD '72 SIII 88", a US-market one, has the "normal" dash panel that lets you see the vents, one hole between the steering and the center accessory panel, and two on the passenger side.


B)
Since RN doesn't carry them, I don't feel so bad pointing you to BP:
http://www.landroverparts.us/seriesLandRover/s_cat_pages/bp_series_cat76.pdf


FWIW....

B. Wallace
04-10-2007, 09:37 PM
Leslie,
If possible, post a pic of yours so that I can cut the holes in the correct spot.:D
Thanks,
Ben

J!m
04-11-2007, 06:47 AM
Not to throw a wrench in the works here, but if your truck has this limited-production run feature (which apparently did not run the full model year- this is why the VIN suffix is so important), wouldn't you want to preserve it?

What I'm saying is: get the later part which has the holes already. Once they are cut in the irreplaceable part, you can't fix them. Who knows, in another 20 years you may want to do a correct restoration on the truck, and won't be able to get that rare part...

Just a thought.

PS you have to tear the dash apart anyway to keep the chips out from drilling/cutting, so you might as well just change the part out...

Leslie
04-11-2007, 08:02 AM
Leslie, If possible, post a pic of yours so that I can cut the holes in the correct spot. Thanks, Ben

Yes, but.....


A)


Not to throw a wrench in the works here, but if your truck has this limited-production run feature (which apparently did not run the full model year- this is why the VIN suffix is so important), wouldn't you want to preserve it?

What I'm saying is: get the later part which has the holes already. Once they are cut in the irreplaceable part, you can't fix them. Who knows, in another 20 years you may want to do a correct restoration on the truck, and won't be able to get that rare part...

Just a thought.

PS you have to tear the dash apart anyway to keep the chips out from drilling/cutting, so you might as well just change the part out...

I have to agree with this. I really would lean towards swapping out the piece, instead of cutting up the rarer version.


B) At the moment, I don't have a great picture; the only one I have that even comes close was from this past fall, when I was building a replacement top for my heat-box and was installing it. I've attached it, but it's not ideal for your needs; I can take a better one, but if you *really* want a guide to cut yours, if I was you, I would want a bit more precise guide, FWIW...

kevin-ct
04-11-2007, 08:40 PM
Your truck is an early series 3. My Series 3 also has no vent in the dash my VIN # 25900058A
I think that Land Rover started the holes after VIN# 00150 (I think) It is nice to have the later dash in the summer as it does get hot.

What is your VIN#?

Kevin

LH Drive
04-11-2007, 10:07 PM
Your truck is an early series 3. My Series 3 also has no vent in the dash my VIN # 25900058A
I think that Land Rover started the holes after VIN# 00150 (I think) It is nice to have the later dash in the summer as it does get hot.

What is your VIN#?

Kevin

My VIN is 25900831A and it also has the blocked dash.

J!m
04-12-2007, 06:37 AM
My guess is that the dash canged with suffix "B" VIN cars...

yorker
04-12-2007, 08:13 AM
fwiw:


----- Original Message -----
From: "Benjamin Allan Smith
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 10:12 PM
Subject: Re: sIII vents


> In message <BAY128-DAV163079E9102EE3FA4864D5B05F0@phx.gbl>you wrote:
>
>> hey Ben you were the first one who brought this to my attention, got any =
>> pics of your modification to your SII?
>> http://www.roversnorth.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3D1159&page=3D2
>
> I don't have any photos off hand. I just cut the holes where they
> were supposed to be with a dremel tool. FWIW #25900409A (March 1972) didn't
> have the cutouts. So it is past the #150 that was guessed on the RN board.
>
> Ben

Leslie
04-12-2007, 08:50 AM
Doesn't have to do with the B suffix. Mine is #25901118A. Open vents.
(Was also originally Marine blue, but is now Cameron green, with a full-blown trop top, not just a sunsheet.)

Of course, this is Land Rover we're talking about.... they could have had a bunch of the closed ones, switched to open ones, but had a transition period where one vehicle gets a closed one, the next vehicle gets an open one, then the following has the closed one....

B. Wallace
04-12-2007, 09:26 PM
My VIN # is 25900669A, which also disproves the #0150 theory. Leslie, you mentioned buying an extra dash panel to cut, and I thought that was the link you posted, but obviously it was for the other guy about the data plates. Do you know where I can find one of these?

B. Wallace
04-12-2007, 09:32 PM
LH Drive,
I was looking at you photo and noticed that you only have one gauge on that lower panel. Which is it? Mine is oil pressure on the left, and volts on the right. You would think that would be the same, and both of ours look mostly original.

yorker
04-13-2007, 08:07 AM
LH Drive,
I was looking at you photo and noticed that you only have one gauge on that lower panel. Which is it? Mine is oil pressure on the left, and volts on the right. You would think that would be the same, and both of ours look mostly original.

My old '72 only had one gauge there- Oil Pressure.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l119/sepp45/sIII/seriesIII5.jpg

Leslie
04-13-2007, 09:37 AM
My VIN # is 25900669A, which also disproves the #0150 theory. Leslie, you mentioned buying an extra dash panel to cut, and I thought that was the link you posted, but obviously it was for the other guy about the data plates. Do you know where I can find one of these?

This?

http://www.roversnorth.com/store/p-4050-panel-ventilator-s3-dash.aspx

B. Wallace
04-13-2007, 12:46 PM
Thanks, I actually found it immediately after I wrote that. Whoops.

LH Drive
04-13-2007, 01:54 PM
B.Wallace, The one gauge I have is for the OIL pressure.

yorker
04-14-2007, 08:31 AM
Apparently MID year they had changed over- I'd like to track down a serial # range though. I posted the question here to see if anyone in the UK knew-
http://forum.landrovernet.com/showthread.php?t=86504

Moose
04-20-2007, 06:35 PM
Leslie,
If possible, post a pic of yours so that I can cut the holes in the correct spot.:D
Thanks,
Ben
Maybe a little late, but here is a pic of of the dash with the cut outs.

Brett

B. Wallace
04-22-2007, 11:14 AM
Appreciate it Brett, I can definately use that picture as a guide.
Thanks,
Ben