The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly.....My first Rover

[keithg]

Well, I've been looking for a Series Rover for a few months and finally made a purchase. You may have seen this one advertised on CL in DE over the past month or so. The previous owner didn't know much about it but he gave me a folder of receipts from his repairs and also dating back to 1982 from the 2 previous owners. Had he really looked through it and written his ad differently he may have sold it much quicker.

It's a '73 S3 88" with a rebuilt bulkhead, galv frame, parabolics, OME shocks, like new BFG AT's in 235-85-16, TORO overdrive, Warn winch, Pierce Intake & Weber carb, GM Alternator conversion, rebuilt engine, and on and on and on according to all of the receipts.

Let the fun begin......

[smukai]

Congrats and welcome to the club!

[lrdukdog]

welcome and nice looking find.:thumb-up:
Jim Wolf

[4flattires]

Ahhh..the required photo shoot of a LR on a trailer coming home.

Nice Rover...welcome!

J

[mrdoiron]

Well, I've been looking for a Series Rover for a few months and finally made a purchase. ....

Let the fun begin......

Agree with Jim, real nice find. Rare to come across an owner of a Series no really knowing what they've got. Trust you got a good derail...

cheers

[keithg]

Well, the person I bought it from had it for 9 years and only put 1500 miles on it. His wife quickly grew tired of the repair bills since he couldn't work on it himself and forced the "fire sale". He paid a lot for it 10 years ago, put a lot in it, and took a big loss in the end. However, I think I paid a fair price for it considering it needs work to ensure it's road worthy again. I felt much better after leafing through all of the receipts. I hadn't known about them prior to committing to the purchase.

At this point, it may need a starter and the clutch pedal is on the floor. However, it's not stuck in gear and the clutch is still free. That's my starting point for the resurrection.

[rrc.swb]

Keith,

You are going to love this truck... They are very easy to work with.

Post more pics :thumb-up:

Do you know who's the roof-rack manufacturer???

I recently traded parts and got one identical to yours. I need to buy the brackets/mounts.

[cedryck]

congratulations on your purchase, have fun.

[73series88]

welcome to the fun
aaron

[Rat Patrol]

Welcome to the addiction!

Now have your better half watch The Gods must be Crazy

[toga Rover]

Sweet Truck. I'd like to know about that rack too.

BritishStarters.com for a Gear Reduction Starter.

http://www.britishstarters.com/Land_Rover.html

[knac1234]

Just to back togarover up, just ordered/installed my gear red starter from britishstarters.com.

Fits easier than a standard Lucas one, and works great. Less than a standard Lucas new one also!!

Julian

[keithg]

Sorry guys, I was away for the past week in South Dakota on a pheasant hunt with no computer!

The rack is from Atlantic British based on an old catalog that came with the Rover.

I'm going to work on the starter later this week. I'm not sure if it's getting full voltage so I'm going to test everything and check for corrosion. It cranks weak so I suspect I'll be replacing it.

[keithg]

Here's a link to all the photos the PO showed me prior to me buying it. You'll see the anchors for the roof rack too. Some of the photos don't completely show for some reason but they aren't mine so I can't fix them.....

http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/04283c8f14

[keithg]

Here's the info on the Roof Rack a few of you were asking about. I believe the rack is from AB based on the old catalog that came with the Rover. It may be an early Brownchurch.

[rrc.swb]

Here's the info on the Roof Rack a few of you were asking about. I believe the rack is from AB based on the old catalog that came with the Rover. It may be an early Brownchurch.

Thanks for the info.

[gambrinus]

I see you're in Butler, PA.

Look up these guys in Pburgh:

http://fplrg.org/

Great bunch of guys and a wealth of knowledge for you.


RW
( Now in Denver, but a founding member of FPLRG)

[keithg]

Thanks gambrinus, I'll check them out. There aren't to many Rovers around here!

[mearstrae]

WOW! Someone in Butler has a Series! You're right there aren't many here abouts, I'm over towards the Kittanning area, but have friends in Carbon Center (I Can see folks asking.."Where the Hell's Carbon Center".?), and in Harmony that have Discos. I have a friend, only a couple blocks away, who had a Sweet '88' that he sold this year.

'95 R.R. Classic LWB
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

[keithg]

Well, I'm making progress.... I drained the old gas from the tank and fuel lines, added fresh gas, used a vacuum hand pump to draw it to the carb, hand cranked it to get oil pressure, and checked for spark- I ordered a starter, coil, spark plugs, and wires. I pulled all the wheels off and checked the brakes and found that the rear wheel cylinders have been leaking and made a mess of the shoes- I ordered rear brakes, brake springs, wheels cylinders, and axle seals. (in case I need them) I also tried to bleed the clutch and couldn't move the bleeder on the slave cylinder so I ordered a new bleeder because I'm sure I'll destroy this one. OH, and I removed about 8 switches and the subsequent wiring so it was out of the way. It was shoddy at best so I'll rewire any aux circuits I decide to keep..

I guess I'm doing my part to spur the economy!

[mearstrae]

When you have stuck nuts, bolts, or screws; use the PB-Blaster spray, it seems to work the best. They have it at the auto parts and Big Lots, in Butler. A little heat also helps break thing loose.

I also have some odd Series III parts: Radiator (from 2.6), decent door tops, and Lucas alternator.

'95 R.R. Classic LWB
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

[keithg]

When you guys replaced your starter with the gear reduction one did you add an additional ground wire from the block to the chassis? I'm just curious about that since the new starter doesn't have an additional chassis ground.

Progress report: I replaced my starter, the nuts were so badly rusted to the studs that the studs backed out so it wasn't that bad. I don't have spark so i'm working through that now. I have power to the coil so I ordered points and condenser today.

[mearstrae]

Since Land Rovers always lack proper grounds (earths) it would be a good idea, if only to prevent future trouble. And to prevent future nut/bolt problems always use some type of anti-sieze compound on threads.

'95 R.R. Classic LWB
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S

[keithg]

IT RUNS!!! I got it started last night and it runs pretty good. It sputtered a bit at first while it cycled the old gas out of the bowls but no smoke. I need to work on the linkage to the carb because it's a homemade piece for the Weber that isn't working very well.

I also changed out the rear brake shoes and wheel cylinders. Now to get the clutch working and take a drive around the block!

[mearstrae]

Keith, did you get my PM on Monday?

'95 R.R. Classic LWB
'76 Series III Hybrid 109
'70 Rover 3500S