Series III Power Steering? Defender doors?

[AustinK]

Does anyone have any experience converting a series III to power steering? Any pics/parts list/.... would be helpful! I have access to an old power steering conversion kit for a tractor that involves a hydraulic motor that mounts on teh steering shaft. Anyone seen these?

I just picked up a really nice 74 with the diahatsu 200TDI, Galv frame and solid body..... Door are the worst with fairly advanced rot on the frames. I am looking at installing new doors and i saw an add for good defender doors. Will the doors from a newer mid 80's defender still work on a series III? It may be a much lower cost option than repairing the originals.

Thanks for any info you might share!

[mjones1700]

Does anyone have any experience converting a series III to power steering? Any pics/parts list/.... would be helpful! I have access to an old power steering conversion kit for a tractor that involves a hydraulic motor that mounts on teh steering shaft. Anyone seen these?

I just picked up a really nice 74 with the diahatsu 200TDI, Galv frame and solid body..... Door are the worst with fairly advanced rot on the frames. I am looking at installing new doors and i saw an add for good defender doors. Will the doors from a newer mid 80's defender still work on a series III? It may be a much lower cost option than repairing the originals.

Thanks for any info you might share!

Hopefully an expert will comment on the Defender doors. I just went through this same decision process. I wanted to replace all my doors with proline etc. but they are not available. I had junked my old doors (two were actually in the dump) when I gave up, pulled them out and started this long, very long process of restoring them. I'm sure other people could have done it better. But I had to use a combination of welding, fiberglass and etc. to take a roll of beat up aluminium and try to remake doors. Looking back, the doors took more time than the restoration of the whole wagon beside the doors. In the end, they look decent, but combined with the fact that I could not find original door seals (even from our host) and had to cut and paste seals, the doors don't fit tight. So if you can get defender doors (and I've heard on the SW that the defender middle doors do fit) then try to go that way rather than restoring the bad ones. Rarely you can find good used doors on E bay. Some day if someone is making replacement doors again, I will replace these.

[I Leak Oil]

[QUOTE=AustinK;88734I have access to an old power steering conversion kit for a tractor that involves a hydraulic motor that mounts on teh steering shaft. Anyone seen these?
[/QUOTE]

Not sure if you're looking at a hydraulic motor or an orbital valve. You would have to turn the steering wheel crazy fast to drive a hydraulic motor!:) Anyway, not being sure as to exactly what you're looking at, I believe in most (if not all states) it's highly frowned upon to have a steering wheel that isn't mechanically attached to the rest of the system. Full hydro steering is very much a no no.
Search the web and you will find plenty of other power steering conversions done on series trucks.

Now, how about a couple pictures (rover p.o.r.n) of your new truck!

[stomper]

There is a company in England that is making new doors, and they are galvanizing the frames before final assembly. I have the company name at home, I will try and remember to post it this evening unless someone else beats me to it. I plan on ordering a set sometime this winter, if you are in the northeast, perhaps we could try and get a group buy, or at least share the overall shipping cost.

[AustinK]

I am not sure but it bolts right over the shaft and just helps it turn. It has a pump on the engine to provide flow. It worked really well on the old John Deere I took it off of. The shaft is still mechanically connected.

Thanks for the door info - If I can confirm they work then I will get them coming.
AK7065

[stomper]

I think someone here mounted a set of defender doors onto their series III, the newer type with the full wind up wndows. It may have been Aaron, but I can't recall.

[I Leak Oil]

Nice looking truck! If you can, post a couple pictures of the steering components. Is it a ram or something that turns the steering shaft? Sounds interesting if nothing else.

[o2batsea]

Do NOT use tractor hydraulic steering valve. Wait, check that, you CANNOT use a tractor steering valve. The steering wheel shaft will be physically disconnected from the rest of the steering system except for the hydraulic pressure. For one thing, it will not come back to "center" when you complete a turn, you have to steer it back. Totally unsafe. Also there is no way to know which way the wheels are going. Every time you go from lock to lock the position of the steering wheel changes. Say you turn it hard right until the wheels lock. You can still rotate the steering wheel even tho the wheels are already turned all the way. Therefore in order to know where the wheels are pointing you'd have to count the rotation of the wheel every time. I hope that makes sense.
What you want is power assisted steering. I did the IH Scout box conversion years ago and it was just dandy. TeriAnn's website has an article covering the whole shebang. I won't cover it all again here but the bottom line is you will have to install a power steering box on the frame, put a power steering pump on the engine, and make a new connection between the Series steering shaft and the power steering box. I see that some people have used a Range Rover P38 steering box. In any case there is a significant amount of fabrication and modification.
Early Defender doors work just fine. 83-84 has two piece middle row doors, which I think are about bad a$$. You can use any doors up thru the (I think) 97 models. The strikers are different, too.

[mjones1700]

There is a company in England that is making new doors, and they are galvanizing the frames before final assembly. I have the company name at home, I will try and remember to post it this evening unless someone else beats me to it. I plan on ordering a set sometime this winter, if you are in the northeast, perhaps we could try and get a group buy, or at least share the overall shipping cost.

Keep me in mind on the deal.

[greenmeanie]

Doors (http://www.ashtreelandrover.com/Doors.html)

[albersj51]

I used an FJ60 box for my power steering conversion. go here http://seriestrek.com/steering.html for more info...this is where I stole it from.

I got new doors from SP Landrovers in the UK. Well made, specific to the S2/S2a and inexpensive. http://www.splandrovers.com/Default.asp

Jason

[73series88]

I had early defender wind up doors
The were warped from someone trying to
Sandblast them
They were nice but I missed my series
Doors. They used the series hinges. But you
Need the stricker setup from the defender
I like the series doors better.
I sold them to go tword my pickup top
Aaron.

[rof]

If you have access to the book Land Rover Series III Reborn check out the chapters on replacing the doors with Defender doors and the one on power steering. On the power steering they work with a kit, but there are lots of pictures and a diagram of the layout.
It covers lots of things reference to restoring a series III and has lots of pictures of the process.
The book uses a lot of Santana parts, but basically they cover taking two trucks and making one basically "new" truck.
Wayne

[TeriAnn]

I have a power steering page (http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/PowerSteering.htm) that you might find useful. The hot set up du jour is to use the power steering box, arm and lower steering column from a Range Rover P-38 out of a wrecking yard.

For doors: Check with Ike at Pangolin 4X4 (http://www.pangolin4x4.com/). He carries a lot of used LR parts and is the best source I know of for used body panels.

For door seals: The stock ones don't seal very well. Even genuine LR Series door seals. I strongly recommend converting to Defender door seals. They work a LOT better. most people cut off the lip around the door opening to mount the Defender seals (I did) but a few people say they can get them to fit without cutting the lip off.

[AustinK]

Thanks for all the links! now I just need to figure out what to do first!
Any good info out there on disc brake conversions - homemade? Any regular stock discs with the 5x6.5 pattern? I am trying to build this truck for a transamerica trip next year.
Thanks
AK

[Boston]

I have the Ashtree doors and tops ready to go on my build. Just got a little more work to do before I mount them.

[TeriAnn]

I have yet another web page that is a survey of disc brake conversion kits (http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/discBrake.htm) currently available for sale. The kits are presented in alphabetical order and not by order of preference.

And if you convert to disc brakes you will really want to have power brakes to activate the pads. In case your Rover does not come with power brakes I have yet another web page covering power brake conversions (http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/dual_brake_conv.htm).