driving a 45 year old vehicle

[Rosie]

Thanks Travis, will have to find out where you are located!!!
Jeff, I looked at the ad for the British "Lucy" truck. It has right hand steering...no good for me!
Price is over the top.
Does anyone know about the 67 advertised by Davida on the 3rd page of the RN series trucks for sale? I have pics, it looks like a really nice job.
He says he has to sell because of back surgery.
He said he had a few calls but no follow ups.
Thanks!

[thixon]

Rosie,

I'm in Augusta, GA. However, I travel all over the US. I have distributors in every state that I visit from time to time. If I'm ever close to one you're looking at (or planning to be), I'd be glad to swing by and run through it for you.

By the way. My first series was a righty. There are actually things I really liked about being on the other side of the truck. It takes very little time to get used to it. I would'nt let that steer you away from a prospective purchase. You just have to endure the mail truck jokes!

[SafeAirOne]

I looked at the ad for the British "Lucy" truck. It has right hand steering...no good for me!

Out of curiosity...Why is right-hand drive no good? It's easy to get used to and adds a bit of extra character to the truck (as if a Rover needs MORE character). Only drawback really is paying tolls and hitting the McDonald's drive-through. That and turning on the windshield wipers every time you try to use the turn signals when you drive your "normal" car.

[Rineheitzgabot]

Yeah, and maybe you can up-sell your milk-delivery services to delivery right to people's mailboxes.

[Rosie]

Right hand steering won't work! I'm one of those middle line of the road huggers.
So basically, with all the parts for a series available at a parts store, like RN, you could build your own series truck from new parts alone, without having a vehicle to begin with, is that correct?

Travis your mail box is full!!
What's your personal email and I will get you the pics.

[greenmeanie]

Righty's should also have better access to the clutch reservoir if it is a late IIA or SIII truck. No more cutting access panels or removing wings to check fluid levels.

[thixon]

Rosie,

I just deleted some messages, but my email is thixon@frtw.com

[Eric W S]

So basically, with all the parts for a series available at a parts store, like RN, you could build your own series truck from new parts alone, without having a vehicle to begin with, is that correct?

No. Some parts are NLA or No Longer Available. Important parts.

[greenmeanie]

No. Some parts are NLA or No Longer Available. Important parts.

Oh it was done about 5 or so years ago back in the UK and featured in one of the landyrags. IIRC it was one of the Bearmach family that did it so they had it a lot easier than the rest of us. It was a bit of deliberate PR to show the extent of their spares holding although it was a SIII.

It would be neither cheap or easy to do. I think that before you could start importing 110s it was an often visited idea to build one as a kit car from parts. At that time it was reckoned to cost about $80K and that was before the dollar tanked.

As stated previously. Much better to start with a project with at least the basics.

Cheers
Gregor

[Donnie]

Rosie,
Since Gudjeon brought it up, I'll expand. He's right. There really is no better vehicle out there in terms of learning repair skills. Parts are cheap and readily available (for the most part). The design is simple and straight forward. You have plenty of room to work, and don't need to buy any weird tools (for the most part) to do repairs and maintenance. Armed with the green bibles, you can figure out (on your own), how to do almost any mechanical repair imaginable. Even if you have little to no skills, you will still be surprised at how much you can actually do yourself. If you get stumped, there are a number of us on this board that can bail you out (as you've noticed I'm sure). Some of what you read on this board may seem intimidating, but theres nothing requiring you to do a frame swap right off the bat. The truth is, you can go buy a reasonably priced set of tools at sears, and complete most repairs on your own without much trouble.

As for reliability, I can only say this. With every brit car I've owned, I've found a few things to be constant. While its possible to keep one from leaking fluids, its usually not worth putting yourself through the anguish of trying. Unless its excessive, just live with the leaks. You'll notice that people knock the electrical systems of most brit cars (rovers included). I've found that once you run through the systems and staighten out any problems, they can be very reliable. I have a buddy who has driven an MGA for the past 20 years as a daily driver. It has the original harness and electrics, and is as reliable as can be. It just requires some preventative maintenance (which is the fun part).

Parts are CHEAP???????????????????????????????????????????

[Eric W S]

Oh it was done about 5 or so years ago back in the UK and featured in one of the landyrags. IIRC it was one of the Bearmach family that did it so they had it a lot easier than the rest of us. It was a bit of deliberate PR to show the extent of their spares holding although it was a SIII.

It would be neither cheap or easy to do. I think that before you could start importing 110s it was an often visited idea to build one as a kit car from parts. At that time it was reckoned to cost about $80K and that was before the dollar tanked.

As stated previously. Much better to start with a project with at least the basics.

Cheers
Gregor

Land Rover UK built four SIII 88's during a BBC telethon at one point. LROI had a blurb about it a long time ago.

But you still couln't build a Series One, Two or Two A if you had to buy all the parts from US Vendors. I could see modifying a 90 Bulkhead for a Series 3.

EwS

[thixon]

Parts are CHEAP???????????????????????????????????????????

Relative to some other colector cars I own, or have owned, yeah. Dirt cheap in fact.

[Eric W S]

Relative to some other colector cars I own, or have owned, yeah. Dirt cheap in fact.

x2. Buy A 97 Defender. Parts are gloriously cheap afterward.

EwS

[SafeAirOne]

Relative to some other colector cars I own, or have owned, yeah. Dirt cheap in fact.

You've got that right! Try buying a brake master cylinder for a series Rover and then one for a Hummer. I don't have a Hummer, but I imagine that parts AREN'T very cheap.