NICE LAND ROVER SERIES 3 at a good price

[weatherm]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1145275377.html

wow this is a great price... just passing it along... I'm about a year out from buying but dang!

I bet you could say 7k today!

[haven]

"professionally installed new rear quarter chassis including rear
black bumper, new right rear leaf spring outrigger and bushing"

The ad doesn't say, but I'm guessing this vehicle has a salvage
title. Maybe that explains the asking price. Make sure the car
has passed a safety inspection.

Chip Haven

[gjackson]

"professionally installed new rear quarter chassis including rear
black bumper, new right rear leaf spring outrigger and bushing"

The ad doesn't say, but I'm guessing this vehicle has a salvage
title. Maybe that explains the asking price. Make sure the car
has passed a safety inspection.

Chip Haven

Could also be replacement due to rust. Both Series LRs and Defenders tend to really suffer from rust on the rear third of the frame. It's why you can buy the rear third from Rovers North so readily. :sombrero:

cheers

[telwyn]

Looks like a beauty. Trying to talk my wife into selling her 06 Volvo XC90 so we can buy this for her! :victory:

[weatherm]

Good luck with buying it. You can notice in the pics I think he spray painted over the rust on the frame... you can see a hue of rust.... good price and it very well could be a salvage ... i mean it does look to have a fresh coat of paint on it... maybe to cover up something?

good price if its legit. I emailed him and he seemed nice and wanted me to check it out ... I'm going to ATL in 2 weeks and would like to check it out... I can relay info to anyone that wants it.

[weatherm]

test driving it this Sunday.

Sounds good over the phone .. we will see.

Can anyone put some insite into how poorly the 2.5 petrol performs / repair cost .etc...?? how comperable is it to the performance of the deisel... besides gas mileage and sound :)

[Expedition Will]

These things are notorius for rust. I have owned three of these and all of them have had some major sections repaired due to rust. Just like the old Road Runner Coyote cartoons-If a Land Rover leaves a parking space and does not leave a despoit of oil or rust then it is a fake and don't buy it....LOL

[C Red]

You will need some replacement doors. Ask for pics of any rust on the door bottoms. You will see what I'm talking about.

[evilfij]

test driving it this Sunday.

Sounds good over the phone .. we will see.

Can anyone put some insite into how poorly the 2.5 petrol performs / repair cost .etc...?? how comperable is it to the performance of the deisel... besides gas mileage and sound :)


A 2.25 petrol will run indefinately under horribly adverse conditions. It is the same block and moving parts as the diesel which runs at 20:1 or 22:1 compression running at 7:1 or 8:1. I have seen them run after sitting for decades siezed, on two cylinders, with a broken rod, and even with dozens of acorns in the motor.

They are not spritely, especially in a heavy 109, but provided you have a decently performing carb and ignition, there is not much to go wrong and they will carry you around town and off road with ease. The highway is where they let you down. While they have 125ft/lbs of torque, they only have 67hp, which leaves cruising speed in a 109 at about 55mph (my 88in was clocked at over 80mph, but I would not recommend that for long term survival of either the motor or you). Since it has an overdrive, you might be able to cruise at 60 or 65 on level ground, but the slightest hill will slow you up in overdrive in a 109. The biggest issue in my experince seems to be the valve seals which leads to some oil smoke. Repair costs are not cheap, but, as I said, little goes wrong that is not a bolt on type of part and you can do the head work yourself for a couple hundred bucks.

On the other hand, the transmissions are weak and prone to leaks and issues and parts are expensive. Similarly, the overdrive, while nice on the highway, is loud and weak and needs to be treated carfully and fastidiously topped up (also make sure there is no oil migration from the trans to the t-case. The other issue is axles. Being a SIII, this should have the salisbury rear axle so the notoriously weak rover 10 spline rear is not present, but the front is not particularly strong and if the chrome swivel balls are pitted, expect issue with it and to set right, it will cost a considerable amount of money.

[The Swiss]

test driving it this Sunday.

Sounds good over the phone .. we will see.

Can anyone put some insite into how poorly the 2.5 petrol performs / repair cost .etc...?? how comperable is it to the performance of the deisel... besides gas mileage and sound :)Good luck! Let us know how it went.

[weatherm]

It went good guys, nice guy not a deuche

The bad:
Gears were a tad hard to find (considering going from a fj40 (semitruck transmission .. I doubt this is bad... Just not used to it + it was RHD so that took some getting used to... awesome I might add a true selling point :)

Oil bath was leaking a bit (big deal?)

He said the transfer case was leaking just a tad (possible crack.. bad gasket .. who knows)

Left wing look like it got hit right by the bumper ( had a small crack but not a big deal to me)


The good:
Quiet
It ran real strong and had more pep in it than I thought for sure.
Everything under the bonnet looked new or newer
There was no rust on the doors even the bottom side I was amazed and everything was just real nice and clean. I mean the seats looks factory show room.
I didn't see any bad rust on the frame... I even took some pics to see if I missed anything. He said all the rust was replaced... and I was like well yep it was.


The real bad:
$$

I have to sell my '72 FJ 40 and am doing the body work this week after work and talking with mutliple cruiserheads they said it will be worth a solid 6k when the body work is done. Thats only 2k away

I have to put up a fence for the wife

... this could be a lost cause

[James86004]

Sounds like a good deal. Having no rust is the biggest single selling point by far. Everything else is much easier to fix, although it sounds like there is nothing to fix. You can try to fix the transfer case leak, but I have only heard of a couple people who were successful.

It is amazing how big a mess a small leak can make. When my SIII was my daily driver, I had a spot in my driveway that was pretty bad, but the level in the transmission and transfer case did not drop measurably over the course of a year.

[The Swiss]

The bad:
Gears were a tad hard to find (considering going from a fj40 (semitruck transmission .. I doubt this is bad... Just not used to it + it was RHD so that took some getting used to... awesome I might add a true selling point :)

He said the transfer case was leaking just a tad (possible crack.. bad gasket .. who knows)I had a Series IIA and the gear box takes a little to get used to. As long as it does not jump out of 2nd gear which appears to be a common sickness it should be fine. Not sure about the Series III, but Series IIA first and 2nd gear were not synchronized.

Most likely just the gasket. All old Land Rovers leak somewhat; if a Landy gearbox, transfercase or pumpkin does not leak, the chance is big that it is out of oil and running dry. As long as it is loosing just a little bit, all is fine ;)

[weatherm]

Yeah thats what I was figuring...

now to sell my fj40 :)
Wifes gonna kill me.

Now wife says I can't get it before I sell the 40 :( this sucks so I was going to pick it up on Friday.. someone go buy this thing!

[weatherm]

Sale pending.. going to pick it up on Sat. morning.

cash talks baby.. 7400 bucks. He had a guy that was coming with a cashiers check but he thinks hes shady and wants cash money.

Driving the wifes Scion xB up to carmax to sell it while I'm up in ATL and then drive the rover back I hope she makes it the 250 miles :)

Get out of debt some and score a rover. This is panning out pretty good. Also sold my 40 to my friend. He saw it and said I want it. I said its yours. I was like ok! :)

Now for everything to just happen.

[kellymoe]

test driving it this Sunday.

Sounds good over the phone .. we will see.

Can anyone put some insite into how poorly the 2.5 petrol performs / repair cost .etc...?? how comperable is it to the performance of the deisel... besides gas mileage and sound :)

I ran a 2.5 for over 2 years with zero compression in 2 cylinders and poor compression in the other two cylinders. I had it on long trips out in the desert and did some pretty tough trails with it and it never gave up the ghost. It ran like a dog but it just kept going like the Energizer bunny.
Oddly enough when I finally rebuilt the motor the power gain was not that noticeable.

That truck could go anywhere, it just couldn't go anywhere fast.

[weatherm]

Nice. Yeah I'm not looking to get anywhere fast :) my 40 sure doesn't. It actually is faster than my 40 which I'm pretty excited about. Max out at top end anyways around 60ish the 40 says it can do 70 but... I mean I want to live :)

[davegonz]

Pics?

[weatherm]

http://picasaweb.google.com/erniemillswhite/1980LandRoverSeriesIII109Wagon?feat=directlink#