wingnut1033

Hi there I've had parts for my lightweight from them as they're local for me. I got chassis brackets and doors. They have most bits for S3's and lightweights and are spot on Hope it helps

Something worth mentioning If its been stood for a few years its worth checking the enginge block core plugs. They may look ok on the outside(usually covered in carp and oil) but can corrode from the inside. Mine stood for a year with no coolant and the head off and started leaking once it was up and running and warmed up. I was miles from home, no bucket, no tap! nice... A hot jet of alien blood on the hot exhaust manifold signalled its time to ring the AA! You can't pop them out for a quick look as they are a persuasion fit, but its worth swapping them out. They cost pence to swap out. Hit the centre with a punch to deform them, flip them out, clean the holes with a cloth(NOT emery cloth), apply a smear of non setting gasket compound and tap in with a socket and hammer. Simple and stops big problems later. Good luck

That sounds about right. I can't shunt the block forward any further as its seriously tight already. Shortening props could be an option. Did you need to alter the front prop in any way? If i did get the LT77 box I'd probably weld on new mounts anyway. Did you notch the front xmember and roughly by how much. I just fancy a fully syncro'd box and not need my whining overdrive! My box is dying and I've got grinding in 3rd gear(probably cracked cog) and since i've been using low ratio in the snow I can't get out of 4 wheel drive. OK whilst the snow lasts but annoying as hell. Think I'll just source a S3 box for the time being and rebuild my old one. Thanks for the advice

Hi folks Is there anyone out there who has fitted a Defender gearbox into a S3 lightweight. My original engine was a 2 1/4 diesel that died a few years ago and I fitted a 2.5 NA diesel out of an early defender. The only mods i had to do were move one of the engine mounts(welding job), enlarge the stud holes on the bell housing and fit a new clutch plate with the splines numbers that matched my new drive shaft. SIMPLE!!!!! My gearbox is starting to fail and 3rd gear sounds like a tooth is missing so I'm looking to find a replacement to put in it whilst I try and rebuild this old thing. I've never rebuilt a gearbox before so I'm quietly dreading it. Anyway getting back to my question. Can I fit a defender gearbox in my S3 chassis and has anyone ever done this. The box must fit the engine as it started off in a defender. Has anyone ever fitted this setup before and would know if the drive shafts will fit and what chassis mods would be needed to mount it? Many thanks Dave

Always use the right hand tank first then over to the left and the returning fuel will go back to the right tank giving you a small reserve when tank two is empty!!! On something of a tangent, have you considered dumping the left hand tank? I only ask as sooner or later the tap is going to start drawing air into the fuel lines as the cork in the tap decides to give up the ghost! This little problem caused weeks of headaches and me to not start up, draw air into the diesel lines and flatten my battery repeatedly. The diesel injector pump is always a pig to bleed. Its a simple case of binning the tap and running a new piece of pipe from the tank to the lift pump.The sender wire skips the tap switches and goes directly to the gauge too. The return fuel line stays the same. Simple. Ok so if you want to stay original, ignore me, but it solves a shed loads of problems......