dm7288

Breather pipe mod done today. Will at a later date do the axles, transfer and gearbox and link them all up.

Pollywog, the heystee kit is exactly what I have in mind. Uses original discs pads etc and as a result is future proof! I just cant believe that they want a €1K! They must manufacture batches of them, I would guess it costs them less than half the retail price to manufacture. One hell of a mark up, but a lovely put together kit that looks great on your series. My aim is to produce the same type of kit, but hopefully more affordable for all series owners.

Spongie, I've read that thread and it hardly seems easy to me. All within my capabilites but a hell of a lot of mods required. Also not all series enthusiasts have access to the lathe, pillar drill etc required. Jon was it a case of bolting on Wilwood calipers and using defender discs? I assume some brackets or adapter plates would be required? Does it require a deeper dished wheel rim? Could you post details of what you have done, this sounds like an interesting option. My goal in all this was to make a nut and bolt conversion without the need for additional machining, and without it costing the earth! If I can get this designed (family rate for the prototype ) maybe we could produce a kit that will be more within the reach and capabilities of the majority of series owners. All the other kits I've seen cost about a grand plus calipers discs etc. I'm sure that the material and machining cost, if there is the demand, would come in much lower than that. Ultimately though all I want is a future proof disc conversion without the need for specialist discs and pads..

I am looking to upgrade my front brakes to discs. I've looked at a few kits that allow the standard leaf spring axle to be used with a replacement hub swivel housing. Only a couple seem to offer a kit that will use standard defender discs, calipers etc and they are hugely costly. So my idea is to get my cousin, he owns his own cnc engineering factory, to manufacture replacement swivel housing casings that will accept all series 3 parts, ball, drive shaft and so on (maybe replacing the raiko bush with a bearing) to add the luxury of front disc brakes. He is well versed in material suitability for this type of venture, he makes components for Redbull F1, Mclaren and Prodrive to name a few. I intend to get a series 3 swivel hub complete and a defender swivel hub complete, get them both measured and produce a cad model for the hybrid that will allow discs to be fitted. Does anyone close to bedfordshire have either swivel hubs that they could donate/ lend to the cause? Are any of you familiar with possible snags/ incompatibilities that we may encounter? Cheers...

I have several 90 deg push fit pipe adaptors that will do the job nicely so I'll sort it out tomorrow..

My 1972 2.25 petrol has the breather pipe from the oil filler connected to the vacuum control valve, the pipe from the valve then connects to the sandwich plate between the carb and the inlet manifold. The rocker cover breather pipe connects to the air pipe that goes between the oil bath air filter and the top of the carb.

I have used the correct oil, set the level with the dipstick that is attached to the filler plug. I will fit a pipe fitting and a length of pipe to get the breather higher up. Cheers guys..

Hi all, I have fitted a fairey overdrive to my series 3. I replaced all of the overdrive gaskets to prevent leaks. Bloody thing still leaks, but out of the hole in the top cover that has a split pin in it. The cover has a plate on the underside to deflect the oil away from the split pin and hole, I assume the split pin acts as a breather. Anyone know of a fix to prevent this? Dont want to put a self tapper in the hole as it might cause a build up of pressure? Any ideas? Dave..

I've chamfered approx a 30 mm lead on the rearmost brake shoe on each one. Seems to have cured the problem. The wheel cylinders are lucas ones, didn't check the spring resistance as all 4 original wheel cylinders had seized up, it had been sitting for some time before I bought it.

Hi all, I have fitted new shoes and drums all round. when i spin a wheel backwards the trailing shoe grabs and locks the wheel solid. All of the springs are fitted correctly as are the shoes, all wheels grab when off the ground and rotated backwards. Any ideas? Dave..

The rage chop saw is a cost effective piece of kit if you are doing a refurb, cuts steel, aluminium, wood etc very well.. http://www.evolutionpowertools.com/uk/build/rage4.php you can also mitre precise angles if you use an angle gauge against the blade to set the cut, worked well on a kit car chassis I built with a lot of compound angles involved..

a large diameter, but thin, copper washer well greased either side of the selector lever on the pivot bolt worked well on mine to quiten it down and stop the lever from having lateral play in it.

Is it not possible to fit a defender pull cable bonnet release on it?

Excellent idea Gazzar! I will purchase one and maybe post fitting instructions if I can work out how to post it..

Hi All, Does anyone know if you can get a integral locking fuel cap (one that doesnt use a hasp and padlock) to fit a 2 prong type series 3 fuel filler neck? My fuel cap has been prised apart, the locking tab built into the top of the cap has been pulled out, the idea of a padlock attached to the top that can then be used as leverage to remove the locking tab is something i wish to get away from. Any ideas??