secondjeremy

I'm 5ft 10 - so not huge - and the top of the windscreen was close to obstructing my view in my S3 with the pointless factory seat adjusters (Tray which raises the base by about 1 inch) Lets put it this way - no way did I need sun visors.

Will you be able to see out or will the top of the screen restrict your view? Remember Rover raised the top of the screen on the 90's / 110.

I thought the selectors were brass?

The white smoke is unburnt fuel - so why isn't it burning? It can be due to incorrect pump timing or a worn injection pump or injectors. Low engine compression can also cause the problem. Low compression is usually due to bore wear - and the engines tend to blow oil out everywhere so as the engine looks clean its unlikely to be the problem.

Don't under estimate the amount of condensation you can get. If you've got a van - bodied SWB with no lining you'll find on damp days that when you first put the brakes on (which will snatch slightly as the drums have rusted) you will get a shower of water over your legs. What happens is that the condensation on the roof runs forwrd, the droplets get bigger until - over your legs - they get so big they fall - on you.

Check the gas pressure. Someone tried to sell Hobby Weld gas to me but couldn't give me a figure for the pressure in the bottle. When I checked I found it was much less - possibly about 1/2. BOC have their own scheme - https://www.ryvalgas.co.uk/ which seems good value. Obviously run by British managers as the smallest reel of MIG wire on offer is 15KG - which I'd have thought won't fit most of their potential customers welders.

The Series 3 front panel still has the tags complete with holes for riveting the S2a 'Maltese Cross' grill support brackets.

I think 3/4 ton was the designation of the ordinary LWB. The 1 tonne was a rather different beast with heavy duty suspension, lower ratio steering, wide wheels and an all-helical transfer box giving a maximum sppeed in the low 50's This doesn't mean that yours is the same as a standard civilian one - the suspension and other parts may be special. I'd have put it as very late 70's - early 80's - it has a Vin no - SALL. . . . . - earlier ones didn't. It could be that military vehicles acquired them earlier than civilian ones or something. My 'T' reg S3 didn't have a vin no - just a chassis no - but my X reg LWB did.

The Distributor Doctor sells quality parts - internet search will reveal all. Otherwise some people sell Intermotor bits - Intermotor have been around for ever making electrical components to fit Lucas - their lead set has a long king lead for a bulkhead mounted coil - Lucas seem to think it was mounted on the rocker cover and supply a short one!

The original would have been a 2 litre if it was a diesel to start with. Is it a Land Rover engine? Do you know its capacity? It's possible its come from another vehicle - London Taxi - few - they didn't work well, Sherpa van, marine engine, fork lift truck. . . .

It all depends on what combination of light parts you have. There are 2 depths of outer chrome fixing ring, some lamp units with metal reflectors have small folded metal 'feet' on the outer rim which assist with fitting tightly.

I've fitted 2 - strangely to the same inner wing (Someone ran into it just after I'd finished the job for the 1st time.) The holes didn't line up and the stuff is difficult to file. (Die grinder and a burr may be better than a file) They must fit exactly as any tension makes them bend a little - I'm sure I could see the line of the mudshield in cold weather on the first time fit and think that perhaps I should have trimmed the back of the alloy inner wing to get a better fit on the bulkhead pillar. I rubbed them down carefully, etched them and painted with twin pack - no problems there. They survive impact better than alloy. The impact bent a new bumper - but apart from possibly pulling over a fixing bolt and washer I thought the thing had escaped damage. In fact on closer examination the return lip over the wheel section had split away. Had it been mine I'd have replaced the bolt with a bigger washer and glued a stiffener to the split and left it alone - but as someone else was paying and it wasn't mine I replaced the skin. The replaced skin is now on another vehicle.

There are 2 basic types of transfer box - the difference is the modification of the intermediate gear and its shaft. The later shaft is much bigger and has a bevel opposite the locating groove (looks like a bit has been broken off) This shaft is behind the handbrake. S3 gearboxes have their serial number on the front edge of the transfer box case - more or less over the intermediate shaft. This wonderful arrangement means that you have no idea which version of the main box is attached as it has no number. There are a couple of earlier differences - very early 80in boxes have free wheel drive for the front, and 80in boxes have a small drain plug on the side muddled up with the mount and handbrake mechanism. 86in and later have the filler in the normal place on the back face - it got bigger somewhere during S2/2a production. There is also the 1 ton transmission which is rather different.

80/90 GL4 oil is readily available and has the advantage it should be the same viscosity as EP90 when hot but is thinner when cold. This makes gearchanging on a S3 in cold weather much easier. It may also leak better!.

The guy I sold my S3 diesel LWB truck cab to asked me to trim it and reduce the noise. I warned him that I had little experience in the subject but would have a go at something simple. I got Exmoor's hardura kit and with a not inconsiderable amount of fiddling got the footwells, bulkhead, gearbox and seatbox front and sides trimmed. With a pair of acoustic mats (Foam with a chequer-plate type rubber top) both he and I were surprised at the difference. I should add that the previous owner had fitted foam to the truck cab roof. Modern hardura seems to differ from that originally used by Land Rover in that the backing is raw Jute rather than blackened jute impregnated with something. Its also a bit thicker. The open back may help it absorb sound. If I were to do another one I wouldn't bother to buy the kit - just Hardura cut from the roll. The pre-cut kit didn't fit well - and I had a bag of trimmings by the time I'd finished. I'd make a set of templates from cardboard and cut from them.

With green wheels I hope.

I've got one on my 4 post lift which has worked nicely for 6 or 7 years. I bought mine of a specialist on e-bay - and apparently the thing has to be matched to the motor to get the best. Use on 4 post lifts is quite common so that wasn't a problem. What happens if its not carefully matched - I don't know. I think mine is Taco or something which may have been Siemens in a former life. The instructions were terrible and we had to speak to the supplier to get it set correctly - great fun when you can't get a phone signal!.

I agree that the things should be re-inforced. Has the top of the footwell rusted? Often its not and a better job can be made by cutting the old footwell away to one of the folds at the front (mounting for steering box etc) and welding along the join/angle. I have managed to unpick the rotten floor from the re-inforceing plate, leave it in place and simply weld the new floor to it.

Sounds like the selector rods have seized where they emerge from the front of the transfer casing. The one with the yellow knob pin locking it is probably the problem. The linkage depends on the free movement of this selector shaft - its movement is controlled by 2 springs inside the box. If it doesn't move freely all sorts of strange things happen. So floor out - front cover over selectors off - and start looking at what happens and clean off any rust and lubricate. Lots of fiddling and cleaning and greasing usually gets it working.

If you're lucky the problem is sticky linkage at the front of the transfer box. Lift the offside floor and you'll see the transfer box lever and the selector cover. The mechanism (which runs the length of the output cover) is a bit wierd but relies on the movement of the selector into which the 4WD lever locking pin drops into. This is turn is controlled by springs rather than a lever. What happens is that the selectors rust where they emerge from the alloy housing - which makes them stiff. In particular this affects the spring-loaded one - and you can have hours of fun cleaning it all up, removing rust and getting it to move sweetly.

Confirm BSF - Whitworth threads are much coarser - BSF was an improved thread for machinery and the motor trade which was finer. The nuts were such that the existing Whitworth spanners would fit. If you're removing the prop from the handbrake flange drop the rear end first. Even with a good range of BSF spanners its virtually impossible to turn the nuts with the prop attached to the axle. Drop it first and the job is slightly less difficult.

What about S3 ones - they fit rather better.

Thers is no adjustment for engagement on a S3 gearbox. There is on the non-synchro 2nd boxes (S1, S2 and most 2a) Sounds to me like a synchro problem - possibly baulk ring or engagement teeth. If you enjoy taking the things to pieces and have fairly deep pockets then dismantle it and replace the necessary parts and other worn bits like bearings - but otherwise - why not lean to double declutch - and avoid using the synchromesh.

Have you got a proper Land Rover diesel engine or something else? Some Perkins (and others no doubt) don't rev very fast. Otherwise - make sure the throttle is opening fully. They can get sticky or be badly set up. If you've got the cable one (little short cable to the pump) make sure the outer cable is sitting properly in its clamps - if someone's been fiddling with the cable its easy to dislodge. 88in on standard (600 x 16 or 205 x 16's) should do about 60 in top - LWB - about 65 (I've seen it!)

The fan is on the right way round isn't it? (Curved blade face should be forward.) France has better hills than England. What's your altitude? If the water looks dirty I'd start by flushing it thoroughly, fill and run it and possibly do it again if I thought there was a build up of sludge somewhere. The proper radiator has tanks top and bottom. Yours does this doesn't it? (Many vehicles now have crossflow radiators with tanks at the side rather than top and bottom. These are excellent - but if the coolant is dirty the tubes start to block from the bottom. All is well until one too many pipes is blocked and the vehicle is stressed)