6cyl SWB?

[Gazzar]

The diff pan on a standard series is at 90 degrees to the spring mounts. On a stage one, the pan is cocked up by about 10 degrees more. It's fairly obvious.

G.

[Bigj66]

I thought I’d close out this thread with a brief update. 

The original plan was to fit a 6 cylinder engine into the Series 3 but a mismatch between the auto crank shaft and the flywheel meant that some serious engineering would have been required to get everything put together properly and I would have ended up with some non standard key components in the drive train which isn’t what I wanted.

So thoughts then turned to using the V8 engine and auto box out of my Softdash which would have been a great project to do and I am convinced I could have made to fit within the available space. The Softdash itself is a great original vehicle but it does need bodywork doing to it which is beyond my capabilities to do properly. Throw in the fact that the Rangy is my daily and I need a vehicle to use for work, then taking it off the road for several months to have the work done just wasn’t an option. Using it as a donor vehicle though for the Series would have reduced the time required but still left me without a vehicle for a few months whilst the Series was built up on a new chassis. Whichever way I looked at it either option would require time to complete the work which I just don’t have.

In the end I have had to concede that having a reliable daily driver for work must be the priority and that projects must take second place however appealing they may be to do. I have looked at other Softdash rangys with a view to keeping mine as a parts car for the future but although there’s some nice ones out there most still need or will need work doing to them in the not too far off future, despite how their owners like to describe them in their adverts 🙄. There didn’t seem to be much point in spending decent money just to end up back at square one in a few years.

My descision then has been to purchase a vehicle that will become my new daily taking into account the motorway miles I do but still allowing me the opportunity to maintain it myself and keeping a Landrover in the family.

It’s a 2004 TD5 110 van that I found in Northern Ireland after trawling around the internet for the last few weeks. It’s all original and been well maintained by the P.O. who has also added some upgrades and had the engine mapped. I’ve some plans for it myself but want to run about in it for now and get to know it better first before doing anything to it.

The Softdash will be sold as soon as I can put an advert together (along with my Capri) but the Series will stay as a fun car to be restored over time and kept as original. Appreciate all the advice and support that has been given whilst I pondered my way through this. When I get round to doing the build on the Series, I’ll start a new thread in the members vehicles section.

[Bigj66]

Christmas came a bit early.

I had a set of 6.5 rims sent off for refurbishment and they came back yesterday 🙂 Standard Landrover cream, excellent finish.

I’ll try and get them on between Christmas and the New Year.