Guest MJG Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Ref. my earlier post this week about a restored Series III purchase. Have spoken to a couple of potential suppliers now one of whom have urged me to think carefully about a series three 88 and have urged me to think very very carefully about a 200 tdi 90 as an alternative. I am really taken with the character of the old series model but it does sound as though they are considered much less than practical as a 'daily driver' and much more 'agricultural' than a later 90. This could be a particular issue on the occasional 250-300 mile journey (2-3 times per year) I do. Obviously for the bit of green laning done I wouldn't have thought there would be a lot of difference. I know some of you suggested a 90 when I first posted but on top of one of the companies actually selling these things now saying the same and urging caution about a series III I am having doubts. The refurb. price is going to be about the same so that is not a consideration. Clearly I don't want to regret my purchase but equally I don't want to kick myslef later if I go for a 90 when I see a very nice Series III coming the other way I would welcome further thoughts folks . PS - I used to be indecisive - but now I'm not so sure....... :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickm Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 90 never had 1 but wouldnt want to use a series every day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark green 90 Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 write a list of pro's and cons for each vehicle personally, petrol:series 3 , deisel : 90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_a Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I used a series 3 SWB truck cab every day for a 7 mile/40 minute drive to work for about a year. It was never a problem to be honest. The same journey in the defender 90 truck is again no problem. The trip to Abingdon from Portsmouth in the series was OK, loud and seemed a bit long, but probably not too different than in the 90 for time. Though I wonder if I did push my little series a bit too hard, she would be running at around 3100 revs all the way. The trip in the 90 is quieter, but not by much with grizzly claws on. I did a trip to Northhampton from Portsmouth in the series and that was kind of fun, again noisy and probably added about 10-15 mins to journey in comparison to car. Longest journey in defender was from Portsmouth to Malvern (130miles) and I do think that in the series this would have been pushing it a bit, without taking a break at least and would definitely have dragged on. I like both, mods for a series if you plan on using it for any longer journeys would be an overdrive, or at least some bigger tyres (265/75R16 fit). Fitting bigger tyres helped for using it as a run about as it extended first gear to useable range, with the 205s on first was no use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 I had a Series 3. I now have a Ninety. I also had a Discovery. I went back to the Ninety. All were my daily drive (and at the moment, I live in London and my girlfriend lives in Bristol). For me, coil springs and power steering swung it. The S3 was fun but only a hero drives one every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige90 Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Series has bags of appeal to me as I had one for years. Picked it up cheap and fully restored it. Suspension is well'ard, steering heavy and after a bit of deep water the Arbitrary Direction Pedal (aka brake) becomes even more interesting. These things (curable (parabolics, disc conv etc) but obviously costly) don't matter a low off road speeds but on tarmac make for a tiring ride. Then I bought a 90. The poor old S3 sat in the garage unloved and undriven for two years till I sold it. Oddly, I missed it after it'd gone. Having had coils, discs and power steering I couldn't go back to a Series again. But..... a Series can be tax exempt and ridiculously cheap to insure. It all boils down to personal choice so buy whichever appeals the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dew110CSW Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Echo what's said above, Series motors can be very tiring on long Journeys, especially as you'll be looking at about 50mph max on the trip. a tdi 90 (or even a 110 for extra stability on road) would be a far wiser choice for everyday driving. End of the day, if you're willing to live with the S3's shortfalls then go for it, but a 90/110 would be the logical option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holyzeus Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 as your intending to spend a fair bit on the restoration how about buying both a 90 and a series? B) . neither has to be top notch, you can slowly do up both, insurance on both will be low the series very low, two lots of road tax isn't the end of the world, best of both worlds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeryDisco Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 It seems that your heart is saying Series III, your head is saying 90. So if you can afford the time and money, go for the Series III, the if you find that it's a pain in the backside after you've lovingly refurbed it, you can sell it and go for the 90. But what do I know? I'm a girl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 After running 90's, RRs and a variety of series motors as my only vehicle I moved to a car as my daily driver, my lr gets weekend use only. Probably getting soft but nowadays you wont find me under the lr at 11pm trying to fix it for the morning drive to work: I wouldn't dream of using a series as a daily motor. On the other hand I know someome with a professionally restored 90, 18 months on it looks cr&p. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 It seems that your heart is saying Series III, your head is saying 90. Bang on - that's the rub. However on the issue of what may or may not decide this, I think it all rides on the power steering issue, Jan will hate driving something that has incredibly heavy steering, it won't bother me, but for once it may stop her wanting to say "can I take your car today/tonight" Ever since she passed her test 10 years ago I will finally have a vehicle of my own...... That is unless of course a Series III can have PS fitted leaglly in a way that complies with ins. co requirements, but that's a whole new thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hedley Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Bang on - that's the rub. However on the issue of what may or may not decide this, I think it all rides on the power steering issue, Jan will hate driving something that has incredibly heavy steering, it won't bother me, but for once it may stop her wanting to say "can I take your car today/tonight" Ever since she passed her test 10 years ago I will finally have a vehicle of my own...... That is unless of course a Series III can have PS fitted leaglly in a way that complies with ins. co requirements, but that's a whole new thread. I have driven series 1's, series 2's, series 3's, 90's, 110's, a range rover, and a discovery. Now i have a series 3 as an off roader, and a 90 as a car. If a series' steering is set up properly, then it isnt too heavy to handle, and if the axles are rebuilt using lwb brakes, then the brakes are perfectly manageable. My suggestion would would be a compromise; have the series, but update it lwb brakes parabolic springs webber carb range rover diffs - a big plus for speed, economy and comfort hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted February 17, 2007 Share Posted February 17, 2007 Echo what's said above, Series motors can be very tiring on long Journeys, especially as you'll be looking at about 50mph max on the trip. a tdi 90 (or even a 110 for extra stability on road) would be a far wiser choice for everyday driving.End of the day, if you're willing to live with the S3's shortfalls then go for it, but a 90/110 would be the logical option. Dew were you a member of LRUK a while ago? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gruntus Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 My first landy was a s3 that was used by my wife and myself about five years ago. It was Gold in color but cheapish to buy, resprayed "Oslo Metallic Blue", retrimmed the carpets, rebuilt the engine, fitted parabolics, fitted large wheels and tyres, fitted new drums........ But......no power steering, brakes could be interesting and anything over 50 you felt like it needed two extra gears. The thing with the lack of power steering is that the cab is so narrow its awkward turning the wheel at a decent rate and you constantly rattle your elbow off the door when off road (what a woos ) you can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear The strange thing though is I got rid of the series when I had the opportunity of a good cheap Disco 1 from my brother, however we both missed the series, i missed the handling as it was light and fun to drive (though love the PS on the disco) and my wife isn't so keen on the Disco as it is so much bigger AND the gearbox takes a bit of getting used to. Missed it so much I am now in the process of a complete 90 rebuild.......... There is no doubt its enjoyable putting the work into driving the series as you certainly feel connected to the road however looking at it objectively if you are going to use it for more that 50 miles a day or weekends the 90 makes sense. Constant 4wd, diff lock, 5 speed box, coil springs and PS and still has plenty of character as well. Whatever you buy make sure the chassis & bulkhead is in good nick!!! Hope my "objective" view helps. Grant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jericho Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I bought a series 2 about 4 years ago as my daily driver because I thought series 2s were the best looking landrovers.I still do,and I still drive it every day,and I love it,but the last 4 years have been spent slowly making it more practical - 300tdi lt77 parabolic springs power steering 11'' drums with servo defender seats and many other minor improvements. Disc brakes are still on the list (not for stopping power,but because the drums pull to left or to right as they see fit),and if Icould take it off the road for a few weeks,I would fit a coiler chassis.I would consider a standard series unsuitable for eveyday use. Its taken a lot of my time,but its been my pleasure as well as just transport. My advice would be go for the car you really want - if it doesnt work out,change it.Dont compromise if you dont have to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I've never had a series as a daily driver but I have owned a couple. They are charming and can be very cheap BUT this wears very thin if you have to drive any distance as they are slow and quite hard work to drive. IMHO a Tdi Defender gets a reasonable amount of this charactor but with the bonus of being able to keep up with traffic and handle long journeys (I've done 450 - 500 miles in a day in Defenders). IMHO for a bit of fun at the weekend a series is great but you have to think about engine, gearbox, suspension, PAS and brake conversions to make it a realistic proposition for a daily drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I bought a series 2 about 4 years ago as my daily driver because I thought series 2s were the best looking landrovers.I still do,and I still drive it every day,and I love it,but the last 4 years have been spent slowly making it more practical -300tdi lt77 parabolic springs power steering 11'' drums with servo defender seats and many other minor improvements. Disc brakes are still on the list (not for stopping power,but because the drums pull to left or to right as they see fit),and if Icould take it off the road for a few weeks,I would fit a coiler chassis.I would consider a standard series unsuitable for eveyday use. Its taken a lot of my time,but its been my pleasure as well as just transport. My advice would be go for the car you really want - if it doesnt work out,change it. Dont compromise if you dont have to. Think I'm going to have another conversation with my potential suppliers on this as if I could get power steering (safely and reliably) fitted to a series this is likely to swing things towards a series . Certainly one supplier I have spoken to has warned me against the power steering mod as "there are no reliable and safe mod for this" (although it can be done). I know people on here have modded their series to PS but certainly I seem to be having problems identifying somebody who could do this for me as part of a restoration. I suppose one option would be to get everything done but the PS and then find somebody else who could do that particular mod. seperately (or do it myself as it would not be like a complete re-build) - though I would imagine much easier to get done as it is being rebuilt, depending on the method employed. Disc brakes interest me too and I see Bearmach do a Disc kit for the series. I am starting to feel a bit like I'm being driven by one supplier of restored Landies towards what they think I want rather than actually what I want. I am guessing if I push them they will just decline the business partic. if they think they are going to produce something that might be unsafe. (when in reality it will likely be just fine...) I so wish I had the space to do a restoration job like this then I really would end up with the vehicle I want. I've just bought the Haynes Defender and Series 1,2 & 3 restoration manuals and (before somebody points this out) while I wouldn't pretend they show all that there is involved I don't think there is anything in there that is beyond the wit of man. However I have a two car drive on a modern housing estate and my neighbours would have a stroke at the sight of a half built Landie in their eye line for weeks on end :o Thanks every body so far for the input, it is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landmannnn Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 However I have a two car drive on a modern housing estate and my neighbours would have a stroke at the sight of a half built Landie in their eye line for weeks on end :o I wouldn't worry about that, they soon get used to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selectcase Posted February 18, 2007 Share Posted February 18, 2007 I suffered this problem Ive had 3 series then a ninty then a disco then a range rover and always wanted to go back to the series for the nostalga however they are not really very practical as an everyday vehicle i terms of comfort/mpg etc. I know you can spend a fortune fixing things like power steering, new engines,suspension etc but you then get in to serious cah I ended up buying a good cheap warm in the winter, economical car as an everyday driver for £900 and a tax exempt 1970 2a with a new chassis for £1150 so roughly 2000 total. free tax and £100 a year to insure the landy fully comp and £150 per yrear to insure the car. The normal car option makes sense as i often nip up to old sodbury sortouts at 35 to the gallon in my nice warm comfy car listening to the radio and can still get bits in the boot. when i feel like it i take the series out for a run and do a bit of off roading etc and if it brakes down its no worries as its not my onl vehicle. Plus i can play with it like fitting the 200tdi engine etc and take my time. Im happy, wifes happy and its the cheapest option for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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