mwy1964 Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Hello all, been lurking around on this forum for a few months now lapping up the information contained within prior to purchasing a Series 3. And what a great site it is.... Anyway earlier this week I took the plunge and brought a 1983 Series 3 of the Bay of Es for £400, 5 miles down the road from where I live... Got the chance to view and drive before I purchased, with MOT and Tax until next month. Anyway as you can imagine its not perfect for £400 and the following problems were clearly mentioned in the description - Lower part of footwells needs replacing (Passenger side is MOTable but while doing the drivers side I may as well do this as well) Front fuel tank outrigger corroded and pulls to the right when braking.. So a bit of work to do which while not daunting for me calls on reviving my skills for welding, which were last used some 15 years ago when I had a sideline restoring classic cars. The rest of the car is good, engine is a peach and bodywork solid and reasonably straight with a Safari roof and new tyres. Much loved by its previous owner but neither the skills or the time to get it straightened up. For me the car will be a bit of fun as a project and a prime mover for me and my dog when the shooting season starts and will probably do no more than 3000 miles a year around the Kent countryside. So this gives me until October to get it back on the road with a fresh MOT... So my reason for this post is two fold:- An introduction as i will probably be posting looking for advice and inspiration. Secondly some initial advice on parts recommendations... Scouring the web and LRO there are so many suppliers of pattern and OEM parts. My intial start to this project (In parallel to the welding) is getting the suspension and brakes up to scratch. So do you guys have any advice on suppliers to use and the best manufacturer for brake and suspension components. I look forward to your reponses and thanks in advance. I hope at some point I will be able to contribute... Mark.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old leafer Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 Hello all, been lurking around on this forum for a few months now lapping up the information contained within prior to purchasing a Series 3. And what a great site it is....Anyway earlier this week I took the plunge and brought a 1983 Series 3 of the Bay of Es for £400, 5 miles down the road from where I live... Got the chance to view and drive before I purchased, with MOT and Tax until next month. Anyway as you can imagine its not perfect for £400 and the following problems were clearly mentioned in the description - Lower part of footwells needs replacing (Passenger side is MOTable but while doing the drivers side I may as well do this as well) Front fuel tank outrigger corroded and pulls to the right when braking.. So a bit of work to do which while not daunting for me calls on reviving my skills for welding, which were last used some 15 years ago when I had a sideline restoring classic cars. The rest of the car is good, engine is a peach and bodywork solid and reasonably straight with a Safari roof and new tyres. Much loved by its previous owner but neither the skills or the time to get it straightened up. For me the car will be a bit of fun as a project and a prime mover for me and my dog when the shooting season starts and will probably do no more than 3000 miles a year around the Kent countryside. So this gives me until October to get it back on the road with a fresh MOT... So my reason for this post is two fold:- An introduction as i will probably be posting looking for advice and inspiration. Secondly some initial advice on parts recommendations... Scouring the web and LRO there are so many suppliers of pattern and OEM parts. My intial start to this project (In parallel to the welding) is getting the suspension and brakes up to scratch. So do you guys have any advice on suppliers to use and the best manufacturer for brake and suspension components. I look forward to your reponses and thanks in advance. I hope at some point I will be able to contribute... Mark.. hi mark it all depends on what you want your series to do for normal shoot driving standerd springs will be fine parabolics are smother tho and make travling across fields more comfy as for breaks most bits you will find in your local car spares place all tho they may have to order paddocks m&ms and places like that i find prity good all tho unless your local there is the wait for the parts well the waiting in for the post man is the main pain ooooohhhhhhh and when you have done your breaks you will realise they are usless lol you get used to them tho regards mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwy1964 Posted May 25, 2008 Author Share Posted May 25, 2008 hi mark it all depends on what you want your series to do for normal shoot driving standerd springs will be fine parabolics are smother tho and make travling across fields more comfy as for breaks most bits you will find in your local car spares place all tho they may have to order paddocks m&ms and places like that i find prity good all tho unless your local there is the wait for the parts well the waiting in for the post man is the main pain ooooohhhhhhh and when you have done your breaks you will realise they are usless lol you get used to them tho regards mark Thanks for the response... I learnt to drive on MOD series 2 and 2a so was pretty to use to the brakes, or the lack of them... As its an 1983 it looks like it has the 11" front brakes from the 109.. Be keen to get them overhauled and see if there is any real advantage.. Reviewing the car in detail, in the cold light of day on the drive, it looks like it needs a new rear crossmember as well as the footwells.. So really must get the welding skills out of the memory bank... Apart from that it drives just as i remember and I was probably wearing the silliest grin driving it the 5 miles (10 with a bit of a detour) back home... Not sure about the Parabolics at present.. When shooting the car could end up with 4 people plus my dog in it and it would appear from my research that Parabolics are not good on fully laden vehicles... Also it would appear that standard springs seem to come in varying leaf combinations (I may be wrong on this) so maybe a combination of differing leafs could be the answer... So it looks like next week the spend could start... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1701 Posted May 26, 2008 Share Posted May 26, 2008 exeter 4x4 are good on price and do mail order, paddocks can be good but sometimes their quality is AWFUL i got a set of parabolics from them that bent off road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'll be brief as I'm on the ferry and it's fish-o-clock The 11" brakes will be OK when adjusted up nicely but will revert to rubbish at the first sign of moisture. Parabolics are fine for heavy loads, most modern light trucks, vans, and pickups run parabolic springs on the back. It's just down to which springs you choose, fewer leaves means more supple but will hit the bumpstops quicker, more leaves means bouncier but better under load. My 109 has 2-leaf fronts and 3+1 rears and copes well with being fully laden and towing a silly yellow car on a trailer. When you get welding, bite the bullet and cut out all the rusty metal - do it once, do it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwy1964 Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 I'll be brief as I'm on the ferry and it's fish-o-clock The 11" brakes will be OK when adjusted up nicely but will revert to rubbish at the first sign of moisture. Parabolics are fine for heavy loads, most modern light trucks, vans, and pickups run parabolic springs on the back. It's just down to which springs you choose, fewer leaves means more supple but will hit the bumpstops quicker, more leaves means bouncier but better under load. My 109 has 2-leaf fronts and 3+1 rears and copes well with being fully laden and towing a silly yellow car on a trailer. When you get welding, bite the bullet and cut out all the rusty metal - do it once, do it right. I agree with the welding comment... I am thinking of sticking on a half chassis as it joins up nicely with the centre crossmember.. The dumb irons while not bad will not see the next couple of years so while I have it pieces to do the footwells I may as well do these as well.. The rest of the chassis looks good... I could swap chassis but from my experience of Land Rovers many years ago it is normally the extremes of the back and front that go... The centre section looks good due to oil coverage... So recomendations for repair panels are the first order... Footwell, dumb irons and 1/2 chassis... It appears that Bearmach have a place in Maidstone and I used a lot of their parts years ago with my Range Rovers and they seemed good... Any other recomendations???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coddy Posted May 27, 2008 Share Posted May 27, 2008 It appears that Bearmach have a place in Maidstone and I sed a lot of their parts years ago with my Range Rovers and they seemed good... Ah do they? Whereabouts, as i live on Sheppey and work in Aylesford, and am well peed off with Britpart carp, esp for brakes/wheel bearings.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwy1964 Posted May 27, 2008 Author Share Posted May 27, 2008 Ah do they? Whereabouts, as i live on Sheppey and work in Aylesford, and am well peed off with Britpart carp, esp for brakes/wheel bearings.... This is what I have found on their website... I have never been there, only ever spoken to them on the phone and that was some time ago... I feel I may be getting to know them better over the coming months.. Kent Bearmach Plc, South East t: 01622 717525 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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