Rover Fever?

[Alaska Mike]

A little advice required...

I've been a Jeep CJ guy forever. Vehicles that exude "funk factor" just own my soul. Recently a friend dropped by and noticed the Jeep. Then he casually mentioned that he had a Series III 88 hardtop sitting in his backyard and asked if I was interested. Rusted frame and bulkhead, but he says it runs and drives well. I could probably get it for a song.

Now I have Rover Fever. I've had Jeep Fever on several occasions and it ended up with me spending waaaayyyy too much money and having waaaayyyy too much fun while alienating my wife more than a little.

Any suggestions?

[Andrew Walcker]

Avert your gaze, turn and run like you have never run before....

You probably already know what you could possibly be getting yourself into. Very cool vehicles but starting with a rusted out one is going to be expensive.

[Mercedesrover]

With a bad frame and bulkhead you'll spend $5k in a heartbeat just getting it safe for the road. It just gets worse from there.

If a stockish 88" is what you're looking for, save up the bread and come down below and find one with a new, or at least decent frame. For $7k-$10k you can usually find yourself a pretty nice truck. Get the one up there for spares.

jim

[Linus Tremaine]

My rover has a "rusty" frame and bulkhead, but its safe. I would look at it and see how bad it is. Just because you have a hole in your floor board or an out rigger doesnt mean you need a new frame and bulkhead- you can still drive the heck out of it and it may still be a good truck. If you want to restore it, have it be nice, dry and warm (if you can have that in a rover?...?) look elsewhere.


Rust holes and less than perfect frames should not be a death sentence to an otherwise good rover. It may be perfectly serviceable as is-just more expensive to restore if that is your intention.

[Jonathan Hanson]

It all depends on the individual. If all you want is a clean vehicle, yup, you're far better off buying it clean. But if you take satisfaction in doing things yourself, and if you might even have a more sentimental aim in rescuing a decrepit classic, dive in. Plus, when you're finished, you'll know every nut and bolt on it.

[Alaska Mike]

Let's be honest- I'm coming from a Jeep background, so nothing is too sacred to swap out or modify for me, with the exception of the body (which is the only reason I really want the vehicle- the looks). I understand that is heresy in the Rover world, but I'm not in the resto mindset. First and foremost I want a vehicle that won't leave me stranded in the woods, since being stranded up here is a serious matter.

I'll sleep on it for a week or so and maybe then go over and take a gander at it. No use in rushing into another money pit based on a passing fancy.

[Alaska Mike]

Well, as it turns out my friend dropped me an email. Looks like I misunderstood a bit. It's a 1973 Series III that doesn't run (he doesn't know why) that was purchased as a parts car but never pulled from. He was told there was frame rust and bulkhead rust, but he's not sure since he didn't look at it that closely. He says the exterior is in good shape, but this would be a project car for sure. He'll be forwarding me some pictures to get an idea of what I'm looking at.

He's asking $500, which I think is what he has into it.

Thoughts? I'm intrigued.

I have all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head right now, so I'm going to wait a couple days and see if I calm down.

[Jonathan Hanson]

Hard to go wrong at that price!

[OverlandZJ]

I have all sorts of crazy ideas running through my head right now, so I'm going to wait a couple days and see if I calm down.

At least until the pics hit your inbox.

As Jonathan stated... the price is right, and a SeriesIII project sounds awesome.

Just out of curiosity, how wide are Series axle assemblies? Wheelbase?

[TeriAnn]

At least until the pics hit your inbox.
Just out of curiosity, how wide are Series axle assemblies? Wheelbase?

The model number of a Land Rover is its wheelbase in inches. In his initial posting he said it was an 88, so it is the short wheelbase version with an 88 inch wheelbase.

Series III Land Rovers are 66 inches (5.5ft) overall width. Its a tad early for me to go out and crawl under my Land Rover with a measuring tape but figure the axle will be a tad narrower than the body.