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Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 12:36 pm
by andrewd
So, much to my wife's dismay I bought another Land Rover! I'm just finishing up the kit-out of my Discovery II safari vehicle and had no immediate plans to start a new project when I spot a 1984 Series 3 Lightweight for sale on Used Victoria. Until 4 years ago it was part of the fleet at the Ashton Armoury Museum here in Victoria. They kept it running and used it as a support vehicle in parades but didn't restore it because this make/model never served with Canadian Forces. In an effort to focus on Canadian vehicles the Lightweight was for the chop! In an effort to save it from being turned into a mud bogger sporting a V8 engine and monster tires, a long-time volunteer of the museum purchased it and has kept if safe until recent health issues caused him to put it up for sale, very reluctantly. On the promise that I would restore and not bastardize it, the Lightweight has found a new home, and when time/money permit my son Will and I will tackle the job. It was a bit of an adventure getting it home though, right-hand drive, left hand gear shifting, and dodgy brakes pulling violently to the left, but thanks to Will in the passenger seat we managed to stay in the right lane and get home all in one piece! I'll post some pictures when my IT support has calmed down and I can pluck up the courage to ask her for help. In the meantime, if anyone has a line on spare parts, manuals, or have first-hand knowledge, I would welcome any input you might have. Thanks!
Andrew

Re: Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 1:00 pm
by Arcades
congratulations on the new member to the family!

its a good thing that rovers, like any other hard core addiction, has support groups available where peeps will help you deal with your need! (parts and knowlege :wink: )

Re: Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:19 am
by andrewd
Thanks very much. Job #1 is to get the front brakes over-hauled so I can actually stop. Job #2 is to fix the steering so that I can drive in somewhat of a straight line.

Re: Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:20 am
by red90
Buy or download the regular genuine Series 3 workshop manual and parts catalogue. It is all pretty basic and everything is designed to be easily repaired. Brakes and steering should be pretty simple to fix up.

There are also two LW specific books that can help.

Parts catalogue that shows non-Series 3 parts.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18552 ... UTF8&psc=1

User Manual.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18552 ... UTF8&psc=1

Two best forums:
http://forum.militarylightweight.co.uk/
http://forum.emlra.org/

Re: Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:02 am
by andrewd
That's great - thanks for the links!

Re: Bought a new project - couldn't pass it up!

Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2016 2:48 pm
by andrewd
FYI - I searched the LW's military history and found out that it was deployed to Hong Kong brand new in 1984 and was there serving with the Gurkha Engineers until the handover back to China in 1997. She was shipped back to the UK and de-mobbed in 1998.