new ex army SIII 109 owner.. some questions...

Question to ask is why he think the head gasket needs changing, might be straighforward, might involve a cracked head, or valves, manifold etc. Not the end of the world but when combined with the other issues you describe, run away.

Run faster. Might be a symptom of the clutch though.

Keep running. You could do worse than ask for it to be MoT'd. The tester will be able to tell you if there are potential problems with the brakes. No point in messing about here, not many second chances with brakes.

The military Series Land Rovers had a relatively small tank like this under each seat. There is a change over switch on the seat box. Not the end of the world but it means you shouldn't pass too many petrol stations. The military tanks tend to rot at the back near the outrigger, at about the half full level of the tank. You often won't know until you fill it right up and it starts to pour or weep out. Probably what happened to the other one. might be worth checking if it takes a full tank first.

Don't hand over any money just yet. Plenty more out there, once you add up what you might be spending to put this one right you might find another with no "issues" Any good points about this one? Is it cheap or a new chassis or good bodywork etc? Weighing up the good points against the bad ones might help, not looking all that good at the moment. At least you have someone to do the work for you but it all adds up.

All the best

Some of these things could be minor fixes, of the sort that any vehicle that age might need. Brake and clutch, for instance.

Others start getting expensive. I'd be particularly wary of the gearbox and engine, knowing what I know how to fix.

ansers in text

Thats news to me ?????

An old landie and a smooth gearchange are polar opposites.

My Clutch fluid mysteriosly leaks (next thing to get sorted) but never had to top up the brake fluid yet. always a good idea to have this on hand though as you never know when you will need it.

Whether ex army vehicles have led a more sheltered life than ex farm ones is difficult to say :)

its.... FREE!!!!!

yes, the guy is giving to me as he can't afford to run two cars, thus I can have it for nothing on the basis that i'm not allowed to sell it on.

He is a friend of my gf.

From what he has told me the chassis is in good shape and the bodywork looks ok (for a 25 year old vehicle), i've not seen it properly yet as its squished into a lockup, but i have sat in it and heard it run, its started 3rd time, not bad as its been standing since january!

i expect to shell out about £500ish sorting out the bits and bobs..

yes, there is a place in dunsfold that i found on the net or the guy selling it has a mechanic near me who has serviced it for years.

maybe he is being overly honest, i take on board everyone comments, but i suppose i'll just suck it and see!

if i get bitten by the 'bug' then i can always give it back and seek out a better one ! (v8)

;-)

Well what are you waiting for....

damn, just been told that he's not paid the tax...

thus i gotta pay £80 fine

then pay 1 years tax as I have to pay from when it ran out (jan 04)

thus 'free' = £245 !

eek!

better be worth it!

How come you pay the fine when it's not even yours yet?

You'd be paying the tax anyway, even if you'd paid 5 grand for it. Stop whingeing, you'll love it. ;-)

cos thats the deal i have with the mate i'm buying it from

yep! its off to wales this week to camp out in it!

ahwhahahahahahhaha

:-)

should be fun!

hope it gets me there!

On or around 12 Jul 2004 06:34:29 -0700, a_temp snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.co.uk (beenie) enlightened us thusly:

whereabouts?