Series 3 Landie FFR

[RangerNeil]

I found an old DZS4 screened distributor in the garage that had the leads converted to conventional plugs, rather than screened. Popped it on and spun the engine over with the plugs earthed to the head bolts but no sign of a spark on any of them. Oh well - it was too much to hope for that it would work immediately so I stripped the cap down today. Finally got the inner cap out ready for new HT leads to be fitted - now I have to work out how to salvage the screw-in coil connection for a new lead.
Once this is done I can run the engine up on conventional plugs and then use a strobe for the timing and a colour-tune for the fuel/air mixture to fine tune the engine settings. Then the screened cap and plugs can go back on for every day running.

[RangerNeil]

Took the Series 3 FFR down for it's MoT today. Passed OK so I'm rather pleased about this.
On the road for the first time since October last year it was running really well. Too well in fact as the idle RPM's jumped as soon as I hit the road. Idle speed was high enough to do 25 mph in 4th..... Once I got home I had a nose and found the weight of the throttle linkage was pulling it itself open slightly. If I pushed it home the RPM's dropped to where they should be. An initial glance around didn't show any missing springs however on the cross-shaft from the hand throttle there is a stop with a pinch bolt that an arm from the throttle linkage rests on. Obviously this is what pushes the throttle open when the hand throttle is used. I think if I slacken this and push it up it will close the throttle linkage and keep it closed.
Reason I look straight to this is that the hand throttle was not connected prior to the engine works and I seem to recall when I connected the linkage it pulled that stop down a few mm.
When I got back the HT lead parts had arrived so I spent the afternoon making up a new set of HT leads in a screened cap. These were tested with a continuity meter as they were assembled so I know that all are good from the plug cap back through to the contacts in the dizzy cap. Next step now is to fit it into the vehicle and see if it will start. Then try a timing strobe on them.

[RangerNeil]

Throttle linkage now adjusted correctly so it works as intended by foot and by hand. Still need to sort out the reason why it won't run on the hybrid cap though.
No-op front sidelights were an easy fix - the connector had parted company - plugged it back in and voila - instant side lights. The O;S front indicator was another story! I reckon I must be a contender for the record length of time to change an indicator bulb - 2 complete days. First the glass lens refused to unscrew so extreme measures had to be used to get it out - kettle of boiling water over the fitting then wrappping in a tea-towel and use of a strap wrench.
Having got the lens out the bulb then refused to budge. A liberal dosing and soaking in WD40 had no real effect so I spent a looong while working on the bulb trying to free it. At last I thought it was free only to find the glass bulb had separated from the base - so more time was then spent trying to free the metal base from the socket, Having done this then the socket needed extensive cleaning to loose the corrosion inside. Finally though the new bulb was in and working. This are the remains of the old lens and bulb - and the first replacement bulb:




This leaves the number plate light - I had a look and found the connector for the positive lead had broken up leaving the lead floating about free.


Luckily for me I never ran it on side lights as a known issue when this happens is the loom and the rather expensive 6-way lighting switch burning out!! New light was ordered from eBay and came today so I will look into fitting that tomorrow.

[RangerNeil]

New number plate light arrived and fitted today. Working OK but I need to change the bulbs for 24v 4W in lieu of the 12v 24W currently in there. When I tested it they looked like they were on fire Now all the advisories from the MoT are sorted. Just got to wait on DVLA now as the paperwork has been submitted for the change in tax class to "Historic" - i.e. Free

[RangerNeil]

24v bulbs now in the number plate lights. so all lighting is now good to go. I spent the day today removing the shunt box that provided the power to the radios and to charge the 4 radio batteries in the back from were I previous owner had placed it behind the passenger seat in the cab to its original location in the rear tub, Now I just need to git the take-off box and wire that into the shunt box and the radio batteries will be charging too. We get there slowly.

[RangerNeil]

Got back from a weekend away to keep the OH happy before the week long War and Peace show to find two letters from the DVLA. Aha thinks I - V5 is back changed to Historic after only 6 weeks and I am ready for the War and Peace show! Nope - should have realized - this is the DVLA we are dealing with,
They have changed the build date on the V5 to 1974 from the 1982 it was originally registered as - but not changed the tax class. Apparently now you have to send the V5 back again together with a valid MoT certificate, a certificate of insurance and a completed V10. You can no longer just amend the V5, sign it and send it back with proof of age.

Is it just me who thinks they are totally loopy?? You send the V5 in with proof of age. They have access to the IMBD and MoT databases to verify it is taxed and insured same as the on-line system uses and yet they send the V5 back ans ask for a bl**dy V10 plus hard copies of the insurance and MoT???
I am more and more convinced that closing the local offices down was the dumbest thing this agency has done!

So now to get to the W&P show next week I will have to tax it whilst sending all the paperwork back - and probably waiting another 6 weeks.....

[kstrutt1]

have you tried at the post office?

I went through all this with Lotus last year (on that they would only accept a change of class up to a maximum of a month of it becoming 40 years old but it took them 6 weeks to come back so you had the choice of paying the full £240 then trying to claim it back or taking the car off the road for a month) ,afterwards was told the post office could tax and change the class at the same time.

kevin

[RangerNeil]

Trying that route today Kevin - will see how it goes Also set up the monthly DD last night - just in case our non-English speaking post office won't do it because they can;t understand it.

[RangerNeil]

The OH just got back in - so glad it was her and not me that went as our Punjabi Postmaster was adamant that the cut off date to qualify was 1972 and that the date of registration on my V5 (1982) was the build date despite being shown the Gaydon build certificate that states 17 Dec 1974.
She managed to convince him to do it though (I believe the phrase is "wore him down" so he processed it with the caveat that any trouble from DVLA will come back on me and not him!!!
So - we are now, to all intents and purposes, taxed for 12 months for £0 as a Historic vehicle for the first time ever!!

[RangerNeil]

Latest saga

I was up at the NEC Classic Car show on the EMLRA stand the other weekend, The drive up was pleasant - a steady cruise at 50 mph and where, in the past that felt like it was pushing the limits this time it felt like there was more power available if needed. But as the engine was only just rebuilt taking it easy was the wise option. I had no problems until I got to within 20 metres of the entrance to hall 2. Then I got a puncture in the O/S/R. So I pulled over to clear the access and swapped it for the spare.. Got parked up on the stand and then when I came back on the Friday morning the O/S/F was also flat. Deep joy. Borrowed the spare wheel of another members Snatch and on Saturday went out to get the punctures fixed. Only to find every tire place local to the NEC refused to work on inner tubes - some actually telling they were illegal! I wound up getting a mobile commercial unit to come to the NEC and fix them - total cost £99 - £12 per puncture and the rest was the call-out fee. Saturday night saw the spare returned to the snatch, the rear wheel refitted to mine and the spare back on the bonnet.
Sunday just after 18:00 I leave for the drive home - again mechanically all was running sweetly and I expected to be home around 21:00. All was fine till I got to the first services on the M1 - and the O/S/R went again. Pulled into the services and fitted the spare and carried on. Short while later the O/S/R went again!!!
Pulled onto the hard shoulder and called the RAC, told them I had had two wheels go in quick order and I had no other spares so the said they would send a recovery unit directly. Sitting outside the vehicle waiting and the highways Agency pulled up and got me to drive on the dead tyre 600m to one of the new refuge areas - result one f*cke*d beyond repair tyre and inner tube. But they were worried someone might decide to use the hard shoulder as a 4th lane despite the big red "X"'s over it. 90 minutes later the beaver tail arrives - and the driver is running out of time on his tacho so he can only get me to the next services.. He drops me off there and I wait another hour for the next beaver tail. The services is pretty much shut for the night - only burger king was open so I bagged a burger and a coffee then had to go sit back in the Landie as there was no other seating available. When the next recovery unit pulled up the driver face was a picture - he'd been told he was collecting a Civilian 88" so he only had a small unit. Instead there before him is a full loaded Military 109"!!
He wasn't too happy but we tried loading it on on the basis if he could not get the beavertail to level out and lock I'd have to wait for a 3rd unit. Surprisingly it did load OK - but the effects on the actual vehicle were interesting to say the least. The ride home was a magnificent cure for constipation when cornering....
Finally go home at 02:30.
So - I have decided to bite the bullet and replace the riveted Series wheels with later Defender type tubeless ones. If I could get the thick H/D inner tubes the military used it would be OK but the ones by tyre place can get and for cars and just aren't up to the loading etc imposed by a Military FFR Landie.

Some photos of the display