The Series III is at a crossroad, which way to turn?

"4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30" (4muddyfeet) 02/15/2015 at 19:52 • Filed to: Series iii

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Watching that Land Rover NZ video got me in the feels. My '85 Series III is currently sitting in my barn having been off the road for 10 months, and while I've had the intention of restoring the old girl bit by bit (she's still road-worthy and runs like a champ), I find my confidence wavering and a severe lack of time.

I run my own business where we design and build gardens and winter is supposed to be my down time, but fairly mild weather has meant that business has been steady over the Christmas period and free time has been down to a minimum. My plan was to have the old girl apart during this period; chassis cleaned up/sealed, body painted, upholstery replaced, mechanicals attended to, all by my own fair hands and to be ready for the singular British summer month.

Progress has been excruciatingly slow though, and I'm now at the point where I have to decide how much I want to keep this vehicle. The chassis is the main issue, and it's my fault that it's in such poor condition: muddy off-roading, salty trips to the beach, daily use in all weathers... all with a healthy disregard of the properties of structural steel.

I absolutely adore the car, so much so that I feel guilty every time a go to the barn to pick up gear for work. I run her twice a month around the fields, just to keep the juices flowing, and I still have a stupid grin on my face whilst sitting on bare aluminium, jarring on frozen leaf springs with a seat support block in my spine.

Now is when I make my decision. Whether I have to sell up, knowing that I cannot find the time to do anything meaningful with the car in the coming years. Or, whether to bite down hard and put around £4,000 into a vehicle that only cost me £1,700 5 years ago. The car owes me nothing; It's been great fun, extremely reliable (requiring its first clutch replacement, a backbox, and a couple of half shaft seals in that time), and it makes just the right amount of no power at all. But at the same time I owe it everything. It has allowed me to set up and develop my business, becoming a figurehead in it's own right, hauled countless bags of shit and leaky containers, and made epic trips up into the wilds of Scotland with dogs et al, all without any fuss or worry. It has been the little Landy that could.

My plan for the £4,000 would be to replace the tired old chassis with a new galvanised one (£2,000), find some 2-door 109 military canvas (£400), replace sidelight and indicator housings (£160), and leave the rest (c.£1,400) to a set of Land Rover lads whom I trust implicitly with a sympathetic restoration. I have, if you are still unaware at this point, no idea whatsoever how much this may end up costing. The £4k is just a ballpark based on what I think. By Thursday this week I'll have a much better idea.

I am fully aware that I will not get even 75% of this money back if I come to sell this vehicle, but surely this is the point? Do I want to sell it? Ever?

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/15/2015 at 20:16

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Commenting here because I can't comment normally.

I think the last paragraph answers your question for you. If you have the £4,000 to put into it, and if you love the Series III as much as it sounds like you do, I see no reason why you shouldn't throw some money into it. I have had a similar internal conflict with my 2002. I bought it 3 years ago for $4,000 and now it needs some money put into it. When it's all said in done, it'll probably cost around $10,000 to get the 02 to the point I want her, and I'm okay with that. It's a car I have an emotional connection with and something I never want to sell. I may never get the money I put into it back, but I've come to the realization that my 02 makes me happier than any material thing on earth, so why not keep her going?

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) 02/15/2015 at 20:26

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I do love it, but that £4+ isn't necessarily easy to spend, and it's something I've never done before; spending it for the love of the thing. Financially it obviously makes no sense at all, but I don't think I could sell it, and it can't just sit there. Argh..

BJ > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/15/2015 at 22:18

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Since it owes you nothing, and presumably costs little or nothing to keep, just keep it.

You'll never get your money out of a project like this if you sell, but as you said, that's not really the point. You're doing it because you want to and because you can, and one day you'll be driving down to the seaside on vacation and it'll all be worth it.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/16/2015 at 01:17

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Do it. But with a TD5 conversion.

davedave1111 > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/16/2015 at 09:28

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Would it really be that much of a loss on sale? I was under the impression you'd be looking at more like 75% back from what you spend - with only the labour really not paying back. I'm no expert, but there's more than £4k difference between the prices of good Series IIIs and bad ones.

If you're not going to sell it, though, the question is what it's worth to you. If you'll get more enjoyment spending that £4k that way than another way, then it's a good deal.

That said, though, the real question might be about whether you ought to have time in your life to work on it yourself. It's all too easy to get your work-life balance wrong when you're running your own business. I don't know how many hours a week you're putting in, but maybe you ought to be considering taking on an(other) employee and freeing up more time for yourself.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > davedave1111 02/17/2015 at 16:20

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I would imagine I'm not too far over average on the work hours front, 8-5 Mon-Fri with the occasional Saturday. I do have staff and sub-contractors, but I also like to be on the job a lot of the time as I like the manual labour and it helps me keep my eye in! Otherwise it's just a bit of admin etc, but all of this has to happen in the daylight, and my barn has really shoddy lighting so any evening or night work is pretty much out of the question.

This is a car I'd love to keep, and in the end it is just money. I love the thought of having this thing for 40 years, and keeping it just the right amount of scruffy for that time. I figure as long as the underpinnings are looked after, then the rest is easy :)

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 02/17/2015 at 16:23

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Goddamnit I'd love a TD5 in, but I'm trying to get her back to original spec, not the other way round!

davedave1111 > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/17/2015 at 16:50

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"I would imagine I'm not too far over average on the work hours front, 8-5 Mon-Fri with the occasional Saturday."

I think that might even be below average for the self-employed or those who run their own businesses - but then they all tend to work too hard :)

"my barn has really shoddy lighting so any evening or night work is pretty much out of the question."

OK, now we get down to the real problem. Why don't you spend the £1400 for labour on lights for the barn? And maybe a lift, too...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-POST-LIF…

"I love the thought of having this thing for 40 years"

On that kind of timescale, £4k to get it into good order is only £100 per year. You'll pay more to tax it.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > davedave1111 02/17/2015 at 17:35

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I should probably say that I manage to fill my evenings with admin and design work to save myself feeling comparitively underworked! The£4k will be my first foray, after that I'm sure it'll take a good bit more to keep her tickety-boo, it's a Land Rover after all. I've considered proper lighting and it is something I want to go ahead with, but the lift would be a no-no, the barn is split and the roof sits far too low to get any meaningful height from £1k. Ramps and good ground clearance will have to do. I hear what you're saying though. My only real responsibilities are my business, girlfriend, and dogs, so late evening work would be attainable, if a little cold. I think this summer will be a major decider as to what is accomplishable by my own hand. I'm practical, but impatient, and my wrenching time is limited to bolt-on/off rather than restoration. I tend to strive for perfection, and at the thought of something not being so, I call someone else in. I don't want to make a mess of this Landy which is why I now feel like a handover may be in order. If it were made of stone it would have been completed months ago!

davedave1111 > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/17/2015 at 17:55

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"I should probably say that I manage to fill my evenings with admin and design work "

Hah, typical SBO workaholic - 8 til 5, was it? :)

"The£4k will be my first foray, after that I'm sure it'll take a good bit more to keep her tickety-boo, it's a Land Rover after all"

Get everything right to start with, though, and those bills will come a bit less thick and fast.

"the lift would be a no-no, the barn is split and the roof sits far too low"

Dig an inspection pit instead?

"my wrenching time is limited to bolt-on/off rather than restoration"

It's a Landy. Everything is bolt-on/off. Although I know what you mean about letting a specialist handle the heavy lifting. Really, though, you can't mess up a Landy as such, just create more work for yourself down the line.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/17/2015 at 21:06

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Original spec [as it should have been].

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 02/17/2015 at 21:35

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I see where you're coming from now...

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/18/2015 at 16:19

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Fix it, continue to use it and love it, and then when it is time to get something else or you want out, export it to the US (not to me, I want a 110) but there are for sure buyers who want a properly built rig to sell.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 02/18/2015 at 16:23

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Hey she's only 1 inch short, you wanna buy? I gib you good price

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/18/2015 at 16:29

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I for some reason have it in my mind that i must have 5 doors. But I do love the Series versions, especially Ex-Mods. Rolled with some lads who were "up to know good" from very specialized units in Iraq and AFG. Their Landies were so freaking dope, so many modular setups.

BJ > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 02/18/2015 at 20:36

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One afternoon, twice a month, instead of the manual labour that you don't always need to participate in, take it to organise your truck and do a bit of planning.

It's not so much that you'll feel guilty about it, but it's perhaps enough to get ahead on the project.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 02/19/2015 at 17:12

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And yes I meant to type "know" and not "no"

but you knew that already