1973 Series III 88" Station Wagon Rebuild

Message

dfritter · #1 Post by **dfritter** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 9:58 pm

dfritter · #2 Post by **dfritter** » Wed Jun 24, 2009 6:04 pm

N Hamelin · #3 Post by **N Hamelin** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 6:08 pm

Man I am sure excited for you! There can't be anything better than knowing your project is starting off on a new galvanised frame! Are you planning on doing a 'full' resto at this time, or is it just a frame swap and back on the road?

dfritter · #4 Post by **dfritter** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 3:23 am

ANDYD · #5 Post by **ANDYD** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 9:31 am

Hi Dan,

Its great to be able to start from a solid new base and work up.
Your right, any old parts you install are going to look so out of place on that shiny chassis!
Keep up the good work and post lots of pics of your progress :D

cheers,

Andy

dfritter · #6 Post by **dfritter** » Sat Jul 18, 2009 8:16 pm

dfritter · #7 Post by **dfritter** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 12:45 pm

red90 · #8 Post by **red90** » Sun Jul 19, 2009 5:31 pm

I have the 9/34-16LT narrow SS mounted on a stock 5.5" rim. They are exactly the same width as a 235/85/16, so I don't see the problem. Everyone and their dog runs those on the 5.5" rim. The narrower rim means the bead stays on better, not worse.

They are crazy loud on the road and I assume will wear out very fast. I really do think it is a great choice for a Rover as long as they don't see much pavement.

dfritter · #9 Post by **dfritter** » Mon Jul 20, 2009 9:44 pm

dfritter · #10 Post by **dfritter** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:05 pm

PaulC · #11 Post by **PaulC** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 12:36 pm

Great stuff keep posting

dfritter · #12 Post by **dfritter** » Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:49 pm

upchuck · #13 Post by **upchuck** » Sat Aug 15, 2009 9:15 am

Great pics just what a inexperienced gear head like myself needs! I am following in interest your build.

Thanks Tim :D

dfritter · #14 Post by **dfritter** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 12:02 am

dfritter · #15 Post by **dfritter** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:14 am

DaveB · #16 Post by **DaveB** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:50 am

What wheels?

Stock 88" are too narrow, and not enough offset. You'll gain a bit of offset with stock 109 wheels, but still will have a challenge with the narrowness. Defender stock wheels a bit wider and more offset. Wolf takes it a step further, and of course then you can get all sorts of custom wheels from the UK, most of which increase the offset and the width.

Reason I ask is as my 88" evolved to bigger tires, I must have tried about 6 different sets of wheels before I found some that were offset enough to give me back my steering. Big tires and stock wheels = reduced steering radius. Some will warn about negative offset wheels being hard on bearings and making steering hunt. I agree in principle, but haven't found significant increased wear as the wheel bearings are pretty big on series trucks. I have seen some with bad hunting and wandering problems when big tires were installed, but this generally is a magnification of a previously existing issue, imho.

Looking good so far.

Dave

red90 · #17 Post by **red90** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:28 am

You've listed quite a variety of tires there that are all quite different. As Dave states, rim choice is important. Your wide choices will need to stick out a long way from the body if that is what you want.

I think your original choice fits in with a Series a lot better than the wide choices as long as you don't mind the bad on road manners. It should work on a Defender rim (that is what I'm using on the 90). BTW, I have one extra, slightly used one here in Calgary you can have for cheap if you can figure out how to get it to the coast.

If you want dual purpose street/off road, then I would go 255/85/16 in TrXus MT or BFG MT KM2s with a good choice of rim. Wolfs would probably work well. I would shy away from wide unless you are putting some power into the truck.

John · #18 Post by **John** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:35 am

The old tire debate will always get a wide variety of responses. My personal preference is for a narrower stock'ish size, 7.50x16 or max 235/85x16. Too tall and you will be rubbing the underside of the rear box/wheel wells. I have not done the math for 34" but you may find that getting a bit tall for 1st gear high range when starting off on a grade. I also personally feel that a wider tire, 255 or more is too much for long term steering box health but I have nothing definitive to base that feeling on - it is just a feeling.

dfritter · #19 Post by **dfritter** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 11:37 am

John · #20 Post by **John** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:59 pm

BFG MT's are a very popular tire. I think the next tire I will try is the TrXus MT in a 235/85x16.

red90 · #21 Post by **red90** » Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:12 pm

You could probably pick up stock Defender rims cheap. I gave away a set a few months ago..... New aftermarket steel wheels are around $50 in the UK, you need to pop them into someone else's container.

Like I said BFG KM2s or TrXus MT. Compare pricing. The TrXus are the best dual purpose tire I've seen and I have a lot of first hand experience with them. The KM2s are probably as good, but I have no personal experience with them...yet. For me, it would come down to price. Normally the BFGs are a lot more expensive, but you can get big discounts if you know the right people.....

cloud7071 · #22 Post by **cloud7071** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 4:01 pm

just put on stock series wheels a set of 33/1050x15 interco tsl super swampers have about 500 miles on them steering is slightly reduced not a problem but quite noisy at highway speeds went over the snowshoe plateau with no problems grant

Dave_F · #23 Post by **Dave_F** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 9:42 pm

Hi Dan,

Just as an fyi...I am running BFG AT's on my truck. Had these on throughout the Canol run. No Problems whatsoever, kept up with all the guys with their BFG Muds...and quieter on the Highway as well. The reason I went this route as I use the truck quite often in the winter going up and down Seymour and up to Whistler, so it was important for me to have the Winter Rating.

Yes they don't look quite as sexy as the Mud versions, however they are a great all round tire...6500kms in 16 days, highway, mud (lots of it), gravel, rock crawling you name it they performed flawlessly.

My two cents.

Dave_F

PaulC · #24 Post by **PaulC** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:02 am

Dave F are you the Canol guy running the new MTR's?

Dave_F · #25 Post by **Dave_F** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 8:54 am

PaulC wrote:Dave F are you the Canol guy running the new MTR's?

No...I was running BFG AT''s on the Canol as the post prior states.

Norman from Edmonton had some new Goodyear Muds that he was impressed with but the name escapes me.

Dave_F

The Rover-Landers of BC

The Rover-Landers of BC

1973 Series III 88" Station Wagon Rebuild

1973 Series III 88" Station Wagon Rebuild

Here's the pics of the beginning of the project!

Rebuild

tires

Tires