Landr Rover series 3 109 hi-cap

[ash240970]

Was speaking to a mate of mine earlier and he was telling me that their family business used to have a Series 3 109 Hi capacity pick up and it would go anywhere - says it was unstoppable. 
He said it also had front and rear diff lockers and was powered by a V8, i did not know you could get front and rear diff lockers on a 109, but he says it was a special and used range rover parts. Has anyone ever heard of this conversion before were there many done and would it be possible to put these axles with diff lockers on an 88 inch.
He also said that if he knew where it was now he would seriously consider buying it back. The land rover was sold to a builder from the Worcester area, and after checking the MID database the vehicle is currently insured, so if anyone knows where it is or knows how to find out who the current registered keeper is please p.m me. the registration is POF 12Y.

[Rich_P]

Sounds like it was a Stage 1 109-inch Hi-Cap, not many Stage 1s were built let alone Hi-Caps.   He is right in that its running gear comprised of a lot of Range Rover components.  It had the perm-4WD four speed LT95 as featured in the Range Rover and 101 FC, CV swivels on the front axle instead of UJs and had the larger Land Rover 6-cylinder braking system.  Differentials were the same as in the Range Rover at the front (and later Ninety) while the rear axle had the same differential as the later One Tens.

The axles would fit an 88, although the rear axle would need some work to fit as it is the Salisbury type like on most 109s, while the gearbox would probably require an awful lot of work to get in an 88.

[ian_s]

you think can fit locking diffs to any landrover axle, they dont have to be special

[Range Rover Blues]

The early RRC axles had basically the same diff but with different crownwheel and pinion, so you could build the guts of a locker into a series.

Later RRC/Disco "metric" diffs had stronger bearings but are backwards compatible as a complete unit, I don't know if the early C/wheel will fit :-k

[ash240970]

Yes he said he had been told it was a rare beast, that is one of the reasons he is trying to find it and buy it back, so any help with locating it would be appreciated.
As for the idea of fitting lockers to my bitsa what parts should i be looking out for as i don't want to put a Salisbury axle on the rear, as i need to keep both my axles for the points as it is Tax exempt, so as long as i can fit the diffs and build lockers on then that should be o.k.
I have been toying with the R/R diffs but was not too sure as i am running 750'sx16s and was thinking of eventually going even bigger. Ialready have an o/d fitted, i'm also running 2 1/4 petrol so engine may be underpowered at the moment but want to start getting the bits together ready for the re-build in 2 years time which is when my mate reckons the chassis will have more plates on it than original metal and that is when we have set the re-build date for.

[Range Rover Blues]

If it's the normal Rover axles rather than Sallisbury then any locker will fit, the 10 spline diffs are all intrerchangeable but be careful that you keep at least one oil filler hole.

As for the point I reckon you can swap the axles if you keep the original suspension and steering gear, unless of coourse you mean that you need to keep leaf springs, which is a fair point.

[ash240970]

Yes need to keep the leaf springs and axle casings with the serial no's on as they are what keeps my Landy tax exempt!

[Range Rover Blues]

IIRC you need only keep the chassi and one axle, or steering gear to get enough points.  The issue comes for those who have gone over to coils as this neccesitates a chassis modification.

Plus the RRC axles are too wide.

Do you know if it's possible to bolt early RRC swivels onto a series axle :-k

[Rich_P]

Do you know if it's possible to bolt early RRC swivels onto a series axle :-k

I hear that the bolt pattern doesn't match.

[ash240970]

i need both axles as steering is S3