Land Rover Series III Reborn [Illustrated] [Paperback]

This is not really a book for those who twirl spanners all day long. If you are an experienced Land Rover mechanic, whether professional or amateur then this may not really be for you. By experienced I mean if you think nothing of swapping an engine and gearbox before breakfast then skip this book. However, it you are like me (I have over 30 years amateur experience in messing with cars and motorbikes) and are confident but love to see what else is possible with a Land Rover then go for it.

Ok, it's a car manual. I honestly found it difficult to put down. It really is that interesting. I found this book to be highly detailed in a number of alterations and upgrades that can be performed on a series Land Rover, yes it does apply to series 2 and 2a even though it is meant to be a series 3. I cannot comment on series 1 Land Rovers as I have never worked on one and suspect they may be a bit too different in specific areas for the upgrades to be of use.

There are some errors such as on page 29, picture 29 top right hand corner. No, Andy is not detaching the oil cooler assembly he is removing the oil bath air filter. These errors are very few and far between though and actually made me smile. The majority of the book is highly detailed, much better than equivalent breakdown sequences in the Haynes manual and more informative in some cases than the official Land Rover workshop manual.

If I have to really criticise then it must be directed towards things like the section on power steering conversions. The author uses a commercially available power steering kit. I can understand why because this kit has stood the test of time (it has been available for a fair few years now). Trouble is this kit is very expensive. It is possible, and well documented online and in various magazine articles, to convert a series Land Rover to power steering by using components from later Land Rover models at a much cheaper cost than this kit is. I personally would have liked to have seen this included side by side with the one shown. I suppose space is the defining factor here though.

Though this book is a paperback it is a very good quality tome. It is well put together with good quality heavyweight paper used in its production. It does make a difference as it feels just so much better than the usual thin paper used in car manuals.

Well done Lindsay Porter on an excellent book.

As books of words go, this is the best I've come across in a very long while. If a "Landy" can't be restored or repaired using this magnificently detailed manual, perhaps knitting or crochet would be more appropriate for owners of Series III Land Rovers. This puts those famous manuals from Somerset in the shade; by a large margin. Thoroughly and highly recommended.