Military Spec Land Rover S3 

I spent 15 years in the British Army as a Radio Telegraphist and then Radio Technician during the era when these were being phased out and the diesel 110s were replacing them. That vehicle looks to have originally been a 3/4T SIII FFR (Fitted For Radio). SIII FFRs had quite some differences from GS (General Service) vehicles: 1. 24V electrics, ignition system all shielded. Two batteries in a metal box where the middle front seat is in that one. HUGE 24V alternator. 2. 2 or 4x 100Ah radio batteries behind the centre bulkhead in a large steel box. Generated so much current that it was possible to weld a spanner/wrench if not careful when tightening the lugs. 3. Above the radio battery box, a radio table for mounting the radios on, which ran pretty much the width of the vehicle. 4. Antenna mounting arms for HF antennas on the sides of the vehicle (you can see the mounting holes for these) 5. Antenna Tuner Unit mounting points on the front wings/fenders, which you can see. 6. "Dexion" racking above the centre bulkhead for fitting radio and power cables to. 7. Double stack front bumpers, as seen 8. Stub rear bumpers, as seen 9. Mounting points for pick and shovel on the tailgate 10. Spare wheel mount on bonnet/hood (the commenter below who says it wasn't originally mounted there below for visibility reasons is wrong). Yes it was, and yes, the visibility over it was poor. 11. Dual fuel tanks with changeover lever (great fun to put it in the center neutral position as a prank) 12. Manual throttle to charge the batteries when static. 13. Side bonnet/hood catches. 14. Centre-dash mounted light switch with convoy mode Many of these features have been removed from that example, but looks like it was originally an FFR, given what's still on it. No reason to have the antenna mount points if it wasn't FFR, and hand throttles were rare on other vehicles. Comments below regarding "why left hand drive" - it's because when that vehicle was new, the majority of the British Army was stationed in Germany, and nearly all vehicles there were ordered as left hand drive. Also a comment about it being possibly military police because of the rifle clips - no, they were standard on FFRs, but I've seen them on some GS vehicles. It could have been an MP vehicle, but just as likely it was issued to any other unit that had a need for vehicles with radios fitted (ie nearly all units). Another comment regarding the rope round the bumper being for "street cred" - the Complete Equipment Schedule contained a steel tow rope, and we often wrapped them round the bumper.

In desert storm we had a small off road test against an American Humvee and the LR destroyed it. I drove these in Germany, England, Saudi, Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia, Canada, Northern Ireland. They will always hold a special place in my heart, even with all of the issues. These things would take a real beating.

Owning a Landrover makes you into a better mechanic. For an off road vehicle, you need something that is simple. Here in Australia, if something fails on a modern electronically controlled vehicle, you could be stuck a thousand km's from any help with no way to fix it yourself. Today's off roaders are too smart for their own good.

The S3 is still fit for purpose. A staple of the British Armed Forces, one of the all time classics.

As a "true car guy" or gear head. . You have to love Jay. A national treasure. Hes livin the dream he worked hard for. I always laugh as he says something I was thinking or asks a question I was wondering. Thanks Jay!!!

My first vehicle was a 1971 Series IIA 88. Slow, bumpy, noisy, cold in winter, and I miss it more than any vehicle I've ever owned.

I am in UK and also own a Series 3 ex-MOD FFR. Your would have originally had large aerial boxes on the front wings. All FFRs were 24V electrics with 2 12V batteries under where your middle seat is.Great cars. Steering would be lighter with the original 7.50x16 tyres though your tyres look great. The rear differential cover is painted white so that when you select Convoy Mode all the lights go out (even instrument lights go out!) except for a small light on the chassis that points at the diff housing. Each Land Rover in the convoy then follows using the glow from the white diffs. The front vehicle of course would not have convoy mode switched on.

if you know the quirks of these they will never let you down probably the best vehicle the uk has ever made

Due to its ability to go most places, there was a point in the 20th century where the first car a lot of people in the world ever saw was a Land Rover.

I like this kind of content, don't get me wrong I like all the fast, high tech, luxury cars too but its nice to see something with dirt, dust and with a patina to it and in this case history.

My late father used to make those on the night shift in Solihull, yes that famous night shift from the Sun. He was the safety officer for the plant and used to get loan vehicle for others but never himself!! He used to do paint rectification in the paint shop, and press shop sent him deaf! He restored a late model series 2A, in blue , white steels, slightly larger tyres, and light blue canvas top. It was a great vehicle, miss the bouncing leaf springs.

About 26-27 mins in, my Alfa made a cameo appearance. Thanks for the kind words Jay! I hope to come back as part of your street grab series. Perhaps with the Alfa or my 31 Buick. Love the show Jay. Huge fan! www.youtube.com/@SmithClassicCars

I have a 1960 88" Series 2, and had a great time restoring it myself - and an absolutely fun drive, summer and winter.

I bought my Series 3 88" or SWB new in 1975 as a kid of 23....was quite expensive for me.....but I saved up hard to afford it. I am now 71 and still own it....don't get used a lot now but its still fully ready for the road. I am the only person that ever worked on it in its life time. I will never part with it. Nick from the UK.

That was fun, gentlemen! I think the best part of this show is that you never know what's gonna come through the Garage! Thanks, Alex, Jay, and the crew for another great episode!✌️❤🙂🇨🇦

Great show Jay. As always. By the landrover in this video is not a 6 cylinder. It's a 4 cylinder. 2.25 petrol engine. A couple of things give it away. 1. The fact that the 6 cylinder was a semi side valve engine with a side mounted stromberg carburetor. And 2 the firewall is completely different between the 2 models where the gearbox tunnel runs. And can be seen in this video that it's a 4 cylinder.

My father used to sell these back in the 60's and he would get to borrow one on the weekend and take the family into the mountains. Good times, and I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Land Rovers since.

Drove these lots in the Falklands in '82-'83. They would go anywhere, which was just as well because the crushed rock tracks the Engineers laid quickly got rougher than the general terrain, but with sharper rocks to cut the tyres. Back in UK, driving these 1970s versions any long distance was awful! The pinky Land Rovers for the desert weren't bright pink like a Barbie doll, more a sort of pinkish tinge to the sand colour.

As a Landrover guy for over 20 yrs, this is great to see! I'm still driving my 04' Disco TD5 and even though it's slow compared to modern trucks, it still is a pleasure to drive. Thanks for this video Jay and Alex. Gregg 🙂

When I was in the UK arm forces These were the backbone of whatever force you were in… They are absolutely incredible and never really let you down. A few of the trim bits fell off, but the main bits never let you down.

Jay" is this gas?" Immediately shut down with "its petrol" 😂😂. Nice.

After religiously watching all jays garage vids im becoming quite astute at pinpointing when one of jays guests starts to annoy him😂

In WWII, P-40s sent to North Africa were painted in a sand colour, but the paint faded to pink. (Sue Johnson, of the Johnson & Johnson fortune) had one as a warbird in that colour.) Congratulations on the audio quality from what must have been a challenging environment.

Hate to contradict you Jay, but Elizabeth and Margaret stayed at Windsor Palace through most of the war. When Elizabeth turned 18 she joined the army and was trained as a truck mechanic and ambulance driver. As an engine mechanic she was expected to be able to drive any machine she worked on. Extremely impressive for the day-and-age and her station.

Yes, the drive can be transferred to the front wheels. I once had a broken 1/2-shaft on a rear wheel. After transferring the drive to the front, I drove 120 miles to a dealership, bought the new part and in less than 10 minutes, fitted it (a spanner and some grease) and was on my way; a great vehicle, now replaced by a "Chelsea Tractor" :(

Drove them back in West Germany back the late 701s, early 80s when Canadian troops trained with The British Army of The Rhine, great vehicles.

Seeing Jay drive these vehicles and wax poetic about the history is such a joy.

I love how Jay says "Well, I've got a tank over there in the corner" 😎👍🤣

Don't you just love when you have an owner that knows absolutely nothing at all and just makes it up as goes along,with just the odd bit correct by luck

Land Rover with good old "Armstrong" steering. Happy Memorial Day Jay, for all you do for Vets.

I've restored 4 old Landies. A 1949 Series 1 80 inch with the 1.6 litre Rolls-Royce motor. A 1957 Series 1 107 five door station wagon. A 1959 Series 2 88 inch 7 seater wagon A 1973 Series 3 109 pick-up. I can rebuild gearboxes blind folded on these things. By the way, series Land Rovers do not have a center diff. They have a indestructible transfer case. I took my 1957 Series 1 107 on a 6 and a half year trip through Africa. No break downs and very, very few paved roads. They perform at their best in the bush.

I never knew about the Barbie Pink SAS Land Rover, that alone is worthy of a 10 episode Netflix doco

Engine isn’t the 2.6 6 cylinder. This has the 2.25 4 cylinder and is a fine engine which will give great service and will keep on running when worn out! When these were first made most car engines needed a rebuild or decoke after 40,000 miles where these would just be running in.

I bought a 1968 Series 2 for pocket change when I was 11, it also had a 3.5 rover v8 swapped into it from the previous owner who had left the country, I absolutely love it, as much as I love the more modern L322’s and the new Defender for me nothing tops the smiles this gives me even though I barely fit in it at 6’4 and low range in these is absolutely unstoppable, mine needs some work but it’ll be with me forever!

An overdrive is the way to go on these. My 88 S3 had one and made life so much nicer :D

several of my friends have series 2s One of them drove his from Mechanicsburg pa to the Yukon Territory and back. They never exceeded 45 MPH Its decked out to camp in. Amazing vehicles. Im a Willys guy I have restored 24 of them and see no reason to have a Rover as they are much larger than any Willys. Great history on yours. I learned a lot! Tkx

I love the simplicity of old vehicles. I remember setting the points using a piece of cardboard from a cigarette packet as a feeler gauge!

I had a '72 Series IIA (bought in '74 and sold a few years later) that was great to work on, like the owner said- easy to find and fix problems. Changed from a generator to an alternator and found many parts at a place in Califon, N.J. Sadly the door mounts and the rear frame completely rusted out in a few years of New England winters. Trans was a 1-2 gear change crashbox but I taught my GF, and now wife, how to drive a manual on it.

I love Land Rovers, it was my father's job in Rome Italy selling Land Rover spares from 1968 until 1993, we had quite a few even 1948 Series One HUE222.

To me this is my dream vehicle. Being from the UK, I am constantly toying with the idea of restoring one. Great video

This is the first vehicle I ever rode in as a small kid , I am 57 now. And I am an Omani too. Does anyone remember Daktari?

In 1999 bought an ex-UK military LR 109 RHD with 12,000miles (yes 12) for £400 or around $550 it drove so well and solid. My other 88” which had 250k miles on it was a shaking and rattling. Lost count how many LR (upto 2001 MY) I’ve owned, reliability really does come down to maintenance and the experience of the mechanic doing the servicing and repairs.

one of my earliest memories from childhood is certainly being hours and days in front of the metal dashboard of a Series II jumping over dirt roads in Patagonia... I LOVE these cars, even knowing that they also had lots of issues. If I should own a 4x4 today, I would still go for old school: Landie Series I, II or III, Jeep Willys CJ3 CJ5, Toyota J40...!!! the only "modern" option would be Toyota Series 70 or Mercedes/Puch GW (military model), a real 4x4 should be extremely simple, rugged, with as little electronics as possible and as "comfortable" as just barely needed (no-nonsense amenities)!

i'm happy to see Jay still making this wonderful content for us even after all the accidents he's gone through! thank you!!

1970/71..I'm a senior in high school and my plan was to get a Land Rover like this one and drive from Colorado to Florida. I'd never been to Florida and thought it would be quite an adventure. Well that never happened. Alex mentioned something about the car being in Berlin at one time. I was stationed in Berlin in the mid 70s and had a few British Army buddies and saw a few of the Rovers patrolling along the wall. We did the same in our Mutt Jeeps. I can't remember what the French forces drove.

Finally! A classic Land Rover in Jay's garage! 👏👏👏🤲🙏🌷

I'm a real fan of basic,low tech vehicles. As Scotty said "the more you over take the plumbing,the easier it is to stop up the drain"😄

Thats not a 2.6 its a 2.25 ltr, it does not have a center diff, and its not an ffr, all series land rovers have a folding windshield.

The Norwegian military sold off a bunch of these a couple of decades ago, they were 1970s models with around 30-40k KM on the odometer. They were professionally maintained and in good condition, they sold for around $4000 a piece. I wish I could get one at the time, but I was young and didn't have the money.

As a 15year old I learnt to drive on a Series 1 and the test instructor made me do a rather steep hill start three times. My Father used to take us to Landrover trials and took us on a family outing to central Turkey in the 60's - that was some adventure. Never forget taking the roof off with six bolts, the heater's sole functionality to cook the passenger's shin, wandering steering which became perfectly normal and those insane yet strangely hypnotic windscreen wipers. Second gear low range was usually the most needed and it would creep down the steepest slopes that way and those narrow tires so effective in wet grass and mud.

@6:56 You can see the cylinder head ventilation hose (which runs from breather cap on the valve cover and tees into the crankcase breather hose) is disconnected from the air intake horn. Which means at least some of that red Utah dust was getting sucked into the carb and ingested by the engine. Which is not a Rover Six, but a garden variety 2.25 four cylinder. Also, there is no center differential in any Series Land Rover. It's simply a transfer case and you're either in 4 wheel or 2 wheel drive.

My brother had a similar Land Rover in Australia. While he did some motorcycle racing, he loaned me the Rover so I could go into Melbourne and straighten out my airline reservations. The thing was a monster and towered over all the other cars. I must have scared the hell out of at least a dozen or more Aussies on the streets. Lots of work to drive but great fun!

The vehicle, if it is origional, should not have a centre differential just a transfer box. The central differential came in with the permenant 4 wheel drive coil sprung versions. Nice looking vehicle. My daily driver is a 1982 series 3 which I have used for over 25 years.

Saw one of these a full years ago in Victoria, BC. I was a special order for Gaddafi of Libya but never delivered. This Canadian in Europe managed to pick it up brand new. It was awesome. He had some sort of problem importing it due to the missing paperwork so he had it in storage for a few years before he managed to get it into British Columbia and get it plated.

Fantastic, I have a very similar ex-military series 3 pickup and absolutely love it. So much fun to drive and puts a smile on your face wherever you go. Also draws more attention than any modern hypercar.

Best line ever came up as they were talking about the Rolls-Royce 4 cylinder engine and Jays says casually: “Well, I have a Ferret tank over there in the corner and it has the Rolls-Royce six cylinder engine in it”

finally a land rover, on Jays garage, one of my fav

Best kind of segment...SOOOOOO cool. Both Jay and owner are having a great time

I've driven some of these LR's on my military service in Portugal back in 1989/90. Great cars

Ive got a IIA GS CV and a IIA FFR 109" ex Australian Army Land Rovers they really do have that "go anywhere " attitude. The shifter really is a bowl of soup when picking gears and it takes a while to find first. Both of mine have a Suffix D non synchro 1-2 gearbox which is tougher then the early synchro box. The 2.6 is a great engine but many died due to no valve adjustments being made, kinda have to cut a hole in the firewall to adjust em 😅 the Australian Army opted for the 7.1:1 compression 2.25 4 cylinder with twin fan belts. It has twin filler necks, one each side with 60l fuel tanks. They are really fun to drive and to this day the GS CV gets used for the odd jobs around the farm. Still useful over 60 years later.

I always enjoy these episodes because you get a history lesson with every vehicle.

Id love to have a First series-1 model. Not the best they produced but such an iconic 4x4. Always love to see what Jay finds! This beast is just beautiful.

You know where the edge of a Series Land Rover is cos it's also where your shoulder is! The civilian version has a exterior filler but the tank is still under the drivers butt in the (correct!) right hand drive set up ;-). It carries the larger tyres well. Mine is still on the original style wheels, the tyres for which you have to order from farm suppliers!

Wow, I was going to skip this episode as I'm not super into off-roading, but damn this owner's knowledge and ability to present information really made me glad I gave it a watch. Very cool, learned a lot. If I drank coffee i'd give his brand a shot.

very cool! reminds me of the days of Daktari and the Matchbox by Lesney Rovers of my childhood. Very enjoyable episode. Cheers!

What an awesome episode! I absolutely love those ole Rovers!

All Land Rover windshields folded down in that era, even the hardtops. You could remove the hardtop by taking out a few bolts, doing the same with the top half of the doors, and folding the windshield down. I did that with mine a couple of times.

Other interesting British ‘jeeps’ was the Austin Gypsy, that looked like a Land Rover with a different front (and that did have a Rolls Royce engine, same as the luxury Vandam Plas Princess) and the gorgeous Austin Champ. There was also South African, Dutch and Spanish variants of the Land Rover, each with their own slight differences.

One cool vehicle! Thanks guys for highlighting her.

I love this video. He was honest about the short comings and the strengths. Mikel

Great car, great owner, great conversation… love it!

"Feels bulletproof" I assure you, if you ask any British Serviceman from the past 50 years, they will be able to confirm that it is definitely NOT bulletproof.

I've been a big wrap for em' but have to admit there was something appealing about that old Land Rover . Thanks to both of you .

Thank you Mr. Leno for great history lesson. I agree as well, this should get a lot of likes on your channel this week.🙏🏽

Good to see Jay's doing ok!

As cool and interesting as the hyper cars, ultra exotics are, and etc I enjoy these just as much.

Very interesting commentaries from Alex. Great stories.

Awesome. Thanks for the coffee info…I am now ordering some! Cool stuff.

As others have said this is not a 2.6, a shame the owner does not know the vehicle a little better. It was the Queen mother who stayed in Buckingham Palace during the war, but yes the Queen had a Landrover 110 until the end. I am not a Landrover guru but the mistakes in this video do detract from the content. Very early Landrovers 1948- did not have synchromesh on the lower gears but did in 3 and 4, not quite as bad as portrayed here.... on the positive side if you can own a car for 4 years without knowing which engine it has it cannot be all bad..

Wow, your extensive knowledge of the British Army and Land Rovers is impressive! 🙌 It's fascinating to hear about the specific features and modifications of the SIII FFR vehicles. Your insights shed light on the history and functionality of this military spec Land Rover. Thanks for sharing your expertise and adding valuable context to the discussion! 🚙🔧🇬🇧

That looks like a normal GS (General Service) Land Rover minus the canvas roof and metal rod supports, it doesn’t have the correct mounts for a dedicated FFR, not saying it wasn’t. The rifle racks were for SLR (Self Loading Rifles) L1A1 7.62mm. These mostly went out of service in the British Army by the early to mid 90s and we had hundreds of them in Germany BAOR (British Army of the Rhine). I learnt to drive in an Army 110 defender so when I first came to drive these it took me ages to find the fuel filler caps!

Kudos to the audio man. Everything about this show is top notch.

Learned to drive an past my test in series 2A…….long wheel base… terrible lock….. you need 3 acres to turn round…. I think Jay found that out😝….. my favourite was the early Lightweights…(air portable)😉

'We like to call that patina'. Where I'm from, we call it corrosion. ...or damage. Lol. Great video, Jay!

The vehicle you lifted the hood ("bonnet") on is a 2.25 liter petrol four-cylinder engine. The 2.6 liter petrol (1967 and later Series IIA and Series III), and the early 2.0 and 1.6 liter four cylinder engines Rover used in the Land Rover in Series I days, were overhead inlet and side exhaust valve. The 2.6 liter "six" was optional in 109" vehicles starting in 1967. (The U.S. NADA, meaning North American Dollar Area, had a "high compression," 8.8:1 ratio, version with Westlake cylinder head for the US and Canada only.) Jay mentioned that he "thought" the late Bill Holden had a Land-Rover. He did, in both the U.S. and Africa. The Land-Rover Bill Holden had in California was also owned, in part, by the man who played ">Spanky" in the Our Gang comedy series. Am delighted that Jay finally has driven and aired a story on what I still refer to as "the real Land-Rover." Andy McKane, Land Rover owner 16 April 1964 to some point in 1993 or 1994 when my last vehicle, s/n 25900379A, was stolen.

Great Video, Great Land Rover. I have a 1991 Ex-Mod FFR Defender 110 up here in Canada.

Plenty in New Zealand, V8s though. NZ army used them, though I note your steering wheel is on the wrong side.

Awesome rig!!

It's 82 degrees here today. What a perfect cruiser for a day like this.

That's sits just right, brilliant example and very cool. I have an 88 inch series 3, fitting similar sized tires has been my favourite addition.

Great to see you covering this vehicle ,I know of a story that a friend of my mum and dad spoke about ,he was Royal signals and when in Germany he had a mate who when driving one of these Land rovers from BAOR (British Army Of The Rhine ) back to Britain for Christmas he filled the second fuel tank with Brandy ,went through all the military check points, right across Europe ,back into the UK and even back into barracks .. Honest to god true story.😂👍👍

As much talking as he does, I think this guy has been into his own coffee stash.

I think he needs to say Moab like 15 or 20 more times.

Cool vehicle. Jay always makes it interesting!

Thanks Jay!..I really enjoy features like this, a nice contrast to hypercars and the like..👍

That vehicle does definitely not have a centre differential as standard, hence why you can't drive them in 4WD on hard surfaces without them binding up.... centre diffs first came out in early Range Rovers in 1971, 109 stage 1 V8 and early 110s in the early 1980s where first production vehicles Land-rover sold with centre diffs...... all fun vehicles to own if you like learning mechanics and the best vehicles to learn to drive in

One thing that could be easily tested by just doing a compression test is that some in that era were fitted with over thick head gaskets to lower the compression ratio thus allowing for the use of very low octane (70?) fuel, at the expense of horsepower. Replacing with a thinner head gasket, and re-adjusting the valves could give a few more HP.

The Land Rover is sweet. Thank you for sharing your Video! 💯👊👍

There are not many 32-minute videos on RU-vid that I will watch the whole thing, but this was one!

I had a series 3 land rover such a fun vehicle 😊👍