Back to the Series Service Section
Please be aware that ECR is now a Defender repair and modification shop only.
We no longer work on Range Rovers, Discos or Series Rovers.
These pages are from work we did in the past and left up for your enjoyment.
Series III 88 Spring Upgrade and Numerous Repairs
This Series III 88 has come to us from MA for some upgrades and some much needed repairs. The 88 is still owned by its original owner, and has a galvanized frame, but it suffers from poor repairs at the hands of "non-Rover" shops that really made a mess of it. It arrived via tow truck, not running. The first step, as with all Series service work at ECR, is to do a full evaluation of the 88 so that the customer knows where he /she stands. Once the evaluation is done the customer is contacted and a list of desired work orders are established/ In this 88's case it will be getting all the non-standard parts removed in favor of the correct Genuine Land-Rover parts, and it will be getting a lot of the needed work done. It will also be getting a set of parabolic springs and gas shocks to make it more comfortable and handle better. It also needs some bulkhead, interior and body work, but the owner plans to bring it back for that at a later date.
In this image you can see that we have removed the standard leaf springs and installed parabolic springs with gas shocks. These will make the 88 ride and drive better, both on and off the road. They are one of the best upgrades you can do to your Series 88 or 109.
For more information on Series parabolic springs go here!
The inside of this 88 is well worn, but original. The good news was that almost everything that was original from the factory is still in very good working order. The majority of the work orders we had to complete were due to poor repairs with the incorrect parts over time. In the image above you can see that we needed to do quite a bit of sorting to the wiring of the 88 to get it back to stock. Once back in stock form it all works very well.
Two of the main problems with this SIII 88 were the brakes and the way it ran, however, both of these conditions were caused by poor repairs by sub-standard shops. The engine had great compression, but would not run well. We found that once we went back through and replaced all the tune up parts and set the timing correctly that the engine was in good shape. We also removed a non-standard carb. in favor of the correct unit and the 88 came right back to life. The owner of the 88 thought he was in for an engine rebuild, but it turned out he just was at the hands on non-Rover mechanics that messed up his Rover, that is until he brought his 88 to ECR.
The other problem with the 88 was the brakes. A non standard brake master cylinder had been fitted and the brakes were terrible. This combined with the fact that another shop had installed the front brake cylinders in the back, and the rear brake cylinders in the front, made this 88 a bear to try and stop. (the brake wheel cylinders are different diameter and different volume front to back, so they must be in the right place to ensure balanced and strong braking) Once we put everything back in correctly the 88 runs and drives great, especially with the new parabolic springs.
This image shows the completed 88, notice the nice stance that the parabolic springs give the 88. It now runs and drives great and is ready for the owner to enjoy. Nearly all the problems with this Series III were caused by sub-standard workmanship at other shops. So you can go to the local repair shop where they'll try and service your Rover, or you can have full time Rover professionals do your Rover work correctly. What is best for your Rover? The choice is simple... ECR.