The Defender thread

caprilicious

101sean wrote: »

Thankfully the 101 is vintage but I'm getting choosy which shows I take it to as it does 12mpg :eek:

12mpg :eek: ouch!

The 109 is nearly ready for the big bad road (2 weeks off completion or thereabouts), I dread to think what mpg himself will be getting from the 2225cc petrol engine

101sean

Around 18-20mpg if it's a sound engine. The series petrol engine is a lovely quiet smooth engine, don't see that many here. The 2286 diesel only does 2-3mpg more for 10 times the noise and a lot less performance :rolleyes:

The 101 is the best Land Rover made and and huge fun to drive but that Unimog from the north on the other forum is pretty stunning.

caprilicious

Wow it's not a lot of miles to the gallon really is it? there was me complaining because the passat I had recently was only doing 35ish miles to the gallon :rolleyes:

It's a fully rebuilt engine (fully rebuilt everything at this stage :rolleyes:) so fingers crossed it'll run on the higher side of the mpg!

That's interesting about the petrol being better than the diesel in this case, so often it seem's to the the opposite when it come's to 4x4's.

The 101 is a real head turner alright, not something you see everyday in these parts

101sean

The old petrol and diesel 4 pot engines have similar power and torque which is why they use the same gear and transfer box ratios (they use a the same engine block as well). The diesel is a little better off road but the petrol is nicer on a run, you'll get 70mph out of it with a tail wind, 55 is good for a diesel.

banjolin

I have been thinking about buying a rag top series 2a or 3 for ages but just can't justify the fuel consumption. I thought about lpg but the nearest fill up would be forty miles away. Then I thought about swapping the engine and I came across this 200 Di conversion( http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/200di2.htm ), basically a Discovery 200TDi without the turbo. I have come across one on DoneDeal before. Seems reasonable.

caprilicious

Banjolin, does removing the turbo on the 200tdi make a noticeable difference to fuel consumption?

banjolin

The conversion will deliver between 30 and 35 mpg. I'm sure there are many factors that determine what each car will achieve. There are a number of other issues, like engine noise and vibration, but from what I have read the pros greatly outweigh the cons.

By the way you can leave the turbo on, but you would need to upgrade the gearbox/ drive train, or be prepared to replace them frequently. The 200tdi apparently delivers 111bhp.

101sean

I've reinstalled an abortion of a 200Di conversion and done the job properly in a friends 109. It does suit the series very well especially with an overdrive, very popular conversion. It is however hideously noisy without the turbo, you'll need to do a real good job with soundproofing! It'll do 60-70 and around 30mpg

You can fit it with the turbocharger and intercooler but there's a lot of work involved and you'd need to upgrade the brakes. The 200tdi out of a disco will have the turbo practically sitting on the chassis.

It is important to do the job properly inc counterboring the bellhousing and fitting all the bolts as shown on the Glencoyne site or believe me, it will leak oil like a sieve.

The other conversion that is popular in the UK is a Perkins Prima out of a Montego/Maestro but would be harder to source here.

You should consider whether it's worth it for a weekend toy, the petrol is soooooooo much nicer to drive! There are a few using 200di series as everyday motors though.

caprilicious

I love the way you describe the job of fixing the conversion Sean, I've heard my husband describe similar jobs he's had to tackle in similar terms (& worse)

From what I've read, it sound's like a big job for little reward, that said I haven't looked into it too much.

Not long off getting the 109 on the road here, just waiting for a part to arrive for the carb & a bit of carpetting. There's a few niggly jobs left to do, but the 'To Do' list is getting shorter by the weekend
We bought it in September & it has been a labour of love for himself every weekend over the weekend completely stripping it down to chassis, nuts & bolts so will be very rewarding to see it all come together.
Plus I'll be glad not to be a Landrover widow for a few weekends (til the next project anyway :rolleyes:)

101sean

Glad it's coming together, post some pics when it's finished.

Once my 101 is back in one piece we've go to start on the Series 2 although I picked up a decent bulknead for it last week. Only needs footwells and the bottoms of the pillars replacing, the original is beyond salvation.

wildefalcon

banjolin wrote: »

I have been thinking about buying a rag top series 2a or 3 for ages but just can't justify the fuel consumption. I thought about lpg but the nearest fill up would be forty miles away. Then I thought about swapping the engine and I came across this 200 Di conversion( http://www.glencoyne.co.uk/200di2.htm ), basically a Discovery 200TDi without the turbo. I have come across one on DoneDeal before. Seems reasonable.

I've this in my 109 pickup - it IS a nice conversion, but, as Sean says, soundproofing is essential. I put three layers of "flashband" on the engine side of the bulkhead and on the transmission tunnel - it has helped a great deal: Radio easily audible at 70 in overdrive. Power is adequate, though it does struggle on the motorways with a full trailer behind. If you are towing a lot then I'd recommend fitting the turbo.

I retrofitted the series engine adornments - oil filler, oil filter and the like, to "keep it series", but that's just me.

The vibration is also an issue - I've had to play with the idle and power screws to get it acceptable. Prior to that the vibration found every loose screw/fitting/fixing in the vehicle - new headlamps and ignition switch followed!



But, all in all, worth doing, and reversible, should the petrol fall in price again.

Moffett

Are there any CLRI members on here? it's pricey to join and the forum seems quiet...assuming I can see he most of it. €50 is a lot to view the forum if there's little activity.

Bearcat

Thought the same myself......what's the story?

Moffett

I'm mostly interested in a good local technical forum for the now. Are there any other Irish forums or sites?

101sean

Click on the 4xforum link on my sig

For pure technical LR stuff, the UK forums http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?act=idx and http://www.landrovernet.com/forum/ are probably about the best.

caprilicious

Not sure if this is a query to check here or better of trying in the classic forum, but any of ye running vintage Defenders - do you use fuel additives in your unleaded petrol to compensate for lack of lead in newer petrol?
Or has it caused ye any problem using unleaded only?

When I read up on, there seems to be a bit of conflicting information.
On one hand, some of the websites say that super unleaded (which is 98 ron octane) will work sufficiently.
However in the Haynes manual, it says it uses petrol within the regions of 90 - 96 ron octane. If that is the case, surely regular unleaded petrol which is 95 ron come's within that range and should work ok?

101sean

If the head hasn't been overhauled and hasn't been thrashed, it will be fine for a long time on the lead memory in the valves and seats. Keep an eye on the valve clearances and when they start to go out of adjustment quickly fit an unleaded head from Turner Engineering, they aren't that expensive.

You can use an additive but stick to the same one all the time and use one that's recommended by the FBHVC. You don't need to worry about the octane rating on a Land Rover engine, they were built to run on very poor petrol with the appropriate ignition timing. No modern petrol no matter what grade contains anything to stop valve seat wear in cast iron heads. Additives do increase octane rating but their main function is to lubricate the valve seats in older engines without hardened valve seats like the 2286cc petrol.

Bearcat

Anyone using 2 stoke oil as an additive to their diesel? Lot of landie guys on uk boards swear by it.......??

101sean

I can imagine it would help with replacing what's washed out of "cheap" diesel :rolleyes:

I saw a discussion somewhere as well, can't recall which forum.

I'd be careful with what you use in an electronic engine, my Td5 definitely goes better on Topaz which is actually reasonably priced round here for a mainstream brand. Not a problem with a Tdi or older, they'll burn pretty much anything

caprilicious

Thanks Sean, that's really good news. I know when I was driving the Capri's full time I just used regular unleaded & never had any hassle but worried that the older Landy might require a bit more tlc.
The head was skimmed & new valves seated so should be good to go for a few thousand more miles

Just out of curiosity, do know how much the unleaded heads cost?

Different topic entirely, but is there a more budget friendly way to convert a series 3 to power assisted steering?
I found a great hydraulic kit online, but with a price tag of €1300 it'll be staying where it is!
http://www.heystee-automotive.com/parts/pas/pas.htm

101sean

Did they fit hardened valve seats when the skimmed the head? If not you should use additives from scratch.

Mmm, as it's 20 years since I bought an unleaded head and paid £180, they are now getting on for £500 :eek ::o

http://turner-engineering.co.uk/

If you trawl the UK forums there are other ways of doing it but all require fabrication and welding. Building up your arm muscles is cheaper and easier, you should try parking a 101!

caprilicious

Feck that, I'll tell him to man up & build up the arm muscles instead
I did a quick google of it the other night but once it mentioned drilling out crossmember and fabricating part's in I switched off.
It might have been something worthwhile doing at an earlier stage in the rebuild, but not now that he's so close to getting it on the road.

I'll double check with himself about the hardened valve seats, I doubt it though so might be no harm to use the additive to be on the safe side.


I'm dying to see this finally on the road, we got paint from here;
http://www.militaryvehiclepaint.co.uk/index.php in nato green, it look's the business.
When we got it it was blue with green doors so definite improvement

101sean

Do you mind telling how much you paid for the paint with delivery here? I need some but won't be back in the UK for another 3 months, a lot of suppliers won't send it here. Mmmm, just seen the price, I paid £45 for the last lot.

I bought 5l at Dunsfold last year but it was wrongly labelled, turned out to be US olive drab when I got it home :mad:

caprilicious

Just found the old invoice for it, postage was £19/€23, that was to post a 5 litre can of paint and a few rollers/paint trays & the 5 litre can of paint was £55/€65

It seems to be a pretty good paint too, gives good coverage.

That's a sickener with the paint. I had that when we got paint mixed up locally for a leyland mini I had. They gave me duck egg blue instead of bronze/brown :rolleyes:
I wouldn't mind but I had given the exact paint code at the time too.

Kildafornia

Hi folks, I'm on the hunt for a commercial Land Rover Defender 90. Commercial for tax purposes obviously, but I'd like a bit of comfort too - I wouldn't say no to heated seats, seats in the rear and a few windows! Is there a black and white list of defenders that are commercial? Some have no seats, some have folded seats and only a rear window, then you have the 7 seaters with glass all round. Maybe there are several other configurations I don't know of.

My question is, if I bring one in from the UK, do you get a cert to show it's commercial, does the model of vehicle infer the commercial status, or do you just bring it to the DOE and get a cert stating it's now a commercial in Ireland?

Also, VRT should be 13.3% for an N1 commercial which I believe a D90 falls under - it this correct?

Many thanks

doctorchopper

You won't get away with having any seats in the back or side windows if you want to register it as commercial.

Kildafornia

doctorchopper wrote: »

You won't get away with having any seats in the back or side windows if you want to register it as commercial.

I can live with that if it's a hard and fast rule. So what spec should I be looking for? For example what about this County Td5 with no windows but side seats?:

Kildafornia

…or the utility wagon, is this considered a commercial in Ireland?

http://www.landrover.com/gb/en/lr/defender/explore/utility-wagon/

101sean

That 90 is tasty.

New Defenders are all Class N1 no matter how they are built so you can have a County Station wagon with windows. It isn't retrorespective though so any 90 or 110 Station Wagon pre 2011 can't be imported as commercial with windows or seats.

The side seats in that 90 were probably added after, it looks like a rebuild anyway. You can add what you like to a Defender, there's a massive range of accessories and parts to add to a basic van. Post 2007 (I think), the rear seats have to be forward facing with 3 point belts, 90 station wagons are 4 seat only from the factory, 110s are seven these days. You won't get 3 in the front any more either (was always a squeeze anyway!)

A 110 Utility is a commercial (13.3% VRT) but as with anything that has second row seats you could be asked to prove you have employees when you road tax it. Officially the Utility has only been available for a couple of years but there's been conversions around for a while, it's only a 110 station wagon with van sides and a bulkhead.

Kildafornia

Comprehensive answer Sean, many thanks. Much as I'd love a spanking new one or a 2011, It's going to be out of my budget. Only 1 employee too, so I'll settle for a 90 hard top! Now to find a nice high spec…