First post

Hi folks, its my first post.
After many years away from the fold, I am considering a SWB Series lll.
It is in relatively good condition except for a very sick engine.

Considering the cost of fuel I am looking to convert it to diesel, I know the Perkins Prima is a fairly easy job with the right bits, but has any one tried the Rover L series. I know it shares the same DNA as the Prima, but is more common. I don't know if flywheels, bearing possitions and bolt patterns are part of the shared DNA

Any advice welcome

200tdi out of a disco is the obvious choice...

I know a m8 who has recently put in a 200 tdi disci engine, which plops straight in. Loads of power. Bit too much power through the half shafts and diffs. So they did need changing. But it really does improve the old girls loads.

MikeDowson said:

200tdi out of a disco is the obvious choice...

Click to expand...

lol, hadn't seen this post, when i posted.... great minds think alike haha

Hi, thanks for the replies.

The 200 tdi was my first thought. Though I forgot to mention, I have a Rover 400sdi slowly dissolving into our garden that I was going to use as a donor.

If my research is correct the 200tdi, Prima and the L series all have common ancestry in the BL O series. But how much do they share?

Off on a tangent all three engines are going to have a significantly more grunt then the old petrol.Which brings me to the prob's that 1moleys mate had of exploding transmissions. Which bits of the series transmission aren't up to the job with 110hp and 200ft/lb, is it just half shafts and diffs?.

Thanks

Andy

If you take the turbo off the 200TDI and dont floor it all the time then the rest of the running gear should cope, but, if not upgrading to a Sailsbury axle is the easy choice, or you could look at Disco 1 axles but they will involve more work as it's not a straight swap.

Then of course you can also look at replacing the g/b if you really want to... but then if you replace too much you won't have a series and you might as well go and buy a defender or disco 1.

not sure about doozil rovers (although ive been scouting around the scrap yards they block on some look veeery simular to 300tdi but im not sure about what model theyre in ) but i do know that the rover 620 or 620ti fit onto an r380 gearbox, it just happens to be what im probably putting in my 88 but then i do like the look of a nice bmw v8 on a santana or p38 gear box and onto a straight through exhaust
personally i agree with the others 200tdi or if your feeling energetic a 300 oh and another thing with the 620's is that the engine mounts are the same which could save a bit of time...

Hi cheezy.
Rover used the pugrot engine in a lot of their models, if its a 1900 cc on the logbook the it probably is, also the pug is fitted sloping back on its mounts.
The O series I think is a little old for the 400.
Also I'm fairly sure that the O series and the pugrot were mounted up to the rover PG1 box, a larger version of the R65 used in 200's and metro's.
I'm fairly sure these boxes are diffo to any landys (cept maybe the freeloader), as instead of a ring of m10's or 3/8 like the landy, they mainly bolt on with 4 m16 bolts 2 up to the block, and t'other 2 up to the lower crankcase.
If you can post us a piccy of the engine one of us might recognize it.
I was finking of dropping a 1.9 pug turbo in mine, you can get an adaptor, but lots said that it wouldnt pull, I'm not so sure, my mrs xantia pulled like a train with its 1.9 pug td, LDV used the pug with an inline box and rwd in the pilot van, I dont know but the bellhousing of one of these might be of use.

Hi Dr Pepper,

Yup frenchie diesels in earlier 200's this one definitely 2.0l L series.

Accoding to some of the Rover geek(not meant as an insult, I am a proud nurdy geek myself) articles I've been reading, the L series/200tdi/Prima share the engine block of the O series which its self is in some way related to the B series, how true this is I'm not sure, however I'd always trust a geek.

Whole project probably off anyway Mrs Nuts has pointed out that perhaps I should put a proper door on the garage and maybe put some kind or surfacing on the drive and perhapse consider doing something useful with my life before I go off on another hair brained project and fill the drive full of rusting hulks, and this from a woman who watches X Factor. She has no soul.

Any road up I shall return to this subject come the spring.

I asked the very same question on the Landrover series 2 forum.

Basically I got the response that the montego/prima engine conversion kit will allow fitment of the 420/620 L series engine. Conversion plates go for less than £50 on the bay.

Verdict was it'd be a good match, and prob cheaper to get hold of then the more conventional 200/300TDI choices.
A good solid engine (I had one in a 620), and lots of low down torque.

Peugeot/rover XUD engines also discussed, but defined as being too gutless for weight of a Landy. Not convinced myself as my old Turbo XUD engined rover 200 used to fly!

Mark

I agree with the xud, I've had a few they go well when they have a turbo, the most bizre place I saw one was driving a lathe, odd eh.
A lot of rover blocks go back a long way, the t series in my 400 was related to the b series in the mgb, I've heard they put the twin cam 16v head of the t series on the mg block.
Didnt ldv also use the old rover lump, if it pulled several tons of ldv, driver and post around your in with a chance.

ldv used the 15j, the turbo among other bits mounted in a different position. beleive it also had a plastic timing cover opposed to the ally housing. (12j nataurally asprirated diesel, 19j turbo diesel)
owned a pug powered ldv 400 and would never touch one again. 1 head and 3 head gaskets over 5 years / 60k miles.
and it were slow.

Cheezypoofs said:

.....and this from a woman who watches X Factor. She has no soul.

Click to expand...

:hysterically_laughi
I know the feeling!!!

would defo agree on possible use of the XUD - we have in our collection here a Citroen Synergie (aka pug 806) people carrier ... it's a vast heavy 12 year old 7-seater housebrick with the 1.9TD and - while it doesn't exactly fly - it goes a heap quicker than I'd want to drive a Series.

A shorty is less than 1.4 tonnes if I recall, not that much to haul around.

I think LDV had a special agreement with pug, all the screwed ones that wouldnt start or failed quality control ended up in LDV vans.

i had a 1.9d xud in an LDV pilot, was ok but slow as christmas, thirsty, and didnt pull a trailer too well, v reliable tho.