200tdi in a series 1

i AM putting a 2ootdi engine in my series 1 - so i don't want to hear "you shouldn't", "you can't"...!!

HOW do i do it??

it's from my old range rover which someone converted to a tdi (from a V8) - the engine's fabulous. i presume it's a 200tdi and not a 300tdi since it's coupled to a lt77 gearbox (presumably from a disco).

the difficulty is coupling it to the series 1 gearbox. i know it's a hell of a lotta horse power for an old box but i intend to drive it carefully. what about matching the bell housing, etc..?

what do you think? anyone any advice?

thanks fellas...

Unless your series one was a diesel, the stud layout was toptally different, I'm not saying you can't make it fit, but it probably isn't worth the effort. I think you will have problems with the starter as well.
You will probably need a box from a diesel or a 2 1/4 petrol. I suspect a Series III will be simpler for sorting the clutch out.

someone told me the bell housing from a 2.5 diesel defender will bolt onto the gearbox, and match upto the 200tdi.

what do you think?

the torque from the tdi will shred the S1 box in no time

There are a couple of current threads running about fitting Tdi's in Series motors, I suggest you read them through carefully, they will probably answer most of you questions, then you will just be left with the questions peculiar Series Ones
Fenby1976 and Dr Pepper have both posted a lot of info.

lachleaves said:

i AM putting a 2ootdi engine in my series 1 - so i don't want to hear "you shouldn't", "you can't"...!!

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Well your gonna hear it "you shouldn't", "you can't"

lets say i was to get a series 2 or 3 gearbox, then... which would be best to couple upto the tdi? i believe a 2a gearbox is the strongest.

davec, you said about the starter motor. do you mean difficulties getting ti to fit under the bonnet, or matching upto the gearbox? because, surely that'll all be on the tdi engine (nothing to do with the gearbox)??

lachleaves said:

lets say i was to get a series 2 or 3 gearbox, then... which would be best to couple upto the tdi? i believe a 2a gearbox is the strongest.

davec, you said about the starter motor. do you mean difficulties getting ti to fit under the bonnet, or matching upto the gearbox? because, surely that'll all be on the tdi engine (nothing to do with the gearbox)??

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Why not by yourself a series 3 and bastardize that:doh::doh:

It will foul the bellhousing if it is in a different place

here's an even more shocking thought... i'm breaking my range rover, which has the tdi and lt77 gearbox. i know the axles and things won't take the permanent 4wd, would it be truly horrendous to put the range rover axles on aswell?? (at keast it would solve the gearbox problem!!)

lachleaves said:

here's an even more shocking thought... i'm breaking my range rover, which has the tdi and lt77 gearbox. i know the axles and things won't take the permanent 4wd, would it be truly horrendous to put the range rover axles on aswell?? (at keast it would solve the gearbox problem!!)

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Cant you just get a fibreglass mock up of a series1 and put it on the range rover chassis

Why not just stick the series body on the RR chassis.

Sirus said:

Cant you just get a fibreglass mock up of a series1 and put it on the range rover chassis

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Bugger beat me to it..

Again, do a search, within the last month there has been a lot about fitting coiler axles onto a leafer

Teflon knows a lot about permanent 4 wheel drive front axles, however my advice is that you do not put your rangie axles on the series 1, its a hell of a lot of work, and puts you inline with the single vehicle approval (on the front axle anyway, as coil springs needs mods the chassis, you cannot easily or legaly make the steering work with leaf springs on a axle made for coil springs), which is a super mot and a load of hassle.
You could put the rear axle on from the rangie, so long as the ratio is the same as the existing series 1 axle which isnt likely, it is possible to change the diff in the rangies front axle, theres a remote possibilty the series 1 might fit (its down to the number of splines, the 200tdi is usually 10, but not all) you can buy ready made weld on mounts for fitting the rear axle off the rangie, the track is different which will change the ride a bit on your series, but you can do it.

As davy says I am fitting a 300 tdi to a series 3, which is very different from a 200tdi, however I have no experience of the series 1 or 2 or 2a, so I dont really know the diffo's, the 200tdi fits the series 2a onward box with a couple of mods to the 200tdi's flywheel housing, the 300tdi fits the 2a onwards box just by drilling a couple of holes in the lower section of the box's bellhousing.
The 200 fits the series3 easy theres no welding, the mounts just fit the original, not so sure about the series 1 though, the 300 does not fit, you have to grind off the series mounts and weld on new ones, and its a tight fit.
You can get round the gearbox shredding issue by removing the turbo, or as I'm doing turning down the bosst pressure on the butterfly.
Any more questions just ask.

Hi,

Log onto the Series 2 Club website. The Series 2 Club Forum - Index

They have LOTS of stuff in their archives about fitting TDi engines, and coiler axles onto leaf springs. But you might need to ask for directions about where to find it.

And yes they do talk to S1s and S3s.

What year is your S1, or more specifically what wheelbase? 86" or 88"? I fittede a S3 galv chassis to my 88" S1. I don't know if there will be room in an 86" for a diesel, which is why they secretely increased it to 88".

602

I've never had a series 1 so I'm not sure how easy it is to fit a tdi into one of them. If it were my SI I'd want to avoid doing irreversible modifications. I chopped up and then propperly battered an original late SIIA when I was younger and bitterly regretted it later.

I'd go for a 200tdi conversion without the turbo, because you should be able to get that in without chopping any of the bodywork up. I'm not sure about whether the series 1 chassis engine mounts can be used, but if a 2 1/4 petrol engine can go in on standard mounts then it's very likely that the 200tdi would go onto them too. The battery box would have to go though to clear the injector pump. I see yours is a 1957 station wagon. Is it a LWB or SWB? If it's SWB then I guess it's on an 88" wheelbase, but if it's LWB then it's on a 107" wheelbase, which I think has a 2" shorter engine compartment which will cause some problems with front axle and radiator clearance and mean that you'd have to hack the bodywork about to make the engine fit. Probably best to fit a IIA gearbox. It's probably best to find out for sure that a 200tdi will go onto a IIA box. They definitely go onto a SIII box (I know IIA and SIII bellhousing stud patterns are the same, but the clutch release mechanism is different).

I agree with fenby.
The only thing I'd add is that you might be able to move the engine back a bit and use a 2a or 3 box with fancy brackets to the original mount points, and the other thing is that the turbo on my 300tdi fits my 109 without any mods to or problems with the chassis rails, you might be able to bolt a manifold from a 300tdi onto a 200tdi engine, then you'd have the turbo still without having to touch the chassis, or making odd shape adaptors, as the turbo on the 300 is higher up than the 200.

thanks fellas.

i'm not going to go for the range rover running gear - just too complicated. but as for the tdi, i'll give it a go...

i know about keeping it original, but if i'm going to keep it (and i am) - i need to be able to use it daily to and from work - 50 mile round trip 5 days a week. the 2 litre petrol is a slogger but just too slow and thirsty.

back to the tdi, my series 1's an 88" - so the engine bay shouldn't be too small. and i've heard that fitting a 2.5 litre diesel bell housing from an old defender should fit onto my gearbox, which in turn will bolt upto the 200tdi.

i think the exhaust comes out the back of the manifold and then down, as opposed to just straight down from the manifold on a 300tdi. does that sound right?? but then 200tdi may well bolt straight onto the existing engine mounts. if that's the case, all i need to do is swap over the exhaust manifold with a 300tdi, or from a tdi fitted to a defender.

does that sound right-ish??

Hi,

Both SWB and LWB were increased circa 1957, 86 to 88, and 107 to 109, to accept the factory diesel engine. The LWB estate always remained at 107", probably because it was never fitted with a diesel ..... but I'm guessing.

Babs was dug out of Pendine Sands, and towed around behind an 80" fitted with a 6-pot engine. Apparenty you weld a piece of flat plate between the chassis mounts and the front X-member, and drill to take the engine mounting rubbers. This probably means you have to move the radiator foreward a bit.

Note, if you have turbo, you do not need a silencer, which can make life very simple. If Plods tells you that you must have an "efficient silencer", whether you need one or not, just point at the turbo.

One problem of fitting a front coiler axle onto leaf springs is that the track rod clashes with the springs. You need to weld spacers under the axle, so you have a gap.

602