200Tdi'd LHD Series 3

about a year ago, I could finally drive my landy..restoration took a bit longer as expected :? my series originally had a 3bearing diesel engine..wich turned out to be pretty slow (even after I changed most of its parts) so very soon I started looking out for a better option: maybe a 2.5 of the early defender which needs minor mods to fit a Series. I also read some articles about the 200tdi, but being a LHD vehicle, the turbo was a bit of a problem, since it sits where the steeringbox is placed. The 200tdi engine required serious mods..and maybe thats what appealed to me

here's the story

Disco 1 from 1990


the mighty beast :wink:


turned out to be pretty difficult to hoist the engine out


put the 200tdi on a stand, switched cars on the driveway and removed the 'old' engine




apart from the lower 4 holes, the tdi perfectly fits the gearbox..these 4 require drilling


so the original steeringbox needs to move for the turbo, and the chassis crossmember needs to move for the new steering box


what a pity, ruining my galvanised chassis..it's for a good cause


a new chassismount is needed for the PSbox


looks allright


pitman arm doesn't touch the chassis, nor the spring when fully compressed


friend of mine was doing some construction work, he had the right size beam for a crossmember: 100x100x4 boxsection (guess 3mm would have been sufficient)


mounting points for the radiator panel are now on the inside of the crossmember


cool thing is that the tdi engine nicely sits on the old engines silent blocs..not as heavy as the 200tdi's but they will do..


paint will cover my tracks..looks quite original to me




I had to relocate the alternator, the turbo intake tube takes its original space


so this should hold the disco radiator and the intercooler..


we'll be just keeping the front of the panel en rework the interior


seems like the IC needs some mods too


here's the final result..


IC tubes were repositionned by a friend who has an AC TIGwelder


steeringcoulumn of the disco altered to fit the series


steering rod needed some elongation




turned out that by turning the turbo intake, i had to modify the wastegate actuator too


because of the intercooler the bonnet lock needed some mods too


The intercooler sits in front of the radiator and above the PSbox


after some serious fiddling I even stuffed an electric fan in there


left the original alternator and replaced it by a 100Amps Hitachi


hose trouble !!


90° turn bends aren't recommended when you need flow, but its the only way


while trying to reposition the wategate actuator, I almost killed it




powersteering leads in place, pump-to-PSbox required a custom lead




the original exhaustpipe's diameter was around 45mm..not enough for the TDI so it was replaced by a 60mm stainless one


new vs. old exhaust


The original downpipe didn't really fit between the chassis and engine..


bulkheadsupport needs a few cuts


still looking for an overdrive..so disco diffs for now


the disco airfilter fitted after some more welding, comes in handy when I'll put a snorkel on some day


the oil return pipe is pretty close to the propshaft! a bit of carefull hammering solved the problem


exhaust panorama..


engine bay..





I've got loads of other pictures..if you have any questions, just ask..

That conversion is a work of art I'd say. Have you been driving it? Gearbox O.K.? Front axle clearing the crank pulley O.K.? My 200Tdi conversion has been on hold for a few months now, but it will be ready before Xmas! I like what you've done with the down pipe and bulkhead support bracket - wish I'd done mine like that, but with a side exit pipe and no silencer. I could have saved myself a good bit of money like that. My bellhousing is fouling the centre X-member at the moment on the wading plug, so I'm going to put 5mm spacers above and below the rubber engine mounts. Have you had problems like this? I wish I had drilled a couple of holes vertically through the engine X member so I,d be able to get at the wading plug

Are those 265/75 tyres you've got on it? Do they clear the bodywork when cross axled OK?

Very nice work indeed.

Nice series, damn shame about the engine swap though..

Mr LandyMan, there are enough SIII's..they should keep the S1 and S2 original but you're right in some way..but no worries my next restoration will be a classic one

@fenby1976: so far I had no probs with the gearbox, just easy on the trottle in 1st and 2nd. I have never gone to full trottle yet. The bellhousing sits in the same position as it was original and does not touch the Xmember. Have you also used the series engine mounts? I havent done serious offroading yet, so haven't experienced any problems with the crank pully so far. I did a test on flex and the axle is not able to touch the pulley, maybe it can when both springs are fully compressed. But for now its my only car and heavy offroad is somethng for later so..maybe I'll move the engine up a bit then. O and i'm running 235/85R16 tires..

Are these photos available anywhere? (all broken links for me here) I'm working on a 200TDI/Disco into a Series IIA/III hybrid coiler and need to deal with the fact the turbo and steering rod want to be in the same location; and still hopefully use the Steve Parker conversion exhaust system I'd ordered.