First timer

Hi everyone,

Having recently sold the car I’ve had for 15 years, a 500bhp Nissan Skyline, I am now going the other end of the scale and am about to buy a Land Rover 90. I fancy a bit of mechanical simplicity for a change! Having checked the market out over the last couple of months I am going to look at a couple this weekend, my favourite is an ex MOD soft top 1986. Not had anything like this - the nearest I came was a Subaru Forester Turbo a couple of years back - so I am excited at the prospect of owning the marque.

Main attraction is towing as I have a couple of boats and plan to invest in something much bigger in the coming months, but also as my “go fishing go anywhere” vehicle. I wanted something mid 80’s as I like the idea of no tax in a few years and I was a teenager in the 80’s.

Looking forward to getting to know more about my prospective purchase, and I know I can’t resist modifying my vehicles so hope to pick up some sensible advice and guidance along the way.

Cheers,
Tim

Hi Tim, gonna be towing long distance?

90 can be a bit choppy, pitches front and back. 110 would be more comfortable but still a shock to the system.

Highly recommend driving one if you haven't already, they're a bit of a handful for a daily

1988smithy said:

Hi Tim, gonna be towing long distance?

90 can be a bit choppy, pitches front and back. 110 would be more comfortable but still a shock to the system.

Highly recommend driving one if you haven't already, they're a bit of a handful for a daily

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My 90 was a lovely ride even when towing, I had Disco 1 springs front and rear so no pitching and she was very comfy, rolled a bit on the corners but its not a sports car after all

1988smithy said:

Hi Tim, gonna be towing long distance?

90 can be a bit choppy, pitches front and back. 110 would be more comfortable but still a shock to the system.

Highly recommend driving one if you haven't already, they're a bit of a handful for a daily

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Thanks for the quick response.

Yes I have driven an LR so I know roughly what to expect, though I haven’t towed anything with one so you’ve given me something to think about there. I do prefer the dimensions of the 90 but I wouldn’t be averse to a 110.

I don’t really drive anymore, mostly planes and trains for work these days, and I have my wife’s Golf to use so I am not worried about comfort. She has already refused to drive the LR lol.

The vehicle I am going to look at tomorrow is a dodgy NA 2.5 with a TDi 200 ready to fit though there is also an early 90’s 90 to look at as well. I am more drawn to the 86 tbh.

I will report back!!

Tim

landowner said:

My 90 was a lovely ride even when towing, I had Disco 1 springs front and rear so no pitching and she was very comfy, rolled a bit on the corners but its not a sports car after all

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I drive one on standard suspension it was feckin awful lol. Crossing a big roundabout, 3rd gear like, it was nose down, arse up etc etc. Settled on the straight but jesus... all in good nick as well

EvangelicAtheist said:

She has already refused to drive the LR lol.

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At least you'll have something that's all yours!

1988smithy said:

At least you'll have something that's all yours!

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Haha she also refused to drive the Skyline so its all part of the cunning plan! ;-)

Reckon you're in and need no encouragement from me.
So welcome and enjoy. I have a (choppy, rattly, grumpy) 90 300tdi as my daily drive and I love her, i tell her so every day so she might think twice about breaking down on me.

Welcome to the forum

Turktowner said:

Reckon you're in and need no encouragement from me.
So welcome and enjoy. I have a (choppy, rattly, grumpy) 90 300tdi as my daily drive and I love her, i tell her so every day so she might think twice about breaking down on me.

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It’s just a giant mechano set, what can possible go wrong?! :-D

I was debating whether to go with a 200 or 300 TDi (purchase price is in favour of the 200) as I have an option on either with the ‘86. The 200 seems to have plenty of HP and will be better mpg I am guessing, so I am curbing my natural tendency to go straight for the biggest cc’s... for now. I have already looked into the articles on uppping the boost pressure on this site. I will be doing the swap myself but it looks straighforward enough. Does yours have the OEM gearbox or did you go with something out of a later model?

Thanks again all for the welcome.

All box standard afaik, cept modular wheels and chunky tyres. The 200 and 300 are much the same aren't they?
The 300 being just a bit less trattery..

Aye, you are right it seems, I had presumptuously assumed they upped the capacity of the 300, but that’s not the case... no point spending more than I have to, tratter is good.

Well, that's it, I am now the proud owner of a 1986 Land Rover 90!

Just the small matter of fitting the new engine before I can drive it....

Whilst the 200 is a fine engine, the 300 is better, both from a NVH point of view, and from spares availability ... 200Tdi cylinder heads are NLA new.. 300 is also simpler to work on in certain areas....

Also, both are very tunable - my own 300 is tuned quite significantly ...

And..... Welcome Aboard

Disco1BFG said:

Whilst the 200 is a fine engine, the 300 is better, both from a NVH point of view, and from spares availability ... 200Tdi cylinder heads are NLA new.. 300 is also simpler to work on in certain areas....

Also, both are very tunable - my own 300 is tuned quite significantly ...

And..... Welcome Aboard

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Thanks for the input, I can see your points and the reading I have done says it is a better engine, however I decided on the 200 as I was already over budget (whoops!) and he wanted a fair bit more for the 300... and whichever way you look at it, it is gonna be a whole lot better than the N/A Diesel that's in there right now, even if it were running properly (which it isn't).

I will definitely be tuning it, albeit moderately, once I've changed the cam belt and installed it... first I need to look for something like a conversion kit to mate the exhaust up and figure out where to put the intercooler, I read that you can install a narrower rad and mount it up front...

Anyway, he's delivering it tomorrow morning so the fun begins over Christmas!

EvangelicAtheist said:

I will definitely be tuning it, albeit moderately, once I've changed the cam belt and installed it... first I need to look for something like a conversion kit to mate the exhaust up and figure out where to put the intercooler, I read that you can install a narrower rad and mount it up front...

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Steve parker in Rochdale will sell you the right down pipe. not cheap, but quality IIRC.

Intercooler is best as a full width, (AKA "FWIC") in front of a larger water rad .... 200 is a fine engine and will take more boost than the 300 ... but be super careful of EGT's - fit a gauge and make sure it works !! by checking it with a known IR thermometer - the cylinder is good for 719 centigrade, but at 720 it anneals and goes BANG

Either 200 or 300 will also take a VNT turbo nicely .... more nicely than your wallet anyway ....

Here's a piccie of my FWIC on my 300 D1:-

Disco1BFG said:

Steve parker in Rochdale will sell you the right down pipe. not cheap, but quality IIRC. Intercooler is best as a full width, (AKA "FWIC") in front of a larger water rad .... 200 is a fine engine and will take more boost than the 300 ... but be super careful of EGT's - fit a gauge and make sure it works !! by checking it with a known IR thermometer - the cylinder is good for 719 centigrade, but at 720 it anneals and goes BANG Here's a piccie of my FWIC on my 300 D1:-View attachment 165393

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Nice work there, reminds me of fitting an FMIC to my Skyline all those years ago and more recently a GT35R turbo, no such ambitions with the LR but equally I understand the benefits of a bigger IC. I do have plans to fit gauges including EGT, I am competent with Arduino so I am planning on making up a dash mounted touchscreen with several inputs like EGT, oil temps, fuel pressure etc.

I need to get my hands on it and start measuring!! Thanks for the ideas, it can be a bit daunting when you have never taken a spanner to something before so its really helpful to see someone else's work.

I don't know the limits for the 200, but the 300 can be tuned to 200 HP ..... and will live at this provided it gets a full time nurse amd proper TLC .... ( I know this quite well, as I know someone who tuned his to 200, and blew it to bits through not nursing it ).

I muck about with mine a bit, and it's currently running 146, but I've had it to 164 .... the intake roar was annoying, so 146 is where it'll stay for a few days at least

In terms of oil temps, IMHO, consider the transmission, and fit the ROW spec cooler .... ( presuming manual ) or a larger AT cooler, if auto - mine is about six times the area of the POS standard one....

Hi and welcome!

An ex-mil Landy is a good buy, they’re usually maintained well. They are quite devoid of creature comforts though. I was going to suggest a 200Tdi or 300Tdi conversion as the 2.5 N/A engine is a proper plodder but sounds like you’re onto it already.

Whatever you do get, don’t forget some pics.

Knappster said:

Hi and welcome!

An ex-mil Landy is a good buy, they’re usually maintained well. They are quite devoid of creature comforts though. I was going to suggest a 200Tdi or 300Tdi conversion as the 2.5 N/A engine is a proper plodder but sounds like you’re onto it already.

Whatever you do get, don’t forget some pics.

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Well, here she is at last! Its ****ing it down so this is the only shot I got so far, note the 200TDi in the back.

I am going to have a go at getting the N/A running - it runs well intermittently and then goes onto 3 cylinders (or so it sounds like) - just to give me a bit of time to get the 200TDi all done with belts & pullies and cleaned ip.

Will be getting rid of that rather amateur camo look and repainting NATO green but for now I am just chuffed to have it sat in my garage, she really is in good shape, no rot save a small patch on the rear "bumper" which I can easily cut out and replace.

Overall, really chuffed!!