Series 3 Petrol vs Diesel...what's the verdict?

suburban said:

i too like comfy seats and other refinements for longer trips, an hour is about my max in the series. I'm sure the landy could go all day long I'm just getting soft

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I'm sure some of mine are still going all day. Sadly, my back isn't!

I used to do regular 100 mile plus trips in my old 2a petrol SWB towing a big four wheel Ifor Williams trailer, not comfortable but doable. Now I prefer diesel but not the old 2.25. My series 3 109 now has a 200Di engine. I would love to do a long trip in it but the missus won't hear of it.

Extreedoc said:

I used to do regular 100 mile plus trips in my old 2a petrol SWB towing a big four wheel Ifor Williams trailer, not comfortable but doable. Now I prefer diesel but not the old 2.25. My series 3 109 now has a 200Di engine. I would love to do a long trip in it but the missus won't hear of it.

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In about 1988, I blew a head gasket in my Perkins engined 109, in Birmingham.
I went back to Surrey on the train, picked up the bosses 109 diesel and an Ifor twin axle with ramps.
Drove back to Brum, limped my motor up on the trailer, and towed the whole rig back to Surrey for repairs.
No worries, they are good vehicles if looked after.

I passed my driving test in our petrol IIA - ( we've still got it, but it needs a nut and bolt resto - but this is on my list....) Then we got a III diesel.

If you want an original engine, then, IME, the petrol is the nicer engine - IIRC, 68 BHP as opposed to 54 out of the oil burner. As most everyone has said, the petrol is far more relaxed, much quieter, and has a sort "sewing machine" quality ticking over ...
I wouldn't consider a 2 1/4 diesel...

Of course, there are many modern engines which warrant consideration, none of which are for me - I've always thought a rover V8 and an auto would be nice in a series - but probably pretty heavy on fuel .....

Disco1BFG said:

Of course, there are many modern engines which warrant consideration, none of which are for me - I've always thought a rover V8 and an auto would be nice in a series - but probably pretty heavy on fuel .....

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3.9 V8 with a decent autobox, in a light series, should be pretty economical if you didn't boot it too much. And you probably wouldn't need to!

Tdi's are good as you don't have to change down as much on twisty country lanes as you have plenty of power

Back to the original post, back when I bought mine 6 or so year ago, I recall I possibly had a slight preference for a petrol variant but decided that I would choose a vehicle based on chassis, bulkhead engine and gearbox condition. If I was in the market for another, I would do the same. A later 5 bearing engine is also a consideration too, petrol or diesel.

Turboman said:

3.9 V8 with a decent autobox, in a light series, should be pretty economical if you didn't boot it too much. And you probably wouldn't need to!

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Ah, well, yes.... doubt I could resist giving such a vehicle a few beans now and again

which probably means lots of beans, and quite often

Disco1BFG said:

Ah, well, yes.... doubt I could resist giving such a vehicle a few beans now and again

which probably means lots of beans, and quite often

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If you wanted to do that, it would be worthwhile uprating some of the drive train components, and the brakes, and the tyres as well.

There are V8s on LPG around, the tank takes up a lot of space but its another option.

Which auto box would go best behind a RV8 in a series and would that need gearbox mount relocation??

The V8 auto seems like such a good combination in the odd few Defender models it came in, I don't know why it wasn't an option throughout?

rob1miles said:

There are V8s on LPG around, the tank takes up a lot of space but its another option.

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Modded old landrovers tend to be toys, and the owners for the most part will have an economical daily drive as well. Personally, if I had such a vehicle, and was doing sub 5k a year, I would just take the hit on the cost of petrol rather than messing around with LPG.
There isn't much room in an old landrover anywhere.

Rubins4 said:

Which auto box would go best behind a RV8 in a series and would that need gearbox mount relocation??

The V8 auto seems like such a good combination in the odd few Defender models it came in, I don't know why it wasn't an option throughout?

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V8 and autobox was an option on Ninety and One Tens. AFAIK it was abandoned on Defenders, because diesel was all the rage at the time, an the 200Tdi and subsequent engines were efficient.
It may be that V8 petrol was retained as an option on the military vehicles, I have never had much to do with them.

lpg is only worth it if you have high mileage else the payback period is too great.

my eldest has a v6 paid c£1500 for the conversion but has saved around £3k in fuel in a year

less you buy one already done of course

I've had a simliar expreince with a veg oil conversion on my Merc, big savings when I was doing high milieages but now I'm not the hassle of not filling up locally for a saving of a few £100 a year is looking more trouble tha its worth.

Land Raver said:

Back to the original post, back when I bought mine 6 or so year ago, I recall I possibly had a slight preference for a petrol variant but decided that I would choose a vehicle based on chassis, bulkhead engine and gearbox condition. If I was in the market for another, I would do the same. A later 5 bearing engine is also a consideration too, petrol or diesel.

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nobody has mentioned so far the fumes, I can live with old diesel fumes, as in the end its just smoke, but tend to admire classic cars from a distance as the smell from the old petrol engines is gag reflex territory, is that the same with the series or is it because the other petrol classics you see today tend to be bigger engined performance petrols, like old v8, v12 4+ litre engines?

cborrman said:

nobody has mentioned so far the fumes, I can live with old diesel fumes, as in the end its just smoke, but tend to admire classic cars from a distance as the smell from the old petrol engines is gag reflex territory, is that the same with the series or is it because the other petrol classics you see today tend to be bigger engined performance petrols, like old v8, v12 4+ litre engines?

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I don't get any petrol fumes in my 109 but I do get some exhaust gas comming in from the engine bay. For the life of me, I can't find where the leak is. The very first landy I drove was a diesel with a tractor type exhaust pipe that stuck up near the windscreen pillar. When waiting at traffic lights and Junctions, the cab would fill with fumes, it also stank of diesel. How my mate drove it every day is a mystery. It put me off owning a diesel so I now have a petrol 2.25. If I had to change the engine, I'd be looking for a v8. My biggest issue with the series is the high seating position, I struggle to see out of the windscreen cos I'm tall.

Col

cborrman said:

nobody has mentioned so far the fumes, I can live with old diesel fumes, as in the end its just smoke, but tend to admire classic cars from a distance as the smell from the old petrol engines is gag reflex territory, is that the same with the series or is it because the other petrol classics you see today tend to be bigger engined performance petrols, like old v8, v12 4+ litre engines?

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Exhaust from an old diesel is much worse for you than petrol exhaust.
I'd much rather have to smell a petrol exhaust, given the choice, if it's a healthy engine.
Personally the exhaust from a modern diesel is gag worthy, horrid stuff, smells acidic to me.
I'd have a series petrol over a series diesel any day, much more refined

Rubins4 said:

Which auto box would go best behind a RV8 in a series and would that need gearbox mount relocation??

The V8 auto seems like such a good combination in the odd few Defender models it came in, I don't know why it wasn't an option throughout?

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wasn’t that a marketing decision so the defender didn’t ‘out perform’ the Range Rover in power stakes - I.e you want a v8, buy a range

A good 2.25 diesel can perform ok, but it's finding one. Most series diesels were working vehicles that were, well, worked. I drove a sw b to Anglesey once it had 235/85r16 tyres on and stll wanted to pull more, an overdrive would have worked great on it. I have a Lightweight with a 2.25 petrol in it and it's great for blasting about locally. You could get a Series with a knackered diesel in it and fit a 2.5 n/a from an early 90/110, a bit more power and not as noisy as a tdi.

Ah the smell of a 2 1/4 petrol with hot mud and grass on the exhaust
Diesels stink, end of
And who gives a toss about mpg? It's not like either are great is it