Series 3 Thinking of buying a S3 with 200tdi engine.

Agree slower than tdi as this was road tested on here and the di was probably 10 secs slower to 50 over tdi
But di more than 10 secs quicker than standard 2286
Certainly easier to fit as you can use same exhaust and radiator but does not sound gutless
Both camps are well dug in in their views

From glencoynes website

What is it like to drive?

I have not yet put a 200Di conversion on a rolling road, but I reckon it is putting out around 75bhp - around the same as a healthy petrol Series 2 or 3. It feels as though it has far more low end torque than any of the old Series engines, and will happily accelerate uphill from as little as 30 mph in top gear with the overdrive engaged. Performance is lively for an old Series Landie, but not quick enough to overwhelm the standard brakes and suspension. There is more than enough power for towing - my 200Di converted Series 3 will happily tow a 2 tonne trailer at 55 mph on the motorway, dropping to around 45 on long hills. Fuel consumption is around 35 mpg in normal use, dipping slightly below 30 when towing.

I don't want to get into an argument about 'turbo vs no turbo'. It's a matter of choice and what each wants from his/her Land Rover. It is tempting to succumb to the advantages of the turbo but if you do go down that road, do the job properly and uprate the brakes and the gearbox. We all know that the gearbox is the weak link, the Achille's heel of the series LR. Capable, with the low torque as provided by Land Rover back in the day but under severe strain with the torque from a turbo-charged 200 engine. Drive carefully and with consideration, or else... because we all also know that it is torque that kills gearboxes.

Hello,
well to follow on from my post and all you helpful replies, here are some pictures of his engine as promised .Appreciate any comments.I drove him home nearly 100 miles which was a bit noisy but not to bad,I enjoyed it.Wiring is a bit bad i think and need to fix the temp gauge sender.I have sent picture of it to Steve Parkers a bit bewildered by the choice of senders, the old owner told me it needed doing.

Looks fine mostly. Wiring doesn't look too bad, just typical of a car of this era that has had a few additions.

Does it have an electric fan in front of the rad at all? And is there an intercooler?

Thank you nice to hear has an electric fan in front of the radiator, it operates by a switch in the cab.I was told you put it on when needed, but the original owner said it never needs it. Bit tricky as the temp sensor is not working I was told.Not sure about an intercooler,where do i look please for it?

It has a new chassis in galvanised by Richards and a recon bulkhead.
It does need a few small jobs, the cockpit was filthy with mess all over, slugs,snails and grass growing in the rear window channel.plus all manner of rubbish, now gone.I pulled out the carpet they were in bits.The wheels are road type but big making steering very heavy for me.I am quite old.So need to be as light as possible. I need a jack and assume a bottle jack would be good? 2tonne.?

The steering will be very heavy unless you are moving but once on the go it will be quite light, it just needs a lot of turns. There's a real knack to parking which moslty invvolves planning ahead and looking for drive in-drive out spaces! Re jack - get a propoert LR one, a Disco or Defender. The have a very high lift compared to normal jacks and you need it if you get a puncture. Otherwise you need 2, a low jack to get underneath then one to take over once its up a bit.
Like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...728415?hash=item443a1c975f:g:Jw8AAOSwAYlco6m~

Best thing you can do for a temp gauge is fit an aftermarket cappilary gauge,it will read in numbers/degrees and be accurate. Finding a sender for the 200 that will work with the series gauge is difficult. TIM is one make available.
Does not look like there is an intercooler.
Thick rubber mats better than carpet and will help with the noise.
Instalation looks pretty good and it has oilcooler.

My 200Tdi only runs hot if I’m trialling or prolonged low range use green laning. Is fine rest of the time. My gauge works, I can’t remember what temp sensor I used. Think it was the Tdi one. But would need to check.

As for the steering. It will be heavy if not moving. But walking pace it should be quite manageable. However the steering box, relay or other bits could all cause slip, play and make it heavy.

Mine used to be really nice. But became very poor. I priced put fixing it and it was actually cheaper to convert to power steering using a Range Rover p38 power steering box. Now the steering is great.

There is lots of info in my build thread (link in my signature below).

Thank you very much for your replies,I ordered the temperature sensor, it was ebay item number 302861777520, consists of a metric to unf bush then sensor unit to screw in.Steve Parker responded quickly as i got confused between ones for TDI defenders and Discovery type.I did look at the TIM gauges and they are very good value.
I have taken my spare wheel away from the bonnet ,in the hope it may help with the steering.Got to get a bracket to fix it on the back of the cab now.
I tried bidding on the jack but lost it,I will keep trying for a Discovery one. Will get some rubber mats.I do not know a lot about Diesels and hope to get grips with it.I am enjoying the S3.

For the fan you it may be worth considering on thermostatic switches which will automatically kick it in when the engine gets hot and use the switch as an override. I have the x-eng version (link) which although it rarely comes on it is nice to have that piece of mind rather than noticing the gauge and remembering to switch it on only after the gauge is well into the red!

Thank you I will look at that.

I have my electric fan wired through a fused relay. Its wired though a 3 postion switch so it can be on full time, off or controlled by the thermoswitch. In practice its always on the thermo switch and rarely comes on (there's a light to show when its on) but in hot weather I have turned it on when I see a traffic jam comming as there is quite a lag between the fan comming on and the temp dropping.