Classic White 1987 two door classic with Perkins Diesel?

A relative of mine had a white two door RRC that according to them was fitted with a Perkins diesel engine.

It was apparently a 1987 E Reg. I remember it having the same type of three spoke alloy wheels as the drawing at the top of this page, although can't be 100% certain.

It developed a fault with the gearbox and and sat unused on their land for a few years. They sold it to someone who intended to get it going again. That would have been the late 1990s when they got rid of it. I wonder if it is still around, but they can't remember the reg plate to check online. They think there might be an old spare plate for it buried in their shed somewhere so I may be able to find out.

I do wonder if anyone on here ended up with it. Does anyone on here have a Classic matching this description? I am aware that it could have since had any kind of changes or mods done to it so may not be anything like it was 20 years ago.

Back in the day it was a common conversion, so you need to find the reg

freelance said:

Back in the day it was a common conversion, so you need to find the reg

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Had one myself until someone tried to overtake me as I was turning right Car was a right off but still drove away from the accident site. The car that hit me was crushed that much not a wheel could turn.

Perkins in a Classic, yuck

If it was a common conversion, did Perkins supply these engines new from the factory?

I have read that the VM diesels were less forgiving when neglected than other types. Is that true? I know of someone still driving a H reg classic with a 200Tdi that was fitted after the VM engine died.

Webley1991 said:

If it was a common conversion, did Perkins supply these engines new from the factory?

I have read that the VM diesels were less forgiving when neglected than other types. Is that true? I know of someone still driving a H reg classic with a 200Tdi that was fitted after the VM engine died.

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Did the 200tdi thing in my 89 four door when the VM died.

Webley1991 said:

If it was a common conversion, did Perkins supply these engines new from the factory?

I have read that the VM diesels were less forgiving when neglected than other types. Is that true? I know of someone still driving a H reg classic with a 200Tdi that was fitted after the VM engine died.

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Not that I know of but conversion kits were readily available. You didn't have to neglect the VM, mine cracked the four cylinder heads and picked up on one cylinder when it overheated in France due to the radiator being blocked by a plague of ladybirds and butterflies one summer.i was towing a big caravan and apart from a bit of smoke on startup it still got us home. I believe there was a modification you could do to the cooling system that prevented the top of the heads getting too hot. Wouldn't have helped in my case.

tomcat59alan said:

Not that I know of but conversion kits were readily available. You didn't have to neglect the VM, mine cracked the four cylinder heads and picked up on one cylinder when it overheated in France due to the radiator being blocked by a plague of ladybirds and butterflies one summer.i was towing a big caravan and apart from a bit of smoke on startup it still got us home. I believe there was a modification you could do to the cooling system that prevented the top of the heads getting too hot. Wouldn't have helped in my case.

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VM motors used to fail in boats too, I seem to remember that there were versions with individual heads per cylinder and others with a single head. I also seem to remember something about updated heads but it was all a long time ago and I didn't see many of them.

Datatek said:

VM motors used to fail in boats too, I seem to remember that there were versions with individual heads per cylinder and others with a single head. I also seem to remember something about updated heads but it was all a long time ago and I didn't see many of them.

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The single heads were fitted to the VMs in the J**Ps they didn't seem to be a problem from memory the mod involved a couple of T's in the heater pipes to improve water circulation but I never looked into it.

Datatek said:

VM motors used to fail in boats too

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Interesting, as I believe the VM was designed for marine application in the first place

norseman said:

Interesting, as I believe the VM was designed for marine application in the first place

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It's a long time ago, but as I remember, the heads used to crack around the exhaust valve. A revised head was brought out at some point. I cannot remember if it was the individual heads that had the problem on the unitary head. Never involved in fixing them, just diagnosing the problem.

Datatek said:

It's a long time ago, but as I remember, the heads used to crack around the exhaust valve. A revised head was brought out at some point. I cannot remember if it was the individual heads that had the problem on the unitary head. Never involved in fixing them, just diagnosing the problem.

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The VM 492 which was the 2.4 early iteration for the classic from 1987 to 1990 had the cylinder head cracking issue, the main problem with the RRC was the cooling system was barely adequate, add debris to the radiator or a corroded cooling system from neglect then there is the perfect recipe for an overheat and subsequent head crack, I seem to remember the rear most cylinder head was most prone.

Oh and the addition of Bullbars and spotlights again added to a lack of airflow.

The 425VM 2.5 was much improved, both were quite smooth diesels for their day.

Henry_b said:

The VM 492 which was the 2.4 early iteration for the classic from 1987 to 1990 had the cylinder head cracking issue, the main problem with the RRC was the cooling system was barely adequate, add debris to the radiator or a corroded cooling system from neglect then there is the perfect recipe for an overheat and subsequent head crack, I seem to remember the rear most cylinder head was most prone.

Oh and the addition of Bullbars and spotlights again added to a lack of airflow.

The 425VM 2.5 was much improved, both were quite smooth diesels for their day.

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My 2.5 pulled like a train.luved it,I'll have to see if I can find photos and work out how to scan them.

Henry_b said:

The VM 492 which was the 2.4 early iteration for the classic from 1987 to 1990 had the cylinder head cracking issue, the main problem with the RRC was the cooling system was barely adequate, add debris to the radiator or a corroded cooling system from neglect then there is the perfect recipe for an overheat and subsequent head crack, I seem to remember the rear most cylinder head was most prone.

Oh and the addition of Bullbars and spotlights again added to a lack of airflow.

The 425VM 2.5 was much improved, both were quite smooth diesels for their day.

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Salt water cooling in boats didn't help