daslandroverman

Before committing to the work I'd be checking the numbers. From what I recall the overall ratio spread of the Tdci box is about the same as an R380, but with 6 speeds to choose from rather than 5. Is it really worth the time and money spent making a TDV6 box fit if the gearing will remain pretty much the same as an R380 which will fit behind the engine with bolt on components? If strength is your concern, then there are a few off the shelf upgrades for the R380 which makes them somewhat hardier, but truth be told, a good one really shouldn't be troubled by a 3.5 V8. If you want to do it for the acclaim of being able to say 'I did it' then go for it. I'd suggest looking up Reece Myers in the Cummins Land Rover group on Facebooks as he experimented with the TDV6 box and adapted one to an LT230 at one point. I'll not go too far into the engine debate, but an old 3.5 isn't the best option anymore, and a £500 engine can quite easily consume the same again (and more) in parts for a good quality rebuild if required.

You can buy a manual conversion kit for an LT77 or R380 from a chap called Ollie North, you'll find him on the Mercedes Land Rover group on Facebooks. Gazfab does the kit for putting them onto an autobox. No reason not to keep the EDC pump and have the ECU sorted to run without the immobiliser. Cheaper than dropping £1k or more on a mechanical pump from DPUK or DieselMeken.

He's a good lad should you meet him in person. A very dry sense of humour.

The most definitive guide you're going to find.

A quick Google images search suggests it shouldn't be a particularly complicated job. Looking at the back of the Daihatsu engine the flywheel and clutch aren't enclosed as on the Tdi, which makes things simpler. Keeping the Daihatsu clutch makes sense, whilst drilling a Tdi flywheel to suit it is easy enough. After that, a plate that will bolt to the back of the engine -and support the starter- that's also been drilled for the Daihatsu box (don't forget the locating dowels) is all you need. The one critical dimension for things to work correctly is the height of the drive face of the flywheel from the gearbox mating face. There's a bit of leeway provided everything is flat and parallel, but it helps to be spot on.

If one looks into the physics behind how brakes work then the benefits of larger drums, discs etc become clearer. Firstly we need to look at the first law of thermodynamics, that being 'Energy is always Conserved'. Basically all the energy that goes in, comes out again in one form or another. In the case of the motor car it's a large amount of chemical energy in the fuel which is turned into kinetic and heat energy by the engine. When it comes to braking you've got a large amount of kinetic energy in terms of the momentum of the vehicle, and the job of the brakes (discounting assistance from things like driveline losses) is to convert that energy into something else. Top of the class those of you who said heat. Brakes generate heat by rubbing the friction material against the rotor be it drum or disc. This heat is then lost into the atmosphere as radiated heat. On technicality it warms the air around it rather than the air cooling it. The efficiency of a brake is determined by how well it can dissipate the heat it generates. The condition known as brake fade is due to the brake rotor retaining enough heat that it can no longer effectively convert kinetic energy into heat. Larger brakes will have more capacity to be heated up than smaller ones whilst, as already noted, Discs are more efficient/consistent as they dissipate heat much better than a drum setup. It doesn't surprise me to hear of being able to lock up 10 inch SLS drum setups as drums have a larger surface area of friction material in contact with the rotor, and the shoes have a self servo effect on them also. Worth remembering that a locked wheel is converting kinetic energy into heat energy, just using the medium of your tyre and the road. A bit of an impromptu physics lesson, but hopefully it's been a little enlightening?

Rob Maude of LR Optional Equipment may be interested in buying it for refurbishment.

The 3 inch wide shoes on the V8 and Forward Control models are even better. A decent master/servo and they stop really well. My mates IIA FC with a Cummins 6b engine also got the air assist master cylinder from the truck the engine came from. Stand on the pedal with a little vigour and you can stall the engine at 15mph in 2nd gear.

Here's a guy done a P38 conversion without welding on a galvy chassis. The post you want is about halfway down the page. http://retrorides.proboards.com/thread/148109/mercedes-land-rover-over-years?page=3 The P38 box does seemto be the best way to do it on a Series motor.

No, no acid dip. I don't claim to be an expert in the chemistry, but he paint I've sprayed it with bonds to any sort of rust and chemically neutralises it preventing any further corrosion. It's an industrial coating which sees use on oil platforms, amongst other things, so For the moment I'm confident that it'll protect the bulkheads adequately. I'd agree e-coating would be the ideal way forward, but at the moment it's not as easy as throw it in a van and go. I'm currently doing the bulkheads in my free time, alongside a full time job and spending a bit of time with the kids. Having been left somewhere on the back foot financially after splitting with my ex-wife I've got very little funding available, and the prototypes are being funded individually by people that want a bulkhead building, and they will be built to order after that, but until I can afford to do it 'full time' economies of scale will be difficult to achieve. It's pleasing to see that the project is generating interest though.

Yes you do, it's the bulkhead on this truck that started me off on the whole venture...

E-coating would be an ideal solution, but getting them done locally may be a bit awkward. For now they're being painted in Buzzweld coatings which are a good compromise between the two. I'm of the opinion that galvanising isn't the ideal thing for bulkheads.

So, after a trip out in the wild -where it attracted a lot of positive attention- it's 95% finished with a few little additions to make before final paint and dressing. I managed to forget to take any pictures of it at the 'Locomotion' museum, but I did get this one of it on the trailer in daylight. Whilst I've also tried it on the chassis it's intended for, and it fits beautifully. Sucess with the bulkhead has however been tempered some by the sudden expirey of the gearbox in my 110 this morning. It's timing could have been better, but such is life.

Simplest solution would be speak to 'Clutchfix' who will be able to make you a custom clutch setup to suit your requirements. They've done a lot for the Cummins lads, and a couple for the BMW M57 crowd. Save too much mix and match.

I've rather enjoyed the one in my 110, it's a shame it's now somewhat past its best.