RPR

Okay, it's a 109(ish), it's 240bhp/550lbsft, and it's a Cummins 6BT, but it's very tasty: 109 CTD! Pics and Specs

Bill, I am pretty sure that someone once explained the brake set up on logging trucks in Malaysia for me. These are all drums and as you may know, they actually have a water spray set-up to cool the brakes as they descend from the Central Highlands. As I recall, the drums were both grooved and drilled to aid in both cooling and the removal of the water. As you can imagine, these trucks are exposed to quite a bit of mud! Now, I wouldn't suggest grooving your drums as there is no telling how much that would weaken them, but I think you could certainly drill them without running such risks. I would imagine that with your ingenuity and fabrication skills, you might even sleeve the drill holes to be extra safe! On the disc question, what is the chief obstacle to grafting on calipers? I have been quite impressed with the Portal-Tek disc brake kit for C303 axles that uses Wilwood discs and low profile calipers. Admittedly, I had to have new wheels custom made as they would not fit within the Volvo 16" wheel...

I would imagine it would be available from Ashcrofts.

Depending on the individual condition of each, i.e. all other things being equal, I would opt for the 83 SIII box. It's a straight bolt up replacement. Have you got a suffix letter on it? If it's a D suffix, it's the best/strongest of the SIII lot. You can use the crash box and there are a couple of threads available off the search button explaining how to mod the clutch slave cylinder. You lose synchro and need tp pick up double de-clutching. While not terrifically inconvenient, I would still go with the SIII box unless the crashbox is in much better shape.

John, Well impressed with the anti-wrap bars. I haven't done it b/c the 3.5 doesn't seem to put enough power out with conservative driving for it to be a problem, but the diminution of front axle tramp is very interesting and is rekindling my interest. BTW, I think your execution is a step up from the Pirate Booty Fab example Have you addressed your wheel arch issue? These may not meet aesthetic standards, but at @ 25 quid for 10 foot lengths, they may meet other standards They bend (and serve as light tree fenders!) and are easy to mount and replace as necessary. Pacer Flexy Flares at Autobarn

My 88" and my Disco are both shorter than my 145" wheelbase Dodge Ram 3/4 ton Quad cab pick-up, but then maybe that's not the best example for the earthy-crunchies....

You have two routes to a relatively cushier ride without major re-engineering of your suspension. 1) Softer springs. Parabolic springs, aka buggy springs, unlike a traditional leaf spring do not rely on friction as the main method of support/energy transference. They are "softer", thus requiring greater damping than leaf springs. In addition to beter articulation, they are "relatively" softer on road. You will not get a "soft" ride on almost any vehicle with traditional leaf type/parabolic springs; 2) Run your tires at a somewhat lower psi. Experiment to see what works for you. The trade off is how much (extra) slop you can bear in corners. Finally, there is a third possibility - air ride seats. never seen it done in a Land Rover but perhaps you could be a pioneer...

Obviously you're not making this up or imagining it, but I am surprised as I just did a 2" lift, without castor corrected arms - which you ought not really need with only a 2" lift (perhaps as per Bill's point above). I have other noise and issues (surprise), but not prop vibration. Have you oiked about with that rather bizarre harmonic damper thinggie ? Seems to me that this was a pretty clever LR bodge. "Front prop is vibration prone anyway, so let's pop this vibration damper on it". Can't say what you would do with it exactly, but I would hit it with a hammer a few times as a minimum, or possibly make sure it's functioning as intended...

Bearing Buddy I've got these on my trailer. Fantastic. Check the site and see if they have a size that would work. Alternatively, what about packing the bearing with red lithium, overfilling the dust cap with it and then selaing round the dust cap with silcone sealant etc.

Thanks for the pics. Looks good. That shackle on the front is interesting. Looking forward to your comments post test.

I regard this with great interest! Any shots of the front? Nice axles!!!!

If there are not insuperable import restrictions, you would be hard pressed to find a better long haul truck than the likes of this: That's a 1998 Dodge Ram 2500 with a mechanical 12v 5.9L Cummins Turbo Diesel straight six in it. Available in the US with @ 150,000 miles (low for the drivetrain) for 3,000 - 4,000 quid. Optimally, it would be a '98 (first half of '98 before they went electronic) 4x4 Crew Cab Single Rear Wheel 1 Ton or 3/4 Ton (I don't like dual rear wheels myself). This was the first year of a real crew cab. The 12v is ready for bombing with a simple pump modification from TST and better breathing. Not a lot of work/money will get a mechanical 12v in the 300 hp/550 lbs-ft torque range. These come with Dana 70 (stronger than a Salisbury) rear axles and 60 fronts and are very tough. In another direction, the Mitsubishi Fuso is getting a lot of good press from people building more road oriented expedition vehicles. Available with 4x4 and two different wheelbases 112" and 136". 4.9L four cyl turbo diesel good for 150 hp and 350 lbs/ft and a five speed box. More expensive and less powerful (weighs in the same range as 3/4 ton Ram), but interesting nevertheless. I think a crew cab would be a special order though. Mitsi Fuso specs I like the Dodge, but that's because I have one

This also an important consideration in an inverter. The cheaper ones are not full sine wave which makes them dangerous at best for things like laptop batteries...

Very impressive. I'm not mad on campers but s supewide 130 powered by CTD is definitely danglium cannae

It's very difficult for many people, even the German DMV, to recognise the difference between a 2.5L displacement naturally aspirated 4 cyl engine and a 2.25 L displacement 4cyl engine. I suggest that your friend utilize that difficultly if it is indeed a 2.5NA in there. If it is a later turbo diesel he will be SOL...

Gaza, Do I understand that you have 6BT in a Rapier ? Would love to see some pics of that beasty. That must be one helluva rig!

I think the jury is hung on the NV4500. For all its gushing advocates there are plenty of harsh critics. For old school bomb boxes, the best of the bunch are the NP435, the SM465, the SM420, the T98 and the T18 - sadly all 4 speeds. Having said that, how nice would a 76:1 1st low, with no underdrive, be. That's what an SM465 will give you, while an SM420 with its 7.05 1st gear will generate a rather handsome 83:1 1st low assuming LT230 and 3.54 diffs. Other than that you can't flat tow with the NP435, these are all tried and tested very strong boxes and every one of them is shorter than the NV4500. In the Tonka's next iteration, I can see an NP435 behind some dreadful fire-breathing SBC (not that I'm a fan)... This link may be helpful Transmissions and Sizes

Gaza, A TorqueFlite by any other name (except a LoadFlite) is still a TorqueFlite. There was nothing special, unique, or different about the TF727 used by Rover. It was ye olde TF727 with an adapter ring to bolt up to the 3.5 and a tailshaft assembly to mate it to the LT230. The 3.5 was not enough engine for the box, they used way too high a stall torque converter, and there were issues with the LT230 adapter, which I understood to have been addressed in the Ashcroft kit. Otherwise, the box is the same that as used behind the early 12 valve Cummins (which does not have a Rover bolt pattern sadly). Honestly, with strong fabrication skills and some very creative suspension work, I think a 12 valve 5.9 CTD would go into a 110 rather nicely - but its like making foie gras. If you shove enough shiat down a goose's throat, it's innards will taste good, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good idea.... There is a Gear Vendors overdrive (like the Ranger?) that works with the 727 and there is an overdrive version of the 727 but I don't believe it was rated to the same beef. The LoadFlite was the RV/Motorhome version of the 727 with further strengthened internals and a lower first gear (3.2:1?). How much highway cruising is a truck the likes of which we are batting around really going to do? If you want diesel, forget the US. The big league diesels for the 3/4 and 1 ton pickups are amazing, but at 6 - 7 litres and 900 lbs, not very practical in a Rover application. In that case, build off a mechanical platform like the 300 tdi or choose from all the other jubbly options you have. 300 lbs/ft is a lot of torque in a 90 and I would wouldn't think this was too hard to get to off a solid 4 cyl diesel base. If you aren't averse to petrol, Yank metal is where it's at. LS1 - lovely. Mopar 318 - stealth torque truck engine. An honest 300/350 SBC - cheap as chips. And cheap bomb boxes to go with them.

If you have the same t-box that had a high ratio conversion, then it's not a 1 Ton box. As far as I am aware, there are only the "standard" t-box, as fitted to all 4 cyl and most 6cyl Series and the 1 ton box only fitted to the 1 Ton 109. I don't want to be definite about the straight cut/helical cut differentiation, but it does seem to stick in my memory. I suppose you can't just ask the bloke you got it from whether it came off a 1 ton box or you would have done that. If it's not a 1 ton vs. standard problem, then I'm stumped. This may be one for Uncle Bill. If he doesn't know, we're in trouble...

I have a Cummins 5.9L 6 cyl turbo diesel in my Dodge Ram 2500. Think 900 lbs. Even a pre '98 12v is going to be in the 850lbs + range. There are rumours of a 109 with a Cummins 6BT in it somewhere out West, and I'm sure that with enough time and money it can be done, but that's a LOT of time and money. The 4BT is no better than the tdi quite frankly and while it can be tuned, similar things can be done to the tdi. While I prefer petrol engines in sand, for long range cruising a diesel is a must. Just before I left Dubai, Mark Powell of Team Saluki, bought a TD5 110 as a play truck for the desert. To my surprise, the engine was great in the desert. Chipped, with better breathing and intercooling, I think it would be a fine engine for the desert if you don't mind the electronics. A 2.8 TGV or bombed mechanical 300 tdi would be better to my mind. And I would consider the LT85. Yes, it's ancient and agricultural, but it's pretty beefy and it will bolt up to Rover metal. A number of the Rally 110s in the Middle East are running LT85s behind 4.5L JE V8s good for getting on 300 HP. Finally, for big torque, think about the TF727. If you can't stand an autobox, you can get a manual shift valve body from Art Carr. They even have strengthened slightly lower first gear kits for the motor home/RV version available. It'll bolt to the LT230 (if Ashcrofts still have the tailshafts) they are pretty cheap over here, and it will take big torque. It has served behind Mopar big blocks, including the 440 and the Hemi, and was used for a few years behind the 12 valve Cummins Turbo Diesel.

That's excellent. It's just the sort of thing that would happen to me. Of course, I would have never figured it out and would have ended up having some ridiculous uber-cooling system built out of titanium/unobtainium, flubbed the installation and, finally, had to take it to one or t'other garage; only to have the old grease covered bloke break me the bad news that, yet again, I was an idiot....

As far as I know, there should be no difference based on 6/4 cyl engine. But there is a difference based on transfer case. Do you know whether the 6 pot that this unit came from was equipped with a 1 ton transfer case ? If so, the PTO will not work with a standard t-case. One way to tell may be to check whether the PTO is helical cut or straight cut. I believe the 1 Ton units are helical cut.

Thanks very much.

Another box worth considering is the NP435. This will handle 2.8 tgv torque without question as it served behind big block Mopar monsters and saw service in 3/4 and 1 ton pick ups. They are much more readily available and a lot less expensive than the NV4500 and Ike Goss (Pangolin 4x4) has made up adapters for the Series Transfer box in the past. I don't know about an LT230 adapter. There were Ford and Dodge variants of the NP435 as I recall and there will be adapters from Advance Adapter for GM junk as well. They are short and beefy - nice fit in a 90. Downside is that they are a 4 speed but there may be a Gear Vendors overdrive available? Talking blue sky stuff here, but it may be worth alos looking for the NV5600. That's what I have in my 3/4 Ton Dodge Ram 600lbs/ft of torque Cummins Turbo Diesel. Basically a beefier (and heavier) version of the NV4500 with six speeds. May be more readily available?

If it works out, you may consider doing up a few more LHD. As of next year the 1983 model will become legal for import into the US. With 12 year old 100,000 + V8 models selling in the US for upwards of USD 40,000, there's a tidy little business in it. Also, the US doesn't have the DVLA points system issues. All it needs is documentation for an age appropriate chassis and a more than 15 year old Land Rover engine (EPA exemption) and it is valid for importation. So if that 1984 110 V5 turned into a crew cab 200 tdi in LHD in good shape, you would have a GBP 20,000 vehicle to sell in the States in 2009...