twodoorgaz

Thanks guys - now that the acid-test-"am I way off-base?"-question has been asked, I'll get on with my homework to see how viable it is.

Hi folks. This has been touched on a while ago - in this thread for one. I'm awaiting my house purchase to go through, wherein I'll get a big garage and will finally be able to start my build. I have virtually all the parts I need to build my hybrid drivetrain 2.5 17H Petrol block with a mixture of series and metric ancillaries to dress it up to look like a 2.25 Stumpy R380 (050A ratios 1st-4th and a TD5 5th gear) Series Transfer box (ashcroft kit) A nice strong 4.7 diff from MSV8 (yet to get) 24spline rear shafts Heystee front discs Stage 1 stub axles, CVs and shafts at the front Now the above drivetrain will handle plenty more power than even a tuned 17H will make. And I keep looking at the turbo parts from a 19J or TDI and thinking... why not? A turbo'd petrol would surely have a far, far lower compression ratio than a similar diesel (19/20:1) so I can't help but feel that a turbo'd 5MB petrol could be a very tough little unit - as I'm building the engine from the parts I've sourced (once machined) I could also easily swap out some more bits to get the pick of the LR 4-pot crop. If a diesel intake manifold could be used then surely it would be a nut and bolt swap. Not looking to set the world alight, but anything north of 100BHP feels spritely in a Series and I think that even a stock build could reach 120+BHP relatively easily without the pitfalls of the 19J. Yes I could fit a V8, TD or TDI but this is more about having a nice little LR project. Any input would be very welcome.

Hi. I'm building a new engine for my IIA. Its a bit of a hybrid, based around a 5MB 2.5 17H petrol block but with the ancillaries / covers/ head / etc from a Series vehicle to keep it looking like a stock 2.25. There is a bit of a thread on it here. I'm trying to plan it out so that I can avoid oil drips wherever possible - careful assembly is one thing, but breathers are another. There were a number of different arrangement: early ones had breather caps fitted to both the rocker cover and the side oil-fill pipe, which just vented to atmosphere. later ones had both these caps replaced with sealed units, but the rocker cover cap gained a little pipe... and the side fill pipe itself gained anther little pipe.. and both fed back into the intake via an little PCV/Emmissions control unit. Really late ones dispensed with the side fill pipe and just added a second filler cap to the rocker cover. I'm trying to decide on the beat arrangement to avoid drips on my (and my mates') fancy driveways. I think that the best solution would be: a side-fill oil filler pipe from a SIII, rather than a SIIA (with the sealed cap and the little vent pipe half way down) would be the best idea to vent the crankcase. Plus a rocker cover and sealed cap (with the little vent pipe on the side) from a SIII would vent the top of the engine. Plus a plain carb elbow from the SIIA (with no pipe to receive the oily mist from the PCV) Plus a simple universal oil catch can to receive the oily mist from both the side-fill pipe and the rocker cover cap, like this: I'll be doing the same exercise with the new axle, transfer box and mainbox breathers - partly for wading, partly to reduce drips and to keep the components a bit cleaner. Does the above sound like the best solution? Thank you.

Thanks very much BigJ, thats really very helpful. Re: the engine... its part of quite a big project I already have the parts needed to build an 050A-ratio stumpy R380 - including the ashcroft stumpy kit, 050A layshaft and the Ashcroft adaptors that I can retain the series transfer box. I just need the core donor TDR R380 to complete. I also have all the parts I need to build one of two engines (I haven't decided yet): Option 1: a 17H 2.5 block, dressed up as a series unit. Stage 2.1 head, balanced and Megasquirt. This is the current preference as, other than the TB it will look stock. Option 2: A red graded 38A V8 block (built-up as either 4.0 or 4.6) running carbs and megajolt (yes, I know... carbs are ridiculous). Plus a Milner adaptor kit. Suspension: Parabolics plus the front ARB from a Marshall ambulance. Steering: P38A steering conversion. Axle internals currently at 1981-spec, but rear to get 4-pin centre from Ashcroft and a pair of HD 24-spline shafts. Again, I already have all the parts above, except the MS/MJ, the R380 core and the rear axle upgrade bits. It isn't actually about braking performance. Its more a deep loathing of the set-up and maintenance of drum brakes. When they're good, they're very good (driven some SIIIs with incredible stopping power). When they're bad, they're rebuilt with the best quality parts we can find in the 21st century which tend to be clown-shoes - its a personal gripe, tainted by my last LR build in which I bought the best quality parts I could find, built-up a 1981- TLS system and still ended up with dodgy adjustors, oval drums and months of chasing adjustments. Discs work - consistently and with minimal fettling. There is absolutely no need in the world to use rear discs on either of my setups - but for a few hundred quid, if its doable, I may as well include them while its in bits.

Hi folks. This forum has always been an amazing source of knowledge for disc conversions with some fantastic home-engineered solutions (I have used the search function) and thought I'd check-in having finally bit the bullet and ordered a Heystee front disc brake kit... (I blame gin and credit cards) and I'm starting to plan the brake system on my (rather custom) SWB SIIA (of relevance here is that the axle internals are late SIII SWB Spec - 24 spline outers/two small wheel bearings). I'm starting from a bare chassis so I have a nice clean canvas to work with. I'm hoping for some assistance in choosing parts for two different options: 1) front discs only 2) front and rear discs. In both cases I would like to keep the SIII Servo-assisted pedal box I have, rather than moving to a modern-looking Defender pedal box. Front discs only I suppose the basic approach would be to use an earlier Ninety master cylinder bolted onto the standard Series servo-pedal box and to retain the 10-inch rear drums. Q1: Would there be an benefit in fitting the rear drums and backplates from the 'same' Ninety from which the chosen front discs/calipers and master cylinder are intended? And if so, I assume they would be a straight swap onto the series flanges. Here I suppose the nicety would be that the wheel cylinders would exactly match the front callipers and the master cylinder. Q2: As the disc/drum LR Nineties (with the early Type-50 servo) used an 8" diameter servo, but the Series only used a 6" servo what would be the impact of using the smaller servo with the disc/drum master cylinder. Is it simply a case of the pedal action being firmer/more difficult with the smaller servo or would it actually impact brake performance. I would stump for one of Heystee's 8" Series-type servos if it makes for a better engineered solution, but they are quite expensive if it is just a luxury. Front and Rear Discs Q3: My understanding is that the Master-Cylinder needed to run rear discs needs to be the type fitted to the 300TDI-onwards Defenders with a different design of servo (11") and pedal box. Which would mean moving away from the Series pedal box using a modern pedal. I did buy one of these, but it won't look right in the vehicle - plus the servo's size means a tweak to the wings/bodywork which I don't want to do. Unless I'm wrong? This is the reason I am currently planning to use front discs only as I would like the install to be a bit stealth and would like to keep the Series pedal box/pedals. Q4: If I did go for rear discs, is it necessary to pay Heystee another £500 for one of their rear kits (which consist of a calliper bracket and a hub) or could I simply use the remarkably-similar looking genuine calliper carrier and hub from a 300TDI defender (or even a disco)? I'm sure that Jon White wrote a post on this in the past (110 calliper brackets and I think RR hubs, but I'm struggling to find it). Really appreciate any help here.

The 2.5 petrol ones were quite pricy a few years ago, so I got one from a 2.5 diesel (same casting) and just bought the little petrol-specific blanking bits separately by part number. Think it cost about £15 all in.

Yes - also fitted to the RRC of the same vintage - they come up on ebay quite often, usually about £30-£40. This is the search term I had saved while waiting for a cheap one (paste into eBay and scan through till you see one that looks right): (disco,discovery,rrc,rangerover,range) (prop,propshaft) -td5 -tdi -tdv6 -2.7 -sport -p38 -l322 -l405 There is one listed, but its very expensive and in the Netherlands: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Range-Rover-Classic-propshaft-with-catalyst-/311956754784?hash=item48a2125160:g:O3cAAOSwC6dZs-vp I've just bought one for £30, though will need to have it extended (stumpy R380 with bell housing face in same position as 4-speed, series transfer box moved back 4" to compensate for longer box - just having Richards weld on a 2nd set of bolt-up xrossmember brackets 4" back without touching/cutting the rest of the chassis). Seen a few in this configuration where the standard prop cleared the gearbox crossmember - even on parabolics. But it was noticeably tighter than stock, so a skinny prop should return the clearance to an acceptable level.

Bandog - re: the 1mm clearance - is this on a SII/IIA chassis or a SIII? I realise there's a difference in the clutches and the gearbox cossmember webbing between the two. A pic of the potential clash would be massive useful. I've collected the ashcroft kit, a stumpy R380 and a skinny front prop ready to do the conversion but would love to see where the potential clash lies. Thank you.

Can anyone recommend a breakers yard in Spain for the Santana series Land Rovers? I have contacted two so far, but these are just the ones with the shiniest websites. Thank you.

Hi folks. thought I'd update this thread. I have nearly everything I need now (I think). Its getting bolted to a Stumpy R380 (already got) - the stumpy R380 has the same bell housing pattern as the earlier, short bell housing, LT77 so it should be a factory fit to the 17H flywheel housing I have. So I have a 17H block with flywheel, flywheel housing and oil filter housing. Its already got a series-style fuel pump: And then I've bought: from a '901' Series III petrol engine... Sump 8:1 head (will be recon'd to 9:1, U/L and 17H spec valves) Rocker cover Side fill oil tube and baffle Rocker cover Dipstick (I can straighten and re-use the metric dipstick tube from the 17H) Timing cover Water pump Fan and pulley Thermostat housing Engine mounts Rocker assembly, timing assembly and a big heap of fasteners (I'll probably replace these with new but handy to have for mock-up - especially the fasteners as I'll be mixing metric and imperial by part number) and... an inlet and exhaust manifold from a 2.5 petrol. And… I have a stage 1 v8 cable throttle assembly (sorry, no pics - its in the loft) Still to track down are: Series IIA heater inlet and outlet unons/taps (should screw into the imperial head) A Series III alternator bracket A Weber 2.5 17H weber carb (32/34 DMTL) and inlet plenum Crank pulley and starting handle dog from a 5MB 2.25 (late SIII or early one-ten) Not a million miles away from starting the tear-down, machining and rebuild. Any tips on the recipe for this franken-engine would be very welcome indeed.

Thank you very much! Just what I was looking for.

Hi - I'd be glad to post up pictures here. Dressing it up to look like either a 3MB 2.25 from a SIIA or I'd even settle for it looking like 5MB 2.25 from a late SIII. The carb will be the big giveaway - if I spring for the SU kit it will look like a tweaked Series engine. Not going to the far end of a fart with it - just a few swaps while I have it in bits to make it look and fit that little bit less obvious.

Hello folks. After a long search I've tracked down a 17H 2.5 petrol for SIIA build. Here are some pictures for… well, no reason at all - but we all like pics don't we? (scroll down for the actual question) Now my love for this engine comes from the timing cover. As it retains a timing chain (unlike TDis, 2.5 NADs, etc), it makes a perfect fit in the series engine bay and the engine note seems 'right' just with a smudge more grunt. It will be getting a full rebuild before fitting, and I'm obviously missing a few bits. I realise I can drop it straight in with a tweaked exhaust, appropriate carbs and a modd'd cable throttle but as I'm reconing it anyway, I'd like to rebuild it a little more subtle. I remember there was a chap on the forum who dressed a 2.5NAD to look like a 2.25d and was wondering if anyone could advise on the bits I can change over for a 2.25? Ideally I'd like to do the following. Can anyone advise if this will work without of course impeding the performance of the engine? 2.25 Timing cover inc. water pump & 4-bladed fan, pulleys and starting handle crank dog. 17H Sump 2.25 Alternator mounts. 2.25 Engine mounts 2.25 Oil filler tube to side of block 2.25 Lift pump (this one already has one, though I did think it should have been electric) 2.25 Cylinder head and thermostat neck (*NB the head will be going to ACR for stage 2.1, so don't think it matters whether the donor is 2.25 or 2.5 - hardened valve seats if coming from a 2.5) 17H Inlet/exhaust manifolds and correct Webber carb (have found a set already) - BUT I'm also saving to see if I can run to the ACR SU kit plus manifolds which can fit both the 2.25 and 2.5 - this would be ideal as it looks lovely and period. Realise the 2.25 zenith will fit, but suspect it will strangle the engine. Stage 1 V8 cable throttle and 17H cable (easy to knock something up but I have both already) 17H Flywheel and housing (its being bolted to a stumpy R380 so I have so no need to worry about this) 17H Starter motor (plus slight alteraton to wiring) - seems smaller and more powerful than the standard Series fare. 17H Spin-on oil filter 2.25 rocker cover 2.25 heater hoses and connectors Standard Lucas dizzy (or MJ if I get giddy) Painting the block duck egg blue (wrong for a 5MB, but right for a IIA) Custom exhaust - either Steve Parker's off the shelf one or ACR's off the shelf one to match the manifold. Finally - for the 2.25 donor bits, does it matter if these are the common imperial ones (thinking the head here mainly) or the rarer late metric items? I'm guessing if I use the correct fasteners then it doesn't matter but would welcome confirmation. Thank you very much.

PS: for interest, if I did add 4.1 diffs to the equation then taking the above setup (Defender TD5 R380 PLUS V8 5TH GEAR + 1967-onwards series transfer + 4.7 diffs + 30.7" tyres (235/85/R16s)) but swapping the diffs to 4.1... would give me very similar gearing to a late, manual NAS D90. Have to do a bit of research on availability of 4.1 diff parts. NAS Defender 90 - R380 Defender TD5 R380 PLUS V8 5TH GEAR + 1967-onwards series transfer + 4.1 diffs + 30.7" tyres (235/85/R16s)

Thanks all very much indeed! Think I'm sorted now and thought I'd update this thread with the conclusions. You were quite right - there's not a lot in real-orld terms between the TDi/5 and V8 boxes when you run the numbers. Basically it turns out that, when run through a Series transfer and standard series 4.7 diffs, a TD5 defender box can give almost identical ratios as a standard SIII box, and the same 5th as series 4th+OD. If you throw in 4.1 diffs and the optional V8 5th gear (offered as an option by the Ashcrofts and the like) then you get close to factory defender V8 gearing too. The defender TD5 R380 box is commonly available - and is compatible with the stumpy pinion/bellhousing - and comes in suffix K (bigger bearings) and suffix L (bigger bearings and shot peined components) flavours which is massive bonus. (he says… hopefully I've got the following right) Responding to the above posts: Fridge - yep, regardless of whether I stick with the 4.6 or switch back to the 3.5 I'll be keeping a skinny GEMS front cover (coilpack either way for waterproofing). The timing case I have is actually one from a disco II which points the oil filter forward 45-degrees the same as a RRC and makes for a better take-off for the remote oil filter (P38 is points straight down out of the side of the timing case). Bolt-on with the 4.6, or a bit of work on the crank for fitting the shallow timing case if I stick with 3.5, but no great issues there. That photo is incredibly useful - it shows the clearance to be actually better than I thought it would be as I'd like to stick with an engine fan and like you, my rad will sit on the crossmember, so should be bags of space. Also your comments on the clutch have calmed my nerves a bit re: strength and it is no longer a factor in deciding between the two engines (just comes down to heart vs. head - or carbs + MJ vs MS). The aim is to build a Series V8 conversion of old, but with a bombproof alternative to the 4-speed + overdrive. Had a really good chat with a potential gearbox builder today and have come up with a formula, turns out a standard Defender TD5 box is almost bang on the money. Here's the comparison: Defender TD5 R380 + 1967-onwards series transfer + 4.7 diffs + 30.7" tyres (235/85/R16s). For comparison, in a traditional conversion - Series III gearbox and transfer box + Fairey Overdrive + 4.7 diffs + 30.7" tyres (235/85/R16s). You'll see that on the TD5 combo 1st is very slightly lower than the SIII box (but nowhere near as low as the SIII one ton) - no bad thing when pulling away with a trailer and 1st low will be great crawler. I rarely use 1st in a standard SWB Series anyway as it a bit low for road use. 2nd and 3rd are virtually identical. 4th is identical (1:1) and 5th is almost identical to a SIII in overdrive top. Now the R380, being a 5-speed offers a bit more flexibility as during the recon the 5th gear can be changed to an even higher unit (V8 spec) for more relaxed cruising, this gives the best of both worlds - slightly lower 1st and slightly higher 5th, but still balanced nicely across the range. Defender TD5 R380 PLUS V8 5TH GEAR + 1967-onwards series transfer + 4.7 diffs + 30.7" tyres (235/85/R16s). This is the setup I'm going for. Rather than try for super-high gearing in 5th to make it cruise like a Disco, if I stick with the above it should give a nice vehicle to drive - with very similar (but fractionally more usable) ratios as a traditional Series V8 conversion. Also a bit easier/cheaper as I only need to source one more component - a Def TD5 Suffix L mainbox. I already have everything else. Thanks again everyone - massively appreciated.

Hi folks. Does anyone know if the V8 R380 in disco/disco II was made in suffix L, and if so what year it was introduced? Obviously the TD5 box was made in an L but for a V8, the latest I've seen on the 2nd hand market is suffix K. thank you.

Thanks very much for the detailed reply FF. re: your queries: 1: I have a 4.6 already which was my original 1st choice nice find as the seller included an int. serp timing cover . I've also given some thought to swapping it for a 3.5 - looks nice on original carbs and definitely won't stress the 9.5" clutch (your points on the clutch noted). 2: clutch - I've heard of 9.5" clutches (which I'm limited to due to the stumpy R380) starting to slip on higher torque motors. LR always fitted their V8s with 10.5" clutches. Are your 4.6s on 4-cylinder gearboxes or ones with V8 bell housings? 3: Its an all-rounder. Some off road work, mainly on road. I've had both D90s and Discos in the past and note they have slightly different gearing - for this application one that drives like a disco would be ideal (slightly higher ratio). I don't yet have an R380 mainbox so options are 4-cyl 300TDi/TD5 or V8 Disco (assuming the stumpy input pinion I have is compatible). 4: useful to know re: the diffs. I'm leaning towards 4.7s with the 5th gear on the R380 taking the place of a Fairey OD on the original box. I don't need to improve low-speed crawling, but not willing to sacrifice it too much in exchange for higher cruising. With 3.54s this gives 2209RPM@70mph - possibly a bit low and with 4.7s, 2933rpm which is possibly a bit high. 5: regardless of which R380 I go for, I'll definitely be having the V8 5th (ashcrofts can include it on any build). Tyres will almost certainly be 235/85R16s. aah decisions, decisions - last thing to buy is the mainbox.

Does anyone know if the Stumpy R380 input pinion (suffix K/L, 22 spline) is compatible with the Discovery V8 R380 gear set? Have a stumpy R380 conversion kit and looking to build a mainbox with correct V8 ratios - obvious starting point is a disco v8 R380. Can either convert the Disco gearshift to Defender with a shifter adaptor or strip the whole thing and reassemble into a scrap defender TD5 R380 casing. Also does anyone know if they built the disco V8 R380 in suffix L, or did it stop at Suffix K? (guessing a Disco II 4.0 manual would have the strongest V8 r380 but not sure of the suffix). Thanks.

I'm always asking folk for measurements. Happen to have a stumpy R380 bellhousing and a Philips V8 adaptor plate to hand so thought I'd post the measurements in case they're of any use to anyone: From gearbox mounting face to engine mounting face it is exactly 15.8cm (6.25 inches). Interestingly I understand that the short car-type LT77 V8 bellhousing is 7.25 inches. As the R380 mainbox is 1 inch longer than the LT77 then the two gearboxes (LT77 + short car bellhousing and stumpy R380 plus Philips adaptor) are exactly the same length and both share a 9.5inch clutch. For info the Phillips plate fits perfectly onto the stumpy bell housing. The Stumpy bell housing has one hole less than a series bell housing (over the aperture for the clutch fork) - you could drill it through or do without like Land Rover did. Thats why the plate is canted-up t the back. may be of interest to owners of other classic cars.

PS Daan - your truck was actually the inspiration for the wheels. I always have one-ton rims on my builds, so I bought 6.5J 130 wheels. But for safety I really wanted tubeless (have run tubes in tubeless tyres in the past and never felt great about it). I'll be running BFG Muds (closes thing I can find with a decent speed rating but with high shoulders like factory cross plies). After reading about the wheels on your hybrid I contacted a company down south who are going to band a set of late defender 5.5j tubeless steels to replicate my 130s but tubeless. Cost is amazing (well, free), I bought my rims cheap so the profit from the resale value is more than enough to buy and modify the defender rims.

Thank you Daan, I'll take that on board. I appreciate the Series transfer box is always a bone of contention - most people go LT230 and understandably baulk at the cost of the adaptor. I've seen and driven both but prefer the physical fit of the Ashcroft-Series adaptor - no need to scallop the bell housing crossmember or use prop spacers, no concerns re: handbrake drum clearance, less reduction in rear prop length and its more than strong enough for anything a RV8 can throw at it. I simply have Richards include a 2nd pair of bolt-up gearbox crossmember mounts 102mm further back and it slots in beautifully. in the future, if I want to refit the original box, 10-mins with a grinder to knock the extra mounts off and the chassis is back to factory (plus no issues re the "topic that shall not be referenced" on this forum). Downside is silly, silly cost of the kit, a much noisier transfer box than the (even) stronger LT230 and no option to move to permanent 4x4 (shame as I already have stage 1 CVs for strength over stock UJs). Very much a personal choice, that's difficult to explain, but 'feels' right for the project (traditional '60s/'70s V8 conversion and only injecting modernity where essential to give the system the strength it would need to have been sold by the factory). I'm leaning away from the 4.6 V8 and P38 steering I bought and onto a 3.5/stock steering for the same reason. MJ is another example - by adding this and the Disco gems timing cover I gain a little extra space at the front which was another issue back in the day that couldn't be solved with period technology. Once fitted I'll be tweaking the front panel - adding a custom brass radiator to give the cooling it needs but (if I can avoid going over the front crossmember) retaining the SIIA wide top tank. I have wild ambitions of finding a way to fit a fixed fan (rather than viscous) to the serpentine pulley - probably overly ambitious, but I'll cross that bridge when the engine is in place. MJ, Gems Serpentine front cover and R380 mainbox are the modern prices I have to pay to make a traditional conversion perfect.

Hi folks - looking for a bit of advice here. I'm getting closer to starting assembly on my next build - last one was focused on the quality of the restoration (museum piece and totally stock but boring to drive and a bit fragile), this one is keeping the shabby bodywork and all effort is going into the divetrain. I write, surrounded by cardboard boxes from Ashcroft and other suppliers. But I'm massively confused with the ratios to choose for the donor diff/R380 before they go for recon. Not so much final drive, more whether the gaps between 1st-4th will be appropriate for a V8 (aiming for a factory feel) Into a SWB 1969 Series IIA is being stuffed the following: BOUGHT: Rover V8 plus Gems front cover (have a 4.6 for MS but its a bit much for the clutch so still toying with a traditional-looking 3.5 on clockwork SUs with MJ) YET TO BUY: 9.5" 130 (HD) TDI clutch BOUGHT: Milner Philips series V8 adaptor and engine mounts YET TO BUY: A R380 (Defender, Suffix L) - not yet bought the donor box (will be going straight to Ashcrofts) BOUGHT: Stumpy R380 conversion kit (bell housing, clutch fork/parts and Suffix L input pinion which will be turned-down to fit spigot) BOUGHT: Ashcroft to Series transfer box adaptor BOUGHT: Series IIA transfer box (have a suffix C but can change to the earlier suffix B) BOUGHT: 24 spline shafts to go in rear axle YET TO BUY: rear diff (ratio TBC), will be rebuild with ATB and 24-spline (nice little touch - a PowerLok LSD was a rare factory option in 1969) BOUGHT: 235/85/R16s BOUGHT: standard rear prop (will be shortened) YET TO BUY: skinny Disco V8 front prop for addl. clearance over bell housing crossmember (will be lengthened) YET TO BUY: chassis (standard Richards but with a 2nd set of bolt-up crossmember mounts 102mm further back). All above bolts straight in. TBC: steering. Have all the bits for a P38/Defender setup. If I go for a powerful engine I'll go P38 for feel, and will have the brackets put on the chassis, if I use a 3.5V8 aim for traditional+, then I'll stick with stock. Things I have no choice about: 44A Suffix L main gearbox - the 050A (petrol) parts are NLA so I have to have it rebuilt to 44A (300TDI) spec. 235/85/R16 tyres. Things I can change: 5th Gear - I can have Ashcroft build it with either the standard (0.77:1) or higher (0.73:1) V8 5th ratio Series transfer box - I can use the pre-1967 suffix B or post- Suffix C gearing here Diffs - I can have the diffs built to series (4.7) or coiler (3.54) ratios. Now final drive ratios are easy (4th is 1:1 in all boxes, 5th can be picked to give the best cruising RPM). The problem I have is 1st-3rd. I've been in a 200TDI/Zeus-bellhousing LT95 RRC and it was horrible - the gaps in the gearing did not suit the TDi at all. Fine once you got in top though. I'm doing something similar in reverse - a V8 onto a Diesel box and am terrified that the ratios will be ill-suited to the V8. Example 1: With the 44A R380, 1969 transfer box, standard diffs and 31.7" (235) tyres I get the following: High Table Speed/Gear First Second Third Fourth Fifth 10 MPH 2113 1220 800 572 441 20 MPH 4227 2441 1599 1145 882 30 MPH 6340 3661 2399 1717 1322 40 MPH 8454 4882 3199 2290 1763 50 MPH 10567 6102 3998 2862 2204 60 MPH 12680 7322 4798 3435 2645 70 MPH 14794 8543 5598 4007 3085 80 MPH 16907 9763 6397 4579 3526 Example 2: With the 44A R380, 1969 transfer box, coiler diffs and 31.7" (235) tyres I get the following: High Table Speed/Gear First Second Third Fourth Fifth 10 MPH 1592 919 602 431 332 20 MPH 3184 1838 1205 862 664 30 MPH 4775 2758 1807 1293 996 40 MPH 6367 3677 2409 1725 1328 50 MPH 7959 4596 3012 2156 1660 60 MPH 9551 5515 3614 2587 1992 70 MPH 11142 6434 4216 3018 2324 80 MPH 12734 7354 4818 3449 2656 Example 3: With the 44A R380 with V8 5th, 1969 transfer box, standard diffs and 31.7" (235) tyres I get the same 1st-4th as example 1 but with the following in 5th: Fifth 10 MPH 419 20 MPH 838 30 MPH 1257 40 MPH 1676 50 MPH 2095 60 MPH 2514 70 MPH 2933 80 MPH 3352 Example 4: With the 44A R380 with V8 5th, 1969 transfer box, coiler diffs and 31.7" (235) tyres I get the same 1st-4th as example 2 but with the following in 5th: High Table Speed/Gear Fifth 10 MPH 316 20 MPH 631 30 MPH 947 40 MPH 1262 50 MPH 1578 60 MPH 1894 70 MPH 2209 80 MPH 2525 Any advice would be very, very welcome. I can use the Ashcroft Ratio Calculator (see here) but I'm not great on interpreting the results.

Thanks guys - I'll use the Microcat for now and will keep an eye open for a paper copy too.

Hi folks. We are starting the process of importing a late Discovery 1 from Japan. Being something of a part number nerd (all those years of building Series IIIs living by the parts catalogue), I'd like to systemically identify all the parts that differ between the Japanese and UK models (aside from the obvious - speedo, radio, parts of the loom, etc). and from that I'll decide what I want to replace (already have a large stock of Disco bits). Before I commit to buying a parts catalogue like this one if anyone has one to hand can they let me know if there are comments in the various frames saying where parts differ between markets (e.g.: Japan/ROW only, etc). Thank you very much.

Just a quick one folks, in case its of any use. Came across a Jeep wrangler 2.5 intake manifold today struck with how similar the layout is to a 2.25/2.5p. They made the Jeep/AMC 2.5 4-cyl in SPI and MPI - if anyone is planning a MS install they may be a good source of parts (same capacity, same 4x4 application, very easy to source parts, etc.). Can't see it being very difficult to have an intake modified to take the full shebang with injector/mounting bosses/carb base changed to match throttle body, etc by a aluminium specialist (either based on a stock 2.5 rover or an aftermarket one with no hot spot like a ACR SU intake & tubular exhaust manifold). Trigger wheel and the rest is wiring (he says…) Would love to see what a nicely built 2.5 NA would make (104bhp and 26mpg?) Anyway - see attached for an MPI. TBI pics online.