[Series Audi 1.4 diesel conversion]

Hello,

I did most of the conversion, with a bit of help getting the Audi engine to like it's sensors, ECU and wiring harness again.

I farmed out things I can't do, silicon hoses as an example.

I made the adapterplate with a vertical mill and believe me, I am no machinist! It's just not that tough to do. Lots of measuring, cutting, refitting and wasting of nice aluminum plates

And yes, I installed a catalitic converter!

I think your MGB V8 would like a VW 2 ltr diesel! 150 hp stock, 170 tuned, light and modern engineering!

Best regards,

David

I forgot, yes I have pic of the finished product I'll post. Unfortunately I didn't take any of the build process.

Regards,

David

[Series Audi 1.4 diesel conversion]

And here i thought April Fools day was 3 months in the future..............

I like the idea if the spring motor mounts though......very cleaver and imaginative :)

By-the-way, the spring engineers inserted rubber bump-stops between the aluminum plates for me in the event of hard landings.

Best regards,

David

[Series Audi 1.4 diesel conversion]

I must say, repowering older vehicles with newer, downsized and cleaner units sounds like a very sensible idea - the next level of "ultimate recycling"! Who did the conversion? I'd be interested to see any pics.

On a similar note, I've often thought that a 200Tdi on the LT77 in an MGB V8 would make a nice car with reasonable power and good economy.

Hello,

I did most of the conversion, with a bit of help getting the Audi engine to like it's sensors, ECU and wiring harness again.

I farmed out things I can't do, silicon hoses as an example.

I made the adapterplate with a vertical mill and believe me, I am no machinist! It's just not that tough to do. Lots of measuring, cutting, refitting and wasting of nice aluminum plates

And yes, I installed a catalitic converter!

I think your MGB V8 would like a VW 2 ltr diesel! 150 hp stock, 170 tuned, light and modern engineering!

Best regards,

David

[Series Audi 1.4 diesel conversion]

You doubter you

I think that sounds like a really smart setup, not sure if we get this model Audi in NZ, I'll have to do some asking around, maybe some in Jafa territory. ( Auckland) where you ask about engine hours rather than Kms as they spend so long in gridlock

David, do you have any details about the adaptor you used for this, clutch etc? Any chance of some pics? it would be nice to see how the Intercooler mounts, & ancillaries such as starter, alternator et al. if you can provide details such as engine model #, rev range etc, would certainly save me some legwork in google & probably a clip around the ear from SWMBO for spending too long on the computer over the holidays. Its pretty standard by now

cheers, Steve.

Hi Steve,

Here is a bit of info about the engine http://www.audiworld.com/news/99/a2_2/content.shtml

Here is the tuner who provided the tuned ECU chip http://www.dieselchiptuning.com/catalog/au...-tuning-25.html

It is a free reving and torquey little beggar, developing 80% of it's torque at 1300 rpms and revs freely to about 4500 before it starts to get a little loud.

I made the adapter with a vertical mill, not too hard really. The big challenges were adapting the series clutch disc/pressureplate to an Audi flywheel, extending the release bearing arm to account for the slight difference on location due to the adapter plate. It just took a lot of shaping, fitting, more shaping, more fitting, etc. Definatley not brain surgery though.

Getting the engine, wiring harness, ECU and various sensors happy were really tough, but I had a lot of help from a local Audi technician with lots of time.

I had custom silicon hoses built for the radiator, intercooler and heater.

I bought a customer aluminum double row radiator to allow the stock adui intercooler to fit next to it in the space provided in the series nose.

Engine mount locations and an engine frame/cradle were crafted by me with a mig, metal saw and lots of aluminum!

The alternator fit right where it was designed to on the engine, there is lots of room in the engine bay with just a 88 kilogram, three cylinder 1.4 ltr in there.

I did replace the fan and water pump with electric units to get ride of unnecessary parasitic loses, but there was no space problem with these.

I did not take any pic during the construction, but I can post some of teh finished product.

Anyway, I hope this helps and I hope you take the plunge! You will be amazed what dropping 100 lbs off the nose and double the horse power will do for a series!

It took me about a year to finish, though I didn't really kill myself with a deadline and jsut had fun with the engineering and crafting process.

By-the-way, a fellow has made me an offer I don't think I can refuse for her. It looks like I may start another project soon, maybe a Defender this time.

Best regards,

David

[Series III and an automatic Trans]

David

Where did you get the Audi engine from !!!! And how difficult was it to fit..??

It seems to be an ideal engine, as its small and light, but what's the downside...??

Cheers

Pete

Hi Pete,

I got the engine, intercooler, engine wiring harness an and ECU for this wrecker clearinghouse http://www.findanengine.co.uk/index.htm

I think it is the ideal engine for a series, an unbelievable drive. Spectacular fuel economy and a quite smooth free reving engine. Did I say fast? Well for a series its rather amazing. After dropping a hundred pounds (off the nose where it matter most) and doubling the horse power, well you can imagine.

Now I want to improve the ride/driving experience. Before someone recommends that I just go out and buy a modern, plush LandCruiser or Grand Cherokee, I like the series look, inside and out!

With that in mind, I have kept the body and interior pure Landie. However, I just don't like to shift, especially with my left hand ( I'm American and off roading is much more fun to me with an autobox.

I'd like to install an automatice trans and replace the chassis with a coil srung job. Parabolics have made a difference, but a coiler, maybe even an airbag chassis would be great.

Anyway, to your question, the down side is a ton of work and time! It was actually great fun engineering around all the challenges, but there were quite a few and I did all I could myself ( a lathe and a vertical mill are a must). It took about a year of weekends and more than a few nights after work.

Some of the challenges:

Modifying the rover clutch, pressureplate to the Audi flywheel.

Custom silicon pipes for the intercooler.

Customer radiator (more custom silicon!).

Motor mounts of course.

Getting the Audi Diesel running! Wiring harness confusion, sensor, etc. were all difficult but a kind Audi technician was great help!

Engine/trans adapter plate

For fun I installed an electric fan and water pump that are independantly thermostatically controlled so there is no unnecessary parasitic loses. Cool kit that runs a varying speeds (when they run at all!) and are said to save about 10% on fuel. The water pump starts running at a very low speed at a user defined 155 fahernheit and the fan starts slowly at 170.

I have probably forgotten many of the hard bits, but all in all, it has been great fun with a fantastic result.

By-the-way, I have been made a pretty freaking crazy offer for it, I may sell and get going on another one, or possibly a Defender.

Best regards,

David

[Series III and an automatic Trans]

Assuming your engine bolts straight up to a standard series gearbox at the moment... then:

A 1993 or earlier ZF/R380 combo from a 200tdi disco would bolt straight up. A later model (e.g. 1997) needs a few bellhousing mods. I have heard that this is just a matter of removing one bolt from the back of the engine, but I have heard conflicting evidence and never tried it myself.

The ZF/R380 combo is longer than a series box and t-case, so you will need to have the front/rear propshafts lengthened/shortened respectively.

Hi Isuzurover,

Thanks for your assistance!

Actually, the Audi engine did not bolt right up to the series grearbox easily. I had to create an adapter plate (not so much work on the vertical mill) and adapt the rover pressure plate, disc to the Audi flywheel (quite a hassle). Not to mention building an actuator arm and pivot for the release bearing!

Based on your info, I'll investigate the 1997-later.......

[Series Audi 1.4 diesel conversion]

Hello,

My series runs an Audi three cylinder, A2 turbo diesel. This is a great engine for the series vehicle, it has 105 hp and 195 ft lbs torque (when chipped, stock of 90 hp and 180 ft lbs), it's all aluminum, block and head. This engine saves about 100 lbs over the stock petrol engine that came out and is much more powerful. I haven't actually meassured the 0-60 time, but it is certain to be much quicker (the old series petrol would barely get to 60 mph at all!). I get 56 mpg at 55 mph on the motorway, maybe the best miles per gallon of any series vehicle, ever!

Maybe best of all, the Audi diesel is way quieter than the old petrol unit, with virtually no vibration! I used an interesting motor mounting system made up of what look like loops of steel cable, bolted to plates of aluminum. See the web site for this here http://www.springcompany.com/Vibration%20Isolators.htm

These folks will engineer a set of mounts for anyone, I recommend them for any Rover engine.

Off roading is now much more relaxed and economical. I can't seem to burn through a full tank of fuel, even driving to Wales, plowing around in the mud, then driving back to London leaves at least a quarter tank.

I can now idle up to the base of a hill in low range and second or third and just as the revs start to drop, just feed more throttle on and accelerate up the hill. It's amazing what dropping a 100 lbs and nearly doubling the hp and torque will do for these grand little vehicles.

Reliability has been fine so far, I finished the conversion about 10 months ago and I drive it everyday. I have put about 7k miles on it with zero trouble related to the engine conversion. The engine had a claimed 48k miles on it when I bought it from the wrecking yard. The engine, wiring harness, ECU and intercooler set me back 1100 quid, add the cost of other materials and machining costs and I am about £2000 into it (that is about $150,000 USD for you yanks . Not cheap by any means, but I can tell you with certainty it beats the Hell out of ANY other conversion I have seen, it make even a TD5 seem agricultural in comparision.

Nest is an autobox conversion!

Best regards,

David

[Series III automatic transmission swap]

Hello,

I am considering installing an autobox in my series 3 diesel; does anyone know if an automatic and transfer case from a 1997 Discovery will fit?

Of course there is bound to be tons of mods necessary, but I am prepared for this. I just want to know if the auto/transfer case assembly from a disco are significantly longer, or are the drive locations out of wack with the differentials of a series, etc

By-the-way, my series runs an Audi three cylinder, A2 turbo diesel. This is a great engine for the series vehicle. It has 105 hp and 195 ft lbs torque (it's been chipped), it's all aluminum, even the block. This engine saves about 100 lbs over the stock petrol engine that came out and is much more powerful. I haven't actually meassured the 0-60 time, but it is certain to be much quicker (the old series petrol would barely get to 60 mph at all!). I get 56 mpg at 55 mph on the motorway, maybe the best miles per gallon of any series vehicle, ever.

Anyway, I don't mind losing 10-15% if I don't have to shift. Besides, an auto is much more fun off road and with all the extra power and lighter weight, this will be a great combination.

By-the-way, the Audi diesel is way quieter than the old petrol, with virtually no vibration! With an autobox it will be like driving an electric car with lots of power.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

David

[Series III and an automatic Trans]

Hello,

I am considering installing an autobox in my series 3 diesel; does anyone know if an automatic and transfer case from a 1997 Discovery will fit?

Of course there is bound to be tons of mods necessary, but I am prepared for this. I just want to know if the auto/transfer case assembly from a disco are significantly longer, or are the drives out of wack with the differentials of a series, etc

By-the-way, my series runs an Audi three cylinder, A2 turbo diesel. This is a great engine for the series vehicle. It has 105 hp and 195 ft lbs torque (it's been chipped), it's all aluminum, even the block. This engine saves about 100 lbs over the stock petrol engine that came out and is much more powerful. I haven't actually meassured the 0-60 time, but it is certain to be much quicker (the old series petrol would barely get to 60 mph at all!). I get 56 mpg at 55 mph on the motorway, maybe the best miles per gallon of any series vehicle, ever.

Anyway, I don't mind losing 10-15% if I don't have to shift. Besides, an auto is much more fun off road and with all the extra power and lighter weight, this will be a great combination.

By-the-way, the Audi diesel is way quieter than the old petrol, with virtually no vibration! With an autobox it will be like driving an electric car with lots of power.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

David