SvBeek Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Because of some big changes in the Dutch road tax legislation, I'm looking into options to convert my '85 110 with 200tdi to a petrol engine. I know the most easy conversion is to fit a 2.25 or 2.5 land rover engine on the existing mounts, but in my opinion these engines lack the power to drive a 110 in modern traffic. (The car was a 2,25 originally) So, the next thing I'm looking at is a v8. Currently on my mind is a 3.5 or 3.9. These engines seem readily available, reliable and affordable. MPG is not so much of an issue, since the car is mostly used during holidays, not a daily driver. What I'm looking for is some advice on how to fit such an engine to my 110. Is that possible using the existing lt77/t230 combo and prop shafts? Also I would prefer to bolt on new engine mounts instead of welding because I have a galvanised chassis and not a lot of welding experience.. What are the things I need to change? My guess so far: - engine mounts (front only or both?)- bellhouse/flywheel/clutch?- fuel pipes (does a v8 have a fuel pump in the tank?)- radiator- temperature gauge- wiring (or is this plug and play?)- exhaust- power steering (?) Any help / advice is appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Not knowing the vehicle and your attatchment to it, but V8's and petrol trucks go for a fair bit less money over here at the moment, have you considered selling up and just buying a original petrol? Just a thought. Mav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Yes I have, but the I've spent approx 2 years and loads of money totally rebuilding the truck. I'll never get my money back, and the one I would buy back probably would be in a lesser condition. So I'd rather take up the extra work converting this one to a v8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Another possible option would be the Rover 16-valve 4-cylinder engine as fitted to the Discovery MPi. There was a turbo version fitted to the Rover '820' car - lots of horsepower 150kW) and torque, and it loves to rev ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_T-Series_engine This engine was fitted to some Italian-market Defenders so there's a chance it could be done with all genuine Rover/Land-Rover parts, which might make any type-approvals issues with your conversion easier to work around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Am I right in thinking it's about 1000 euros a year more to tax a diesel over a petrol? I hope that we don't implement a similar charging scheme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 Yes, about double the tax. For a 110 its approx 2300 euros a year. I can burn a lot of petrol for that kind of money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Generally speaking the V8 uses a Lt85 in a 110 , although later on they went over to R380. I am just going over the other way 3.9i out and BMW M57 in , first part has been achieved V8 out . Its slightly easier to fit a 3,5 carby , as the exhaust can be a standard system, as twin downpipes do not fit with crossmember , I had to get set made. The V8 makes a much better vehicle out of the 110 as its smooth, powerful and a lot quieter. Thats why i have decided on a M57 to try and get as close as I can to those parameters. One problem you will have is that all 3.5 are pretty ancient now. Another possible is a 2.8 petrol BMW , they used this engine in SA build defenders . Plenty of power by all accounts. HTSH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted April 25, 2013 Author Share Posted April 25, 2013 The 2.8 option seems appealing, but doubt I'm going to find one near. 3.5 is probably the easiest to get hold of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted April 25, 2013 Share Posted April 25, 2013 T16 turbo would be very tempting. V8 power, 4cyl economy and weight, plenty of tuning options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkgonefishin Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 what are you going to do with the 200TDI? I am looking to upgrade my 2.5NA and may be interested in buying your engine and related parts. it would help fund the conversion.....what shape is the engine in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted April 27, 2013 Author Share Posted April 27, 2013 Very good condition, 70k miles done, just had new cambelt, head gasket etc. Original defender with the high turbo. But.. I'm not doing the conversion anytime soon.. Have my house for sale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 To get back on topic.. What about a 2.8/3.0/3.2/3.5 BMW petrol engine with 4hp22 autobox and LT230? Anyone seen that before in a defender? BMW used the 4hp22 for quite a few cars, and its also used in range rovers and disco's. So the bolt pattern should be fine, but what about the LT230 ratio? And in a def the gear stick would probably not be in the right place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptCarrot Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 ....everyone is going to fall about laughing but is it possible to keep the original 200 tdi block in situ and re-engineer a petrol head using an electronic system for ignition etc....should imagine the compression would have to be reduced, fuel injection ports bored out for spark plugs etc... I seem to remember that the 200 tdi engine was originally to be offered in petrol form aswell .....runs to take dig my shell-scrap and put my helmet on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SvBeek Posted May 17, 2013 Author Share Posted May 17, 2013 Wouldn't it be much easier to fit a 2.5 petrol head on the 200tdi block? They are supposed to be alike? Anyway, it would have a lot less power then the tdi setup because it doesn't have a turbo. And I really like the power of the tdi, this way I can drive the car in everyday traffic without problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 To get back on topic..What about a 2.8/3.0/3.2/3.5 BMW petrol engine with 4hp22 autobox and LT230? Anyone seen that before in a defender? BMW used the 4hp22 for quite a few cars, and its also used in range rovers and disco's. So the bolt pattern should be fine, but what about the LT230 ratio? And in a def the gear stick would probably not be in the right place. I think the old 2.8 was sold In Defenders in South Africa as a production vehicle. It certainly can match a 4hp22 (had that combination in a 528i). But I think there are even manuals about for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 yeh there were factory defenders with 2.8L BMW 6 motors, meaning all the parts for a conversion would be available "off the shelf" The BMW 2.5D engine used in the range rover also shares its bellhousing with the petrol, so you can probably use a RR gearbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 the 2.8 BMW engined defenders were only made/sold in south africa, the factory no longer exist as it was during bmw's ownership, it maybe difficult to source the parts. it was never sold in europe/uk as a brand new vehicle, but rogers of bedford IIRC did import some 90station wagons fro SA with this spec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoopWeenk Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Hello, How is your conversion going? I'm also living in Holland and also interested in the conversion?   Does anyone has any experience with the conversion from a 200TDI to any petrol engine? I'm looking for a common petrol engine with same torque as the 200TDI. Any suggestions? The reason is that the Tax in Holland for heavy diesel vehicles is twice the tax as for a petrol engine. Any suggestion is welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Rover V8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 South African Defenders used a 2.8 BMW petrol engine for a while, could be an interesting alternative to going V8.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xychix Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Well if anyone in the Netherlands has a 200/300 TDI lying around after conversion I'd be interested  Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 2 post on same subject now merged, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 10 hours ago, xychix said: Well if anyone in the Netherlands has a 200/300 TDI lying around after conversion I'd be interested  Me too. I don't think I will ever be convinced by people coming with environmental policies that a petrol V8 is fine but on the other hand a 200/300 Tdi is unacceptable . I guess I will just have to go with the flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 The fully tuned 4-cylinder 2.5 petrol (LR unit) from ACR.co.uk has similar performance to a Tdi, would be a direct fit in place of a 200 (needs custom mounting brackets in place of 300) and would allow a bigger rad as you'd drop the intercooler and oil cooler. They're not particularly cheap, but remember it'd be a like new engine, fully rebuilt, not an unknow, part worn second hand unit. I don't know how well it works in practice, but I'd probably go that way rather than V8 myself just because of a few legislative issues but mostly for simplicity and ease of installation and avoiding reducing the already small left side foot well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if I'd known just how little I'd use my 90 for long journeys I'd have fitted a four cylinder petrol instead of the tdi, at the mileage I'm doing it would only be costing me a few quid a year more to run ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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