paime Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 (edited) I've seen this S3 which is for sale near me and i'm sorely tempted. Not sure what the chassis is like and it's missing a quarter window but she looks great fun. Apparently it has a Perkins diesel engine. I'm relatively new to Series' Landies but does anyone have any thoughts on it? Any screamingly obvious red flags i'm missing other than the rusty bulkhead? Am i wasting my time? https://www.gumtree.com/p/land-rover/land-rover-series-3-1978-mot-tax-exempt-/1345920211 Edited July 11, 2019 by paime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Ask him which Perkins engine it is. 2286cc is the capacity of a standard Land Rover engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 11, 2019 Author Share Posted July 11, 2019 Is a Perkins engine the factory-fitted 2 1/4 diesel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stellaghost Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 No different engine altogether good engines but can be loud regards stephen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 And, unless automotive, s l o w. And heavy. But good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 It could be a montego prima Perkins. Not a bad option. Check usual stuff: paperwork, chassis numbers, etc etc. Series stuff: Door tops, chassis rot, how bad are the leaks, clunk in the drive It's an old series, it could be great, but is probably worn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lo-fi Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Looks fairly tidy from the outside. Does look like a Prima, which is a 2.0td. I hated my Prima with a passion, but some people seem to like them. With Rover group collapsing and Perkins no longer supporting it, major bits were not that easy to get hold of a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR-HIPPO Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Gazzar said: And, unless automotive, s l o w. And heavy. But good. Slow? My 4236 turbo conversion would almost do 60MPH (4 speed range rover box + overdrive) Pulled like a train though, did not really need the gears. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbarton Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 I had a 4236 (NA) in a Range Rover, 4 speed box, overdrive & high ratio transfer gear, it could do 70 easily if your ears could stand it. Would pull away in top (only tried it once to see if it would!) I wouldn't like to put a 4236 in a SWB Series much too much torque for the transmission and excessive weight. The 4203 I had in my SIIa was a tight enough fit but suited the vehicle. I had 3.9:1 diffs in the axles and an overdrive fitted. The bloke I sold it to reckoned he got over 70 mph, but I doubt it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 11, 2019 Share Posted July 11, 2019 Yep, slow, the old Perkins from the 70s are slow revving engines. Solid. Reliable. Frugal. Awesome torque. But noisy and slow, compared to the petrols and the the TDI engines ( except the noisy bit). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paime Posted July 12, 2019 Author Share Posted July 12, 2019 Sounds like some mixed feelings on the Perkins engines then! Are they easy to work with? Plenty of spares kicking around? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted July 12, 2019 Share Posted July 12, 2019 To be honest I know very little about the prima. Compared to the standard engines and the common upgrades like the TDI 200, knowledge is less available. And parts support may not be great, but the consumables should be fine, fuel system should be fine, as I think it's a Bosch system. It may impact on historic MOT exemption, but you'd be doing an MOT every year anyway, for your own peace of mind, so that doesn't matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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