Air portable Auto

[Tranquil]

Hi,

new to the site. I drove an air portable serving in Cyprus as UN forces in 1975. Now in a position to have one as a fun vehicle as a blast from the past to enjoy with my 2 sons, ( understand the difficulties owning an old one) but youngest has limited use of right arm (accident at age 15) so can only drive an Auto. Any one fitted any sort of engine auto combination into a lightweight.

All advice appreciated,

thanks

 

[Bigj66]

On 8/2/2020 at 9:06 PM, Tranquil said:

Hi,

new to the site. I drove an air portable serving in Cyprus as UN forces in 1975. Now in a position to have one as a fun vehicle as a blast from the past to enjoy with my 2 sons, ( understand the difficulties owning an old one) but youngest has limited use of right arm (accident at age 15) so can only drive an Auto. Any one fitted any sort of engine auto combination into a lightweight.

All advice appreciated,

thanks

 

I’m fitting a ZF auto to my S3 SWB. I have a build thread in the members section that might give some information. My daughter also has physical limitations which is partly my motivation for doing the conversion.

[Tranquil]

Hi,

Thanks for that. Sorry for delay in replying, had to reinstall windows on laptop so taken a while to sort it.

Does the Freelander TD4 engine go in?

[Bowie69]

Freelander TD4 is a BMW engine, and in a Freelander is transverse, I can think of more difficult conversions than this, but not many!

A disco/RR V8 and auto is about the shortest suitable auto driveline, and looks like it can be done, if you follow Bigj66's thread.

[Chicken Drumstick]

1 hour ago, Tranquil said:

Hi,

Thanks for that. Sorry for delay in replying, had to reinstall windows on laptop so taken a while to sort it.

Does the Freelander TD4 engine go in?

How much money are you wanting to spend on this? Will you be doing the work?

Rover V8 and ZF auto is likely the easiest, but still quite a lot of work.

[FridgeFreezer]

42 minutes ago, Bowie69 said:

Freelander TD4 is a BMW engine, and in a Freelander is transverse, I can think of more difficult conversions than this, but not many!

BMW are kinda known for their RWD cars though... also the M47 being a 4-cyl version of the 3.0 M57 which some fellow on this forum is currently bolting into a Defender suggests there may be a marriage of engine & gearbox that would work.

The Isuzu 2.8 diesels are a bit old now but they're very short and a great lump.

[Tranquil]

Hi,

Don't really want a V8 so guess 300tdi is next best, or is it longer. Just not a huge fan of the tdi engines. Always seemed very agricultural. (I know it's going in a LR).

Will be done over a period of time myself and eldest son (Royal Engineer fitter) will do some and may have to farm a bit out.

[Chicken Drumstick]

Tdi could be done. But as an ex-owner of a Tdi Series. I'd say not to bother. They go well enough. But the Tdi lump is so unrefined and noisy in a Series. V8 would be a much better bet in my opinion. It's better in every way apart from mpg. Which if you aren't doing big annual mileages in it, won't matter anyhow.

Pretty much anything else is likely to be more money and effort. And possibly by many magnitudes too. Although, there are quite literally hundreds of possibilities. But the RV8 is often found in Lightweights and/or Series vehicles. And occasionally with an auto. So it is a proven conversion that you can easily get all the parts for.

[Tranquil]

Ok Thanks. The unrefined part is my dislike of the LR Tdi engines. I had a Trooper many years ago and my high mileage 2.8 was way better that an almost new Disco I test drove when it was time to move on.

 I assume not possible to mate an auto to the standard 2 1/4 petrol. Or will it lose too much Bhp.

Thanks

 

[FridgeFreezer]

A V8 in decent fettle in a SWB should get better MPG than the 2.25 petrol, my 4.6 has seen over 20mpg in a 3-ton windbreak.

[Chicken Drumstick]

1 hour ago, Tranquil said:

Ok Thanks. The unrefined part is my dislike of the LR Tdi engines. I had a Trooper many years ago and my high mileage 2.8 was way better that an almost new Disco I test drove when it was time to move on.

 I assume not possible to mate an auto to the standard 2 1/4 petrol. Or will it lose too much Bhp.

Thanks

 

I would think an auto 2.25 would be horrifically slow and be in single digits mpg wise. A V8 should match or exceed a 2.25 mpg wise. 

[Gazzar]

Dare I say it?

2286, over bored to 2495, and an ACR power plus package, or fuel injected.

Less cutting and welding than a V8 but more mechanical work.

But a V8 auto is do-able, check the SWB V8 thread in members forums.

 

[steve b]

Have you found a lightwieght yet ? A good friend of mine is thinking of selling his very standard late series 3 12v 

I would seriously think about a RV8 auto , it will make the whole thing a lovely drive . 

The SWB V8 thread by Bigj66 is well worth a read

cheers

Steve b

[Tranquil]

Hi,

Yes got an 81 FFR.

Will have a read of the V8 thread.

Thanks

[Bigj66]

On 8/26/2020 at 4:00 PM, Tranquil said:

Ok Thanks. The unrefined part is my dislike of the LR Tdi engines. I had a Trooper many years ago and my high mileage 2.8 was way better that an almost new Disco I test drove when it was time to move on.

 I assume not possible to mate an auto to the standard 2 1/4 petrol. Or will it lose too much Bhp.

Thanks

 

The TDi auto box should fit to the 2.25 engine as I think they’re the same bolt pattern. 

Ashcroft's tell me that there is no difference between a V8 and a TDi auto box except for bellhousing, input shaft and the transfer box so in theory, if you can get your 2.25 tuned to give similar power and torque outputs to a TDi, then it should be possible using the TDi flex plate and torque converter. The ACR kit should achieve something close to it.

You’d need to do a lot of research though to check all that and you may also need to move the engine forwards to fit the box and rear prop in but a tape measure should help you with the basics.

It’s a lot of work and money to do it right but it would be interesting to see if it could be done.

[Chicken Drumstick]

A tuned 2.25 petrol will not produce anything like the torque of a Tdi and likely lacking power too if the Tdi is tuned. 
 

I’m sure it’s all possible to get it to work. But I’d put a penny on a pound it’ll be horrid and sluggish to drive. 

[Bigj66]

On 8/28/2020 at 11:40 PM, Chicken Drumstick said:

A tuned 2.25 petrol will not produce anything like the torque of a Tdi and likely lacking power too if the Tdi is tuned. 
 

I’m sure it’s all possible to get it to work. But I’d put a penny on a pound it’ll be horrid and sluggish to drive. 

You’re probably right but it’s just theoretical. Maybe a matched torque converter and stump puller cam could improve things but I don’t know enough about them to say. 
 

Making classic Landrovers easier for people with physical limitations to drive was part of the reason I opted for my auto conversion so a family member can also enjoy it.