Bill Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 Hi, I have just bought a Series one with no lump or gearbox and I have a V8 3.9 kicking around from when I had my Ra Ro. Now the advice I would like from the erudite amongst you, is do I fit a Auto box (better for town and offorading) or manual? I want to keep it looking as stock as possible. Any ideas gladly sought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 If you want an Auto, fit that, if you want a manual, fit that. There is no "right" answer. Personally I'd dispute that an auto is better off-road, it's just different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 15, 2007 Author Share Posted August 15, 2007 If you want an Auto, fit that, if you want a manual, fit that. There is no "right" answer.Personally I'd dispute that an auto is better off-road, it's just different. Hmm, after 30 years of offroading experience I beg to differ, the auto box is far superior ofroad ask any Icelander!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 What is the wheelbase of your series 1 Bill ? if it's a 107/109 then the skye's the limit. If it is an 86/88 then you will have to get creative with placement to squeeze the much longer transmission/transfercase assembly in without compromising underbelly clearance or axle articulation. If it's an 80'' I haven't a clue. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 That's reminded me, there was a club member a long time ago with a V8 & LT77 & LT230 in an 80", never found out what his exact setup was though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted August 15, 2007 Share Posted August 15, 2007 name='FridgeFreezer' date='Aug 16 2007, 03:33 AM' post='173185'Personally I'd dispute that an auto is better off-road, it's just different. I agree with you to a point but, that would really depend on the vehicle and the gear reduction of the manual transmission. My auto Isuzu Trooper is far more capable offroad than my almost identical manual Trooper which always required a lot of clutch slipping when trying to crawl over difficult (for it) terrain at low speed an could never generate sufficient axle torque to permit brake modulation to lock the limited slip rear diff. Similarly with your 109 on Volvos, your overall low 1st gear ratio would, depending on diffs be somewhere between 75 to 85 :1 which is far superior to the barely adequate 40 odd :1 of a standard Series vehicle in which an auto would possibly be advantageous. I wouldn't consider an auto in my LandRover because it has a crawler box and I can let the clutch out at idle in any situation without fear of stalling, but off the showroom floor I'd reckon an auto 2/300 TDI would be more capable than a manual. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Good points Bill, but if he's got a coiler transmission it will be geared for 3.54:1 diffs and the Series will be 4.7:1, so it should have low ratios on its side. A 1.222 or 1.003 LT230 would probably be best for on-road cruising and retain a nice low range. Also if he's putting a 3.9 into a S1 it's not going to have much weight to haul round compared to a 2 1/4 ton RR. First gear didn't see much use when I had the 3.9 in the 109 on 3.54 diffs, in fact even with the overdrive in pulling away in 2nd was perfectly acceptable (perhaps not for the OD though!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill van snorkle Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Good points Bill, but if he's got a coiler transmission it will be geared for 3.54:1 diffs and the Series will be 4.7:1, so it should have low ratios on its side. A 1.222 or 1.003 LT230 would probably be best for on-road cruising and retain a nice low range.Also if he's putting a 3.9 into a S1 it's not going to have much weight to haul round compared to a 2 1/4 ton RR. First gear didn't see much use when I had the 3.9 in the 109 on 3.54 diffs, in fact even with the overdrive in pulling away in 2nd was perfectly acceptable (perhaps not for the OD though!). That is very true John, although I'd have serious reservations about running 4.7 Rover type diffs behind that package. A Salisbury would be fine but then that's another 50mm or so of driveshaft length he would lose. I am also a bit of a greedy guts when it comes to gear ratio's regardless of the power unit and still consider the 56:1 or thereabouts that would result from 4.7 diffs to be on the wrong side of marginal for steep ugly terrain. I have a little over 270:1 that I occasionally find useful, and on one or two occasions I felt I could have used a bit lower to keep things a little slower and gentler. The one important (to me) feature with a manual transmission that I wouldn't give up is the ability to start the engine either by roll starting, or by jacking up a back wheel and turning it in high gear, or as I have done on one occasion, cranking the engine over through the PTO winch. An auto with a flat battery or dud starter motor is in trouble and either requires a jumpstart from another vehicle or a tow. If the vehicle has stalled in a position inaccessible to another vehicle then you are in dire straights. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Thanks very much for your input. It is a 107". I dont intend to do any challenge events in it, just some green laning to start with followed by some RTV, so the lowest ratios you are talking about wont be necessary. As for the jump starting or bump starting problems, I was going to use 2 batteries for that sort of thing one for emergencies etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 And for the inevitable occasions when the V8 starter dies??? Remeber V8 starters are cr@p and never last very long......... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 16, 2007 Share Posted August 16, 2007 Since we're on a downer about autos here... I'll add that if an Auto loses it's oil, it's dead, you're going nowhere. And you can't just slosh some engine oil / ep90 or whatever is to hand in there like you can with a manual. Hell, you can drive a manual home with no oil in it if you really want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Posted August 16, 2007 Author Share Posted August 16, 2007 Oh dear, where do I start? I heve NEVER had a Rover V8 starter motor die on me unless it has been neglected and poorly maintained, and by the same token I have NEVER lost all the oil in a Auto box, or even a manual one? Just what were you doing to lose all your oil? I feel this is going slightly off topic, next someone will go on about the hydrophobic tenedncies of the V8 when in fact it is no worse then any other petrol engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 You must have been lucky with starters then! I've been through loads! I've even had a brand new, shiney, genuine lucas one, die on me having started the engine no more than a dozen times, and had never got wet let alone muddy! The motors themselves seem ok, but the solenoids always go "clicky" in my experience! Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 An while we're on the subject, I can honestly say (as HFH will confirm) that the V8 in my series has been the most hopeless engine known to man when it comes to water! When I had the old 2.25 in it i can remember parking it in a lake, with me sitting there with a wet bum, with the engine happily ticking over. The V8 would die if I drove through a 4" deep puddle! I tried EVERYTHING and I mean everything! The only way I ever got the thing to run in the wet in the end was to fit EDIS. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 Bill, a damaged oil cooler hose / oil cooler will drop all the fluid out of an auto. OK it's not common but it's eminently possible. Less so with a manual (no cooler on most) - the point was "survivability", so the manual wins there IMHO. As I said in my first post, there's very little in it really and either will do the job, they're just different. I've only had one starter go, and have found you can buy solenoids separately which is a bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted August 17, 2007 Share Posted August 17, 2007 I recently had the starter motor on my V8 fail as well. Four (yes four) new starter motors later it was finally fixed by fitting a very expensive bosche unit. Ivan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selectcase Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Sticking strictly to the topic Hmm, after 30 years of offroading experience I beg to differ, the auto box is far superior ofroad ask any Icelander!! I think you have allready answered your own question - go for the auto if you think they are the best. Off topic - if I had a series 1 107 i would try to keep it as original as possible as they are getting very scarce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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