Guest mortus Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 I have a Series one, ready to be modified into a trials vehicle what do i need to make it into a decent v8 trials beast? what V8 would i need?; what gearbox? transfer box? i was thinking of keeping the leaf springs, but then... will the axles stand up to the v8? so then.. RRC axles with some modification? or should i go springs? it probably wont be road legal... but it would be an added advantage. is there many V8 series ones? is there a build log of one anywhere? ive searched the forums and cant find anything sorry for all the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 20, 2008 Share Posted January 20, 2008 You may as well buy a V8 coiler trialler and stick an S1 grille on it rather than ruin a complete S1, these days there's no point cutting one up it's worth more complete. As for what you need, that very much depends - you could stick a V8 onto the Series gearbox and if you drive with some sympathy it may last OK. What V8 do you need? They all fit the same, so how to you classify what you need? However, if you are asking what to do to make it reliable so you can use the V8's full power without worrying about it, then yes you probably want the whole drivetrain from a V8 coiler, at which point you may just as well cut a scabby V8 Range Rover in half and knock 20" out of the middle and stick some S1-style panels on it. As for road legal, chopping a RR in half is less work than swapping every part of an S1 out for something else and since both would need an SVA anyway I'd do the latter as it'll be far easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortus Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 would fitting series one pannels to a shortened RRC chassis be difficult? thats probably what i will do, i had that in the back of my mind, but i wanted the free road tax ok... now its time to start looking for a decent RRC to chop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 My first Landy was a rebuilt 1957 Series 1. It was an absolute basket case to start with and initially I fitted a 2.8 Ford V6 to the Series box using a Steve Parker kit. (which I've still got somewhere). That engine was junk so I went ex-SD1 V8 using a Milner kit, still to the same Series gearbox.... Popped a couple of half shafts quite quickly then fitted a KAM LS Diff which helped share the power about a bit. The gearbox lasted a couple of years but when it died, it was absolutely shot. I regularly serviced the brakes to keep them as good as drum brakes can be. What did it give me? - A fun motor for not a massive amount of cash. I knew it inside out (Mainly because its insides were often out! ) and plenty of time in the mud etc. We even managed to scrape a 4th place out of the last Highland 4x4 Club Decathlon but it was absolutely wrecked by the end of that - Front diff in bits, gearbox, chassis cracked in a couple of places etc - but that was the bext weekend I've ever had in a 4x4. It also gave me enough experience for me to know "what I would do differently next time....." which I would never have got right if I'd plunged straight in, head first. Going the Rangie to Series 1 route requires a lot of work and still needs a donor Series 1.... If you are going to do that much welding and cutting, would it not be easier to just Bobtail the Rangie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisV8 Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 This guy has a V8 coiler up for grabs, he builds them and is a welder by trade so workmanship is good Haggis@haggis-built.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 You don't really need a donor S1, panels are available (both normal and GRP looky-likes) and all that's left on most triallers is a front grille and maybe the wings. Tomcat & QT do 80" versions of their trucks and would probably sell you panels, I suspect that's more what you're after rather than a fully restored S1 look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortus Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 what i want to do... is sit at traffic lights in a series one, and burn some chavs with my v8 beast. im liking the idea of a shortened RRC chassis with the series body on it... i dont want a bobtailed RRC i love the look for series ones, but i want power and the a good look Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 If you're going to be playing traffic-light Grand Prix (or is it grand pricks?) you definitely don't want to be using the original S1 drivetrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortus Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 its deffo grand pricks but its freakin awesome!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 If you are thinking cut down rangie chassis with look-a-like Series 1 panels, you need to read the SVA information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 If you are thinking cut down rangie chassis with look-a-like Series 1 panels, you need to read the SVA information And if you are thinking of an S1 with a RR engine & box & axles you also need to look at SVA information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatboy Posted January 22, 2008 Share Posted January 22, 2008 And if you are thinking of an S1 with a RR engine & box & axles you also need to look at SVA information Probably fair to summarise: You can't legally chop down the Rangie chassis, keep the running gear and fit S1 panels. You can't radically adjust the Series 1 chassis to fit coils / Rangie Axles although you can fit the engine and gearbox. Key bit being you can't get jiggy with the chassis.... legally.... without the SVA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NRS91 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 DVLA runs a points system you need 8 points to retain original age related plate and therefore tax exemptness heres the points: Chassis: 5 Engine: 1 Gearbox: 2 Axles: 2 Suspension: 2 Steering: 2 soo with an original style chassis, rangie engine box n axles, parabolics and series 1 steering your sorted but i reeli think that instead of savaging a perfectly good s1 you should get a spare chassis and swap chassis plates ova and build up your perfect trailer from there taking only the parts you need off the s1 then if you get tired of arsing about in the mud u can allways swap the body parts and steering over and youve got your classic S1 back! just my two pence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mortus Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 dont pull up dead threads. but thankyou. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hario' Posted August 19, 2023 Share Posted August 19, 2023 On 2/28/2008 at 9:23 PM, Guest mortus said: dont pull up dead threads. but thankyou. But that’s the point of forums 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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