kiwi_110 Posted April 25, 2011 Share Posted April 25, 2011 Hi all, my 1985 110 was originally a V8 LT-95 rig, then it had a nissan FD35 turbo 4 cyl diesel fitted, retaining the LT-95. I always felt it needed a fifth gear because the nissan seemed to be working too easily at 3000 rpm at 100kph. Last year I managed to get hold of an LT-85 "Santana" box (solid version) and 1.410 LT-230 t/case, both of which I rebuilt and fitted. Of course, all I got was an extra gear, with the final drive in 5th being exactly the same as the old 4th... So I did some calcs and realised that I needed to get a 1.222 t/case to actualy get the revs down or get more speed for the same revs. Over last christmas, I found one, with a short-stick LT-77 (ex RR classic I think) so I grabbed it, tossed the 77 in the back of the shed and rebuilt the LT-230. It needed a new main-shaft as the splines were triangular, so I shouted it one, plus a full bearing set, diff side gears, cross-shafts, cup washers etc. I cross-drilled lubrication holes in the mainshaft myself, it can be done with a carbide tipped 10mm masonry bit and a good drill-press. Yesterday I finally got around to fitting it and the result is quite pleasing. It's knocked 500 rpm off for the same speed in 5th so now it does 2000 at 80kph, 2500 at 100kph and at 3000 rpm she's doing 120kph. With the old ratio, I've had her over 130 k's easily with the motor humming at nearly 4000rpm so I feel she has a bit more top end now, not that I'll ever go there. The FD35 Turbo pulls like a train and seems to cope well with the taller gearing. I'm looking forward to better fuel economy and have already noticed how much quieter it is in the cab when cruising. Interested to know if anyone else has done a similar conversion? Ray NZ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamC Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 My dad used to have a 90 with an FD35, he too used a 1.222 transfer box when he did the conversion and he kept the original LT77. I liked the engine, we ran it with this set up for 15 years and it worked well. I have just put a discovery 1.222 box in my 200tdi 110 and motorway cruising is much improved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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