Factory Fit V8 90s rarity

[red-dragon]

Only 579 original factory fitted V8 90s still on the road.. does that sound right? Aware they are becoming a rare beast however was quite surprised to read this, does anyone know differently or if this data is accurate?

I guess most of the original 3.5s have rotted away by now and the Americans have a healthy appetite for importing the later V8 anniversary vehicles. Looking at the graphs it appears the trend on both has rapidly accelerated in recent years, leaving remaining UK stocks looking rather depleted!

https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=Land+rover+90+v8

[Ally V8]

Not a real shame as the original carbed v8 ones were pretty awful,gutless and noisy,clunky transmission etc. A late 300TDI is a far better tool. I used to service a v8 90 CSW which eventually got sold to one of the LR mag editors/scribes... I think the reg number was E79NKV, useless thing,flat as a pancake.

[oneandtwo]

I test drove a D reg v8 ten or so years ago, belong to a friend of a friend. I totally agree - I was quite excited about driving it but it was completely gutless and my then 300tdi was a much better drive.

It was in nice condition and even had the old factory fitted aircon with the vent flaps replaced with the black plastic blanking plates, they only wanted £1500, a bargain these days but not back then. Still, I bought their 80" off them for £1000 instead.

[Chicken Drumstick]

Not a real shame as the original carbed v8 ones were pretty awful,gutless and noisy,clunky transmission etc. A late 300TDI is a far better tool. I used to service a v8 90 CSW which eventually got sold to one of the LR mag editors/scribes... I think the reg number was E79NKV, useless thing,flat as a pancake.

Don't really agree. The V8 is much smoother, more refined and has a bigger rev range.

In their day they were also far more powerful than the 2.5TD, so it's not really fair to compare with a much newer variant.

That said, a stock 3.5 is still faster than a stock Tdi... And off road the lighter weight and placement of the engine make them nicer vehicles with superior balance. And it's not as if you can't tweak a V8 either or simply unbolt the 3.5 and slip in a 3.9

The LT85 has a lot of gearstick travel, but it's not really hugely worse than an LT-77/R380 to drive.

[daslandroverman]

I loved my old CSW one, bought it with an LT77 and Edelbrock carbed 3.9 in there, went well enough but drank a lot of fuel.
Went even better and used less fuel when I dumped the carb in favour of hotwire Efi.

It was E90 NKV.

[Ally V8]

I loved my old CSW one, bought it with an LT77 and Edelbrock carbed 3.9 in there, went well enough but drank a lot of fuel.

Went even better and used less fuel when I dumped the carb in favour of hotwire Efi.

It was E90 NKV.

Sounds like the previous owner got fed up with it and sorted it out.As a stock,low mileage car when I knew it the thing was a bit of a waste of space.The Santana box made more noise than the engine, which used loads of fuel and did little to show for it.The shift was clunky too.Big disappointment for me, I was expecting alot more.To have to mod it from stock to get the car it should have been is not what the owners or me were expecting.

I'm not saying it isn't a good thing to have a smooth v8 in a 90,just that LR did a very poor job of it. Especially when I think of the 300 TDI 90 that is parked on my ramp tonight waiting for me to finish servicing it for its tree surgeon/landscaper owner. Currently showing 275,000m,on its original engine,box,transfer box and axles... Its still a sweet old thing to drive,gearbox is still quieter and less clunky than the LT85 all those years ago.Still earning its living as a daily workhorse,towing a 4 wheel tipper trailer most of the time.

You can look through rose tinted specs and bleat on about smooth v8's, but they are carp as standard if you want a working 4wd to do a days work - day after day,for years on end.

[Chicken Drumstick]

Sounds like the previous owner got fed up with it and sorted it out.As a stock,low mileage car when I knew it the thing was a bit of a waste of space.The Santana box made more noise than the engine, which used loads of fuel and did little to show for it.The shift was clunky too.Big disappointment for me, I was expecting alot more.To have to mod it from stock to get the car it should have been is not what the owners or me were expecting.

I'm not saying it isn't a good thing to have a smooth v8 in a 90,just that LR did a very poor job of it. Especially when I think of the 300 TDI 90 that is parked on my ramp tonight waiting for me to finish servicing it for its tree surgeon/landscaper owner. Currently showing 275,000m,on its original engine,box,transfer box and axles... Its still a sweet old thing to drive,gearbox is still quieter and less clunky than the LT85 all those years ago.Still earning its living as a daily workhorse,towing a 4 wheel tipper trailer most of the time.

You can look through rose tinted specs and bleat on about smooth v8's, but they are carp as standard if you want a working 4wd to do a days work - day after day,for years on end.

Look I'm sorry you feel this way. But you are just wrong and the example you drove must have been knackered.

The white 90 pick up in my Avatar is a factory V8. I admit it isn't a fire breather, but you've got to put it in perspective. It's a 1985 vehicle. A 300Tdi or any other Tdi did NOT exist then. Only the 2.5NAD and the 2.5TD. The V8 is massively faster than either.

Something to remember, the V8's have taller gearing than a diesel. So you do need to wind them out to make use of the power, this can make them feel less peppy down low and of course they are smooth, so don't have any turbo shove. This doesn't mean they aren't pulling however.

If you have them on 235's or 7.50's, they will be over geared even further as the standard fitment tyre was a 205.

Now the 3.5 in my Avatar, it is 100% stock apart from a stainless exhaust. On large 235 MT's it is slightly quicker than my brothers tweaked 200Tdi that runs a 1.6:1 transfer box. His Tdi runs very very well (I've driven loads to offer a good comparison) and is substantially quicker than a stock 200 or 300 Tdi and up to 70mph will out drag and equally modded Tdi with the 1.4:1 transfer box.

MPG, ok it's never going to win this one. 17-19mpg isn't out of the question though. And for similar use a Tdi will get 25-27mpg.

RV8's tend to wear their cams and followers and most people totally neglect the Stromberg carbs and the rubber diaphragms they have. So it's very easy to get them running in a poor state of tune. If the one you drove didn't run well, then I suspect this may be a factor. But if you didn't use the rev range range, you'll also not see the HP on offer.

I admit the LT-85 is noisy, although less noisy than a Series gearbox. But they are also much stronger and rarely need the rebuilds the LT-77's and R380's need.

Off road the V8 is much nicer than a Tdi, you have more speed in gear due to the higher available rpm limit. Smoother delivery, no lag and better balance, so it's much more stable on steep hills.

[Ally V8]

Look I'm sorry you feel this way. But you are just wrong and the example you drove must have been knackered.

The white 90 pick up in my Avatar is a factory V8. I admit it isn't a fire breather, but you've got to put it in perspective. It's a 1985 vehicle. A 300Tdi or any other Tdi did NOT exist then. Only the 2.5NAD and the 2.5TD. The V8 is massively faster than either.

Something to remember, the V8's have taller gearing than a diesel. So you do need to wind them out to make use of the power, this can make them feel less peppy down low and of course they are smooth, so don't have any turbo shove. This doesn't mean they aren't pulling however.

If you have them on 235's or 7.50's, they will be over geared even further as the standard fitment tyre was a 205.

Now the 3.5 in my Avatar, it is 100% stock apart from a stainless exhaust. On large 235 MT's it is slightly quicker than my brothers tweaked 200Tdi that runs a 1.6:1 transfer box. His Tdi runs very very well (I've driven loads to offer a good comparison) and is substantially quicker than a stock 200 or 300 Tdi and up to 70mph will out drag and equally modded Tdi with the 1.4:1 transfer box.

MPG, ok it's never going to win this one. 17-19mpg isn't out of the question though. And for similar use a Tdi will get 25-27mpg.

RV8's tend to wear their cams and followers and most people totally neglect the Stromberg carbs and the rubber diaphragms they have. So it's very easy to get them running in a poor state of tune. If the one you drove didn't run well, then I suspect this may be a factor. But if you didn't use the rev range range, you'll also not see the HP on offer.

I admit the LT-85 is noisy, although less noisy than a Series gearbox. But they are also much stronger and rarely need the rebuilds the LT-77's and R380's need.

Off road the V8 is much nicer than a Tdi, you have more speed in gear due to the higher available rpm limit. Smoother delivery, no lag and better balance, so it's much more stable on steep hills.

You need to read my post again... It was a stock,low mileage car when I first started looking after it. About 18 months to 2 years old if I remember rightly.Also it ran on 205/16 tyres on the white Rostyle rims that the CSW's had. There was noting wrong with it,it wasn't the only one I looked after,others were very similar.I have spent the last 32 years earning a living from fixing Land Rovers,so have seen plenty of knackered v8's in my time.Including a Dead TDV8 Sport that I've just been out to as a breakdown...

2 door carbed v8 Range Rovers in general had alot more grunt,I thought when they brought out a 90 powered by a v8 it would be a bit of a weapon - it wasn't. With a 3.9 and ZF 4speed auto you would end up with what LR should have done in the first place.

[tacr2man]

I cant help but agree with CD i had a new stage 1 V8 SW , and then I had a year old 110 V8 CSW both pulled like a train and went

far better than any 300tdi , albeit at the expense of a voracious thirst . They were both used for towing as well far into europe eg Naples , Stuttgart etc , and then overland and in Australia including pulling a 35ft 2 axle caravan . I had a 300tdi HCPU 130 in OZ as well and it did its share but the V8 did it so much easier , especially uphill from a standing start . Ive retrofitted a diesel in the 110

as I still have it , but had to go to BMW 3 ltr TDI to get similar performance .

[mickeyw]

Having owned a factory original 1986 V8 90 hardtop (a rare combination IMO) for 20 years, I can tell you it wasn't slow with the Stromberg fuelled 3.5 and 7.50s.

This truck is also the origin of the sketch in my avatar

When these were new they were deliberately downrated to 114 bhp, and the performance figures were kept hush by LR, as it was actually faster than the Range Rover of the time (still 3.5 and carbed at that stage). That would have been very bad PR for RRCs.

When I blew that engine up, through off road abuse at extreme angles, it seemed rude not to fit an available 3.9 serpentine engine. It became an absolute hooligan machine in that config. Later came a ZF 4HP22 and the trf ratio changed to 1.4:1 from the original V8 90 exclusive ratio of 1.192:1

I sold that truck just over a year ago, and as far as I know it's still on the road.

[need4speed]

A flat, carb'd RV8 can easily be made into a fire breather whereas a 300tdi will always be a coal burning rattler.. Just my tuppence worth..

[B reg 90]

I think that the V8 early defenders (if standard) will become the 90 to have/become collectors items. If your going to pay a fortune in the futore to own a 90/defender, which would you choose? It would be a V8 every time for me - provided it's a secondvehicle and limited milage.T

They can only go up in value

[DavidW]

I think that the V8 early defenders (if standard) will become the 90 to have/become collectors items. If your going to pay a fortune in the futore to own a 90/defender, which would you choose? It would be a V8 every time for me - provided it's a secondvehicle and limited milage.T

They can only go up in value

This is already happening. I've a friend who has just bought one and we've been watching the values.

[Quagmire]

My Dads factory v8 110 is lovely to drive! I quite like the lt85, it's positive and I wouldn't say it was noisy... It kind of goes "snick snick" when you change gear, quite a nice action really.