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towing with a series 3 v8 conversion


kerin

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hello everyone new to the forum and my first land rover i have a series 3 swb with a v8 conversion and my mate asked me if i could use my land rover to help him collect his ford focus on a car trailer that he has just bought. the only problem is i dont know if the gearbox will be man enouth as i have never towed with it before except for little trailer i think i should be ok if i take it easy but i thought i would see if anyone had done it before

any advise would be great thanks kerin

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A healthy Series will tow anything, it's mostly just legalities of what's on the VIN plate / your licence / the trailer / phases of the moon blah blah blah that determine exactly what you can do . Damage is done by your driving style, be gentle & careful and it'll be fine and live forever. I towed my Mk1 golf on a twin-axle car trailer behind the 109 when it had a V8 swap and that was lovely, likely about the same weight as a Focus.

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hi everyone the licence and the weight is fine i was just worried having a 3.5 v8 and series 3 box with weight behind would blow up the gearbox as i have heard horror stories of them going with just normal driving never mind a trailer behind

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I think most Series III Land Rovers had a towing limit of 2 tonnes, so as long as it is under that then you should be fine.

This assumes vehicle and trailer are in good condition of course!

This has been the subject of a number of posts. The 2000kg is a "Recommended maximum" on some Land Rovers, usually the earlier ones. I think later ones are placarded at 3500 kg. I think the general wisdom is that stopping is more likely to be the limit. If you drive it the way you normally do it should be OK, after all it is the torque that breaks the transmission and that is controlled by your right foot, not the weight of the trailer.

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I used to use my 88" V8 and the 2.25 petrol model I owned before that for a fair bit of heavy towing, and never broke anything. Other LRs inc a 101, a Triumph Spitfire full of spares (surprisingly heavy), Morris Marina, vintage tractors and banger cars were among the loads moved.

As others have already said, it's how you drive that will make the difference. Good maintenance helps too - good clean transmission oil, as opposed to insufficient/old dirty will definitely help.

My experience was that it was the drum brakes that were the weak link, especially on A roads with endless roundabouts. Although I had substantially upgraded my brakes, they would overheat and fade rapidly. I dare say that had the trailer's own brakes been in better repair, this would have been far less of an issue; as would easing off the speed a bit earlier.

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If the trailer brakes aren't working then you're going to need to allow about as far as the horizon to bring it to a stop!

Also, remember you've got low-range for tight manoeuvring of the trailer, just don't put it in 4x4 on a hard surface or you'll break the transfer box (no centre diff), this is about the only use I've found for free-wheeling hubs as you can have it in low range with only the rears driving.

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3.8 BMC?

Mate of mine had one in a IIA 109, reckoned the layshaft was the 'fusible link'.

Drop the clutch too quick and it was gearbox out time.

It was the later 4 -98 leyland , had the 2a box behind it for years , and overdrive and 4.1 diffs . As previous posts its how you use the power:)

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