Turbodiesel Landrover Project
| A site with pictures and info on my 1967 Series IIA 109 5 door landrover project. Updates below, followed by info on different parts of it (engine, transmission, body, etc....) More site with lots of Landrover info: Landrover FAQ .org Landrover.net | ||
| A much less well known but similar British 4wd vehicle, the Austin Gypsy. Beautiful scenery in Pakistan | ||
| Update: 06/30/09: Got a pile of extra parts (most not really useful for this project... but some are) The original 6 cylinder engine block, minus the head and some pistons, a 3.9 liter FI V8 engine from a range rover (apparently burns a little oil, but okay other than that), and a spare transmission and transfer case with a Fairey overdrive on it (from an Australian 109). Also, got a GM/Munci SM465 4 speed transmission for it (not shown) |
06/01/09: The new engine
05/30/09 Took the front fenders and grill off and took out the old buick V8 block that was bolted to the transmission. Primed the frame then sprayed it with with flat black paint and rubberized undercoating -- it had barely any rust, but I figured I should fix it up while I was there.
05/03/09 The new engine is sitting in the back of my truck. The Rover needs to be towed back to my house to begin work...
A picture from ~late 80's on a local trail | I got this machine in Spring of 2009 with the intention of fixing it up. It's been sitting at the Rover shop in Nederland for as long as I've lived here, missing the engine. I decided that instead of putting my income tax refund check into savings, I'd get myself yet another project. So I approached the owner, Ron Pederson and ended up buying it. It's a 1967 5 door landrover, 109". Not too different from the 1961 short wheelbase landrover than I learned to drive on. I'm the third owner. It's been in this area for it's whole life -- and Ron gave me a few photos of it from back in the 80's and early 90's. This rover even made it into the March 1997 issue of the British magazine LandroverWorld, when Ron took them out in his Ranger Rover near Caribou, which made the photo, but his 109 with "reunite Gondwanaland" stenciled on the doors -- this exact rover -- is mentioned. Grokolina is the name the 1st owner gave it... he was a fan of Heinlein so that's the name. I'm still trying to figure out the deeper philosophical significance of giving that name to a Landrover. I've also bought a Mercedes 5 cylinder 3 liter turbodiesel engine from a 1985 300TD to put into it, and a variety of other goodies. This engine is a little more power than the stock 6 cylinder gas engine, and should deliver a bit better fuel economy as well. And, can be run on vegetable oil, with the proper preheating of the oil. It's a little easier to find parts for here in the US than the Landrover-made diesels that many overseas landrovers came with. These engines will run for hundreds of thousands of miles (with proper maintenance, of course) and this one was from a deer hit at only 117,000 miles. |
Engine
The 1967 Landrover 109 for the US market came with the larger 6 cylinder 2.6 liter engine, instead of the 2.25liter 4 cylinder engine that was standard in most other markets. The 3 liter 5 cylinder Mercedes is the one that I'm putting in it. I included the specs for the new 3 liter turbodiesel that the brand new Jeep Cherokee's have as an option -- to show the advancements in diesel power over the past 25 years. An engine like that would quickly break the rest of the drivetrain in the rover with too much torque. However... the 1985 version does have the advantage that it has one electrical wire (the fuel solenoid) to run, instead of a full computer control system like the 2008 one. More robust for EMP pulses, or more likely, just deep stream crossings.
Some comparisons of the power and torque ratings for the various engines:
| Engine | Horsepower @ RPM | Torque @ RPM | Engine weight (lbs) |
| 2.25 liter inline 4 cylinder petrol Landrover (stock in non US markets) | 70 HP @ 4000RPM | 120ft lbs @ 2000 RPM | ~450 lbs |
| 2.6 liter inline 6 cylinder petrol Landrover engine (stock) | 90 HP @ 4500RPM | 131ft lbs @ 1500 RPM | ~600lbs |
| 3 liter inline 5 cylinder turbo diesel Mercedes engine, 1985 model year | 125 HP @ 4350RPM | 170ft lbs @ 2400 RPM | |
| 3 liter V6 turbodiesel, 2008 Jeep Cherokee/Mercedes | 215 HP @ 3800RPM | 378ft lbs @ 1600 RPM |
Gearing
Thoughts.... the mercedes engine doesn't bolt up to the stock landrover gearbox, so I'll have to get some sort of adaptor plate/flywheel made for it.
I could use the stock rover transmission. It is generally though to have a limit of about 120HP and 160ft lbs of torque... slightly less than the Mercedes turbodiesel is theoreticaly capable of producing. At the high elevation of between 6,000 and 11,000 feet where I live, it's probably derated a little, even with the turbo, and hopefully will be okay.
But, if I'm going the the trouble and cost of buying an adaptor... I could get a different transmission with some other advantages.... such as the NV4500 5 speed transmission. This has the advantage of a lower first gear, plus an overdrivce 5th gear which is roughly equivalent to the Fairey overdrive. It does have slightly wider spacing on the gears, which is not ideal for a diesel with a narrow power band. Hmmm...... $950 for a kit from 4x4labs to bolt the mercedes diesel engine to the NV4500, plus the transmission itself (plus, I'll need to figure out how to bolt the rover transfer case to the back of it... another adaptor...) and adjust the length of the driveshafts if the transfer case position changes.
So... looks like I'm going to go with the GM/Muncie SM465 transmission -- cheaper and more available (for less than $1400) than the NV4500. With the kit from 4x4labs, it will bolt right up to the mercedes engine, and then.... to attach the stock landrover transfer case to it, and the fairy overdrive. Gear ratios added to the chart below. The issue is adapting the landrover transfer case to the SM465. Both of them are sitting in the yard now...
Info on the Fairey overdrive
Lots more info on Rover transmissions , where I got much of this.
The rear axle is a Salisbury rover axle -- equivalent to a Dana 60 (many internal parts are apparently interchangeable). This is much stronger than the stock series IIA axle which has a reputation for breaking if anything much more powerful than the stock engine is used. Differential gearing is 4.7:1 -- fairly low compared to many off road vehicles.
Gear ratios with stock transmission and with proposed NV4500 or SM465 transmission:
| stock | NV4500 (1995 GM ratios), with stock transfer case | SM465, with stock transfer case and fairy overdrive | |
| 1st gear, low range | 39.8 | 62.1 | 72.3 |
| 2nd gear, low range | 24.6 | 33.6 | 39.5 |
| 3rd gear, low range | 16.6 | 18.5 | 18.8 |
| 4th gear, low range | 11.1 | 11.1 | 11.1 |
| 5th gear, low range | NA | 8.3 | NA |
| reverse, low range | 33.4 | 62.1 | 69.5 |
| 1st gear, high range | 19.5 | 30.4 | 35.4 |
| 1st gear, high range, overdrive | 27.7 | ||
| 2nd gear, high range | 12.1 | 16.5 | 19.4 |
| 2nd gear, high range, overdrive | 15.2 | ||
| 3rd gear, high range | 8.1 | 9.1 | 9.2 |
| 3rd gear, high range, overdrive | 7.2 | ||
| 4th gear, high range | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| 4th gear, high range, overdrive | 4.2 | ||
| 5th gear, high range | NA | 4.1 |
Tires
I am running stock 16" wheels with 255/85R16 BFG mudterrain tires, about 33" diameter -- an almost brand new set of five tires and rims came with it. Love the look of that giant 5 bolt circle (most else I have has the 6 bolt japanese/chevy pattern which looks small compared to the rover bolt pattern).
Extras
This rover has a few extras that weren't stock on them. The sun visor over the windshield, the wire cages around all of the lights, the bumper overriders. Snorkel.
Winch
Doesn't have one yet.... but... it's going to get something.
| Even the VW rabbit gets taken up jeep trails sometimes |
PV system
Of course a camping vehicle like this needs a PV system to provide electricity while camping (if you don't want electricity.. you don't go car camping IMO :) More details on that later... maybe get the engine in there first, eh?
Contact info:
zyewdall at gmail