matt_fsr said:
Hi guys - anyone here got any experience of Landy Lightweights??
My dad has (somewhat misguidedly) gone and got a grand's worth of scrap posing as a lightweight, albeit with a new chassis.
My thoughts are rip out the 'faulty' engine and gearbox, and shove something like a 1.9TD Passat lump or Fiat JTD in it - he wants it for off roading and light road use/carrying stuff.
Anyone done anything like this, or seen any similar creations?
Cheers!
Hmmm, never heard of either of those engines being fitted to a landy...
If he wants it just for fun, do the sensible thing.... Rover V8
Not that much work required to do it, a landrover is just like a big mechano kit.
The 2.25 petrol isn't a bad engine, will run on and on and on, has all the mechanical subtlety of a brick to the head, although there's something seriously wrong with the setup if it won't pull past 30mph (Obvious question time... You haven't got the transfer box in low have you?) However, get hold of a haynes manual and a basic spanner set and you should be able to get it running nicely
With regards to the underpowered issue, it depends what you expect the car to do. Firstly I'll point out that more than about 60mph in a leaf sprung landrover is an experience, quite possibly a biblical one. I had my dad's lwb one to an indicated 80ish once with the overdrive engaged downhill.... Not fun. However, they aren't actually underpowered in everyday use unless you want to tank it around, in which case the landrover isn't for you anyway.
Hope that helps some, any more questions feel free to ask
-Dolph (proud owner of a 1967 restoration project..... best not ask how long it's been going on though)