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That is fantastic and yes, very well said.

It pretty much mirrors what was said when I got the MG and with all the right work done it's been the most enjoyable motoring I've ever had.

I have a tool kit and spares in the boot of the MG so I'll be repeating that process with the LR along with a few choice reliability upgrades to ensure it starts and runs every day ;)
 
I've been scouring the usual places for suitable Land Rovers and I have a couple on my short list.

One seems ideal but it has a Perkins 3.something ltr engine fitted.
Given that part of my future plan was to get it converted to a 200TDI should I worry about this currently fitted non standard engine?

The problem I have is that I don't know when the 200 tdi conversion will take place and I may have to put up with this perkins thing for a while.

What can anyone tell me about them? is it a common conversion? do they have any particular quirks or failures?

thanks,
Mike.
 
perkins 4.203, 3.3litre old, noisy and will pull a house down according to rumour, yes it was a common conversion

used in all sorts of machinery, forklifts, combine harvesters, roadside compressors and goods vehicles and as such i'd say a good one that's been looked after should be pretty much bulletproof (i like perkins engines anyway)

a mate has one in his 88" and i intend scrounging a little go in it in september (Welsh invasion weekend) to see if i like it as i've not driven one with this engine fitted, his appears to go ok as it kept up with the 2.25 petrols pretty well on our last excursion but he has had the injectors and pump reconditioned, i've absolutely no idea how it would compare to the 200tdi

take it for a test drive and see if you like it, it could be the start of a love affair :eek:
 
parptoot said:
I've been scouring the usual places for suitable Land Rovers and I have a couple on my short list.

One seems ideal but it has a Perkins 3.something ltr engine fitted.
Given that part of my future plan was to get it converted to a 200TDI should I worry about this currently fitted non standard engine?

The problem I have is that I don't know when the 200 tdi conversion will take place and I may have to put up with this perkins thing for a while.

What can anyone tell me about them? is it a common conversion? do they have any particular quirks or failures?

thanks,
Mike.
Click to expand...
It will be a 4/203. Four cylinder, two hundred and three cubic inches, otherwise known as 3,300cc.
These are a very strong engine if they are in good condition, you will get about 30 to the gallon in a series, and they produce about 145 ftlbs torque, half shaft wrenching stuff!
Downside s that wit a governed speed of 2300 rpm amd standard gearing you will only get about 45 mph on the road. You could improve that to about 55 with a Fairey od, but sometimes the perk breaks them! Ashcroft used to do a modded tranny box that was great with these.
4/ 203 is great in a landy that's used a lot off road but would be a nightmare in a commuter vehicle or suchlike.
 
Great info again! I love this forum, so much better than the last place I used to frequent :clap2:

So, strong, possibly a shaft breaker and only up to about 45 unless an overdrive unit is fitted.
The good news is that it does have the overdrive and he says it's been very well looked after.

Having read through a few pages of the thread above I'm still not totally convinced. I'll see how negotiations go.
 
thought it was mine! said:
perkins 4/203 is my nightmare at mo mates boat did head gasket, injectors' runs sweet as an nut put it under load no power black smokes like anything. When it was running it was awesome low revs loads of torque and uses fook all fuel.
Click to expand...
At a guess it could be a pump timing issue, even something like the pump drive gear coming loose on its shaft.
Is it the marinised one, or out of a vehicle? I have serviced a few in canal boats, as well as had them in series, always loved em myself!:)
Do you know what fuel injection pump it has?
 
Turboman said:
At a guess it could be a pump timing issue, even something like the pump drive gear coming loose on its shaft.
Is it the marinised one, or out of a vehicle? I have serviced a few in canal boats, as well as had them in series, always loved em myself!:)
Do you know what fuel injection pump it has?
Click to expand...

engine total original running salt water, but everything i do my mate will go down and fiddle with after i have left. goin to do compression test first then pump timing( he has messed about with that so much don't know where to start) its popping a bit from exhaust.
 
thought it was mine! said:
engine total original running salt water, but everything i do my mate will go down and fiddle with after i have left. goin to do compression test first then pump timing( he has messed about with that so much don't know where to start) its popping a bit from exhaust.
Click to expand...
Sounds like that will be the issue, then! Depending on the exact build there will be marks or a pointer on the flywheel that you can line up at tdc. Each timing gear will have a punch mark on its rim, when the marks on the gears align that is the right timing. There will be a few degrees of final adjustment on the pump itself.
 
Turboman said:
Sounds like that will be the issue, then! Depending on the exact build there will be marks or a pointer on the flywheel that you can line up at tdc. Each timing gear will have a punch mark on its rim, when the marks on the gears align that is the right timing. There will be a few degrees of final adjustment on the pump itself.
Click to expand...

m8 had to much russian stupid juice, will pm you tomorrow at the mo i am at end of my teather he talks to too many people and adjust's 3 things at once. He does not do one thing at a time. Cheers for the advice and i hope for more
 
Turboman said:
Sounds like that will be the issue, then! Depending on the exact build there will be marks or a pointer on the flywheel that you can line up at tdc. Each timing gear will have a punch mark on its rim, when the marks on the gears align that is the right timing. There will be a few degrees of final adjustment on the pump itself.
Click to expand...

m8 had to much russian stupid juice, will pm you tomorrow at the mo i am at end of my teather he talks to too many people and adjust's 3 things at once. He does not do one thing at a time. Cheers for the advice and i hope for more
 
Remember many, many years ago, marinising a Perkins by pumping a 50/50 solution of hot caustic through it for a couple of hours!

It 'glazed' the cast and the last I heard it was still running a couple of years ago.

Don't think anyone does that any more! ;)
 
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It could also be a Perkins 4236 which is 3.86 litre version.

I think they only have about 70bhp but have phenomenal pulling power.

The downside is that they are pretty damn noisy as a rule and also are very very heavy compared to a TDi. But they are much more robust.
 
So going by this there's a bit of a split as to the usability and reliability of these engines, hmmm.

There are still others in the pipeline so with this questionable engine I may sideline this one for a couple of days until I've seen another close by. There's a risk that I'll lose it but there's plenty about.
 
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samc88 said:
Could you take it for a test drive to see how you would find driving with that engine fitted? or is it just too far away?
Click to expand...

That would be ideal but it's a good 3+ hours away by normal car but I'd be going in my MG and that would mean adding another 30 mins, at least, on to the journey.

I've had a chat with the owner and he's confirmed it's Perkins 4.203, at least I think that's what he said.
He's also added that the MOT is only valid until November and that was something I wanted to be as long as possible and I don't think he'd get it done or reduce the price any further from where I've currently got him to.

There are plenty of others available and given that I'm on here I really should put up a wanted thread in the relevant section :rolleyes:
 
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