Melty Melty Alternator Wiring Loom - Perkins Engine

Turboman · Dec 12, 2018

luk3jay said:
That's very useful, and a great tool. Thank you! i'll have to do lots more poking around to find out the model numbers of gearbox etc, i'm pretty sure they're stock though.

Sadly it seems this engine isn't really fit for my needs so i'll probably replace the engine, or the whole car (deffo want to stay with a LR though!) being limited to 50 isn't the end of the world, but the noise this beast makes in doing so isn't great on long drives! Or is that just land rovers in general?
I'm new to LRs and mostly won't be using it to go further than an hour or two (if that) on the motorway, but it would be nice to have the option of a 6 hour drive to Cornwall or Scotland without filling myself with dread!

Dare I ask for Engine/transmission suggestions capable of getting me close to 80mph?

Thanks for your help! you guys are gods of knowledge which is great for a 21 year old keen to learn, like myself!

If you want to cruise at 80, you need to look at getting a car, or a modern 4wd. Even if you have enough power,and the gearings, you will drink fuel at that speed in a Defender, due to the total lack of aerodynamics. And you will go through large expensive tyres at quite a rate as well.

Land Rovers aren't really about speed, they are about off road ability, towing, and carrying your tools and equipment.

Not quite sure why cruising at 50 is a problem anyway, I used to tow a cattle float from Cornwall, all over the place with my Ninety, and often used to drive to Scotland at 45 mph or thereabouts in my Perkins engined Series.

dag019 · Dec 12, 2018

Turboman said:
If you want to cruise at 80, you need to look at getting a car, or a modern 4wd. Even if you have enough power,and the gearings, you will drink fuel at that speed in a Defender, due to the total lack of aerodynamics. And you will go through large expensive tyres at quite a rate as well.

Arguably by design they will not travel at high speed. Even with everything in perfect condition the suspension set up and steering is not designed for high speed stability. On a long downhill late at night (obviously on private property and definitely not the M1 at all

) I have got mine to touch an indicated 100 (so probably about 90 actual) and it was absolutely terrifying!

I know it is possible to improve high speed stability (by sacrificing everything good about a land rover) with lower, stiffer suspension etc, but the fundamentals of beam axles, and box, rather than rack, steering is never going to make for a stable high speed vehicle.

Not only is it a land rover but it is 35ish years old. 35 years ago very little on the road could sit and cruise for hours on end at 80+, and no one expected them to.

luk3jay · Dec 16, 2018

dag019 said:
I have the 1.2 in mine with a 200tdi and 265/75 tyres. It will sit at speedo indicated 70/75 (satnav speed about 65/70) happily. It will get to an indicated 80 but you know you are pushing it hard and it is not comfortable. I would suggests if you want to sit at 80 for long periods on the motorway you are better off getting a golf and keeping the land rover for fun things. It is much better to just accept that you will be driving at 65/70, add 10 min onto your journey time, and spend every minute of it with a big smile on our face.

okay, forget the '80' - I would happily accept going 65/70! my max speed at the moment is 45, 50 at a push. If i'm driving for longer than 20 mins I have to wear ear defenders otherwise my ears start hurting which is less than ideal

I bought this vehicle primarily because i wanted a small campervan that was 4x4, and secondly because i like the look of LRs and it's a lot of fun off road! but if it isn't practical to drive it further than 50 miles, i'm starting to think a land rover may not be best suited for my needs :'(

I'd be thrilled with 65/70 tbh! but 45 max whilst sounding like a jumbo jet isn't great

Thanks!

Retroanaconda · Dec 16, 2018

Fitting a Land Rover Tdi engine is simple and will mean you can do 65-70mph with ease and in (relative) comfort. Might be easier for a novice to sell the vehicle you have and buy a Tdi one, but an engine swap is doable for a keen novice with a little help or assistance from others.

That assumes of course that there isn’t something wrong with your converted engine that is stopping it getting to a reasonable speed. I’m not familiar with those engines so it may be normal for them in which case they’re not particularly suited to the use you’re after.

Rougharse Racing · Dec 16, 2018

Perkins diesels are a bit agricultural from what I can make out, but have you ascertained what transfer box you have yet

dag019 · Dec 17, 2018

Rougharse Racing said:
Perkins diesels are a bit agricultural from what I can make out, but have you ascertained what transfer box you have yet

As you will likely need to change the transfer box for a disco 1.2 one regardless of what engine you go for, I would do this first. On my 200tdi this increased the speed by about 8mph for the same revs. you might find that just by doing this the perkins becomes a bit more tolerable. But if it is still too slow/noisy then i would swap it for a tdi.

The transfer box swap is very straightforward, nut and bolt job, which other than being heavy and an awkward shape is just a case of unbolting everything, swapping the boxes over, and rebolting everything. There are also several very good step by step tutorials with pictures both in online write ups and on youtube.

Rougharse Racing · Dec 17, 2018

dag019 said:
As you will likely need to change the transfer box for a disco 1.2 one regardless of what engine you go for, I would do this first. On my 200tdi this increased the speed by about 8mph for the same revs. you might find that just by doing this the perkins becomes a bit more tolerable. But if it is still too slow/noisy then i would swap it for a tdi.

The transfer box swap is very straightforward, nut and bolt job, which other than being heavy and an awkward shape is just a case of unbolting everything, swapping the boxes over, and rebolting everything. There are also several very good step by step tutorials with pictures both in online write ups and on youtube.

That's assuming that there isn't a 1:1.2 transfer box in there already!

If you find the Transfer Box serial number, the first 3 digits tell you what ratio it is. On most it is stamped on the rear vertical face of the box below the filler plug and to the left of the handbrake drum, on early boxes it is on the passenger side (UK) of the transfer box, facing the chassis and probably covered in 30 years worth of sh1te.
If it still has a 1.6:1 transfer box, it won't be fast even if you fit a Ferrari engine in it, if it already has a 1.2:1, you need to save up for a TDi.

Melty Melty Alternator Wiring Loom - Perkins Engine

Turboman

Mab An Gov

dag019

Well-Known Member

luk3jay

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Retroanaconda

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Rougharse Racing

Well-Known Member

dag019

Well-Known Member

Rougharse Racing

Well-Known Member

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