Series 3-88, Rebuild.

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KJ15

New Member
Posts
3
Location
South Yorkshire
Right, i'm looking for some advice for me and my boyfriend. We have a 1970 series 3-88, and before we begin ripping into to it, were unsure as to wether to leave the 2.25 engine in or convert to a 200 tdi.

Any suggestions please??
 
depends what the engines like in there at the mo.

if you could give a bit of info like what your using the landy for and stuff like that, the 2.25 is easier to maintain but the 200tdi is still relatively simples in comparison to other defender engines. if the 2.25 is running fine at the mo or only needs to odd part to make it so id leave it, if its shot and you need a new one a 200tdi is going to cost more but is a more usable engine.
 
My boyfriends mostly going to be using it for a general vehicle for work and wood cutting.
Im not sure till i speak to him but i think the 2.25 hasnt been run in a while and is requiring a full recon, but cant be too sure. Im more towards the 200 tdi, but were at odds as to whats best.
 
Just so you know, many 2.25 diesels are left in barns for years, new battery and they start up, so don't just presume it needs attention
 
Just so you know, many 2.25 diesels are left in barns for years, new battery and they start up, so don't just presume it needs attention

assuming its a diesel yes but is it a diesel or petrol???? personally i would junk the engine and 200tdi it, easy to do, very good engine, runs on veg oil which in the current climate is a godsend, i've just tdi'd my lightweight so i can use it daily, noisybut so much better

cheers steve
 
Depends what you want it for. I have refurbished mine to keep the spec as original as possible so it retains its character and possibly long term value. It's slow and noisy but I knew that before I bought it and that is the way it is supposed to be. If its your daily driver, maybe a tdi transplant would be easier to live with.
 
mine are both daily drivers and workhorses no modern motors so being as i want to use mine without taking out a mortgage to keep them in fuel they're both tdi'd, they're still not an economical vehicle though

i reasonably regularly tow behind them and have hauled up to 2.5 ton behind the one, today i brought an escort back from deepest darkest south wales behind my 109 (220 mile round journey), it sat on the motorway at a comfortable 50-55mph and was willing to go faster (sensibility stopped me) on the way back, no struggling on the hills in wales (bloody steep ones)

the question you should answer is, what are you going to do with your landy is it going to work hard and is the present engine knackered ??

a mate of mine rescued a fire engine that had got stuck in a field using his petrol engined 88" Series 2a but that was just a case of dragging it out onto hard ground and using his landy intelligently to do it (fire engines are bloody heavy) so this tells you that they are capable of doing the work required
 
How many miles do you do a year? I don't do that many so the economy (or lack of!) of my 2.25 petrol is fine for me. I am planning to take it to Europe next summer though, that's going to be a slow journey!
 
It's a series - leave it as a series. The heavy steering, inefficient brakes and sluggish engines are part of their charm. If you want something with more poke and lower fuel costs, get a 90!
 
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