Carry on carlos!, it will be a good usable economical classic when its done, in my view fitting a 300 makes it much more usable and future proofed it more than keeping the gutless and uneconomical 6cyl!
There will be other 6cyl safaris out there that will have been saved especialy now the defender production line has closed, series prices will slowly be on the rise anyway and more and more will be emerging from the wood work.
My disco for 1 will never be a "collectors item" not even if it reaches your s3`s age, there is just too many of them around!
I for 1 think your doing the best thing for the car by securing its future and making it up to date!
 
got the engine all bolted up today - had to cut off the 2 brackets for the tdi mount supports but as i can't use those mounts it doesnt really matter
i have yet to make the mounts - the o/s looks very tight to get it on the original chassis mount but i'll have a go

also ive had to remove the turbo - i think i'll run it as a non turbo 1st just to get it on the road then move the engine forward when i rebuild the chassis at a later date

i will post some pictures later
 
finished the engine mounts today - ive posted a video for anyone thats interested

as its easier to get than a picture - i couldn't get the o/s on the original mount so i made a bracket to relocate it not the neatest job but it should do for now

i've had to remove the turbo to get the engine in so i'll blank that off and run it without the turbo then re-fit the engine further forward at a later date so i can have the turbo - but for now i just want it roadworthy
 
finished welding on the new rear cross member tonight
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Do you know that Fred's maroon Land Rover was rebuilt for him and he was very pleased with the results......oh yeah nearly forgot, it had been fitted with a Rover V8. Funny that!
 
Do you know that Fred's maroon Land Rover was rebuilt for him and he was very pleased with the results......oh yeah nearly forgot, it had been fitted with a Rover V8. Funny that!

I remember a story in lroi years ago about him unwittingly driving it around for ages with no oil in it

engine must have been well worn, presume it was pre the resto
 
RPI Engineering did the resto, interesting read on their website. (Perhaps not suitable for carrot crunchers).
 
no pics but fitted the new 200tdi exhaust manifold - the turbo still won't fit in place but it's easier to adapt it than the 300 manifold

also managed to bleed the clutch - nice and heavy just how it should be

got the fuel tank ready for fitting but i don't have a return pipe - how do others get round this - my plan is to make a twin pick up pipe to replace the standard one

couple of questions
1. does the standard tank have a swirl pot? if not does this cause any issues with a tdi engine?
2. what size are the threads on the 2 screws that hold the pickup pipe in?

cheers
 
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Bought a new alloy rad - i'm mounting it further forward so making up a frame that bolts up to the original front panel holes
the front panel will be mounted at the front like it is in the earlier picture - i think it looks better like this - i dont really see why land rover didnt do it this way from day 1
ive got an intercooler but as of yet no turbo so for now i'll fit it as an interfooler
 
still on with this had a bit of break off it to work on my transit but back doing this over winter now

got another bulkhead thats in better nick but still needs some work, ive got the footwells and they look easy enough to do but anyone know if i can get repair panels for the top around the vents and under the screen seal?
 

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A couple of years ago someone was making and selling the inner and outer parts of that top rail and selling them on ebay, just had a quick look and can't see any for sale at the minute. When I did mine I just bent up what I needed to replace, wasn't too difficult as long as you take it one profile at a time. If you've got rot on the outer face round the vents then YRM sell repair panels for those:

http://www.yrm-metal-solutions.co.uk/epages/BT4822.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT4822/Products/242
 
Sheet metal bent up bit by bit and you'll get there. I didn't have access to a sheet metal bender so all the profiles I needed were bent by clamping the metal between two bits of angle iron in a vice with the ends clamped together with g clamps to give a sharp 90 degree corner to bend the metal over with a hammer. Use a copper/plastic/hide hammer if the metal is going to be on show as lump hammers make marks!
 
got the bulkhead welding finished and painted it today

also put some paint on the new side frames (not sure of the tech term) only one pictures but i have got both

paint went on ok - a few runs but its nice and thick - might have to get a bit of practice in before i do the doors tho.
i have done some other work on it, got a winch and started making a winch bumper and bull bar - i'll post up some pics when they are done
i'm also going to have a go at making the front wings open up so they are hinged at the door post - just so i can get better access to the engine to work on it and clean it

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