This months LRW is starting coverage of some UK guys putting a TDV8 into a defender - I may have found my next project :)

Yeah, I have been looking at that one too!

So many questions, so few answers! I can see tons of issues arising from that conversion. Thinking it would be best to just buy a damaged truck in the UK and swap the entire power train!

It's a bit of a squeeze, but it does fit...

http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/Defender%20V8.JPG

Impressive but I would hate like hell to work on it. You would need hobbit hands.

I'm waiting to see how the build goes, but that would be a beast. The 2011 RRS (and LR4) are supposed to be available with that engine in the US I think (it may be wishful thinking - it may be the TDV6), but then if I can find one rolled or rearended :)

Except a NAS version will need urea, etc..... and overcoming the ECU tie ins to the exhaust treatment may be tricky.

Oops - forgot about that - does the European version have all that? Sounds like they are using a non stock computer in the LRW article - I'll have to look again

Daddy like! Imagine that engine in a light weight softtop 90!

Non stock computer would be the way to handle it. Looks like quite a squeeze. Is it tilted as well?


Oops - forgot about that - does the European version have all that? Sounds like they are using a non stock computer in the LRW article - I'll have to look again

It's a bit of a squeeze, but it does fit...

http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10134/Defender%20V8.JPG

Well the acoustic cover fits. Did you check the date on the thread you got that pic from?:laughing:

Well the acoustic cover fits. Did you check the date on the thread you got that pic from?:laughing:

I'm quite sure the picture was meant as a joke that most seem to have missed......

I'm quite sure the picture was meant as a joke that most seem to have missed......

Most, but not all, it seems :)

Yup, it was actually an April Fool post on a UK forum from last year, I think.
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Picture may have been April fools joke, but LRW article shows some serious shoehorning going on.

When you say "this month's LRW", do you mean July? A lot of magazines are released before the publish date.
Who are the crowd in the UK?

More importantly, what are the driveline and axles going to be? The original L322 driveline had a front driveshaft going through the BMW diesels sump, I think the front driveshaft was also on the left. But I can't find the photos right now.

This may help...

YouTube - Bell Auto Services Project TDV8 Defender running for the first time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bZH4vicB9o)

As might this link (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=39953)
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This may help...

YouTube - Bell Auto Services Project TDV8 Defender running for the first time (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bZH4vicB9o)

As might this link (http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=39953)
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Sounds way different to what I was expecting.
So 6 speed manual from a D3 and LT230. I want.:smokin:

BTW - The Land Rover World with part one is the August edition.

I think the build in the magazine is being undertaken by Cheviot 4x4, the Bell Auto one is a different build.

I looked at their website and saw no reference to it, if they are the ones, perhaps they will update their site. AND if they could come up with directions and bits (computer, adapter plates, etc) for sale, they might do okay.

To be honest I can't see the point in pursuing this other than "because it is there" - what is the likely life-expectancy of this engine in this application and how easy is it to repair in the field? Surely the point of a 4x4 is that you can depend on it in extreme locations and if it does happen to fail it can be easily repaired. I know 'Rovers are prone to failure but this is usually because quality is sacrificed for cost...

Out of curiosity how do the small-displacement (i.e. less than 8 litre) diesels compare with larger ones (e.g. Cummins, Caterpillar) from an MTBF point-of-view?

My employer builds trucks and we have problems with adblue system components failing after 18 months...very poor!
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To be honest I can't see the point in pursuing this other than "because it is there" - what is the likely life-expectancy of this engine in this application and how easy is it to repair in the field? Surely the point of a 4x4 is that you can depend on it in extreme locations and if it does happen to fail it can be easily repaired.

Contrary to myth and legend, there is very little on any 4wd that can be properly repaired in the field with the equipment that people usually carry. Bodged to get home, maybe, but it depends what your problems are.


Out of curiosity how do the small-displacement (i.e. less than 8 litre) diesels compare with larger ones (e.g. Cummins, Caterpillar) from an MTBF point-of-view?

Small is under 8 litres now?

Whether bodged or repaired - diagnosis of a non-running electronically controlled engine to identify a fault is far more difficult than for a pure mechanical system because of the larger number of components involved and interdependancy of them.

However, legislation and customer demand drive innovation so we are headed in that direction and I'll live with it.

It is good that someone wants to innovate and put more power into a Defender with a novel, new engine but would better results be gained by innovating the chassis and structure to reduce unnecessary mass?

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I know electronics are the work of the devil and all, but let's be honest - modern engines & their electronics are an order of magnitude more reliable (and smoother, more efficient, more powerful) than a clockwork engine from 10 or 20 years ago. There's a reason manufacturers stick so much processing power in their vehicles, and it's not because it's easy or cheap. If they could get the same results with a bit of clockwork, they would.

What lets down any ECU controlled engine is not having diagnostics available - this is usually down to the cost of the equipment or the reluctance of the owner to equip himself with something as wild as a $100 eBay laptop and a serial cable. Or, indeed, to take the time to work out how the system works - what its failure modes are and how to fix them. Instead, the standard procedure is to stab randomly at sensors and change expensive parts like airflow meters and ECU's with no great understanding of why that may or may not fix the problem.

Most sensor failures can be overcome by disconnection or substitution, any mission critical sensors you may want to carry spares just as you'd carry a spare fanbelt.

Take off every wire you can and run propane. The simplest and most reliable thing there is.:flipoff2: