'67 Series 2a Futureproofing

[micahb]

Hi guys, my old man recently sold his '03 Defender and has "upgraded" to a '67 series 2a.
Its very tidy and doesn't need any work body chassis wise, but hes not going to stick with original 2.2 as wants deisel and pulling power.
Want to run with toyota gear as i have access to cheap parts and have knowledge to fix etc.
He wants it simple but wants it future proofed.
Current thinking is hilux axles/diffs and disk brakes, with landrover suspension.
thinking here is i can do this part myself, he doesnt want massive flex etc, but gets good brakes and running gear.
And possibly 13bt toyota engine and box, or 3l/5l and can turbo in future if needed.
I know its sacriledge to do it to a tidy original landy but he wants this to be his last car, so its gotta do another 25 years ish! ha.
So my question, has anyone here done this? or close to it?
Got any other ideas?

Cheers for any and all input.
Micah.

[Crash bandicoot]

Hi guys, my old man recently sold his '03 Defender and has "upgraded" to a '67 series 2a.
Its very tidy and doesn't need any work body chassis wise, but hes not going to stick with original 2.2 as wants deisel and pulling power.
Want to run with toyota gear as i have access to cheap parts and have knowledge to fix etc.
He wants it simple but wants it future proofed.
Current thinking is hilux axles/diffs and disk brakes, with landrover suspension.
thinking here is i can do this part myself, he doesnt want massive flex etc, but gets good brakes and running gear.
And possibly 13bt toyota engine and box, or 3l/5l and can turbo in future if needed.
I know its sacriledge to do it to a tidy original landy but he wants this to be his last car, so its gotta do another 25 years ish! ha.
So my question, has anyone here done this? or close to?
13bt is a big heavy engine so might not be suitable, got any other ideas?

Cheers for any and all input.
Micah.

guy i know has a mitzi canter 4wd set up under his ...used the PTO that drove the hoist for the winch.

[oldyella]

I've got a friend with a 13BT in a 109 LR and it is noisy and horrible and I wouldn't recommend it at all. It did go better and use less fuel than his 4.2 non-turbo Landcrusier though.

For a diesel repower in a S2a LR I would go for a 6 cylinder and to be honest, just because the vibrations won't be as harsh. The LD28 with a hair dryer on the side, although it's not going to be a rocket ship, wouldn't be a bad choice. The original gearbox would handle it.

Or a 4.2 Nissan turbo if you wanted to throw more money at it.

Friends 13BT powered LR has a 5speed cruiser gearbox and transfer case.

He uses earlier LR V8 110 diffs to gear it up and are pretty strong. He has run into a problem with the handbrake, as Toyota normally have them on the diff, LR have them on the transmission, so he has had to make up a disc handbrake on the back of transfer case and it is terrible.

Have you thought about using 24spine V8 disco diffs? Disc breaks all round, same drive shaft flanges. You would need to do spring perches to convert from coil to leafs and not sure how compatible steering linkages would be but I'm sure you could figure it out...

Interesting to see what you come up with.

Also, LWB or SWB?

[nstacey]

200 or 300 TDI out of a Disco is meant to be a good transplant.

[muddymatt1973]

Sell the tidy S2a. Buy a early 200tdi discovery. Remove body and sell parts etc. Buy de-reg crappy series (any will do). Build 100inch hybrid. Series looks, disc brakes, comfy suspension, power steering and even an auto box if ya want.
Plenty have done it before so there is HEAPS of info on line about what goes where.
You can even buy a brand new bulkhead to completely future proof it.
Just my 2C....

[De-Ranged]

That is similar to what I was planing on doing except I'm going to leave mine on rover axles Landy Series axle on the front but convert it to disk and a Range Rover rear running 4.7 landrover diffs, and with a few mods are good for 32" wheels
Motor I'm looking at is a TD27t just because I have a good one
Just be aware the landy is a fixed body you go old school diesel it will make alot of noise in the cab! you can lesson some of this with dyna matt and noise felt but the cab will carry alot of vibs and noise

Fitting the hilux axles shouldn't be a major as they are leaf sprung so standard steering works
If this is going to be his daily driver then find a set of Parabolic springs they will ride alot smoother

Go search the UK sites like LR4x4, you will find a heap of extra things you can do to improve comfort, like one piece door seals, defender seats, noise supression etc

[lax2wlg]

Agree... I've just finished making this '71 'streetable.' I lined the bulkhead with proper soundproofing foam, then attached a massive piece of unbacked marine carpet to the entire inside, including the seatbox, bulkhead, tunnel etc. Just one big piece, carefully cut and moulded and then screwed in. Its the same grey as early Defender carpet. It looks good and helps massively w vibrations etc but you will never get rid of all the noise...

The LD28T makes a great engine for Series LRs. The IIA box will handle it. It works, but IMO isn't ideal.1st gear in the Series boxes is very very low and there is a big ratio gap between 3rd & 4th. A 5 speed would give better drive ability, more modern feel and give you a much needed 5th gear.

I put in 3.5:1 diffs from a Range Rover classic with 31x10.5 tyres. For road use with the LD28T is a great combo on stock axles.. but I like your idea of FJ40 or Hilux axles better.

I would be tempted to find an old rusty Toyota 60/70 and swap the running gear in.

[muddymatt1973]

I lined the bulkhead with proper soundproofing foam, then attached a massive piece of unbacked marine carpet to the entire inside, including the seatbox, bulkhead, tunnel etc. Just one big piece, carefully cut and moulded and then screwed in. Its the same grey as early Defender carpet. It looks good and helps massively w vibrations etc but you will never get rid of all the noise...

Doesn't it trap all the water that gets in as part of the genuine Landrover water feature experiance? Which would then rust out the bulkhead in next to no time?

[micahb]

Decided on a 3l or 5l diesel, not too fussed with noise, virbration etc, its a near on 50 y/o landy. Questions now are, he wants manual, so we are thinking running with r151 box and 70 series transfer. That way can have pto option. Hopefully if its not too long for the short '88.
Is there a bell housing that goes L series motor to r151 box?
Yeah going to get parabolic springs.
Running toyota gear as its known and easy to get parts etc.
Are hilux diffs both offset to the one side?
Also, would it be hard to set up power steering? Motor will have pump and reservoir
Running with the hilux set up? Or just stick with rover set up. Will do more research on this too.
Cheers for the input guys.

[Smurf]

rear Hilux diff is centred, not offset

[micahb]

rear Hilux diff is centred, not offset

Hhmm, Might run with prado axles then. Stronger cvs, disks all round. Sounds good.

[Smurf]

I'll have a rear Prado diff available soon, coil sprung, not leaf. Though freight from Nelson may be a bit too much?
Unless you are meaning leaf sprung diff which I think are cruiser styles with 9 inch diff heads?

[micahb]

I'll have a rear Prado diff available soon, coil sprung, not leaf. Though freight from Nelson may be a bit too much?
Unless you are meaning leaf sprung diff which I think are cruiser styles with 9 inch diff heads?

Will use same as kzj78 axles/diffs and cut off susp bits and fit leaves. Prob buy whole wagon and take wats needed, gets me a few bits for mine then too.

[slidenyo]

Toyota driveline is fairly long,
I had a mq safari box mounted in mine and it was about perfect,
I have a set of 70 series 4.1 diffs you could have for $1000 complete
and I can chuck in 2a box with ld28 adapter that needs a little bit of love as it kicks out of second.
diffs are factory leaf sprung although rear mounts need moving inwards

[micahb]

Toyota driveline is fairly long,
I had a mq safari box mounted in mine and it was about perfect,
I have a set of 70 series 4.1 diffs you could have for $1000 complete
and I can chuck in 2a box with ld28 adapter that needs a little bit of love as it kicks out of second.
diffs are factory leaf sprung although rear mounts need moving inwards

Hey cheers for the offer but will stick with current plan. Means both mine and his running same gear essentially so can go halves for buying vehicle for spares etc.
Found a box and transfer with pto set up as well. Just got to figure out what bell housing will go r151 to L series motor. Will repost in toyota section for that.

[slidenyo]

measure before you buy
you will have 860mm between the back of the firewall and the middle x member to fit a box or around 1630mm overall between the front pulley and the middle x member for the whole driveline.
I did see a guys ld20t powered rover last year and was really impressed with that motor as an option