Hi everyone, just purchased a basket case Disco for $800. Body and frame are in decent shape, engine is toast. Which is fine.

I always wanted a 4x4 but always hated the gas guzzling aspect of it. Incredibly the Europeans and Japanese have had economic, reliable small diesels for decades. Us North Americans are not privy to such great vehicles.

I looked into importing a Disco 1 with a 300TDi but somehow lost my mind and decided to do major surgery on an NAS Disco 2 instead.

The plan is to rip out the V8 and auto tranny, convert the truck to manual, swap in a toyota transmission and transfer case from a 4x4 4runner and mate it with a VW TDI engine....jeezus just typing that out is making my head spin...

I've done most of these things before. Engine swaps, auto to manual swaps etc, but never all at once.

I have my own welder, mill, lathe, air tools, even a 3d printer for making custom trim and plastic pieces but i still think this is a humongous endeavor.

I picked up the truck on friday, washed it, cleaned it, fixed the rear door not opening, remove the front bush bar, radiator and cooling system. Tommorow i'm tackling towards dropping the engine and tranny out.

I guess i'll keep everyone updated....

Wish me luck!

 

See https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...e5/#post388873 for some ideas and challenges that others have faced. Including a Mercedes diesel conversion.

The RAVE is the set of factory shop manuals, free download link below. Includes wiring harness circuits, body and frame details, etc.

It can be said that to take on such a project you have to be a machinist or a masochist, or perhaps a bit of both. Take lots of pictures and post progress as you go along.

You can get a boneyard engine for $200, but most are there because of head gaskets, and some with cracked block.

 

Thanks for the encouraging words. I know i can just swap out this v8 with another. Wheres the fun in that? Reason i chose the yota tranny and vw tdi engine is that its been done, numerous documented times. Just in a 4runner. There are Acme adapters with modified flywheels available. Even know which aftermarket clutch will hold and which wont. Wiring will be a challenge but it should be okay.
The only unknown will be mating the guages and how much of the rover electrical assists i will loose. The huge weight of the shoulder is that im not going for factory oem look or functionality and the other is that im fine with loosing hill descent and tc. Im not looking to make a rock crawler. Just a capable suv thats also economical. Yea i know the conversion will cost more than years of gas but we all do irrational things.

Oh and im def a masochist lol

 

You would not want the Rover gauges anyway, especially the temperature. Vehicle speed is from an average of the ABS sensors, on info supplied by the SLABS computer to the main ECU. There are a number of modules in the D2 that all speak to each other, and IMHO you will be money ahead just getting all of them out and going basic. The ECU and BCU like to be synchronized and share data for immobilzation, etc. The tranny ECU and main ECU talk about load, gear range, etc.

You'll need power, the truck is not a featherweight. 4928 pounds.

The ECU manuals are in this download (Bosch) https://www.cubby.com/pl/LR3+worksho...uter%20Manuals

Door locks work by small lock motors, power is applied in one polarity to lock and opposite to unlock. Superlock locks doors inside and outside, so cut that away first. The circuits manuals will become your friend.

 

Again, thanks for the info. Vehicle weight was a major consideration. It was weighed carefully. The vw 1.9 tdi can make amazing torque and hp with injectors turbo and chip upgrades. There are guys running 250hp/300 tq daily through it.

In the end rovers own diesels were anemic to begin with. Matching that powerplant output will be no prob.

Looks like a lot of the stuff that makes d2s so great will be removed. Ace and such. That kinda sucks but there is no other 4x4 that i like that will be this cheap to buy, in this kind of condition thats this capable.

 

You have my attention.

 

I don't doubt that a small engine can be stretched to increase power, but there will be an mpg penalty. My tired old D1 did 16.6 mpg last week. Another thing you might be interested in is installing tophat style liners in the block you have. But whatever trail you take, don't use the oem front prop shaft, prone to snapping after grease dried out by cats.

 

Duly noted. During my research ive encountered numerous conversions of tdi into 4runners. Closest thing i have to base it on. Most claim mpgs in the 30s. These 4runners weigh similarly and most were modified with shorter gearing and taller tires which would make it even worse.

In fact defender 110s diesels get about the same reported mileage. High 8s to 10l. Also many diesel modders will tell you a chipped engine will gain mpgs as well as hp.

Theres a reason most heady duty vehicles and small fuel efficient cars in the rest of the world are diesels

 

Just to add

here are some videos of vw TDI 4runners


check out that guys other videos of offroading the 4runner.

This guy documented his entire build.


Thats part 1 of 9. He overcomplicated some things.

and just for ****s and giggles


video of a 450hp TDI. Mind you there is basically nothing stock besides the block but god damn it moves! Doing research i've found new found respect for the VW 1.9 TDI engine....the rest of the VW....not so much.

 

Just wished i had the tools and resources to do the same thing you are doing. If you were close to my town I would help you. I am not a mechanic per se, however I am no slouch when it comes to figuring out a plan to head a challenge as i thrive on a challenge.

As requested. GOOD LUCK WISH FOR YOU!