New Toy - V8 Ltwt S3 :)
Discussion
I picked this up saturday, drove it home and then spent a few hours making it work better. It now runs on all eight cylinders & the carbs are roughly balanced. Even better the indicators, horn & main beam flash work now too. The throttle linkage is a cobbled up joke so it's missing idle screws! looks like I'll be getting a few small parts to sort that. Then I need to make the fuel gauge work & fit the RR diffs it came with.
I would love an old V8 lightweight like that
When I bought my first Land Rover the V8 lightweight on a set of SATs was considered "as good as it gets"
Might be worth putting some effort into letting the hot air from out under the bonnet to help with cooling in the summer. Also using an air box with a cool air feed will make a big difference as the engine is not ingesting warm air. I used a RR air box as a plenum with a separate K & N filter in a custom air box when my Bowler had SU carburetters - very effective.
Might be worth putting some effort into letting the hot air from out under the bonnet to help with cooling in the summer. Also using an air box with a cool air feed will make a big difference as the engine is not ingesting warm air. I used a RR air box as a plenum with a separate K & N filter in a custom air box when my Bowler had SU carburetters - very effective.
Yup I'm going to be putting several 2" holes in the sides of the bonnet to let the heat out. I'm thinking that a mechanical fan would be worth fitting to keep the air flowing out of the engine bay too.
Your comment on an airbox etc does make sense, but I love the induction roar when I boot it with those filters. Found out tonight that it'll drift sideways in 3rd on wet roundabouts
must resist trying that again, they don't seem to be built to drive sideways....
Your comment on an airbox etc does make sense, but I love the induction roar when I boot it with those filters. Found out tonight that it'll drift sideways in 3rd on wet roundabouts
must resist trying that again, they don't seem to be built to drive sideways....schmalex said:
Top truck, fella!! You have made me want to do the V8 conversion to my S3!!!
Do it 
I put the RR diffs in last weekend, it'll now do 70mph or so with ease & keeps up with traffic. I've got roughly 17.6mpg out of the first tank & all but 25miles of that was with the series diffs so I reckon on near 20mpg now it's not revving it's guts out to do 40!
Tidy project you have there and with the benefit of a nice V8 growl too. As mentioned before the big issues with that lump is the heat generation. Make sure the rad is up to it and get those air holes in somewhere.
V8 conversions are getting rarer these days and we all seem to be swapping to a tdi of some flavour. Mate is currently pulling a V8 out of his 109 and dropping in a 200tdi due to fuel costs and I put a tdi in my current 109 a year ago. We definitely don't do it because we prefer the tdi rattle
V8 conversions are getting rarer these days and we all seem to be swapping to a tdi of some flavour. Mate is currently pulling a V8 out of his 109 and dropping in a 200tdi due to fuel costs and I put a tdi in my current 109 a year ago. We definitely don't do it because we prefer the tdi rattle
Edited by Marlin45 on Wednesday 23 November 13:06
I had a tweaked 200Tdi disco years ago. About 21psi, full width intercooler & a tweaked pump. on 33" muds, with winch snorkel etc (about 1/2 ton of extra kit on & in it) it'd out drag a stock V8 from the lights to about 80 removing the back box & fitting a side pipe gave it a lovely whistle in tunnels too.
As for heat etc on mine, I've found out the settings & sorted the carbs. Oddly when it's not massively lean it not only goes a lot better, it doesn't get hot anymore. Sits nicely just under half on the gauge now & the fan keeps it below three quarters.
I have discovered I can't select 4WD or Low Range though
buggerit I knew I forgot to check something on the test drive. That's now the weekend job, beat the linkage with a BFH & WD40. If that doesn't work I believe the front cover has to come off the transfer box to free up some rods that seize due to lack of lubrication. Seems lubrication is splash off the front prop drive & as my S3 has free wheeling hubs I doubt much has splashed around.
removing the back box & fitting a side pipe gave it a lovely whistle in tunnels too.As for heat etc on mine, I've found out the settings & sorted the carbs. Oddly when it's not massively lean it not only goes a lot better, it doesn't get hot anymore. Sits nicely just under half on the gauge now & the fan keeps it below three quarters.
I have discovered I can't select 4WD or Low Range though
buggerit I knew I forgot to check something on the test drive. That's now the weekend job, beat the linkage with a BFH & WD40. If that doesn't work I believe the front cover has to come off the transfer box to free up some rods that seize due to lack of lubrication. Seems lubrication is splash off the front prop drive & as my S3 has free wheeling hubs I doubt much has splashed around.it went to work for a week to check it wouldn't fall apart, went offroad once & hasn't moved since basicly.
I got it thinking I wanted to get back into 4x4s & laning but after trying it I found I was still bored with it the way I was when I sold my disco years ago. It's hardly a decent road car so it's silly to keep it, might as well let someone else enjoy it.
I got it thinking I wanted to get back into 4x4s & laning but after trying it I found I was still bored with it the way I was when I sold my disco years ago. It's hardly a decent road car so it's silly to keep it, might as well let someone else enjoy it.
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