Vehicle Conversions

After stripping down the axles, I made the decision that it would be a lot easier to refurb some replacement axles, as the ones from the 90 we caked it alot of mud.

Also made sense to replace the rear axle with a disc braked one, and have discs all round. So after a quick look about found a disco front/range rover rear axle to use instead. I'll keep the diff's from the orginal axles as spares it case I break a diff in the future.

The new front axle:

And the rear axle:

With the new axles sourced, my thoughts turned to the engine. As previously commented, the 2.25 petrol probably wouldn't quite cut it. Espcially with the disco transfer box. And it makes sense to do the engine conversion whilst everything is off the chassis, as access will be much easier.

So my choice was between a V8 and a Disco 200 TDI. Originally sourced a Range Rover as a donor, but the Range Rover turned out to have good chassis and bodywork, so decided not to cut it up. Also the engine was sounding a bit worn, and after investigating the cost of reconditioning a V8, started looking into the TDI instead.

Found a 200TDI from a Disco in Nuneaton, for £400. This included the engine, all ancillaries, turbo, radiator, air filter and all pipe work. So good value for money. Once the engine is mounted into the chassis, I'll change the timing components, and just change the service components.