Am looking for thoughs on turning my SIII 109sw into a Hybrid 110. I was thinking of putting a coil chassis on, droppin an R380 in, and either doing a 2.25, or a V8 conversion. I was not looking to do the work myself, but having ECR do the job. Now I know it will cost some cash, but would it be in your opinons, cheaper than buying a 110? Curently my 109 has a thrown rod in the six cylinder engine. Just trying to figure out what to do? I saw D110 for sale at Skytop rover for 35K, either with the 200TDI, or the 300Tdi. Any input would help. Thanks Andy
Location: Bloomfield, CT If I died today, I lived there all my life.
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Retaining any hope of economic return potential when doing a hybrid is a function of A) How well you do the job, and B) How much you spend, paying somone else to do the work, VS Doing it yourself, putting the $ you would otherwise pay others, in labor VS investing those $ in proper componants for the end vehicle.
Much of the body work on a 109" can be used, but in order for it to end up close enough to a 110 means using a 110 bulkhead, windshield frame, and doors (all of which are available, but at a cost)
When you consider all the needed parts costs for the following:
R380
LT-230
Driveshafts
Coil sprung chassis
Coil sprung axles, w/ disc brakes, front at a minimum.
Coils & Shocks
Engine (V8 Efi will be half the $ of a 300Tdi)
Bulkhead, windshield frame, glass, doors, interior panels & hardware.
110 Radiator, radiator panel, 110 grill frame, and 110 bonnet
Labor (Largest componant, x2 at ECR)
110 front wings (your rear wheel arches still won't match)
You are going to be way over the cost of going out and buying a decent 110.
I would suggest replacing your engine and selling the 109 (or not). The bulkhead of a 6 cyl 109 will allow you to put many different engines in.
Despite their very limited numbers, prices for average condition 110s are falling. Prices for good 109 SW are going up.
When you go to sell your hybrid, you're going to find most buyers would rather have a good 109, or a good 110, but not something that is neither fish, nor fowl.
I had the cash reserved from when we sold our house and was ready to buy a new car. Then I got to thinking about the Land Rover I always wanted. It was all downhill from there!
Ultimately, I had Stephen Peters at Safari Rover in Orlando, Florida do the job. I had met him while test driving a full restoration he did and was impressed with his work.
We bought a donor 109 in Virginia and an ex-Canadian MOD 110 Frame that was in Colorado. Stephen had a 4.0L V8 and I tracked down an R380 and LT230 transfer box on the Internet. Stephen spent the next year putting it all together.
I'm really happy with the results. It was about 1/2 of what ECR would have charged for the job, but Stephen learned a lesson and won't do it as cheap again, I suspect!!!
I think he learned a lot, and last I heard, he's dropping an 88 body onto a D90 chassis.
The only thing I would have done differently would have been to rustle up a TDI300 or some diesel that would fit to the R380. The 109/110 is eating me alive in gas prices (I commute daily in this beast!!!). Two weeks ago, I bought a 1983 Mercedes 300 diesel and converted it to run on WVO (Waste Vegetable Oil); the car and the conversion will be paid for in 10 months' savings with just my commuting figured in!!! Check out (www.greasecar.com) for details on this; it's working GREAT!!! Last week was my first full week of driving for FREE!!!
Definately talk to Stephen (sales@safarirover.com) for advice, if nothing else. He's a great guy and really knows his Rovers!
Mine was done using the 109 bulkhead, windshield, doors, and wings.
Stephen had to do a ton of fabricating on the transmission tunnel and how it mates up to the bulkhead and seats. He also sweated a lot putting a 110 radiator in the 109 front end; lots of fabrication there, as well. There's very little room between the water pump and the radiator; he chose some low-profile electric fans to keep things cool. The rest of it bolted up pretty well, he says.
There’s a couple of things you could do here, Andy…
I’ve got a good running NADA 2.6 I just got last week and am not going to use. It came with a basket case car but I got it running before I pulled the bulkhead off as I start the rebuild. If you’re interested in it, let me know.
As you’re not planning on doing any of the work yourself, this would be my suggestion.
On the other hand, if you’ve got cash to burn ( Again, you’re not planning on doing any of the work yourself. ), you may consider a diesel engine conversion in this truck.
The NADA 2.6 truck has a very deep bulkhead and will accommodate a Mercedes 617 5cyl 120hp turbo diesel engine. This is what’s going to happen to my truck. The 88” I have already has a Mercedes 616 4cyl diesel in it. They’re great engines, easy to find and maintain and pretty cheap too.
Keep in mind that any engine conversion will cost you twice as much as you first think…Three times as much if you’re not doing the work yourself.
A shameless plug but I make the engine adapters to bolt a Mercedes diesel to a Rover transmission.
Like I said earlier, the ONLY thing I'd have done differently is consider a diesel. The Mercedes 617 engine is really a thing of beauty! I'd love to have one in my truck, but I'm done spending on that toy for now! I'd definately check it out. Also Stephen Peters who built my truck is importing some Tdi 300's and 200's from the UK. Have a look on the 'Parts For Sale' forum at www.d-90.com for details.
I've seen a lot of cool D110 drivetrains under series rovers. They really are the best of both worlds.
Sounds like you've got a good base to start out with. As Mercedesrover said, the 6 cylinder 109s have the more desirable bulkhead that has more room in it.
You can procurean entire 110 chassis, suspension, and axles. I consider this to be about the best way of going about the business. Also, this chassis has provisions for a power steering pump .You drive a 109...you know what I am talking about...
I would recommend some sort of American engine and transmission. It seems a lot of people are having problems with the R380. Either that or go with the ZF auto. The auto seems to be bulletproof if you are wanting to go with rover stuff.
The 35k is WAY too expensive. I think you can just buy a good used 110 for a little more! Get ahold of Rovers Down South. George seems to be good at complete drivetrains.
S3/d110
.You drive a 109...you know what I am talking about...
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