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[Sheppy]

I’ve got an early 58 s2 with the original military engine 2 1/4 petrol the fuel to mpg is about 18mpg.
I’m reluctant to go fitting a 200 or 300tdi as she’s so original but I’d like to get more mpg and I must admit I’ve started to pay the thought of changing the engine to a later diesel motor more and more appealing.
Any thoughts please people?
Shep

[BigH]

I've got a suffix C SWB with the original 2 1/4 engine in it. I probably get 15 miles to the gallon. For the miles that I do in it it would make no economic sense to go to the time trouble and expense of putting a more fuel efficient engine in it. I guess that the day will come when an electric motor becomes a sensible option.

[Wittsend]

It's all down to how you use your Land Rover.

If it's your daily driver (only vehicle) then the fuel bills can mount up.
How many miles is your normal run?
On a decent run my 2¼ petrol will do 24 mpg with overdrive on 6:50 tyres 
Around town on shorter trips this bottoms out at 18 mpg.

You could fit a Tdi diesel, but sacrifice the smoother running from a petrol engine.
You could convert and run your petrol on LPG - if you have local fill-up places near you

Some years back a good diesel conversion was the Perkins 2 litre Prima as found in Rover Montego cars - virtually all long since gone 
A very smooth running engine and when fitted to my SWB I could easily get 40+ mpg !!
But, you never know the odd Perkins engine does crop up.
Remember, the cam belt is open, so wading in mud is NOT recommended.

The future is electric. There are electric conversion for classic cars coming along.


 

[Porkscratching]

Therres already a London firm doing a series LR electric conversion, however, its 10 grand  so if I ever went electric it'd be a home made job.. 
For now I still reckon the 2 ¹/⁴ petrol is the best engine ever..

[genocache]

I have the 200, recently got 22.5mpg(US gal) on a loaded camping trip including 3 8k' passes and 26.5mpg around home all gps verified. Diesel here is $4.00/gal and reg gas is $3.87. With my extended range tank I can get near 400 miles out of a 15 gal tank. (there maybe more in the tank, but I'm loathe to run it MT.)

[Peter Holden]

Early 58 with a 2.25.  Is it a LWB?

If not it is not the original engine.  Early 58 88 s had the S1 2l diesel.

Peter

[agg221]

Early 58 with a 2.25.  Is it a LWB?

If not it is not the original engine.  Early 58 88 s had the S1 2l diesel.

Peter

According to the OP it's currently the 2.25 petrol.

Alec

[rustylandrovers]

Have you driven a tdi converted one?

If not, might be worth seeing if anyone local has one you can have a spin in. The tdi makes a right old racket, and it's quite vibey. They do give good mpg though, I consistently got low 30's in a 109 SW with 200tdi plus overdrive.

[TimV]

It could be your driving technique.

Hard acceleration  hard braking all add up to poor MPG.

[Sheppy]

Cheers all, I don’t drive it hard, I’ve thought of lpg but hear so many conflicting stories I’ve been put off.
It’s a swb. engine woes aside as far as lpg goes I’d have to put the tank in the rear tub somewhere.
D

[Peter Holden]

Alec
I have dislexic fingers.  It should have read early 59 88s should have a 2l petrol engine, hence my asking if it was LWB or SWB.

The 88s didn't get the 2.25 petrol engine till about September 1958 (I could check the exact date and the date of the first S2 military contract but I am away from home at the moment)

Peter

[Porkscratching]

If  you're used to a petrol, you may not enjoy a rattly diesel !..tbh I've personally always disliked diesel engines anyway...
They only came to prominence due to diesel fuel being cheap once in the dim distant past ..before they caught on & taxed it right up...

[GlenAnderson]

I have a 200 Tdi in my ‘59 109”. It has been in there for just over 12 years now and suits my needs, likes and temperament. I’ve always preferred the way that diesels drive, and before the Tdi transplant it’d been a 2.25 diesel for about 14 years and a 2.25 petrol for the first year or so of my ownership.

I’ve nearly finished rebuilding a replacement Tdi engine for it, as the one in there wasn’t exactly in its first flush of youth when it went in, and more than a decade of hard use has seen it get quite rattly; not surprising really, for a 28 year old engine with over 300,000 miles on it. I thought long and hard about alternatives before deciding to stick with the Tdi. I seriously considered going back to petrol; a 2.5 from a 90/110 would have been easy, but I know it wouldn’t have suited how I use the wagon, and the drop in power and economy would have irked me, despite the improvement in refinement. A V8 was also a consideration, but their reputation for fragility puts me off as much as the thoughts of fuelling them. All manner of “wrong” engines, like a small block V8 from GMC or Ford, a modern inline 6 from BMW or Mercedes (petrol or diesel) all came with the requirement to resume annual MoT-ing, which wouldn’t be a problem if I really wanted a particular power plant, but none of them excite me enough to make the change, and most/all of them would need a revision in the gearbox department too.

I’ve also spent time, money and effort over the years in getting the gearing right and all the other niggly details to make the Tdi work as a complete package; brakes, tyres, suspension, ancillaries, and really couldn’t face starting again from scratch revising all that.

So I’ve stuck with the Tdi.

In an otherwise standard vehicle though, with a tired engine, that’s not going to get flogged to death, I think I’d probably keep things standard. Particularly an 88”. A proper rebuild on your original engine, or maybe a step up to a 2.5 petrol, would be my advice.

LPG is fine if you’re prepared to go the whole hog, with individual injectors and a 100% LPG system. If you want a 50/50 with a tank of petrol and a tank of gas, together with all the Heath-Robinson plumbing of a mixer system then IMHO you’ll never get it running right.

If you think you might want diesel economy, then you’ll need to have a proper go in some diesel vehicles to see if you can live with the commensurate drop in refinement. And to be sure that you can cope with the drop in go you have with a 2.25 diesel or can manage all the other bits that you need to do to make a Tdi work properly.

Best of luck.

[Sheppy]

Plenty of food for thought there Glen, many thanks for the informative reply.
I’m ok with running a diesel motor having had various ones before, not land rovers tho.
I’ll pay it some more thought I think.
Cheers
D

[2286]

2 1/4 diesel, I am not in a hurry.  I like its driving characteristics.  Noise can be tiring.  Towards 30mpg if you nurse it, which I do.

7.50s and overdrive give it top end without murdering it.