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#Post#: 99230--------------------------------------------------
Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: CaptainSlow Date: October 11, 2015, 12:00 pm
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As promised I'm starting a new thread for our latest
acquisition, a 1981 Stage 1 V8 regular that I got on eBay... and
the news is good and bad. But mostly good ;D
I collected it yesterday and drove it back from Bournemouth -
thats 250 miles exactly. Ok, it was 250.6 according to the
odometer. And as far as I can tell it returned 16mpg over the
6.5 hour journey. Thats not bad, but is exceptional considering
the engine needs a service really really desperately. It has a
pair of K&N cone filters which are genuinely black. How it was
running at all is a mystery, let alone returned such a decent
mpg figure.
The bads news is that the gearbox is cream crackered. I have
never heard such a cacophony in all my life - well except for
when I was working in the engine room of a North Sea ferry!!!
Imagine 100 screaming kids. Now give them chalk and a
blackboard. Now add another 100 kids and give them violins. Now
add 100 screaming babies. Thats about the noise levels I had for
6.5 long long hours lol. My ears are still ringing even now,
honestly! The gearbox bearings are shot and there was a horrible
violent shunt as if the transmission was locking up entirely
once every few hours. The clutch release bearing is also shot.
So I may as well get the gearbox (with its integral centre diff)
rebuilt, possibly with a taller final drive ratio a la Range
Rover.
Further bad news is that the steering and brakes also need
urgent attention - how it got through an MoT I really don't
know, but on the other hand I wasn't expecting a Concourse
vehicle for £4k.
I also wasn't expecting to see a Mallory distributor! Yep, a
Mallory already fitted :) I was trying to find the type of Lucas
dizzy that I had so that I could price up a high power
replacement, but the label I found said Mallory. So that was one
unexpected bonus... (theres more, as Jimmy Cricket used to say)
HTML http://duckfieldengineering.com/forums/LR/mallory.png
HTML http://duckfieldengineering.com/forums/LR/enginebay.png
The SU carbs intrigued me when I saw the engine bay pic on ebay
- as far as I know SUs were never fitted to the Stage One, only
Strombergs. I'd assumed that a previous owner had transplanted
the SUs as they're a nicer carb (IMHO). So I had a good look
today and they're definitely SUs. So thats more good news and
one job less for me. My next quest was to see if it had the
original engine fitted - it should be an 8.13:1 CR. Ideally I
want a 9.35:1 CR engine so that I'll get the best performance
out of LPG when I fit it. So, after scrubbing away many years
accumulation of oil and dirt I uncovered the engine number - 11D
which is a Range Rover 9.35:1 engine! Bloody marvellous! I also
found a very intriguing stamp on the back of the engine. It
starts RPI.... now this wouldn't have been an engine rebuilt by
them would it???
HTML http://duckfieldengineering.com/forums/LR/rpi.png
It runs exceptionally smoothly, plus with that Mallory
distributor...? A previous owner did spend a fortune on a galvy
chassis after all... So my next email will be to RPI to see if
it is one of theirs >rock<
In the meantime I'm delighted with the 109, despite the gearbox
being fubar'd. It was a great drive back, and without the
howling banshees it would have been awesome. The chassis looks
to be in excellent shape (after a cursory glance), the bulkhead
is also very good, its just started to go around one windscreen
hinge, but the rest is fine as are the footwells. All the
electrics seem to work, so I reckon this will be the one. The
long term keeper that will take up touring near and far. Good
times! :thumbs:
#Post#: 99234--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: jonny Date: October 11, 2015, 3:59 pm
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Looks like a good buy you got there :smilewide: sort the
gearbox and you have a cracking vehicle indeed. lots of plus
points as well. Great base for your planned project
#Post#: 99235--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: Arjan Date: October 11, 2015, 4:01 pm
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Sounds & looks good.
Why not E-Mail the picture with the RPi number to them and see
what they have to say. They very well could have a buildsheet or
something for the engine which could tell you more.
Have Fun and enjoy this lovely vehicle !
#Post#: 99237--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: CaptainSlow Date: October 12, 2015, 2:47 am
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Thanks fellas, yes I've already sent a pic of the stamp to RPI.
I originally anticipated having to rebuild the engine but as it
seems to have been done already, and at great expense, I'm just
going to drive it as is and see how it goes. I'll still do a
compression test when I do the service, just for reassurance.
One of my friends popped around to have a look at it last night,
and while relating my journey back I mentioned the screaming
gearbox and that I thought it was the same as fitted to the
military 101... He happens to be a mechanic and he has just been
given the job of replacing the V8 engine and gearbox in a low
mileage (only 35k miles) 101 and replacing them with a 300Tdi
and R380! So needless to say I've asked him to ask the owner how
much he wants for the gearbox! As far as I understand it the
gearboxes are identical, except for the final drive ratio which
is easily changed - but I'll check this on the Stage 1 forum as
I'm sure they'll know all about this. Apart from the gearbox, he
gave it a thumbs up, so it does indeed look like I've stumbled
across a good one.
#Post#: 99239--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: CaptainSlow Date: October 12, 2015, 6:17 am
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I've now heard back from RPI and they have confirmed they
rebuilt it to standard spec a while ago - back in 1996! Oh well,
at least I know its received professional attention since
leaving the factory, and it is running very smoothly. So I won't
pull it apart just yet, but I will endeavour to clean it up a
bit.
The 101 gearbox is slightly different to the Stage 1, Range
Rover Classic and early 90\110 in that the lever mechanism
differs. I might still go for the 101 box if its feasible to
swap over the oily bits and retain my linkages - it all depends
upon the cost involved.
#Post#: 99240--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: jonny Date: October 12, 2015, 7:03 am
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Great news about the engine. As long as it has been looked after
since the rebuild it should be good for a long while yet. I
would grab the 'box anyway if it's a good price, would maybe be
a good source of spares if nothing else
#Post#: 99246--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: DarrenH Date: October 12, 2015, 12:18 pm
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look forward to more updates 8)
p.s not teaching granny to suck eggs (as i've obviously never
seen the truck or the air filters) but JR used to make dark
blue versions almost identical to k+n, which might explain the
apparent blackness
#Post#: 99248--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: Doug_T Date: October 12, 2015, 1:32 pm
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IIRC the 101 Box has a shorter bellhousing and input shaft, so
you'll need to do something there.
#Post#: 99254--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: NoelC Date: October 12, 2015, 5:48 pm
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LT95s sounding like a bag of nails is not uncommon in stage
ones. In the one I had that's now been restored to A1 condition
by Alex (5988) of this parish the transfer box was bone dry. And
I mean bone dry, not even one drip on the drain bung. I read in
one of the mags many moons ago the average DIYer often missed
refilling the transfer as the filler is so cunningly hidden,
tight up against the main rail. It'd be worth checking yours
hasn't suffered the same fate. It must be 20 years ago now I had
an LT95 rebuilt by LEGS in Oswestry for an old Range Rover, to
me they're never quite as nice and tight feeling as a regular
series 'box. Maybe it's just that wanky lever with the stupid
flexy bit in it or the centre diff adding a bit of play perhaps.
#Post#: 99259--------------------------------------------------
Re: Our 1981 Stage 1 V8 Regular
By: CaptainSlow Date: October 13, 2015, 2:19 am
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Thanks everyone. I've since found out there are two reservoirs
in the LT95 gearbox, so it is entirely feasible that one/both
are dry :2mo5pow: I'm going to change all the oils anyway so
I'll see if that makes a difference. I'm going to use a
semi-synthetic 10W40 diesel oil in the engine first to give it a
gentle clean internally. No engine flush, the engine seems
pretty oil tight so far and I want to try and keep it that way
lol. Probably Halfords own brand - anyone have any thoughts on
this? I'll be changing it again in 2-3000 miles.
My ears are still ringing btw ::)
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