Which engine to use?

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Originally Posted by JDNSW

It was fitted to the Rover 80 saloon car 1959-62, after the dropping of the 2l engine in the Landrover meant Rover was no longer making any other four, so this engine was fitted. Its short production life may corroborate your point!

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The P4 at that time came as a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder. The 4 cylinder was significantly slower (less power from the heavy LR engine) but only 6% or so cheaper, so it didn't sell well. Both these models were produced for only 3 years, then upgraded to the 95/110 models, the lesser of which produced 25% more power than the LR engine. But even these only stayed in production for a further 2 years. Times were changing fast, and the weight compromise that was acceptable in the LR was not tolerable in a road car expected to be capable of 100mph+ (the 4 cylinder "80" version only reached 80mph or so).

I still don't see any evidence for the 2.25L engine being especially good for a 4WD, only that its weight provided a disadvantage in a road car, and it was tuned for torque at lower rpms. But I have no doubt that it was a good move for the company, it saved the cost of developing and manufacturing a diesel and petrol engine seperately.

I've had a look at my Series 3 and they're definetly a square engine. They are more reliable than the Rover 6 cyl and seem better suited than the Holden 6 cyl but it's your vehicle to make the decision with. I just think they're better suited to lugging loads and off road work. They are a really tough engine but are a little slow but seeing as your using it on the farm like I use mine than it shouldn't be a problem. I have sent out a post it was a while ago about Series Engine Conversion options and a few people replied about it and it's worth a look. And yes they did fit the 2.25 to a road car but they weren't popular.