Thread: County Conversion... From V8 to Isuzu

You sure have written some odd things!

I drove a Army 110, a hell of a lot whilst I was posted to a Combat Unit in the early 90's.
I thought they (the four of them) were really good vehicles. I drove them around Sydney suburbs, country runs to Dubbo, etc., and plenty of off road tracks.

The biggest thing in their favour was power.
They could drag an Army trailer loaded to the hilt and still do a good job.

The only down side was noise, and that was not the motor
Road noise, wind noise, flapping canvas, etc.

Did a trip Sydney to Brisbane one day, to meet up with a convoy heading to Shoalwater Bay, the following morning.
There were four of us with two 110's dragging trailers. We sat on 110 to 120 kph and did it in 12 hours on the inland route.

I never did get to drive the 6x6 with the turbo, but I'll bet there are some in this forum who have.

The reason they put them in the 110 here was to compete with the Japs big diesels. There has always been a mentality here that bigger is better where engines are concerned so Rover's 2.5L diesel wouldn't have been accepted.

Still holds true to a certain extent. How many people will buy the new Tojos simply because they have a V8 diesel?

Originally Posted by Frenchie

The reason they put them in the 110 here was to compete with the Japs big diesels. There has always been a mentality here that bigger is better where engines are concerned so Rover's 2.5L diesel wouldn't have been accepted.

Still holds true to a certain extent. How many people will buy the new Tojos simply because they have a V8 diesel?

Bigger IS better. Does a rover 2.5 do 500000km?

Never heard of it.

this is a question for you isuzu fellas? I see this discussion between the V8 guys and Diesel guys on this Forum quite often ?

I suppose both Engines would have their advantages / Disadvantages ?Yes/No

would it be a straight swap between a 3.9 isuzu and a 2.5 tdi , are brackets required etc ? and How Much for a Conversion?

Will I still get same Fuel Economy of around 9-10 L /100 from an Isuzu engine ? if I was to upgrade from 300tdi .

if a Turbo is required how much $$ am I looking for installing a DTS Turbo or equivalent on a 3.9 isuzu ?


will the Transmission on D1 ie R380 Gear Box be able to Handle the Extra Torque since Gear box is only rated at 380 NM of Torque.

Originally Posted by Disco_owner

this is a question for you isuzu fellas? I see this discussion between the V8 guys and Diesel guys on this Forum quite often ?

I suppose both Engines would have their advantages / Disadvantages ?Yes/No

would it be a straight swap between a 3.9 isuzu and a 2.5 tdi , are brackets required etc ? and How Much for a Conversion?

Will I still get same Fuel Economy of around 9-10 L /100 from an Isuzu engine ? if I was to upgrade from 300tdi .

if a Turbo is required how much $$ am I looking for installing a DTS Turbo or equivalent on a 3.9 isuzu ?


will the Transmission on D1 ie R380 Gear Box be able to Handle the Extra Torque since Gear box is only rated at 380 NM of Torque.

I have adaptors drawn up to fit a 4BD1T onto factory V8 mounts. The 300TDi mounts are probably in the way of the starter motor.

9L/100km isn't a problem for the Isuzu. My rangie has done 10km/l over the last 3 tanks, this is about 50/50 urban, silliness (squealing back tires in second gear) and open road over alpine passes.

Put the Isuzu gearbox in. That way you'll have no trouble, ever.

T25 turbo is IMO a perfect match for the 4BD1. Gives 10lb boost from about 1500rpm, can give 19lb boost by 2000rpm if needed and holds 15psi to the rev limit.
These turbos cost about $100 to buy from a wrecker and about $100 to rebuild.

I haven't dyno'd mine, but around 500Nm isn't a problem with more air and fuel.

I had a 97 V8 Disco before looking for a County :-

The thought of 700km from a 70lt tank of diesel sounded alot better than 350km from a 70lt tank of petrol

4 cylinder rego instead of v8 rego is good.

Petrol, as a liquid, is dangerous, diesel isn't very( AFAIK ) and thats good.

Not having to chase ignition faults is good.

Not having to waterproof the ignition system is good.

An expected engine life of 600,000+ sounded good. Although the V8 can be just as good and definitely cheaper to rebuild.

I went for the Isuzu, and dont regret it

V8 exhaust sounds nicer though

I say do the upgrade, and get the Isuzu

Bruce.

Originally Posted by Dougal

I have adaptors drawn up to fit a 4BD1T onto factory V8 mounts. The 300TDi mounts are probably in the way of the starter motor.

What gearbox would this suit?
R380?

Originally Posted by BMac

Petrol, as a liquid, is dangerous, diesel isn't very( AFAIK ) and thats good.

If diesel isn't very dangerous then I dare you to drink a cup of it