I don't mind jumping on this, BL did once own both MG and Land Rover.
All depends, if you are a rag top man, then you need a Series III or 90 or
Defender. With the V8 they will get about 14mpg. An old Series with the 2.25
petrol will also get about 14mpg. A Defender with the 2.5 will also get
about 14mpg. Get the picture?
Without the V8 you are only going to go about 55-60mph, tops.
Land Rover quit selling in the US in 1974, and then started up again in 1988
with the Range Rover here. V8 only, and guess what, they get about 14mpg.
But they will do better than 60 :-)
You cannot import easily anything less than 25 years old, so you will need
to wait a few years for the 90 and Defender.
Diesels are available for all the years you mentioned, in all the vehicles,
but only petrol has been imported to the US. You can get the stuff to
convert to diesel, but that will be expensive. The 2.25 diesel is a good
engine, but not as long lived as the 2.25 petrol. In general, they will only
do about 50. The 2.5 is a little better. The turbo 2.5 had some teething
problems, they don't seem to hold up well. The 200 TDI and 300 TDI are
fantastic motors, these are the most common in current vehicles (up until
the last few years) and most conversions are with them. There are nasty
stories about the TD5s not holding up well after the warrantee runs out, but
I've also heard from people who love them.
There are all types of drive train conversions performed, some even when
they were new.
Can you tell what sits beside the MG in the Garage?
By the way, there isn't really anything you cannot do to your '92 Explorer,
it's a pretty straight forward beast as well. I bought one new and hung onto
it until well over 200,000. At various times I had the front end all apart,
and most of the engine at one time or another. I never liked automatic
transmission work, so left that rebuild to a specialist.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Councill [mailto:dcouncil@imt.net]
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2004 2:49 PM
To: Charles & Peggy Robinson
Cc: Stephen West-Fisher; mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Alternatives to de-smogging - diesel
Well, I would think that if my 80s diesel VW Rabbit typically ran in the
high 40s, these new fangled diesels should get at least that and even a wee
bit more due to advances in technology. Thus I would believe mpg figures in
the 50s by other posters for the Jetta TDI. But then I'm an old geezer who
prefers to drive vehicles that are at minimum a decade old or more so what
do I know? The 80s was a dismal decade for cars in general but with the
advent of fuel injection, cars made great strides in the 90s in terms of
power, reliability, and fuel economy (at least petrol models).
Even now, I'm quite pleased my 92 Ford Explorer can get between 18-20 mpg,
and thus it has taken over some of the driving I would have done with my 74
Toyota Landcruiser (12 mpg highway, much lower in town). And since my wife
has commented on more than one occasion about the number of vehicles we
have, I have thought about selling both the Explorer and the Landcruiser
and replacing them with one vehicle that could perform the tasks of both.
The comfort and gas economy of the Explorer and the
ruggedness/durability/coolness of the Landcruiser. (side note - the
Landcruiser is a soft top so it was also my summer convertible - but the
72B took that function over for the most part).
So to venture more into the OT waters - would a BBC fit the bill? I'm
thinking maybe a 70-80s vintage Land Rover. If it was one of the older ones
with RHD, that would really be neat. Then I can have something a bit more
"twee" perhaps. Any Rover owners out there who could give their opinions?
Big British cars, thats not too off topic is it?
David Councill
67 BGT
72 B
74 Toyota Landcruiser
92 Ford Explorer
and:
2001 Ford Windstar (wife's)
1993 Ford Escort (daughter's)
1991 Cevy S10 (son's)
1965 B (son's, stripped to body shell currently)
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