Land Rover Import

[superstator]

Anybody dealt with this guy?

http://www.landroverimport.com/

I'm looking to get my hands on a rebuildable tdi this winter, and while I hear about people picking 'em up cheap in the UK and importing themselves, I also hear you get what you pay for.

[disco2hse]

Have read about this activity on other forums. Caveat Emptor.

There are other places in the world where you can buy Land Rovers, for example Africa and Europe. If you buy from lower latitudes you are less likely to encounter some of the severe rust issues that result from using salt in winter.

[superstator]

Should have clarified - I'm just looking for an engine, not a truck.

[Cutter]

those engines make me feel funny

[disco2hse]

Should have clarified - I'm just looking for an engine, not a truck.

hehe. Fair enough.

In which case any secondhand engine is going to have issues regardless of where you buy it from and if it is outside the vehicle you have no real idea of what has been done to it or what mileage/number of hours. In which case I would save some bucks and if you really want to rebuild an engine, buy a wrecker locally and flick off the parts when you've pulled the engine. Otherwise if it is a rebuilt engine you want, I am sure there are going to be cheaper avenues.

Alternatively, there are plenty of other engines that will work well, Perkins, Nissan, Isuzu have all been used in Land Rovers with good results. Arguably the best conversions I've seen are Isuzu 4BD1T in Australia.

It just so happens that I was looking up this, International Engines (http://www.forward-specialties.co.nz/engine.htm) in Brazil. A local specialist puts them into Land Rovers. They have no electronics to mess up.

Anyways, just a few thoughts.

[scott]

nz disco, i'm looking at 'em too. can't snatch one out of a wreck here, freak'n us didn't allow the import of lr's w/ 200 tdi

[disco2hse]

That was the same reason Land Rover discontinued sales of Series Land Rovers in the US. The cost of manufacturing for restrictive emissions output was too high, and anyway other parts of the world were quite happy to pump out tonnes of pollutants for less cost to Land Rover.

I see on International Engine's website that they make to Euro IV. Does that meet US rules?

A little history on the relationship between them and Land Rover from Ashley Lucas (http://www.nz4wd.co.nz/afa.asp?idWebPage=13579&idAdrenalin_Articles=197&SID=292813587) (local Landie nut):



When the old 300 Tdi engine gave way to the Td5 in 1998, the engine lines were sold to International Engines. Part of the deal was that International would continue to supply Land Rover with 300 Tdi engines as required, as they were still sold in Defenders for many overseas locations. Included in the purchase were the rights to further develop the engine and it was turned into HS 2.8L with some redevelopment of the bore, crank, stroke and turbocharger.
The block was redesigned to improve cooling and this also extended to the oil pump which is now water-cooled, negating the need for the external oil cooler found on the 300 Tdi. The bore was enlarged slightly with a new piston developed and produced by Mahle in Germany and the crankshaft is now forged and not cast. Improvements were also made to the bearing caps which are now secured to the conrods by through bolts which are threaded into the conrod instead of the 300 Tdi’s bolt and nut arrangement, and the cylinder head is sealed with a new steel laminate head gasket.
Finally, a new Garrett turbocharger provides a further boost in power and torque. Using what is termed "variable nozzle turbocharger" (VNT) it harnesses variable geometry to alter the flow rates at low speed. It’s achieved by varying the angle of the adjustable vanes inside the turbine housing that direct the exhaust gases onto the turbine blades.

[superstator]

The 2.8 is tempting, but they're wicked expensive and hard to get hold of. The M&D kits were almost $9k, or you could get them through Canuckistan for about $7k, but last I heard those sources had dried up.

Besides, I'd rather get a used engine and have the experience of going through it than just get something shrinkwrapped and bolt it in (if only it were so easy!).

[disco2hse]

Right you are then. In which case Teri-Ann (http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/engine_conversions.htm), who is also on this forum and on your side of the pond, has some interesting thoughts on the matter and what is available to you.

I have a personal preference for V8's in Land Rovers. I think the best civilian Land Rover made was the V8 90 Defender. It would have been better if it were a V8 100 but that's a different story.

[scott]

first let me say i love this country. i feel most fortunate have been born and raised here. but it wasn't the noble emissions concerns that kept the landy dzls out. it was that the us auto industry could not compete in that product line. a bit of protectionism that severed those making money from the industry and not necessarily the consumer. big business big government equals big consumer a** f******g

[superstator]

I see the appeal of the V8's, but I have a soft spot for the clattery little diesel four bangers. And if I were trying to be practical, I would have just bought a Tacoma and called it good a long time ago. Or not sold a perfectly good Audi to buy this beast in the first place ;)

[mongoswede]

If I had a bigger budget I would put the 5 cylinder turbo diesel into my series from a Mercedes Sprinter Van and be happy.

That said...it has nothing to do with importing anything. good luck

[109 Pretender]

Something you might want to ck out 1st is whether a non-USA emissions legal engine can be brought in whole (not broken down into all it's various pieces) w/o the customs folks impounding it.

I've imported engine parts and have had to declare that those parts were for something pre 1985 before the customs guy signed off on them.

This could also perhaps be a 'discretionary decision' on the part of the customs official which could get nasty if they woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning...

I also believe that if you say install a late model engine into an earlier chassis the state emissions law applies to the late model engine which might make your vehicle incapable of meeting the testing and it would no longer be 'excepted' from having tests done.

Definately ck into your particular state's regulations 1st because it varies so much.

Good Luck!

[NickDawson]

Something you might want to ck out 1st is whether a non-USA emissions legal engine can be brought in whole (not broken down into all it's various pieces) w/o the customs folks impounding it.


I know very little about this other than what I learned from importing my '73 truck, engine and all...

I remember reading that there is a date, circa mid 80s, after which no engine that does not meet US requirements can be imported. In fact, even in an exempt car, if the engine has been replaced with a newer engine that does not meet US requirements, you can't import it.

again - best when taken with a grain of salt

[superstator]

All Oregon DEQ cares about is what's on the VIN plate and what comes out the tailpipe. Older than 1975, and they don't even want to see you. So, as long as I can put my hands on a servicable engine, I should be good - but this is precisely why I want to find somebody like this Land Rover Imports guy to take on the risk of finding an engine and handling the customs process.

[Mojave Rover]

Anybody dealt with this guy?

http://www.landroverimport.com/

I'm looking to get my hands on a rebuildable tdi this winter, and while I hear about people picking 'em up cheap in the UK and importing themselves, I also hear you get what you pay for.


Duncan is a straight up guy. One of the pictures on the site, a rebuilt Tdi going to Nevada, is in my garage. No issues whatsoever. The thing is complete. All went through Customs with Duncan's people in New York handling everything. You get a call from the local warehouse to pick it up. The warehouse folks even tried to get a bonus 100 out of me, so I called the shipper and that was that, no more fees, period. Duncan is also a wealth of Rover knowledge.

[disco2hse]

Well. There you go then.

Surprised to hear about the corruption thing though. Is that normal?

[Mojave Rover]

The Las Vegas warehouse folks claimed it was a 'storage' fee. As it turns out, they failed to notify me that it was at their facility to begin with. This is where Duncan's agents in New York came into the picture and handled the 'storage' issue. In the end, it was (allegedly) a simple accounting error...

[fred98050]

Mojave rover

Glad to hear that you had a good experience with Duncan. I am in the process of getting a 2.5l na from him. And so far i only have good things to say about him.

[mongoswede]

I know very little about this other than what I learned from importing my '73 truck, engine and all...

I remember reading that there is a date, circa mid 80s, after which no engine that does not meet US requirements can be imported. In fact, even in an exempt car, if the engine has been replaced with a newer engine that does not meet US requirements, you can't import it.

again - best when taken with a grain of salt

I suspect you are thinking of the 25 year rule. Any vehicle older then 25 years old can be imported legally into the USA. There is a list of vehicles that are legal to import that are newer than 25 years old.

[ignotus]

Be careful about the 25 year rule. Yes, according to the Federal Guvment you can bring one in. Your State Guvment may not allow it. The motor HAS to pass State emmissions standards. Standards vary from state to state.

[greenmeanie]

The comment about your state rules is very true.

Back at the start of my 109 project I looked at a 200tdi. Knowing it wasn't ever sold in the US and wanting everything to be legal and above board I went and talked with the EPA county assessor for Phoenix.. The best answer I could get was 'Depends'. 'Depends on what?" I asked thinking he was going to pull out the big bumper book of regulations. 'Depends on who looks at it that day.' was the answer. Too much money involved to play with that attitude so I went with a Chevy 292.

[disco2hse]

The comment about your state rules is very true.

Back at the start of my 109 project I looked at a 200tdi. Knowing it wasn't ever sold in the US and wanting everything to be legal and above board I went and talked with the EPA county assessor for Phoenix.. The best answer I could get was 'Depends'. 'Depends on what?" I asked thinking he was going to pull out the big bumper book of regulations. 'Depends on who looks at it that day.' was the answer. Too much money involved to play with that attitude so I went with a Chevy 292.

Kind of what I was suggesting when I posted Teri-Ann's link. There are some very good engines produced in the US, far better than many alternatives. OK the small diesels leave something to be desired in most cases but the V8's are great. :thumb-up:

[greenmeanie]

Kind of what I was suggesting when I posted Teri-Ann's link. There are some very good engines produced in the US, far better than many alternatives. OK the small diesels leave something to be desired in most cases but the V8's are great. :thumb-up:


Meh, a 292 is a 4.8L big inline 6. She's an old push rod design similar to some of the Aussie Holdens but with a lot of things like timing gears instead of chain or belt going for it, serious low down torque and more than enough power for a series. I've tweaked mine a bit but it should still be good for the odd 1/4 million miles between overhauls.

I also like the Ford 300 but its length starts becoming a serious pain.

[superstator]

My first car was an 80's F100 with a 300 straight six and NP435, and I still have access to it. I thought long and hard about using it in this project, but the sweet smell of diesel exhaust won out.