After much consideration, reading and talking to others in the club, I've decided that a coversion to some other engine is just not in the cards for my 66 IIa. As much as I'd love to hear a turbo diesel ticking under the hood, I don't think I'd ever see a break-even on that kind of project. I'll save it for when I buy a Defender...
So, now I've decided to keep the 2.25, I want to increase the horsepower modestly.
Cam and head seem to be the first place I need to examine. The bottom end has about 8000 miles on it, and appears to be quite strong. It currently has a stock 7:1 head, shaved a couple of times over the years, with hardened valve seats.
A weber progressive 2 bbl has been adapted and it runs smoothly, but lacks power. I've advanced the timing as far as possible without pre-detonation and run it on premium fuel only or it runs on when warm.
What about the Turner heads? Are they worthwhile? Available used anywhere?
Reground Cams? Diesel Cams?
Ideas, anyone?
Dave
2.25 engine mods
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DaveB
- Defender of the World
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- Location: Vernon, BC
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roverdevin
- Junkyard Master
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2.25 mods
Dave,
I have a 2.25 overbored 0.060", with 8:1 head and hardened valves. Stock cam, Weber 34-ICH and Pertronix electronic ignition for the lucas distributor. This gives me plenty of power and decent fuel economy when everything is adjusted to perfection. On the downside, I find the weber is a bit finicky, and prone to icing in the winter. It is also tricky to find a smooth idle below 900rpm.
I did not build this engine, it came this way rebuilt with my car. I know you likely don;t want to touch the bottom end, but I thought you might be interested in what others have done!
I have a 2.25 overbored 0.060", with 8:1 head and hardened valves. Stock cam, Weber 34-ICH and Pertronix electronic ignition for the lucas distributor. This gives me plenty of power and decent fuel economy when everything is adjusted to perfection. On the downside, I find the weber is a bit finicky, and prone to icing in the winter. It is also tricky to find a smooth idle below 900rpm.
I did not build this engine, it came this way rebuilt with my car. I know you likely don;t want to touch the bottom end, but I thought you might be interested in what others have done!
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DaveB
- Defender of the World
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- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 7:45 pm
- Location: Vernon, BC
Wow, that thread is really worth reading...
Sounds like my wish list includes the following:
Turner stage I head £235 + core
ACR PowerPlus Cam £198
ACR header/collector exhaust £246
Anybody got these things lying around their garage? Yeah, right!
At least the parts and the knowledge are out there.
Thanks! Dave
Sounds like my wish list includes the following:
Turner stage I head £235 + core
ACR PowerPlus Cam £198
ACR header/collector exhaust £246
Anybody got these things lying around their garage? Yeah, right!
At least the parts and the knowledge are out there.
Thanks! Dave
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Greg S
- Spanner Man
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- Joined: Sat Feb 28, 2004 9:00 pm
- Location: Duncan
- Contact:
2.25 improvements.
Simple changes without going into the engine are:
1) Electronic ignition. Don't underestimate it!
2) Get rid of the oil bath air cleaner. K&N mounted on the oil bath end of the hose works well. You can put a much larger filter here than trying to cram one ontop of the carb.
3) Enlarge the exhaust pipe diameter (go up one size from stock) for more high RPM power.
4) Smooth the inlet system for better air flow into the cylinders. Smoothing the transition from carb to intake manifold and intake manifold to head will make a difference.
5) Narrow tires cause less drag use less power. Large diameter tires need more power, take longer to accelerate.
I would go for an SU carb setup next. Self adjusting for altitude and will run at almost any angle as well as very efficient.
All are pretty basic but often overlooked except for the exhaust.
1) Electronic ignition. Don't underestimate it!
2) Get rid of the oil bath air cleaner. K&N mounted on the oil bath end of the hose works well. You can put a much larger filter here than trying to cram one ontop of the carb.
3) Enlarge the exhaust pipe diameter (go up one size from stock) for more high RPM power.
4) Smooth the inlet system for better air flow into the cylinders. Smoothing the transition from carb to intake manifold and intake manifold to head will make a difference.
5) Narrow tires cause less drag use less power. Large diameter tires need more power, take longer to accelerate.
I would go for an SU carb setup next. Self adjusting for altitude and will run at almost any angle as well as very efficient.
All are pretty basic but often overlooked except for the exhaust.