NAS 2.6L 109s around?

[davran]

All,

Are there any/many decent NAS 2.6L 109s around? Cyndi's talking about wanting a 5-door 109 wagon that can pull a decent-sized trailer.

Merry Christmas!

[Rob]

The NADA 6 cylinder 5 door is a pretty rare bird, I think they only imported a few hundred into North America in the late 60's. The engine had limited success and sufered some problems with burned valves. It was similar to the 2.0 used in series 1 rovers with a couple of extra cylinders added on. I think there is also a European 6 cylinder model but I don't know much about it so hopefully others on the board can help you out on that one.

Either way, I'm not sure a series 109 6 cylinder will be a great tow vehicle as it is pretty low powered considering the weight of the vehicle. If you want something with a little more pulling power you might want to consider a stage 1 109 with a 3.5 V8 or a 110.

Regards, Rob

[Greg S]

The 109 SW import to the US ended at the end of the 1967 model year, the year the 6 cylinder was introduced to the US/Canadian market. They were only available with the 6 cylinder in 1967, officially. HOWEVER that was through the official LRNA dealer system, meaning "US market". Canada was included in this market except after 1967 the Canadian dealers seem to have continued to import 109 SW's but I'm pretty sure they only had the 4 cylinder. The 6 cylinder for the NA market was a bit different than the rest of the world as it had a "Westlake" head. Sorry, I don't know what is different about this head (aluminum?). For the 6 cyl to fit the way they wanted it, the bulkhead pushes into the passenger compartment a bit more than the 4 cyl one does. The gear shift shaft is a bit different shape due to the gearbox being a bit farther back. I'm guessing the drive shafts are a different length too. The six cylinder bulkhead is in demand as it's easier to install some after market engines.

My 109 was a Canadian dealer import 109 SW with a 4 cyl and there are quite a few others out there too. I know a guy here in Duncan that bought one new from the dealer in Vancouver in 1969 or 70. He just sold it a year or so ago. I also have chassis and parts from another 1970 4 cyl 109 SW that was local.

[sailourboy]

If I remember correctly my step fathers 5 door (probably a 1967) was a 6 cylinder. It lasted about 6 months and not only the valves needed to be done but the compression was lowered from high to low. It still did pull better than mine and my brothers 4 cylinder. The bonus was the power assist brakes and heated windscreen javascript:emoticon(':D')
Cheers
Ted

[davran]

I'll take that as a no :)

Merry Christmas all.

[Greg S]

Yes, probably a no, but a 110 with a 200 tdi, 300 tdi or V8 would fit the bill even better.