agripper Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I know the mod has converted there cvrt's to diesel and was wondering how hard or easy it would be to convert mine to a cummins BTA engine or are ther any alternatives out there and what are the pitfalls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Phil, The CVR(T) Life Extension Program wasn't just a case of pulling one engine and fitting another. The clutch and gearbox need significant modifications to support the extra torque, the hull had to be modified to provide the extra air intake slot, deck plate and louvres were all replaced or modified, along with both bulkheads. The accelerator linkage is replaced with a cable, engine mounts in different places, etc etc. My main concern would be killing the gearbox by bolting another engine to it without upgrading it. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agripper Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 Had a feeling it would not be as simple as an engine swap. Been so used to Land Rovers which will take conversions with little mod. Just need to find a cheap source of fuel now. LOMAO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 There are about 200 different parts required for the conversion. Andrew Baker of the AFV society has done a Scimitar and that was a lot of work. I saw it at various stages and it required a lot of hacking about. We thought that a Cummins 4B would be an easy conversion as it is small and could be re-mapped to have the same power and torque curve as the J60, therefore not overloading the drive train. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agripper Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 wonder is useing autogas is an ption or just asking for more trouble. Or is it easier to just pay the fuel bills for petrol. I would guess you have to do a lot of miles before it starts to return the savings in fuel cost after conversion. Did think with the risks of engine problems over time with the Jag engine that a convertions may be less trouble. That said I have not had any majopr problems with mine yet. It does run hot but have been told this is normal for CVRT's. Wish I could have a temp gauge to rely on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Wish I could have a temp gauge to rely on. You could fit one by finding a suitable hole in the water jacket and fitting one from an older vehicle/tractor etc. Incidently Andrews Scimitar is actually a Sabre hull, but I don't think it matters too much these days! Regarding reliability, you should have a good spare engine ready, incase it goes bang while you're cruising around town! They can and do fail at any time without warning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Our Spartan runs quite hot. As long as your cooling system is correctly bled, radiator and fan are in good nick then shouldn't be a problem. I use 20W50 oil in the engine as when I was using 10W40 the oil pressure light came on at idle when hot. Switching oil has cured that. Converting to gas would be asking for trouble and ultimately, how many miles are you planning to do in your CVRT per year? Probably not enough to worry about fuel consumption.... Ours did 65 road miles this year so not enough to worry about fuel costs. The attention it gets from people on the road and at shows more than compensates for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulob1 Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 the jag engines if kept with good oil pressure and clean ish water are very reliable....if you lose oil pressure stop immediately and investigate. I would, if it is possible fit an inline oil cooler to add more oil, and help with the cooling by fitting some additional piping to an adjacent water cooler, maybe one situated outside, maybe....would certainly improve reliability in my opinion, if the head overheats warping is the name of the game and a real pain...skimming works sometimes but many times not. I would also consider having the head ported to give it better flow through and improve its power delivery so reducing the engine revs for a given power level...dont port for revs port for low down torque... I have owned many jags and only ever had one problem, i drove one with low oil pressure...silly me buggered the engine...total rebuild needed, in winter in pouring rain, but ran beautifully after that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 I would, if it is possible fit an inline oil cooler to add more oil, and help with the cooling by fitting some additional piping to an adjacent water cooler, maybe one situated outside, The engine and gearbox oil are cooled through a heat exchanger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grasshopper Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 One problem with this installation is that you need good revs to get sufficient air flow from the [engine driven] fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Our Spartan runs quite hot. As long as your cooling system is correctly bled, radiator and fan are in good nick then shouldn't be a problem. In 1981 I found myself commanding a 15/19H Surveillance Troop Spartan (long story) in lieu of a dead Scorpion. One vivid memory I have is a night move which involved climbing a steep hill on what we might call an A road (this was in BAOR). It was pitch black apart from the head and tail light from our own vehicle and those of our section commander in front. Then I became aware of an orange glow to my right. I looked across and realised that the exhaust on our Spartan was glowing bright. I couldn't fault the driver for being in the wrong gear: if I'd felt he'd needed a word, he'd have got it. Engine must just have been doing a lot of work to get up the hill. ---ooo0ooo--- Bazz, do you remember Swanny? He was driving. Sadly in the last Regimental Journal, I saw his obituary and it rocked me to the core: he was seven years younger than I. Transferred out (to the Paras) about 1984, had a full career then became a Security Contractor in Baghdad. Shot by a sniper whilst manning a security post or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted September 18, 2009 Share Posted September 18, 2009 I did an lpg conversion on a Range rover a few years back, you `d be surprised how quickly you get your money back if you work out the respective cost of 50ltrs gas against 50 ltrs petrol. The only thing i found was if you have any ignition problems on petrol, gas will make them seem much worse. Failing that i know someone who runs on the throw-away mix of petrol which has been pumped out of diesel engined cars. Definitely worth asking around as the garages have to pay to get rid of it anyway. Dave Diamond T 981 Land Rover 110gs Land rover 101 gs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 I too saw Andrews conversion a few times when it was WIP, and it was not an easy job. He of course didn't do it for economy but for the (relative) uniqueness of running a privately owned diesel CVRT.. It looked to me like a heck of a lot of work, involving fabricating one-off bulkheads etc (but to the correct patterns), and I'd be amazed if it was cost effective from a fuel saving point of view.. Stunning job when finished though, seriously bling ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulob1 Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 crikey I am pretty certain i dont run any of my toys for their economical running..does anyone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agripper Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 I wanted to have a vehicle to do the school run and easy to park when shopping , needs to be fuel efficient for commuting. This is why I wanted to have teh sabre that little more ecconomical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirhc Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Diesel land rover? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agripper Posted October 2, 2009 Author Share Posted October 2, 2009 Always wanted to take the BARV to the supermarket! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbo Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Would that be the BARV currently residing at Donny Aeroventure then ? Guess it would probably hold quite a lot of shopping ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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