Fitting a 300Tdi engine

An expired 19J engine in a rebuilt Ninety calls for a Tdi conversion. Trevor Cuthbert explains how

Afew years back a young lad and his father came to my workshop to order a new Land Rover chassis and to ask for some guidance and advice on rebuilding a Land Rover. The young fellow’s name was Jonny Boggs, and at that time he came up to his father’s shoulder in height. Fast forward around four years and I was asked to visit Jonny’s own workshop to check over his first Land Rover build, prior to its MOT test.

Jonny was now taller than me, and had done a very good job on his build. He had just passed his driving test and the Land Rover had duly passed the MOT test. With a fresh insurance certificate and road tax, Jonny was all set to proudly drive his own Land Rover to school – and all those other places that a 17-year-old goes.

Two weeks later I received a call from David Boggs to say that the 19J Turbo Diesel engine in Jonny’s Ninety was cooked, and the Land Rover was off the road again. Could I help and advise? Many hours had already been spent on the build and now there were A-level exams to be considered, which Jonny needed to pass if he was to fulfill his ambition of studying Mechanical Engineering at university.

I was therefore given the job of getting the Land Rover back on the road, allowing Jonny to concentrate on his studies. Repair of the 19J engine was not really an option, because the Boggs men already had their hearts set on a 200Tdi or 300Tdi engine conversion.

A search was carried out for a good Defender 200Tdi engine, to no avail – but 300Tdi engines from ex-discovery 1s were readily available.

A complete Mot-failed Discovery can often be found for as little as £500, from which the engine and ancillaries can be taken. In this instance we opted for a 300Tdi engine that had much added value, in that the timing belt had been changed and the fuel lift pump replaced with a new one. Even better, the fuel injector pump had been reconditioned, as had the injectors themselves. So the engine was acquired at a cost of £1000 and even came with a new clutch kit.