Series engines demystified
I Wasdelighted to read Richard Hall’s article on the 151 engine. It just so happens my latest project was fitting a 151 engine to a 1958 Series I 88” Land Rover. I purchased the vehicle from a friend last year. It had been parked in an old shed and not used for a number of years.
Sadly the car had been fitted with a Holden engine and in doing so the front cowl had been butchered to accommodate the Holden radiator. This meant there were no headlights.
My aim was to get the car back on the road with a Land Rover engine. Included in the deal was a Series II and some other Series I parts. Sadly I did not have a Series I engine so I elected to use the 151 engine from the Series II. The engine and gearbox were about the only parts worth salvaging from this car.
I started the project in November last year and was hoping to have it ready for a rally being held in Victoria in early March this year.
Others who have attempted these projects will know that things don’t always go according to plan. I was told (as Richard said in his article) that the Series I gearbox is the same as the Series II. Well, the gearbox might be the same, but the bellhousing is not. This became apparent when the engine was at a jaunty angle when trying to line up the mounting holes. The Series I housing has a hole at the top of
the housing while the Series II has two holes at the top. It was out with the Series I gearbox and in with the Series II.
Once this was sorted I felt that it would be smooth sailing from there. How wrong I was.
I decided (as Richard described) to fit an alternator. The strut used to tension the alternator drive belt comes off one of the three bolts which holds the timing cover to the water jacket that runs along the exhaust side of the engine block.
My first realisation of the differences of the 151 engine was that this cover is made of aluminium and not cast iron and, of course, these bolts were well and truly frozen in the aluminium. No amount of heat and persuasion would move them. I had the choice of either abandoning the 151 engine and preserving its originality and finding another donor engine or cutting the cover away from the bolts. I was more intent on using this engine for the project as it was of the same vintage as the Series I rather than sourcing another engine.
The next realisation was (again as Richard describes) this cover is unique to the 151 engine as is the water pump and cylinder head.
I was stymied again. I had to source a cover, water pump and cylinder head from a later engine. A friend had a spare engine from a Series III that had seized but the cylinder head was salvageable. I was back in business.
Realisation number 3: the rocker gear, pushrods and rocker cover are unique to the 151 engine. Again I had to source parts from the Series III donor engine.
I finally got the engine assembled and running. There were many more surprises with this project and the ‘quick and easy’ plan to get the car on the road turned into a four-month, full-time project.
Sadly I didn’t have the car ready for the rally because of a few teething problems but she is on the road now with the best part of the 151 engine and is a joy to drive.
Since getting it on the road I’ve acquired another Series I of the same vintage (1958) with a good engine. Do I go back to the 2.0-litre engine or stay with the 151?
I’m a fan of teamfaff.co.uk and the way they keep their cars on the road and don’t pay too much attention to authenticity. The extra power of the 2 .25 engine really makes this car fun to drive.