Suzuki SJ discovery hybrid?

[mt2man]

Has anyone ever fitted a 200tdi into a Suzuki SJ?! I've been offered one really cheap and I have a spare disco I'm not really using so toying of combining the 2 and creating a fun weekend toy I've seen people fit land rover axles to a SJ? Which is my next question....

Would an IVA be needed for that conversion? I know engine swap will be fine regarding IVA but fitting axles would require welding to the chassis for spring cups and trailing arm mounts etc?

Jack

[sowen]

I know someone who's fitted a Perkins Prima into an SJ and it's a real tight fit, a 200tdi would dwarf the front end. Welding Land Rover spring mounts onto the SJ chassis would be instant IVA, unless you retain the original suspension and modify the axles to suit.

Why not fit the SJ body to the Disco chassis?

[mt2man]

Because I still haven't received the bloody log book from my friend who sold it to me yet! So I've given up trying to get it on the road haha

Shame the axle fitting would be a IVA :/ but engine conversion is still interesting me, would go alright in a little SJ it's probably a ton lighter than a disco haha, also I love the fact it runs off veg oil, would be mega cheap!

[sowen]

Honest opinion is the 200tdi even with a series Land Rover transmission would be physically too large and heavy for an SJ chassis (assuming it's a swb), you'd be better off pursuing the Disco V5 or just applying for it yourself if you are the owner.

Trying to fit the Disco running gear to the SJ is by no means impossible, just seems like a less than ideal way of doing it.

[mt2man]

Yeah I can see what you mean, I just like to be different! The disco body is shot and the SJ body is actually better than what's left of the disco haha

The SJ needs a new distributor anyway which is why I was toying with the idea of a engine swap as the disco isn't being used and has a great engine.

Only idea about coil spring conversion for the SJ is I've seen many build threads with land rover axles and it looks great! I also have a brand new 2" lift kit I want to use so using the axles on the SJ would be ideal

[composimmonite]

The diesel engine of choice for a SJ is the VW 4 cylinder lump. You can get "off the shelf" adapters. Disco engine would be way too heavy. Some people also fit Peugeot items. SJ has separate transfer box so easy to fit any RWD engine and gearbox combo. I've seen one with 1.8 Ford diesel out of Sierra that fitted neatly.

Paul H

[mt2man]

To be honest the engine conversion was just a silly idea because of the spare parts i have. My main interest would be the axles as coil spring convresions seem to be very recommend on other forums. The dizzy can be rebuilt for about £6 with condensor and points so thats not a concern really.

But my concern is that adding the mounts for the axle will cause it to need a IVA, although i have rear on this website that you can add to a chassis just not remove or cut anything from it?

[composimmonite]

Jul 2, 2014 8:30:29 GMT mt2man said:

To be honest the engine conversion was just a silly idea because of the spare parts i have. My main interest would be the axles as coil spring convresions seem to be very recommend on other forums. The dizzy can be rebuilt for about £6 with condensor and points so thats not a concern really.

But my concern is that adding the mounts for the axle will cause it to need a IVA, although i have rear on this website that you can add to a chassis just not remove or cut anything from it?

Strictly, per the rules, the chassis should be 100% original and not modified in any way - that includes adding as well as subtracting !
In the real world I doubt anyone would know. On the other hand why would you want to fit Disco axles ? They are boat anchors and if you want a coil conversion adapt the existing SJ items as it's be a lot easier. In fact why not swop the SJ body onto a Vitara chassis -would be a lot easier and already been done by other people.
Personally I'd keep the leaf springs and save loads of hassle. If you want coils then repair the Disco. There again I've got a Mahindra MM540 (Dana 44 axles, Dana 18 transfer box, Kia KTM90 gearbox and Peugeot XD engine) so am bias towards leafs

Paul H

[ax16vts]

xud9 peugeot and hilux axles fit relatively easily and make a great off roader even better.

Pic of mine before said axles fitted....

[mt2man]

The only reason for fitting disco axles is again because i have them spare! The disco is too far gone to be worth getting back on the road and they are a dime a dozen. The SJ on the other hand are becoming more and more sought after because theres not that many left really, i have decent offroad wheels and tyres for the disco axles and a brand new lift kit which is why i was looking at fitting the axles.

Just looking at a way of making best use of what ive got laying around really! wheter or not it will actually end up on the road or if it will remain a weekend toy is undecided but id rather keep it legal if possible!

I have the whole disco chassis etc to my disposal so removing the spring mounts isnt a problem so mocking them up for fitting would be easy. Not sure about prop shafts though, is the pcd the same on the shafts or are the UJ's swappable or is it a custom prop shaft job?

[sowen]

Propshaft pcds are wildly different, the Disco has an extremely long transmission, and I would hazard a guess the springs (even standard) would be too stiff for the SJ chassis and body. Why not convert the Disco axles to leaf spring, go spring-over whilst you're at it, and part out the Disco to fund a decent engine transplant? General rule is changing the suspension type is an IVA issue, regardless of any adding/subtracting rules.

Don't get me wrong it's a great idea, but the Landy tdi is a monster compared to the SJ

[mt2man]

The lift kit ive got is the lightest so its relatively soft springs, unsure of the rating on them though. Welding on a leaf spring perch onto the land axle would be extremely easy, you bolt a plate to retain the spring on the axle anyway so there is a flat mating are on the to of the axle for a SPOA conversion I'm probably parting out the disco anyway so selling bits off.

The 200tdi engine is around 250kg or so i have been told, the SJ engine is probably around 150kg so an extra 100kg in the front, on leafs that may be an issue but with springs it would obiously be fine weight wise.

Ideally i think it would be great to fit the whole drive train, ie engine gearbox, transfer box, axles,2" lift, props etc to the SJ chassis and keep the SJ body. With my wheels and tyres it would look awesome! But the SJ is 20" shorter on the wheel base which would cause problems haha

[welshpug]

naah, SJ engine is significantly less than that, under the 100kilo mark by a long sight, put it this way a 62 kilo 6 foot beanpole of me can just about lift one!


quick google says the G13BA is 85kg all up, the G16 is 104 kg.

XUD as mentioned is a good lump to choose, fully dressed up wet weight for a turbo variant with ancillaries is 150 odd, that's for a 90 bhp lump easily taken to 120-130 with a decent cooler, 145 lbft as standard.

[mt2man]

Jesus i didnt realise they were quite that light! haha is that engine and gearbox? Thats probably more power than I'm getting out the disco for half the weight haha is the XUD a bolt up job to the gearbox?

[welshpug]

that weight is for a complete engine minus starter motor.

as for fitting the xud, I think most use adapter plates though there were XUD engined santanas, there were also XUD engined vitara's as well as DW10 (aka HDI) in late vitara's.

[mt2man]

Yeah a quick google says XUD requires a £400 adapater so that idea is being forgotten haha

A diesel SJ is tempting though

don't think the 1.0 will have enough power for the gearing of the disco axles if i done the swap!

[welshpug]

£400?! sod that, but it wouldn't stop me doing a conversion, it'd just mean an alternative source.

[mt2man]

As previously said it has a sepereate transfer box so any rwd engine and gearbox combo could be used! So could possibly look at 1.9 diesel LDV's or similar, or smaller petrol rwd combos like mx5 or bmw or something?

I'm not entirely sure whats light weight and quite small really

[composimmonite]

I fully understand what you are saying about using what you have to hand - ie the Disco parts. However they are in a different realm to the SJ so I'd say break the Disco, sell the bits and then use the cash to upgrade the SJ along "tried and tested" methods such as VW / Peugeot engine to gearbox adapters, SOA conversion and such. The beauty of the SJ is it's size and light weight - start adding Disco axles and engine then that goes leaving you with something that isn't as good as either a standard SJ or a standard Disco. A SJ in basically standard condition with known upgrades that are reversible is an appreciating vehicle whereas a modified SJ using, lets be honest, substandard & inappropriate parts is going to be worth less and you might be turning it from a road vehicle into just an off roader for playdays. Remember too the VED band will increase with engine change over 1499cc.
I've always fancied a SJ and was a little shocked at how much a decent STANDARD model now fetches. On the other hand modified tend to be worth the sum of their parts !
BTW the Jago Geep bodyshell easily adapts to the SJ rolling chassis

Paul H

[loudandproud205]

We had an SJ with a TD Caviler conversion, it was ok. Sell all the bits you can and buy a good Discovery you won't look back