Petrol Engine prices

[KingFishMDT]

Good morning, I've finally made a decision on changing out the 300tdi and replacing with a 2.25 petrol (what the car originally had) or if I can find one, a 2.5 17H!

What sort of price are the 2.25/ 2.5 petrol engines going for now, they both seem to be getting quieter on the ground now?

[Alan Drover]

If you're lucky enough to find a good one at a sensible price then I thoroughly recommend a 2.5. I've been running one in my Series 3 for over 20 years. Initially they weren't popular in 9/110's because of problems with the twin choke Weber and I got mine cheap. It runs perfectly fine on the Series manifold and Zenith 36IV and Series exhaust but don't use a Weber 34IH carburettor as it's far too small. I kept the 2.5 heater pipes and thermostat/bypass housing but the standard Series one will fit. As to finding one now I don't know as they weren't around for very long. It has metric bolts too, a spin on oil filter and the head is unleaded from the factory. Unlike the diesel it doesn't have a timing belt but a conventional timing chain whatever might be said. Have a look on line but be wary.
Fuel consumption is on a par with the 2.25 but I find mine performs very well once I set it up. You'll need the correct distributor or the Distributor Doctor can convert one to suit the engine.
I'll post a photo of mine later on today.

[Bronze Green]

I have a 2.25 5MB out of an early Ninety in mine. They are nice engines and if you want it to go more like a Tdi I can recommend you have a chat with Roland at ACR.

[Alan Drover]

Here's the installation in my Series 3.
Photo 1 is the thermostat/ bypass housing. This is the later single piece version which replaced the earlier two piece one. Both heater hoses come from it. The Series 3 heater valve adapter screws straight in. The aperture from the thermostat to the bypass is very small compared to the Series version but the heater works fine. However, I'm not familiar with the Series 2/2A heater layout.
Photo 2 is the fuel lifter pump. The 90/110 has an electric fuel pump but using the Series adapter the mechanical lifter pump can be fitted.
Photo 3 is the other side of the thermostat housing showing the heater pipe outlet. A standard Series 3 thermostat is fitted.
Photo 4 shows the blanking plug in the cylinder head which is the heater outlet on the 2.25 engine but I don't know what thread it is.
Photo 5 is the carburettor and manifold set up. The plastic pipe is for the vacuum gauge.
Photo 6 is the 70 amp Magneti Marelli alternator.
The starter motor on both the 2.25 and 2.5 petrol engine in 90/110's has a 2M100  pre engaged starter motor which will need the battery and solenoid activation wires to be extended. The starter motor on both has a 9 tooth pinion and the inertia Series starter had an 11 tooth one so they're not interchangeable unless the flywheels are swapped. Mine was installed with the pre engaged starter so obviously the 2.5 flywheel was used. I wasn't present during the swap and can't remember which clutch was fitted.
An electric fan is fitted hence the missing engine fan and radiator shroud.

[Alan Drover]

Too late to edit but the bulky 2M100 starter motor has been replaced by a WOSP high torque one.

[Exile]

There are not so many of these engines out there now, as the fashion for ripping them out in favour of something else, is waning. Price will - or at least should - vary with condition.

Someone on here may offer one, otherwise it is studying eBay and Marketplace - but you are unlikely to pick up a genuinely good one at a "bargain" price, as any price that is too good to be true, probably is.

But hey, you might get lucky......

(A totally rebuilt 2.25 petrol will cost you thousands, not hundreds).

[Bradley66]

This is what £600 gets you, add £3k to have it reconditioned and I guess thats what a 2.25 petrol costs

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/267008121813?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=AB_73r6JT2O&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=LPD3INs_SAK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

[nathanglasgow]

What about this one?
https://series2club.co.uk/2023_new_forum/index.php?topic=3553.0

[TimV]

Couldn't get £25 for them a couple of years ago ... Lots of them got weighed in. Hence their value now.

[gatekrash]

I paid £20 for a fully rebuilt one about 10 years ago. The guy I bought it from couldn't really give it away, it was going for scrap if I'd not had it. It's sat under my bench still. Looks like it was a better investment than stocks and shares 

[Craig T]

I remember when we went from a 2286 Diesel to a 2286 petrol.
The change was unbelievable. The vehicle was so quiet, smooth, vibration free, you could actually speak to the passenger!

That kind of put me off Diesels for life I think as I've never owned one since.

Craig.

[Porkscratching]

That's the problem so many just got binned when everyone went mad on putting bleedin'diesels in everything (I've always disliked diesels, can you tell 😁)
Luckily I've got a spare 2.25 petrol stashed in case the one in the motor ever dies.
 I wouldn't like to be in the position of desperately needing to get hold of one now for sure.

[GHOBHW]

I found the secret is, never drive or hear a petrol engine, only diesels, that way you don't know any different....

my collection of diesels, just in case I need parts...(3 of these are in running land rovers now)

even diesels are getting a bit hard to find these days. can't imagine hunting for petrol engines anymore.

I remember when I went to buy one of these from a guy in Bradford, his dad just died so he was getting shut, the amount of stuff going into the skip was insane. must've thrown away 20 engines plus god knows what else before I got there. this was only 4 years or so ago. ended up rescuing a few of them which are hopefully in running vehicles too now. (including 2 151 petrols!)

[Exile]

Well done for rescuing those diesels. 


Yes, diesels are noisy, but that is because they are still running after a hundred thousand miles.

A petrol with electrical - or carburettor - problems is astonishingly quiet, in my experience.

In fact you cannot hear it at all! 

[Peter Holden]

Well I drive both, our S1s are petrol and both our S2s are diesel though YOD will be going back to petrol when I eventually get the engine built (if the building doesnt bankrupt me first), not because I dont like the diesel in it - I do and it runs really well but being an early 58 it should have a 2L petrol engine in it and I really really like that engine.

Peter