Re: SER1 Overdrive

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    G'Day Wren,
    Have not been near my email since Thursday lunchtime and have just 
cleared the backlog.
    Are you talking about the Rocky Mountains Roverdrive? Wish I could 
afford one, would be worth more in $A than any of my Series Is.
    I have had various land Rovers over the years with Fairy overdrives 
and they are generally a good thing (the Rocky Mountains device looks to 
be a better product though). In hot high speed travel conditions the 
Fairey overdrives get really hot and the smell of hot EP90 pervades 
everything, probably not an issue with the Series I but is with Series 
IIIs etc. One has to check the OD oil level in the above conditions 
every day as they lose a bit to the transfer box. Toro in Spain made an 
overdrive with a bigger sump to address some of these issues.
    Your 2 litre motor should cope well with an overdrive.
    A Fairey will conbtribute a little noise depending on how you use 
it. the Rocky Mountains Roverdrive by all accounts is quieter.
    If you wish to use any overdrive to increase your speed by much, 
there will be increased mechanical noise generated by the vehicle 
itself, plus increadsed wind noise. There will not be a significant 
reduction in fuel useage either if you are looking for more speed. If 
you use the overdrive simply to reduce engine RPM at the same or 
slightly increased speed, then it will be quieter than it is at the 
moment and fuel economy will be better.
    4 Wheel Drives in Melbourne do a high ratio transfer box, this is OK 
except that all gear ratios are affected. Does not matter much as on the 
road, first and second are often too low in any case and unless you are 
really working the thing hard, the low ratios will remain low enough.
As somebody else mentioned, Range Rover diff centres will also give an 
increase in overall ratios.
    Don't be tempted to go to 7:50x16 wheels and tyres. At full 
articulation, these will rub on the underside of the rear body and will 
reduce the turning circle by a large amount.
    Let me know how you get on.
    Cheers
    Allan
    Canberra Australia



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