Fair comment... just a thought...

What about a Disco D2 import with no rot, get a base model diesel manual and it should last for ages... Pete
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2014 L405 Autobiography SDV8 4.4 Loire Blue Ebony interior
2012 L322 Autobiography 5.0 Supercharged Ipanema Sand Sold
2011 L322 Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8 Baltic Blue. Sold
2002 L322 Vogue 4.4 V8 Epson Green (Fatty Offroader) Sold
-Click for Project Fatty off roader-

I will admit to looking at both D1/2's and Diesel Classic RR's and while they are a very useable as an every day car.. the 111 bhp - 123 bhp depending on which engine they have, isn't enough power for what I do... the Merc at 167bhp is border line underpowered and the ffrr at 177 isn't much better

You have to remember that even the mighty Landcruiser ( 205 bhp) struggles with these trailers, it's not just the weight it's the aerodynamics that play havoc with the drivetrain and show up any and all weakness. The new TDV6SD D4's are good, but then they should be at 240 ish bhp and everything new... just can't afford one

I'm looking for reliable 4x4 and 200 bhp and high torque, that isn't silly money to buy or run .... there aren't that many out there  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

I'll saynit again, you need an F250 or Dodge Ram with LPG install if it's not a diesel
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301969503469
The other car related stuff will go the same way.
You could try a tdv8 ssrr as they are a disco with bigger diesel unit and we know a few get high miles from them but probably not always towing 3.5t

None cargo vehicles aren't designed for it on anything but more than the odd weekend, the drive train isn't up to the job.
Hell that transit wouldn't even last as long!

You could try an iveco daily cargo rated one. They do 4x4 versions or failing that a unimog....

Maybe try a Nissan patrol as their drivetrains are very much upto the job... FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

My Dad ran a rangey classic that was fitted with a Cummins 6cyl diesel. It had no turbo but an acre of torque. He sold the car to buy a second RR and that had a 3.9EFi, that car is owned by a 'mate' who won't sell it back to me . The chap he bought that from had fitted a 6.2 V8 diesel to another range rover he had and was converting a 3rd rangey fitting it with a 3L mazda turbo diesel. He commented that the Mazda was awesome ! He also siad he'd heard of a 5.6L tdi from a firm called Samurai...I'm going back to the mid-late 80's

I actually agree with the above. If you are shifting big loads I'd be thinking of a US type pick up with a V8 diesel or a Nissan Patrol/Landcruiser Is this where I put the car details and a bit about myself ?........

If you want a Disco1/2 and find or build one from a rot free tub and chassis then really for towing your limited to shoving in a 4bt/6bt with fuelling mods and turbo windup. There is a way to run a twin turbo setup on them for quicker pickup.

If you want something a bit better than a Disco 1/2 i know of someone who has nearly finished a 4bt into a WJ.... Im sure he would offer up the service if waved with fiftys in front of him as i believe its a first to be done
Its got a lift kit for offroading but he could do a more road biased one if needed and they are a good place to be and cruise can be retrofitted
Oh and they're are unibody/monocoque so no chassis/body rust type issues  FFRR MY06 facelift With TDV8 Alloys Zeros/ATR's
Mantec Sump Guard, Rigid Load liner, MY10 BT upgrade.

The Cummins are very heavy - OM606 if you're set on something old. Correct answer is probably a modern US diesel pick-up to pull a genuine 3 1/2 tons all day though.

Right there are good and bad reasons for this post, I'll try and address them so you've a better idea.....

Transit etc. wont last ten minutes, they aren't up to a constant 3.5 ton load..... most versions that are 4 wheel drive are below 100 bhp.. we want more power, not less!

Landcruiser.. is a good all rounder, but they are stupid money to buy and run, they aren't as bomb proof as Toyota would have you believe, and they can be difficult to work on, esp gearboxes and suspension

Nissan Patrol were good in the 4.2 diesel 6 pot form... but they stopped making them last century and they are rather hard to find without silly miles and major tin worm... have tried several 3 lt 4 pots and they have destroyed them selves, literally went BANG

American.. this throws up a completely different set of problems.....

Pick ups.. to get one that will tow 3.5 tons all day is no problem, they call them 250's or 2500 hd's depending on the make. Virtually all come with a big diesel engine, and this is where the problems start to happen... LEZ compliant they are not.. so big fine if you go into London, or thousands of pounds trying to make them compliant So get a petrol one and run it on LPG great idea.. but 99% of all US pickups that are heavy duty and 4x4x are diesel

Then we have the SUV's first problem is trying to find a Heavy Duty one.. I know that the std will pull 3.5 tons, but they are plated for 7000lbs / 3.1 tons.. it only takes VOSA or a Policemen in the know and off to the weigh bridge followed by fines endorsements etc.. So it needs to be an H/D, and then because they aren't subject to LEZ, it rather makes sense to get a diesel for economy and durability.... and we are right bad in Rocking Horse Poo territory again.

And as I have already said what happens if I brake it? It can take long enough to get bits for the ffrr or ML... And then there is the ECU problem.. every car has a few now a days..... can't imagine that I can roll up to a Vauxhall garage and get the faults read on a Chevy... or at a Ford UK dealer for a F250 fault

What ever I end up with it has to either be simple so I can fix it with some bailing twine and a bent screwdriver, or easily fixed at a UK garage without the need to travel to John O'Grotes to get to to only place that fixes them....

So I need 4x4 and either reliable Automatic or Manual, with 200bhp +/- 10% but + is better Should be diesel because of economy and better torque, otherwise we are looking at 300 bhp petrol to get comparable towing ability, and fairly easy to get spares for..... And that is a tall order peeps

And lastly and most importantly it should look like a Range Rover.. as I have loved them since they invented them when I was a lad... got my first ride in one in 1972.... have been bitten ever since  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Your quest might be so difficult, that it may just be easier to take a career change!

Just remember, that with upcoming legislation, regarding diesels, DPF's etc, LEZ's, old diesels into modern cars, might not be viable in the future. I remember the doom of diesels, and the pre 2002 vans, and their values etc.

I remember your tale regarding your l322 gearbox. Could it not be a return to that car, -with a documented replaced gearbox?

I'm not brave enough to tow with the ffrr... I have every confidence that it will end in tears

And what I'm proposing is a new diesel in to an old 4x4, so according to Gov.org the emissions will have to meet that of the cars manufacture year...... "Make Smoke Number One!"

I could do the GM diesel conversion on a Classic RR... but, I've been lead to understand that they aren't the most reliable of engines, especially the injector pump, and although they don't produce a great deal of power, they do produce a colossal amount of low end torque.... which the Classics' drivetrain doesn't like.. at all.. ping! went the diff , bang! went the half shaft and so on ....

And then it would be mated to a Range Rover gearbox... 4 speed I suspect, possibly a 5 speed... with a TDV6, I would have a 6 speed straight off, and less axle shattering torque as well as reasonable economy  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Have you considered a 4.2 SC on LPG ?? Plenty torque/BHP and a pretty strong gearbox (apart from the one solenoid issue and the coolers on the early models). If you get a later one 2007/2008/2009 the cooler issues should be solve (better coolers) and these models are not very expensive anymore and pretty bullet proof. MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

I did look but they are TDV8 money.... so why not stick with a tractor to do a tractors job

But to be honest I'm really trying to ditch as many ECU's as possible, if I was to do the TDV6 Classic and buy an after market ECU I could get it to one ecu That is a lot better than the 20 ish that the ffrr sports! Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

 MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

ex-Australian Army Land Rover 6x6 Perentie. No rust, low km (I know a bloke who bought one with only 800 km on the clock), unburstable Isuzu 3.9 litre 4BD1-T Turbo. Also they have a wider body than a standard LR.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Rover_Perentie

Click image to enlarge

Just a couple of problems there bud, if I'd wanted Land Rover I think I should be able to find one in the UK But I find them too cramped to drive any distance...

And that Auz spec one isn't really the 190BHP that I'm looking for plus they are rather thin on he ground over here..... in fact most cars from Auz are had to come by except the Monaro, otherwise I'd be getting a Holden Suburban 2500 diesel.. cos it has the wheel on the correct side for a kick off  Yesterday I couldn't spell Engineer... Today I are one!
Inventor of the 'Guide-o-Matic automatic wheel alignment tool'
Former long term L322 owner, Up/Down graded to a Classic Tractor!

Miggit, forget about BHP, it's torque that does towing. When I drove wagons for a living I had many tug units, but chief among them was a Foden. Only 380 horsepower which isn't a lot for 38 tonnes - that's 10bhp per tonne by which reckoning you'd need less than 55 bhp.

But the torque from that Cummins diesel was enough to pull the Severn Bridge off it's mounts, that's the key, torque.

So, a chap I know over Leicester way has a newish Ford Cargo diesel in a D2. It took some working out, must have taken him 6 months to get it to the point of MOT bu tit proves that it can be done. Another alternative which I know has been put in a Defender (so must fit a D2 or RR Classic) is the 3.2 Ford Puma based diesel. This is just a bigger version of the Puma in late Defenders. Yes, it's electronic but not a lot of it.

Thing is, unless you get something modern you can never hope to get emissions to a sensible level and sooner or later that will bite you.

Any of the big US pick up trucks will be fine but spares will be an issue. That guy with the Cargo engined D2 also has a Ford F150, 5.4 Triton Petrol. Been waiting 3 months for parts to get the variable valve timing working properly again.

For the sponduliks you'd have to spend I would genuinely look for a L322 TDV8 which has a decent service history. Plan on a fluid change for the box and there's no reason it won't take you many miles.

One alternative I might look at is a D3 and have someone (specialist) fit a 3.6 TDV8 from a FFRR or RRS into it. Might even do it on a manual box which would save a few issues.