A new P38 owner

[banarcus]

After owning 2x Disco 2s, both V8s but manual and auto I've now found myself a Rangie. Bought it from up Brisbane way, MY99 HSE, black with the creamy interior with only 105k on it with full service history. Happy days.

So far I've started ripping out the HK sound system as the speakers are dead and the head unit/stacker are yesterdays tech and replaced with a modern bluetooth/MP3 Kenwood setup. The plan is to stick with the 3 way speakers up front but buying decent ones with a proper amp. The woofers in the boot section were dead and will be replaced with a nice little one installed in the factory box.

Long term plans? I've got a Ford 5.0L engine stripped down ready to be machined and sourced another ZF to dummy up an adapter to the Ford. There's nothing wrong with the 4.6 in it but more torque to tow my boat on the highway is what I want! I'll offload the 4.6 and accessories to someone who wants to upgrade their LR.

As of tonight, I've been struck by two problems. A dead alternator which ended up being a stuck brush in the regulator(bought a new reg for $30 brand new) and the EAS christmas tree. More fun :)

[p38driver]

Good to see you have got yourself a P38 , i will be watching this post with interest as many have tried to do engine conversions without to much success.It can be done but depends on how deep your pockets are . A guy has done a 6.0 litre LSX conversion on range rovers .net his name is leftlanetruckin.

[Keithy P38]

G'day and welcome mate!

I'm interested in your plans mate, will keep my eyes out!

Is your HSE a gems or thor model? Do you have a few snaps?

Cheers
Keithy

[mtb_gary]

banarcus, welcome to the world of p38's

[TheTree]

Welcome to the madness ;-)

[banarcus]

Thanks people. It's a Thor with the low compression, I never thought they existed in the thors but it never pings which is a bonus. I've been lurking in rr.net when I was going to to this planned conversion on my disco but it written off in the recent storm.

[daf11e]

Always nice to see another P38 owner......welcome and good luck.

[banarcus]

Having issues with photos. I'll try with this one first:

[rar110]

Having issues with photos. I'll try with this one first:

Nice. EAS or coils?

[TheTree]

Thanks people. It's a Thor with the low compression, I never thought they existed in the thors but it never pings which is a bonus. I've been lurking in rr.net when I was going to to this planned conversion on my disco but it written off in the recent storm.

Apparently most of the versions brought into Oz were low compression

Steve

[banarcus]

Nice. EAS or coils?

EAS. I bought the RSW EAS Unlock V4 and a laptop. Both have already paid for themselves. Now that I have a way of diagnosing it, I'll keep the EAS as it will auto adjust for the iron block I'm fitting and the boat I tow from time to time.

A picture of the interior. I've ripped out the standard HK sound system and half installed the Kenwood and the rest of the new stuff.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2015/06/559.jpg (http://s469.photobucket.com/user/banarcus/media/20150613_145821.jpg.html)

[Keithy P38]

Nice and tidy! You've scored well there!

[rar110]

The interior looks amazingly good.

[redandy3575]

After owning 2x Disco 2s, both V8s but manual and auto I've now found myself a Rangie. Bought it from up Brisbane way, MY99 HSE, black with the creamy interior with only 105k on it with full service history. Happy days.

So far I've started ripping out the HK sound system as the speakers are dead and the head unit/stacker are yesterdays tech and replaced with a modern bluetooth/MP3 Kenwood setup. The plan is to stick with the 3 way speakers up front but buying decent ones with a proper amp. The woofers in the boot section were dead and will be replaced with a nice little one installed in the factory box.

Long term plans? I've got a Ford 5.0L engine stripped down ready to be machined and sourced another ZF to dummy up an adapter to the Ford. There's nothing wrong with the 4.6 in it but more torque to tow my boat on the highway is what I want! I'll offload the 4.6 and accessories to someone who wants to upgrade their LR.

As of tonight, I've been struck by two problems. A dead alternator which ended up being a stuck brush in the regulator(bought a new reg for $30 brand new) and the EAS christmas tree. More fun :)


Noooooooo!!! not the the Ford engine!!! May as well buy a Ford Explorer if your going down that path.:p

[banarcus]

What about a 2.7L TD V6 out of a Territory? I want more low rpm torque and a TD V6 or a Ford 5.0 stroked to 5.7 will do the trick 😈

[mtb_gary]

Or a 3.6 twin turbo from the RRS or 4.4 from the Vogue?

Gary

[banarcus]

The TDV8 3.6 and 4.4 believe it or not are also Ford derived and would be my first preference if money were no object. Alas, the humble little windsor will have to suffice....

[ozscott]

Might be better easier to high comp and flow the heads on your own 4.6...

I have a high comp 4.6 going into my D2 manual. They are nice motors.

Cheers

[banarcus]

I started the conversion by ripping out the 4.6 and dummy fitting bellhousings, torque converters, flexplates etc.

I stripped down the 4.6 last night with a view to changing headgaskets etc due to a coolant leak in the corner of the headgasket and some bubbling in the expansion tank. What I found very strange was that the outside exposed head bolts were "loose" compared to the bolts under the rocker shaft. In fact, I rounded off one of the bolts because silly me use a 12 point socket. First time that's ever happened to me but anyway I had to drill out the bugger. Easier with the motor on a stand and tilted 90*.

I have one confirmed blown headgasket adjacent to No 7 cylinder and the water jacket. In addition, there is a minute gap between the deck and the tops of the liners. Weird. No rattling, no steam cleaning of the pistons or combustion chambers. I've even looked at googling for similar looking specimens but I only found exaggerated slipped liners. On mine, I can only just feel a slight ridge.

Anyway, I'll be knocking up a few block off plates and pump some compressed air into the block as there is no way I'll be selling this engine if the liners have slipped.