Holden 186 into Series 3 6 Cylinder Body

[Beautiful Machines]

Hi team,

First post on the forum but I've been relying on the great info here for a bit before joining up. Great work.

I did my best to find info on this via the threads, so apologies if this is covered and I didn't see it.

I have two Series 3 trucks recently taken into my care, both with incorrect engines (and a billion other problems).

The problem I'd like to tackle first is the LWB Series 3, originally a 6 cylinder. A series 2a engine has been spammed into the thing at some point with a couple of lengths of old steel acting as adaptors. Can't believe it's been driven around like this. Needs to be sorted ASAP before the engine falls out.

Eventually I'd like to find a Landy 6 to put back. Haven't seen one I can afford so far. I DO have a 186 Holden which was in a Landy and which has the gear box adaptor. The person I took custodianship of the 186 from suggested that the Holden would fit onto the Land Rover 6 engine mounts with no adaptors or alterations.

This sounds too good to be true. Is it?

I THINK that the gear box and drive train are the original 6 cylinder gear. Some of the body panels are incorrect but I have a stash that can be matched up correctly once the mechanics are sorted. Any help appreciated.

Kane.

[gromit]

Hi team,

First post on the forum but I've been relying on the great info here for a bit before joining up. Great work.

I did my best to find info on this via the threads, so apologies if this is covered and I didn't see it.

I have two Series 3 trucks recently taken into my care, both with incorrect engines (and a billion other problems).

The problem I'd like to tackle first is the LWB Series 3, originally a 6 cylinder. A series 2a engine has been spammed into the thing at some point with a couple of lengths of old steel acting as adaptors. Can't believe it's been driven around like this. Needs to be sorted ASAP before the engine falls out.

Eventually I'd like to find a Landy 6 to put back. Haven't seen one I can afford so far. I DO have a 186 Holden which was in a Landy and which has the gear box adaptor. The person I took custodianship of the 186 from suggested that the Holden would fit onto the Land Rover 6 engine mounts with no adaptors or alterations.

This sounds too good to be true. Is it?

I THINK that the gear box and drive train are the original 6 cylinder gear. Some of the body panels are incorrect but I have a stash that can be matched up correctly once the mechanics are sorted. Any help appreciated.

Kane.


The Land Rover 6-cylinder motor is either loved or hated it seems. You also need to be aware that parts availability isn't the best with some items less common than rocking horse droppings.
I think Australia probably had more of the 6-cylinder motors because they were fitted to the Series III Army vehicles. This means that sourcing from the UK can also be a problem as they weren't popular there.
I've been warned about high fuel consumption but haven't used mine on the road yet.
FFR Refurb (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/leaf-sprung-military-land-rovers/118730-ffr-refurb.html)

I've removed a couple of Holden motors from Land Rovers I've parted out and there were always some odd brackets to mount the engine (in a 4-cyl or 6-cyl) so it won't drop into the existing mounts.
I'd have to see if I have any photos of the 6-cyl I parted out.


Colin

[JDNSW]

Further to Colin's information, you can probably be reassured that there is not serious a gearbox issue - the six and the four shared the same gearbox and transfer case - except for the bell housing, which is different - so you need to check which the adapter you have fits - the only other difference is that the six has a different set of bends on the gearlever to suit. But note that the 2a gearbox is different from the 3 - both internally (all synchro on 3) and the clutch operating mechanism, but they are the same dimensions, and hence interchangeable, albeit in some cases requiring a bit of work, and there were changes over time.

[Beautiful Machines]

The Land Rover 6-cylinder motor is either loved or hated it seems. You also need to be aware that parts availability isn't the best with some items less common than rocking horse droppings.
I think Australia probably had more of the 6-cylinder motors because they were fitted to the Series III Army vehicles. This means that sourcing from the UK can also be a problem as they weren't popular there.
I've been warned about high fuel consumption but haven't used mine on the road yet.
FFR Refurb (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/leaf-sprung-military-land-rovers/118730-ffr-refurb.html)

I've removed a couple of Holden motors from Land Rovers I've parted out and there were always some odd brackets to mount the engine (in a 4-cyl or 6-cyl) so it won't drop into the existing mounts.
I'd have to see if I have any photos of the 6-cyl I parted out.


Colin

The FFR project looks cool Colin. I reckon those turquoise seats pop real well. How's the project coming along?

I'm not too fussed on the originality of the truck as she's been through several decades of bad treatment and wrong parts, so if the Holden works out I'll probably stick with it. That said - the truck does seem to be asking for her engine back. There's something about the look of the 6 cylinder engine bay I reckon. The 4 definitely is all wrong in there. If I stumble across one one day maybe I'll add it to the pile, despite the draw backs.

If you do find any photos of a Holden mounted in a 6 cylinder body I'd be super grateful. It's an interesting lego set there's not really a manual for it.

[gromit]

The FFR project looks cool Colin. I reckon those turquoise seats pop real well. How's the project coming along?

.

Along with a couple of other projects it's always been slow progress.
3 Land Rovers to keep on the road, a daily driver, the wife's car, kids, garden etc. there's always something that keeps me from working on them.

I'll have a look tonight, I'm sure I took some engine mount photo's for someone but they are on another computer.
From memory it was bits of angle iron so not 'professional'.

I've just been offered a spare 6-cyl motor which I'll collect once we get out of lockdown. Handy to have a source of spare parts.

If you find an engine for sale it was probably removed to fit a Holden so it will possibly need reconditioning.



Colin

[Beautiful Machines]

Further to Colin's information, you can probably be reassured that there is not serious a gearbox issue - the six and the four shared the same gearbox and transfer case - except for the bell housing, which is different - so you need to check which the adapter you have fits - the only other difference is that the six has a different set of bends on the gearlever to suit. But note that the 2a gearbox is different from the 3 - both internally (all synchro on 3) and the clutch operating mechanism, but they are the same dimensions, and hence interchangeable, albeit in some cases requiring a bit of work, and there were changes over time.

Okay cool - this is good info. Thanks John.

I have collected three gear boxes now. One attached to the Holden (which is all kinds of jammed up). One attached to the 2a engine (which functions but screams like a banshee). One of unknown origin. They each have different shifters which may or may not help working out what they are. I know that the gearbox in the main truck is pulled too far forward or has the wrong shifter as it hits the dash and gets pushed out of gear.

One lucky note, there's a Fairy overdrive attached to the functional gearbox. The shifter and linkages are missing and the thing will need to be rebuilt - but it exists.

I've got some rebuild kits on the way. With these and the three boxes I'm hopeful I can build out at least one good unit.

[Beautiful Machines]

Along with a couple of other projects it's always been slow progress.
3 Land Rovers to keep on the road, a daily driver, the wife's car, kids, garden etc. there's always something that keeps me from working on them.

I'll have a look tonight, I'm sure I took some engine mount photo's for someone but they are on another computer.
From memory it was bits of angle iron so not 'professional'.

I've just been offered a spare 6-cyl motor which I'll collect once we get out of lockdown. Handy to have a source of spare parts.

If you find an engine for sale it was probably removed to fit a Holden so it will possibly need reconditioning.



Colin

Yeah - I'd be expecting anything that was pulled out to have been killed, hence the pulling out. I'd not be rushing on it. Slow burns.

A spare engine will be helpful for sure, so that's a good score. I reckon they are out there. Under benches under dust.

If you do find those pics I reckon they'll be helpful - but no stress. I'll be doing a slightly better than angle iron job on mine ultimately but clues will help.

[Beautiful Machines]

One other question someone might know the answer to.

The truck with the 6 in it has non-power assisted brakes. The truck it's going into has the power assisted master.

Anyone know the correct method for connecting the 186 vacuum line up to the brake master?

Pics?

[mick88]

One other question someone might know the answer to.

The truck with the 6 in it has non-power assisted brakes. The truck it's going into has the power assisted master.

Anyone know the correct method for connecting the 186 vacuum line up to the brake master?

Pics?

Firstly your 186 will go well in the Landy that had the original six cylinder in it.
If the adaptor plate you have is drilled for the four cylinder stud pattern it can be re-drilled for the six cylinder
without to much hassle, or alternatively pick up one with the correct stud pattern. Any Holden adaptor
plate made for a Series 1 (four cylinder) shared the same stud pattern as the later Land Rover six cylinder ones.
As for the engine mounts, no issues there, no modifications needed to your chassis, just pick up a set of engine
mounts to suit a Holden Six into a Land Rover six conversion kit. There were two types back in the day, fabricated
ones, and a cast version. The standard Land Rover rubber mounts for the petrol or diesel engine can be used.
If you use the four cylinder radiator you will have to get the outlets changed on it to suit the Holden engine, but you
may have a radiator thats already converted in one of your vehicles.
In regards to the pickup for the vacuum brake booster there is either a fitting/hose tail or a plug on the inlet manifold
of the 186, usually on the back half of the manifold.

Be a aware when the six cylinder Land Rover came into being the gearbox was moved back about 100 mm in those
particular models, hence the variation in the Holden conversion engine mounts.
If you want any more info let me know, or i can PM you my phone number if you want to have a yarn about it.

I will post a couple of pics of the various engine mounts to give you some idea, the long ones are six cylinder, the short
are for the four cylinder. The last two pics are is adaptor plate for a Holden Six to a Land Rover four cylinder.
For a six cylinder the stud pattern in the last pic would have those holes in a different configuration starting at 12 o'clock.
I am not sure why the plates were not not made with both stud patterns on them, maybe it was thought that strength
would be compromised.

Good Luck.
Cheers, Mick.

[Beautiful Machines]

Firstly your 186 will go well in the Landy that had the original six cylinder in it.
If the adaptor plate you have is drilled for the four cylinder stud pattern it can be re-drilled for the six cylinder
without to much hassle, or alternatively pick up one with the correct stud pattern. Any Holden adaptor
plate made for a Series 1 (four cylinder) shared the same stud pattern as the later Land Rover six cylinder ones.
As for the engine mounts, no issues there, no modifications needed to your chassis, just pick up a set of engine
mounts to suit a Holden Six into a Land Rover six conversion kit. There were two types back in the day, fabricated
ones, and a cast version. The standard Land Rover rubber mounts for the petrol or diesel engine can be used.
If you use the four cylinder radiator you will have to get the outlets changed on it to suit the Holden engine, but you
may have a radiator thats already converted in one of your vehicles.
In regards to the pickup for the vacuum brake booster there is either a fitting/hose tail or a plug on the inlet manifold
of the 186, usually on the back half of the manifold.

Be a aware when the six cylinder Land Rover came into being the gearbox was moved back about 100 mm in those
particular models, hence the variation in the Holden conversion engine mounts.
If you want any more info let me know, or i can PM you my phone number if you want to have a yarn about it.

I will post a couple of pics of the various engine mounts to give you some idea, the long ones are six cylinder, the short
are for the four cylinder. The last two pics are is adaptor plate for a Holden Six to a Land Rover four cylinder.
For a six cylinder the stud pattern in the last pic would have those holes in a different configuration starting at 12 o'clock.
I am not sure why the plates were not not made with both stud patterns on them, maybe it was thought that strength
would be compromised.

Good Luck.
Cheers, Mick.

Amazing thanks Mick - this is SUPER helpful. When I get back to the trucks I'll dive in again now I know what I'm looking for. Fingers crossed most of it is there already.

One worry I do have is about the position of the gearbox. In the 6 cylinder truck (with thew 2a engine) the gearbox seems like it's too far forward. I have a feeling it's the engine position pulling it out of whack. I'll try and find the correct measurements somewhere and see how far off everything is.

From what you say if I do have decent mount adapters for the 186 from the 4 cylinder body they won't work in the 6 cylinder body. Do you know if they are still being manufactured or do I need to find some from a wrecked truck?

I've also noticed the difference in the two bulkheads. It's a shame because the 4 cylinder bulkhead is in really nice condition and the 6 is toast. Would be great to be able to swap them out while the 6 bulkhead gets repaired.

I'll drop you a PM for sure - be great to chat about a few things. Will do so when I'm back near the tools.

[gromit]

Seems like Mick has helped with the brackets.

I eventually found a few pictures from the one I parted out.


Colin

[akelly]

So I'll be the dissenting voice here and say "don't do it" - I would rather have a 2.25l land rover motor than a holden 6 in a land rover any day, and I currently have three land rovers all with holdens. It's generally speaking, a terrible conversion. In your position I would fix whatever butchery has been done in the fitting of the 4cyl rather than put in the holden. I am currently rebuilding two 2.25l motors to replace the holdens in two of my cars, the third car is becoming an EV.

BUT, if you're going to do it take the time to align the engine properly. DONT TRUST the adapter kits, they are almost all garbage. After looking at Mick's landys and chatting with him about problems with my SIIA I spent about half a day fixing the engine alignment on mine, to get the centre of the crank pulley in like with the centre of the hole in the front crossmember. This fixed a number of problems in my car, the main one being that the bellhousing was hard up against the bulkhead - a common issue in the conversions.

[Beautiful Machines]

So I'll be the dissenting voice here and say "don't do it" - I would rather have a 2.25l land rover motor than a holden 6 in a land rover any day, and I currently have three land rovers all with holdens. It's generally speaking, a terrible conversion. In your position I would fix whatever butchery has been done in the fitting of the 4cyl rather than put in the holden. I am currently rebuilding two 2.25l motors to replace the holdens in two of my cars, the third car is becoming an EV.

BUT, if you're going to do it take the time to align the engine properly. DONT TRUST the adapter kits, they are almost all garbage. After looking at Mick's landys and chatting with him about problems with my SIIA I spent about half a day fixing the engine alignment on mine, to get the centre of the crank pulley in like with the centre of the hole in the front crossmember. This fixed a number of problems in my car, the main one being that the bellhousing was hard up against the bulkhead - a common issue in the conversions.

I hear ya - the 2.25 is such a great engine. And aside from all the fitment issues and the ruined gearbox it actually runs pretty well.

Fear not - my plan is to swap the 186 into the 6 cylinder body truck and the 2.25 into the 4 cylinder body truck where it feels like it's meant to be.

I'll get the 2.25 rebuilt properly and take some time with that truck. More of a resto.

The 6 i'll keep dusty. I don't mind that it's not original, but I suspect I'll probably keep searching for the correct engine while the Holden does the work. IF the Holden does the work I guess.

Really good notes above thanks. I'll post some pics tomorrow of the two engines and bays before I get stuck in. It seems as though I'll need to take a lot more time if the swap is to be effective.

[Beautiful Machines]

Seems like Mick has helped with the brackets.

I eventually found a few pictures from the one I parted out.


Colin

Oh cool - thanks Colin. It's amazing how different the configurations are. I'll need to have another look tomorrow - ran out of time today. But having some idea of what I'm looking for is going to help.

[Homestar]

I agree a 4 cylinder Land Rover engine would be better than a Holden 6 if the original vehicle was a 4 cylinder - just on ease of the conversion, but if it was originally the Rover 6 then I’d be very comfortable with a Holden 6 in its place. There’s nothing wrong with the engine as such but more the issues with fitting it.

Given the choice I’d go the Rover 6 - they are a beautifully smooth engine but I get why people don’t like them - they are higher maintenance and parts are becoming unobtainable. Took me 3 years to get together all the parts for a rebuild on one, and has cost thousands and I haven’t even had the block machined yet.

The Holden 6 is an easy engine to maintain and work on and parts here are easy and cheap - I couldn’t give away a running 186 a couple of years ago and sold a very good example recently for a couple hundred dollars.

Do what you need to do to get it back on the road. [emoji106][emoji4]

[JDNSW]

One point I should make. Following conversions to Holdens, there grew the idea that the Series gearbox did not stand up to the additional power. However, it was eventually found that the gearbox failures were not the result of excess power, but of misalignment resulting from Holden adapter plates that were not made sufficiently accurate. Hence, After fitting the plate to the engine, the bell housing mating surface needs to be checked to ensure it is concentric with the pilot bushing and parallel to the flywheel face.

[Lionelgee]

Hello Kane,

Following on from John's comment about problems with alignment - have a read of this thread

BEFORE FITTING A HOLDEN ENGINE CHECK ALIGMENT FIRST (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/holden-powered-series-land-rovers/133415-before-fitting-holden-engine-check-aligment-first-post1523734.html#post1523734). Go to Page 2 and find Message 1 and start from there.


The thread details all the issues and how to remedy them.

Kind regards
Lionel

[russellrovers]

Hi team,

First post on the forum but I've been relying on the great info here for a bit before joining up. Great work.

I did my best to find info on this via the threads, so apologies if this is covered and I didn't see it.

I have two Series 3 trucks recently taken into my care, both with incorrect engines (and a billion other problems).

The problem I'd like to tackle first is the LWB Series 3, originally a 6 cylinder. A series 2a engine has been spammed into the thing at some point with a couple of lengths of old steel acting as adaptors. Can't believe it's been driven around like this. Needs to be sorted ASAP before the engine falls out.

Eventually I'd like to find a Landy 6 to put back. Haven't seen one I can afford so far. I DO have a 186 Holden which was in a Landy and which has the gear box adaptor. The person I took custodianship of the 186 from suggested that the Holden would fit onto the Land Rover 6 engine mounts with no adaptors or alterations.

This sounds too good to be true. Is it?

I THINK that the gear box and drive train are the original 6 cylinder gear. Some of the body panels are incorrect but I have a stash that can be matched up correctly once the mechanics are sorted. Any help appreciated.

Kane.hi i have 3 miliry s 3 engines here for slae or parts jim

[Beautiful Machines]

I agree a 4 cylinder Land Rover engine would be better than a Holden 6 if the original vehicle was a 4 cylinder - just on ease of the conversion, but if it was originally the Rover 6 then I’d be very comfortable with a Holden 6 in its place. There’s nothing wrong with the engine as such but more the issues with fitting it.

Given the choice I’d go the Rover 6 - they are a beautifully smooth engine but I get why people don’t like them - they are higher maintenance and parts are becoming unobtainable. Took me 3 years to get together all the parts for a rebuild on one, and has cost thousands and I haven’t even had the block machined yet.

The Holden 6 is an easy engine to maintain and work on and parts here are easy and cheap - I couldn’t give away a running 186 a couple of years ago and sold a very good example recently for a couple hundred dollars.

Do what you need to do to get it back on the road. [emoji106][emoji4]

Three years and thousands of dollars won't support the plan to keep the 6 body truck on the road as much as possible while corrections are made. But I have a feeling I'll find an original 6 to sort through eventually. I HAVE a 186 right now so putting it into decent is a good use of on-hand resources I reckon.

I've been reading about alignment via the threads here. I think I understand what needs doing but I'll take my time. There's nothing less satisfying than a bad job and then spending a fortune to correct it.

[Beautiful Machines]

One point I should make. Following conversions to Holdens, there grew the idea that the Series gearbox did not stand up to the additional power. However, it was eventually found that the gearbox failures were not the result of excess power, but of misalignment resulting from Holden adapter plates that were not made sufficiently accurate. Hence, After fitting the plate to the engine, the bell housing mating surface needs to be checked to ensure it is concentric with the pilot bushing and parallel to the flywheel face.

Okay - good to have this confirmed. I'm worried about the previous work done as much as my own going forward. The gear box attached to the Holden is not in good shape, but this could be as much about lack of care as anything else. I think I'll start with the previous work - audit what's there and check alignment, plates, mounts, measurements etc.

[Beautiful Machines]

Hello Kane,

Following on from John's comment about problems with alignment - have a read of this thread

BEFORE FITTING A HOLDEN ENGINE CHECK ALIGMENT FIRST (https://www.aulro.com/afvb/holden-powered-series-land-rovers/133415-before-fitting-holden-engine-check-aligment-first-post1523734.html#post1523734). Go to Page 2 and find Message 1 and start from there.


The thread details all the issues and how to remedy them.

Kind regards
Lionel

Thanks Lionel. Yup - I have read that thread a few times now. A really good resource. A dial gauge is on the shopping list.

[Beautiful Machines]

hi i have 3 miliry s 3 engines here for slae or parts jim

Thanks - will PM ya now.

[akelly]

I just saw a comment saying holden parts are cheap. You may want to update your experience of how much holden red motor parts cost. A VRS set is 3 times the cost of the 2.25l land rover VRS set. A fuel pump for a holden 6 costs $100 for the cheap garbage, $300 for a good quality one.

The days of the holden 6 being a good conversion were in the 1970s when you could buy a high quality rebuilt unit from your local repco for a couple of hundred dollars. Good luck even finding a holden red motor part in your local repco now. I had to scour wrecking yards all over Melbourne last year to find a distributor drive gear.

As for the driving experience. I guess if you love redlining a ~3 litre 6 cylinder engine to keep up with traffic, constantly worrying about overheating, and enjoy tinnitus they're probably great.

There's no good reason to install one in a land rover.

[Homestar]

I just saw a comment saying holden parts are cheap. You may want to update your experience of how much holden red motor parts cost. A VRS set is 3 times the cost of the 2.25l land rover VRS set. A fuel pump for a holden 6 costs $100 for the cheap garbage, $300 for a good quality one.

The days of the holden 6 being a good conversion were in the 1970s when you could buy a high quality rebuilt unit from your local repco for a couple of hundred dollars. Good luck even finding a holden red motor part in your local repco now. I had to scour wrecking yards all over Melbourne last year to find a distributor drive gear.

As for the driving experience. I guess if you love redlining a ~3 litre 6 cylinder engine to keep up with traffic, constantly worrying about overheating, and enjoy tinnitus they're probably great.

There's no good reason to install one in a land rover.

Probably should have said they are cheap compared to land rover 6 parts, but they aren’t that bad and the fact you can still buy pretty much anything for them makes it an easy engine for a conversion - particularly since the OP has one already.

[Beautiful Machines]

I just saw a comment saying holden parts are cheap. You may want to update your experience of how much holden red motor parts cost. A VRS set is 3 times the cost of the 2.25l land rover VRS set. A fuel pump for a holden 6 costs $100 for the cheap garbage, $300 for a good quality one.

The days of the holden 6 being a good conversion were in the 1970s when you could buy a high quality rebuilt unit from your local repco for a couple of hundred dollars. Good luck even finding a holden red motor part in your local repco now. I had to scour wrecking yards all over Melbourne last year to find a distributor drive gear.

As for the driving experience. I guess if you love redlining a ~3 litre 6 cylinder engine to keep up with traffic, constantly worrying about overheating, and enjoy tinnitus they're probably great.

There's no good reason to install one in a land rover.

Yeah - I've a spreadsheet managing these projects. I've costed up a worst case on the red engine as well as the rebuild on the 2.25. None of this is "cheap". I can do quite a bit on my own so it's not going to bankrupt me. I'm confident I'll end up with some nice trucks at the end of this adventure. And trucks that have been saved from the crusher too.

I will pop the Holden in, even if it just end up being for the experience of having done it. I have a complete spare red engine and a pile of parts to sort through. Might all be junk but it does seem as though I have enough bits to keep the things running well for a while, albeit after a lot of work.

Via this thread I have eyes on a Rover 6 so the plan may change.

Red lining to not even close to keep up with traffic, over heating and excessive noise are the core problems with the truck now. I'm hopeful putting the two engines into their seemingly better matched bodies will sort a little of this out.

I guess we'll find out...

[Beautiful Machines]

Probably should have said they are cheap compared to land rover 6 parts, but they aren’t that bad and the fact you can still buy pretty much anything for them makes it an easy engine for a conversion - particularly since the OP has one already.

I'll do a quick freshen up first. Carb and fuel pump rebuild. Clean up. New points, plugs, condenser, leads, coil etc. Compression test is not too bad. A little low on a few cylinders as you'd expect, but she'll pull.

If the thing seems to be a good option going forward I've gone through options for new head, extractors, electronic ignition, intake manifold, webber and engineering. I could spend hundreds, or many thousands, depending on where I wanted to end up. But it's not a race car, so I don't need to get carried away. Just running to best capacity for an old truck.

[mick88]

I just saw a comment saying holden parts are cheap. You may want to update your experience of how much holden red motor parts cost. A VRS set is 3 times the cost of the 2.25l land rover VRS set. A fuel pump for a holden 6 costs $100 for the cheap garbage, $300 for a good quality one.

The days of the holden 6 being a good conversion were in the 1970s when you could buy a high quality rebuilt unit from your local repco for a couple of hundred dollars. Good luck even finding a holden red motor part in your local repco now. I had to scour wrecking yards all over Melbourne last year to find a distributor drive gear.

As for the driving experience. I guess if you love redlining a ~3 litre 6 cylinder engine to keep up with traffic, constantly worrying about overheating, and enjoy tinnitus they're probably great.

There's no good reason to install one in a land rover.


A diff upgrade to either 3.54 or 4.1, plus a Roamerdrive will enhance the driving experience, and if set up properly they wont run hot.

Plenty of distributor drive gears available on E-Bay in either Nylon or Metal, Crow Cams also have them.
MSD/Holley have a huge range of dizzy drive gears for just about any make, Holden, Chev, Ford, Chrysler, VW, etc.
I find our local Bursons Auto Parts good for any Holden straight six parts, if not in stock, available overnight.
Rare Spares are another outlet that have a lot of bits and pieces.

Cheers, Mick.

[Beautiful Machines]

A diff upgrade to either 3.54 or 4.1, plus a Roamerdrive will enhance the driving experience, and if set up properly they wont run hot.

Plenty of distributor drive gears available on E-Bay in either Nylon or Metal, Crow Cams also have them.
MSD/Holley have a huge range of dizzy drive gears for just about any make, Holden, Chev, Ford, Chrysler, VW, etc.
I find our local Bursons Auto Parts good for any Holden straight six parts, if not in stock, available overnight.
Rare Spares are another outlet that have a lot of bits and pieces.

Cheers, Mick.

Diff upgrade sounds like a good thing to add to the plan. And yeah there seems to be a lot of Holden original and after market parts around.

I have a Fairey overdrive attached to the truck now. The missing shifter and linkages just arrived from the UK so I'll pull that off and see what's happening inside and hopefully reinstate that this weekend.

[Beautiful Machines]

It was really wet in Hobart yesterday So I wan't able to dig into these as I had hoped. Did some other work on the running truck though.

Here's what I'm dealing with...

First truck - 6 Cylinder body with 2.25 engine. You can see where the chassis engine mounts have eaten into the steel adaptors. I think the geometry is off. Reverse hit the dash and get pushed out from not connecting properly. Third I can fit my hand between the stick and the dash. The red 4 wheel drive shifter is hard up against the panel and can jump into neutral.

173529173530173531173532173533173534


Second truck - 4 cylinder (actually originally a diesel) with a Holden. Discovered it's a 161 not a 186 as I was told. I have a few other engines in this family.

173535173536173537173538

[Beautiful Machines]

Sorry red high/low ratio shifter. Monday brain.

[Discosux]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to go back to the rover six?

If it's just a show car / project.. fair enough, but there's a reason these things were dumped asap (never owned one - *disclaimer)


I used to run an ex army S3 186S with np435. Without a doubt the most reliable Land rover ever - right up there with the counties / early 110's

as long as the red six has been rebuilt at sometime in the past - fibre gears replaced, these things never die.

I did have the high speed transfer case conversion though, stock gearing on the HWY sucked.... Do you have Highways in TAS?

from memory 2800rpm @ 100k / 14L per 100k on 34's. standard diffs granny first = 74:1 low range first

I really should get the old girl back on the road, never had so much fun in a LR off road. Still suffer from PTSD from Highway driving it though

[Homestar]

Just out of curiosity, why do you want to go back to the rover six?

If it's just a show car / project.. fair enough, but there's a reason these things were dumped asap (never owned one - *disclaimer)


I used to run an ex army S3 186S with np435. Without a doubt the most reliable Land rover ever - right up there with the counties / early 110's

as long as the red six has been rebuilt at sometime in the past - fibre gears replaced, these things never die.

I did have the high speed transfer case conversion though, stock gearing on the HWY sucked.... Do you have Highways in TAS?

from memory 2800rpm @ 100k / 14L per 100k on 34's. standard diffs granny first = 74:1 low range first

I really should get the old girl back on the road, never had so much fun in a LR off road. Still suffer from PTSD from Highway driving it though

While they are a higher maintenance engine than the 4 and were designed for car use and not 4WD use, the main issues that caused them to be removed was the exhaust valves - or should I say, lack of adjustment of said item. When they were in Military service they never have any issues as the book said ‘adjust valves every 3 months’ (I think it was 3 - could have been 6 - so they did. I know a couple of people that worked on them when they were in service and they got it down to a fine art - exhaust manifold off, side cover off and do the job. In private ownership almost no one could be bothered to do this so the manifold nuts became rusted up and although you can do them without removing the manifold, most didn’t bother so after a couple of years they’d start to lose power and that would be it. When kept in good fettle, they are a very nice motor and sooooo smooth it’s almost unbelievable. A set of extractors and free flowing exhaust will give them a huge torque increase and they rev freely enough to allow 100KPH if that’s your thing (if you can keep the petrol up to them)

I get why people don’t like them, but I think they’re a nice motor - a little fragile yes, but worth keeping IMO.

Parts are getting VERY hard to come by though so they should probably be looked on as an enthusiasts engine only, but if that’s the case, well worth keeping. [emoji106]

[Discosux]

While they are a higher maintenance engine than the 4 and were designed for car use and not 4WD use, the main issues that caused them to be removed was the exhaust valves - or should I say, lack of adjustment of said item. When they were in Military service they never have any issues as the book said ‘adjust valves every 3 months’ (I think it was 3 - could have been 6 - so they did. I know a couple of people that worked on them when they were in service and they got it down to a fine art - exhaust manifold off, side cover off and do the job. In private ownership almost no one could be bothered to do this so the manifold nuts became rusted up and although you can do them without removing the manifold, most didn’t bother so after a couple of years they’d start to lose power and that would be it. When kept in good fettle, they are a very nice motor and sooooo smooth it’s almost unbelievable. A set of extractors and free flowing exhaust will give them a huge torque increase and they rev freely enough to allow 100KPH if that’s your thing (if you can keep the petrol up to them)

I get why people don’t like them, but I think they’re a nice motor - a little fragile yes, but worth keeping IMO.

Parts are getting VERY hard to come by though so they should probably be looked on as an enthusiasts engine only, but if that’s the case, well worth keeping. [emoji106]

I had a mate who was right into the ford flat head V8's. He used to get over 200bhp out of the old things. I can see the appeal [smilebigeye]

I'd love to put a flat head V8 into an 86" and cross some Oz off road in it (or a fully worked TEA20 donk)