3.5 litre Mods

[81_2DOOR]

Recently purchased an 81 Rangie. Great condition, running realtively well. Wondering if anyone has any info on a basic fuel injection kit and computer?
Or straight forward engine upgrade?

She struggles a bit on the cold mornings with the current choke setup. Also seems to run low pressure/high temp oil as soon as I sit on 80-90 clicks for half hour or so. especially climbing hills. Same thing when in low range. Love the car, don't want to give her the full treatment but just make general day to day easier on her.

[rovercare]

Where is ya located?

[long stroke]

Stroker kit,supercharger or twin turbos should do the job;):D

Or you could look out for a second hand injection kit off ebay they go pretty cheap.

TIM.

[350RRC]

Chev on gas, and get Cloughy to instal it @ the going rate (less than a slab/h)

[rovercare]

Chev on gas, and get Cloughy to instal it @ the going rate (less than a slab/h)

Now there's a thought, pick your own hourly rate, 2 for $62 or full price at $43/hr:D:D

[HangOver]

Recently purchased an 81 Rangie. Great condition, running realtively well. Wondering if anyone has any info on a basic fuel injection kit and computer?
Or straight forward engine upgrade?

She struggles a bit on the cold mornings with the current choke setup. Also seems to run low pressure/high temp oil as soon as I sit on 80-90 clicks for half hour or so. especially climbing hills. Same thing when in low range. Love the car, don't want to give her the full treatment but just make general day to day easier on her.

I have an 81' two door too :cool:
Reconditioned carby and radiator, best thing I have done and improves economy no end.
Expensive though.

[81_2DOOR]

Where is ya located?

Located in Castle Hill - Sydney

[rovercare]

Located in Castle Hill - Sydney

How about a 4.4 with reco heads, extractors, all ancillaries, new gas converter for $650 plus $200 frieght to your door:D

In reality a 3.5 is simply to small, to underpowered in all aspects, more cubes, forced induction or transplants are the go;)

[Stue 3 doors down]

Have you ever seen a 3.5 inj with a turbo? I would love pics as it may be something a bit different. :twisted:I use my D1 for touring and towing plus daily driver etc. Would a turbo on this engine be like a turbo on a diesel with regard to power and torque as I loved my HJ60 with the AXT turbo diesel for towing shame about the rest of the wagon.

[Bulldog]

G'day,

Don't listen to the 4.4L, turbo, chev, BS...

For the everyday Rangie driver, medium offroad etc, the 3.5 carb setup is FINE. The overheating issues need to be looked at though (like every Rangie :D). If its set up right (and not running 33" or larger tyres), it'll be fine.

Listen to Hangover. The only sensible post so far.

Good luck, don't give up, don't believe everything you hear about Rangies!

[BigJon]

I agree with Bulldog. My 3.5 EFI does the job adequately. It isn't a rocketship, but it is a 21 year old 4wd, not a drag car. :p

[rovercare]

h
G'day,

Don't listen to the 4.4L, turbo, chev, BS...

For the everyday Rangie driver, medium offroad etc, the 3.5 carb setup is FINE. The overheating issues need to be looked at though (like every Rangie :D). If its set up right (and not running 33" or larger tyres), it'll be fine.

Listen to Hangover. The only sensible post so far.

Good luck, don't give up, don't believe everything you hear about Rangies!

People are always so anal, they must defend their own choices:(

Had much involvement with these driveline alternatives, ever?, until you've owned one of each, pull your narrow minded BS up a little:)

Or better yet, just say your happy with your choice and don't feel the need for a larger engine, which is fine, don't say other options are BS:mad:

[Bulldog]

Fair point, rovercare...

However, what i don't like is people immediatley suggesting that a new Rangie owner should remove the crappy engine and spend 10k on a better one. Not a nice thought to face when you think you've bought a decent (25 year old) 4x4. I was told to upgrade the 3.5 to a 3.9 or 4.6 when i asked around about overheating and sluggishness just after i bought it - then discovered it was running on ONE CARBY :o. I'd be a tad annoyed if i found that out after spending x thousands on engine work.

I just think that new Rangie classic owners need as much encouragement as they can get :)

PS: I'd love a 4.6 in mine :D, but would never go the Chev...

[rangieman]

Have you ever seen a 3.5 inj with a turbo? I would love pics as it may be something a bit different. :twisted:I use my D1 for touring and towing plus daily driver etc. Would a turbo on this engine be like a turbo on a diesel with regard to power and torque as I loved my HJ60 with the AXT turbo diesel for towing shame about the rest of the wagon.
A supercharger is what you want if your towing or for off road work in my opinion ,For the type of driving you discribed for low down grunt :cool:

[rovercare]

Fair point, rovercare...

However, what i don't like is people immediatley suggesting that a new Rangie owner should remove the crappy engine and spend 10k on a better one. Not a nice thought to face when you think you've bought a decent (25 year old) 4x4. I was told to upgrade the 3.5 to a 3.9 or 4.6 when i asked around about overheating and sluggishness just after i bought it - then discovered it was running on ONE CARBY :o. I'd be a tad annoyed if i found that out after spending x thousands on engine work.

I just think that new Rangie classic owners need as much encouragement as they can get :)

PS: I'd love a 4.6 in mine :D, but would never go the Chev...

Why now? 10k, pfffft, I've supplied and fitted alot more engine for a crapload less then that

2 things need fixing in all Rangie classics, diff's and underpowered fuel pig;)

[UncleHo]

G'day 81_2DOOR :)


First up, welcome to AULRO :D

If this is your first Range Rover I would first of all get the 3.5 motor tuned, which includes getting the carbies balanced,and the timing/dwell checked, the carbs/timing can be a good reason to have it sluggish, and running hot,then get the tranny checked, (is it an Auto??) if so could be blocked transmission filter, if it is a manual, get the oil type and quality checked, also make sure that the Radiator is clean, running coolant to the right specs, and that the thermostat is OK, I would pay heed to both Buldog and BigJon, as they have been around rangies for a while;) if you just want it as a daily driver and light offroad that should see you happy, and when you are familiar with the vehicle and have more knowledge, then you can start looking at doing engine work to it:)


cheers

[loanrangie]

A 3.5 in good tune in a manual rangie goes alright, no racecar but get along ok. best thing i ever did to my 81 rangie was fit a bosch dizzy, p&p the heads and fit a holley carb. I was getting up to 22mpg on 31's before i put it on gas, most 3.5's would be cactus by now unless its had a rebuild or 2.

[Top End Rangie]

Just joined this forum,overall it's great!Heaps of friendly,helpful people.
However,what's all this rubbish about 3.5's 'overheating" or being 'underpowered'.
My old 14d is just a peach,and I tow a camper,and live in tropical Darwin.
You want underpowered? Buy a 2.8 litre Hilux,or a 60 series Cruiser with a 2H.
You want overheating? Buy a Mitsubishi....any Mitsubishi.
You want a 4WD that keeps going out of tune? Buy an old Patrol or Cruiser with points ignition!

i'm an ex die hard Toyota man,through and through,worked at Toyota,breathed Toyota.They are essentially very reliable,but....BORING,rough,and slowwww.

Iv'e owned:
FJ45 ute (rough ride,thirsty,points chewing)
BJ40 SWB with Izuzu 3.9l diesel (a sign of things to come,same as LR)
60 series import diesel auto(bleeeeech)
60 series 2H manual (slow rustbucket)
Hilux ln106 2.8 diesel (good truck,but s l o w.The skin on the rice custard is safe.)
80 series 4.5 petrol (fast,thirsty,clunky driveline,boring)
80 series diesel turbo(yeah,shoulda kept that one)

Plus a few Nissans,Suzy's etc.

Now I'm broke,since I lost money on all my cars,almost anyway.So a Rangie from a wreckers was all I could afford,and I'm actually really happy with it.

Solihull 4eva man.

[PhilipA]

Recently purchased an 81 Rangie. Great condition, running realtively well. Wondering if anyone has any info on a basic fuel injection kit and computer?
Or straight forward engine upgrade?

She struggles a bit on the cold mornings with the current choke setup. Also seems to run low pressure/high temp oil as soon as I sit on 80-90 clicks for half hour or so. especially climbing hills. Same thing when in low range. Love the car, don't want to give her the full treatment but just make general day to day easier on her.

Its a bit hard to advise on something like this as its impossible to know what has been done to the car already.
Does it have an auto choke or maual. If manual a rebuild kit in the carbies does wonders for cold start as they do not have a "choke" as such but an "enrichener"which depends on those little casings on the front of the carby.
As far as warming up and low oil pressure. This can be caused by head gasket leaks into the valley of the engine and is common with older Rangies when the outer row of head bolts is tightened.

The 81's AFAIR also had air injection into the exhaust manifolds when new although I would be surprised if it was still there. If there are a number of plugs in the exhaust ports then it was one of those engines.

They also had high compression of 9.35:1? and an emission cam that was dead as a doornail but again none of these may stiill be there.

Have a look at the compression ratio which is stamped on the block above the engine number between cylinders 2 and 3 on the LH side.

So IMHO the best things you can do with an old engine llike this is do a top overhaul with reseated valves, new head gaskets and a new modern cam .
This will give a real lift to performance.
Regards Philip A

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