Thread: five litre conversion ??

Welcome to the forum.

Although I can't specifically help you with this conversion, it certainly will get along a bit better than a carbied 3.5 rover engine.. I have seen Th700's in Rangies - coupled to LT230 transfer cases, but not sure how it was done.

Have you given any thought to the driveline? I'm not sure how long your axles will last if you start giving it a hard time.

Be sure to post some pics of the build, we love pics.

The most critical problem I'm aware of is that the trans is wider than the ZF and the front prop shaft may hit the edge of the pan. Clearance is tight and a solid shaft out of a 3 speed Torque Flite auto RRC may help considerably.

Let me know when you're done/if you need a hand, I'm just up the road

The Les Richmond Auto and StormSeries websites show some awesome V8 and gearbox combinations, up to 550hp, but the latter requires matched gearbox and upgraded everything!

Thanks for the response,I've modified the auto pan to clear the front drive shaft and machined an adaptor to fit between the TH400 adaptor and the TH700 tailhousing.I'm building the old girl for a bit of touring with the cook ,I picked the truck up from a bloke in Orange for two grand, complete with rear tyre/jerry can/jack carrier, 210 Lt belly tanks, 70Lt water tank, 2 inch lift, BFG all terrains, bullbar,huge radiator, UHF and body flares.I then got a complete VP Commodore (5Lt, TH700, pipes, catback, etc.)for another 2k. The RRC radiator is now modded to fit the 5Lt.A second parts vehicle was bought on Evilbay for $400 and I'm using the rolling chassis to set up the new motor before I put it into the other body.The second truck came with hub spanners and a complete rear drawer storage setup.....bonus!!

Roger

Sounds good. Is the V8 5ltr 165kw enough power? Once you install a lift lit and install bigger tyres it really drags the power out of it. You might be a little disappointed just talking from previous exprience.
I made my own adaptor T700 to Lt230. I done approx 40000kms with no issues. You will love this gearbox with a low first. I'm not sure if you aware but you can buy a kit from summit racing for a vacuum lock up converter switch with a manual override. You can lock the converter in 2,3 & 4th gears

Idea's to consider.
Modify the LT230 centre diff (rear wheel drive)
Defender 110 rear diff
Defender brake callipers all round with discovery brake booster and master cylinder. (BIG difference in braking)
Range Rover front diff with pegged crown wheel and harden axles. (or defender 110 front diff if you can afford it)

Originally Posted by tebone

Sounds good. Is the V8 5ltr 165kw enough power? Once you install a lift lit and install bigger tyres it really drags the power out of it. You might be a little disappointed just talking from previous exprience.
I made my own adaptor T700 to Lt230. I done approx 40000kms with no issues. You will love this gearbox with a low first. I'm not sure if you aware but you can buy a kit from summit racing for a vacuum lock up converter switch with a manual override. You can lock the converter in 2,3 & 4th gears

Idea's to consider.
Modify the LT230 centre diff (rear wheel drive)
Defender 110 rear diff
Defender brake callipers all round with discovery brake booster and master cylinder. (BIG difference in braking)
Range Rover front diff with pegged crown wheel and harden axles. (or defender 110 front diff if you can afford it)

Why would you ever want 2wd?

Excellent stuff Tebone, does the T230 conversion give me part time 4x4 or 2wd only?? I've often thought about part time 2wd for general road work.
If I change to the Defender 110 rear diff ,does the stud pattern change, and what about the ratios ??.......as far as the power goes,at least with the GMH motor there's no shortage of accessories, etc.......I'll just see how it goes as we go along

Roger