Thread: Upgrade Range Rover Engine - 2 door Classic

I have driven or had all sizes up to 4.6. For longevity 3.5. For everything else injected 3.0-4.6. And in newer Rangies thicker walls were 4.6. Cheers

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I have a 3.9 low compression R380 disco engine in my 4door running on gas. It's way faster and has a lot more power and torque than than my old 1985 Range Rover. It had a strong carby 3.5 high compression petrol only V8 and went nicely....

The injected 3.9, even though it's a low compression engine running on LPG ... would leave it for dead in every aspect though.

seeya,
Shane L.

Hi Shane, I had owned for a short time a soft dash 94/95 classic which had the 3.9 efi, drove incredibly well, would leave the 3.5 carby for dead...
with the 3.5 I struggle to keep up with buses at the lights.. is this normal? haha

Originally Posted by ozscott

I have driven or had all sizes up to 4.6. For longevity 3.5. For everything else injected 3.0-4.6. And in newer Rangies thicker walls were 4.6. Cheers

Would you do 4.6 with the carbies?



Thanks for the input guys!
I don't need it to be a rocket, but thought the 4.6 seemed like a good choice with carbies. 3.9 i would need to do efi..

I will go somewhere to at least get a tune up soon.

Originally Posted by Baker

Hi Shane, I had owned for a short time a soft dash 94/95 classic which had the 3.9 efi, drove incredibly well, would leave the 3.5 carby for dead...
with the 3.5 I struggle to keep up with buses at the lights.. is this normal? haha




Would you do 4.6 with the carbies?



Thanks for the input guys!
I don't need it to be a rocket, but thought the 4.6 seemed like a good choice with carbies. 3.9 i would need to do efi..

I will go somewhere to at least get a tune up soon.

The 3.5 should roll along effortlessly enough with a manual gearbox. Check the timing .... I bet it's retarded as buggery. On lpg crank it around to 10+ degrees (it'll suck on petrol though). I think I'm running about 12degree on gas at the moment. very, very bad on petrol... great on lpg.... I reckon I need to drop it back to 10degrees... As sometimes it's not good on gas at 12 (no doubt when I get a crappy tank of gas that's full of butane) I was running 8degrees from memory on the petrol only 3.5 with twin carbs. It was a high compression engine though and I put high octane fuel in it.

It's a very low powered engine pulling over 2tons ... I wouldn't expect a lot, but it should quite easily keep up with the flow of traffic.

You have checked the basics right? the vac advance works, the springs in the dizzie aren't seiezed, the cap and rotor is good ... the plugs are decent etc... There is a ebay seller down in tassie that does a tune up kit for good money (ie: rotor, dizzie cap, plugs etc).

seeya
Shane L.

I have a 4.6 in my 82 2door. Effortless performance but no drag car. Could do with another top gear. Looks absolutely standard under the bonnet. Effortlessly uses fuel too! Couldn't go back to a 3.5 now. This car will not go offroad in any serious way so not necessary to upgrade axles diffs etc. LT95 is a strong box as long as its looked after.
Baker, I've sent you a PM if wanna know a bit more.

Jools.

Do I smell a possible TD5 conversion?

My 3.5 EFI was great. wouldnt even look at anything bigger.
3.5RR 2Dr = 127HP
3.5D1 2Dr = 163HP
(numbers from Parkers)

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

The 3.5 should roll along effortlessly enough with a manual gearbox. Check the timing .... I bet it's retarded as buggery. On lpg crank it around to 10+ degrees (it'll suck on petrol though). I think I'm running about 12degree on gas at the moment. very, very bad on petrol... great on lpg.... I reckon I need to drop it back to 10degrees... As sometimes it's not good on gas at 12 (no doubt when I get a crappy tank of gas that's full of butane) I was running 8degrees from memory on the petrol only 3.5 with twin carbs. It was a high compression engine though and I put high octane fuel in it.

It's a very low powered engine pulling over 2tons ... I wouldn't expect a lot, but it should quite easily keep up with the flow of traffic.

You have checked the basics right? the vac advance works, the springs in the dizzie aren't seiezed, the cap and rotor is good ... the plugs are decent etc... There is a ebay seller down in tassie that does a tune up kit for good money (ie: rotor, dizzie cap, plugs etc).

seeya
Shane L.

what have you added to it to make it over 2t?

I had a good 3.5 in my 2 door, and am putting a decent one in again. Got enough speeding tickets to show that I never had issue with keeping up with traffic! Used to cruise at 110Kmh no issue. As for buses...left in the dust.
Maybe not as good as something with more cubes, but certainly adequate.