Thread: Upgrade Range Rover Engine - 2 door Classic

attached below... this was back in 2002.. haven't got a recent pic... nothing has changed much, removed the super heavy roof rack. Paint work needs a little work.. need to redo the headlining now. I would LOVE to reupholster the seats

None of these modifications are possible you will have to sell the vehicle to me...

Seriously i would leave the 3.5 in there. The vehicle is worth more as original. A good rebuild with hi compression pistons a decent camshaft and proper carby tuning, lose some of the weight and it will transform the vehicle. Ditch the gas too.

Jc

this engine was rebuilt 12 years back, but car has probably only done less than 30,000k's since then... nothing wrong with the engine... the right thing to do is to leave it... but I don't plan on selling it, so I can leave the original engine in storage.... I would love to be able to curise around effortlessly...

what is approx cost of cam and for someone to install? Will I notice much difference?

A well running 3.5 is a better engine. Except for the lack of cubes they are superior.

The easiest way to tackle this is to buy a 4.6 high compression long engine and all your ancilliaries will bolt onto it. IIRC you will need to grind away a little edge of the block casting where the oil pump housing on the timing cover interferes with it or something similar but it was a long time ago that i did it so my memory is hazy.

Yes you can use your flywheel and clutch etc and enjoy all the extra torque... 😎

Jc

I had an 85 rangie that previous owner rebuilt the hicomp 3.5 , it was a ripper even with the TF727 behind it.

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The old 3.5 Classic I used to tow a sweeper with, had been re-built and 'cammed' for towing up to 80 km/h, and was respectably quick across the traffic lights and beyond, - died after 90km/h

With the plant unhitched, it just... fleeewww

Seriously, I'd suggest getting the most out of the (relatively robust) 3.5 block, convert to high compression... then decide if you need more 'cubes'.

The Lady Sarah, 1995 Classic 3.9 Vogue SE with working air suspension...

get rid of the gas get it tuned,if it is still low on power to what you want look at the 4.6

Really have you thought of what extra torque will do to 40 year old drivetrain parts?

The poor old transfer case will probably die first and the whole LT95 will then need a rebuild which is expensive.

My tip would be to get a wrecker discovery 3.9 V8 5 speed manual and use the engine and transmission from it, although you will have to modify the transmission tunnel. You could probably get a low mileage one for a grand or two as they are written of with just cosmetic damage these days.

Much of the OLD feeling of a 3.5 2 door comes from the old LT95. I used to skin my knuckles on the aircon on changes to third. I remember discussing the options with SWMBO and to my surprise she said get a newer one which I did. She hated the gearchange and the Fairey overdrive which had to be changed down at every slight rise.

It would be a nice car and not cost a lot to do.

Regards Philip A