Thread: Defender Conversion to V8

thats from having the rover turn up with a 6 pot and having the bloke say, "reckon we can get a v8 in it?" to having it drive off legally registered.


All my own spanner twisting and that DOESN'T include the bartering that was done for some bits and pieces... for example at the time I was employed as a PC tech and by chance a technical welder needed a pc fixed and I needed engine mounts... 1:1 at very little cost to either party but those mounts would have cost $500 with a certificate..

I do a lot of business like that.

Hed budgeted 20K for it and I laughed but there was a lot of time and wrecker scrounging involved...

Theres a fair chance that youve underestimated as theres a lot of things that you dont anticipate that crop up.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Theres a fair chance that youve underestimated as theres a lot of things that you dont anticipate that crop up.

I'm sure I will have missed something, but I hope not much.

Engine is easy to price - and you can basically spend what you like there. I have a base 3.9 with all ancillaries and EFi gear/ECU off the donor vehicle though. Above that, it's how much I want to spend on it....

Other than that, I've got:

Engine mounts & welding
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel
Radiator, fans & pipework

Plus all the little bits that either won't fit or are different between a Disco V8 and a 110.

We shall see, I guess.

fire wall mods, clutching mods, brake upgrade, tcase, axle replacements, move the radiator, wiring harness, exhaust, fuel system and inlet track ect ect ect..

Originally Posted by jik22

Other than that, I've got:

Engine mounts & welding
Bellhousing, clutch and flywheel
Radiator, fans & pipework

At least with Defender you can pull the front off and work unimpeded.

As you've got a fair bit of work there, what about converting it to an auto at the same time - buy the autobox with the 3.9 engine you're buying.

Ron

lrdef110 has a defender ute with a 3.9 and auto out of a disco. Ask him about it.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

fire wall mods, clutching mods, brake upgrade, tcase, axle replacements, move the radiator, wiring harness, exhaust, fuel system and inlet track ect ect ect..

Jeff,
Most of this is unnecessary if you do it properly. I converted my 90 from a 2.5 petrol to a V8. All that needed to be done was to put the input and lay shafts from a V8 LT77 into my LT77, sway bell housings, cut the engine mounts off the chassie and weld the V8 ones on. You will need to get a new radiator, but you shouldn't need to move it, and you shouldn't need to modify the firewall.

Originally Posted by cmurray

Ron,
Most of this is unnecessary if you do it properly. I converted my 90 from a 2.5 petrol to a V8. All that needed to be done was to put the input and lay shafts from a V8 LT77 into my LT77, sway bell housings, cut the engine mounts off the chassie and weld the V8 ones on. You will need to get a new radiator, but you shouldn't need to move it, and you shouldn't need to modify the firewall.

Gudday Craig, now i can put a name to a face, i was in Freds the other week and met you, i was looking at your 90 and we were discussing the rear wheel carrier and the history of the rig.

ive been thinking hard in the past month about selling my TDI 300 and puting a 3.9 in my girl.
Other option is to get a stuffed county and use the chassis and driveline and then put my defender body on it...
Still want to keep the Ute look, but have a engine that gives instant power....

Originally Posted by sclarke

Gudday Craig, now i can put a name to a face, i was in Freds the other week and met you, i was looking at your 90 and we were discussing the rear wheel carrier and the history of the rig.

ive been thinking hard in the past month about selling my TDI 300 and puting a 3.9 in my girl.
Other option is to get a stuffed county and use the chassis and driveline and then put my defender body on it...
Still want to keep the Ute look, but have a engine that gives instant power....

Clarkie,
I thought the fact that I had a yellow V8 90 would have been enough of a give away, as there aren't many around, let alone bright yellow ones that have been battered and abused like mine is!

As for 3.9, do you mean Isuzu? If you do, and you like doing slippery hills, I wouldn't do it, as they simply do not rev hard enough. Also, about the only way you will be able to find the bits for putting one in, is by buying a vehicle with one already in, as the Isuzu bits are getting rear as rocking horse poo!

If you mean the 3.9 V8, my brother has one in his County, and he complains about a lack of low end torque.