Thread: ENGINE TRANSPLANT???

Yep i reckon a 4.6 would be the go, new cam, supercharge it, etc etc
Gotta stay with the rover v8 in my opinion (unless you want huge amounts of power....)

CHEERS TIM.

Personally Id stay the rover motor given those 2 options (wheres your diesel option man )primarily because I know the rover motor and I dont need the diff shattering power of the chev.

Admitedly no rover motor, no matter how worked has ever been in the league of the chev motors its a bit like tdi's vs td5's sure you can up a tdi to match a stock td5 but then the bugger with the td5 chips it and the poor tdi just weeps a tear, gives up and cries in the corner.

by the time the conversion is done grimace i think you'll have to bank on at least twice those prices!!!!

if you can find a reputable rover engine builder to do a good stroker (5L or 5L plus) with computer for under $10K i'd be astonished!! more then likely thousands more plus fitting!!

and with the chev - what engine size can you get engineered in a rangie? i know its more then a deefer, but a fender is 5L. plus the conversion will obvioulsy cost you alot more then a rover swap.

i' looked hard at trying to get a gen or LS into the wombat and couldn't find anyone to let me maybe i don't know the right people

I still agree, even better or perhaps simpler is to get your motor worked to 4.9 and keep same block and engine no so there is no hassle with rego and engineering.

My high comp 4.6 with Haltech went like the preverbial and was sad to see it go.

I also had a 81 two door with a holden 3.8l V6 and holden box to match.
Nightmare and fuel consumption was up there also.
What I missed most was the lack of exhaust note the most.
The 4.6 had the full mendrel job in stainless from the manifold back.
It was beautiful and absolutely no oil leaks.
I could go on.

Pull motor out and give to good engine builder and keep fingers crossed.

best of luck, nice project.

a 3.8l v6 isn't really a 6l chev now is it. while a 4.9 rover would go good, i'd personally spend the extra dollars and stick a 6l chev in it, you realy just need to sort the auto, which i'd either go a beefed up t700r4 or 4l60e. I don't care what people say, there isn't a substitute for cubic inches, and the chev is easy to tune and get good economy from.
Do the sums

I think you guys are all mad, the chev is the way to go, spend less doing that then building a rover motor, and what would be the benefit from a rover v8 over a chev, less power, more fuel used, harder to source parts for etc etc. weight wise the motor is probobly 30-50kg heavier for the ls1(we lifted both motors by hand with 3 of us)
with my LS1 conversion so far im at
1500 for motor ECU etc etc the guy even arrange to have the BCM removed from the ECU for free for me
450 for custom loom(could have done this myself a saved heaps)
500+950 for the dellow bellhousing + gearbox/lt230
250 for all the exhaust bits to make custom headers
80 odd dollars in steel for engine mounts
around 500 on fuel system(which you would probobly have to do with the 4.6 anyway)
Theres probobly more ive spent on little things but no other major spends so far

Ive still got a long way to go yet but comparing that to a 4.6 or similar rover v8 on prices... the decision was simple.

Anyone interested in seeing the LS1 conversion look at the link on the bottom of this post HEEAAPPSS of pics so far....

I see you mentioned RPi above. Incase it is not the same one I am thinking of in the UK here is a link that may help.
"RPi Engineering - Specialised Rover Engines"

While the Chev LS engines are priced right, I think you may find the conversion will cost you a fair bit more than you think with all the ancillaries. Just talk to people and get all the costs. I know I was contemplating it for my Torana and even for that it is a bit of a nightmare with all the compliance with pollution, cats etc that now must be done let alone engineering certification.

The pollution side of it is a simple thing, went through it with the engineer already -add cats keep the carbon pot and run a breather from the fuel tank, keep the AFM (till its regod) etc get it passed emissions and DB then loose the cats again....

as for the extra costs involved, theres not that many,, and no doubt there would be similar problems going to a 4.6, at the end of the day the LSx motor is still the way to go unless your really really keen to keep it true to rover. Its a wonder theres not kits available already, but i know marks 4x4 adapters is working on something there....