Thread: 302 powered Series 3??

Originally Posted by Jimmy

The question now is, will the ex-army diffs and transfer case hold up to the 302 windsor?? AND, what gearbox would be best to use, and may mate to the tranny?? Or maybe new tranny?? I'm thinking a little Auto transmission may also be nice??

Contrary to popular opinion, the internals of military series diffs/axles are no different to civvie versions.

If you have a series 3 109" (LWB ), then you will have a salisbury rear axle, which will hold up fine. The front is weaker, but if you take it easy with the right foot offroad then it should also be OK.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

why ****fart around with a 302 when a few more cubes nets you a nice holden v8?

I'm about to start a 308 conversion. Have you done one?

A mate had a 2A hardtop with a 302/C4 he did in about 1988, instead of the Salisbury he had a 9" Ford made with the correct offset. The diff was done by a bloke at Diff Trans Spares in Silverwater who had a 2A wagon with a 302, a non-LR manual and a 9" rear. The thing went well, especially on the road and good offroad and he really gave it heaps.

Jeff

Why oh why would you deliberately put an engine in that will not only cost more to run but more to register and probably insure too?

My 186 conversion isn't exactly cheap to run, I'd imagine a v8 would be more to run plus more rego costs and most insurance companies are loath to insure anything non original. The 186 has plenty of power. I'm pretty sure in Qld the maximum engine size for a Landrover series is 4300cc petrol or 4000cc diesel, correct me if I'm wrong but a 302CU would exceed this, in qld at the least!

If I could afford to do a drop out drop in engine change I'd go back to a 4 cyl. Too hard to find a good motor, too much mod work needed and too costly.

Originally Posted by pfillery

Why oh why would you deliberately put an engine in that will not only cost more to run but more to register and probably insure too?

My 186 conversion isn't exactly cheap to run, I'd imagine a v8 would be more to run plus more rego costs and most insurance companies are loath to insure anything non original. The 186 has plenty of power. I'm pretty sure in Qld the maximum engine size for a Landrover series is 4300cc petrol or 4000cc diesel, correct me if I'm wrong but a 302CU would exceed this, in qld at the least!

If I could afford to do a drop out drop in engine change I'd go back to a 4 cyl. Too hard to find a good motor, too much mod work needed and too costly.

Becuase red sixes are the devils spawn and you'll probably get as good if not better economy from a little baby windsor

Originally Posted by Camo

This one had a worked 351 in it.. top loader gearbox, stock transfer and running Nissan GU diffs

Camo

Top loader gearbox? What with something like a 2.2:1 first gear?
I recall a few years back,with my ultra low geared 4cyl series 2, towing a CJ6 Jeep up the back hill on my property because it didn't have enough torque to keep the wheels (7.50x16)turning, without revving the engine too high and bogging the vehicle down.
This vehicle varied slightly in spec to the above in that it had a 302,toploader,Dana 18 transfercase(2.46:1 low range) and 4.1 Landcruiser diffs.Overall gear ratio in low range 1st gear=22:1. about 21:1 with a std Series 3 t/case
It is said that there is no substitute for cubic inches.But a decent range of gear ratios goes a long way to compensate for a relative lack of engine capacity.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

why ****fart around with a 302 when a few more cubes nets you a nice holden v8?

holden/chev motor 200lbs heavier, longer and wider and dissy at the back where you cant get to it, Fords Rule, Regards Frank.

I did a S3 conversion about 25 years ago. Used a 351 clevo I rebuilt with C4 auto mated to a S3 transfer case with a Marks adaptor and replacement C4 mainshaft which uses a jack shaft between the C4 and transfer. Used some super low ratio transfer gears, can't remember what the ratio was but it was superb offroad and unbelievable onroad. I used a ford 4 core HD radiator, bigger fan and thermos as well. All of this was just able to control the temps when offroad lugging with a load and trailer attached. I converted the front with 110 doors, guards, bonnet and radiator panel and used a modified front RR diff and a widened rear Salisbury (both 3.54 ratio) with a MD fitted. Had to move the front crossmember forward, used the Ford XY/ZD ram on the drag link for power steering. It was a big project and I was very happy with it but in the end the cost of running it was too much. Theres a couple of photos of it in another thread, Series 3 disc brake conversion, I think its called.