Hi all
Well where do I start:}
I have a sIII here in little old NZ that I have put a Nissan LD28 in and it goes really well.
I love the old girl to bits but when I put the new engine in I had to fit a Santana front to it so now people mistake it for a V8
The reason for the front end change was that the engine Has 6 pots not 4 so it is allot longer and the radiator would not fit between the engine and the cross member (even after taking some of it out). I would now like to make it look like a SIII again but with the engine still as it is now. Has anyone got any good ideas as to how to do this?

Post up some pics of the current situation...


What kind of cooling do you need?
Otherwise maybe a split radiator, or two motorcycle rads might be the option...

If it's a LWB, shuffle the whole lot backwards. If it's SWB, put the radiator in the back if you can.

I know it's personal preference, but why? It will be a lot of effort for not a lot gain, I am guessing there are plenty of other jobs you could do which will provide better rewards!

The step back front IMHO looks great, guess that's why the OP wants to do this.

As to how - as said above it's all about where to put the cooling. The space restrictions in front of the engine will ultimately govern this. Not sure how with such a big engine you could achieve this to be honest, at least without a mammoth amount of work moving everything backwards.

Original series Land Rovers generally have a very small block (length wise) and oodles of room between the fan and the engine. Putting something non original in (especially a bigger lump) is inevitably going to mean everything in front of the block needs to move forward, and that means the grill, hence the flat front.

Do you have space on the sides? Two motorcycle rads with fans mounted sideways , one either side might do the job.

And what need is there for cooling? Constant or occasional? Do you have room on top of the engine, if so, you might get away with mounting a rad slanted on top, hummer style... (Mind you, it will fill up with mud faster than you can say 'Hey you, nutter' in a Liverpudlian accent)

how much space have you got between the fan and the inner, most forward face of the grille? I made the rad fit hard up against the grille, and moved the grille forwards by 20mm, for it to clear the steeringbox (coiler spec pas box). I extended the bonnet at the back to make it look right. Noone has spotted the difference yet.

The Series LR with the 2.6 6cyl engine in had a shorter gearbox (bellhousing and input shaft, IIRC). Now sure of avaliability in NZ, but might allow you to move engine back a few inches. Not sure on the size of the Nissian engine so you may find you don't have the room at the bulkhead end.

2.6 6 pot landies had the whole assembly 4 or 6 inches backwards, bell housings where the same distance except the bolt pattern. I know this as we replaced the bellhousing from a 6pot to fit a 4cyl and we used the same input shaft. The bulkhead is also different.

Grem

Correct.

Fair enough. I thought that I remembered (back in the 80s) people putting 6 cyl boxes on the back of V8s so that they could still fit the recessed grill because the 6cyl box was shorter. Perhaps it is just the mounting position then......hummmm

Yes it is, as witnessed by the different prop lengths on the 6cyl. When mine went from 6cyl to V8 it was sat right down and back (changing the rear 4 plugs was a laugh).

I've run into this same problem as well during my S3 109 build---although for different reasons. My full size Ford Falcon Radiator and twin electric fans wouldn't fit between the D2 PAS box and the radiator support panel. I moved my grill panel forward by 55mm and had a sheetmetal shop extend the rear of the bonnet. This gives you more room, but still retains that unique series look. Changing to a 2.6 Bulkhead would also goive you more room as well.

Nick

Thank all

I would like to keep it looking like a III should at the moment I have about a foot of room between the engine and the Radiator but the cross member stops the radiator from fitting the grille is from a V8 model (I know it to be the stage one) I have the V8 radiator in it at the moment and I have the stage one bonnet on it as well this is the problem as I would like it to have the step in grill as I think they look good. I could always go the other way and change the front to look like a Ninety. Dose it all fit to the III bulk head??

is the front panel your trying to fit standard? ive seen many conversions where they're sliced off everything level with the front sheet of steel so that it has no depth and then bolt the radiator straight to the back, so you're moving the radiator forward without moving the panel, would this help your situation? is there enough room?

just a thought

I have managed to get a 6cyl falcon engine in behind the radiator, it does need a front mounted fan though. The grill pannel has been moved forward about 50mm but is still under the bonnet and the head light conectors still fit

Click to view attachment

This is where the bonnet will sit in relation to the grill

Click to view attachment

In this picture the engine is in the same position as the previous pictures (standard gear box position) but it has a different radiator in it. You might just have to hunt around and find a radiator or get one made that isnt as tall so it can sit above the cross member

Click to view attachment

My set up:



The Rad is standard TDI, as is the intercooler, with the bottom tank custom.



This pic shows the solution for the intercooler and steeringbox fighting for space, but agreed in the end.