[110 v8 (or M20) engine swap]

Remembered reading a quote from a thread ages ago,

http://www.d-90.com/forum/printthread.php?t=10478

Thats says using a bellhousing from a manual p38 would mount the gearbox to a bmw straight six....

I presume from the manual diesel.

It also says ashcrofts were involved so a call to david may be in order

Thanks for the info.

[110 v8 (or M20) engine swap]

If you are lucky the BMW petrol might have the same block pattern as the BMW M57 2.5 6 clyinder diesel fitted to the P38's. The R380 in the P38's will bolt straight up to the 2.5 and 3.0 ltr M57 diesel engines.

Are the electric's on the BMW petrol fixable?? I know that Jeremy Fearn and Rally Raid UK are into fixing the electonic's on the M57 diesel. There may be som commonality on the security unit, etc???

Adrian

Part of the draw for going back to the M20 rather than anything later is so that the electronics are relatively simple. The engine is "stand alone" so the ecu doesn't reply on inputs from other on board systems to confuse matters.

[110 v8 (or M20) engine swap]

Have you thought about using an auto box with the BMW engine?

If its the M30 six cylinder lump which I think you are talking about they use the ZF4Hp22 which is almost the same as fitted to the Range Rovers.

The M30 (Big Six) was fitted to 530/535is 730/735i & possibly others.

They are great engines with lots of potential for more power relatively cheaply. They are a little heavy & they are quite a long engine but it should be possible to get one to fit.

I think the sump may cause issues with diff clearance, as I think the oil pump is chain driven off the crank at the front of the engine, the main sumps at the front aswell. Just something to look into.

Good info on the sump. Thanks.

Yes considered the auto but really wanted to stick with the manual box.

[110 v8 (or M20) engine swap]

Taking a guess at your knowledge level from the contents of your post, I think you need to do a bit more research.

Although R380's were used behind several LR engines and in front of LT230's, they are not all the same. Disco & RR ones have longer bellhousings (~30cm long) & input shafts to match, and the tailhousing and gearshift are different. All in, it's a right game to "convert" one to Defender spec. Your best option is either to just get a box built to spec by Ashcrofts or similar, or use a V8 adapter plate.

For the comparison of LT230 ratios, have a look here and also have a read of the tech archive, there are some useful gearing calculations in there.

Swapping the BMW unit in will require a load of rather rare parts (there are probably at least 1000x more V8 Land Rovers out there compared to BMW) so you're rather unlikely to find second hand bits cheap on ebay or kicking round the local scrapyard.

Thanks for the replies so for, you're right about my knowledge level which is why I'm asking advice on the forum.

The M20 appeals as it was done by LR themselves on the M50 engineed SA spec defender but as you say, I'm thinking despite it's advanages it will be a much more difficult project and do the benefits over the V8 warrant it?

I was thinking of giving Ashcrofts a call but never having dealt with them and being new to LR ownership I wasn't sure how open they are to a chat of that nature. I'll give them a bell.

Thanks.

[110 v8 (or M20) engine swap]

I'm looking into replacing the 300tdi in my 1998 110 SW with the 3.9 V9 from a Disco. The reasoning is that disco's can be picked up pretty cheaply and will give me all of the ancillaries I'm going to need.

The intention is to retain the R380, so the question is what bellhousing will I need and I'm assuming I'll need a new input shaft.

The transfer box should be a straight swap if I want to lower the gearing but is there any benefit to using the disco diffs? Are they a lower ratio than I have in the Def?

The alternative was the BMW M20 3.4 straight six as it gives higher power and torque figures and is a very reliable and more efficient engine. It would be a more involved swap though so I'm leaning more towards the V8. Has anyone done an M20 transplant who can tell me what's involved or point me in the right direction?

Many thanks.