Defender

If you could post some pictures that would be great, I would be very interested. I currently have a box from a VW LT35 but haven't actually tried fitting it yet. But I do have one question, the steering relay is much smaller, it looks very similar to the jeep one actually but how did you get round this? The options I could see would be: 1. Have a relay made that suits the VW box to the 101 ball joint = Mega expensive so most likely not an option. 2. Have a ball joint made to suit the 101 threads but the VW taper = Again probably expensive and not sure how feasible it would be. I think this is why people use the LDV steering box because the 101 relay bots straight on to it.

You may well be right but the R380 will take 380NM (Obviously) but there are people who have run more through them and they've survived, for how long may well be a different matter. Ashcrofts can make it stronger if necessary! But hey it's all part of the fun, if it chews R380s in quick time they are at least cheap to replace and are available everywhere.

daslandroverman How about a donation and you can have a copy hector-boy The guy at SMT is super helpful he made a kit up for me so I got: The adapter ring to a V8 gearbox Engine mounts to adapt V8 to OM606 (You still need 2 x rubber mounts part code: 1072410913) Flywheel Starter ring Adapter from OM606 to starter ring and flywheel I don't have the part code for the clutch plate handy but yes it is from a Mitsubishi L200 I think. I'll find it and post it if your interested. I am having some concerns about the clutch at the moment, this is the clutch that fits the flywheel and clutch plate: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271811008477?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT however having looked into this it is only suitable for a maximum engine torque of 270NM. I'm a bit worried that as my pump has been tweaked to 260hp the torque is going to be more than a standard OM606 at 180HP and 330NM. But I'm struggling to find a performance clutch that will fit the flywheel. The issue is the flywheel is only 300mm to clear the nose of the starter motor in the bell housing otherwise I'd just machine the flywheel and put something bigger on it, some people have mentioned using a single mass flywheel for a sprinter but having looked into this it's 380mm diameter so I doubt this will work but I may order one just to check. I also looked into a customer flywheel from Rakeway but this seemed quite expensive. I may have no choice but will keep looking for a solution. I have tried asking for solutions on the forum but no one has replied so I guess most people go auto or don't use a Land Rover gearbox.

That will be me Yes it seems good quality but there's not allot to it in reality. I have a Solidworks drawing of the adapter, it was easy enough to replicate. Where are you in the country if your near Cheshire you can come and have a look.

Has anyone done a manual conversion that they could post what flywheel and clutch they have used to take the power of a tweaked 606? (Only about 250hp). Thanks,

Thank you very much for your kind offer but I have been sent the measurements I needed. I have posted them below in case anyone else finds them useful: there are 8 bolts the centre of each bolt to the next is 26 mm and each bolt is 35 mm from the centre of the flywheel so there is 70 mm from each bolt to its opposite bolt the bolt holes are 12 mm the flywheel diameter is 330 mm the height of flywheel and clutch is 92 mm the height of the release bearing is 69 mm

Thanks for the offer. Whereabouts in the country are you?

Does anyone happen to have a TD5 flywheel that they could measure the bolt pattern for the flywheel please? Thanks,

Sorry to drag this up again but I have another question: I've ben told that a 110 commercial has a different tax rate to a standard 110 SW is this correct? Something like £210 opposed to £505. If so does that mean that a 90 hardtop has a different tax rate to a 90 SW? Thanks,

I have a 101 Ambulance that is being converted to a camper after being stripped by the previous owner of anything Ambulance related. Why.........well because it's cool and I've always wanted one . I used to camp at Land Rover shows, then upgraded to a trailer tent and now upgrading to the 101 so it will be a practical as well as providing cheap holidays! Also have a 300TDI 90 that was originally a hard top and my daily driver for many years, used for the same reasons as others, towing, dogs, off road fun I didn't want to sell it when I had to buy a car for economy reasons so turned it into an off road toy with a soft top and a roll cage. I love it, looks cool and is awesome off road, turns heads where ever it goes although not sure if that's because people think your mad driving something with 35" tyres on the road.

Part 1 = Brilliant! Part 2 = Can't wait! Hopefully LR had a good read before they designed the new Defender Hope all goes well with the surgery.

Thank you so much everyone that's really useful information. On the upside it seems there's nothing too serious so that's good news, they are a world apart from my 300 tdi and was surprised how much more comfortable they seem. Thanks again for the help.

I'm in the process of finding a Defender for my better half and she has decided she wants a TDCI 90 XS SW, just wondering what peoples experiences are with the new engines as an everyday driver and is there anything specific engine wise I should be looking for? We are most likely going for the 2.4 as don't think my budget will stretch to a 2.2 yet. Any help/buying guides appreciated

Thanks much appreciated.

Thanks for the replies I've definitely got some thinking to do. Wow what can I say about Dave Langs, that think looks like it came from the factory! Superb, thanks for the link.

Anyone got a 100 Inch Defender they could post some pics of? Toying with the idea of building one but wondered what others had done to give me some inspiration. Or should I just buy a 110 and cut the back off to give the look I want

Why would you do this? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/landrover-discovery-2-hummer-build-crew-cab-pickup-truck-on-off-roader-/191608292120?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c9cbe8318

Thanks to everyone for their replies. I think the problem is solved as Fridge has pointed out with an LT77 / Stubby R380 and a V8 adapter plate. A kind sole on the forum has sold me the adapter plate so now all I need is a gearbox. Appreciate that the stubby R380 is rare but if anyone has one that they want to sell please get in touch. I would rather have the R380 because of the bigger bearings, smoother change etc. If I can't source one over the next month or so I might have to look at buying the bits and building one but would rather not as I've never built a gearbox before and not sure from reading the R380 rebuild manual I have all the necessary tools.

Thanks that would be great. The idea of wrong box with an adapter is exactly what I'm looking for. When you say V8 adapter 2" where would I find such a thing?

Thanks that was what I needed to know. Now I know there are definite differences I can look into what can be done about it. My problem is the length the box that's coming out is a short LT95 so I kind of need to replicate this, it is seeming more and more like this isn't going to be possible though but that's why I started the thread. I was told last night that the V8 R380 is even longer than a TDI R380, it has a longer bell housing and obviously a longer input shaft! So does someone have a V8 R380 that they could measure from bell housing to rear prop flange face? I can then go and physically measure the space available and see if I can shoe horn it in at all. It's a steep learning curve and I'm learning all the time especially over the last few days, it would be so much easier if I had my own scrap yard and I could compare all the parts. Thanks for all the help so far much appreciated.

Seems a bit cheeky if I'm not going to buy a box from them but will try calling them tomorrow as I'm running out of ideas. No I don't have a V8 but the bolt pattern on the engine is exactly the same as a Land Rover V8 gearbox. I was under the impression that all the bolt patterns were the same, I was only recently told they were different which is why I'm asking these questions because if a TDI bolt pattern is different to a V8 then the R380 I have being delivered from a 300 TDI disco isn't going to fit...........which is going to cause me an issue.

Well unless I'm mistaken on the 4 cylinder engines there is a housing that attaches to the back of the engine, you then bolt the flywheel over the top of this housing and then the gearbox bolts to this. Fridge appreciate your comments but this is a project so I don't want to spend lots of money until I know it works. Hence asking on here. Anyone have a picture of a V8 bell housing and TDI housing side by side. And next query is is there a length difference again between TDI and V8.

Thanks for the info! At least I now know the Disco and Defender boxes are the same length and the rakeway does away with the speedo, I wasn't aware of that. Having looked the stubby R380 is no good for my application because the clutch housing is on the engine. So next question is: On this link http://www.expeditionlandrover.info/gearboxes.htm it states that 'The V8 and Tdi R380 gearboxes have different bell housings and primary input shafts. They will interchange by swapping these parts.' Does anyone know whether that is true? And what are the differences? I need the V8 type so are there different part codes needed to change a TDI box to a V8 box?

I see what your saying maybe I got the wrong end of the stick, I was thinking it was 30mm shorter because it was 30mm longer in the first place e.g. so it would fit where an LT77 came out.

This is the link the information is from: http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/manual-gearboxes/short-bellhousing-r380.html 'The "Stumpy" or short bellhousing R380 was made by Landrover as a direct replacement for the 4 Cyl LT77. The bellhousing is 30mm shorter than the LT77 one as the 5th speed housing on the R380 is 30mm longer.'