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V8 in to 90


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Hi All

Finally decided to replace the 2.5 n/a with a Rover V8, just a carb 3.5 nothing dramatic.

Gearbox and such are all fine so decided to go the adaptor ring and spigot bush route.

I have everything but was keen to test it out before the fitting stage so bought a cheap lt77 200 tdi bellhousing just to test fit.

But it doesn't fit, have I got the wrong adaptor ring?   It says RV8LR which sounds hopeful or is the bellhousing pointing me in the wrong direction.

This is the adaptor ring, bought as part of a load of bits, but seemed to compare well with M&D's

1939885496_20210716_1021342.thumb.jpg.ceb6bfc4f9f16d3cbf231165bae70efd.jpg

1993987384_20210716_1021432.thumb.jpg.368bee5609c50242d30c3001731077f8.jpg

This is the bellhousing, from a 200tdi Range Rover apparently, surely this should be roughly the same as my lt77??

1600418528_20210716_1021022.thumb.jpg.cb50eb4d927b743ce964fdc622a657b4.jpg

Any help much appreciated.

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Many thanks for taking the time to do that Gazzar, much appreciated.

I'll compare the bolt/stud locations later but the layout looks the same as mine as does the RV8LR casting mark.

I'm wondering if mine had had a few extra studs added that is causing confusion.

If mine is a series one that's good as it should fit the LT77.

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I think I am OK now ta, removed a few studs and it does fit.

1086374069_20210718_1020243.thumb.jpg.31b53d40fa38932128deb3d47ecb3df1.jpg

What threw me totally is the clutch master is on the opposite side to my 90, once I ignored that things went better.

I may have to drill and tap a few more holes at the bottom, but will wait until installation time.

Pretty sure I have the right bits now which is all I needed the bellhousing for, although it caused me a bit of confusion...... not hard tbh.

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20 hours ago, gbmoto said:

I may have to drill and tap a few more holes at the bottom, but will wait until installation time.

If yo can measure it up on the floor & drill & tap on the bench it will be 1000x nicer than trying to do it under the truck with chassis & bits in the way. Ask me how I know.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Probably you've already thought of this, but there's a plate that goes at the bottom of the bell housing because it's deeper than the engine...

Part number FRC2859 and it's called a flywheel inspection cover.

Hope that helps.

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On 7/18/2021 at 12:48 PM, gbmoto said:

I think I am OK now ta, removed a few studs and it does fit.

1086374069_20210718_1020243.thumb.jpg.31b53d40fa38932128deb3d47ecb3df1.jpg

What threw me totally is the clutch master is on the opposite side to my 90, once I ignored that things went better.

I may have to drill and tap a few more holes at the bottom, but will wait until installation time.

Pretty sure I have the right bits now which is all I needed the bellhousing for, although it caused me a bit of confusion...... not hard tbh.

Glad you seem to be on the right track.

The only thing I'd add is, do maybe reconsider the 3.5

Not that is anything fundamentally wrong with the 3.5, but it is by far and away the least powerful variant and most 3.5's are low CR making them even slower. To the point that a good Tdi will give them a very good run for their money performance wise and feel a lot more grunty.

We have just swapped a twin Stromberg factory 3.5 out for an EFI 3.9 and it is a night and day difference. With the easy availability of a 4.0 or 4.6 it would be money much better spent IMO.

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Ta All

Yes Fridge, will deffo try to do the drilling off the vehicle.... ta for the reminder.

I do have the inspection cover, should have tried it on too actually...doh!

I know the 3.5is a bit old school now and agree on performance.   I had a 3.5 90 followed by a lightly tweaked 200 tdi 110, the latter was way more grunty.

But I want to keep it all relatively period ( the engine I have is from a same year 110 ) and only need the ooomph for occasional towing.

And also want the V8 soundtrack!

I do agree that the bigger more modern engines would be a more sensible choice....... but sometimes I don't have my sensible head on 😁

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As others said, the 3.5 is the lowest horses for pennies but if you want to keep it period / numbers matching there's plenty you can do to make the 3.5 sweeter for not much money.

@Bowie69 is bang on with cheap updates, even a stock 3.9 cam is worthwhile, and doing a full and meticulous rebuild to freshen everything up / make it as good as it can be is an easy enough job with fairly cheap & available parts - @Bull Bar Cowboy did an excellent thread many moons ago now where he rebuilt his 3.9 very properly and it's well worth a read if you can find it in the archives.

I believe the compression is set by the pistons so if you've got a low-comp 3.5 you're into replacing pistons to up the ratio although you can skim it as well if you really want to. As part of a rebuild like the one I just mentioned you may be buying shiny new pistons anyway so it could be a zero-cost change.

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Much as I would love a larger engine in my 90, I have a 3.5 which I love.

It's a 9.35:1 lump from an SD1, that I got as a short block.

I rebuilt it before fitting, which was honing, new rings, new cam, lifters, bearings etc. It got fitted with later ten bolt heads and has the cast 4-2-1 manifolds from a 3.9, and injection run by MS2 using Bosch ev6 style injectors.


It runs very nicely indeed (you can't feel it idling at all), pulls well and gives me decent economy too!

So i guess what I am saying is that 3.5's aren't bad at all, or don't have to be! 

 

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I have an SD1 carb 3.5 bought and fitted 30 years ago from a scrap yard. The only improvement since then was to adjust the SUs and dump the knackered dizzy for Megajolt.

It probably needs a cam now though as it does less than 3,000 miles a year and a stuck valve may have taken a lobe down.

Sorry not that usefull a post but my young son woke me up after a nightmare so I am wide awake and reading everything!

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