Defender V8 which transmission tunnel do I need?

[Doorknob]

Hi,

I'm rebuilding a Defender V8 which I've bought as a project, meaning it was already taken apart partially. It did not come with a gearbox tunnel (and many other things).

But I'm really struggeling to find out which I'm supposed to have.

The stamp on the right side with the gearbox number is no longer readable (like not at all), but my reverse is right next to 1st gear, which would make it a LT77 is what I could make up from google.

That's why I bought a tunnel similar to this one:

 

 

One should have noted that my diff-lock knob is in front of my gearstick but hey, I wasn't paying attention to that. The problem came, when it arrived this does not fit at all.. Like no way, I'm missing 3-4 cm's between the bulkhead thingy and the part which is supposed to go over the gearsticks wouldn't mount to anything.

 

Could anyone point me in the right direction? I've got a picture below from my Defender (Work in progress):

 

 

 

 

[miketomcat]

That's a discovery/range rover lt77 gear box no defender tunnel will fit you will need a special as far as I'm aware. There is a tunnel that fits a defender spec R380 though or an lt85.

Mike

[Doorknob]

11 hours ago, miketomcat said:

That's a discovery/range rover lt77 gear box no defender tunnel will fit you will need a special as far as I'm aware. There is a tunnel that fits a defender spec R380 though or an lt85.

Mike

Ahh that explains...

So my only options is to fabricate something myself? Have others done this the same way?

[Chicken Drumstick]

So you have some options. Yes you can fabricate a tunnel. You won’t get anything pre-made. 
 

But hard to tell in the photo. But if your box is sitting further back than a factory setup you might have issues with clearance on the seat box too. Also if the box is not in a standard position you might have to be creative with propshafts. 
 

It is all doable and lots have people have done similar things over the years. Other options would be to look at a different gearbox/bellhousing setup. Most factory V8’s used the LT-85 box. But it is hugely agricultural compared to an LT-77. Not sure if latter V8’s used the R380. Anyhow all can be made to work.

I think you can also swap the top plate over to make a Disco LT-77 same as a Defender one. But I’ve not done this myself. 

[Stellaghost]

7 hours ago, Doorknob said:

Ahh that explains...

So my only options is to fabricate something myself? Have others done this the same way?

If your no stranger to fabrication it would be relatively easy to fab a tunnel up out of aluminium, plenty of ways to join sections of aluminium together nowadays if you don't have a tig, if you look on my mog 404 axle thread at page 101 you can see how I started fabbing up a gearbox tunnel, also on my lightweight vent panel and bulkhead build thread there are some pages in the bulkhead section on how I formed a new flange for gearbox tunnel

Best of luck

Regards Stephen

[landroversforever]

Depending on where your boxes are sat, if they’re standard props, the sticks could possibly be swapped to the defender position. There are certainly kits available for the R380, but possibly the LT77 too. 

[FridgeFreezer]

As others have said, a RR/Disco gearbox (LT77 or R380) puts the shifter about a foot further back than a Defender one - plus (engine-dependent) sometimes the bellhousing is longer/shorter although V8's that's mostly not the case as far as I've found.

I'm pretty sure Ashcroft do the shifter relocation kit and I think it would likely work for LT77 or R380 about the same.