Corrode Finger Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Have watched the Sunseeker Rally Freelander clips, and was impressed to hear the sound of the V6 Freelander on song. Was wondering, can that engine, the Kseries KV6 be fitted onto 'normal' landy/ rangey transmissions? Its modern, light and fairly pokey, also compact, and the KV6 in cars atleast have a good reputation! Just wondering if it had been done, or if it can be done, it might work better in the front of a series? Just wondering, as you do, any comments, thoughts, good, bad, never asked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROGUE TROOPER Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Think you will have gearbox instilation problems and also electronics may be a bugger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Baldwin Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Roland Marlow at engine rebuld/tuning specialists ACR has done this in his racer using the MG version of the engine together with the sequential auto box. It's a complex swap and definitely not for the faint hearted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 The V6 would be far too light on torque and far too buzzy (peak torque about 4500rpm I think?) for something heavy like a Defender, Series a bit lighter and I suppose might be OK. I daresay it would go well enough if you kept the loud pedal well down, but would probably be a bit like a Discovery Mpi in terms of driveability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Was aware of possibly gearbox and electronics issues, part of the reason for asking if it would go onto 'traditional' cog stirring simple (relative term) landy transmissions. Accept that the motor might be a little rev happy, never seems to be an issue with the good old Ford V6 though? Thats popular, ish. Its one of those things you see and wonder about, not doing anything at the moment, am exploring possibilities for the future. It is most likely that such an engine would go into a series swb, poss even a series one size truck, now that is light, 1100kg ish i think, also swb series is light, in the 13 - 1400kg region IIRC. I am also aware that the KV6 was installed in the v. last Rover 825's, just before the 75 came along, so that is a good poss donor. Megasquirt is the answer on running it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Remember a freelander only weights 1400kg so the weight to power will be affected Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I think people are over-playing the weight issue, Marco's 2.0 S3 went like stink until he crashed it In the engine bunfight thread there was info on the parentage of the Rover lumps, not sure if the V6 is a different bellhousing to the 2.0 but the 2.0 b/h is Disco MPi or (it seems) a Perkins Prima conversion plate if you follow the thread through Need a Rover expert really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Its modern, light and fairly pokey, also compact, and the KV6 in cars atleast have a good reputation! Are you sure? I know plenty of folks that have them in either freelanders or Rover 45/MG's and most have had nothing but trouble, not exactly a reliable engine, - theres loads of water pump issues, general cooling problems and of course the legendary K - series head gasket, except now theres 2 to go wrong FYI IIRC the prototype monocoque lightwieght Defender (to compete with sales of Suzuki SJ) thing at the Motor industry Heritage centre at Gaydon is fitted with a KV6 Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Are you sure? I know plenty of folks that have them in either freelanders or Rover 45/MG's and most have had nothing but trouble, not exactly a reliable engine, - theres loads of water pump issues, general cooling problems and of course the legendary K - series head gasket, except now theres 2 to go wrong Mate at work has a V6 75 and has had everything go wrong, except the head gaskets. And nothing seems to be a quick simple fix, always involves stripping loads off the engine to get to what needs replacing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 TBH I've kinda gone off the Rover stuff since seeing this mofo: (Linky) 3.5 BMW 6-pot turbo running MSn'S coil-on-plug... wonder if it goes well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Having owned a K series powered car in the distant past, it was very reliable. Just my experience. I thought the headgaskets was down to a cr@p redesign by rover using a mastic/silicone bead. And it was solved, allegedly!! The K series has a good reputation in the tuning world, from what i have read etc from many sources. At the end of the day, enough people can make a case for a poor engine. How can the tdi be good when there are all the timing belt issues, crank pulleys falling off, expensive etc etc. Just a point, not a fight against anyone. I like tdi's. Even RV8's have issues, porous blocks, naff efi, overheat etc etc. I have one of these anyway. I was only pondering, was not after other engine suggestions(but thanks fridge). It just seemed to be an engine that had not been talked about in donor terms. Not sure if the 2lt MPI and KV6 will be same, they are different engines, the 2lt is the MI16 lump which can trace its roots back to the old O series of early 80's Montego's etc. Kseries was new generation. As far as the weigh goes, if a freelander is 1400kg and the new home is the same, it wont be an issue, i was not after stuffing it in a 110 or disco, just after info on whether these trans would work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 KV6, K series, L series and T series will all mate to the MPI bellhousing Of the above my favourite would be the T series in turbo form - very reliable good strong engine and cheap as chips I'm not biased against any of the above - but my opinions are influenced by the people I work with and their experiences - bear in mind that most of them came from Rover/MG/Land Rover/BMW and are heavily biased towards the rover heyday engines, and yet they still agree that the KV6 is awful Just a thought to bear in mind But by all means do something out of the box - it would be refreshing to see something else to replace the usual tdi/rv8 builds Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Oh yeah, and I also had a 1.4 K series that was over 120k miles when I bought it, was fairly reliable for me, as much as any other engine that had done those miles anyway The car died when I rolled it but the engine lived on driving said car around our field, after that the engine ran for 40mins with no oil or coolant or air filter and with 3 idiots pushing stones and sticks down the throttle body, it was broken glass down the intake that finally killed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Thanks Lewis You kinda gave the answer i was wondering about. Its the MPI bellhousing. Fair enough, the KV6 is cra@p. What about the normal kseries with a good headgasket? That into a series? I just dont recall it being asked before. I equally assume that the MPI bellhousing could go onto a normal rover rwd box if it was installed in a non landy home? ie a sd1 box for arguments sake. I am exploring what to do for a future build, having done the tried and tested Hybrid(yawn). Just one of those things that you ponder. I am just toying with ideas, to see if anything in particular pulls me in and ignites a new project. Having said that, continuing the V6 theme, would the essex/ cologne conversion kits work on a modern ford V6 - ie the zetec? Would a vauxhall omega V6 work? now that is cheap!! I know the diesel in them is the good old beemer unit, so possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 TBH I've kinda gone off the Rover stuff since seeing this mofo: (Linky) 3.5 BMW 6-pot turbo running MSn'S coil-on-plug... wonder if it goes well? John got the idea this looks like much more fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Yeah a K series with a strong head gasket would work, maybe even a 2.0litre big valve lotus spec head with VVC, you'll be looking at 200+ ponies then. Again though we come back to the T series, the turbo version is 200bhp out the box, tuning is cheap, as are replacemnet engines, its a 2.0litre 16valve already although it is slightly less unfashionable than the K series as it has an iron block. The engines stand a fair bit of power - for the past few years at Ten of The Best a guy called Andy Chaplin has won the front wheel drive 1/4mile catagory in his Maestro turbo and then his Rover 200 turbo, both powered by T series engines. A guy at work has a T series powered Rover 200 dyno'd at 440bhp If you need more tech about rover engines try the rovertech.net forums - its the LR4x4 of the rover world (i.e. nice and geeky) Zetec V6 should fit the essex pattern conversion, but why when you can have either the cossie 4cyl on this conversion plate, or a 2.9 cossie V6 on the cologn pattern. The cologne V6 is still built today for poo spec mustangs and poverty spec Disco/LR3 in the states, now 4 litre though, mmmmm . The cossie 2.9 heads will fit the 4.0 block, add twin turbo's and you've got a delia smith recipe for silly power Any of this engine/bellhousing combo's could fit the lt77/r380 from freight rover vans for rwd applications Dunno about vauxhall For my money in a lightwieght street cruiser based around a LR gearbox the T series is it I hope some of that makes sense and its useful to someone Lewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 I am exploring possibilities, fancy something else besides the obvious. As i have said before, my other toy is a lotus 7 replica, so it should tell you that landies are not my only interest and influence. I like the idea of getting something that is light. Thats why freelanders came to mind. That is the logic behind exploring the lightweight engine possibilities. That was why i was asking about the 'modern' ally engines. I fancy, building something for laughs. I know you can buy stuff off ebay, but its not what i had in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 Ah bugg3r. Lewis, Again, out of interest as we have moved off 'freebies', can the Tseries go on a zf auto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Umm, dunno, I dont know of one The T series was never fitted in longitudinal mounting AFAIK so the manual options above are all parts bins specials (i.e. mpi bellhousing, freight rover rwd box etc), if you could make an auto fit then I imagine the valving etc would be wrong, but this is not something I know much about Sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 On a vaguely related note, I quite fancy a Series 1 bodied spaceframe special with kevlar/composite panels, T series mildly tuned for a reliable 350bhp driving through a rwd R380 into a salisbury rear with a Jag LSD and a non driven front axle or indi suspension setup It would be a larf, especially with a bit of work to make it look old again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Seems a lotta effort when you could drop in a Bimma or Jag setup and have engine, box and rear axle as one from a donor, saw some lovely Jag 6's in the scrappy the other day, had to restrain myself! I have chatted to Bill about the 4.0 Cologne V6 / cossie route and although the cossie heads can be fitted to the 4.0 block it turns out stuff like oilways are in different places and by all accounts the 4.0 is not actually anything to write home about even when modded up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corrode Finger Posted March 8, 2007 Author Share Posted March 8, 2007 I agree to a point JU, but it was one of those things that sometimes is pondered! The jag and beemer are relatively heavy, and being straight sixes they are long. I am thinking about keeping something light and compact, as yet undefined. Done the kit car thing with the lotus 7 so i know the benefits of one donor, and it is still a possibility. I was just looking at the modern cheap find loads in scrappy freeads route. At the end of the day, what i am thinking about is going to be light & small. Thats where the 'freebie' idea came in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 I was just looking at the modern cheap find loads in scrappy freeads route. Vauxhall red top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike4444244 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 If you fancy a challenge, how about a 3L straight 6 from a merc? 300TE would cost you naff all to buy, bombproof reliability, lots of torque and its unusual too Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Why bolt a small light V6 to a land rover gearbox? Plenty of triallers use a centre-mounted FWD engine and box driving directly out to the axles through the old driveshafts. Not sure how it affects overall gearing, just fit bigger tyres Vauxhall EcoTec are a good bet, designed to be sensible (hence the name) but turned out so good they had to restrict them back down to being sensible if you remove the restrictions they are supposed to be pretty punchy, a mate was putting one in a Westfield but he was taking longer than Will about it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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