Ford engine on a Series 2?

[SeriousSeries]

Has anyone ever heard of a 3.0l V6 Ford motor being put into a Series 2 88"? It goes quite nicely but I am concerned that it might do some damage. I bought the Landy as it is, not realising that I would regret not holding out for an original Series 2 with original engine etc.

I have also found out from Land Rover South Africa that my VIN number corresponds to a LWB model... so it must obviously have been shortened at some point? Or have the folks at Land Rover made a mistake?

Thirdly, when I change into second it grunts a bit... the 'box that is. Even if a slow down a lot there is "chunk" kind of noise. Any ideas on that??

Thanks all...

And thanks for all the past posts. I think I have got most of my tech info off this site from various posts.

Will

[Tonk]

the ford v6 sits very nicely in a series engine bay.

depending which gearbox you have fitted, it wont have syncro on 1st and 2nd gears. are you double de clutching?

[FridgeFreezer]

Just like TSD's 88 then.

[RPR]

This was a not uncommon conversion in SA and, as I undertand it, was done with some frequency in the late 80s early 90s in the UK as well. The Ford motor is a good powerplant and, if looked after, has good longevity. The longevity of your gearbox will be largely subject to its treatment prior to your purchase and, subsequently, to your driving style.

The Series gearbox is not very strong, but if you drive accordingly, it will hold up pretty well. I have a carbed Rover 3.5 V8 in frontr of an SIII box and, unless it has been tweaked, the Ford 3.0 L should be putting marginally less stress on the box. It should also deliver peak torque a bit higher up the rev band. The key to gearbox longevity is torque management. 1st gear is pretty weak on the Series box, 2nd, weaker than you would like, and Reverse is positively dangerous. Take it easy in those gears. No boy-racer burn-outs or hammering it backwards and no thrashing it in the mud, and your box should live long and prosper behind the Ford engine. I use a high ratio of Lucas Heavy Duty Oild Stabilizer in my box and I have heard of people very successfully using something called Red Line Anti-Shoc (or something like that) which is a high molecular volume gear oil. If you can run to the expense, it seems a good idea.

If your 88 is a chopped 109 you will be able to tell PDQ by looking at the chassis rails in front of the rear spring hangers and at the spring mounts. There should be a sleeved section in front of the rear hangers and you may have a Sals rear axle with the springs outside the chassis at the back. More likely is that A) you have the VIN garbled or B) this is a LR bookeeping error. You can look it up on the Gaydon site as I recall for a second opinion.

Oh - and as per above. Yours is a crashbox and you have to double de-clutch in 1st and 2nd.

[Kev Baldwin]

The 3.0 Ford V6 conversion was pioneered by Steve Parker Land Rover in Rochdale UK. He still does the kits. Chances are it's one of his conversions.

The 3.0 is a great converson, the only downside is parts for the Ford engine are getting harder to get hold of.

[80INCH]

IF you indeed have a series 2 box you have to leave a slight pause between selecting first and second. (from my series 1 manual)

[sheeppimp]

I ran a bored out essex lump in a series 111 lightweight for a few years, cracking fun on the road especially for upsetting the boy racers. I had problems with head gaskets (an average of one a month for about six months) - it really didn't like traffic. If I were to do it again and having talked to a couple of mates into fords I'd go for the (slightly) newer 2.9 in preference - apparently these engines are known for warping heads?

That said I regret selling it - smiles per mile it was a winner

[Fatboy]

I put a 2.8 V6 (Taunus) Ford engine in my Series 1. It was okay but compared to the Rover V8 it is heavier as it is a steel block as opposed to the Rover alloy. It seemed to be a faster and higher revving engine though.

My mate popped a 3.0 V6 (Essex) Ford engine in his Series 2a and it knocked spots off mine

The Taunus distributor is at the rear, Essex at the front.

My gearbox lasted okay and we seriously abused those motors for quite a while

[ROGUE TROOPER]

My mate in 1982 was one of the first to fit a 3L V6 to his series 1, he still has it although like triggers broom, its had 3 engines and god knows how many gearboxes (Currently off the road due to the loss of 2nd gear!)

Having been in it doing warp speed up the rear of 2.8L Capri's who could not believe that a Land rover was keeping up, its a fun machine and will out preform the rover V8 in acceleration. But what lets it down it its tendency to try and spin in 1st & 2nd when off road! Also as also said parts are becoming rare.

The 2.9L is the way to go as the Ford Scorpio Mk II 2.9 V6 Ultima used this engine until 1998 so they are still out there and parts are all over the place!

Also for added suicide try fitting the Cosworth BOA 24V V6! As it used the same block as its 8V counterpart so the convention kit will fit............ this will give you 195 PS (about 192bhp or 143 kW) and 203 ft/lbf (275 Nm) at 4500 rpm in standard form........ try Turbo charging it and expect 500+ BHP and every component in the series drive train to expire in 30 seconds!

I know someone trying to fit a Ford Explorer 4L engine with 24v heads!

Good luck, light right foot will help!

[Fatboy]

Rogue,

I didn't realise there was such a range of engines with the same bolt pattern on the back.

FWIW, I've got two conversion kits "in the spares" pile here....