3.9 v8 Conversion

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benjy88

Member
Posts
47
Hi everyone, I have tried searching but not had any luck and some people same one thing and some say another so hopefully some of you guys can help.

I have a defender 90 200 tdi at the moment and have bought a complete and work doner disco 3.9 v8 which I am going to fit, I need to know if whether the new v8 will literally bolt straight onto the existing tdi mounts???

Also what gearbox will I be needing for it either the defender or disco so the gear lever comes out in correct place and to clear the transmission tunnel???

Thanks, Ben.
 
no it wont and to do the job properly engine needs moving to the front ,as land rover did as all parts like exhaust etc can be bought off the shelf,
 
ok cheers will have to get my tape measure near the defender v8 chassis and have a measure up.

Do you have an idea on the gearbox needed as i saw that someone said i needed one from the range rovers lt77? any help there?

Thanks.
 
disco or rr r380 or lt77 but need oil cooler ,not all 77s have facility ,all r380s do ,if you fasten gear box/t,box in it puts engine in right place
 
i meant with converted gear change ,early rr long stick box which has the same gear change mechanism as defender but are as rare as defender v8 box and not really strong enough for 3.9,auto is a straight fit too
 
i assume u mean the Rangie classic box from the v8 will allow it fit fit correctly? best get searching then.

Thanks.
 
benjy88 said:
Thanks for the offer mate but i think that using the disco box makes it to long, and so puts the gearstick in the cubby box doesnt it. As i have an r380 on the doner car im using.

I take it this is something that i need along this lines anyways:

Land Rover Defender 5 speed 110/ 90 V8 LT85 gear box | eBay

eBay - The UK's Online Marketplace

Thanks.
Click to expand...
lt85 is just as long ,the 4 cylinder short boxes fitted upto including 200tdi are so as engine sits in rear of engine bay ,v8s and 300 sit forward
 
I typed into ebay defender v8 gearbox and thats what came up, sorry for being a pain in the ass but am struggling to understand what box i need so i can get on the net looking for it.

I read elsewhere that you leave the gearbox mounts in place and when the engine and box are in place providing you have the right box of course then thats where to mount the engine mounts onto the chassis, i hope thats right anyways as it made good sense lol.

Thanks.
 
depends what you want .as landrover did a v8 ,then you can use lt77 oil cooled r380 ,lt85 but floor plates tunnel seat box face need changing as transmission sit 2 inches further forward too ,or you can leave transmission were it is and fit longer box and mod parts to fit engine in eg exhaust ,coolant pipes
 
Also read in another post that you replied to jamesmartin that as the v8 should sit forward in the defender can i not mate the rear of the lt77 i have now in defender with the front of the r380 in the disco and also swap the shafts goin into the engine?

Thanks.
 
id like to be able to keep the gearsticks in the original position in the cab. I did assume i can use the coolant hoses from the disco as i was goin to fit the rad in to it aswell.

Thanks
 
benjy88 said:
Also read in another post that you replied to jamesmartin that as the v8 should sit forward in the defender can i not mate the rear of the lt77 i have now in defender with the front of the r380 in the disco and also swap the shafts goin into the engine?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
not quite sure what you mean ,but v8 sits against rad as lr built them even though it uses long box like disco and rrc it still meant gear box sits further forward ,than the 4 cylinder short box did hence bulge in 300 tdi and v8 tunnel near hand brake ,this also means 300 an v8 have the same front prop as disco ,you could fit the longer box into position of 200 tdi etc but engine wouldnt be in quite the right position to be fitted with all std parts ,any disco box would need gear stick arrangement converting
 
if i was fitting a v8 in a defender i would either get a v8 defender lt77 or r380 or auto ,oil cooled box ,or if only disco box available id convert it to def spec .fit as lr did so change floor plates tunnel ,props etc use standard parts for engine ,it would appear from under bonnet to look like it was originally built that way
 
i can be a bit confusing at times. all i need to know is what gearbox is needed for me to keep the gearstick in the normal place and so the job gets done properly, what box would you use if you was given the job? as a

Thanks.
 
Hello Ben,

I am trying to do the exact same thing to my 90. I just bought it, completely nakard, with a 4 cyl 2.5L engine. I decided to fit it with a 3.9L disco engine. I have the exact same confusion with gear box. I read your posts and the replies but, got confused even more! I also want the vehicle to be as "original" as possible from the inside, I don't want to reposition the gear sticks. What did you decide on doing in the end??

Cheers,

Hox
 
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