Chassis and engine advice

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G5TOK

G5TOK

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22
Location
Midlands
So I have had my defender a short while now and enjoyed every minute of owning it.
My defender is a 1989 90 4 cylinder petrol with overdrive (and lpg converted) lt77 gearbox
In October it is in for its first mot with me and I know its going to fail on the chassis (only offside leg but has had lots of repairs before. I'm pretty handy with a mig welder but I'm looking at just upgrading to a galvanised chassis, only issue is I'm unsure which one to buy as in looking at converting it from a 4 cylinder petrol to a v8 (unsure which v8 yet). I'm also looking towards achieving over 300bhp so what engines would you suggest and would you stick it on a early90/200tdi galvi chassis (so i can keep my 4 cylinder for now) or a v8 specific galvi chassis?
 

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If you go rover v8 you will be disappointed in the power
Ive often thought an old jag XK/XJ I think? with the 4.2 v8 supercharged would be a pretty awesome motor for the land rover.
Sadly just about any old petrol v8 can in the real world be beaten by just about any modern diesel which will also do way way better in the mpg stakes.

Some of the older mercs are getting real cheap, their m113 v8s are tough real tough.

My mate was obsessed by the rover v8 and had them in all sizes/powers, I went out in a few of them and always came away non impressed.
 
G5TOK said:
So I have had my defender a short while now and enjoyed every minute of owning it.
My defender is a 1989 90 4 cylinder petrol with overdrive (and lpg converted) lt77 gearbox
In October it is in for its first mot with me and I know its going to fail on the chassis (only offside leg but has had lots of repairs before. I'm pretty handy with a mig welder but I'm looking at just upgrading to a galvanised chassis, only issue is I'm unsure which one to buy as in looking at converting it from a 4 cylinder petrol to a v8 (unsure which v8 yet). I'm also looking towards achieving over 300bhp so what engines would you suggest and would you stick it on a early90/200tdi galvi chassis (so i can keep my 4 cylinder for now) or a v8 specific galvi chassis?
Click to expand...
theres no point in going for too much power the rolling chassis wont give you any benefits,a 3.9 v8 auto would make a lovely defender
 
There is no point trying to go too fast in a Defender, they are tractors with poor crash and roll-over protection with a suspension system designed in the 1960's. If you really wanted a V8 you would be best sourcing a complete 3.9 Discovery and use the running gear from that on your galvanised chassis.
You would have to get used to 10-15 mpg and would be wise to settle for the 190ish bhp that that engine comes with.
 
I'd love to buy an LS3, but then I'd also love to have an Offroad Armoury chassis to race it in .. :)
 
I don't want something that's going to keep ripping up the shafts and axels I've seen the Cummings builds on here and think they're ace but I know for a fact that they are going to just eat parts. I want an engine with resonable power for on and off road use, I'd be happy with over 200bhp and delighted with 300 i wouldnt want any more or any less.
My 4 cylinder running on lpg returns 14mpg so if I I could find an engine with enough power and to return similar mpg I'd be more than happy, great thing about the v8 is it can run on lpg so I plan on keeping that and nothing sounds like a v8! Would you guys suggest buying a galvanised v8 chassis and fitting a jaguar v8 engine?
Heard about small and big block conversions aswell with reconditioned Chevy engines or would that be a costly path?
 
Like G5TOK I have a 90 2.5 petrol and my goal is to put a V8 in it. I've had a 3.5 carb and two 3.9 efi (one in a RRC) and in my opinion, they were more than adequate. Perhaps for a competition job or serious offloading the grunt from a bigger V8 would help, but for a bog standard Landy I agree with jamesmartin and Rougharse Racing (!) What they give you is lots of lazy low down grunt with the ability to hoof it when required. Doing 100mph (with room for more) in a standard 90 with a slightly ported, high compression, Piper cammed 3.9 refi was actually unnerving (or so I was told....)!
But it's your truck so do what suits you and enjoy it.
 
Buy a dedicated V8 galvanised chassis. There are aftermarket mounts which will allow you to bolt a chevy v8 straight in... No welding or fabricating required.
 
My 90 is recently rebuilt, so new springs, suspension bushes etc and probably as tight and close to new as you could get. Recon engine in it now and it's going really well. If I'm lucky I'll be getting close to the 111hp it's supposed to develop and I'm having to have a word with myself about driving it properly. I've scared myself a few times, over the last few weeks, on the country roads around here. Personally, I've kicked in to touch the idea of boost pins etc. As Rougharse Racing said, they're not designed to handle huge amounts of power IMO.
 
A defender will handle huge power just fine if the suspension is set up correctly.

Remember the throttle is linear... not an on off switch. This can take a bit of getting used to if after upgrading from a sub 200hp boat anchor :)

Plenty of 400+hp defenders on the road





 
Al2O3 said:
My 90 is recently rebuilt, so new springs, suspension bushes etc and probably as tight and close to new as you could get. Recon engine in it now and it's going really well. If I'm lucky I'll be getting close to the 111hp it's supposed to develop and I'm having to have a word with myself about driving it properly. I've scared myself a few times, over the last few weeks, on the country roads around here. Personally, I've kicked in to touch the idea of boost pins etc. As Rougharse Racing said, they're not designed to handle huge amounts of power IMO.
Click to expand...
111bhp? My 300 is over that just by decatting , putting a k and n filter in and a boost pin. You sure it's not more?
 
Last edited:
nesponge said:
A defender will handle huge power just fine if the suspension is set up correctly.

Remember the throttle is linear... not an on off switch. This can take a bit of getting used to if after upgrading from a sub 200hp boat anchor :)

Plenty of 400+hp defenders on the road





Click to expand...


I imagine they uprate the brakes a bit too on those.

And their is also the question of why? A landrover is designed as a slow vehicle, and those will have much reduced tyre life, reliabilty, and increased servicing costs than a standard vehicle. All to basically create a boys toy.

If you want a landrover for landrover purposes, get a landrover. If you want to go fast, get a car.
 
Land rover brakes are fine outside of track use. They are designed for towing heavy loads and are adequate unless your lapping brands hatch.

The fact remains the defender is underpowered for its weight.

300hp will give you a power to weight ratio if 150hp per ton which is a perfectly manegable amount. This will allow the defender to comfortably accelerate to motorway speads and hold steady on hills while towing.

A standard chevrolet small block will provide this level of performance without issue.

The reliability of the rest of the drivetrain will be down to the sympathies of the operator.

An auto box will be significantly kinder to the land rover axles as it has lower shock loading.
 
nesponge said:
Land rover brakes are fine outside of track use. They are designed for towing heavy loads and are adequate unless your lapping brands hatch.

The fact remains the defender is underpowered for its weight.

300hp will give you a power to weight ratio if 150hp per ton which is a perfectly manegable amount. This will allow the defender to comfortably accelerate to motorway speads and hold steady on hills while towing.

A standard chevrolet small block will provide this level of performance without issue.

The reliability of the rest of the drivetrain will be down to the sympathies of the operator.

An auto box will be significantly kinder to the land rover axles as it has lower shock loading.
Click to expand...

Quite fancy a small block Chevy, those old US classics are really good value. And I always prefer autobox, manual change is stone age.

Have to say, I haven't had a problem with performance. Towed my 2700 kg cattle trailer to Carlisle, Cambridge, and Surrey, from Cornwall with my 85 horse Ninety.
I was pleased to get the V8 auto Disco 2, though. Bit easier on the body(mine, not it's), on long runs.

I love holding up tourists, make em think twice about coming back next year! :D
 
Nothing wrong with whatever power engine anyone puts in, but only if they also upgrade 'the rest' to suit, particularly tyres and brakes. What seems senseless to me is the 'I need 300BHP' people who have done literally nothing to the rest of the vehicle and expect it to stay together and running .. Adding a K&N smacks a lot of this to me. Only time I'd use a K&N is a feck-off large one on a wide, long inlet pipe in the back or roof of a racer, with a custom airbox and kept well out the way of water!

The shops and products don't help either .. 'buy me, I can add 10% power'

Having said that. I am seriously thinking of trying a boost pin just for that little bit extra off-road, currently the whole injection system is almost standard, no tweaks or additions, only an egr deletion and a straight through exhaust and my air inlet system is good, is standard with a snorkel, and works well.. On road there's plenty for cruising at 65-70 ish fully loaded (It actually goes well over 85+ but I don't like the noise, vibrations or the feeling of extreme tyres at higher speeds!)
 
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