Progress

The engine is now out, pictures and details to follow!

Finding the time

I've found it hard lately to get the time to work on the project, i made one attempt at removing the engine and had to replace it when i ran out of time. The engine stand i ordered has now arrived (several weeks late) and i'm going to have another go, armed with some new knowledge and more extensive manuals.

All that's left to be done before removing the engine is to remove the mounting rubbers and the flexplate to torque-convertor bolts. (which i couldn't do by myself as the crank-shaft simply rotated with the torsion of the ratchet.

The quality of the photos isn't great (phone camera) but you can see the level of preparation so far.

-The radiator hoses were all removed (including those carrying various oils)
-The fan cowl was the removed.
-The radiator itself was unbolted and removed.
-All hoses and wires on the engine were photographed/documented and then disconnected.
-Instead of removing all the wiring from the engine, the engine loom was disconnected from the ECU and Relays under the drivers seat and passed through the bulkhead hole just to the (engine) right or starboard of the heater assembly in the dash.
-Judicious/mildly excessive/insane use of cable-ties held all hoses out of the way.
-The exhaust system was disconnected (on the starboard this was done at the manifold to downpipe join, on the port however this had to be done at the head to manifold join as the other bolts were rounded and seized)
-On earlier models, the front panel (runs in front of the top of the radiator) is simply bolted on, in my case it was welded and i had to drill these welds out.
-The throttle was disconnected.
-Fuel lines were disconnected (with care because of residual fuel pressure)
-The Haynes manual was scrutinised for whatever the hell "that thing" was, several times.
-The the transmission oil cooler pipes were detached from the engine and the oil cooler assembly was removed to allow greater clearance for removing the engine.
-The alternator was removed.
-The lower bell-housing cover plate was removed (easy as pie)
-The bottom few bellhousing to engine bolts were removed (not too bad)
-The remaining bellhousing to engine bolts were removed (insanely difficult) access for these bolts is ZERO, and they were all nicely seized. This task took up a day and a half of dawn-to-dusk work.
-I checked that everything other than the flex-plate to TC bolts and the engine mountings were removed.

-MOST IMPORTANTLY, several (in double figures) cups of tea were consumed while admiring the beast, and it's middle-of-progress heart-transplant.

Things i need to "get around to":

I'm planning to take out the engine to work on it, so core plugs won't be a problem. The interior, though it looks reasonable here (despite the colour), is actually in a bad state and needs fixing, but most obvious to the naked eye is the damage to the front left wing, which must be replaced along with a bonnet repair. I'm not going to repair the bumper or wind-dam because after factoring in that full cost, i might as well get the brooklands body kit, but that's well away on the horizon, first on the list is the engine!

The engine.

The engine is a 3947cc Rover V8 EFI with a lucas distributor. I'm planning to take this wonderful lump of aluminium out of the engine bay and refurbish it to the best of my ability (thank god for haynes manuals). The radiator reservoir and bottom (Y-shape) radiator hose are new and GENUINE landrover parts, i shall probably not buy genuine parts again, because these parts added 20% to the value of the vehicle! When i've finished the engine refurbishments i plan to fit it with an LPG dual fuel conversion for cheaper running and i'm debating whether to keep the current 4-speed auto gearbox or lift it and replace it with a 5-speed manual, again for better fuel consumption. Town driving comfort vs economy and off-road handling, i'll decide at a later date!

Introduction

My name is fergal, i'm a student in my 2nd year of university (NOT STUDYING ENGINEERING!!!!!!) since i took an interest in cars (at a young age) my favourite car has been the landrover defender. From my love of this car sprung my love of the series landrover, discovery and range rover classic. This interest took a turn for the expensive when an opportunity to purchase a V8 range rover classic presented itself. Naturally i jumped at the chance. Since then my love of the big old lug has almost exceeded my love of the defender, and my love of MY range has far exceeded my love of any car!

I won't go into detail of how much the rangie cost, but it WAS cheap. The problem is that you get what you pay for, the vehicle has had at least two prior accidents, a collision with a VW transporter and another with a truck. Luckily the damage is localised to the front nearside wing, but is extensive and a replacement will be necessary eventually.

Aside from this there are a few minor issues with the range:

-When i bought her there was a repair to the bottom radiator hose which "wouldn't last", sure enough, it didn't. In the same incident i lost the radiator reservoir and both the hose and the reservoir had to be replaced.

-The alloy of the spare wheel is buckled and cracked, thus it is useless, the roadside-jacking kit is missing, and had to be replaced at some expense.

-The engine burns some water, and doesn't burn cleanly in general.

-The core plugs (aka frost plugs, though that's NOT what they're for!) are mostly gone, those towards the rear of the engine leak a surprisingly large amount. All of the core plugs need replacing.

-All of the coolant hoses need replacing as they are cracked and perished.

-The interior.... almost exists to be honest, the dash is not secured, the airvents and their feeding hoses are not connected in any way, the courtesy light doesn't work, all but two of the factory speakers have removed and have not been replaced, the cubby box is broken, the headlining is filthy and sagging, the electric window ecu needs replacing, and i'm sure i'm leaving out some problems.

Apart from all of these issues, she is still a range rover! And a 3.9 V8 at that. Every time i complete a task or plan one, i'll post to my blog. If anyone sees something i'm doing wrong or can offer any advice i'll be very appreciative of tips.

Thanks, F.