So, what turned into a $700 winter beater (after some very...spirited negotiations) had become a passion of love. I drive her more than my jaguar most days. I had planned on getting rid of my 1998 Disco after winter was over, now I find myself just adding more on. Since I've gotten her, I repaired/fabricated a new brush guard, installed a rear ladder, wired up some KC lights, added a snorkel, and am currently turning it into a 7 seater with some fold away seats gotten from a junk yard. Not to mention her new audio system.
Although the time has come where I know I won't be getting rid of this truck anytime soon. So I want to do something...more. after a quick look on Craigslist, I came across a 5.3L jaguar V12 for a couple hundred bucks. I'll be picking it up next week. Whether or not I go through with this, I'll be rebuilding this with my dad to help me learn more about engine rebuilds. My real question is, has anyone ever put a v12 in these things? I understand the transfer case will have to be addressed.
And yes I know it's not the most practical thing to do, or smartest, or most economical. But you have to admit, it is the COOLEST thing to do. After the rebuild, and with a few internal upgrades, we expect to have the engine in the 350-400hp range, and hoping the rear and all will hold. She'll still be in the mud of course.
So, your thoughts? Am I bat-S crazy, if this falls through, it'll go into a 24 hours of Lemons car that my friends and I are attempting, but this epic rover is my first priority.

 

i think the is a v12 benz or bmw on utube

 

There is, that's what gave me the idea. But I can find the jag engine for much much cheaper lol

 

The transfer case will be fine. The issue is going to be the diffs and axles. I would plan on upgrading those.

 

Wow, thought I was the only one that got these bizarre notions. Like pondering my 4.0 rebuild project while looking at the 32v 4.6 Mustang DOHC I have wrapped up in the corner. I mean heck, its already rebuilt. And the Teksid blocks don`t leak water like the Rovers. I would have to have the Eaton supercharger option too tho. Wonder how fast I would shuck drive train parts with 550+ rwh on tap?

 

Added PLUS!!! The Beemer/Benz NEVER WON LaMans!!! If you get this all done, which I HOPE you do, you GOTTA post pics of the compartment when all is said and done!!! GOOD LUCK!!! One more thing...it is a JAG!!! rebuild it B4 you install it!!! FLIPPIN" GNARLY!

 

It may be possible if you relocate the radiator so the six-cylinder-long block will fit, but the reason it doesn't make sense is because it's too heavy. The Range Rover (classic) and Discovery had the advantage against their contemporaries because of the alloy Buick 215 block and heads. It made what was at the time too much power for a 4x4 (the Buick version made 200hp, but Land Rover detuned it to 135hp for the 1970 Range Rover), and it weighed less than Rover's 4 cylinder engine. In current times, the Rover V8 doesn't offer as much power as the Jeep's Pentastar powerplant, but it's hard to argue that a regular 4x4 needs something like 300hp. Maybe if it's fitted with 37 inch tires and the entire Poison Spyder catalog, it might need 300hp to fly down the freeway to the mall. Even so, the Rover V8 is capable of being tuned for that much power with a few changes that are a lot simpler than a swap. Those changes make a lot of sense for the British sports cars that are fitted with them, but not much for a 4x4. Really, I know it's lost on most owners and would-be buyers in North America, but the stock Rover V8 is an ideal powerplant for a real 4x4 like the RRC's and Discovery's. They don't need LS power levels, nor will that make them better, and they certainly don't need a clattering diesel boat anchor. The Rover V8 is perfect. I understand there are some with manufacturing defects, but notwithstanding those issues, it's perfect.

 

X1, diffs need pegging and maybe lower gearing a tad. Autobox and transfer box should be OK but worth checking over anyways.

 

In truth you should be tuning up for torque in a 4x4 not solely bhp/grunt unless you want/need a mall sprinter. Offroad capers have to have max torque available but that also involves extracting bhp but there is a balance to be struck. In racing (rpm=short stroke + large bore (over square) = speed over ground) BHP/grunt is king but for climbing and wheeling torque is king. Hmmm, diesel

 

Torque is easy to get with gears, and it does not add much if any weight. The Rover V8 makes plenty of torque and with the right gearing and tires it will far exceed the strength of the axles that can practically be fitted to the Land Rover.

What some people may appreciate is so much torque from the motor that they can pull up a steep grade in 4th gear at 80mph. That is just not practical with an old Land Rover. To do that you either need one of those Corvette motors to pull hard in deep gears, or a modern 9-speed transmission like the one in the Jeep Cherokee. 15 year old Rovers don't have that stuff. They're not for bombing down the autobahn. That is perhaps the new Land Rover, but not the old one.

Again, for offroad you do not need a motor that makes a lot of torque, and you don't need or want a diesel, at least not in the US where there's gas stations every 50 miles and petrol is cheaper than Evian.

What you need for offroad driving with a 4x4 is simply good driveability. This means that the motor idles nicely and makes its power at low to medium rpm, not only near redline, and one that has a fairly wide powerband without any big spikes or holes. A motor with a big turbo would be a poor choice for example. Small turbos may be fine. Diesels do in fact make for nice offroad motors in their power delivery characteristics, but they often weigh far too much. The high torque at low rpm doesn't compensate for that. If I have an automatic transmission with a torque converter and a low gear ratio, I can deliver tons of torque off idle from a petrol engine, way more than the axles can handle, and I will have a lot more top end than the diesel which will make it more driveable overall, and it will weigh less as well.

The Rover diesels, by the way, weigh about 700 lbs. The Jaguar V12 weighs well over 700 lbs as well. They're both about 300 lbs heavier than the Rover V8, which is just over 400 lbs by the same sort of measure. And the Rover V8 makes a Discovery overpowered for offroad driving. So adding another 300 pounds of engine for any reason doesn't make any offroad sense. It just makes the Rover more suitable as a freeway bomber. If that's what is desired, then just buy a Range Rover Sport. You'll get the freeway performance and actually be able to turn it without bow thrusters.

If you list the most legendary non-racing offroad 4x4's, few, maybe none have more power or torque than a Rover V8. The Land Cruiser, the Hi-Lux, the Jeep (year on year), the Unimog, the Pinzgauer, the Geländewagen (the Puch G and the 460/461, before they got as stupid as Range Rovers have)... are all lower powered. Really the only 4x4's that have more power are American full size pickups and their SUV derivatives. But those are not really offroad vehicles. They can barely make it through a muddy field until Bubba buys a lift kit, some boggers and a kit with a coal roll'n decal.

Some of the most serious non-racing offroad vehicles that I've seen are often running a 22R. Some even run a Samuari engine. Some of the bigger budget rigs run Ecotec 4's. Why? Because they don't drive on the freeway at all, and those engines won't break the 1 ton axles even with dual transfer cases and 6.50's ring and pinions, and they don't weigh 700 pounds. Yeah, if you add desert racing into the equation, then you're talking LS power, but also IFS and you're way out of Land Rover territory. But what you'll never see is any of them that add gratuitous weight. The steel bumpers, frames, cages and massive tires weigh enough that everything else is very weight conscious. Nobody wants to wallow around in a hole with a Hi Lift while those RZR's zip circles around them.

That's right, RZR's. Don't tell me you need a V12 or a turbo diesel to power an offroad vehicle. A RZR will smoke you offroad with only a 75HP/50ftlb 2-cylinder petrol motor. Because it passed on the bathtub full of concrete you put under your hood.

So no, Land Rover 4x4's don't need diesels, they're not improved by diesels, and they don't need V12's or superchargers. That stuff fits other vehicles better.