Land Rover Forums - Land Rover Enthusiast Forum - New member saying hi to the forum

Hi! I'm Mike, 28, from Saskatchewan, Canada, and a new member to the forum. I'm purchasing my first Land Rover tomorrow, a 1960 Series II 88 with hard top. It's going to be a frame off restoration, and although not a daily driver, definitely a vehicle that I would like to drive as much as possible. I'm fairly mechanically inclined, but completely new to Land Rovers and in need of advice and tech support.

I would like to keep my Series as factory as possible, while retaining a highway capable vehicle. I commute to work and the highway speeds here are 110km/h (68mph), although the back road is 80km/h (50mph). My biggest question is engine related. The Series I'm picking up has the factory drivetrain with 2.25L petrol in unknown condition. I've been looking at engine conversions and my most reasonable options (as far as availability) are rebuilding the 2.25L petrol, picking up a 2.5L NAD with transmission (condition of engine also unknown), a V8 from a 1996 defender, or dropping in a small block Chevy or Ford V8. I'm not looking for a power house of a truck, or even to be able to tow with it as I have a vehicle for that already. Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated