6cyl to V8 Swap
This was a million years ago now, when I knew even less than I do now1)
Having bought Eddie in ~2000 as a very crusty 6cyl, it reached a point where something definitely wasn't quite right with the engine, so I took it to a garage and was told a rebuild was in order. No biggie, the guy (Colin) was pretty old-school in terms of mechanicing so doing the work wasn't an issue… what was an issue was a re-bore would mean 6x +.010“ pistons at £75 a pop plus all the other work. The Land Rover 6cyl pistons are unique to that engine and maybe the very early Series 1 engine, so even standard parts are rare, +.010” was a big ask to even find 6 of them in existence.
Well, bugger.
I was new to Land Rovers, new to the ShireLRC, a skint-ish apprentice and I just wanted the 109 working in time to camp in it at Reading Festival.
Colin suggested a V8 conversion, and one was tracked down (dragged out of a field, complete with a V8 of questionable heritage). But various things were conspiring against me - the V8 that came with it was shot and there was more work than Colin could complete in time.
Through a series of phone calls and a bit of serendipity, I managed to strike a deal with a well-known engine supplier in exchange for doing some work on their website they'd send me a good running V8 that'd been pulled from a customer car. Perfick. It even turned out to be a 3.9 with a 4-barrel Holley carb, very exciting!
In the meantime, I shipped the 109 down to Chichester 4×4 who are a great bunch of lads, and had cleared a slot in their workshop at short notice to complete a V8 conversion for some optimistic idiot.
And then Parcelforce happened. Yes, they lost a V8. A whole V8 engine, on a pallet, sent by very much tracked delivery, they just couldn't find it for about a week. By which time my booked slot had passed and no more slots were available in time.
So, more frantic phone calls, eventually someone put me on to a couple of lads in a shed in a farmyard who “did Land Rovers”, and they eventually fitted the V8, late, and really really badly.
But, it worked, it ran, I didn't care any more I just wanted it back. With hindsight I should've just shouted for help at the club social, there's any number of people who I now know would've gladly stepped in to get it sorted, because that's how clubs work.
I have no idea how much money I wasted on the conversion, but it did at least sound nice and go better than the 6cyl.
Onward and upward - far worse was to come!
