6cyl to V8 Swap [FuddyMuckers]

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====== 6cyl to V8 Swap ======

**This was a million years ago now, when I knew even less than I do now((hard to believe, I know))**

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 4x4 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 - [[eddie:rebuilds:start|far worse was to come!]]**

{{ http://fuddymuckers.co.uk/gallery/s/800/eddie_early/eddie_holley.JPG }}