Rover 4b

[Zuffen]

My 1976 Range Rover has evolved over the years into something a little different.

I started life as a 4 speed manual 3.5litre V8 powered 2 door Range Rover.

Somewhere in it's past it was written off and parted out.

In 1994 we happened to be selling a 4 door Range Rover that had fallen in a river. When at the Range Rover workshop my wife saw a brochure for a new vehicle being built in the UK on a Range Rover chassis. The previous year I had written off our Porsche 911 we used off road during a rally so she laid down some specifications for a new race car she wanted. You can't get a better wife than that?

What eventuated was a Range Rover DAKAR built to the following specs:

Engine

4.1litres Range Rover engine
Cosworth pistons
Chev stainless valves
Monster cam
Heads ported to the limit
1.5" headers

supposedly good for 350hp but perhaps 225-250 on a good day.

Tansmission

LT77 5 speed manual
LT230 2 speed transfer case with manual 4wd lockout.
Maxidrive rear diff
Reinforced axle housings with diff hat protectors
Steering arm protection

Chassis

Gussetted and reinforced
Twin engine mounts
reinforced CAMS approved roll cage
180 litre fuel tank
Twin batteries
Extra spare mounted in rear of cab

Suspension

4 wheel coil
Rover self levelling rear suspension
Late model trailing arms
4 Bilstein lengthened shocks per axle
Bilstein steering damper
Ventilated front discs and solid rear discs.
33x12.5x15 Mud Terrain tyres
8" x 15" wheels with an additional 2" offset

Body

One piece Fibreglass DAKAR body kit
2 seater configuration
soft roof and sides (to save weight)
Alloy bumpers
Cibie Oscar plus headlights
Cibie Super Oscar driving lights (on spread one pencil)
Cibie Oscar plus reversing light
Bracketed windscreen to stop it falling out in the event of a roll over or excessive body twist
7 mud flaps to protect shocks, self leveling unit and air locker.
Additional tow points front and rear
Battery isolating switches
Additional fuse board on independent circuit

Interior
Cobra race seats
Luke 4 point harnesses
UHF CB Radio
Intercom
Air compressor
additional instruments
Terra Trip navigation gear
enclosed security cage behind crew

The car was raced once and retired (victorious) and sold in 2000 as surplus to needs.

Re-purchased in 2003 as we missed it.

1UZ-FE conversion had been at the back of my mind since the mid '90's but it always looked too hard. I had never worked on EFI and didn't trust it.

After purchase stripped car to re-build due to poor storage by last owner and use on the beach.

Whilst Surfing the Net came across the Website www.lextreme.com Now I was in trouble. There was no longer any reason to not do the swap.

I obtained a half cut and proceeded to install the engine.

I made the followig adaptors to fit the engine:

Engine mounts
Engine/transmission adaptor. The car still has the Range Rover 5 speed transmission.
Carrier to re-locate the alternator to the opposite side
Oil filter support
Air intake
Adaptor plate to move the oil pan aft and to one side
Starter carrier (it's under the sump)
I had the Range Rover flywheel modified to suit and a custom single plate clutch assembled to suit.

Photos show car in form when re-purchased plus the completed vehicle.

Total cost of conversion was around $5,000.00 although a lot of the cost was to re-build parts of the vehicle not associated with the conversion.

 

[Guts]

What does it wieght in at?

 

[Lextreme II]

This is a tough little SUV. I really like it.

 

[Zuffen]

Guts,

1650kg fitted with the 33x12.5x15's plus a spare on the back plus a hi-lift jack and 60 litres of fuel.

I expect it to rise to 1700kg when it's supercharged. That allows for the intercooler, blower, intercooler radiator and water.

I want to raise the rear an inch but will wait until the front gets some more weight on it to see what happens.

It's already too tall to take to the local shopping centre!

David,

It brings a smile to your dial everytime you drive it.

The tyres are the original BFG's from 1994 and traction really doesn't exist.

 

[Guts]

Go to 35`s

 

[Zuffen]

Performance aside the 35's would look better than the 33's. It just looks a little "undertyred".

I was also contemplating 10x15's to make the tyre sit a bit better. I could move the offset back an inch so they would not (obviuosly) hang out of the guards.

I can get purpose built gaurd extensions from the UK that would allow another 2" outward movement of the wheels.

I worry about the Rover diffs on 35's.

I may have to move to fully floating 9" Ford items. Now there's a way to spend some money.

 

[twisty_toy94]

Thats such a cool truck Zuffen!! I deffiently reckon you should go the 15x10's and 35's, it'd look so much better!!!

Did you ever see the green one of those that was featured in 4WD Monthly?

 

[Zuffen]

I pressume you mean the one John Davis owned.

It had a chev 350 running methanol. Supposed to put out 600 odd N/A horsepower and broke transmissions like they were going out of style. I think a lot of that had to do with John's right foot. he could break the transmission in a D9 Caterpillar if it was connected to your lawnmower engine. Destructo-man!

Contrary to popular belief he didn't build it he inported it from the UK.

Interestingly he is building , or has has been for 18 months or so, a 1UZ powered Bushrangie (his version of my car) using the A340 hooked up to the Range Rover LT230 transfer case.

I think the 10's and 35's are on the Christmas list.

 

[twisty_toy94]

LOL....Yeah thats the one....

Roughly what kinda dollars would one of these cost to build?

 

[Guts]

Go the 35`s, stop dreaming and wishing about them, you know you want them, so just do it. Once you`ve had them on for a week you`ll never want to take them off hehehehehehe

 

[Zuffen]

Funny thing about tyres is I don't even know what diff ratio it runs. I've never bothered to look as the performance has always been adaquate, but I've always wanted more.

I suspect it has some tall ratio's as when it was built the idea was for it to run at 100mph for hours on end so I think the gears kill off accelaration.

One day I'll jack it up and count the turns of the propsshaft to see what we have.

The Toyota diff centre replacement sounds good but I guess it depends how the Maxidrive stands up to the punishment.

I don't think it will ever be "finished". This is a work in progress and once I'm happy with the power output I'll start on the suspension. I have good foundations I just need to refine what I have.

The car will see a bit of beach work (we have a holiday home 45 minutes from Stockton Beach) and the odd foray into 4b territory but nothing serious. Too old and boring for that now.

 

[soft top Rangie]

hey Zuffen have you fitted the supercharged engine yet?

You emailed me a while back looking for info on engine adapters.

Now you have got me thinking about fitting one of these engines into my convertable rangie and the stock 3.5 has expired and i want something more powerful!

Simon

 

[Zuffen]

Do it!

Whilst I currently run a standard Crown engine it is simply sensational.

With BFI and CAI plus header and a decent exhaust I guess I'm putting out 300-310 at the fly.

The old Rangie gets up and boogies. It sure stuns a lot of drivers when an over the top 4b blows them away at the lights or up a hill.

 

[soft top Rangie]

did you have much trouble getting rego?

what sort of mileage do they get hopefully it's better than the rover v8's 4-5 k's per litre!

how much are these engines worth and were is a good place to get one from?

is there much involved in fitting one and what radiator do you use?
Simon

 

[Zuffen]

Simon,

Rego was easy. My biggest problm was I could't get a copy of the original engineers report for the body swap.

Chat to an engineer who can give you the low down on any problems.

The early engine passes current Australian emissions requirements, so that's one thing you don't need to worry about.

I filled up today and it took 76litres and I had driven over 400k's. For around 250 of those K's I was towing a 650kg dual axle car trailer. It was empty but it was there nonetheless. Whilst 19l/100k isn't too flash the poor thing is flogged wherever it's driven. I'd expect driven sensibly it would give 15l/100k around town and 13-14 on a run.

If doing the swap purchase a half cut, as it will have almost everything you would need and you can start it up before taking delivery to see it runs OK. Cost varies but I figure $2-2,500.00 for a good halfcut. An SC400 half cut would be your best option.

Fitting required a bit of massaging of the fire wall to get the engine back as far as I wanted. It could have sat further forward but I wanted it back as far as possible. I made intermediate plates between the Toyota munts and the Rover engine mounts on the chassis. You need to relocate the alternator as the steering box is in the way. The steering box also limits how low you can sit the engine as the power steering pump site right above it.

The Rover radiator is used unmodified and works well.

I'll email you a write up I did for another Rangie owner who is doing the same thing.

 

[hi-lex]

I saw a simular car to that the other day, I think it may be an aussie made one ,cant remember name of it, it has hard roof an no doors, btw I get 11.5 l/100k (24.7 mpg) in my lux open road an passin anything in my way an 16/100 round town, its dmn hard to keep from prodding the gas pedal

 

[MWP]

Thats an awsome looking 4x4.
How did you get it road reged???
Cant have been easy.

 

[Zuffen]

Getting any modified vehicle registered revolves around doing it right so it looks right and is up to what the engineer expects/wants.

Then you find an engineer who is interested in your type of vehicle or the engine and away you go.

There aren't any shortcuts to doing it.

It isn't hard to comply but don't think a half hearted attempt will get registered.

I was lucky to find an engineer who wanted to swap a 1UZ into a Range Rover so he was on side straight away. It didn't mean he turned a blind eye to shoddy work it just meant he had an interest so was more understanding of what I did.

An engineer said to me the other day (he's on the Site so will remain nameless) "sometimes you do a bit of a bodge and you figure it'll be OK" He was referring to welding that didn't look as pretty as it could but was plenty strong enough. "Then you see the bodges others make and you know your's will be fine."

He said there were some shockers out there looking for certification and if they don't come up to scratch they fail.