Hello,

I am in the process of putting a 4.3L chevy (v6 small block) with sm465 tranny and dana 18 t-case into my 89 RRC and would appreciate some advice from those who have been there and done that or even people who have nothing else to do. :flipoff2:

I have the engine-tranny-tcase combo hanging under the RRC and cant decide where to put it. There is a lot of room so I can go foreward with the enging so I can remove the distributor with out cutting the firewall but then my power steering pump will hit the steering box. This can be cured by putting in a chevy steering box but then the steering column will go through the shock tower.

Or I can go back and lower with the enging and possibly have to cut the firewall for distributor removal. This also give the front driveline more length but I still have to pull the engine to remove the distributor. There will also be minimal clearance below the engine but enough.

What I would like is to hear what others have done when putting either a chevy4.3 or 350 in a RRC since they are very similar engines. Pictures would be better if it is possible but any advice would be appreciated.

Right now I am leaning toward the rearward mounting and ignoring the distributor. I have never had to take one out so I am not that worried.

Thanks,
Matt.:confused:

While I don't agree with your project, I'll weigh in. The RRC does not allow for any modifications of the bulkhead. I don't know your level of knowledge of these trucks, but the heater box is bolted tight to the bulkhead, right behind the engine. Also, the bulkhead overhangs into the engine bay pretty good, makign it difficult to remove the plenum on Rover engines, hence, it isn't as though clearance wasn't an issue for the Rover engine.

GM's setup on the 4.3 was pretty robust, but the distributor wouldnb't be what I'd be worried about. The injection systems become fraila fter a few hundred thousand miles, requiring disassembly of the plenum to access the injector assembly. This would be a bitch in cramped quarters-it was bad enough in my Blazer. Also, while the 4.3 isn't as bad as the 2.8, they areprone to cooling issues and rusting of the rear freeze plugs-which often results in catastrophic overheating. You think it's bad with a Rover, overheat a Chevy V6 and watch the house of cards fall when the crank breaks!

I wouldn't worry about the ignition requiring attention. In my Chevy V6 powered trucks, that was about the only part that didn't fail.

FWIW-I got into Rovers after about 300K miles in Chevy 4X4s, many broken engine/trans/suspension mounts, bent frames and engines that were only good for 100K miles.

Good luck and keep us posted on the progress.

PT

WAS the RRC an auto or manual to begin with?

How are you planning on running the clutch linkage, hydro or mechanical?

Are you going to keep the RRC axle ratio or change them out?

Which trany-tcase adapter did you use?

First, a little history. I live in Moab,UT and have some experience 4wheeling. I have more friends who are totally hard core and most of them run chevy stuff in jeeps or toyotas. I have a good knowledge of chevy and several friends who know them inside and out. I know chevy stuff is not the best but for the money and ease of getting parts it makes sense here. One of my coworkers has a newer Volvo and she had to drive to SLC (250 miles) to have the oil changed which shows that we are not the most automotively diversified county in the states. No one in town would do it for her. When I speak Range Rover to people most of the time their eyes start to cross. I really like a lot of stuff about the RRC so I bought one with lots of mechanical problems and a good body for cheep and took everything out with the plan to put shevy stuff back in.

The RRC does not allow for any modifications of the bulkhead. I don't know your level of knowledge of these trucks, but the heater box is bolted tight to the bulkhead, right behind the engine.

Luckily I have romoved everything from the inside also.

The injection systems become fraila fter a few hundred thousand miles, requiring disassembly of the plenum to access the injector assembly.

I am using a carburetor.

Also, while the 4.3 isn't as bad as the 2.8, they areprone to cooling issues and rusting of the rear freeze plugs-which often results in catastrophic overheating. You think it's bad with a Rover, overheat a Chevy V6 and watch the house of cards fall when the crank breaks!.

This is my first V6 so I guess I will have to learn. I chose it because it is very close to the small block V8 which I have experience with. Lots of the parts are interchangeable and available at the local parts store. I have the possibility of having cooling issues depending where I put the engine because the fan might have to go infront of the radiator. I will explain this at the end of the post.

WAS the RRC an auto or manual to begin with?

Automatic

How are you planning on running the clutch linkage, hydro or mechanical?

I have stuff to do both. I like the idea of hudro because it is so easy but I am getting a lot of pressure from my friends to run mechanical. They say that it is much more reliable and will never leak. I have potentially lots of room to do both (see below)

Are you going to keep the RRC axle ratio or change them out?

My plan was to keep the steering, suspension, and breaks stock except for OME springs and 33" tires. This shouldn't be an issue because the tranny is 2.4:1 and the first gear in the sm465 is about 6.5:1 making low about 55:1. I think that I will wait on a rear axle upgrade. Who know, it might not break. The new engine should put out about the same amount of power as the old. This is part of the reason I chose the V6. I have a 383 that I could put it but it seemed much tighter and I would have no choice but to upgrade the rear axle. The power of the 383 is fun but unnecessary and usually just breaks things. It will also be a daily driver so mileage is also an issue. I chose the sm465 because they are cheep and very reliable and I have never heard of one breaking. Also, I have an extra one in the shed. I chose the Dana18 because of the dual offset driveshafts. They are not the longest lasting t-cases but they usually dont break on the trail and are easily obtainable rebuilt for less that $400. This is about $2600 less than what I took out.

Which trany-tcase adapter did you use?

I got the one from advanced adapters. I was really impressed with how well they fit together. It is like they were designed to be used together. Unfortunately this is also part of the problem. They fit so closely together that the whole set up is much shorter than the original causing drive shaft problems.

Now for more of my engine fitting problems. I left this to the last because when you read it you will think that I am a twit but I have found that If I set the engine at about a 15-20 angle :shaking: (with the front of the engine closer to the passenger side) everything fits fine. The drive shaft will clear the bell housing, the power steering pump clears the steering box and there is ample clearance to remove the distributor. There is also lots of room around the everything to work on everything from the engine to the t-case. It will move the center of gravity for the drivetrain about 1 inch to the passenger side. I dont think that this will cause undue stress on the u-joints as the angle is no greater that they are used to vertically. The only problem is that the engine sits far enough foreward that I will have to put the fan on the front of the radiator. I know that pusher fans are not as effective as ones that draw the air but there will not be an automatic tranny cooler in front of the radiator anymore.

I dont know if this "positive passenger biased" (I had my PR people come up with that) engine layout will cause problems with stress or if it will work fine and I will be laughed at each time I open the hood.

I am still thinking the problem through and sliding the drivetrain around trying to see what fits best.

Matt.

Go with a distributor-less ignition system and put it where it belongs.

Reminds me of goldenrod. The first Land Rover v8. Its engine was put in with a twist. I heard rumors it was sighted in Moab.

JP

Go with a distributor-less ignition system and put it where it belongs.

PT, I am not planning on putting it back in the astrovan.

I did, however, get to work with the sawzall on the tunnel and the engine is now straight but I am going to pull the front springs today to see if there is enought clearance. Measuring just isn't enough for my brain. The angled position worked but felt wrong. It actually worked well. I keep looking for the correct answer but I am realizing that there isn't one and I just need to choose a place and go with it then deal with the fallout.

I was trying to avoid cutting too much of the inside because I am not great at fabrication. I guess there is only one way to get good.

I will try to get some pictures and figure out how to post them.

Matt.

PT, I am not planning on putting it back in the astrovan.



Er, Matt, do you think that I might have meant to use distributor-less ignition so that there would be sufficient clearance so you could put the engine where it belongs IN THE RANGIE without having to butcher the interior?

Although, I don't think a GM V6 belongs in a RRC.

PT, I understood you I was just trying to be funny. :laughing:

I had to cut up the tunnel because the setup that I have is shorter than the original by more than a foot and the wide part of the t-case is where the transmission used to be so it is where the tunnel is narrower. Even with the engine all the way back the t-case was foreward of the original.

I am going to get back to it this weekend and we'll see how it looks then. If it still seems like a good place then I will weld up the mounts.

I did take out the springs and let the truck sit all the way down. This helped a huge amount with seeing where the back of the oil pan was in relation to the axle and where the driveline will endup. I definately recommend this approach if anyone else goes this route.

Matt.

PT, I understood you I was just trying to be funny. :laughing:

I had to cut up the tunnel because the setup that I have is shorter than the original by more than a foot and the wide part of the t-case is where the transmission used to be so it is where the tunnel is narrower. Even with the engine all the way back the t-case was foreward of the original.

I am going to get back to it this weekend and we'll see how it looks then. If it still seems like a good place then I will weld up the mounts.

I did take out the springs and let the truck sit all the way down. This helped a huge amount with seeing where the back of the oil pan was in relation to the axle and where the driveline will endup. I definately recommend this approach if anyone else goes this route.

Matt.

funny huh?

We may have to see how funny you really are when everyone is out there next month for our National rally.:grinpimp:

JP

funny huh?

We may have to see how funny you really are when everyone is out there next month for our National rally.:grinpimp:

JP

What are the dates? I got all of the mounts made and installed but I will have to tow my RRC if I am going to participate. I do, however, have a small shop and even have some metric "spanners" for those who havn't made the conversion yet.:laughing:

Matt.