Im building a rock buggy at the present time and had a xj motor, tranny and transfer case earmarked for the project. Now this thing fell into my lap cheap. Is it something I should even consider using? I was thinking maybe propane with an edelbroc manifold? what auto trany will bolt up to this thing? I know I will have to do some homework on it but figured if anybody would know about them it would be you guys. Just a foot note, I had a 215 olds motor years ago in a sand car and loved it. Kinda the same thing?

little dusty, oh well.
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g23/metaltwister/CIMG0011-2.jpg
http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g23/metaltwister/PICT0002.jpg

Hell ya you should consider it if it is good shape. Light weight v-8. Parts are a little more than other brands but not bad. Check out RPIs web site for an idea of what options you can go with.

You should get some good advice here from guys like Disco Dino, PT and many others.

good luck

Thanks for the direction!

Cross posting is not encouraged here. Pick one forum! :shaking:

Cross posting is not encouraged here. Pick one forum! :shaking:

like it here, thanks

That engine is junk, won't work, will cause the wheels to fall off your rig at the worst times and will endanger cookie selling Girl Scouts the world over.

You should send it to me, I need another one :flipoff2:

They can be good engines, don't even think of winding it any tighter than about 4500. As for trannies, you're on your own for anything other than a Rover tranny. In the 70s, they used 727s, but they might be kinda rare on this continent.

The factory fuel injection can be bulletproof, but does not allow for external manipulation without heroic efforts.

Cams can be cheap if you hunt around for them. Crower and Isky come to mind. Cam bearings almost never wear, cams wear out in the first 100 miles.

They are not tolerant of overtemp conditions whatsoever-don't let it happen.

Change the oil often.

The Rover tcase has botht he front and rear outputs offset to the right.
Looks like you have a Jeep/Ford front end with the left offset.

I've seen some muncie and t5 to rover bellhousings on ebay every once in a while. a rover v8 to jeep t176 to a dana 300 or np231 would be a pretty sweet drivetrain. Its about as light weight as it gets while still being able to handle v8 power and could be done on the cheap depending on your luck at the junkyard.

If I can find a way to fit a rover v8 in an alpine I'll probably be scrounging for one of those t5 adapters.

Its about as light weight as it gets while still being able to handle v8 power and could be done on the cheap depending on your luck at the junkyard.
.

:laughing::laughing:
He said V8 power. Must not be talking about the Rover engine.
:D

:laughing::laughing:
He said V8 power. Must not be talking about the Rover engine.
:D

no way, with my kickass exhaust, bumped up timing, and crower camshaft its a beast :mr-t:

Actually I think all that stuff did was make up for the parasitic loss the zf auto has. my stock 5 speed high milage disco is almost as quick as the hotrodded one.

Probably get me branded a heretic here (so what else is new) but, assuming the XJ engine's a FI 4.0, I'd go with that.
Plenty of torque(especially in a low geared buggy), cheap parts everywhere, easy to work on, pretty much bulletproof engine.
Add in that every aftermarket offroad company in the world makes parts to fit it and the choice becomes easy.

Yea, yea, yea, :flipoff2: all too.

all good points, but I've had both dangling from an engine hoist and the rover engine is a feather compared to the jeep i6

the best choice would probably be a ford 302 or a gm 5300. all the cheap aftermarket points you brought up and its a little lighter than the other mass produced v8s