Small Block Chevy 350 into Dakar / Range Rover

Installing the Chevy engine

Once the adapter was made, I could fit the LT230 transfer box using its standard mountings. (Its important to remember to get all the brackets and levers when purchasing your LT230) the adapter was bolted to the LT230.

Installing the TH350 was a simply placed on top of the Jack and lifted into position and then bolted up.

These photos are taken from underneath and show the Transfer and Auto boxes in place.

I'm now ready to trial fit the engine.

Unfortunatley i dont have any photos of next few steps, but the concept is straightforward.

In order to decide what to do about the engine mountings, you need to install the engine temporarily supported on a hoist. You then fit the various anciliaries such as exhausts and starter motor, to see how much room you have.

I was thinking about keeping the original engine mounting brackets, and making adapters between old and new(Barry done this on the 440 dakar). However once the engine was suspended in the bay, it quickly became apparent that they were in the way..

And so they were removed in true scrap-heap sytle, with the help of "Angle-Grinder-Andy" and his petrol disk cutter:

This is what it looked like shortly after getting the engine fitted.

Again, a number of photos are missing detailing all the fiddly work that can take weeks to sort out. At this stage all the plumbing and electrical work needed doing. Brackets for alternator and power steering pumps needed making. We even had to make the water pump pulley

Other fiddly tasks, included shortening the front propshaft by about an inch.

And making adapter to fit Oil sender sensors to new engine (More work for daddy)

The old rover had an oil cooler fitted to the front bumper, which was ok when driving at speed, when when going slow it was next to useless. therefore i wanted to put it in front of the radiator where the fans would pull air through it. I ditched the old Dakar front body mounting and made a two piece design, and also removed the bottom lip of the fibre glass to allow the oil cooler to fit, between the body and the radiator.

I stopped short of actually cutting the body, instead i'm waiting to see if i actually *need* and oil cooler (so far i havn't - lucky i didn't cut a great big hole in the front!)

Due to the bigger engine size,The radiator was sent to kempston radiators to have an extra core fitted to it. Whilst it was there they noticed that i had fitted fans to the core, they said they could solder proper spacers into the core that allow the fans to be properly mounted. This is a really nice solution to fan mounting problems.

This shows things moving on further, Ive also made the Radiator sit vertical in the engine bay, rather than at a slant.Still more plumbing to be done!

Interally, i needed to fit the B & M mega shifter, ally checker plate was require to cover up the gaping whole left by the old engine.