DD and I are going to have a stab at a Toyota engine Hippo. Any inupt would be cool.

DuncanS said:

You, sir, are a grade 1 #### for being able to have one of them!

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A workshop?

WLJayne said:

A workshop?

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A good sized garage/ workshop does make any project far more pleasant to carry out. Sadly my garage is full of a long term restoration and my small workshop is full of various projects too

any news

The Mad Hat Man said:

any news

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I got the impression, it was a long term project. Will be interesting when it starts though!!

south african freelander/toyota conversion

Looks a long way over to the gearbox side. Anymore information?

Hi,unfortunately I don't have any further info on that but I suspect it is 1 of the conversions done by the guy referred to on pg1 of this thread.

Might have toyota running gear. ...no vcu...

this 1 has all golf running gear ,2lt vw golf engine mated to a ffz gearbox.fwd only.



The 2nd 1 is running a Nissan engine ,unknown running gear

If you value you sanity (and pocket) don't do it, don't even think about starting.

Tried going down that road with a RX8 and a VAG 1.8T engine. All went well until we tried mating the engine and gearbox and suddenly my son lost interest.
Then you have a choice, do you keep the standard engine flywheel with a spacer (cause of the adapter plate) and adapt the friction plate from the gearbox (if you can) or have a flywheel custom made.
Then you have to make an adapter plate to join the two and depending on the engine/gearbox layout you have to think about the starter motor.
And if you get any of your measurements a fraction wrong it will be a very expensive mistake.
Getting the stuff made will probably cost around £600, you might need a custom ecu so another £600 + the engine, suddenly it's a very expensive lemon you can never sell.

Then you have to get speedo, rev counter, abs etc and all the warning lights sorted.
Why not just fix the K series and have a life?

For a few days at least.

However, Freelander L series pg1, along with the Freelander L series engine backing plate - should bolt straight up to the T series.


It also appears that all the L series ancilliaries will simply swap over to the T, so engine mounts/etc should be no issue. Only part I'm not sure on, is the sump - but it does *look* to be the same bolt pattern



So to fit a T into a hippo - get an L series hippo, and replace the block

think yu need to swap the gearbox input shaft as well

from what I can find in the Quinton Hazel clutch catalogue (really handy thing to download!) the clutch is both the same diameter, and the same spline count between the L and T

Only difference I can imagine, would be the T series friction plate may have softer springs in it, compared to the diesel. But either way, straight swap

is the input shaft spigot the same size?

Alibro said:

If you value you sanity (and pocket) don't do it, don't even think about starting.

Tried going down that road with a RX8 and a VAG 1.8T engine. All went well until we tried mating the engine and gearbox and suddenly my son lost interest.
Then you have a choice, do you keep the standard engine flywheel with a spacer (cause of the adapter plate) and adapt the friction plate from the gearbox (if you can) or have a flywheel custom made.
Then you have to make an adapter plate to join the two and depending on the engine/gearbox layout you have to think about the starter motor.
And if you get any of your measurements a fraction wrong it will be a very expensive mistake.
Getting the stuff made will probably cost around £600, you might need a custom ecu so another £600 + the engine, suddenly it's a very expensive lemon you can never sell.

Then you have to get speedo, rev counter, abs etc and all the warning lights sorted.
Why not just fix the K series and have a life?

For a few days at least.

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I have to admit I tend to agree with this. Swapping to another make of motor is a much harder path. If someone could advise on or supply a kit conversion then that would be significantly better. Years ago in NZ the 4 cylinder LR motor was commonly replaced with a Holden [GM] 186 or 202 6 cylinder motor. These were essentially a kit type replacement. Certainly greater power but some did tend to flog out the drive train.

I prefer the idea of utilising MG / Rover / LR bits to make the FL1 go better after all the motors come from the same 'stable'. For me it's in the context of motors and selecting the choice bits to make them go getter. For some that will be outright power - MG style. For me its keeping it reliable, enhancing fuel economy and a power upgrade in the right areas to keep it a competent 4WD.

Years ago I recall reading an article from a Rover car club NL from the UK. It talked about the Miller Morry. A Morris Minor 1000 which had its motor mod'd with st'd BMC parts save for moving the shock mounts on the axel. It could out perform a VW GT of the era. BMC engineers would quietly contact the owner and ask for the part numbers of the bits he'd used!

Really enjoyed reading this thread as it closely relates to one I started recently on motor conversions swaps...

Moderator/s - can these threads be lumped together to form one thread?

The Mad Hat Man said:

is the input shaft spigot the same size?

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Neither engine even uses a spigot bearing The cranks are drilled for them, but they're just not used.



And I have to agree - most people will get the idea of fitting X engine to Y gearbox, without realising you have to get them aligned with a tolerance of thousandths of a millimetre (hence why there are dowels between engines and gearboxes). Best bet, is to try to find another use of the engine, with a suitable bellhousing. It's how me and a friend are/were fitting a XUD 2.1Td, into a defender, whilst keeping the full 4x4 capability

DastardlyDan said:

However, Freelander L series pg1, along with the Freelander L series engine backing plate - should bolt straight up to the T series.



So to fit a T into a hippo - get an L series hippo, and replace the block

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Ah but it doesn't DD!! When LR fitted the L series into the Freelander they changed the adaptor plate. I can only assume, this saved making 2 different PG1 bell housings. The Freelander L series gearbox will mate up to the K series engine no problem and visa versa. If it were that simple, I'd have converted my V6 to a manual box. Sadly no, the the KV6, Rover L series and M/ T series don't fit the Freelander PG1 box.

So am I right in thinking that the FL1 Derv 'box would mate up to a 1.8 turbo conversion? I'm reading the above as- the FL1 Derv pg1 mounts to any k series, rather than being able to mount to the Rover T series. So would allow the use of a 'u' spec box with lower final drive on a K turbo conversion?!?

jda070504 said:

So am I right in thinking that the FL1 Derv 'box would mate up to a 1.8 turbo conversion? I'm reading the above as- the FL1 Derv pg1 mounts to any k series, rather than being able to mount to the Rover T series. So would allow the use of a 'u' spec box with lower final drive on a K turbo conversion?!?

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Yes. The U spec boxed is used on the L series Freelander engine. This shares the same bell pattern as the K4 engine from the measurements I've taken.
With the turbo K series installed, why change the final drive ratio? There is more than enough torque to pull the higher gearing, adding some useful economy.

With the 1.8 turbo, at 70mph, it's still spinning at 3000rpm.

It could easily cope with longer ratios(at the expense of acceleration), or a 6th gear.