V8 in to a series

Hi ya me and my farther are wanting to get a series landy to enjoy with my son and I did with my dad with his 2a he had when I was a child. Just tring to find a sutable car to start with, cheap is the key!!!!!

Any ways

The old man always wanted a v8 in his, what's the cheapest and easiest route to v8???? I was thinking old v8 disco. What's your thoughts

Snigger........anything fits when its made to


My S3 is having a 454 chevy in it, had a small block 350 in it until earlier this week

Lol fair enough what's the easiest and cheapest way

nothings easy or cheap

If you work to the cheapest way, chances are it wont be perfect (thinking britpart esque here). Rover v8 seems to be a common conversion, Robbh has a good thread of putting one in his 109.

At the minute I'm happy with my old diesel

tom_kent said:

Hi ya me and my farther are wanting to get a series landy to enjoy with my son and I did with my dad with his 2a he had when I was a child. Just tring to find a sutable car to start with, cheap is the key!!!!!

Any ways

The old man always wanted a v8 in his, what's the cheapest and easiest route to v8???? I was thinking old v8 disco. What's your thoughts

Click to expand...

Get a rotted out disco, nick the engine, chuck it in the series and enjoy

It's fair from plain sailing though and does require a few modifications to the bulkhead and new engine mounts on the chassis. And other bits and bobs moving. But is doable. I wouldn't hesitate to convert another

Another thing you need to think of is the gearbox your going to use. Luckily i bought a v8 with an adapter plate already fitted so bolted straight on the series box. But can go down the route of a newer box out of a disco if you wish, although that can become a problem with swb series.

Exhaust is also a pig of a job as there's nothing off the shelf to fit but nothing a welder can't sort out

And yea as samc88 says check out my thread. I've got the install from start to.... Almost finished
I'll post a link in a minute

Here's the link to my thread

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f6/my-109-series-3-a-237065.html

V8 install starts at around about page 15

Your looking at £360 for a milner conversion kit new, £125 ish second hand. Series box can suffer from the extra torque so get a spare
Oil filter needs repositioning but remote filters are a bit dodgy. Bracket type adaptor better swings it away from axle. I think v8jon in pembs moved his engine up to retain original position of filter? Could be wrong.
Forget efi it will not make your gbox pleased, mild 3.5 carb just fine. Its bollox that a 2a box is stronger than S3.
You will need a spigot bush made and will have to cut the end off the crank to get the flywheel and clutch all sat nice. Use a drilled and tapped rrc flywheel as they are heavier and suited to offroading.
Steve parker may do an exhaust or get one made. Fit a leccy fan and retain the rad.
Go for it

Do not cut the crank, thats a massive bodge! Turn a spigot or get the input shaft turned down, far better way to do it than cutting the crank with a grinder

Remote filters aren't dodgy, get one with a good foot and a half of pipe on it and then mount it to the inner wing.

If you want some weld in engine mounts I have an unwanted set I got from richards chassis, £20 + post so probably about £25

They weld straight onto the chassis leaving the engine in the right place rather than bodging the series mounts

You need to mod the bulkhead to avoid the manifolds if not fit tubulars with a central exit or use P6 cast iron

Dr_evil said:

Snigger........anything fits when its made to


My S3 is having a 454 chevy in it, had a small block 350 in it until earlier this week

Click to expand...

Why go big block, you can get almost as much power from a small block without the weight penalties? Unless you're drag racing and are looking for mega BHP I can't see any advantages.

Having said that a mate has a 55 Chevy with a 672ci big block with triple stage nitrous, Art Car transmission, Strange rear end, literally no expense spared, puts out 1,200+BHP, goes just a bit, between petrol stations that is.
The Earth moves when it fires up.

Spyderman said:

Why go big block, you can get almost as much power from a small block without the weight penalties? Unless you're drag racing and are looking for mega BHP I can't see any advantages.

Having said that a mate has a 55 Chevy with a 672ci big block with triple stage nitrous, Art Car transmission, Strange rear end, literally no expense spared, puts out 1,200+BHP, goes just a bit, between petrol stations that is.
The Earth moves when it fires up.

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You cant get as much out of a small block without a lot of expense!

I had a 383 stroker kit and that would only have gotten me to 400ft/lbs.....with the big block I start at 500!

Yes theres extra weight but with 1-tonne front springs on the double hangers it'll be a decent set up and I'm making up a new 5mm chassis to replace my rusty old one. Retain my points as the chassis is a like for like replacement in the same configuration just thicker in order to resist twisting and it'll be galved so it doesn't rust!

I have a Weiand 8v71 blower to go on top which will get me close to the 700ft/lb mark and 500bhp area with ease!

I'm running a Dana rear axle too so it'll cope with the torque as well as an american gear and transfer set up

Nice! Nothing to beat the sound of a blown big block, apart from maybe a blown Hemi

Are you fitting an extra fuel tank too?

No, just a single large ally one in the rear tub. My old one was buggered

Spyderman said:

Why go big block, you can get almost as much power from a small block without the weight penalties? Unless you're drag racing and are looking for mega BHP I can't see any advantages.

Having said that a mate has a 55 Chevy with a 672ci big block with triple stage nitrous, Art Car transmission, Strange rear end, literally no expense spared, puts out 1,200+BHP, goes just a bit, between petrol stations that is.
The Earth moves when it fires up.

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j bet that's an awesome beast to see in action

If you like big blocks go and see the pro mod championship at santa pod. Worth it to see Andy robinson in action! I bought a dropped valve valve from Bert Englefields 521ci big block for a couple of quid which sits on my shelf, its massive!

ronsealdeath said:

If you like big blocks go and see the pro mod championship at santa pod. Worth it to see Andy robinson in action! I bought a dropped valve valve from Bert Englefields 521ci big block for a couple of quid which sits on my shelf, its massive!

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I've been going to the Pod since the 70's, I remember Andy Robinson when he started in street class. The Scandies were the first guys to bring Pro-Mod to the UK, it was a revelation, massive big block door slammers, ultra competitive close racing.

I remember seeing Slammin Sammy Miller in Vanishing Point many a time, regular 3 second runs touching 400 mph, 12 G off of the line, 0-100 in 30 ft.
Blew the glass out of the control tower many a time.

Vanishing point wasnt it? Hydrogen Peroxide rockets basically!

Anyway we digress, put a v8 in your series if you can spare the time and have the tools. Otherwise, save up for a stage 1, future classics foe sure. A v8 conversion done anything other than to a good standard may devalue a series dont forget. But your biggest headache really is having to retain the gbox as its 1950s technology and not designed to cope with much beyond a mild rv8.
Dont forget to keep all receipts and engine numbers for dvla and prepare for them to get it inspected by a garage. Total lottery tho as to whether they will do this.

I have just pulled a V8 out of my series.
It's running very sweet complete with all fuel pump, silicone ht leads, new sparks, K&N filters. Ignition has been upgraded so no need to check the points. It's got twin Stromberg carburettors so it's real easy to wire in.
Standard exhaust manifolds and also the sports manifolds.
Branch sections of exhaust down to single pipe entry.
I used a LT95 box (sold) but my mate used a standard series box.

PM me if your interested.

Send a PM to Spyderman mate, he's looking to buy one now

LT95 is fine if you have the LWB but in a SWB you need the 101 version to have any chance of a rear prop

Aye with the 101 box the propshaft is awfully wee.
I got mine specially ,ade by the local propshaft centre. Cost £125 each and done app. 1000 miles.
Now surplus to requirements.
Pm with an offer.