351/4R70w into '93 Range rover | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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351/4R70w into '93 Range rover

FIXR7

Active Member
Joined
November 3, 2010
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City, State
Perth, Western Australia
Year, Model & Trim Level
'93 Range Rover Vogue
G'day folks,

I'm going to post here about my conversion on the suggestion of Don(CDW6212R). I might start a little differently by posting a big pile of photos with minimal text. Then, if you're interested just ask me some questions.

Cheers,
Pete.

The subject vehicle, a '93 Vogue in reasonably good nick..

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An Aussie BTR 95LE 4spd auto from a 5.0L Falcon was initially looked at for the conversion but, was a no go....

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and here trying an AOD for size...definitely more promising.

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Then I found a 4R70w here in Perth.

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Stock 3.9 BOP engine removed exposing the not strong enough, ZF HP22 4spd auto.

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The 3.9 BOP(I call it 3.9 POS:) next to a proper engine...an F-series 5.8.

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the 5.8 dangled in front of the ZF.

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No mods needed to the F-series pan.

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The 4R70w up against the LT230 transfer box. Hardly any setback required...try that with GM junk!

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Looking good with a dummy up under the car.

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with stock diameter driveshaft.

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The CAD pic of the adapter plate we would make.

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Work started on the adapter.

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On the mill.

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The CNC display.

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Finished piece next to the original ZF extension housing.

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Trying for size.

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The adapter shaft, Precision ground 31 spline yoke from an '05 FPV Falcon GT pressed and then welded to a modified Landrover adapter shaft.

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Looking better.

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Stock engine mounts.

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and gone.

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Pieces to make the new mounts of 5mm steel.

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Taking shape.

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Mods required to the RH engine mount for diff housing clearance. The mounts are '96-'98 5.0L Falcon Hydraulic items.

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In place.

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Bracket mods required for idler pulley clearance of steering box. I'm using 5.0L Falcon front dress which is the same as '91-'93 Bird/Cougar for the U.S. peeps. That's right, we don't have thermactor emissions controls here in Australia hence. the idler pulley/

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Drive shafts made. Rear one shortened 45mm(the amount of setback I gave the engine) and the front one made of smaller diameter, heavy wall tubing.

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304 stainless universal header kit.

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I made the headers to tuck up rather than go under the stock crossmember where they might hit something.

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Here's the new crossmember I made next to the original round tube version.

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I ended up buying a built 4R70 from Hughes transmissions. Here it is attached.

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The view in the tunnel.

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In there.

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Deep pan is a bit close.

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Not anymore.

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Galvanized.

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Plenty of clearance.

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Trans lines.

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Cooler.

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Trans Oil temp sensor adapter.

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Fuel line adapters.

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Heater pipes with Falcon heater tap added. Range rover does not have a tap in std form which might be ok in a cold country but not here! These line up nicely with 5.0L Falcon orginal steel heater pipes on the engine.

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Ford racing 90 degree oil filter adapter.

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BC Bronco's HO adapter plate is lowest height option for this conversion. I do have a GT40 lower and Explorer upper to go on but that's later and it's 20mm higher so it's going to hit the bonnet.

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Stock 5.0L Falcon water crossover tube and custom bracket.

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after mods.

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Boss style covers with the "Ford Racing" and "Boss" milled off and a Landrover green paint.

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Had to cut this down for rocker cover clearance.

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Modified 65mm EGR spacer for bonnet clearance.

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Ported HO upper. I also port matched the adapter to the upper and lower.

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Falcon air box modified.

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Exhaust taking shape.

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2 1/4" twin.

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MLPS Heat shield I made from one off a Falcon.

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Looking like it's meant to be there I reckon.

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Original shifter hole. I fitted the rivet holes with nutserts.

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Originally I ran it with the std shifter in reverse pattern.

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I have a ZF six speed shifter from an '08 Falcon which is much nicer and has the Tiptronic feature which I'm sure I can adapt to the Optishift controller.

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The linkage however was quite time consuming to make.

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Made this using 2mm stainless.

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and the rest is 1mm.

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I've used a '93 Falcon EECIV from a GT/Sprint Falcon(basically a '93 Cobra type calibration) with EV6 Ford racing 24lb injectors and a '94-5 type 70mm Cobra MAF. I use a Moates 1/4 horse for tuning which at this point I haven't really done other than changing the displacement to 351 and turning off EGR.

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The Harness is 5.0L Falcon spliced into the Range rover one.

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OH yeah, here's the GT40 lower(an Orginal Lightning piece this one) and the Explorer upper.

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REALLY nice! Great camera work, too.
What size was the original engine?
 






Bill, the original engine is a 3.9L v8

I love it!

Since he won't get rid of it, I've been trying to get my dad to put a real engine in his '91 County SWB for a long time. He's gone from the 3.9L to a 4.0L and now the 4.2L which are all crap IMO.

Great work!
 






Great job Pete, there's a bunch of really nice fabrication in there.

The 3.9 engine was an old Chevy development wasn't it? I heard about it on Top Gear, GM created it but didn't have a use for it back then. So Land Rover got the rights to it and it's been one of their oldest engine lines.
 






GM developed the original 215ci (3.5L) which turned into the 3.9, 4.0 for Ranger Rover in the 90s. I'm pretty sure it was initially meant to be used for Buick/Olds, though.
 






Excellent job! I love it all.

Makes me want to pick up an older RR SWB for a project.
 






Thanks Lads, Glad you like it.
Yeah they call the old engine a BOP (Buick Oldsmobile Pontiac).The damn things slip liners if you look at em sternly and it's exactly what mine did....Rubbish engine!
Something to note; the 351 is the same width and shorter in length than the 3.9 POS engine. It's only the height that is greater although the EFI intake has alot to do with that. This vehicle is made for this conversion and there's a lot of cues for other left hand drop transfer applications.
 






Pete, where did you get those valve covers? The pictures make them look just like Cleveland VC's, which I love. If those are easy to get and fit nice roller rockers, I think I'd like those. Are they aluminum, and do any come for fuel injected cars(one side sealed with no holes)? I prefer the stock Explorer type fill tube etc.
 






Here ya go Don,
Mine are the M-6582-BOSSP version. They say; doesn't fit EFI but, that's really for people who don't want to do any work putting them on. I've got the PCV in one and the filler in t'other but there's no reason why you couldn't block one up or weld it shut. The Cleveland/Boss look is what i like about em too plus, they look similar to the flat top covers on the 3.9 POS so at a glance people might not recognise the engine is any different. The remaining Ford logo is pretty hard to see with all that other stuff on top of the engine too and the Landrover Green in there probably throws them off too:) See you can get FE looking Valve covers for your windsor heads as well...
http://www.fordracingpartsdirect.com/Valve_Covers_s/442.htm
 






1962 Olds F-85

In the early 1970s during the fuel shortage I purchased a 1970 Jeep Wagoneer that came stock with a Buick 350 V8 engine. I was stationed at Mather AFB near Sacramento, CA and my wife and I wanted to visit my parents who lived in Oregon. We purchased a 1962 Olds F-85 station wagon with the 215 aluminum V8 so we could make the trip on minimum fuel. We kept it for several months while I rebuilt the 350 V8 that had 80,000 miles. I suspected that the 215 aluminum V8 would not hold up very long. Instead, I purchased a Jaguar XJ6 for my wife. I kept the Wagoneer for 24 years before selling it in running condition with the original engine.

I am very impressed with all of the excellent engineering and craftsmanship you have demonstrated in your engine/transmission swap. The 5.8L/4R70W would be my preferred drivetrain for my 2000 Explorer Sport. The 5.8L has excellent torque and the 4R70W is a reliable, robust transmission. However, the upgrade would probably take more effort than I am willing to expend. Also, there would be a weight distribution and a fuel economy penalty. I enjoy having five forward gears to select from. A supercharger (difficult to acquire) may be a suitable alternative and less work and issues.

How much did your weight distribution change and did it adversely affect the handling of your Rover?

What year and model of vehicle did the 5.8L come from?

I'll have to read about the Moates QuarterHorse since control of the 5.8L was one of the issues to resolve with a 5.8L upgrade to my Sport. Stock engines with the "trigger wheel" are hard to find.
 






Thanks man,
There has been a slight handling change with the extra weight but I did manage a 45mm setback which helps. Not that the handling was great anyway. This car already had the air suspension removed when I bought it and the springs fitted are reasonably stiff. I measured no difference in height of the front end after the conversion. The handling is now much better than before the swap since I've just fitted Bilstein shocks all round.

I've just discovered a rear main leak so while it's out I may fit the ally heads/GT40 intake and use a small retro roller in it. That should shave a little more off the front end.
Certainly, If you already have a 5.0 it would be far easier to stroke it or blow it or both.
The engine is a '91 F-series job. I would have preferred to use the entire stock intake as it's long runners and dual plane design make for the ultimate torque but alas the height is ridiculous.

We've made a couple of trigger wheels for pre-EDIS engines including clevelands which are of course very plentiful here. We machine an area on the back of the balancer and press fit the encoder wheel.

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Btw there's plenty of meat on your stock balancer to take it down from 50 to 28oz I reckon. SO you could just machine that weight down and use it on your 5.8 engine.

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Nice, I like that balancer, it's better than mine. I had to deal with a place that over charged, and didn't secure the trigger wheel properly. After having it spin while being balanced, I had a local shop pin the trigger wheel in place, and then make a second one for a member here.

Where did you get that trigger wheel, the one with larger holes in it?
 

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We made that wheel Don,
I see you have a furry inspector too:)
 






We made that wheel Don,
I see you have a furry inspector too:)

I like it, too bad it's not seen when installed.

My cat follows me when I'm in the kitchen.
 






It's probably gone rusty now anyway Don.
My cat follows me everywhere and even helps(her idea of helping is to lie down on whatever I'm doing:)
 






Hey guy's, A question for you; Do the Electric shift motors on the various Ford transfer boxes have lots of torque? LT230 transfer boxes are pretty damn hard to shift at the best of times. Especially the diff lock. I'd like to do an electric shift conversion.
 






I don't know how strong they are, but the same shift motor on a 91-01 Explorer is the same part used on the big trucks TC's, the Expedition and Navigator. The BW 4406 TC is big and common, and we use that to make the V8's a real 4WD. It uses the same shift motor. They can be had for about $75 new, but lots are out there for much more, including used. Ignore those.
 









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