question Automatic Transmission in a Land Rover

[Toner]

Silly question coming up....

 

I was wondering if anyone has converted a ex mil landrover / Bedford to an automatic transmission.

 

If so, is there any advice? (Apart from "Don't try it!") How difficult was it?

 

This is more of a "I wonder" type of question

 

Thanks

Paul T

[RattlesnakeBob]

Only just noticed this thread ..for what it's worth I'll throw this in..

..I don't know anything about fiddling about with Bedford gearboxs but fiddling about with LandRovers and every tiny bit of them is something I have scuffed knuckles over for many a year...:embarrassed:....

....way back when Rover SDi cars were far more abundant a good conversion was to put the 3500 V8 car engine into your truck complete with its automatic gearbox..

( ....I can't recall anyone bothering to try an auto box with a standard LR engine though...)

..Most took the path of putting the LR transfer box onto the back of the car gearbox....(obviously not as easy as I make that sound ! hahah :cool2:) ...

now.....this would all end up being a bit longer than a standard set up... so you would then need to shorten your rear prop and as I seem to remember (??) lengthen your front prop but it was all worth it.....

A LandRover with a 3500 V8 and an auto box is an awesome truck....especially if you used the high compression V8 out of the old P5 saloon car....only trouble with them was they liked the old 5 star petrol which wasn't very available by then so you also had to fiddle about a bit with that side of things but it could all be done and was well worth it.....

as I said ..

....I don't recall anyone bothering to try an autobox whilst keeping a standard engine (whatever it might have been)...

..in my humble opinion the old 2 1/4 petrol or diesel engine just wouldn't have had enough 'zipp' to make an autobox work properly/efficiently........mind you ....

.having said that ..

...back in the early 90s a company called C & A Amos from Yorkshire (?) were racing a Landrover with a 2&1/4 petrol in her in the AWDC Safari series....they'd 'tweeked' the motor in some sort of serious order..I think they were getting something like 150hp out of one and that may well of course have been worth strapping an autobox to! :-D

PS: Just remembered..

..to shorten the whole assemble some folk used a LR bellhousing on the back of the V8 and then cobbed the car gearbox to that and then the LR transfer box to that .........it still ended up 'too long' but I guess it depended on what you were like at knocking stuff up in a workshop.....if you had access to or had the machine shop facilities yourself it did make the job in some ways maybe a bit easier ...but.....

..you know the way it is ...some folk swear equally by one, or the other method...

................. I think it was 6 of one and half a dozen of the other to be honest, either way you did it ...you had to know yer onions.:laugh:

PPS:

Probably the furthest anyone took this whole idea of 'hotting up' a LandRover was a fella that put a Jensen Interceptor motor (I think they were basically a 454 big block Yank motor ???..about 7.3 litres ???) into a LandRover mounted on a Range Rover chassis with a Thwaites dumper semi auto shuttle gearbox in it and JCB propshafts....(and also dumper axles as I recall ???)...

....now that thing was truly awesome..:cool2:...

Edited February 14, 2012 by RattlesnakeBob

[mash]

The new Vixen (snatch upgrade) are and auto box coupled to a modified 300tdi

[Toner]

Thanks for the info.

 

Mmm It's giving me ideas >:->

[Essex5]

Various people have put auto boxes in 101FC landrovers - the ZF 4-speed auto and Borg-Warner transfer box live on the back of a rover V8 in rangerovers and discos, so the only problem might be gearbox mounts and propshafts.

Alternatively, the 200/300 Tdi has an auto version in Discos, so that should be fairly easy as well.

 

John

[fesm_ndt]

The main issue I see is most of the conversions put the shifter in the centre seat position as that is how it is in the civvy models. Why they don't leave it on the tunnel I have no idea.

 

Fitting is not a major issue but you have to wire the electrical interlock in which prevents the car being started whilst in gear.

 

Propshaft will be different and typically you need a tranny oil cooler and assciated piping. Aschcrofts sell it all as a kit, obviously cheaper if you piece the parts together yourself

[fesm_ndt]

A lot of info here http://www.aulro.com/afvb/90-110-130-defender-county/70262-auto-conversion.html

[spooky]

I really wish my memory was in good sorts :embarrassed:

 

I had a series 3 LWB which i converted...wait for it...i took a V8 from a crashed SDI race car, it had Holly 4 barrels and janspeed exhaust the works, it took some squeezing in but the conv went well. I mounted it to a standard LR box so not auto conv i'm afraid so not much joy to help here but the power was awesome. I did wish i converted it to auto and was looking to do it, as as i was testing it i used to melt the side of my boot on the exhaust pipe as i dipped the clutch pedal..ooooh hot hot hot

 

Ahh yes i can also remember the 2 to the gallon bit as well at full chat

malc

[ajmac]

My 2A has a ZF HP22 and 4.6 Rover V8 fitted, I did the build back in 1999 and it went well. I built it as a road car so propshaft length wasn't a problem, however when I get it back on the road (sorn since 2006) I will locate based on transfer box position to get equal length propshafts and deal with where the engine ends up rather than concentrate on engine location and accept transfer box location. Unless you want to put a defender rad and grill on a series you will struggle with an auto box install, they are so damn long!