I have a 1997 Land Rover Defender 90 that I am wanting to put in either an LS1, 2, or 6 engine.
I already have adaptor motor mounts, a built 4l80e trans etc etc, but need the engine.
Where is the best place to find one new the cheapest but complete?
A local place here in FL can make me an adaptor wiring harness so i dont need that.
I am needing a very torquey engine, should the stock cam be replaced?
The truck loaded down is between 4500 and 5000lbs, and has the aerodynamics of a brick.
Its driven across country from FL to Utah and back and wheeled hard alot.
I doubt it will ever see over 5000 rpm or need to.
What I need are sugestions on where to best get an engine, what headers (JBA?) work the best for this application and can the intake be installed reversed so the throttle body is facing back to the firewall? The truck sees alot of water and will also have a snorkel, but If perfer it that way.
If anyone has any advice feel free to point me in the right direction.
I was planning on an LS1, unless anyone can say otherwise?

thanks

 

I would look into the truck engines, esp the 6.0L. It will be cheaper than the LS1 and should have plenty of torque. You can try looking at junkyards around you or on www.car-part.com make sure to call and talk to them first, some of the yards keep everything together ready for a retrofit, while others cut the wiring and everything else that holds the motor in . The intake manifold can be reversed, it is somewhat of a common thing on sand rails, you should be able to find a couple threads with pics if you search.

 

Isnt the 6.0 an iron block? I was hoping to stay all aluminum and the engine that came out was a 4.0 of buick decent (like the old 215 engine) and the wt of an LS1 is about 30lbs more. I would think the iron block if it has one would be laot more?
The truck is in alot of heat too here in FL, a/c, offroading slooooow, so the max heat reduction is best.
thanks

 

The older 6.0`s are iron block (99-00 had iron heads too). I believe that the new 6.0s are now aluminum, but I know for a fact that you can get aluminum 5.3L`s. The difference is about a hundred pounds.

 

what would the 6.0 be called?
Do you know where on the block the motor mounts sit? Are they in the center of the block or closer to the front?

 

The 6.0 truck engine is either the lq4 or lq9. 325hp and 345 hp respectively. If you want to stay aluminum, the LS2 is 6.0l with an aluminum block. You will most likely pay double or more for the luxury of aluminum

The motor mount bosses are towards the front of the block.

 

get an LQ4, you can get them for $1000-2000 tons cheaper than LS1/2s and other aluminum motors. plus they are torque monsters.

 

I guess my concerns with that engine is one, the height of the intake may not clear the hood, and two what type of oil baffeling does it have?
My stock engine had an almost closed off oil pan as this truck sees alot of side angle and steep hill climbs and decent of up to 30 degrees. I figured the LS1 and 6 had good baffling as they are made for sports cars. Can this be adapted or overcome?
Thanks

 

The LS1/LS6 intake manifold will fit on the 6.0. You won't even have to change the accessory drive if you flip the intake so that the throttle body points toward the firewall. I believe you can also use the F-body oil pan on the 6.0.

 

I think budget is going to be your deciding factor, RovinC.....

The iron block 6.0L (LQ4 & LQ9) truck motors are reasonably inexpensive (typically $1k to $2k depending upon mileage, content, and negotiating). If you stick with '01 and later motors, they'll have good alum heads (basically LS6 heads with 72cc chambers) versus earlier 6.0L motors which were iron head (extra weight and lower flow).

The 5.7L LS1 or LS6 and the 6.0L LS2 will cost you significantly more, but have alum blocks. One of the drawbacks to the alum blocks is the inability to easily overbore them. Most you can go is .005" or .010" (depending upon block year) which isn't enough to save a damaged cylinder. Sleeving these blocks is expensive, it's cheaper to buy a new one.

The difference in weight between the iron and alum blocks is 80 to 100lbs.

Most all of the parts and pieces interchange between motors, but parts must be kept together as units. For example, the LS1 can run several different accessory drive systems (C5/C6, GTO/F-body, Truck, CTS-V, FWD, etc), but you have to run all the parts for whichever system you pick (because very few pieces interchange). What that means is that to run the C5 access drive instead of a truck drive (for example) you need the C5 alt, PS pump & reservoir, PS pump brackets, idler pulley's & tensioner, water pump, and harmonic balancer.

Same thing goes for the oil pans. You can put any oilpan on the motor (truck, C5, C6, CTS-V, GTO, FWD, etc) but you have to use the pan and its associated windage tray, pickup, and dipstick / tube.

BTW, the factory oil pans are cast aluminum. They can be welded & modified, but its not necessarily the easiest approach (the porosity of cast aluminum allows it to "soak up" some oil which makes it quite difficult to weld). Sometime soon there should be some aftermarket pans available (I think they're steel) which might be the easiest to add trapdoors and baffles to. You could also build your own pan to fit your chassis & goals, which might be the best answer. I don't know that the factory baffling (on any of the pans) is going to be up to the task of keeping the oil where it belongs, but I'd think the truck pan would have the best chance (its probably 4+" deeper than any of the others and usually holds another quart).

Intakes interchange, and can be flipped around backwards. Truck intakes make the best torque, but are also the tallest and ugliest (they are pretty ugly). Car intakes (facing forward) and the truck access drive won't work (It can be made to work, but you have to do some modifying).


Good luck with your conversion. If you don't have it already, I'd suggest Will Handzel's book "How to Build High-Performance Chevy LS1/LS6 V-8s: Modifying and Tuning GM III Engines for GM Cars & Pickups". Pretty good reference book.

'JustDreamin'