My1stFBody

Hi all, first off I will apologize about the genericness of this post but with my specific goals/need I'm fairly uncertain which direction to take with my planned engine conversion project. I've decided to pursue an LR4 because of the characteristics it offers, availability and lower demand (ie cheaper). Since I'm planning on putting this in an E46 BMW I'll need to convert the intake and FEAD to F-body/GTO style and I'll likely look to do a generic rebuild while the engine is out. This is where the questions come along.

If you're opening up an LR4 for seals/bearings, are there other upgrades/weak points that should be addressed? I don't want this to become a "while I'm in there" rabbit hole but if something like rod bolts + LS6 cam would make a night and day difference I'll consider it! This car would just be a fun, cheap, (hopefully) reliable DD build. The crazy part is that my wife can be a stickler with little things: I need to keep it safe to run on 87 octane (I know, I know!).

Also, what are opinions on torque converters for this kind of application? Seems with the bit more rev happy LR4 that lightning up the TC might be a huge benefit but I'm not sure on justifying the cost. I'll likely have the 4L60e gone through (if anyone has good advice on rebuild & clutch upgrades please advise!) to ensure durability and reliability and wouldn't mind having tighter shifts (but don't need it to chirp through all gears since again, it's a DD).

I'm off on a tangent... Appreciate any advice guys!

My1stFBody

Oops, I should add that I *have* read stuff like Super Chevy's Mini Mouse article, so I'm not coming into this blind. I'm not really trying to chase HP/TQ either as this will be the tightest budget imaginable.