1952 land rover with 88" swb (1 Viewer)

[Grunter hunter]

I own a land rover swb 88" with leaf suspension all round and sitting on 33" tyres. I am looking into upgrading all running gear to be suitable for hard 4x4 driving as well as towing, and hunting. I have been looking into the Volvo c303 portal axels and transfer case as well as coil springs for suspension upgrade. I am actually contemplating to do a full rebuild from ground up, wanting to do strong diesel conversion; maybe Nissan 4.2, suspension, brakes, gearbox, clutch, ect. Has anybody done something similar to this? Please fill me in or even give ideas please.

 

[D'Animal]

Welcome to IH8MUD!

Great looking Rig!

I believe the biggest challenge you are going to have with the conversion to high horse or a high torque motor is the frame. The frame is made up of plates of sheet metal boxed together. It is strong but very dificult to modify for fitting the powertrain in.

Matt at Advanced Adaptors has successfully modified a few of the LR's.

Can you weld aluminum?

 

[Grunter hunter]

Thanks for the input D'Animal. Do you have any suggestions for motor and suspension upgrades? Its running a 186 atm but I want to go diesel, as well as suspension upgrades.

 

[D'Animal]

When looking for a powertrain, keep in mind what is readily available in your part of the world. You will need parts. As an example, I have seen some solid Toyota Turbo Diesels imported in the USA but finding simple items such as correct oil filters or gaskets is a challenge.

Have you considered the turbo diesel from a 300 series mercedes? It is small and compact and available on almost every continent. A few guys have installed them in the older FJ Landcruisers and seem to be happy.

 

[Grunter hunter]

I live in Australia so, Toyota , Nissan, Isuzu, and many others are available. I love my Toyota's and my Nissan but I bought this land rover because of the she'll. It makes for a great hunting rig. I just want a strong diesel pushing it, along with better wheel travel.

 

[Grunter hunter]

Been looking around and found a company called ECR overseas who customise the 88" chassis with updated coil suspension and disk brakes from newer defender models. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience in this area to shed a little bit more light on the idea.