Hey newswede it is great to here about your range rover. I was begining to think I was the only rover nut on this side of the pound that wants to shoehorn a non rover diesel in their rig. The Isuzu is a great engine. I drove an NPR truck along time ago in a old job, the truck always ran smooth and had plenty of power. I also drove some dodge trucks and like the cummins engine also. What I go with will come down to price and availability of donor truck. Hey dougal thanks for all the answers to my posts. Do you have any pictures of your rangie?
Yes, I've made several inquiries with most of the usual Land Rover specialists; some have done 200 and 300 TDi conversions as well as the Ford transport 2.8, but I've yet to find anyone stateside currently offering anything that has moderate power for my needs. Most have gotten away from diesel conversions for whatever reason)s). I was considering getting rid of the Range Rover in favor of a Dodge w/ a 6/BT but it's way more than I need; and once you have a truck, your friends (without trucks) start planning your weekends from now until retirement. The Range Rover gets me around in quite reasonable comfort in any weather we have here, and does an adequate job towing, which is why I really want to keep it.
I'm fortunate to have an excellent machinist and a very talented fabricator as two close friends who help me with my various race car projects, so if I can figure a way to slide a 4BT in, we can make the rest of it all work. From Dougal's earlier post, it sounds encouraging, but I'll need to find the right 4BT tasked to the job. If I can keep the torque under 280 ft/lbs and keep the ZF trans, it should be very workable. If it comes down to swapping the trans and transfer case, I think I'll likely not proceed. For now though, it does look promising based on some preliminary investigation. Money-wise, the Rover V8 is still worth a few bucks, so that should help defray some of the expense of the conversion.