| Author | Message | ||
     Brian Leonard Unregistered guest |
I was at my friends shop and he had a Buick block from the 50's or 60's and it looks remarkably like the LR 4.0 block. Did LR just copy the Buick motor? | ||
| Al Oliveira (Offroaddisco) Senior Member Username: Offroaddisco Post Number: 1370 Registered: 04-2002 |
If it looks like a duck... It's from the 60's and LR paid Buick for it, they didn't copy it. Remember it's Land Rover not Toyota.  | ||
| Land Rover Certified Used A**hole (Jason) Senior Member Username: Jason Post Number: 285 Registered: 04-2002 |
Pretty close Brian, exactly as Al mentioned. Rover bought the design from Buick, and until 1996, the Buick 215 and the Rover 3.5/3.9 block were pretty much the same (save for bored cylinders in the 3.9). The only significant differences are Rover changes the aluminum alloy in the block, and the 4.0 block you are looking at uses larger main journals on the crank (same diameter as the Buick 300), and cross-bolted main saddles. If the sumps are mounted, you'll also notice slight differences in the dimensions of the oil sump where it seals against the block. Also, because the 4.0 lacks a distributer, the camshaft nose is shorter, making the 4.0 timing cover not compatible unless you also change the cam. The differences between the Buick 215, Rover 3.5/3.9/4.0 are small enough that *most* parts are interchangable without modification. | ||
| Brian Leonard Unregistered guest |
Thanks guys. I knew it looked alot like the LR block. The other guys laughed at me when I said this. Oh well, one more thing in the I'm not completely crazy column. |
