| Author | Message | ||
     Chris Browne (Chris_browne) Senior Member Username: Chris_browne Post Number: 328 Registered: 02-2003 |
The production line where thousands of the famous Land Rover V8 engines have been built has been put on the market. Everything you need for machining blocks, cranks and camshafts - then putting them together in 4.0 or 4.6-litre powerplants - is going under the hammer. Some of the equipment on offer was installed at the Solihull factory as recently as 1998. So why is Land Rover getting rid of it? "When Ford took over in 2000, we said we would be looking to source our engines internally," explained a spokesman. "That time will come between now and 2006. There are no fixed dates or reserve prices for the sale. At the moment, all we are doing is gauging the likely level of interest." From Autoweek The assembly line is still producing engines, with about half of all Discoverys needing the legendary unit, which was itself bought from US giant Buick in 1965. The lump has also been used in some Range Rovers, together with models from Morgan, Triumph and Marcos. So are you interested in bidding? Potential buyers can visit the line to see it in action before making their offers. But they won't pick it up for a song. The front end of the cylinder block machine cost £3.8m new - and it's only a small part of the operation. Whoever buys the line will also have to collect it. "And they'll need a big garage to store it in," laughed the spokesman. | ||
| Justin (Vanroth) Member Username: Vanroth Post Number: 106 Registered: 02-2003 |
Very interesting Chris! I think Ford engines would be good for Land Rover... Granted they JUST got the 4.6 engines! But after seeing what might be the new disco, it might not matter. -vanroth | ||
| Rans (Rans) Senior Member Username: Rans Post Number: 545 Registered: 08-2002 |
Theres more to it than what you say. There were substantial labor desputes at Solihull and Ford gave the Union a drop-dead offer and it was refused....so, they are moving production to the Ford plant. I think in the long run, assembly quality will improve, but development will suffer at the hands of the bean-counters. We will only have explorer based Land Rovers in a few years. | ||
| Nathan Hindman (Nathanh) Member Username: Nathanh Post Number: 87 Registered: 07-2002 |
I read in a recent press release that Ford is finalizing the adaptation of the Jaguar V8 engines for Land Rover application. IIRC, we may see the Jag engine in a LR as early as the '05 Disco 3 or the "Baby Range Rover". (sorry, couldn't find the link). Thanks, Nathan Hindman http://www.pangaea-expeditions.com | ||
| Peter Sharratt (Gummikuh) Member Username: Gummikuh Post Number: 223 Registered: 02-2003 |
Hi Rans All of what you say only applies to the new Freelander, and not the rest of the range. Pete S |
