By DQ on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 01:08 pm: Edit

Hello,

Being new to the Land Rover obsession, I have a simple, but possibly really stupid quesion:

Every time I show my 97 Disco to a friend of mine (American car freaks), they say that the engine is an American car (Chevy, Ford or Buick?) engine!

Is this true?

Did Land Rover do what Chrysler and other manufacturers did by purchasing/outsourcing their engines?

I understand the tech specs/displacement of my engine, and how it works, but I was surprised to hear what they've been telling me.

Are they just pulling my leg??

Please give me any info you can!

Thanks!

By Jake Hartley (Jake) on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 03:34 pm: Edit

The Rover V8 in your LR was designed and used by Buick Oldsmobile and Pontiac, back in the '60s. It was then sold to Rover, who with some mods, continues to use it today. There are many American BOP parts that still work in this engine.

By DQ on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 05:34 pm: Edit

Thank you very much...

I guess it doesn't bother me too much...I just thought by the way these guys were talking, that the engine was American-built, and then installed into the vehicle during production (like Mitsubushi engines into Chrysler products, or even early 80's Chrysler Omnis that used VW inline 4 cyl Dasher/Rabbit engines).

Jeez, you'd think Land Rover would have come up with something of their own design somewhere between the 60's and now.

But then again, car companies such as VW, Volvo, etc. successfully used single engine designs for decades and just made small "improvements" over time.

Oh, well. I guess if anything, the Buick/Olds/Pontiac engine design should (hopefully) save some money when replacing parts, and maybe will come in handy if I ever need a part in a pinch in some middle-of-nowhere hick-town that never heard of any "Land Rover" and only know GM cars!!

Thanks for the feedback!

By SG on Sunday, March 04, 2001 - 11:42 pm: Edit

Yes...it was an American engine...a 215 cid used on Buicks (particularly the '62 Special and Skylark) and Oldsmobiles up until '64 or so. About that time, GM perfected thin-wall iron casting techniques and dropped the ally engine. A Rover engineer, William-Martin Hurst, literally stumbled over one when touring a Mercury Marine boat building plant in '66. He thought it would be an excellent powerplant for the "100 inch station wagon" project that was in development. of course, this became the Range Rover. At that time, Rover was planning to use the Rover P-6 engine, an inline 6 with 3.0 litres displacement. GM didn't need the engine and happily sold the rights to it. Betcha' they regret it...but hey, when did GM have any foresight?

Cheers