Every now and then on the Land Rover Owner mailing list, someone suggests putting a non-LR engine into a Land-Rover. The result is invariably an argument, which can turn into a full-on flame war.
Why? I have no idea. I agree that Land-Rovers are getting scarce, and that we should try to preserve as many of them in original condition as possible. On the other hand, Land-Rovers are working vehicles. Always have been, always will be. You don't very often see snow plows, water pumps, conveyor belts and the like bolted to a Toyota.
And, Land-Rover engines are not inherently superior to other engines out there. How can fitting a Land-Rover V8 to a SII be OK, but fitting a Ford V6 not? Because the tappet cover on the one reads "Rover"? Get real. If you don't have the original engine or at least the same type of engine, the vehicle is not concourse. If you havn't cut any holes you shouldn't have, the vehicle can still be restored. So why do some people insist on "keeping the vehicle Rover"? Beats me.
Now, you won't ever find me modifying a near-pristine series Land-Rover. That's why I don't own a near-pristine series Land-Rover. Groenie the 1955 Series I can still be restored - that's why I think twice before drilling a hole, something that I havn't done yet. Spikkels is on the road *only* because of a hell of a lot of *my* *hard* *work* -- if I hadn't rebuilt it from the ground up, it would have been scrapped. I used the best parts I could find at the time, fitting in with my budget. The chassis and running gear is from the original SII station wagon, the engine and gearbox came from a SII pick-up, the firewall is late-model SIIA, and the rear body is from a SIII. The seats come from a Fiat Uno. I have a Series III brake booster and wiper arrangement, which works a lot better than the Series II parts they replaced. Soon I'll be fitting a Salisbury rear axle, I'm tired of breaking half shafts.
Since *I* brought this Land-Rover back from the grave, *I* reserve the full right to modify it any way I see fit. If I want to fit a Volkswagen Beetle engine to it, and I ask for advice, I want advice ("the torque curve is all wrong") and not flames ("it won't be a Land-Rover any more")