|
 
Jim "Scotty" Howett, owner of Scotty's foreign car repair, developed a Chevy engine conversion for Series Land Rovers. His goal was a simple engine conversion that was within the capabilities of the average Land Rover owner that used parts commonly and inexpensively obtained by American Land Rover owners. His solution was the cast iron Chevy four cylinder engine,commonly known as the "iron duke" for both 88 and 109 Land Rovers and the smaller versions of the Chevy in-line six cylinder engine for the 109 six cylinder Land Rover. Both engines provide a nice power boost while staying within the 160 lb ft maximum reliable torque limit of the Land Rover gearbox.
The Scotty's conversion kit was composed of a bell housing adapter, a pilot bearing and a few pages of instructions. Over the decades something like 1000 adapters were manufactured. I wrote this page to fill in the information that may have have become separated from the adapter.
Engines:
The kit and instructions were developed back before the more modern GM engines were introduced. The Instructions were written for 1950's and 1960's engines. The 'iron duke" 153 cu. In. four cylinder engine has about 30 more horsepower than the Land Rover 2.25L petrol engine, is lighter weight and achieves greater fuel economy. This engine is basically a cut down version of the Chevy in line six engine. The six cylinder engine the kit was originally developed for was the 238 Cu In version from the 1950's with the newer 250 version being the largest version he recommended. Jim felt that the larger displacement six cylinder engines produced more torque than the Land Rover gearbox could reliably handle.
During the mid 1990's the old Iron Duke engine was starting to get hard to find and people started experimenting with the GM four cylinder Mercruiser engine. The engine produces more power than the iron duke but there are a number of problems involved in converting a marine engine into an automotive engine.
Pilot Bushing:
The pilot bushing used with Scotty's
conversions (Chevy engine to series Land Rover gear box) is: Pioneer
Inc, Automotive Products part number PB-50-D-5. This
is a world wide supplier with manufacturing plants in several countries. People used several different flywheels making their conversion and the pilot bearing often had to be machined to fit the flywheel.
The bushing is made of oilite bronze with a thickness usually between 0.600" and 0.650" (may need to be different for different flywheels). The centre hole is 0.785" diameter. The outside diameter will vary by the flywheel you end up using but is typically 1.708".
Adapter:
The adapter came predrilled for the Chevy bellhousing pattern and the Land Rover bellhousing. Land Rover used 2 bellhousing bolt patterns for Series gearboxes. The Series I engines and the Rover six cylinder engine share the same bellhousing while the Series II and newer four cylinder engines have a different bellhousing mounting pattern. Most of the Scotty adapters were drilled for either the six cylinder or the four cylinder bellhousing pattern. The last couple of manufacturing runs made in the late 1990's and very early2000's were drilled for both the four and six cylinder bellhousings and can handle either gearbox without redrilling.
Scotty conversion instructions for the 153 Cu In Iron Duke and the 250 Cu In or smaller six cylinder engine. These instructions were the last version that Jim provided with his conversion. You will notice notes hand written on the pages. Jim was planning to update the instructions but never completed the update. He gave me the copy he was editing for the upgrade.
Instructions for converting to a Mercruiser engine using the Scotty adapter. Someone on the East coast was planning to go into business doing Mercruiser conversions to Series land Rovers in the mid 1990's. This is a first draft of the instructions that the writer sent to Jim for comment and correction. This is a copy that Jim gave to me for my records. He felt the instructions were too complicated and not completely accurate. Converting a Mercruiser engine to automotive use is not all that straight forward. I've included a copy of what Jim gave me to help anyone contemplating the conversion.
Return to page top
|
