The V8 Owners Forum -

Hello
I am thinking of buying a Landrover 90 V8 around 1989 with a 3.5 engine running on carbs as a winter project for rebuilding.

I have several landrovers which are diesel this is my first adventure to petrol, I do 90% of my own work so I am well versed in working on landrovers.

The V8 defender will be for road use only as a toy

I have searched and found a lot of good information but what I need is a SIMPLE explanation to what I am or would like to do.

1) The rover 3.5 can it be easily changed to EFI? And if so is there any step by step guides how to do this?
2) I would like to fit a megasquirt system as well, does this work with the EFI ssyem?
3) What other items should I consider for a 3.5 engine?
4) Which is the better engine 3.5 or 3.9?
5) LASTLY is it better for me to get a 3.9efi and instead of a 3.5?

Many thanks for any help that you can give me………………….cheers Ivan

Snag with the early flapper EFI is it is old. And some wearing parts like the flapper itself and TPS very expensive to source new. And they do wear out. Also, would you expect a 30 year old PC to work well these days?

The hotwire is newer. But still old, in computer terms.

A MegaSquirt (and others) can make use of all the same hardware - sensors and injectors etc - and basically just replaces the ECU. Processing power is cheap these days, so an MS can do things Lucas only dreamed about.

Best system to use as a basis for an MS etc conversion is the hotwire. It has more modern injectors and a better design of fuel rail. Also, the wiring loom is better quality than the flapper one, so good to modify for MS.

The entire EFI just bolts on in place of the carb manifold, so can be fitted to any RV8. Although I'd also use EFI heads on a very old engine.

Would be much better and cheaper for you to buy one with a 3.9 efi already fitted mate, would save you a lot of work/hassle and means you could spent your time and money on other things for the restoration. The hotwire system whilst old is still good, unless you are going for mega power/mods which I assume you're not, you probably won't even need megasquirt. Could fit a high torque cam for a few hundred quid which would work great in a landy. And from not spending money on MS or a efi conversion, buy some modified heads, would work very well with an uprated cam and give the biggest gain in a RV8 in terms of power-per-pound

How well does the hotwire work when you start modding the engine without re-mapping?

I'd agree if you can get a decent know working engine and injection complete it will be the easiest route.

But once you start down the modifications route things can get more complicated, IMHO.

chodjinn wrote:Would be much better and cheaper for you to buy one with a 3.9 efi already fitted mate, would save you a lot of work/hassle and means you could spent your time and money on other things for the restoration. The hotwire system whilst old is still good, unless you are going for mega power/mods which I assume you're not, you probably won't even need megasquirt. Could fit a high torque cam for a few hundred quid which would work great in a landy. And from not spending money on MS or a efi conversion, buy some modified heads, would work very well with an uprated cam and give the biggest gain in a RV8 in terms of power-per-pound

Thanks for this mate
i have been doing alot of research and reading loads, just want to make sure i start off the project with the correct engine. as i said when finished with the project it will be a road car....................cheers Ivan

hi there fitted 3.9 v8 efi 14 cux system in to my mg can any one give me wiring advice from the hotwire system it had flapper system fitted before the wires are different coulors on 14 cux thanks

Two answers for you...

1. http://www.grammarbook.com/english_rules.asp

2. https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid ... ng+diagram