I've considered the same thing Bob.

I had a '99 Disco, really liked that truck, but it would only get 17mpg. I bought a nice spare 603 with transmission in hopes I could find a nice clean '99 D1 or early '00 D2 (still had the diff lock 'till mid-'00) with slipped sleaves or something else terminal.

Building an adapter for the ZF transmission was my largest concern, also the ZF has some electronic controls talking to the body computer for shift points, not sure how that would work out. It would be easier with a more primitive transmission certainly, and with some knowledge of the body computer.

If you get to a do-able point, we need to do two of them at once!

Another issue I had was weight and weight distribution. The 603 has good power and a nice power curve, but is longer and heavier than the aluminum V-8 in the Disco. With the stock engine, the L-R is a perfect 50/50 weight distribution (I weighed mine, perfect with 1/2 tank), and the magnesium/aluminum body keeps the center of mass reasonably low for an "SUV" so it handles well on and off-road and can take a pretty good side-slope.

Again, seems that something like a Cherokee already is front-heavy and top-heavy, I didn't want to make the Disco into a Cherokee.

Keep me in the loop please, I need diesel SUV that's not overpowered with pathetic fuel mileage (a-la Toureg/Navigator/Suburban diesels et al).

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff