What started out being a standard engine out engine in job soon turned in to one of the most complex 1989 Vogues driving around on the roads today. Filled with custom fabricated parts, bolt on performance parts and hours upon hours……upon hours, of encouraging words and pleasantries, the car finally started to take shape and has finally been completed. We purchased the Rangie with a 4.2 motor already fitted to the car, this lasted all of 3 weeks of driving time. We decided that with the colour of the car and our plans for the future this vehicle was to be seriously underpowered! Plans for the blown 4.6 were already on the drawing table, parts we being ordered, new ideas were being formed and previous teething problems were extracted and far superior replacements had been sourced.

The motor, transmission and transfer case we all removed from the car. The 4.6 motor was built in house from scratch, after being striped and fully balanced we also had the Crank and Rods shot Peaned and honed to maximise strength and reliability, As we new the motor would have an accomplice in producing some Dyno busting Torque curves. Heatseeker were responsible for the Cam, lifters and adjustable timing chain which were designed for torque not speed. Finally after a few more minor modifications to the engine and its ancillaries it was ready to have its hat fitted for a ngt out on the town. As we new from other Rangeis the 4.6 would not be fed by the Eaton M90 Blower, so we called around and got our hands on his big brother, the M112. Brackets and plates proved to be a time consuming exercise as the M112 was so much bigger in size, with old templates and old plates lying around the shop we finally got the correct hight, width and thickness so all parties involved were happy and there were no shaking heads at the design.

With the motor and assembled and the Supercharger mounted to the engine we were able to move further down the driveline. Next in line was the Auto, all this power was great but getting it through the driveline and on to the black top may prove to be a frustrating exercise, as broken axles and overheated autos aren’t fun for any of us. A fully rebuild Auto Courtesy of A + B Automatics was installed with in internal 3rd gear up shift modification to assist in keeping the revs down when towing. After all the car was going to be used as practically as it could…………. Sure.

Moving further down the line was the transfer case, factory Land Rover parts were used as a another re-conditioned part was fitted to the car.

Once we had the car rolling we did need it to sit nicely on the road, handle through corners and a very important factor…….. we also wanted it to stop. Suspension choice needed to be firm enough to handle all the added extras in the car and its power increase. We opted for a gas Lip shocker which have been absolutely excellent in its application,

running with standard red springs with poly air bags in the rear for towing. The suspension set up is firm but has been loosening up just like a new car would.

With the introduction of the high performance cross drilled and slotted disc rotors it was an easy choice as to what was going where. Rear solid cross drilled and slotted were supplied by Quentin Hazel and oversized front vented Discs were fitted from a…………. both Front and rear standard callipers with Bendix 4WD disc pads.

Because of the size and sheer power of this engine the rest of the factory cooling components would be pushed to the limit trying to keep up with this monster motor. To combat all the extra stresses the car would endure bigger automatic and engine coolers were fitted to the front of the vehicle behind the air dam. The block itself would require its own set of cooling lines as after the first few power runs on the Dynometer, things literally did start to heat up. The block was drilled and water jackets flowing either side of each cylinder cooled the motor down tremendously which then enabled us to wind up the boost. With the engine running cooler and the blower running more efficiently we were looking forward to our first power run.

When we first got the car it had the standard 1989 Vogue interior, cloth seats, vinyl console and standard audio. We were wanting to keep it as original as we could so the Land Rover enthusiast could appreciate the smaller subtle changes we made, instead of making them as obvious as some other models such as the Schuller. After stripping the interior completely we lay sound deadening/heat shields to cope with the heat which would emit through the floor thanks to the HM Headers and Exhaust., wiring for the upgraded stereo was run, amplifiers were installed, along with 6” Alpine Splits in the front doors, and 4” Alpine Coax’s in the roof, all running off a pioneer head unit. Some other smaller items were fitted such as in car phone kit and a boost gage. Factory Land Rover electric seats were imported from the U.K., along with full Vogue SE wood grain dash, window switch panel, and other various wood trim. New carpets, headlining, and door trims soon followed as the interior started to take shape and finally look like a car again.

Finally we turned to body styling, most of which were bolt on from the u.k. Brooklands body kit was fitted to the front of the vehicle, side aprons and the rear of the car which were all finished in yellow and black, wider 255 18” wheels were also fitted which were also bolt ons which required no hub adapters or spacers. The driving lights fitted in the grille were courtesy of the guys over at Bearmach, we didn’t want to fit a bull bar to this car but we wanted better illumination at night So the driving light grille was a welcome addition. After it was all sprayed and fitted it looked very much like the image we had in neon lights in our head when we first saw the car. Finally a window tint and she was done……. Well nearly. We still had the ‘little’ issue of fitted about 6 inches of Supercharger under the bonnet. We realised that there was not going to be any subtle way of doing this mod. Soon after this realisation the hack saw and the grinder were brought out and we had a fully operational closing bonnet, well… nearly. We still had to cover the blower. The only thing any of us could imagine that would fit over the centrepiece of our already perfect creation was a bonnet scoop from one of the original muscle cars, the XU-1 Torana. Within minutes Rare Spares were on the line and we had the car and the bonet scoop around at the panel shop ready for its final prep. It fitted perfectly and the car was done.

Taking the car dwon for its first power run was a silent affair, no one spoke, all of us with mixed feelings of excitement and joy, all waiting to see how far up the little red line would jump on the graph! We baked her in and tied her down as the boys down at AVO got ready for the first run. Needless to say we were not disappointed with out torque figures blowing off the chart, to the sound of 1187 newton metres and 167 kw!!!! After a few settings and adjustments were made to make the car a little more driveable and reliable, we then had another three runs to make which saw our final stat resting at 800 newton metres of torque and 153kw at the wheels.