You know, that sounds like an awesome simple swap. Yea I am already brand new R380 installed ready to go. I asked my muscle car friends if they knew of anyone with one of those motors to sell, they flipped out on me for some reason. "You aren't putting that joke of a motor in your truck, if you are swapping it is LS or nothing blah blah"
Part of me wants to put a bigger turbo on the 200, port the head, and crank the boost up to 20 but if I grenade the engine it will cost way more to fix than a replacement LS long block.
I'm really intrigued by the GM inline 6 swap although I'm still messing with my OM617 install and tuning.
Also remember that a LR90 is a way different animal than a muscle car. I am sure an LS install on a Defender is the bees knees but it seems the costs can add up (although any engine install isn't cheap). I think the cheapest LS swap I've read about was $10k (from Phoneix) and I feel like LS engines are as cheap as they once were. The latest
When I had my 3.9 NAS90, I felt the power output wasn't bad when it was running correctly - I just felt it wasn't consistent running enough . If you could get a reliable 275-300HP/TQ out of a simple and straight forward inline 6 that would be very nice. Everything after the engine on the driveline would be fine (although axles could be the week link depending on terrain and tire size). That low end and then flat torque curve I've seen of the inline 6's look like it would be just right for off road driving.
I have to say the main thing I liked about my OM617 swap was everything behind the engine stayed the same. R380 clutch, the R380, linkage/hoes and obviously the LT230 is stock 2.5/200tdi and placement.
Things like the engine oil cooler and lines, intercooler setup, and downpipe has taken me a lot of time and effort. For the GM 6 you might not even have to worry about the IC or engine oil cooler and the downpipe should match up to a stock 200tdi exhaust very easily (same side exit).
It would be neat to see the limits of the 200tdi. But like you said would be expensive if you fail not to mention the costs of porting the head and new turbo (another $1k?). Also a good condition 200tdi seems to be selling for around $3k-$4k. And realistically what would the 200tdi be able to do? 250-275 lb ft and maybe 175HP?
