I am in the middle of rebuilding a 90 - was 2.5 petrol, now has a V8 in it. I managed to get hold of a low mileage engine from a 110, an R380 box from a V8-engined Disco II, welded in some engine mounts cut out of a scrap Stage 1 V8, and it all fits together beautifully, except for the gearchange mechanism. Looking through the parts catalogue, it seems I have to replace the selector shaft, the quadrant on the end of the shaft, and one of the selector forks. Then I can fit the 'long-stick' gearchange from a Defender. At the moment the gear lever sticks through the middle of where the seatbox should be.
So - how much dismantling is needed to change a selector shaft? I don't have a workshop manual for the R380, but if it's anything like the LT77 the gear clusters have to come out, needing a whole load of special tools which I don't have. If anyone has any suggestions for (1) a quick and easy way to replace the selector shaft (2) a way to convert the box to long-stick configuration without changing the selector shaft or (3) contact details for someone who will do the job for a sensible price, I will be most grateful.
Many thanks, Richard