What do i do next , AJP or RV8?

[mongoose]

Right then,i've reached a point with my Griff,where i'm in a real quandry as to what to do next.For those of you that don't know me,i'm the sort of car enthusist who always has to be doing something.The Griff is my hobby,pastime,stress releiver and creator all in one!I've enjoyed modifying the Griff more than i ever though would be possible when i set out,but now i've reached a point where i have to make a serious commitment financially.I have to strengthen the engine if i want to go further and still be reliable,and this will cost a significant amount.Alternatively,i could also do something very different,and the other thing that interests me is to have an AJP engine conversion.
To me the RV8 route would obviously be more in keeping with the Griff,and it would be interesting to see how much the engine could be developed,whilst still maintaining my original objectives of a fast car for road use.
The AJP,on the other hand,would offer a much more powerfull,but still very interesting conversion-it was after all the Griff that TVR were going to make,then never did(some say it would have been the ultimate TVR?).
Although the cost of the AJP would be roughly double that of the RV8 route,i'm not going to let cost be the deciding factor,so which would you choose,and why?

[Pasco]

I would go down the 5.5 ltr route Mike only because its more in keeping with the style of the Griff imho.
Why not buy a cat c 4.5 Cerby and take it one stage at a time, at least you are left with a second asset to help recover the costs should you decide to move on.

[rev-erend]

Why not go AJP.

After all the AJP was put into the griff - I believe John Ravenscroft drove a white Pearlescent car around for a while - it had the AJP in that .. or so they say.

They just thought it was a bit to nuts for most.

[old64er]

Pasco said:

I would go down the 5.5 ltr route Mike only because its more in keeping with the style of the Griff imho.

I agree

Although the AJP is a fantastic engine , what a dilemma

[dnb]

If I had the money and backing from Nic it would be the AJP route.

[BCA]

AJP, its got to be done...


Make it a 4.5 and let TrackCarSolutions at it... 400bhp+ Griffith 450? OOOOH YES!!!

[Pasco]

Problem is mike if you go down the AJP8 route you will have to change your name to Boss Griff


Edit to say, Actually that has a nice ring to it

Edited by Pasco on Saturday 13th January 09:13

[trackcar]

BCA said:

AJP, its got to be done...


Make it a 4.5 and let TrackCarSolutions at it... 400bhp+ Griffith 450? OOOOH YES!!!

Mike already knows what I want to do.

[pupp]

This is an appealing route, must say... what is the situation with AJP bits? Is there a ready enough source of service items and consumables or do things have to be re-engineered (like cams, pistons etc)? Are AJPs still being produced at all? The more I learn about 'em the more I like...

[topsparks]

LS6/2 is the way to go,400bhp out of the box,or500 with new cam and cnc ported heads,fit and forget-don't even need to change sparkplugs for 100K,these engines are bullit proof and with current exchange rates cheap,I also know a ginger person who is quite knolidable on this!

[pupp]

topsparks said:

LS6/2 is the way to go,400bhp out of the box,or500 with new cam and cnc ported heads,fit and forget-don't even need to change sparkplugs for 100K,these engines are bullit proof and with current exchange rates cheap,I also know a ginger person who is quite knolidable on this!

Not British 'though... Just like the way the AJP spins up, and the offbeat exhaust noise. Think the LS is a cracking motor however

[Guillotine]

5 litre power blower.

400bhp a world of torque and would eat chevy LS2 unless you spend serious money on cammimg/flywheel etc etc.
they LS is a torque power engine, just as the std RV8 is, and like the RV8 you have to spend money to make it a revy, punchy motor.

LS6/7 is different ofcourse, but LOTS more money. £8/9k?

Blower will fit right in, no exhaust/compartment mods etc etc. they'll even do an intercooler and aero pack.

i'd wait and check that out. they're doing the 5x runs as we speak. Should be out this summer, I'm testing one at Le Mans later this year.

Either way tho, you will end up with a stonking lump mate...maybe an LS is the right way for you, since like me you can't leave anything "standard"

just MHO tho

andy
tvrmonster.com

[mongoose]

Thanks for the reply's and input guys.I should have been alittle more specific at the start perhaps?I'm only considering the AJP or the RV8,i couldn't put a non TVR engine in there,no 'iffs' or 'buts'.I also don't fancy forced induction(might possibly be persuaded,though doubtfull at present).If i kept the RV8,i am also leaning towards keeping it as a 5.0 litre,maybe increasing the bore size though,but as it costs the same for a 5.4,then it does make me think a bit about turning down a 'free' extra 400cc's.
Thanks again,Mike

[seasider]

mongoose said:

Thanks for the reply's and input guys.I should have been alittle more specific at the start perhaps?I'm only considering the AJP or the RV8,i couldn't put a non TVR engine in there,no 'iffs' or 'buts'.

I thought you might be thinking that

[RichardD]

mongoose said:

Thanks for the reply's and input guys.I should have been alittle more specific at the start perhaps?I'm only considering the AJP or the RV8,i couldn't put a non TVR engine in there,no 'iffs' or 'buts'...

Mike, if you did go AJP it would be very interesting as the engine is lighter than the Rover (or irrelivent LSx) too, 40kg at a wild guess? Which must help cornering? Could run standard engine for a bit, get Joo to twiddle it then after a while and a new tinkering budget get it to TVRCraft and discuss options?

Edited by RichardD on Saturday 13th January 20:30

[TVR Pablo]

Guillotine said:

400bhp a world of torque and would eat chevy LS2 unless you spend serious money on cammimg/flywheel etc etc.
they LS is a torque power engine, just as the std RV8 is, and like the RV8 you have to spend money to make it a revy, punchy motor.

Andy,

What exactly would you suggest doing to the RV8 to get that effect? Like Mongoose, I've done most of the obvious stuff and am looking for what the next step would be, but I'm a bit nervous about getting into AJP8 territory. Best sounding engine I've ever heard, but I'd be a bit worried about reliability

[oggs]

For me it's gotta be an AJP 4.5.. or 5.0

[jester7]

Mike, it has to be the AJP, you have the knowledge, you know the expert. The engine has the power, the sound, and would make an awesome, unique Griff. You know you want to

[Wildfire]

As much as I love the RV8 and the sound but go for the AJP!! The engine was destined for a Griff and never made it. Someone should make it a reality.

[v8 racing]

Mike i think you really need to think about where you want to end up unless you have an endless pit of money!!, the ajp is a very nice engine indeed and i would love to get my hands on one as the power potential is excellent 500 bhp and more, however this is the same sort of thing as getting big numbers from the rover you end up sacrificing the driveability, on a personal front i would definetly go for a blower set up with what you have, cut a long story short the engine i built for austec for martin's twin turbo ended up in a friend of mines griff!!, unfortunetly the blowers werent brilliant nor the instilation, thats all been rectified by clive at prism motorsport and on dave walkers rolling road it was making 650ftlb of torque at 3500 rpm, unfortunetly he couldnt get a bhp reading his rollers just couldnt cope, makes sense to me to put some blowers on it!