RE: The Rover V8 will burble again
Discussion
havoc said:
I think the piece means it rolled out of the factory with displacements up to 4.6 litres. Others then bored it out further "aftermarket".
Is anyone still fitting this to new cars? I guess Defender V8s?
Except that the production Lara Croft was a diesel. Bit of a con, really.
The 50th Anniversaries and all US Spec Defenders had RV8s. Possibly the South African ones, also.
havoc said:
Standard engine in the Defender is the ancient TD5.
So ancient, in fact, that it was designed in 1998.
I have come to that conclusion since I last posted on this thread. 
Whilst the Rover V8 and derivatives have proven to be excellent, surely now the Chevy LS1-6 have significantly improved upon it. Virtually the same size and not much heavier, but over 100hp more without any mods, and far more economical when cruising. 100,00 miles between major servicing, mass produced reliability and pricing, theres no contest.
Why are TVR ruinig their name and throwing good money down the rain with the Speed Six. Might be a nice idea, but it appears to be horribly unreliable (60% failure rate within 10-30,000 miles), never mind fitting too small a clutch to go with it.
TVR`s should have good V8`s, and right now thats the LS range.
Why are TVR ruinig their name and throwing good money down the rain with the Speed Six. Might be a nice idea, but it appears to be horribly unreliable (60% failure rate within 10-30,000 miles), never mind fitting too small a clutch to go with it.
TVR`s should have good V8`s, and right now thats the LS range.
hendry said:
I thought that my Griffith 500 5.0ltr was a Rover V8. Have I been mislead and its actually a 2.0ltr Pinto or something else?
I think the piece means it rolled out of the factory with displacements up to 4.6 litres. Others then bored it out further "aftermarket".
[pedant mode]Or even stroked...[/pedant mode]
Great news
CTE said:
Whilst the Rover V8 and derivatives have proven to be excellent, surely now the Chevy LS1-6 have significantly improved upon it. Virtually the same size and not much heavier, but over 100hp more without any mods, and far more economical when cruising. 100,00 miles between major servicing, mass produced reliability and pricing, theres no contest.
Why are TVR ruinig their name and throwing good money down the rain with the Speed Six. Might be a nice idea, but it appears to be horribly unreliable (60% failure rate within 10-30,000 miles), never mind fitting too small a clutch to go with it.
TVR`s should have good V8`s, and right now thats the LS range.
Well said that man.
NDT said:
The RV8 was indeed a truly fabulous engine, quite unique at the time with its all alloy construction.
Apart from the venerable Rolls Royce L410 engne, also an all alloy, single cam OHV V8.
This might predate the Rover?
Was that the 6.75L? It was made in the same casting plant as the RV8...
Rover V8. In the early 1980s I put one in a Lotus Elite, ( the wedge 4 seater ), gave the car the power it should have had from the factory. Twin exhausts, what a sound, superb handling, superb comfort, and very fast. ( standard diff !!!! ).
Later in 1994, my "she who must be obeyed" bought me a brand new MGB shell, I fitted a tuned RV8 in that too. Excellent !!. Both proper jobs, not bodges.
Brilliant brilliant engine.
vbr CJ.
Later in 1994, my "she who must be obeyed" bought me a brand new MGB shell, I fitted a tuned RV8 in that too. Excellent !!. Both proper jobs, not bodges.
Brilliant brilliant engine.
vbr CJ.
cjbolter said:
Rover V8. In the early 1980s I put one in a Lotus Elite, ( the wedge 4 seater ), gave the car the power it should have had from the factory. Twin exhausts, what a sound, superb handling, superb comfort, and very fast. ( standard diff !!!! ).
Later in 1994, my "she who must be obeyed" bought me a brand new MGB shell, I fitted a tuned RV8 in that too. Excellent !!. Both proper jobs, not bodges.
Brilliant brilliant engine.
vbr CJ.
MGB V8's - love em - more power than the chassis or tyres can handle, 180-200bhp open top sports car for £6-7k - a bargain IMHO (until Elises get cheaper)?
Mines also pretty reliable - 1 water pump failure in 25,000 miles - even when it is treated very badly.
Anybody know any other open-top V8 bargains out there? (Chimeras and Stags are an obvious one I guess?)
badgerracing said:Wetsfields if you buy them at the right time of the year.
MGB V8's - love em - more power than the chassis or tyres can handle, 180-200bhp open top sports car for £6-7k - a bargain IMHO (until Elises get cheaper)?
Mines also pretty reliable - 1 water pump failure in 25,000 miles - even when it is treated very badly.
Anybody know any other open-top V8 bargains out there? (Chimeras and Stags are an obvious one I guess?)
just standard level opinions here, but the last i heard was that a MGB shared its platform/chass with a leyland sherpa... mmm dynamic! and isn't it still slow with a V8 fitted? i hardly think a stag's a bargain either at 10k for a 'decent' one I love classics but i'd have a spitfire1500 over those two anyday and if it's gotta have a V8 by a lotus GT, or for a fun bargain ginetta? marcos? and what about those cobra thingy's you can get all these in driving condition for penniesnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoooooooooooooow... lotus
.......but the engine was a defunct marine project that Buick were working on. It wasn't actually designed to go in a car initially at all which is why it was sold to Rover so easily. And what an engine it turned out to be. Has there ever been a more adapted/tuned/developed British engine that has gone into SUCH a variety of vehicles? Even the "A" series was quite so developed.
planetdave said:
TVR doesn't need the LS series.....what it needs is the Audi 4.2V8.
414bhp and 317lbft out of the box and revs like buggery.
The audi V8 is unneccessarily heavy, bulky, complicated and expensive - the LS series are far better engines for the likes of TVR (arguable far better engines full stop) given their much more basic approach - the single cam pushrod makes them incredibly compact for their displacement...
The LS series also sound a lot better :-)
45 Years Ago - '61 Buick Special !
British V8 engines from: www.answers.com/topic/v8-1
The most common British V8 is the Rover V8, used in countless British performance cars. This is not actually a British design at all but was imported from America, its roots being in General Motors' Oldsmobile/Buick cast-aluminum 215 V8 in 1960. It was of the small (for the US market) size of 3.5 L (215 in³
and very light for a V8. It appeared in production in 1961 on some of that year's Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac models, but was soon dropped in favor of more conventional iron-blocked units.
As the aluminium block made this engine one of the lightest stock V8s built there was some attempts to use it in racing at Indianapolis. The Australian firm Repco converted this engine for Formula One by reducing it to 3 litres and fitting a single overhead camshaft per bank rather than the shared pushrod arrangement. Repco-powered Brabhams won the F1 championship twice, in 1966 and 1967.
Rover was in need of a new, more powerful engine in the mid 1960s, and became aware of this small, lightweight V8. After some negotiation they acquired rights to it and have produced it ever since, its first appearances being in Rover saloons in the late 1960s.
Was Once a kid in Flint !
British V8 engines from: www.answers.com/topic/v8-1
The most common British V8 is the Rover V8, used in countless British performance cars. This is not actually a British design at all but was imported from America, its roots being in General Motors' Oldsmobile/Buick cast-aluminum 215 V8 in 1960. It was of the small (for the US market) size of 3.5 L (215 in³
and very light for a V8. It appeared in production in 1961 on some of that year's Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac models, but was soon dropped in favor of more conventional iron-blocked units. As the aluminium block made this engine one of the lightest stock V8s built there was some attempts to use it in racing at Indianapolis. The Australian firm Repco converted this engine for Formula One by reducing it to 3 litres and fitting a single overhead camshaft per bank rather than the shared pushrod arrangement. Repco-powered Brabhams won the F1 championship twice, in 1966 and 1967.
Rover was in need of a new, more powerful engine in the mid 1960s, and became aware of this small, lightweight V8. After some negotiation they acquired rights to it and have produced it ever since, its first appearances being in Rover saloons in the late 1960s.
Was Once a kid in Flint !
big-max said:
.......but the engine was a defunct marine project that Buick were working on. It wasn't actually designed to go in a car initially at all which is why it was sold to Rover so easily. And what an engine it turned out to be. Has there ever been a more adapted/tuned/developed British engine that has gone into SUCH a variety of vehicles? Even the "A" series was quite so developed.
They even tried building a diesel version, although they couldn't get the block to stay together...
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