RE: First-ever Range Rover Overfinch for sale
Discussion
Maybe the first Overfinch PistonHeads have up for grabs..... or have they got it wrong ?
First of all a little history. Originally called Shuler Press when started in 1975 by Arthur Silverton, based in Farnham, Surry. Unlike what it says on wiki, the first upgraded engines installed in the then 2 door Range Rover were Jaguar 5.3 280 bhp V12 engines, which caused lots of problems due to the weight!! Then they tried a Mercedes V8 4.5 engine in 1979 (Out of an SL 450) but these engines were expensive. So next came the famed 5.0 ford engine conversions out of the Ford Mustang as it was cheap because Ford has brought out a V6 version of the Mustang due to the late 70s oil crisis and had a surplus of 5.0 engines. The 5.0 Ford engine went on to be installed in the 4 door Range Rover that came out in 1981, the output was claimed to be 266bhp & 289 ft/lb with Overfinch's fettling including an upgraded cam and a Holley 4 barrel carb with electric choke which at the time was the closest thing available to petrol injection for that engine. This became the standard Overfinch custom from 1981 to 1985, that model was called the 500s, also known as the 5.0s. At that point, the company was renamed Overfinch. Then Overfinch started offering bespoke custom plush interiors, wide mag wheels, enhanced braking with a kind of ABS (That did not work well) and bespoke complete exhaust systems that would roar under hard acceleration and purr quietly round town (Overfinch was soooo far ahead of every one else at this point) Most serious of all, handling kits were now available from Overfinch making the Range Rover Overfinch handle like a sports car instead of a boat!! Overfinch also upped the horsepower to 286bhp by using a Chevrolet 5.7 Corvette engine in 1987 which although did not give much more BHP, did give an extra 50 ft/lbs making 381ft/lbs giving the Range Rover Overfinch a 0 to 60 time of under 7 seconds, this model was the 570t. Custom paint was now an option, and more than a few were sprayed Overfinch Blue (One of these was my first Overfinch and yes it was blue). Please note, both the 500s and the 570t were both available till late 1989 when Overfich dropped the cheaper 500s model because of minimal sales. Some 500s had the 5.7 lt upgrade but did not have handling packs!! Overfinch did not stop there, also offering a chevy big block 6.3r monster with 400bhp and 474 ft/lb, claiming sub 6 seconds 0-60 time. The conversion cost somewhere over £120000, sometimes referred to as the Bently conversion.. Overfinch also converted eight P38A new shape Range Rovers when they were released in 1994 with m120 6.0 litre V12 Mercedes engine (I had one of these, it was front end heavy but very fast) before moving on to the Overfinch 580s which is a 4.4 Range Rover V8 that has been bored and stroked to get the higher capacity.
In the late 1998 Mercedes entered the sports SUV market with the ML55 claiming 343 bhp & 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. At the time, holding the record of fastest commercially built SUV in the world (I still have mine, turned out to be very reliable and a great work horse). This was like a red rag to a bull for other car manufacturers, and the race for fastest SUV was ON!! In 2001 BMW also entered the Sports SUV market with the X5 4.6is claiming 356 bhp & 0-60 in 6.5 seconds using an Alpina built 4.6 lt V8 engine. In 2002 Porsche followed with the Cayenne twin turbo claiming 450 bhp and 0-6 in 5.6. And in 2004 BMW built X5 4.8is 4.8lt V8 48 valve quad cam developing 370bhp, boasting 0-60 in 6.0 seconds. These could be chipped to 440 bhp and 470 ft/lbs, I did mine, although I have gone through 3 gearboxes, it still makes me grin every time I drive it...It's a hot hatch spanking machine
This was the end for Overfinch who went into administration in 2010
Other fast SUV's that helped to kill off Overfinch
1998 - Jeep released the Grand Cherokee with a 5.9 LTD, the famed SRT8 powered by a 6.1 lt Hemy
1994 - GMC Typhon
2003 - Infinity FX
2004 - Subaru Forester
2006 - Range Rover Sport
First of all a little history. Originally called Shuler Press when started in 1975 by Arthur Silverton, based in Farnham, Surry. Unlike what it says on wiki, the first upgraded engines installed in the then 2 door Range Rover were Jaguar 5.3 280 bhp V12 engines, which caused lots of problems due to the weight!! Then they tried a Mercedes V8 4.5 engine in 1979 (Out of an SL 450) but these engines were expensive. So next came the famed 5.0 ford engine conversions out of the Ford Mustang as it was cheap because Ford has brought out a V6 version of the Mustang due to the late 70s oil crisis and had a surplus of 5.0 engines. The 5.0 Ford engine went on to be installed in the 4 door Range Rover that came out in 1981, the output was claimed to be 266bhp & 289 ft/lb with Overfinch's fettling including an upgraded cam and a Holley 4 barrel carb with electric choke which at the time was the closest thing available to petrol injection for that engine. This became the standard Overfinch custom from 1981 to 1985, that model was called the 500s, also known as the 5.0s. At that point, the company was renamed Overfinch. Then Overfinch started offering bespoke custom plush interiors, wide mag wheels, enhanced braking with a kind of ABS (That did not work well) and bespoke complete exhaust systems that would roar under hard acceleration and purr quietly round town (Overfinch was soooo far ahead of every one else at this point) Most serious of all, handling kits were now available from Overfinch making the Range Rover Overfinch handle like a sports car instead of a boat!! Overfinch also upped the horsepower to 286bhp by using a Chevrolet 5.7 Corvette engine in 1987 which although did not give much more BHP, did give an extra 50 ft/lbs making 381ft/lbs giving the Range Rover Overfinch a 0 to 60 time of under 7 seconds, this model was the 570t. Custom paint was now an option, and more than a few were sprayed Overfinch Blue (One of these was my first Overfinch and yes it was blue). Please note, both the 500s and the 570t were both available till late 1989 when Overfich dropped the cheaper 500s model because of minimal sales. Some 500s had the 5.7 lt upgrade but did not have handling packs!! Overfinch did not stop there, also offering a chevy big block 6.3r monster with 400bhp and 474 ft/lb, claiming sub 6 seconds 0-60 time. The conversion cost somewhere over £120000, sometimes referred to as the Bently conversion.. Overfinch also converted eight P38A new shape Range Rovers when they were released in 1994 with m120 6.0 litre V12 Mercedes engine (I had one of these, it was front end heavy but very fast) before moving on to the Overfinch 580s which is a 4.4 Range Rover V8 that has been bored and stroked to get the higher capacity.
In the late 1998 Mercedes entered the sports SUV market with the ML55 claiming 343 bhp & 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. At the time, holding the record of fastest commercially built SUV in the world (I still have mine, turned out to be very reliable and a great work horse). This was like a red rag to a bull for other car manufacturers, and the race for fastest SUV was ON!! In 2001 BMW also entered the Sports SUV market with the X5 4.6is claiming 356 bhp & 0-60 in 6.5 seconds using an Alpina built 4.6 lt V8 engine. In 2002 Porsche followed with the Cayenne twin turbo claiming 450 bhp and 0-6 in 5.6. And in 2004 BMW built X5 4.8is 4.8lt V8 48 valve quad cam developing 370bhp, boasting 0-60 in 6.0 seconds. These could be chipped to 440 bhp and 470 ft/lbs, I did mine, although I have gone through 3 gearboxes, it still makes me grin every time I drive it...It's a hot hatch spanking machine
This was the end for Overfinch who went into administration in 2010
Other fast SUV's that helped to kill off Overfinch
1998 - Jeep released the Grand Cherokee with a 5.9 LTD, the famed SRT8 powered by a 6.1 lt Hemy
1994 - GMC Typhon
2003 - Infinity FX
2004 - Subaru Forester
2006 - Range Rover Sport
Ford V8s? The first one available with a US V8 was the 570T in 1982, which was a small-block Chevy; before that they had tried the Australian 4.4 Rover V8 - I think the stretched Jaguar V12 car was a single prototype, and a 5.0l (Chevrolet) V8 didn’t arrive until the late ‘80s, after Silverton’s ownership.
M120 Overfinch P38?
M120 Overfinch P38?
Mr Sideways said:
Maybe the first Overfinch PistonHeads have up for grabs..... or have they got it wrong ?
First of all a little history. Originally called Shuler Press when started in 1975 by Arthur Silverton, based in Farnham, Surry. Unlike what it says on wiki, the first upgraded engines installed in the then 2 door Range Rover were Jaguar 5.3 280 bhp V12 engines, which caused lots of problems due to the weight!! Then they tried a Mercedes V8 4.5 engine in 1979 (Out of an SL 450) but these engines were expensive. So next came the famed 5.0 ford engine conversions out of the Ford Mustang as it was cheap because Ford has brought out a V6 version of the Mustang due to the late 70s oil crisis and had a surplus of 5.0 engines. The 5.0 Ford engine went on to be installed in the 4 door Range Rover that came out in 1981, the output was claimed to be 266bhp & 289 ft/lb with Overfinch's fettling including an upgraded cam and a Holley 4 barrel carb with electric choke which at the time was the closest thing available to petrol injection for that engine. This became the standard Overfinch custom from 1981 to 1985, that model was called the 500s, also known as the 5.0s. At that point, the company was renamed Overfinch. Then Overfinch started offering bespoke custom plush interiors, wide mag wheels, enhanced braking with a kind of ABS (That did not work well) and bespoke complete exhaust systems that would roar under hard acceleration and purr quietly round town (Overfinch was soooo far ahead of every one else at this point) Most serious of all, handling kits were now available from Overfinch making the Range Rover Overfinch handle like a sports car instead of a boat!! Overfinch also upped the horsepower to 286bhp by using a Chevrolet 5.7 Corvette engine in 1987 which although did not give much more BHP, did give an extra 50 ft/lbs making 381ft/lbs giving the Range Rover Overfinch a 0 to 60 time of under 7 seconds, this model was the 570t. Custom paint was now an option, and more than a few were sprayed Overfinch Blue (One of these was my first Overfinch and yes it was blue). Please note, both the 500s and the 570t were both available till late 1989 when Overfich dropped the cheaper 500s model because of minimal sales. Some 500s had the 5.7 lt upgrade but did not have handling packs!! Overfinch did not stop there, also offering a chevy big block 6.3r monster with 400bhp and 474 ft/lb, claiming sub 6 seconds 0-60 time. The conversion cost somewhere over £120000, sometimes referred to as the Bently conversion.. Overfinch also converted eight P38A new shape Range Rovers when they were released in 1994 with m120 6.0 litre V12 Mercedes engine (I had one of these, it was front end heavy but very fast) before moving on to the Overfinch 580s which is a 4.4 Range Rover V8 that has been bored and stroked to get the higher capacity.
In the late 1998 Mercedes entered the sports SUV market with the ML55 claiming 343 bhp & 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. At the time, holding the record of fastest commercially built SUV in the world (I still have mine, turned out to be very reliable and a great work horse). This was like a red rag to a bull for other car manufacturers, and the race for fastest SUV was ON!! In 2001 BMW also entered the Sports SUV market with the X5 4.6is claiming 356 bhp & 0-60 in 6.5 seconds using an Alpina built 4.6 lt V8 engine. In 2002 Porsche followed with the Cayenne twin turbo claiming 450 bhp and 0-6 in 5.6. And in 2004 BMW built X5 4.8is 4.8lt V8 48 valve quad cam developing 370bhp, boasting 0-60 in 6.0 seconds. These could be chipped to 440 bhp and 470 ft/lbs, I did mine, although I have gone through 3 gearboxes, it still makes me grin every time I drive it...It's a hot hatch spanking machine
This was the end for Overfinch who went into administration in 2010
Other fast SUV's that helped to kill off Overfinch
1998 - Jeep released the Grand Cherokee with a 5.9 LTD, the famed SRT8 powered by a 6.1 lt Hemy
1994 - GMC Typhon
2003 - Infinity FX
2004 - Subaru Forester
2006 - Range Rover Sport
Great infoFirst of all a little history. Originally called Shuler Press when started in 1975 by Arthur Silverton, based in Farnham, Surry. Unlike what it says on wiki, the first upgraded engines installed in the then 2 door Range Rover were Jaguar 5.3 280 bhp V12 engines, which caused lots of problems due to the weight!! Then they tried a Mercedes V8 4.5 engine in 1979 (Out of an SL 450) but these engines were expensive. So next came the famed 5.0 ford engine conversions out of the Ford Mustang as it was cheap because Ford has brought out a V6 version of the Mustang due to the late 70s oil crisis and had a surplus of 5.0 engines. The 5.0 Ford engine went on to be installed in the 4 door Range Rover that came out in 1981, the output was claimed to be 266bhp & 289 ft/lb with Overfinch's fettling including an upgraded cam and a Holley 4 barrel carb with electric choke which at the time was the closest thing available to petrol injection for that engine. This became the standard Overfinch custom from 1981 to 1985, that model was called the 500s, also known as the 5.0s. At that point, the company was renamed Overfinch. Then Overfinch started offering bespoke custom plush interiors, wide mag wheels, enhanced braking with a kind of ABS (That did not work well) and bespoke complete exhaust systems that would roar under hard acceleration and purr quietly round town (Overfinch was soooo far ahead of every one else at this point) Most serious of all, handling kits were now available from Overfinch making the Range Rover Overfinch handle like a sports car instead of a boat!! Overfinch also upped the horsepower to 286bhp by using a Chevrolet 5.7 Corvette engine in 1987 which although did not give much more BHP, did give an extra 50 ft/lbs making 381ft/lbs giving the Range Rover Overfinch a 0 to 60 time of under 7 seconds, this model was the 570t. Custom paint was now an option, and more than a few were sprayed Overfinch Blue (One of these was my first Overfinch and yes it was blue). Please note, both the 500s and the 570t were both available till late 1989 when Overfich dropped the cheaper 500s model because of minimal sales. Some 500s had the 5.7 lt upgrade but did not have handling packs!! Overfinch did not stop there, also offering a chevy big block 6.3r monster with 400bhp and 474 ft/lb, claiming sub 6 seconds 0-60 time. The conversion cost somewhere over £120000, sometimes referred to as the Bently conversion.. Overfinch also converted eight P38A new shape Range Rovers when they were released in 1994 with m120 6.0 litre V12 Mercedes engine (I had one of these, it was front end heavy but very fast) before moving on to the Overfinch 580s which is a 4.4 Range Rover V8 that has been bored and stroked to get the higher capacity.
In the late 1998 Mercedes entered the sports SUV market with the ML55 claiming 343 bhp & 0-60 in 6.7 seconds. At the time, holding the record of fastest commercially built SUV in the world (I still have mine, turned out to be very reliable and a great work horse). This was like a red rag to a bull for other car manufacturers, and the race for fastest SUV was ON!! In 2001 BMW also entered the Sports SUV market with the X5 4.6is claiming 356 bhp & 0-60 in 6.5 seconds using an Alpina built 4.6 lt V8 engine. In 2002 Porsche followed with the Cayenne twin turbo claiming 450 bhp and 0-6 in 5.6. And in 2004 BMW built X5 4.8is 4.8lt V8 48 valve quad cam developing 370bhp, boasting 0-60 in 6.0 seconds. These could be chipped to 440 bhp and 470 ft/lbs, I did mine, although I have gone through 3 gearboxes, it still makes me grin every time I drive it...It's a hot hatch spanking machine
This was the end for Overfinch who went into administration in 2010
Other fast SUV's that helped to kill off Overfinch
1998 - Jeep released the Grand Cherokee with a 5.9 LTD, the famed SRT8 powered by a 6.1 lt Hemy
1994 - GMC Typhon
2003 - Infinity FX
2004 - Subaru Forester
2006 - Range Rover Sport
Tell us more what they were like to drive On a twisty road etc ?
rallycross said:
Great info
Tell us more what they were like to drive On a twisty road etc ?
An absolute hoot! Thunderous noise and the Spen King design meant that while Classics lean hard the actual centre of gravity remains lower than one expects. Tell us more what they were like to drive On a twisty road etc ?
I owned the last 570 conversion that was done about 20 or so years ago:
A lovely thing to potter round central London in (used it as a commute car for a couple of years). Lovely thing to sit in the back of when using a driver, would cruise all day just under a ton and was rapid on country lanes.
There was a memorable article in either Motor or Autocar in about 1984ish, where they tested a Schuler T570 (are we sure that it was called the 570T at the time - my memory is that it was the T570, but maybe I am going senile...), and interviewed the founder, going through the development story, and the various false starts on the way, like the Aston Martin V8 powered prototype, and the long-nosed Jaguar V12 prototype - I can still remember the line "only one was built, and those who drove it at 120 mph said that it was one too many..."
Deranged Rover said:
Something odd about the timeline here, as a ‘D’ reg puts it at 1986-87 but by then the autos were using the ZF 4HP22 4 speed auto box, and had been since 1985. That shifter is from the Chrysler Torqueflite A727 3 speed ‘box which was pre-1985.
I could believe that they retro fitted a Torqueflite as it’s considered to be a stronger gearbox, but by 1987 I’m sure they had also changed to the chunkier indicator/wiper stalks from the Maestro. This still has the earlier spindly ones.
Edit - article in the ad says it has a GM 4 speed gearbox so I take that back! Still not sure about the stalks, though…
Yup. The first iteration of the ZF4 didn't handle the torque well so expired sooner than desired. The uprated version that came later was an option that when buying a used Overfinch you'd always look to see had been selected. A lot of conversions stuck with the standard box which always seemed like a really silly cost saving but Overfinch charged comedy premiums for what was ultimately not really any more expensive when sourcing direct. I could believe that they retro fitted a Torqueflite as it’s considered to be a stronger gearbox, but by 1987 I’m sure they had also changed to the chunkier indicator/wiper stalks from the Maestro. This still has the earlier spindly ones.
Edit - article in the ad says it has a GM 4 speed gearbox so I take that back! Still not sure about the stalks, though…
Edited by Deranged Rover on Tuesday 16th April 19:49
I think they used the GM 4 speed as it offered an extra gear and the ZF4 either wasn't on the market back then or it hadn't yet been fitted to the Rangie (1985/6 change year?) so there was a blank canvas if wanting a 4 speed box and the ZF wouldn't have really been considered when the GM box mounted direct, was proven and more than strong enough.
Conversely the torqueflite already fitted the early Rangie and obviously bolted direct to the Chevy and easily took the power. It also gave startling over taking potential in that 50-70 range which was actually precisely where you'd want peak performance in these and where the ZF4 has always had the wrong ratios especially when people dropped TVR engines in as the cams were completely wrong so loads of the additional power was just not where it was needed for the new application.
The Schuler range rovers were known for their own transfer case or something before they embarked on engine upgrades if I recall and weren't they the FF system used in the Jensen?
Today you just spec your ZF4 with the P38 internals from Ashcroft and anything up to 450 ftlbs will be fine.
The absolute best engine to use for a conversion today is the AMG M113 as it is slightly smaller than the RV8 but delivers the BHP and torque of the SBC or stick with the full LS3 and 6speed crate solution from mopar but I have a feeling that 6 speed splays its floor pan to the right which then clashes with the transfer case?
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