350i to 570i

[ibroker]

JUst strarting to restore a 1987 350i

The engine is fairly tatty and I am considering replacing it with a small block chevy 5.7 350bhp. For the cost of the new unit against a refurb of the old Rover and detailing it makes sense to go for the Chevy.

Thoughts?

[pwd95]

Great project.
These guys might be able to give you a few pointers.........


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5cvVS6V_HQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiXJlaor6Ss&fea...

[Chilliman]

ibroker said:

JUst strarting to restore a 1987 350i

The engine is fairly tatty and I am considering replacing it with a small block chevy 5.7 350bhp. For the cost of the new unit against a refurb of the old Rover and detailing it makes sense to go for the Chevy.

Thoughts?

My thoughts are that once again we see the pure logic and beauty of our bestest friend Man Maths.

Has to be done i'd say

[330p4]

I would go with the LS motor rather than the old iron blocks due to weight
Ian

[ibroker]

The LS? do you have any idea on cost. The chevy is £2500

[pwd95]

Really not worth the hasstle of converting for a cheap old iron block 5.7 IMHO. It'll cost you a fortune to get everything converted properly & the car will be almost undrivable. The weight distribution isn't great with the light RV8!!!!!

You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.

[TA14]

ibroker said:

The LS? do you have any idea on cost. The chevy is £2500

LS is a Chevvy. Have a chat with Thorpy for the conversion.

[nawarne]

TA14 said:

ibroker said:

The LS? do you have any idea on cost. The chevy is £2500

LS is a Chevvy. Have a chat with Thorpy for the conversion.

Chap with a Cerb got a 2nd hand LS1 or 2 from the US a few years ago for £3300. Came complete with engine loom and 6 speed gearbox. Price above included hire of van to pick up from Felixstowe customs IIRC.
Nick

[bionicjim]

I'm not up on the rv8 much
But you could try some of those super flowing heads from the states
They recon they will push 400bhp and they are lighter than the standard heads
But with HUGE valves

[ibroker]

pwd95 said:

Really not worth the hasstle of converting for a cheap old iron block 5.7 IMHO. It'll cost you a fortune to get everything converted properly & the car will be almost undrivable. The weight distribution isn't great with the light RV8!!!!!

You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.

Thats why i love thses forums.

Ok so I will put my hands up and say I am not good with the spanners and as such sometimes what I want is not practicle as stated above.

I presume the RV8 as mentioned refers to the original engine?

On the assumption that it would cost a fortune to repalce all the other bits to match the chevy, surely I can gey the RV8 tuned? Its a big lump and must be capable of more than 190hp. Where or who would do that?

[bionicjim]

You could try Chris at Devon racing
By all accounts he can work wonders with the RV8
01404891175
01722323423
I'm sure I saw a 4.8 RV8 last time I was there you've got nothing to lose by asking

[Chilliman]

ibroker said:

pwd95 said:

Really not worth the hasstle of converting for a cheap old iron block 5.7 IMHO. It'll cost you a fortune to get everything converted properly & the car will be almost undrivable. The weight distribution isn't great with the light RV8!!!!!

You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.

Thats why i love thses forums.

Ok so I will put my hands up and say I am not good with the spanners and as such sometimes what I want is not practicle as stated above.

I presume the RV8 as mentioned refers to the original engine?

On the assumption that it would cost a fortune to repalce all the other bits to match the chevy, surely I can gey the RV8 tuned? Its a big lump and must be capable of more than 190hp. Where or who would do that?

It really is very simple to up the capacity! I looked into this when I had my BGT V8, basically all the anicilliaries and the heads will fit, for example, a 3.9 block. I believe the 4.6 heads flow better than the 3.9/4.0 heads. Typically all these parts can be had cheap off fleabay, and the bigger capacity short engine will bolt straight onto your existing bellhousing. you'd need to be wary over certain components though as not ALL bits are compatible.. Advice from a good RV8 builder would be advisable, PM me if you need pointing in the right direction...

Chilli

[KelWedge]

A couple of places to get some info

Rover parts international on www.v8engines.com or v8 developments on www.v8developments.co.uk

I considered the chev engine for a day or two and didn't go that way. Still cost lots £ but you have to, don't you.

[ibroker]

Forced induction meaning a supercharger? Like that idea

I would like to achive 300-350 bhp, am I aiming to high retaing the original 3.5?. That said I dont want to compromise the handling of the car by changing the weight distribution.

Changing the direction slightly. Ther car heads over to Cambridge tomorrow for work to start getting it running, are there any "Must Do" jobs that I need to get done in the restoration. I dont want to get to a TVR gathering and someone say, "I assume you upgraded this" you know missing the obvious?

Cheers
Andy

[Chilliman]

ibroker said:

am I aiming to high retaing the original 3.5?.
Cheers
Andy

Yes.

There's also the question of the strength of the standard bottom end on the earlier 3.5 (IMO)

This site will give you an idea of what you can expect in terms of capacity/BHP

http://www.sc-power.co.uk/pages/sc-power-superchar...

Chilli

[TA14]

B-Reight said:

IIRC the lt77 gearbox is only rated for 280lb-ft of torque, a supercharged engine of 300-350bhp would no doubt have 300+ lb-ft of torque.

There would be a great many problems with this project but the gearbox is not likely to be one of them. Steve H for example never had any trouble with that amount of torque.

In short I don't think that this is the right car to do this conversion on.

[TA14]

ibroker said:

I would like to achive 300-350 bhp, am I aiming to high retaing the original 3.5?. That said I dont want to compromise the handling of the car by changing the weight distribution.

Why is this not in the wedge section?

Realistically I think either fit a tuned 4.6 RV8 at say 260bhp or do the work on another car, maybe a 420SE. I think that 260 is pushing it for a 350i, you'd want everything to be in tip top condition and maybe fit better front brakes.

For 350bhp I'd think that you be looking at nearer £15K for perhaps a tuned 5.0 RV8, stiffer springs, matching shocks, uprated suspension arms, rose jointing, half shafts, UJs, wheels, tyres, modified bodywork, brakes, etc.

[ibroker]

Thanks so much for all the input.

I spent a fair amount of time pricing this today and it does not stack up. I think the previous post stated that "this being the wrong car for this project" is a fair conclusion. If you add that to the possible detraction away from a standard car and how funny people who buy classics are then that closes the discussion. That with all the other mods/upgrades required.

Thus I will stick with the 3.5 as standard and fettle it towards the 220-230 potential.

Day one of the restoration started today....Excited........

[Chilliman]

Wish you well with it... keep us updated

Chilli