Advice Required- Choosing Engine and automatic gearbox (RWD)

[aidey2000]

Hi All,
I have a classic special...
I cannot fit a Rover V8 as I am 4 cm short on available width

Ideally I would like a straight 6 carburettor engine with autobox

I cannot find the following
Vauxhall cresta 3.3 engine
Vanden plas 3 or 4 litre Rolls Royce engine

An actual 6.3ish Rolls engine is too heavy

Has anyone got any ideas what engine/gearbox combinations I am missing ?

Cheers
Aidey

[nsa]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight-six_engine

[PositronicRay]

I think I'd look for a merc unit, on the basis I like merc autoboxes.

[tapkaJohnD]

The Triumph straight six engine, in 2L and 2.5L form was produced in the saloon models with a Borg-Warner Type 35 autobox.

[LimSlip]

BMC C-Series maybe? Heavy old lump though.

[aidey2000]

Thanks all for the ideas

BMC C ... Rare and like you said bit heavy
A triumph well seems to be rare as well
A Mercedes or even a Bmw are possible but they all seem to be injection, they are cheap though ....

There is a Jaguar straight 6
It would look the part but no luck finding a carb one of them either yet .
.
I will keep looking, something will turn up

Cheers All 👍

[stevieturbo]

aidey2000 said:

Hi All,
I have a classic special...
I cannot fit a Rover V8 as I am 4 cm short on available width

Ideally I would like a straight 6 carburettor engine with autobox

I cannot find the following
Vauxhall cresta 3.3 engine
Vanden plas 3 or 4 litre Rolls Royce engine

An actual 6.3ish Rolls engine is too heavy

Has anyone got any ideas what engine/gearbox combinations I am missing ?

Cheers
Aidey

Must it really be an old engine with carbs ?

Probably some old Mercedes ort BMW if you can find one. Or maybe a very old Volvo with a 6cyl, although not sure how far they go back.

[Huff]

A BMW M30 would go on forever, very fine engine indeed and available with matching autobox. 2.8 to 3.5l (good for 220bhp readily) - and you can find carb conversion kits, if at a a price, e.g.

https://classiccarbs.co.uk/product/weberdellorto-d...


Good luck - what is the project, sounds interesting!

[finlo]

Jaguar s type drive train lot's of different flavours to choose from.

[LimSlip]

finlo said:

Jaguar s type drive train lot's of different flavours to choose from.

The 3.4L and 3.8L XK were the only two variants if memory serves. Not going to be cheap or easy to find though.

[finlo]

LimSlip said:

The 3.4L and 3.8L XK were the only two variants if memory serves. Not going to be cheap or easy to find though.

I was meaning the more modern Lincoln based one's.

[littleredrooster]

finlo said:

LimSlip said:

The 3.4L and 3.8L XK were the only two variants if memory serves. Not going to be cheap or easy to find though.

I was meaning the more modern Lincoln based one's.

They were all V6 or V8 though? No straight sixes, and certainly none with carbs.

Has anyone mentioned the straight six 2600 Rover engine from the SD1?

[SturdyHSV]

Volvo 960s came with straight 6 and an auto, will be cheap to get hold of, spend the rest on some carbs? Old enough to be fairly rudimentary injection I'd imagine.

[aidey2000]

Many thanks for all the advice

How about a Jaguar mk2
2.8 (or bigger) straight 6 with auto box

They don't seem to be expensive ...
and there are a few around

Any known issues or best cc to go for ?

[gazza285]

aidey2000 said:

Many thanks for all the advice

How about a Jaguar mk2
2.8 (or bigger) straight 6 with auto box

They don't seem to be expensive ...
and there are a few around

Any known issues or best cc to go for ?

I thought about a Jag and ended up on eBay, now seriously considering buying this. No good for you though, it is a manual.

[aidey2000]

Looks very nice

[gazza285]

It will be longer than my garage though.

[mk2 24v]

Is the old OHV Ford V8 narrow enough to fit instead of the Rover?

[V10Mike]

mk2 24v said:

Is the old OHV Ford V8 narrow enough to fit instead of the Rover?

The 260/289/302 smallblock forward is much narrower than a Rover, as is the 327/350 smallblock Chevy. Both are cheap to buy, cheap to run, available with autos, and easy to get parts for. They can also give you as much power as you could possibly require, whilst being reliable.