Discussion
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...
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...
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.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?
Has to be done i'd say
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.
You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.
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.Nick
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. You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.
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?
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. You'd be better with a decent 2nd hand good RV8 bottom end & slapping a supercharger on it. Been done a few times.
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?
Chilli
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.
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.
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
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
ibroker said:
am I aiming to high retaing the original 3.5?.
Cheers
Andy
Yes.Cheers
Andy
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
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.
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.
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........
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........
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