Pics of 27 litre Rolls Royce Meteor engine installation
Discussion
This weekend, we put the big lump into the Rover. If anyone’s interested, here are a few pics for those who might enjoy them. Sorry if they all take some time to load up.
Putting the engine in was a doddle (as you might expect with a custom made chassis and bulkhead), so not your standard Rover then.. just a few mods.
Well, the gear box has to go somewhere you know.
At long last..
.. the Meteor blinks in the sunlight..
Rover says hello ..
.. to some other staff cars. Meets the drift king.
Err,
.. big, innit?
Charley puts his domestic hat on..
and gives the engine a dust off.
This is..
.. no ordinary lift (I feel a Sade song comin' on). Embedded set of forks is good for 4 tons.
Are you sure its not supposed to be a tranverse? This suspension might get in the way you know.
it may not be 100% identical to a Merlin, but imagine flying with that infront of you..
Charley can do this in his sleep you know.
Aha! At last, some sparks.
Err, Al. You know when you thought that engine mount on this side felt a bit squidgy?
Almost there.
The tray.
Exposed engine needs some protection though.
Charley scrounged a factory sign, made of 3mm ally, from a local village. Because the entire underside of the car has to be aerodynamically sound, its just as well it was a big sign. The engine bay was the first part to be sorted, and the template for the tray was made up. There are loads of points to drill into for the self tappers, so that was easy. We held it up, and sized it.
When it came to screwing it in, we noticed 2 problem areas. A scavenge oil line and a union for the oil return were slightly proud of the bottom of the chassis, and were causing the tray to not fit properly. It was only a tiny amount, and by that, I mean by only a few mm, but evidence of scraping on the pipe already compelled us to consider a few changes. We would either have to cut out a part of the tray or alter the course of the pipe work. The union’s position seemed set in stone, so we’d have to cut the tray around that, but the pipe could easily be raised by a nifty cut and shut. We cut out a small hole for the union and focused on the slightly more involved task of doing the pipe.
It came off easily, by simply standing underneath it and unscrewing (Charley, you said the engine had no oil in it, cheers.. ). Once removed, Charley scraped off the paint making it easier to weld later. The trusty angle grinder came out and an inch or so was removed and both faces were filed smooth. Both lengths were replaced under the engine, mated up and then temporarily tacked together. The length was once again removed, and welded together properly. Parrafin was flushed through to remove swarf and contamination and the item was replaced. Easy, just 10 minutes work for a god like Charles.
The tray was once again offered up, and using a pen and straight edge, we guesstimated where we would have to cut out the tray to receive the union. That hole was quickly drilled out, filed off, and the tray was put back on again. Sods law, the pipe we had welded earlier was still a fraction too low, if we had cut a few more mm out of its length in the first place, we would have been fine, so anyway.. off came the bloody tray again.
A slot was cut out for the pipe, and the tray was replaced. The margin we were out with the pipe by, was so small, that even with a groove cut out of the tray to accommodate it, the pipe still didn’t protrude. But at least there’d be no contact and no vibration. With that sorted, we fitted the aircon pump. With the interior of the car getting unbearably hot in summer, a decent pump is a must. This one is made up of separate pieces from a Ford F150 pickup (got from a scrappy in the States), a Galaxy and a Focus. In winter, the air temperature inside is bearable, but the footwells make it seem like you’re sitting in a bath of scalding water, so decent insulation was placed throughout.
Offering the tray up..
.. and fitting.
Flip ([:I]) er, read: not fitting.
Time to size the hole needed.
.. mark out the shape..
.. cut, and file off. There.
The oil pipe.
Now then, the oil pipe. Time to unscrew that. Er, Al.. will you finish off here? I need a dump. I think there’s no oil..
Sand off the paint.
Good, some more sparks. Cutting an inch or so out..
.. and refitting it..
.. prior to tacking it, taking it off again..
.. to weld it.
.. and finally flush out with paraffin. Time to put it back on..
.. by george, you know something, it still doesn't fit!!
.. a new groove was cut, to accept the pipe. And..
Hey Presto, job's a good 'un.
".. cor, what'll it do Mister?"
200 mph, later this year hopefully.
Putting the engine in was a doddle (as you might expect with a custom made chassis and bulkhead), so not your standard Rover then.. just a few mods.
Well, the gear box has to go somewhere you know.
At long last..
.. the Meteor blinks in the sunlight..
Rover says hello ..
.. to some other staff cars. Meets the drift king.
Err,
.. big, innit?
Charley puts his domestic hat on..
and gives the engine a dust off.
This is..
.. no ordinary lift (I feel a Sade song comin' on). Embedded set of forks is good for 4 tons.
Are you sure its not supposed to be a tranverse? This suspension might get in the way you know.
it may not be 100% identical to a Merlin, but imagine flying with that infront of you..
Charley can do this in his sleep you know.
Aha! At last, some sparks.
Err, Al. You know when you thought that engine mount on this side felt a bit squidgy?
Almost there.
The tray.
Exposed engine needs some protection though.
Charley scrounged a factory sign, made of 3mm ally, from a local village. Because the entire underside of the car has to be aerodynamically sound, its just as well it was a big sign. The engine bay was the first part to be sorted, and the template for the tray was made up. There are loads of points to drill into for the self tappers, so that was easy. We held it up, and sized it.
When it came to screwing it in, we noticed 2 problem areas. A scavenge oil line and a union for the oil return were slightly proud of the bottom of the chassis, and were causing the tray to not fit properly. It was only a tiny amount, and by that, I mean by only a few mm, but evidence of scraping on the pipe already compelled us to consider a few changes. We would either have to cut out a part of the tray or alter the course of the pipe work. The union’s position seemed set in stone, so we’d have to cut the tray around that, but the pipe could easily be raised by a nifty cut and shut. We cut out a small hole for the union and focused on the slightly more involved task of doing the pipe.
It came off easily, by simply standing underneath it and unscrewing (Charley, you said the engine had no oil in it, cheers.. ). Once removed, Charley scraped off the paint making it easier to weld later. The trusty angle grinder came out and an inch or so was removed and both faces were filed smooth. Both lengths were replaced under the engine, mated up and then temporarily tacked together. The length was once again removed, and welded together properly. Parrafin was flushed through to remove swarf and contamination and the item was replaced. Easy, just 10 minutes work for a god like Charles.
The tray was once again offered up, and using a pen and straight edge, we guesstimated where we would have to cut out the tray to receive the union. That hole was quickly drilled out, filed off, and the tray was put back on again. Sods law, the pipe we had welded earlier was still a fraction too low, if we had cut a few more mm out of its length in the first place, we would have been fine, so anyway.. off came the bloody tray again.
A slot was cut out for the pipe, and the tray was replaced. The margin we were out with the pipe by, was so small, that even with a groove cut out of the tray to accommodate it, the pipe still didn’t protrude. But at least there’d be no contact and no vibration. With that sorted, we fitted the aircon pump. With the interior of the car getting unbearably hot in summer, a decent pump is a must. This one is made up of separate pieces from a Ford F150 pickup (got from a scrappy in the States), a Galaxy and a Focus. In winter, the air temperature inside is bearable, but the footwells make it seem like you’re sitting in a bath of scalding water, so decent insulation was placed throughout.
Offering the tray up..
.. and fitting.
Flip ([:I]) er, read: not fitting.
Time to size the hole needed.
.. mark out the shape..
.. cut, and file off. There.
The oil pipe.
Now then, the oil pipe. Time to unscrew that. Er, Al.. will you finish off here? I need a dump. I think there’s no oil..
Sand off the paint.
Good, some more sparks. Cutting an inch or so out..
.. and refitting it..
.. prior to tacking it, taking it off again..
.. to weld it.
.. and finally flush out with paraffin. Time to put it back on..
.. by george, you know something, it still doesn't fit!!
.. a new groove was cut, to accept the pipe. And..
Hey Presto, job's a good 'un.
".. cor, what'll it do Mister?"
200 mph, later this year hopefully.
Bigtone said:
Fantastic stuff! How far from completion is it, and where can we go to see it running when it's done?
Its at the Stoneleigh show this weekend, and we want to take it to Bruntingthorpe. It'll be running anytime soon I guess. The big issue at the moment is getting brakes which will make it stop.
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