302 V8 Into a 1977 2500M?? --Help Please-

[kneegrow]

Ok, some granturas had MGB engines. Several MGB owners slung in the rover V8. The big suprise being that the V8 weighed less than the iron B block. The other engines fitted to tvrs of this age are similarly heavy. The Rover V8 is very light and can be bored and stroked to 5.2l which is big enough, performance parts cost little and you can get many a cheap race rover V8 on findit.co.uk under the race and performance section. If ford V8s are the ticket, why do TVR now use modern rover blocks. The pain in the ass for performance are the carbs. You will need to go the quad weber route for silly power and these stick up a lot. The holley item is not up to flowing well through its bendy manifold. Rover V8 every time. No buggering about, the ford engine will cost a stack to lighten. The scope for finding proper tuning parts is considerable as there were many upgrades available. The americans tend to go for the 'Drop in the biggest V8 we can find and have a car which goes like a sycamore seed' approach whereas the english prefer the lighter tuned car. The classic example being a mini. Lets face it the British do know how to build the best sportscars. Take it form a British bloke, forget yankee lumps. You may as well fit a motorbike engine and forget the excess weight, have a six speed sequential box. If you want it to handle like an American lump you can fill the rest of the bonnet space up with concrete blocks. Apparantly there is a company which produces a block to create a V8 or W12 from 2 or 3 motorbike engines, totally sick!!! Seriously, bike engine over Ford V8 and if you are doing it on the cheap get a rover V8. Sod your axle and bung in the LSD and carrier from an old jag.

[3154tm]

the rover is an american v8 (buick) first produced in
1961. as has been noted by others the rover block can
be a nightmare to put in an m chassis. it's to tall,
wide and long. because it is so light the front end
must be lowered and front/rear brake bias readjusted,
not to mention the usual chop job to the chassis to
get the block in the car. the ford slots right in.
the 302 weighs no more than the 2500 or v6 and with
aluminum heads, some 30 to 40 lbs less. as for cost,
ford motor sports sells new 345hp crate motors with
aluminum heads for about $3100 US from local speed shops. at least on this side of the pond, go fast parts for the ford are cheaper and easier to find than rover parts. a lot of this debate may depend on age. some of us remember when tuscan v8's and griffiths were new and the ford block just looks right. same with fuel injection. i've had both ford and rover blocks in my m chassis. each had it's advantages and disadvantages. different strokes for different folks.
imho.