Timewarp Rover 200 BRM
Discussion
J4CKO said:
chrismc1977 said:
I wonder if the shorter fd swaps in to the BRM LSD box?
Easy & cheapish Performance boost if so, and very much under the radar
Is it a performance boost though ? You dont have any more power.Easy & cheapish Performance boost if so, and very much under the radar
It was chosen specifically as a package and works well on the road, shorter diff ratios tend to mean you accelerate marginally more quickly in gear but change more often and end up with more revs on the motorway, remember going in an Escort with a 2 litre Pinto but it had a 1.3 diff which apparently made it super fast, it did seem quick but inappropriate for the engine.
You are only talking maybe ~500rpm higher for a given gear/roadspeed in this case. We aren’t talking ultra-short rev limiter at 105mph in 5th territory.
I’ve had plenty of experience with different fd’s on track in VW’s & it definitely makes a difference.
A stock Corrado vr6 is geared to allow 155mph on the rev limiter in 5th (not that it will ever pull it) Shorten the FD & you still have a car that will do ~140 but becomes so much more lively & responsive on the road. No power mods...
M\any, many years ago I had a Hillman Avenger 1250 (Yes, that's how many years ago!) and I came by a rally prepared 1500GT engine (head, camshaft etc.) which I fitted to it. BUT, still the same gearbox and final drive.
In it's day nothing, but nothing would beat that car off a set of traffic lights!
But on a more open road I could steam past stuff doing 70ish but was all out of go at around 85. Which must have left a lot of people thinking "WTF just happened?"
Low gearing can make a difference but all things considered probably not one you really want unless your life is all about traffic light grand prixs which, lets face, it are generally all over by about 20mph!
In it's day nothing, but nothing would beat that car off a set of traffic lights!
But on a more open road I could steam past stuff doing 70ish but was all out of go at around 85. Which must have left a lot of people thinking "WTF just happened?"
Low gearing can make a difference but all things considered probably not one you really want unless your life is all about traffic light grand prixs which, lets face, it are generally all over by about 20mph!
mercedeslimos said:
Had a 220SD done up like a BRM about ten years ago.
Still have the orange BRM front panel if anyone wants it.
Certainly used to turn heads that's for sure!
From your comments in this and my 75 thread you seem to be another “Rover Pervert”, as Practical Classics call me Still have the orange BRM front panel if anyone wants it.
Certainly used to turn heads that's for sure!
itcaptainslow said:
From your comments in this and my 75 thread you seem to be another “Rover Pervert”, as Practical Classics call me
Hilarious I am a "VAG Fanboi"...But I have tried all manner of cars in the 12 or so years I've been driving. The 75 was always on the list, and as I maintain my parents car, I bought that to replace their MK1 Focus estate TDDi. The 220SD came about by accident, was a loan car for the garage that was doing the fuel pump in my MK3 Golf at the time. I loved it so much I never gave it back, bought it off them. That machine taught me an awful lot, and the mechanical diesel tuning got me hooked on making diesels faster which hasn't left me yet. I live the Rover life perilously through my parents, as I often need to use it to collect parts or tow trailers (1860kg towing capacity, unbeatable!) I have slowly modded the bits and pieces that have given trouble ( hard pipes and silicone to place dodgy boost pipes, solid flywheel and clutch) and modded the MAF with a diode to give it more poke. Now got a decat due to a busted flexi so sounds decent too.
However the car only gets what it really needs, I give it a very very good annual check over and sort all the bits that need sorting. Brakes are always a pain, the latest batch to tackle a handbrake that is gone out of adjustment the day after test. VAG wheels are always in good supply here so it wears an assortment of random VAG steelies and alloys in various sizes depending on what has good tyres.
Bargain basement motoring and most parts are uber cheap to service and repair.
I've noticed that now some stuff is getting hard to find so other stuff has to be substituted and modified (BMW E46 rear shocks, Mondeo MK3 bottom engine mount) as some of the genuine prices if you can get them would outweigh the value of the car...
But still it keeps going and looks good, drives good and does a good job, what more could you ask of a 30,000 mile a year daily!
A small update...
The original mats that came with the car were starting to fall apart on the back and leave carpet crumbs everywhere. Unfortunately the OEM mats in black for RHD cars are NLA and have been for a while, so I found a company who could remanufacture them. Autostyle in Wolverton (near Milton Keynes), take a bow!
The car is on display this weekend at the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the NEC-if you’re going and see me on the stand, pop by and say hello!
The original mats that came with the car were starting to fall apart on the back and leave carpet crumbs everywhere. Unfortunately the OEM mats in black for RHD cars are NLA and have been for a while, so I found a company who could remanufacture them. Autostyle in Wolverton (near Milton Keynes), take a bow!
The car is on display this weekend at the Practical Classics Restoration Show at the NEC-if you’re going and see me on the stand, pop by and say hello!
Bit of an update on the BRM. Took it to visit my parents in Norfolk and noticed a rather loud rattle when I got to Ely and a loss of power-turns out the cat had broken up...
A genuine, original catalyst is still available from Rimmer Bros, which I duly ordered.
When I got the car, it had a non standard twin exhaust pipe on it, which I think looks rather odd! I’ve always wanted to return it to an original pipe, but unfortunately they’ve been NLA for a good while. I was therefore resigned to getting a copy made up out of stainless steel somewhere.
Annoyingly, Rimmers don’t list part numbers on their website that are NLA. A bit of detective work via thebrm.co.uk and the incredibly useful www.mgroverpartfinder.co.uk turned up an old stock centre & rear at an old MG Rover dealership near Milton Keynes, who didn’t even realise they had it! They was only one of each listed on the site so I’ve little doubt it must be one of the last, if not the last, brand new stock left. Paid a bargain cost plus a tenner, too.
So, I set to removing the complete system including manifold, as I planned to clean it and refurbish the manifold & existing down pipe.
The manifold as it was.
I used a rotary wire brush and some heat proof paint to clean up and treat the existing parts and also the new centre & rear sections-I don’t really want the new one rusting, even though the car doesn’t get driven in the rain or salt. I didn’t paint the new cat as it’s under warranty for a year-once the warranty has expired I’ll take it off and give that a lick of paint to match, too.
All new stainless bolts were used throughout, as were new gaskets and I got hold of some OEM new studs & nuts for the exhaust manifold.
At the end of the job I turned my attention to the old centre & rear (still serviceable so I’ll clean them up and eBay them); this is the remnants of the cat I extracted from the centre exhaust section!
The car drives so much better now-even before the Ely incident I reckon the cat was failing, as it’s definitely taken on an added verve and fizz at the top of the rev range, with more low down torque to boot too. The other nice thing is the tailpipe is now standard and original, as is the whole car.
Next task on the car over the winter is to clean the underside up to serious concours standard!
A genuine, original catalyst is still available from Rimmer Bros, which I duly ordered.
When I got the car, it had a non standard twin exhaust pipe on it, which I think looks rather odd! I’ve always wanted to return it to an original pipe, but unfortunately they’ve been NLA for a good while. I was therefore resigned to getting a copy made up out of stainless steel somewhere.
Annoyingly, Rimmers don’t list part numbers on their website that are NLA. A bit of detective work via thebrm.co.uk and the incredibly useful www.mgroverpartfinder.co.uk turned up an old stock centre & rear at an old MG Rover dealership near Milton Keynes, who didn’t even realise they had it! They was only one of each listed on the site so I’ve little doubt it must be one of the last, if not the last, brand new stock left. Paid a bargain cost plus a tenner, too.
So, I set to removing the complete system including manifold, as I planned to clean it and refurbish the manifold & existing down pipe.
The manifold as it was.
I used a rotary wire brush and some heat proof paint to clean up and treat the existing parts and also the new centre & rear sections-I don’t really want the new one rusting, even though the car doesn’t get driven in the rain or salt. I didn’t paint the new cat as it’s under warranty for a year-once the warranty has expired I’ll take it off and give that a lick of paint to match, too.
All new stainless bolts were used throughout, as were new gaskets and I got hold of some OEM new studs & nuts for the exhaust manifold.
At the end of the job I turned my attention to the old centre & rear (still serviceable so I’ll clean them up and eBay them); this is the remnants of the cat I extracted from the centre exhaust section!
The car drives so much better now-even before the Ely incident I reckon the cat was failing, as it’s definitely taken on an added verve and fizz at the top of the rev range, with more low down torque to boot too. The other nice thing is the tailpipe is now standard and original, as is the whole car.
Next task on the car over the winter is to clean the underside up to serious concours standard!
Edited by itcaptainslow on Sunday 14th July 15:58
Well my post saying the car is now for sale was deleted due to it having a link to the ad in it.
Didn’t have much luck listing it on Car & Classic, so I’ve gone for an online auction with a posh listing. Hopefully this will bring a decent result.
I’m fortunate I don’t have the pressing need to sell it, but have too many cars really
Didn’t have much luck listing it on Car & Classic, so I’ve gone for an online auction with a posh listing. Hopefully this will bring a decent result.
I’m fortunate I don’t have the pressing need to sell it, but have too many cars really
Edited by itcaptainslow on Thursday 23 July 00:35
Had an mgzr 160 for a while a couple years back which was much more fun than I really expected. Ended up getting scrapped sadly as tinworm and various other things were all raising their head at the same time, but still have the motor as a spare for the Elise!
These things can get a bit of stick but I really enjoyed mine, buy for the right price and they can be excellent bang for your buck
These things can get a bit of stick but I really enjoyed mine, buy for the right price and they can be excellent bang for your buck
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff