supercharged rover v8 seven???

[deathbyfish]

i'm kinda thinking of building something really quick-
has anybody built a seven type kitcar with a superchared rover v8?

i'm not sure about the weight distribution, so i'm thinking- the lamboghini kits used to have a renault gearbox to mid mount their engines. if i used a renault box and put the drive shaft between the engine and gearbox, but how did their gear linkage work??

and with the gearbox out of the way the engine could be mounted futher back allowing me to put the superchager in front of the engine (maybe, unless it isnt that high and i can still see out with it on top of the engine!!)

anybody think this would be good, or is it just another stupid idea!!!

[Martin_S]

Rear mounted Renault gearbox is technically possible, but complex. Gearchange would need to be by rods, like on mid-engined kits that use this box.

If you are going for a 'Seven' type, you still wouldn't be able to move the engine all that far back, though - the width of the engine itself would conflict with the footwells. You might gain a few inches by losing the bellhousing, though.

If it were me, I'd go the whole hog and use a mid-engined installation anyway, I think...but then I also think you may need to seek professional help (and I'm not talking about a decent mechanic!) if you think that a supercharged V8 in a 'Seven' is a rational idea!

[just dave]

What about the Ultima set-up?? Porsche G50 to largish V8?? Very scary.
Seek help.

But keep us informed.

Dave

[GreenV8S]

I've seen a supercharged 4.6 in a Westie so it's definitely possible, but apparently it took a lot of work.

[Simonelite501]

There is a twin turbo (garett T3's) rover 3.5 V8 in a Dutton Phaeton (similar to a cater/feild) which is pretty mad. Think there may be pics on the Dutton owners club site.

[joospeed]

Simonelite501 said:

There is a twin turbo (garett T3's) rover 3.5 V8 in a Dutton Phaeton (similar to a cater/feild) which is pretty mad. Think there may be pics on the Dutton owners club site.

yeah bargain, wish i could have bought it .. car sold now and not in the classifieds .. twin turbo, with trailer for 2grand!!

Say what you like about duttons (I owned one, i know how bad they are!) .. their owners certainly like to get stuck in .. big hammers and angle grinders rule in the dutton world. they're great!

[KITT]

Why does the engine and gearbox have to be split? The Rover V8 is only a little heavier than a Pinto (please let's not get into that argument!) so why not just keep the layout traditional? You're going to need some monster rear wheels and tyres to put the power down, so they'll help bring some weight to the rear.

I'm thinking Se7en with a drag racer style supercharger sticking out the middle of the bonnet and an exhaust down each side Sound's totally and hence I think it's a great idea!

[Liszt]

KITT said:

Why does the engine and gearbox have to be split? The Rover V8 is only a little heavier than a Pinto (please let's not get into that argument!) so why not just keep the layout traditional? You're going to need some monster rear wheels and tyres to put the power down, so they'll help bring some weight to the rear. I'm thinking Se7en with a drag racer style supercharger sticking out the middle of the bonnet and an exhaust down each side Sound's totally and hence I think it's a great idea!

Like a Dax rush or a Westfield Seight you mean?

I am sticking a 4.6 V8 in my rush, and yes it will have pipes on each side and a big shiny air filter poking through the bonnet.

How much are super chargers anyway?

[eliot]

The supercharged westfield was featured on Pistonheads:

www.pistonheads.com/clubmans/features/default.asp?storyId=5524

eliot.

[KITT]

Liszt said:

Like a Dax rush or a Westfield Seight you mean?

Not quite, I was thinking more of something like this:



might impair one's view of the road a little though

[spartan_andy]

The first car that springs to mind is the viento supposedly designed to house a V8 but not sure about the supercharging aspect.

just my 2 pen'worth

[deathbyfish]

KITT said:

Liszt said: Like a Dax rush or a Westfield Seight you mean? Not quite, I was thinking more of something like this: might impair one's view of the road a little though

thats what i thought to start with!!!
but then i realised the supercharger would probably be higher than the top of the windscreen.
it would make a excellent drag car though, i,ve even got a bug catcher scoop in the shed!!!

[KITT]

Another thing to consider is the ammount of torque you're going to be producing from the engine. I remember talking to a chap on one of the locost stands at Stoneleigh a year ago, discussing the Chevy V8 install into one of those Luego, wide Se7ens. I noticed it had an auto box, and when I enquired as to why this was he said "...it's because of the torque from the engine, with a manual box it would twist the chassis. The torque converter of the auto box gets round this problem." thinks I.

[spartan_andy]

there was a chap a donnington year before last with a vindicator with a V8 under the hood, well sort of under the hood

[deathbyfish]

spartan_andy said:

there was a chap a donnington year before last with a vindicator with a V8 under the hood, well sort of under the hood

yeah its on ebay, although it might of just finished.

[JenkinsComp]

A friend of mine runs a Dax Rush in the ACW Street Racer championship in his 5.2 litre JE built Rover V8, and has run the 1/4 mile in the low 11s on street tyres. It makes about 350bhp. It is a very capable car, reliable, docile, and of course, very quick.

I am building a Chevrolet LS1 powered 7 type car to race against Radicals in the Centurian Challenge. As it is, the engine I have makes 360bhp at the rear wheels, and this is before I change the cam, heads, intake, exhaust and fit nitrous which should raise power to between 500 and 700bhp (off or on gas).
I'm using an autobox, in combination with a Gear Vendors overdrive, making it into an 8 speed sequential, and I will be bolting it straight up to the diff with no propshaft. With the high rpm stall converter and a trans brake, there is no manual gearbox that will be able to launch as hard from a standstill.

Theres no reason why this kind of engine can't work successfully, if you build the car with the right geometry. And have steel reinforced underpants.

>> Edited by JenkinsComp on Friday 28th January 17:17

[GreenV8S]

There's a certain attraction to having a straight through transmission just with a torque converter as a form of viscous clutch, and an engine with enough torque to spin the wheels and a high enough rev range to reach the maximum speed you need. Put it another way, if you can spin the wheels in top from tickover, why would you ever change gear?

[eliot]

JenkinsComp said:

With the high rpm stall converter and a trans brake, there is no manual gearbox that will be able to launch as hard from a standstill.

Which box you using? - I've just had months of woe with 700r4's - looking at 4l80e's next.

[_VTEC_]

I'm sorry but if you put a supercharged V8 in a 7 then you are nuts. The BHP per ton on that thing will be completely nuts. I don't think you'll have to bother applying for nuts certificate as it will be bleeding obvious!

There's me thinking 200hp will be fine and dandy for my Luego.

[GreenV8s]

It's not just BHP, its BHP-per-weight-on-driven-wheels, which must be even worse on a locaterfield with the engine right up front and rubbish high speed aerodynamics. Is it going to be possible to put full power down at any speed?