New convertible project - Update
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1970 2000 sc
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twin turbo twin turbo hehehe you know you want to 
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Yeap, I thing the standard 2ltr will be certainly as quick as a 2.2TC, probably a bit quicker due to considerably reduced engine weight !, P6's are similar in weight to 800's maybe a little lighter, so I would expect similar performance, i.e. 0-60 around 9.5 seconds.
Couple of options on the gearbox, I want 5 speeds. The easiest route is to use a sherpa gearbox (if you can find the right one ! ), or a 2ltr SD1 gearbox (again very rare ), both of which should bolt straight up to the 2ltr. My favourite though is to use a sierra 5 speed either type 9 or MT75, with the standard ford belhousing, but replacing the engine backplate with one made to mate the ford box to the rover engine.
I'll take a couple of pictures and post them later.
Richard
Couple of options on the gearbox, I want 5 speeds. The easiest route is to use a sherpa gearbox (if you can find the right one ! ), or a 2ltr SD1 gearbox (again very rare ), both of which should bolt straight up to the 2ltr. My favourite though is to use a sierra 5 speed either type 9 or MT75, with the standard ford belhousing, but replacing the engine backplate with one made to mate the ford box to the rover engine.
I'll take a couple of pictures and post them later.
Richard
strange I was standing looking at my 2000sc yesterday wondering if a more modern 'rover' engine would be an easy swap! wonder if it would be easy enough to fit it to an auto box?
And thats bad news about the SD1 box - I had a V8 one, a spare for my MG and sold it back in Feb for £100 ???
And thats bad news about the SD1 box - I had a V8 one, a spare for my MG and sold it back in Feb for £100 ???
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Oh dear !, not a lot has happened for a while now, its at one of those "hmmm, what next" stages, I've basically done one side, so the car need turning round to do the other side. Of course its just a copy of the side that I've already done, so its not as exciting as doing something new !
I was going to have a go offering up the engine see how it looks, I'm still looking for a suitable gearbox for the 820 engine, finances are quite tight at the moment so splashing out on parts isn't high on my list ! (especially with 3 kids to buy christmas presents for)
Also (the excuses keep coming) my garage is getting full of "junk" which is in the way !, I need to build a shed to get rid of the kids bikes / mower / 800 & p6 spares etc...
And last but not least, its cold !
I've got a few days off over christmas, and if the wife hasn't booked visits to or from too many relatives I might be able to have a play.... Fingers crossed
Richard
I was going to have a go offering up the engine see how it looks, I'm still looking for a suitable gearbox for the 820 engine, finances are quite tight at the moment so splashing out on parts isn't high on my list ! (especially with 3 kids to buy christmas presents for)
Also (the excuses keep coming) my garage is getting full of "junk" which is in the way !, I need to build a shed to get rid of the kids bikes / mower / 800 & p6 spares etc...
And last but not least, its cold !
I've got a few days off over christmas, and if the wife hasn't booked visits to or from too many relatives I might be able to have a play.... Fingers crossed
Richard
Of course, you could argue that visits from too many relatives was the perfect moment to retire to the garage with a small barrel of sherry and a welding torch....
Must say looking through the thread re-inspired me with your mock up photo of the lowered gold 2 door coupe. Keeps giving me evil thoughts that one.
Don't think your alone in making less progress than you'd hoped. Of my two motors, one is running one year late on a 14 month programme, the other has so far been out 13 months for a 2 to 3 month job. Hmmm. And I've paid a whole years insurance for the pleasure of driving it, say, 600miles.
On that basis I think I'd better buckle down and get something finished before I do any more fantasising! (that doesn't look spelled right?)
I know I've had my 2 pen'th before about engine and transmission options, but can't help thinking an M16 might turn out a bit thrashy by comparison with the Rover original, either 4 or V8. Better if you could get a turbo I'd imagine??
In normal motoring I'm a huge fan of diesel cars purely on the basis that the character of the power delivery with the best modern ones is actually very similar to what Rover delivered. But a diesel convertible... not even I could contemplate those two words together in the same description!
I always thought the PRV V6 (stands for Peugeot / Renault / Volvo) was a very overlooked engine for use in kit cars or retro fits. You can get it in rear drive configuration as well. Quite similar in size and weight etc to the 800's Honda V6 I would imagine.
But I'm forgetting, you have an existing "free" engine winking at you from the garage.
The other huge issue I can't recall you discussing is what to do about the soft top. I was idly speculating about this the other day and recalling that a crude, MGB esque, soft top is usually the achilles heel of these conversions. The P6 cabin is actually quite small by modern standards. Might something like a Peugeot 307 soft top c/w power electrics etc be somewhere near the mark? If so, great destructive fun could be had in a breakers with a gas axe! There must be a few crash write offs about by now. In the meantime I shall take my tape measure on holiday to the supermarket car park....
Happy Xmas
Chris York
Must say looking through the thread re-inspired me with your mock up photo of the lowered gold 2 door coupe. Keeps giving me evil thoughts that one.
Don't think your alone in making less progress than you'd hoped. Of my two motors, one is running one year late on a 14 month programme, the other has so far been out 13 months for a 2 to 3 month job. Hmmm. And I've paid a whole years insurance for the pleasure of driving it, say, 600miles.
On that basis I think I'd better buckle down and get something finished before I do any more fantasising! (that doesn't look spelled right?)
I know I've had my 2 pen'th before about engine and transmission options, but can't help thinking an M16 might turn out a bit thrashy by comparison with the Rover original, either 4 or V8. Better if you could get a turbo I'd imagine??
In normal motoring I'm a huge fan of diesel cars purely on the basis that the character of the power delivery with the best modern ones is actually very similar to what Rover delivered. But a diesel convertible... not even I could contemplate those two words together in the same description!
I always thought the PRV V6 (stands for Peugeot / Renault / Volvo) was a very overlooked engine for use in kit cars or retro fits. You can get it in rear drive configuration as well. Quite similar in size and weight etc to the 800's Honda V6 I would imagine.
But I'm forgetting, you have an existing "free" engine winking at you from the garage.
The other huge issue I can't recall you discussing is what to do about the soft top. I was idly speculating about this the other day and recalling that a crude, MGB esque, soft top is usually the achilles heel of these conversions. The P6 cabin is actually quite small by modern standards. Might something like a Peugeot 307 soft top c/w power electrics etc be somewhere near the mark? If so, great destructive fun could be had in a breakers with a gas axe! There must be a few crash write offs about by now. In the meantime I shall take my tape measure on holiday to the supermarket car park....
Happy Xmas
Chris York
Hi, great job of the two-dooring, but i have to disagree with the choice of engine, i mean come on you could build a stonking v8 and it would just bolt straight in! even sticking a turbo on the side of a 2200 or likewise would be real cool hot rod like infact using a supercharger of a jaguar (eaton m90?) would (well could..) be a simple ish job. with great returns and sticking a pair of turbos on a decent v8 4.5-5.0 ltr motor would be awsome imagine 500hp if you got it all figured right, the whole modern motor thing is a good concept but i dont think it would work somehow selling the car short? but keep up the good work inspiring..
rovermat
rovermat
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Chris, your almost bang on with the soft top, I've been looking at a number of modern options, from 3 series Bm's to Audi A4's or even the old 80 coupe convertible. I agree it has to be bang on otherwise it will be a waste. Any other suggestions ? ( Diesel.... are you mad ??? )
Rovermat, I sort of agree about the engine BUT, I don't want anything running carbs for starters, I'm heavily into fuel injection etc and find it so much easier to understand and work with. The base unit I have is 4 pot, so the v8 isn't quite so easy an install. I also have a couple of honda 2.7's in a container at work but having measured up they would be a very tight fit, leaving about 1inch either side. Shame really because the 2.7's are fantastic engines, and could be turboed later for extra go.
I'm not a huge fan of the rover v8 (sacrilidge I know), its just too expensive to get proper power from it, I could get a 200bhp 820 turbo motor for free which wouldn't need a lot of tweaking to produce 220bhp roughly the same as a 4.6 rangie motor, and a heck of a lot cheaper to build / repair. Plus it would easily return 30+mpg. Modern engines are definately the way to go, you could spend a fortune tuning an old engine only to achieve the same power you get from a stock modern lump pulled from a scrappers for £100
I intend to make this a daily driver, as the old one was, and the ability to just jump in and drive is a very high priority. Weird and wonderfull engine setups are great for shows and drag runs but they just don't cut it in the real world. One of my aims for the car is to tour the continent, so basic reliability and mpg are pretty key.
The standard T16 is about 140bhp which although a bit thrashy I agree, is more power than any of the standard 4 pot p6's not too far from the stock v8, and with a 5 speed box fitted would be very efficient.
Ultimately I'd use one of the modern all ally chevy small blocks with 6 speed box attached, but I'd have to sell the kids.....
It will be interesting to see the results, I did some accurate 0-60 timings on my old 2.2tc as a benchmark so we'll see how it goes. At the end of the day I see it as a continuous project, so what starts out as a 4 pot economy machine could end up as a fire breathing monster as funds allow !
Its probably most important at this stage to get the bodywork and soft top right.
Richard
Rovermat, I sort of agree about the engine BUT, I don't want anything running carbs for starters, I'm heavily into fuel injection etc and find it so much easier to understand and work with. The base unit I have is 4 pot, so the v8 isn't quite so easy an install. I also have a couple of honda 2.7's in a container at work but having measured up they would be a very tight fit, leaving about 1inch either side. Shame really because the 2.7's are fantastic engines, and could be turboed later for extra go.
I'm not a huge fan of the rover v8 (sacrilidge I know), its just too expensive to get proper power from it, I could get a 200bhp 820 turbo motor for free which wouldn't need a lot of tweaking to produce 220bhp roughly the same as a 4.6 rangie motor, and a heck of a lot cheaper to build / repair. Plus it would easily return 30+mpg. Modern engines are definately the way to go, you could spend a fortune tuning an old engine only to achieve the same power you get from a stock modern lump pulled from a scrappers for £100
I intend to make this a daily driver, as the old one was, and the ability to just jump in and drive is a very high priority. Weird and wonderfull engine setups are great for shows and drag runs but they just don't cut it in the real world. One of my aims for the car is to tour the continent, so basic reliability and mpg are pretty key.
The standard T16 is about 140bhp which although a bit thrashy I agree, is more power than any of the standard 4 pot p6's not too far from the stock v8, and with a 5 speed box fitted would be very efficient.
Ultimately I'd use one of the modern all ally chevy small blocks with 6 speed box attached, but I'd have to sell the kids.....
It will be interesting to see the results, I did some accurate 0-60 timings on my old 2.2tc as a benchmark so we'll see how it goes. At the end of the day I see it as a continuous project, so what starts out as a 4 pot economy machine could end up as a fire breathing monster as funds allow !
Its probably most important at this stage to get the bodywork and soft top right.
Richard
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By the way, the main problem with the 2.7 lump is that it is a 90 degree V with overhead cams, imagine a rover v8 with heads twice the thickness ! Most modern V6's are 60 degree, which makes them a lot narrower although a bit taller.
Fits ok in FWD layout as per 827 and honda legend, which have quite long bonnets, but still quite tight.
Richard
Fits ok in FWD layout as per 827 and honda legend, which have quite long bonnets, but still quite tight.
Richard
Yes i totally agree on the fuel injection it's a marvel, and i will agree that it is costly to tune a v8 up compared to your modern motor for similar power-weight and will probably be more reliable, user freindly and fuel eficient which is my only gripe with my 3500s and hence forced me to convert to LPG. Otherwise work looks real good look forward to an up-date.
Rovermat
Rovermat
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LPG, now there's an idea !, although its pretty tricky on a turbo motor I'm told, you need to newer multi-point type to get it right. Would certainly cut the fuel costs though.
I program computers for a living, and I have built an engine management system from scratch in the past, I just work better in "digital" than "analogue", the great thing with fuel injection is that once you get it running you can tune to your hearts content using just a PC. I just never got to grips with jets and needles etc...
Richard
I program computers for a living, and I have built an engine management system from scratch in the past, I just work better in "digital" than "analogue", the great thing with fuel injection is that once you get it running you can tune to your hearts content using just a PC. I just never got to grips with jets and needles etc...
Richard