upgrading v8

[trendkill]

the easier to fit the new engine the better

at present its a standard 3.5 v8 with 4 into 1 manifold's (so something i can use these on would be good)

im thinking a bigger range rover engine? as i can use the manifolds, my lpg system & hopefully it sits in the same place & gear box etc. .

any ideas?

[q-rover]

Start here and empty your pockets.

[FridgeFreezer]

Spending money like that it rather pointless these days, in fact I'd say spending more than ~£500 on a Rover 8 is a waste of money when you can get a much better, more reliable engine that's 50 years newer from something American, German, or Japanese.

A 3.9 or 4.2 should be reasonable money, MS'n'EDIS will make a difference too (and is transferable if you do go for something better), beyond that I'd look round for something non-Rover.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Thats a bit like saying you wnat to buy a house

A rough clue as to how much your prepatred to spend would help,

On what you have now, any Rover V8 will connect to your bellhousing, however the 4 into 1 manifolds are not good, for a few quid change them to 3.9 twin exits and the std twin pipes and Y piece. a 3.9 will give noticeable more performance, a 4.2 or 4.6 more still. As fridge says Megasquirt it then you don't need the AFM and ECUs that go for sometimes as much as the engine

3.9s 4.2s and even 4.6s without ECUs can be very cheap

Nige

[trendkill]

Thats a bit like saying you wnat to buy a house

A rough clue as to how much your prepatred to spend would help,

On what you have now, any Rover V8 will connect to your bellhousing, however the 4 into 1 manifolds are not good, for a few quid change them to 3.9 twin exits and the std twin pipes and Y piece. a 3.9 will give noticeable more performance, a 4.2 or 4.6 more still. As fridge says Megasquirt it then you don't need the AFM and ECUs that go for sometimes as much as the engine

3.9s 4.2s and even 4.6s without ECUs can be very cheap

Nige

Im not too sure.

Around £500? depends what i can get for my engine when its out.

3.9-4.6 seems like the best option at the moment.

[FridgeFreezer]

Around £500? depends what i can get for my engine when its out.

3.9-4.6 seems like the best option at the moment.

If your engine is a running 3.5 EFI expect about £150. Expect to pay ~£250 for a 3.9, which I think is your best bet as you then have £250 to spend at Real Steel on a damn good service / mini-rebuild. ARP head studs, duplex timing gear, a cam (even if you just replace the worn standard one like-for-like), service the oil pump, and any other worn bits. That should give you a solid reliable engine for your cash.

4.0's and 4.6's are still stronger money being crossbolted blocks, 4.2's and 4.6's again fetch more money 'cos they're big and relatively rarer.

[trendkill]

If your engine is a running 3.5 EFI expect about £150. Expect to pay ~£250 for a 3.9, which I think is your best bet as you then have £250 to spend at Real Steel on a damn good service / mini-rebuild. ARP head studs, duplex timing gear, a cam (even if you just replace the worn standard one like-for-like), service the oil pump, and any other worn bits. That should give you a solid reliable engine for your cash.

4.0's and 4.6's are still stronger money being crossbolted blocks, 4.2's and 4.6's again fetch more money 'cos they're big and relatively rarer.

At the moment its a 3.5 on carbs- what do i do about the lack of efi & wires?

A friend had a hybrid with a 3.5 sd1 engine in it- im sure he told me it had uprated cam & pistons etc. . . and that thing f*in flew!

[FridgeFreezer]

SD1 lumps were the thing to have about 10-15 years ago. The standard 3.5 EFi is about the same really, and any SD1 lump is going to be getting on a bit now.

EFi can just be swapped on, if you're going MS'n'EDIS (which of course you should ) you don't need the stock ECU or airflow meter (the expensive bits). I paid £10 for the last complete 3.9 EFi setup (inlet manifold, plenum, injectors, fuel rail, loom). The 3.5 setup also works but isn't quite as nice. You need a high pressure fuel pump to go with but they're around £25 from eBlag.

The EFI is worth quite a few HP alone, the factory figures are ~132bhp for the carbed 3.5 and ~165 for the EFI.

[trendkill]

SD1 lumps were the thing to have about 10-15 years ago. The standard 3.5 EFi is about the same really, and any SD1 lump is going to be getting on a bit now.

EFi can just be swapped on, if you're going MS'n'EDIS (which of course you should ) you don't need the stock ECU or airflow meter (the expensive bits). I paid £10 for the last complete 3.9 EFi setup (inlet manifold, plenum, injectors, fuel rail, loom). The 3.5 setup also works but isn't quite as nice. You need a high pressure fuel pump to go with but they're around £25 from eBlag.

The EFI is worth quite a few HP alone, the factory figures are ~132bhp for the carbed 3.5 and ~165 for the EFI.

I think a 3.9 EFI sounds like a good option then- for the money etc. . .

Im unsure about the "MS'n'EDIS" as far as if i can fit it myself & how does this effect my lpg working?

Thinking it might be worth trying to find a running 3.9efi rangie, then break it and sell everything else

[FridgeFreezer]

Im unsure about the "MS'n'EDIS" as far as if i can fit it myself & how does this effect my lpg working?

MS'n'EDIS works well with LPG as you can have two spark maps, one for petrol & one for LPG, rather than a compromise or a dumb ignition advance box.

As for if you can fit it yourself, only you can really decide that - if you've got a 3.9 EFi you're half way there anyway - join some wires, bolt a trigger wheel to the crank and a sensor nearby, and mount coil packs on the top somewhere. Best to read Nige's thread in this forum to see what's involved (but bear in mind he made a loom from scratch which you don't have to do).

[trendkill]

MS'n'EDIS works well with LPG as you can have two spark maps, one for petrol & one for LPG, rather than a compromise or a dumb ignition advance box.

As for if you can fit it yourself, only you can really decide that - if you've got a 3.9 EFi you're half way there anyway - join some wires, bolt a trigger wheel to the crank and a sensor nearby, and mount coil packs on the top somewhere. Best to read Nige's thread in this forum to see what's involved (but bear in mind he made a loom from scratch which you don't have to do).

Right i will try and find a 3.9 efi then.

Any idea how much its going to cost for any bits i might need? Ive found the 'MEGAJOLT' ecu'thing on ebay, it says something about doing a kit soon?

[FridgeFreezer]

MegaJolt is an ignition-only controller, MegaSquirt controls fuel & ignition (or just fuel, or just ignition). As I said, read Nige's thread, it explains everything and hopefully you can work out how you want to do it.

[landmannnn]

Thinking it might be worth trying to find a running 3.9efi rangie, then break it and sell everything else

Certainly buying a rough a 3.9 rr or disco and breaking it is the most cost effective solution. You will probably end up in profit, but of course you will need a bit of space..

[FridgeFreezer]

These days just weighing the rest in for scrap can net you an engine for nowt.

[treebloke]

however the 4 into 1 manifolds are not good, for a few quid change them to 3.9 twin exits and the std twin pipes and Y piece. a 3.9 will give noticeable more performance,

Nige

Thats interesting, I have a 3.5 on carbs and as always would like a bit more power, not necessarily off road but on the motorway hills when them big tyres sap the speed.

I love my engine because we have been through so much together and would only change it if it broke but I have a couple of spare engines from later RRC's lying around so have the bits to change, is there really a power upgrade in doing this.

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Yes !

In simple terms 4>1 = top end power

4>2>1 gives low and mid end grunt

Also the 4>2>1 will increase the exhaust bore exit allowing freer flow of exhuast gases

Nige

[Bill Shurvinton]

for an engine where you can arrange the scavenging properly...like a flat plane crank V8 or a 4 pot. For most V8s (unless you have a lotus or AJP engine) then you don't have a hope in scavenging as the pot that you are trying to scavenge from is on the other side of the engine.

So pick whatever

1) fits (which included not being ripped off on the first rock)

2) allows a free flow of gasses out

3) you can afford

[Steve Hiatt]

These days just weighing the rest in for scrap can net you an engine for nowt.

Scraps plumeted now, I sent a mixed metal skip and got £30 a tonne last week, by the end of the week it was down to £20. A Northern mate said some of the yards up North wont pay anything!

[samwilk200]

Scraps plumeted now, I sent a mixed metal skip and got £30 a tonne last week, by the end of the week it was down to £20. A Northern mate said some of the yards up North wont pay anything!

I'll second that, I got offered a tennar for a diesel pug 205 from the scrap man. I kept it!

[trendkill]

I'll second that, I got offered a tennar for a diesel pug 205 from the scrap man. I kept it!

its a good time to buy, if you hang on another 6-12 month's you'll get more for your money.

not a good time to sell anything.

[Timmy511]

I'll second that, I got offered a tennar for a diesel pug 205 from the scrap man. I kept it!

we got told last week not to take anymore scrap as they wont be wanting it!

as for more power, in passing i heard a bloke saying he had put 3.5 gas flowed heads on a 3.9 block for safari comp racing, she said it was stupidly fast but i dont know what he was running it on or wether its a load of rubbish. my understanding of engines, doing that would up the compression ratio which would in turn mean you have to run a higher octane fuel to prevent detonation.

but if i did work and make a big difference to performance youve already got the parts.

[FridgeFreezer]

You're thinking of later 4.0 / 4.6 heads which used composite gaskets. They don't alter the compression by anything worthwhile. 3.5 and 3.9 heads are basically the same, some say 3.9's had bigger valves but even if they did it's not by much.

If you believe anything a comp safari racer says you're on a hiding to an empty wallet and probably not much else.