28 replies to this topic

[Heath]

Yes there is a decent supply market of aftermarket parts. Don't know what the prices are like in comparison to Holden, Chev & Ford parts, but I know there are things out there.

Maybe talk to Rodomo, as he has quite an interest in these motors as well.

[355LX]

Talk to a guy called Dave at T R Green performance or talk to another Dave at a place called Rovercraft. Haven't got either of their numbers on me, but both know their rovers, Rovercraft a little more so, they've been racing them for years. Both in Perth as well.

What's the new project?

Dave

[A9X]

Dave's not here man.

[rodomo]

Here are some dimentions:





This is the motor as fitted to my Rangie:



Overall height with aircleaner and sump is 74cm.
Overall width with extractors is 63cm.

Here is a pic of the motor with an E.F.I inlet manifold and twin WW2 strombergs.
This is a plan I have for the Commodore racer later.
I have a set of Rover S.D.1 extractors and a Bosch/Fairchild distibutor to go with it. The S.D.1 extractors flow better than the ones pictured and the Bosch dissy is basically the same as Holden H.E.I



The 3.5 was available in Range Rover, Discovery, Landrover, Rover 3.5 car and S.D.1 car.
The early motors had rope front and rear crankshaft seals. The later ones had neoprene seals and are better.
Standard twin 175cd manifolds are easy to adapt to Holley or WW2 stromberg.
Bosch dissy was available on late S.D.1 E.F.I motors but are rare.
A lucas electronic ignition is more common.
Late motors were E.F.I
E.F.I cam into carburetted motor is a cheap upgrade.
Some Buick parts e.g. timing chain kits will fit.
E.F.I S.D.1 heads have bigger valves.
If you are freshening up a standard 3.5, buy 2 sets of Holden 173 rings as they are the same and cheaper than 1 set of Rover rings.
Lifters are the same as Holden and V8 Holden lifters are cheaper.
Range Rover clutch plate is the same spline as Aussie.
Short manual bell housings are rare (Range Rover bell housings are really deep) and manual car bellhousings are rare. B/W auto bellhousing wouldn't be hard to adapt to manual and are shallow.
Too much horsepower on an early block can crack the webbing under the valley cover. Later blocks are stiffer.
Hi-Comp pistons are available $400ish a set.
A few different sumps available (I have 3 different sumps here) and would be more friendly if the Gemini rack is in front of the "X" member? as the pans are toward the rear.
A few different timing cover/ water pump combos available. The car ones leave the water pump lower under the bonnet and therefore the fan.

Would be a good swap into Gemini and I have been looking for a shell for racing.
A Piazza shell would be better

I will see if I can weigh the motor in the top pics. I can tell you though they are lighter than Holden six and may be as light as Gemini as I can lift the engine pictured on my own and I'm not Hercules.

Edited by rodomo, 28 August 2007 - 01:04 AM.

[boomfunk]

are they same or similar to p76 v8?, a freind many years ago had a p76, and he always mention rover v8 for some reason.

He had a mega cam, holley 4b carb..ported heads, it did go good, even tho it was a p76

[355LX]

Edelbrock do an inlet manifold for them as well.

Some great info there Rodomo, legend!!

Dave

[rodomo]

are they same or similar to p76 v8?, a freind many years ago had a p76, and he always mention rover v8 for some reason.

He had a mega cam, holley 4b carb..ported heads, it did go good, even tho it was a p76 

Similar but not the same. I think the "V" is a different angle?
3.5 inlet manifold wont reach across 4.4 block without spacers.
Later Rangie/Disco motors are up around 4.6 and are the same as the 3.5 block as far as width.
My engine builder buddy mods these and gets them out past 5 litre.
I'll see if I can get some specs and H.P figures soon.

The best 3.5 to start with would be late S.D.1
I bought a carburetted S.D.1 complete but engine dismantled and diff removed (but with car) for $55 a couple of years ago.
Got more than my money back when I sold the bits and ended up with the motor.

Edited by rodomo, 28 August 2007 - 03:18 PM.

[lakeside]

some model buick v8 heads fit

[rodomo]

some model buick v8 heads fit

Yep, but some have big combustion chambers and its difficult to raise compression on a 3.5.

[lakeside]

good place to leave it, on the lawn mower I have seen a rover V8 in a blue lh/lx in SM, 20yrs ago. A toyota V8 would be a better engine to play with. You can buy a complete toyota for $800

[rodomo]

A toyota V8 would be a better engine to play with. You can buy a complete toyota for $800

But not as compact.
Viper wants to put one in a street reg. Gemini.

[Gump]

i was reading the quokka a few weeks back and there was a turbo (think it was twin turbo) rover v8 in a lc lj sounded alright

[lakeside]

A toyota V8 would be a better engine to play with. You can buy a complete toyota for $800

But not as compact.
Viper wants to put one in a street reg. Gemini.

I was looking at a 308 Gemini last week. My mate has one and if a 308 will fit, any small block V8 will fit. It's the length of the engine that is the only problem.

Edited by lakeside, 28 August 2007 - 07:26 PM.

[rodomo]

More "adjusted" pics:
Overall length with pulley fitted is 67cm.



I have added the radius size of the bellhousing which would also be a big consideration:



And the sumps, the red dotted lines indicate the sump as fitted to the Rangie, about 1 litre more capacity. The top sump has a bracket that bolts to the bellhousing on a car auto. They also have surge/splash plates in side.

[A9X]

There is a friend of my wife who has 2 v8 gemini's, one with a rover 3.5 and the other a 308.

The guy next door to our old place was messing with a 3.5 Turbo in a dolomite for years.

Welby

[rodomo]

Sweet that top sump would be the best one for sure... Altho still may need to cut some for the front the clear the x-member then maybe ad some width to it to keep the capacity up.. Is the pickup right at the rear? And is it steel or alloy?

Oh and are the 4.4's the same size externally? or only the 3.5's and 3.9's the same?

And Can the front pully be reduced down to 1 belt groove long instead of 3?

In the "lawn mower" pic, the pulley has only 2 grooves. My alt-water pump belt runs on the frontmost pulley. The p/steering runs on the inner pulley. The bolt holes and spigot for the water pump pulley are the same as early holden red 6 so perhaps a different pulley could be sourced? Or the flange pressed further onto the waterpump bearing? The alternator could easily be moved backwards (and relocated to where my p/steer pump is if need be) with fabricated brackets and then run the belt off the inner pulley?

Sumps are steel, pickup is in centre of pan.

I think the 4.4's are wider as mentioned above, not sure about length though.
There arent as many 4.4 blocks around as they were only in P76 and Leyland Boxer trucks here. I know the 4.4 wont bolt in where a 3.5 was without alterations to the engine mounts.

Edited by rodomo, 29 August 2007 - 03:14 PM.