TR7 V8 Conversion and Modification

[rtope]

Looks Great and I'll bet you will enjoy the heck out of it.

[triumph10]

looks awesome what shade of green is the one on the rack?

[Peter Evans]

Nice car hope mine will shine like that soon lol.  I'm building a tr8 rally replica but the problem I have is that the engine is sitting high cant close bonnet it's got a tr8 subframe should I change the mounts on the v8? As I'm using the rover sd1 mounts also does the sump need to be modified hope you can help my email is pvbs1261@aol.com I'm located South Wales u.k. Thanks peter

[bsa_m21]

Peter,

If you can't close the bonnet, its likely you left out the spacers on the subframe.  You can always add extra spacers if need be.  Check a TR8 patrts book and manual to see what is needed.  I'm not familiar with SD1 engine mounts, but replica TR8 mounts are available, cheap and sit the engine quite low in the cradle.  

Re the sump - what vehicle did your engine come from?  An SD1 sump should be fine.  A Rover one will need to be modified or replaced.

Best of luck!

M.

[bsa_m21]

Well, she is finished and on the road now.  All I can say is whoo hoo!  What a blast.  Hugely powerful engine, tight suspension, good rubber, good lookin.  I'm a happy boy.

[bsa_m21]

Rover 3.9L V8, 10.5:1 compression, ported, Erson Cam, Edelbrock 1404, 4-2-1 headers into 2-1 collector and 2.75 OD single exhaust.  A lovely rumbling idle and roars under accelleration.

The aluminum pipe and flex hose is for the fresh air intake to the passenger cabin.  The stock unit wouldn't fit as the engine is too far back.

Seats from a Mercedes CS230, on TR7 seat rails.  Fit like a glove and very comfortable.  

[bsa_m21]

Custom fitted oil pressure gauge in old analog clock location (upper left of instrument cluster).  Switches in lower arms of centre console for power windows & door locks.


Clarion radio and media player (usb & sd card reader built in).  USB power take off added at bottom of center console to left of alarm warning light.

[Dan B]

Nice job, the car looks great!  I am sure you are having a ton of fun with it.  Which Clarion model stereo did you use and did you need to do anything special to get it to fit?  That center console is not very deep.  I currently have a $50 open box CD radio in mine and it sticks out.

[bsa_m21]

Thanks Dan,

The radio is an Cdn$80 Clarion "1/2 din" FZ150 multimedia player.  No CD/DVD, so it can be 1/2 normal depth.  http://www.clarion.com/ca/en/products/2013/audio/source_units/digital_media_receiver/index.html

I cut the bottom 1/3" of the stock radio opening and glued it along the top of the opening.  This enabled me to mount the radio completely flush. I have an AC heater box which takes up more space than the non-ac one.  If I had used the non-ac heater box I wouldn't have needed to cut the console.



M.

[Dan B]

Mine has AC too.  Was the radio depth the issue that required lowering it, or was it something else?  Specs online say that radio is on 3 1/4" deep.

I really like the way you handled the fresh air vent.

[bsa_m21]

With the AC box and a non-modified console, it will still not sit flush.  

The issue is that DIN sizes are too thick for the TR's, as well as normally too deep.  Although it is a 1/2 DIN and 3.25" deep, it is still 2" thick.  The old cassette radios that fit were a bit over 1" thick (I have one kicking around somewhere).  The combination of the new unit's thickness and the shape of the console mean it will still sit at an angle to the console, with the bottom edge sticking out.  I didn't like that so I modified the console.

To see the angle it would sit, take a rigid ruler and slide it in along the top edge of the console opening, 3.25" and lean it up against the AC unit.  Viewed from the side, you will see the angle the unit will sit.  

FYI - I chose the Clarion unit as it has a bit of a retro look that fits well with the car.  Everything else 1/2DIN that I found had way too much LED and flashing doodahs for my taste.

M.

[triumph10]

beautiful car great job !!

[MGBV8]

Rover 3.9L V8, 10.5:1 compression

What kind of pistons did you use?

[bsa_m21]

Pistons?

I used Rover 4.0L, +20over, 9.35:1 pistons.  I have a 3.9 - 2 bolt block which has been slightly decked to make sure it was true. I changed the heads for Rover 4.0L heads and used the 3.9L tin gaskets. This bumps the compression.  

3.9L head is 36cc, 4.0L head is 28cc.  
Composite gasket is 0.048" (1.2mm) and tin is 0.018" (0.45mm).
This gives me a bit less than 10.5:1 compression.
 
Compression test shows about 170-180psi across the board.

Regards,

M.

[Dan B]

How are those Prelude springs working out so far?

[bsa_m21]

The combination of Spax shocks and 97 Prelude front springs (360lb) are quite good.  Little front end dive under hard braking and relatively comfortable drive.  I am going to try the rear springs from the kit (300lb) next spring, but have to modify the spring perches this winter as the springs are 3" longer and will make the car sit too high otherwise.

The rear springs are a different story.  They came from a 99 Mitsubishi Eclipse (190lb).  I had to cut 1.5 rings from them to get the car to sit at the right height. This should have increased their capacity to about 220lbs.  However, with new KYB rear shocks, I find them to be too soft when driving with the wife (small) and dog (big) sharing the passenger side.  The extra weight causes them to compress too much at speed when hitting bumps in the road.  They don't bottom out, but you can sure feel it.  Will have to look for some 300lb springs for the rear.

Martin