I have a 4.1L, out to 252". How about adapting the late Rover gearotor pump ? Anyone done this ? Transverse-mid-mounted, with lots of "G's". Oil "accusump" likely needed or dry $ump, last resort. Anybody ?
Art, Look for the rare 86-88 Buick Lesabre FWD 3.8 VIN 3 V6 that had the front gerotor cover and distributor or the 4.2 intermediate cover. There was a thread a few years ago on this board where you take two timing covers and Tig weld the standard 3.8 V6 top to the Series 1 3800 bottom. You have to modify the damper.
http://forum.britishv8.org/read.php?6,12913,page=3
I got a dry sump system with that go cart Olds V8 powered thing I picked up in the spring. It was in pieces off the car, but there is enough there to put it on the engine. Includes custom made front cover and pan. Has a pump, an oil tank, tons of fittings and gears and things like that. Also comes with bucks and a raw casting so you could make more covers and pans. Any interest in this stuff. If I put the go cart thingy back together, its getting a run of the mill 4.6. Here are a couple of pics.
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I wish to uprate my factory mgbgtv8 from 3.5 to a 4.6. has anyone made a hybrid front cover in order to use the crank driven oil pump and the p5/6/SD1 water pump and distributor this seems to be the only way to go in order to preserve the original looks underbonnet. the serpentine system wont fit beween the front of the engine and the anti roll bar and I do not wish to modify any of the suspension system.. any links to other sites detailing this would be very welcome.
You know, I really don't understand this sort of thing. Does the gearotor pump really stick out that much further? I suppose it must. Still, it would seem there would be a way to make it fit behind the steering rack since there is a lot of room between the fan belt and the damper on a Buick 215. I'd like to see a side by side shot of the 215 cover and the late Rover cover shot from the viewpoint of the bottom of the engine to compare the heights at the covers in the damper area. Maybe something as simple as a standard V belt drive could work, or a narrower poly-v. They make them in 4 rib format you know, and that should be enough to run a water pump and alternator with ease. It certainly will drive better than a single V.
The other thing is, why the gearotor in the first place? If it's the late Rover I can see it of course, or even if using a late Rover crank, but otherwise I feel it is a misplaced effort. The original gear pump is more than adequate if the engine has been built correctly in the first place, and if it hasn't, a band-aid like this is likely to be more trouble than it is worth. Expensive and difficult to implement and won't do much for worn or loose bearings anyway. Better all around to pull the engine and replace the bearings, tighten up clearances, reduce leakages, open up oil passages, smooth out corners and tighten up pump clearances so the system operates as it should. The Buick recommended oil pressures of 10psi per 1000rpm is easily achieved this way.
Jim