Bore the block, balance the engine. My engine builder only charged
$75.00 to balance the complete engine, & also balanced the clutch &
flywheel assembly seperately, included in that price.
What gasket thickness was used to calculate the compression ratio of the
pistons & how does that compare with the Felpro? Personally, I like
Felpro gaskets, as do most engine rebuilders.
In a discussion that I had with RPI, they would have had no problem
building me a 4.2 short block with metal gaskets to raise compression.
The Rover assembly was originally rated to include very thick composite
gaskets, at 8.8, & either the Felpro or metal gaskets would have
improved the CR.
For a daily driver, 9.0 up to 9.6 is a good range that will let you use
87 octane gas. So says 25,000 miles this year with 9.6 CR. My opinion is
get to that range with whatever pistons & gaskets that will work. Don't
surface the block or heads except for minimum cleanup that may be
required.
I have one of the few T-5 trannies with a .63 5th gear. Most are .72.
With 195/65/15, note 15" tires, AND .63 5th, my 8" Ford 3.55 rear seems
ideal for a daily driver, and allowed some hot laps at Summit Point. For
a car with 14" wheels, a 3.0 to 3.30 rear is quite nice. I think the B
3.9 is too tall for either 14 or 15" wheels. Whatever rear end you use,
get an appropriate ratio considering tire diameter.
Up to 4700 rpms, the stock Buick or Olds intake is equal to or better
than the aftermarket manifolds. If you plan on running the engine over
5000 rpms, buy an aftermarket intake. For a daily driver, you don't need
it.
Talk to some other 215/Rover builders. Dan Lagru has built more 215's
than anyone I know of, & is a great guy, glad to help.
Woody Cooper has put together a lot of Rovers, the TR8 folks think he
walks on water. Ted Shoemaker has been building Rover engines since he
was involved in the Factory racing effort, running pre-production TR8
Coupes. If you do not have e-mail/phone for these people, let me know &
I will get you the info. Try RPI as a source of pistons.
Jim Stuart
1975 Roadster V8, 230,000 V8 smiles
1974 GT V8, 25,000 V8 smiles
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