-------------my .02 re Various posts on the V8 subject------------
The reason you don't see much turbocharging in B's is because the bottom ends
don't hold up well to the sudden on-set of power delivered when the boost
comes on. The supercharger is more linear. Also, the amount of heat all that
exhaust plumbing delivers into the engine compartment gets hard to get rid of.
As for the BOP/Rover 3.5 liter, in the BV8 it was limited to 135bhp,
partially because of the competes-with-TR-and-Jag factor introduced by
British (phlegm-sucking)Leyland. It can easily be built to a 1hp/cu spec and
be very reliable. The David Hardcastle book Moss sells details the British
approach, as well as all the different heads and pistons available
My decidedly more American car oriented machinist states that with the right
combination of rods, cranks and heads, all off of various buick/olds
products, the motor can easily be pushed up to 5 liters, 300hp+ and cheaply
at that. Lots of parts are available... the marine and aircraft folks
apparently have appreciated this motor more that the 4wheeled gearheads do.
No engine swap is easy. The big advantages of the Rover are this:
(1) it fits, with factory mounts even!
(2) it's been done and well...
(3) The character issue: maybe the biggest is the weight... nothing else
except perhaps a turbo'd rotory can deliver the power without making the B
heavier in front... and if you just want a nose heavy muscle car you could
buy an old camero for less trouble... much of the fun of the B is the agility
and balance of the car.
(4) many of the other motors mentioned have to have not just the engine, or
engine and trans, but a whole pile of wiring, computers, sensors, etc
transplanted as well, the newer motors simply aren't designed to just run on
a carburator.
(5)Sometimes there is a case for not having "too" much power...
Years ago I test drove a 327 powered B. First, the nose-heavy-ness did really
change the character of the car, even though the owner had done a spectacular
job of cutting and reinforcing to get it back against the firewall. (no
heater, none needed :-) ) Mostly, the wheelbase of the car was the problem,
with 400hp on tap, even the well-modified suspension wasn't capable of
keeping the car from wanting to spin on it's axis exery time you shifted and
got back on the power.
The owner of the car was selling because... he bought a TR8, and from his
perspective, once the novelty of having such a powerful brute was over (10.8
sec. at 135mph with open headers in the 1/4mile) he found it wasn't very
usable to be so overpowered. The TR8 on the otherhand, even with it's
calif.smog emasculated 135hp, was a well-balanced, goog performing, well
behaved car that he was able to enjoy all the time, not just at the strip or
cruises and burnout contests.
So maybe the idea of a nicely built 215 BOP?Rover isn't so dull ... once the
romance of "more power, huhuhu" is over the moderation approach may be
welcome....
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