At 04:32 PM 6/8/00 -0700, you wrote:
>I have been researching what can be done to warm up my stock TR6 engined
>1972 TVR, which as folks know is only 106 hp stock. I have triple webers on
>it, a header, and I am acquiring pieces and info to go the rest of the way.
>The more research I do, the more I realise how difficult and expensive it
>will be to get a realiable 175 hp out of it, and I am wondering if I will be
>happy with that amount of hp. Perhaps I should go the Rover aluminum V8
>route, or maybe a late Ford 5.0 litre mustang setup. I figure if I dump
>$3000 into the TR6 engine and am not happy with the results, I will be
>pissed off. I am also starting to realise that the car would be worth more
>for resale with a V8 than with with a hot TR6 engine. Comments??
>
>Stephen
>1972 2500 TVR
>
Stephen;
Risking the ire of those who think that more HP must be better, I'm remided
of the comments a friend made after he converted is TR6 engine'd Vixen to
the Essex V6 engine config. of the sister car, Tuscan. He ended up being
disappointed in the package, and selling the car. Yes, there was more HP,
and yes there was greater acceleration, but top end didn't improve that
much (he didn't change any gearings), and, in fact, he started to feel that
with the added acceleration, he was going to have to re-tune the chassis as
well. I think his bottom line was that for him, the car in its original
config. was actually more fun to drive. The chassis/suspension set up that
worked harmoniously with his TR6 engine was not as successful with the
added power and torque of the V6. That is, the extra power was wasted...
Certainly, lots of folks seem to want to put a V8 into our TR6 engined
cars, but from these words, it sounds like the engine swap is only one part
of the final package. Chassis tuning has to be carried out as well.
Stiffer springs, struts, etc, and, maybe even some additional support bars
to stiffen the main box sections.
I rush to admit that this is hearsay, and I'd enjoy hearing the comments of
others who have done the swap. I'm personally not interested in turning my
vixen into a 200+ HP gorilla, but maybe I'm being a bit nasty in my choice
of words.
cheers,
Will Zehring
'71 2500
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