Just bought a 1987 90 V8 which is in great nick but wanted to breath some more life into the engine and it needs a new exhaust which gave me the opportunity to make it sound better and go better! I am in surrey and wondered if anyone new who to speak too and perhaps what to do..... Budget is around 3k......
Thanks I will get the details off it at the weekend.....
pete1987RRC
Well-Known Member
EFI?
No it's the 3.5 the exhaust is proving difficult to replace as I can't drive it at the moment as I will wake the dead! Also I need to find a pair of original front seats which exmoor no longer make they are the brown check no sure of the technical name but the middle and the 4 rears are in great condition and I want to replace the front 2 which are replacements and are broken as well. The next thing are the wheels someone told me the Rangerover wheels are the wheels for the original v8 which sounds like a plan the truck has steel after market which don't look right.... Thanks
cooltide
sheep fancier
Speak to jim at jrv8 hed be able to advise you... if your happy to strip it down id say go for higher comp pistons i fotted rover sd1 vitesse 9.75:1 pistons...
After that viper hurricane cam edelbrock/weber 500 kit and if theres change left over maybe flow the heads better
After that viper hurricane cam edelbrock/weber 500 kit and if theres change left over maybe flow the heads better
300bhp/ton
Well-Known Member
I'm probably going to disagree with most people on here.
But if you have a £3k budget. Do nothing to the engine in it.
The stock factory V8's performed well in their era and when compared to a 2.25p or 2.5TD, but they are somewhat underpowered today.
The are only 3.5 litres, low CR, very mild cam and make poor HP, even for a Rover V8.
It simply isn't worth spending money on it.
You'd be much better off pulling the engine and chucking it in a corner. That way, if you ever want to refit it for originality, if the value would demand it. Then you have it.
And go and buy either a 3.9/4.0 or a 4.6 and stick that in it. Either convert to EFI or chuck a 4 barrel carb on it.
RV8's are a good way to 200-250hp. But you can sink thousands into one and get hardly anymore.
If you want, chuck a mildish cam in what ever V8 you find, and slap a good exhaust system on it. And call it good. At this point you are at the point of diminishing returns.
Rover V8 heads are pretty rubbish, but tbh it'll cost you best part of £1000 to really improve them. And unless you are going big cam and chasing HP you'll probably not really notice it that much.
A cammed 4.6 with a good exhaust and non restrictive intake/induction should make a real world 230-240hp or maybe a tad more. And importantly it'll make much more torque low down, so will feel more powerful than it is.
A screaming 3.5 can also get to 220-230hp fairly easily. But it'll never make the low end torque and will feel slower.
Get some proper sports exhaust manifolds and get someone to custom build you an exhaust.
cooltide
sheep fancier
no argument from me
my 3.5 (in storage now)with a real steel 248 cam and ported heads only ran smooth from 2800rpm upwards. Brilliant fun and screamed it arse off to 6500 but as you say no low end. Even in a rwd car it was a pig if you needed to cruise
norseman
Well-Known Member
By co-incidence I also own a RRC of the same year but mine, being original, is the efi auto. I've always found the output sufficient in most circumstances, the engine's state of tune in this application is always going to be a compromise between off & on road performance & I agree with 300bhpt here. Personally, if I was seeking a higher performance machine I'd sell mine as an original & go for something designed for the purpose from the outset
