Rover powered 289's

[agnoraan]

My car currently runs a 3.5 Rover engine with a 4bbl Holley carb. The performance is ok, but not earth shattering, which is to be expected. The fuel economy though seems to be very good and returns low to mid 30 mpg's if driven sensibly. I'm not sure as yet what the rear axle ratio is as I've not checked it, but it works out that 2250 rpm in fifth gear is just under 70 mph.

I've got a complete 4 litre engine & I'm tempted to give it a rebuild along with an uprated cam & some head work and fit that in over the Winter. To those of you with Rover engines, what sort of performance and MPG's are you getting and what sort of set ups are you running? I'm just curious to see what's possible with these engines and also whether it's worth the effort of changing a nice combination that's in the car at the moment.

cheers....Nige

[David Large]

When we built our Rover powered BRA in the 1980s we used a recondtioned 3.5 litre V8.

About 12 years ago I had a new engine built by David Ellis of Nuneaton - I don't know if he is still trading.

He used a new 4 litre core engine (stiffened and cross bolted block) a fast road cam, he reworked the heads off my old engine which were not the original 3.5 litre heads but a pair of heads I had bought off another specialist (RPI) and fitted to the 3.5 litre engine. He described the heads as being stage 1 but who knows.
On a dyno, before we put it in the car, it produced 235bhp and 250 ft lbs torque. It had a new Weber 500 carb fitted replacing the Holley 390 I had fitted to the old engine. Overall it averages about 22mpg but if cruising at 70mph on a motorway it returns about 28 to the gallon. At sensible speeds it gives me a range of about 220 miles on a tank of fuel. It has a Pertronix electronic ignition system added to it to stop the Mallory distributor eating condensors!

My car has a 3.07:1 MGB GT V8 diff in it which I recall gives me about 90mph at 3000 rpm. This makes it a great cruising car but if you want more acceleration and higher fuel consumption there are plenty of other diffs from the MG range going up (or down) to 3.909:1

For me, it all suits the car really well and is a delight to drive.
Originally I had on order from David Ellis a 4.6 litre engine but then I decided that I probably would not be able to carry enough fuel and I may struggle to keep it cool, the engine position in the early BRAs does not make it easy to put in a bigger radiator - I use an MGB V8 radiator in mine which just about works when the car is stationary in queueing traffic, so I retreated to a 4 litre - no regrets.

David

[David Large]

My car currently runs a 3.5 Rover engine with a 4bbl Holley carb. The performance is ok, but not earth shattering, which is to be expected. The fuel economy though seems to be very good and returns low to mid 30 mpg's if driven sensibly. I'm not sure as yet what the rear axle ratio is as I've not checked it, but it works out that 2250 rpm in fifth gear is just under 70 mph.

I've got a complete 4 litre engine & I'm tempted to give it a rebuild along with an uprated cam & some head work and fit that in over the Winter. To those of you with Rover engines, what sort of performance and MPG's are you getting and what sort of set ups are you running? I'm just curious to see what's possible with these engines and also whether it's worth the effort of changing a nice combination that's in the car at the moment.

cheers....Nige

My guess is that you are using a 3.07 diff as I do. When we first built our car we had an MGC Auto diff in it which I think was about 3.6:1, first gear was very low and really unusable, the 3.07:1 diff is much better suited to the gearbox. I can just break 60mph in second gear and the performance is good but not shatteringly good.

David

[agnoraan]

Thanks for the reply David, it's appreciated. After owning a 660hp '55 Chevy and my 560hp Camaro, I've come to the conclusion that I really like the way the Viper drives as you don't need to be constatntly trying to keep things running smoothly, plus the fuel economy is something that I'm really not used to. It drives and cruises well, but I'm just wondering if it could do with just a little bit more power, but I'm apprehensive about spoiling what I consider to be a nice combination as it stands at the moment. It's one of those should I or shouldn't I sort of things.

cheers...Nige

[David Large]

If your engine is in good condition and runs well then I would leave well alone, otherwise you will spend money for very little return. I changed my engine when the old one was pretty knackered and was leaking oil all over the place. My new engine is much better although that is now leaking a little bit of oil.

If you are seriously competing then more power becomes an addiction, I am contemplating trying to get more power out of my Radical for next year, but it will cost that is for sure. I currently have a 1340cc Hyabusa bike engine, making 215 bhp in a car that weighs 480kg. I am about to get a price to alter the engine to 1500cc to give me another 50 bhp - I am not expecting it to be cheap.

David

[French BRA 289]

My car has a 3,9 diff
It gives me 60mph at 3000rpm
Great sensations, very good accelerations,i love it
And......my fuel tank is too small

[catsx11]

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[David Large]

I was out in my car yesterday and I checked the effect of the 3.07:1 and at 3000 rpm in fifth gear I am getting 75 mph which equates to 3600 at 90mph.

David

[agnoraan]

I was out in my car yesterday and I checked the effect of the 3.07:1 and at 3000 rpm in fifth gear I am getting 75 mph which equates to 3600 at 90mph.

David

I'll check mine next time I'm out in it, I'll take the sat nav as well to check the speedo's correct What diameter are your tyres, mine are 26 inches tall? (295-50-15's)

cheers..Nige

[David Large]

I will measure them tomorrow. My speedo is very accurate when tested against my satnav.

David