Rover V8 Conversion

Please let us know here of any parts needed to fit other engines into Capri shells, and any other modifications needed,

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masticatingthemuffin

Rover V8 Conversion

Post by masticatingthemuffin »

Firstly, if this is all detailed elsewhere, and I've completely missed it, I apolgise.

I read on the 'CapriRacing' site, about a 'V8 Conversion Kit' 'Go ahead and buy your V8 Conversion Kit' -Excellent site I might add, I would have thought fitting the Rover V8 in the Capri would be a very popular modification, but it seems not.

Now I have a catalogue from Capri Club Int. which dosnt seem to have anything of the sort in, nor can I faid anything on the web. Maybe Im jst not looking in the right places, but then, theres an aweful lot to look thru!

I've been told there are all sorts of problems with relocating the steering rack, and brake servo, so I've never been too sure about it, but I've loved Capri's for many years, and 6 months ago, finally bought one. Just a 2.0L Laser with a DGV on at the mo, but fitting a Rover V8 is the end goal. Mostly due to the weight factor, combined with the fact, thats its a V8! -I believe the RoverV8 weighs about as much as an Iron Pinto motor?

Hope someone can help!

-Tom.



Coops
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Post by Coops »

Hi Tom,
glad you liked my site,
and welcome to the forum,

The company that was doing RV8 conversion kits was Caprisport,
BUT now they are no longer making the the kits, i think they have detailed drawings for you to make your own parts, BUT i am not 100% on this,

I think Magnum engineering do a kit, but not sure of the workmanship as not used them myself.

PS. there is no problem with the steering or servo,
Regards Tony C (COOPS)
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Sponsored by: www.extraefi.co.uk & www.interpart.biz & www.caprisport.com
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masticatingthemuffin

Post by masticatingthemuffin »

Well thats handy. Appreciate the quick response too!

I had a look at the 'CapriSport' site; What a grumpy sounding bunch! -Every two lines was 'We only deal with Club Members' & 'Do Not Pester us!' -Fair enough, I wont :shock:

The Magnum site looks good, although it all sounds a bit vague. Mounts, manifolds & Propshaft are about the only things I can see that need to be made up specially.

Presumably, apart from Metalwork on the car itself, if you keep the stock box on the engine, theres not much else to it?

Can I ask what sort of stuff you got in your 'kit'? -Any kind of guidelines?
Obviously, I really want to get all the details I can before I start looking for an engine, and this seems to be the best place to start :)

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Post by Coops »

mines a caprisport kit mate,
and they aint grumpy, just had a lot of wa@@kers and dreamers wasting there time and money, thus why members only now, and dont blame them really, i have pestered them alot and they have/are doing a lot of work on my car

in my kit i got, sump, manifolds, engine mounts, gearbox mount, propshaft and clutch conversion,
Regards Tony C (COOPS)
Image
MS2 V3.57 Ecu mapable efi and wasted spark ignition.
Rotrex C38-91 supercharger and Cossie RS500 Intercooler @ 14psi of Boost.
Sponsored by: www.extraefi.co.uk & www.interpart.biz & www.caprisport.com
Web site: http://www.capriracing.co.uk

masticatingthemuffin

Post by masticatingthemuffin »

Wow, take it easy, Im not knocking thier handywork, and I can honestly believe they do get a lot of folk interested, who will never get round to doing it properly.

I do strongly suspect that a lot of people will want all the info they can get before they think about starting a build however. -Theres no point throwing thousands of pounds at a car if its never going to turn out how you want.

Im just suprised how little there is on the actual conversion its self. I havnt come accross more than one page (yours incidently), which gives any real detail on the swap.

I mean, CapriSport claims you cant do it for less than £6000, but they dont say where it all goes. I guess the fabricated parts wont be cheap, but RV8's can be picked up for very little brass.

I dont mean to be difficult, as I say; Im just trying to get as much info as I can before I consider a build!

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Post by Coops »

thats understandable,
i built mine over 4yrs, bought parts as i could afford ( i know Neil thus why i could buy parts as i could afford from him and not the whole kit in one go), and then once i had all the parts i did the build,
other parts you need are radiator, header tank, wiring to do, rev counter mods oil gauge pick up adaptor,

the exhaust manifolds alone are/were £400,
The prop cost me £200,
Radiator £150,
exhaust system £200,
header tank £10 (scrap yard)
Decent engine and box £400
EFI system £300
Can't remember the cost of the whole v8 conversion kit as did mine over 12 years ago.

then there is the shell modification work and time (did mine myself to keep cost down)

there were more pages on the v8 conversion, but when the conversion kits stopped i thined the site down as owners kept mailing caprisport regarding kits so i closed the conversion side down.
Regards Tony C (COOPS)
Image
MS2 V3.57 Ecu mapable efi and wasted spark ignition.
Rotrex C38-91 supercharger and Cossie RS500 Intercooler @ 14psi of Boost.
Sponsored by: www.extraefi.co.uk & www.interpart.biz & www.caprisport.com
Web site: http://www.capriracing.co.uk

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V8 Rovers and dreamers

Post by csr »

Quite an interesting dialog.

It's not just about people wasting your time.
Caprisport is an evenings and weekends thing so we have limited time.
We have to go with what the membership wants, and V8 is just not it any more. The 24V Cosworth is very popular and it makes a nicer car to drive.
It's cheaper too because it fits easier with less specialy made bits.

If you want a car built, 6 grand is a rough guess but bear in mind, about a grands worth of brakes, a fully re-built 3.9 efi at aprox 230bhp and suspension to handle it is part of the deal.

If you can work to the standard we do and do it cheaper, let me have your number and we will send everyone to you.
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masticatingthemuffin

Post by masticatingthemuffin »

I think thats where the variation comes into play. I certainly wouldnt say that the level I would probably work to would be anything like yours.

I'd try and find an RV8, probably from an older Range Rover or SD1 on Carbs. -I prefer them, I'm just that way inclined, plus theres always one or two on eBay.

And also, with the base car being a Laser, short of a pair of Billys in the front struts, I'd have no intention of uprating the front suspension. I've already fitted an uprated anti roll bar & anti-dive.

Back suspension already has a cross brace on, and I might strtech to a pair of single leafs & flashy dampers in the future.

Obviously Vented 4-pots up front would be a smart move, and Capri Club does a Princess type conversion that dosnt cost the earth.

So short of the special fab. parts, (Manifolds, Clutch conv.) I cant see any other majour costs appearing. Im hoping using an older carb engine will save a few bob.

There are a couple of things that interest me however, like your sump; is there anything special about it? -Just baffles maybe? -Is it a different shape?

Very little else fazes me in truth, the rev counter mods are easy enough, likewise for the oil pressure pickup. Presumably the radiator just needs to be efficient enough & fit in the space given?

I can understand people wanting to use the 24v V6. Its a heck of a motor, and isnt it Essex based? -So presumably its not a million miles from the MkI RS3100 Race cars? I'd sure like to see one with throttle bodies and long polished inlet horns :)

I've read about the old MkI Perana Capris, with the 351 Windsor in them. Ideally I'd like to build an all-singing, all-dancing replica, but thats long term. The RV8 MkIII would just be for fun really, which is why im not too fussed about it being mechanically perfect.

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Post by csr »

You fit perfectly into the group of people we just don't have enough time to help.

You already have many ideas that are miss guided and do not want to build a car to a good relyable spec.

I am however pleasantly surprised that you understand and I think that unlike a lot of people, you would be open to some good advice from experienced guys like Tony and my self.

You would be making a huge mistake to buy any brake parts from CCI.
Before you do anything, get a ride in a car with the GTR system fitted.
Only then will you appreciate just what can be achieved without spending a fortune.

The sump is simple and does not interfere with the pick-up - if you have a MIG you can do it.

Have a close look at a Perana - they are an absolute bodge - they handle like the Ark-Royal and take as long to stop. A well sorted Rover like Tony's would give one a total kicking on a track.

Don't rush out and buy a pair of knackered 2.8 struts either. Your money is better spent replacing the inserts in the struts you have. Fixed rate gas inserts are available for about £100 the pair. Worn out 2.8 struts seem to cost more than that these days.

The benefits of doing a nice job - see the picture below

top left - Capri 24V - Its worth about 6 grand
the red track car - 2.8 turbo 300bhp - sold for £5,500
Hi-lux 4 litre v8 monster truck - value 40-50K
the Bentley dash in the middle - car sold for £375,000
the yelow Capri - 2.9efi - about 4 grand i would say
my Camaro Z28 350bhp LS1 - 6 speed manual - 12k ish
John's Chevy S10 for sale if you know any one looking

I am very lucky, I get to do some amazing stuff on a daily basis.
I'm not grumpy so if you ask a question, I will give you an Honest answer.
I just don't have time for pi55 takers.

Regards

Neil
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masticatingthemuffin

Post by masticatingthemuffin »

Im always open to advice, at the end of the day, I can change a head gasket, or a wheel bearing, but with a couple of afternoons, who cant? -Relativly large engine conversions (Im a Mini man normally :P ), are all new to me.

I apologise for saying you sounded grumpy. My fault for judging on first impression. Im somewhat suprised at your opinion of the CCI brakes though, I know how well cars equipped with single pots do stop, but they've always seemed like half measures to me. Couldnt imagine 4 pots being quite that bad. That said, I've had a good long read through your site, and it makes for convincing reading.

Dont worry about helping too much, Im happy to pootle about with the Pinto for the time being, Im just trying to get as much info as I can on the work as I can.

While Im thinking about it, I notice all your referances seem to point to EFI. Is that because of personal preferance, or because it makes it significantly easier/more reliable? My Pintos on a carb at the mo, but I cant see it making much difference.

I Appreciate any help you guys can give, its all being thoroughly studied :)

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Post by csr »

Although the Princess caliper is a cast iron antique, it's not really the problem. The real problem is the disc is size and mounting position.

We know the disc is too small because cars with brakes that work have larger discs. Not hard to work that one out?

The other problem is more involved - loosing the heat from the disc is a problem when it's fixed to the back of the hub. Much more effective when the disc is on the outside in contact with the wheel which is a large lump of aluminium with lots of air flow round it.

On Tony's car, the disc is larger and on the outside but uses the 4 pot princess caliper. It works very well.

The single piston caliper is a cheap and effective but it's also very slim allowing a larger diameter disc in a specific wheel size. 260 in a 13" wheel.
The princess caliper will only run 257 and possibly less if you use a thicker disc on the outside of the hub.

Pad shape is also something which has advanced since the days of the M16 and princess calipers. Taller pads which have more area round the larger diameter are much more effective than the old style square pads which have too much area round the inner smaller diameter.

Moving on to EFI and management systems

Un-leaded is un-forgiving of errors in timing and fueling. Get it wrong for too long and you get burnt valves. Obviously, no stock Capri engine was ever designed for un-leaded, so there's the first problem.
Management systems are equiped to run un-leaded so they get the best from the fuel by adusting to suit. Unleaded cylinder heads are designed differently too so just replacing valves and seats is not always the solution.

Technology is so cheap now that injection systems are the way to go. There was a post on the old furum from someone who got a complete OHC injection system for £50. You might well save that off your fuel bill in the first month.

On the Rover, heat soak is a big problem. The inlet is right in the middle of the V so hot starts can be a nightmare. Go injection and the problem is gone. Injection cut our track car fuel bill from £100 a day to £60.
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Post by cavebloke »

Hi Guys,

I'm doing a Capri 3.9V8 conversion at the moment and I'm in a similar situation to Tom (ie not having £6000 and wanting to do the work mostly myself). I've tried to email you guys at Caprisport but I didn't get a reply (I did the aaa thing). There's no info that I could find on the website about how you join. I want to give you my money for some of the things you offer which look great but I'm finding it difficult to. I hadn't realised it was more of a weekends and evenings thing (but I thinks thats down to the website looking quite good). Is there another email address or a better way of getting in contact?

Cheers,

Simon

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Post by csr »

If you email us at - info@caprisport.com - you will get a reply as long as your comunication doesn't look like spam or have some nasty surprise attached.

You might not get a reply if you ask dum quastions as well, but that's just my in-tolerance of being pestered by idiots.

If you ask about joining the club, you will be asked to supply a postal address.
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Post by cavebloke »

We idiots need help too. I have sent a fresh email minus all the dum questions I asked last time. Thanks for the help.
Simon

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Post by csr »

Got through this time then?

Your email went into our spam filter which meant we have not received anything from you previously.
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