Rover 3500 V8 Rebuild

[Ian Scott]

Hi,
I am starting a Pilgrim Sumo kit and I am looking for a good rebuilder for the Rover V8 in the Midlands or anywhere for that matter.

[JimT]

Try [link:www.v8tuner.co.uk|www.v8tuner.co.uk] - Norfolk based.

Jim.

[VinceGledhill]

Why not re-build it yourself? It's a really simple engine to build. I've never re-built an engine before but embarked upon this project a year ago. There's some good books out there and the haynes manual is easy to follow.

You will feel so good about yourself having done it.

You've obviously got the "confidence" to build the car so why not the engine as well? I can honestly say from personal experience that the first time it fires up is "music to the ears".

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Regards
Vince
Time served Auto Electrician
Lucas Leeds 1979-1983

[maxGD059]

Ian
Depends what you mean by 'the Midlands' DJE in Nuneaton are good & if you want the DB's the try John Eales in Coventry. V8 Developments in Lincolnshire will do you a good deal but I'd have to speak off line to say more. Then there's RPi in Norfolk too. All of these guys have got pretty good websites so have a good gander & get back to us if you want

Cheers

Richard
(It'll only be a 5 minute job)

[maxGD059]

Yeah, I take your point Vince, but there are many factors involved such as time, finance, ability, patience etc. It took me 3yrs to build my GD & I put a recon. engine straight in fairly early on.
One point though. The motor is inevitably going to be a pricey item that is then going to sit around doing nothing in the garage 'till the builds finished. With a Sumo, is it possible to do all the rest of the build & then put the engine in last, avoiding it deterioating thru' being idle & helping cash flow? Just a thought.

Cheers

Richard
(It'll only be a 5 minute job)

[breskit]

It has taken me almost two years to build my Sumo with Rover V8 and I rebuilt the engine myself. I would say that once you have the chassis rolling, complete with engine, the engine doesn't really sit around for long as you always find an excuse to hear that lovely V8 music. 8^)

If you really want to put the engine it last then I would say that it is possible. The difficulty with the Sumo I have found is that all the body work preparation and trimming takes a lot of time, especially if you want nice results. You should be able to drop the engine in (bonnet off), but it will most likely need to be separated from the engine. However, through my experiences, fitting the gearbox with the engine in place, while awkward, is not impossible. My gearbox has been off more times than I care to remember (damn clutch!).

Best of luck, whatever you do.

Tony B
---
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tony.breski

[interestedparty]

I would say by all means rebuild the engine yourself, and if you can find a 3.9 to start with, all the better. But if you are thinking of paying someone else to do it, or buyinga rebuilt engine , then have a good look at the prices and compare them with the cost of buying an american V8. At the moment the economics are in favour of the US products (exchange rates and all that)

John

[chesterak]

Ian,
I would support what Vince is saying. There are a number of reputable engine builders and some are advertised as engine engine "tuners". I use quote marks because some engine "tuners" fit third party parts and present you with a "tuned" engine costing lots of ££££'s (ported heads approx £700)- you could do most this yourself quite easily. If you don't want to rebuild yourself - its important to select the rebuilder carefully. Obviously the reputable companies put in the time so this where the high costs arise. Accepting specialist equipment is required for, for example, balancing, valve angle grinding etc, with a few basic tools you can rebuild your engine yourself to a mild state of tune without too much difficulty. I suppose most of this is is stating the obvious but it is worth having a go.
Stan

[TINKA]

I would agree have a go at doing it yourself if you do enough research it's amasing how much you soon learn. The only real problem I had in the whole build was timing the cam up. As far as 3.9L engins go, you have to be a lot more cautious if you go this way because if it is an old block and it has been abused it is lot more likly to have cracked or warped as they have thiner walls.I have never rebuilt an engin before but when the day came to start it,she fired up first time and oh what a fantastic sound. Bearing in mind that I have never done anything like this before if you want to see what is possible look at the back of Snake Torque page 38. :+ :+ :+ :+ :+

Best of luck Martin