v8 mk1 capri

[Rbrett]

hey all im looking for some advice on this one, most people would recommend swapping in a v6 but in my mind its 2 short of something important and would involve more custom work with swapping the trans/trans tunnel mods.


iv planned and changed through ideas a lot in the past on this one and then had to stop everything as i got hit in the face with real life, bills and the costs of driving 120 miles a day in a 4.0 ltr jeep, well if all goes to plan ill be moving shortly and that means i can sell of the jeep and start on my project.

purists to the capa's should look away.

its a 1969 mk1 1600 gt auto, the plan is to rebuild the bw35 autobox to v8/hd spec, get hold of a p5 or p6 bellhousing, torque converter and flex plate and bolt up a rv8 (thinking 3.9 but depends whats available at the time).

Nothings ever that simple tho right so lets break it down and see if im missing anything.

this whole project will be done over a period of time and starting from the ground up brakes n susp before power. im looking to keep the original ride height and to professionally band the original wheels, from the outside i want it all to look stock.

so suspension wise ill be fitting uprated shock inserts front n rear (can find mk1 rears listed but never see mk1 fronts listed any ideas), the car will probably want new rear leafs and of course poly bushing.

Brakes not to sure on my options here because of sticking with the original 13 inchers but will be hitting capri sport up to find out about rear disc kits, front caliper/disc upgrades and master cyl/servo options.

rear axle, for ease itll be starting with a 3ltr mk1 capri axle although iv got to look into the costs involved with the 8 inch ford ones (maybe for a later date)

Gear box, as mentioned ill get it rebuilt with uprated internals to the v8 spec and slap on the front end from the p5 or p6. (will more than likely be upgraded to a beefed zf4hp22 later down the line as they fit in place of the old bw35 without mods)

Engine swap will be the last thing on the list when i know the car is good and ready to handle what i can throw at it, a list of things that will need sorting:
engine brackets (found a local guy that can help on this)
rad (not sure yet more than likely something from the scrappy)
fans (unknown again from the scrappy)
exhaust manifold (custom made should be fun and started practicing my pipe welds)
new exhaust system
relocate battery to the boot
swirl pot for the efi side of things
fuel pumps
sump (am i right in thinking ill need to cut n weld on this one)

have i missed anything?

im guessing ill have to cut out the original panel work either side of where the rad currently sits?
only other question is, will it sit under the flat bonnet :/



Cheers Brett

[kiwicar]

You could go 302 ford, or are you set on a rover?
Mike

[harvey]

its a 1969 mk1 1600 gt auto, the plan is to rebuild the bw35 autobox to v8/hd spec, get hold of a p5 or p6 bellhousing, torque converter and flex plate and bolt up a rv8 (thinking 3.9 but depends whats available at the time).

Gear box, as mentioned ill get it rebuilt with uprated internals to the v8 spec and slap on the front end from the p5 or p6. (will more than likely be upgraded to a beefed zf4hp22 later down the line as they fit in place of the old bw35 without mods)


Cheers Brett

If you do decide to go ahead with the 35 box, I should think that I've got most of the bits you'd be looking for. I could also put you in touch with someone who could do it for you if you wanted.

Much as I love the old 35 box it has to be said it's pretty much at it's limit behind the Rover V8 (In UK spec form) and in the longterm the ZF box would be the better piece of kit.

[Rbrett]

You could go 302 ford, or are you set on a rover?
Mike

pretty much set on the rover mainly because of the availability of everything scrap yards and motor factors always have bits n pieces laying around where as the ford stuff in the long run is all imported and more specialist.

had considered an alusil bmw v8 but other engine options all seem to lead to more custom work and cutting/reshaping trans tunnels which is something im trying to avoid.

If you do decide to go ahead with the 35 box, I should think that I've got most of the bits you'd be looking for. I could also put you in touch with someone who could do it for you if you wanted.

Much as I love the old 35 box it has to be said it's pretty much at it's limit behind the Rover V8 (In UK spec form) and in the longterm the ZF box would be the better piece of kit.

That'll be brilliant cheers harvey n i know ill be on the limits of the box, its pretty hard to find info on the 35 only usefull stuff i found so far was here http://www.amccf.com/tech/amc_auto_trannies.html#m35
the 35 will get it up and running and allow me to iron it all out, final stage (theres always one last stage even when its finished) will be to swap to the hp22 to give an overdrive and a newer trans (more research to do here but iv read about swapping the guts in from a hp24 to handle bigger numbers and running a black box on the electronic versions for a fully customizable shift)

[JJMclure]

What are you planning to do with the car?
P.S. you forgot the power adder!!!

[Rbrett]

What are you planning to do with the car?
P.S. you forgot the power adder!!!

nothing to excessive to start with )

this will be my daily driver and running on lpg (wont be doing to many miles tho).

its a car to drive and have fun, maybe the odd strip run (when the hp22 is in).

way way way future plans that arnt worth thinking about now involve a power multiplier (forged pistons and a simple turbo if space allows) but again nothing to excess as i want this car to remain relatively reliable and drivable on a daily basis.

[topcatcustom]

If you want forged pistons and performance parts, plus more power it will probably be cheaper to go with a SBF as Kiwicar has already pointed out, the parts are so common in the States that the prices are low and once you have paid the shipping they are not much different to the Rover bits. And you have no reliability worries about liners etc as they are an iron block and a lot less stressed than a RV8.

Saying all that- I am building a RV8 so I have nothing against them- just letting you know that there are some pretty good reasons to go with a Ford!

[Rbrett]

If you want forged pistons and performance parts, plus more power it will probably be cheaper to go with a SBF as Kiwicar has already pointed out, the parts are so common in the States that the prices are low and once you have paid the shipping they are not much different to the Rover bits. And you have no reliability worries about liners etc as they are an iron block and a lot less stressed than a RV8.

Saying all that- I am building a RV8 so I have nothing against them- just letting you know that there are some pretty good reasons to go with a Ford!

i realize the sbf and sbc are cheaper to tune for power and more reliable in a tuned state, but it still comes down to been able to drive down to my local motor spares place / breakers and getting the bits rather than been stuck with mail order and searching the web for parts (as i have to do atm with the jeep).

mods for power would be some years down the line and again not looking towards huge gains in respect to FI. forged pistons and some ceramic coatings to control heat should help towards the reliability side and as far as power the most i could ever dream of or want in a tail happy daily driven capri would be up to around 300 bhp, something that should be obtainable with FI and "reasonably" reliable.

[harvey]

If you do decide to go ahead with the 35 box, I should think that I've got most of the bits you'd be looking for. I could also put you in touch with someone who could do it for you if you wanted.

Much as I love the old 35 box it has to be said it's pretty much at it's limit behind the Rover V8 (In UK spec form) and in the longterm the ZF box would be the better piece of kit.

That'll be brilliant cheers harvey n i know ill be on the limits of the box, its pretty hard to find info on the 35 only usefull stuff i found so far was here http://www.amccf.com/tech/amc_auto_trannies.html#m35

A lot of the info on the link you show is irrelevant now as it applies to very early boxes, and appears to be written more with the Aussie versions in mind, and so the rear band fault they mention I've never come across, and certainly wouldn't recommend their way of curing it if ever were to happen on a UK box. There are lots of little mods and upgrades that can be done to that box, but ultimately as I said earlier it won't stand consistant hard use behind a V8. It will however be perfectly fine if you treat it with respect. If you want info on that box, post a question and I'll try to answer it for you.

[unstable load]

Check this lot out. They made the older Fords hop.

http://perana.org/

[Rbrett]

ok iv got to ask because its been bugging me for a few days now, does anyone know what sort of mpg a SBF 302 (say 250-300hp) would be giving in a capa (2052 lb), i know it all depends on ur right foot but are they a gas guzzler like im imagining or is it comparable to the rv8?

also what prices do they fetch for a general runner complete with auto box, say a c4?

i keep going back to the bmw v8 engine as i know there cheap n available all over the place but the slushbox seems pretty massive n i didnt fancy chopping my trans tunnel up :/

still got time to mull over the engine choice tho, will sort out the rest of the car first.

[kiwicar]

Hi It is the usual thing of depends on alot of factors, but if you are going for a moderate spec 302, as you say 250 to 300 bhp as you say, ally heads, 9.5:1 to 10:1 compression, mapped fuel injection, 1.5" headers and an exhaust to match, high final drive ratio and suitable gearbox (manual or auto) it should be as good over all as the rover, 10% worse around town, 10 to 15% better on a run. The ford is a newer design than the rover, good modern aftermarket ford heads are a much better design, but you will have an extra 100 to 120 BHP and another 1.5 litres so if you boot it it will use more fuel. provided it is geared to compensate for the extra ccs you should see very similar fuel consumption, may be better. Stick a 4 barrel on it then you will never match a rover on SUs or EFI.
If the BMW unit will fit, have you thought of measuring up for a ford modular engine? I posted on here the other day about some ford Modular engines and gearboxes (about 8 of them) an ebay, new or nearly new going for what is actually very little money, compared to buying an old unit and rebuilding it, and then finding a box to refurbish.
An example here, http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ford-Mustang-4-6- ... 27ae3a2af9
Best regards
Mike

[Ian Anderson]

Comparison time on MPG

OK these are for GT40s mid engined and about 1100 kg

Mine Rover3.9 EFi Hotwire
Worst 6mpg (A lot of stop starting and testing for fuel injection purposes), Best 36mpg (Long slow run back from Le Mans 2 years ago) usually between 25 - 30mpg - not much town driving as it does not like low revs!

Paul's
Performer heads and intake, Webber 600 cfm 4 barrel he says he gets between 25 - 28 on a long motorway run ar legal speeds

Tony
Bog standard Ford on Holley 650cfm carb - trip to Le Mans including 2 fast laps and trip back average 25mpg

So looking at a run comparison mine 25- 30 fords 25 - 28

Not too much difference

Ian

[Rbrett]

phase 1 is complete, we managed to move house so were closer to the wifes uni, no more driving 140 miles a day.

nxt step is to get the old girl on the road in standard form and sell the kit car to release some funds, aiming for the start of summer before the tax needs re-newing on the current hack.

fingers crossed it all goes to plan.

[Coops]

What are you planning to do with the car?
P.S. you forgot the power adder!!!

nothing to excessive to start with )

this will be my daily driver and running on lpg (wont be doing to many miles tho).

its a car to drive and have fun, maybe the odd strip run (when the hp22 is in).

way way way future plans that arnt worth thinking about now involve a power multiplier (forged pistons and a simple turbo if space allows) but again nothing to excess as i want this car to remain relatively reliable and drivable on a daily basis.

Oh that soon goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay out the window, trust me