Rover V8 to TH350 auto conversion plate

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:48 pm

I've just had some blanks cut. I drilled them out on the pillar drill and so far the outlook is good !!

These are for my Sons Escort conversion for drag racing.

Drilled and tapped the gearbox mounting holes M10 and drilled and countersunk the plate to engine holes with big countersinks so the allen bolts fit flush.

The previous conversion for my own RV8 included a rare Buik Skylark flexplate with lugs welded on so thet mated to a Chevy torque converter.

But I want this kit to work with Rover stuff. So we bolted it all up and the converter lines up nicely on centre with the crank shaft.

And the Rover flex plate I have is not far out re spacing from plate to converter lugs.

I'm now torn between making up some fancy machined ring to bridge the gap between plate and converter, or just remove a little metal from the ring gear flange so I can fit some 12mm long spacers between plate and converter lugs. I think the latter is the simple way out ??

This will allow bolts to pull the whole assembly together very easily. I also need to make a small locator bush which will be a cup to go over the stub in the centre of the converter which will be machined down to form a small shaft to locate into the crank shaft so it acts like a locator to line things up when putting the box onto the engine.

I havent bothered fitting dowels in the plate to line up with the dowel holes on the tranny because this is extra work I cant be bothered with. These holes could be drilled and have nuts and bolts fitted for extra bracing I guess??

I'm thinking of finishing this setup and selling it as a kit in the future. Do you think there might be a small market for this??

Eliot · Post by **Eliot** » Mon Jan 16, 2012 11:06 pm

My understanding is that a sbc chevy will bolt up directly onto one of those TH350's

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:05 am

Eliot,
I do think you are correct, it would make matching engine and gearbox much simpler wouldn't it

Best regards
Mike

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Tue Jan 17, 2012 8:49 pm

OK Guys!!
I get it!!!

One day the MGB will have a Chevy lump up front

Assuming the MGB body holds out long enough??

But seeing Mikes Slingshot has got me thinking.....

If my little Rover V8 setup can give me a 10.4 on the 1/4 mile in a car that weighs around 1200 kg all up. How quick would that engine setup be if it was bolted into a frame like Mikes??

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:26 am

Hi Perry
good thinking if you ask me, I recon you would be in the high eights especially if you got the chassis built on the lighter end of the scale from mine. Be alot cheeper than mine too as you would not need to use things like a 9" ford, in fact you could just transfer the entire drive train across axel and all (may need some discs on the back

).
Best regards
Mike

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:50 pm

That was my exact thinking Mike???

It would just be a RWYB car so no real tight rules for the build eh?

How much do you think it would cost to have a chassis tacked together for welding at home?

It would of course have an MG Rover badge on the front

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:10 pm

Hi Perry
Tacked together in mild steel and to 7.5 second spec like mine, I was quoted £30 difference between that and 8.5 second spec. Apparently there is 1 tube different and you need to add an axel anti rotation bracket would be about £1800 to £2000 based on what mine cost. That includes the steel and in my case a front torsion bar set up and the axel set in the chassis. Tagging was £120 on top. You need to add a front beam axel (I think that was about £250).
I hate to say it, but Roy will be happy to quote you
How long is your garage??
Best regards
Mike

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:16 pm

So you reckon I could have a base tube frame for around 2500 notes ??

I guess add on another £2k for bits to make it work like steering and front wheels and I'll be close eh?

An MGB GT V8 heritage bodyshell will cost me at least £7k and that will need to be tweaked to mkae all my stuff work.

So I guess the ultimate MGB V8 will end up being a slingshot??

Time to start looking at the equity in my house I think ??

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 11:08 am

Hi Perry
I think you should be well in budget on these numbers, as usual it all depends what you want. . .
the torsion bar set up on mine is a bit of a luxury, many people with with a long wheel base (over about 140") don't have a torsion bar set up at all, they just rely on the chassis flex others go for linkages to motorcycle spring/dampers hidden in the chassis, or use wishbone and kingpin set up like on a rear engine dragster. The torsion bar front axel probably accounted for £550 of the total chassis cost but a wishbone set up could be done by yourself for less than half that.
You need loads of brackets, I got Ralph to water cut me a load before I started
Wheels are an interesting one, the bearings alone for ford pop hubs are 135 for both sides, if you want 17" wheels the rims in anything but Italian chrome are over £100 (anodised black alloy £140 plus vat each, the hubs I got were £250 the pair spokes £65 ish each side, all adds up to about £800 for the fronts plus tyres. if you can go for 15" wheels (I think the narrowest slicks in 15" diamiter are 3.5" wide, then you could save a few hundread quid, as there seem to be loacs of alloy rims at less than $40 in the states at the moment. More could be saved if you could use different stub axels and cheeper bearings, and make your own hubs!!
To be honest with everything I have learnt since I started this, I would get Roy or someone similar to do you a cage and everything back from the fly wheel, tacked together and weld it yourself but built to 7.5 second spec in mild steel, get it tagged then as you plan to get your hands on a pipe bender do all the rest yourself, placing the engine plate, axel and everything is just a case of finding the centre line and measuring accuratly. You would need to make a basic table, but in your line of trade you should be able to get a couple of straight RSJs to build it from.
With carefull design and shopping you should be able to do it for under £3k for a basic rolling chassis. Body panels and paint, slop tanks and a few other bits, VW steering box was £85 plus the arm £50, it is a case of knowing what to get and where, which I didn't when I started.
Best regards
Mike

carl.p · Post by **carl.p** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 4:58 pm

the buick v6 has a th 350 gearbox and bolts straight on a rover v8

DaveEFI · Post by **DaveEFI** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:31 pm

carl.p wrote:the buick v6 has a th 350 gearbox and bolts straight on a rover v8

As does the TH180 - fitted to the SD1 - which I believe can be quite easily upgraded to take more torque.

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:05 pm

carl.p wrote:the buick v6 has a th 350 gearbox and bolts straight on a rover v8

Are these boxes readily available in the UK ?

mgbv8 · Post by **mgbv8** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:12 pm

DaveEFI wrote:
carl.p wrote:the buick v6 has a th 350 gearbox and bolts straight on a rover v8
As does the TH180 - fitted to the SD1 - which I believe can be quite easily upgraded to take more torque.

This sounds like an option for the Escort. How strong can these boxes be built up to??

We run nitrous on the cars with TH350 streetfighter boxes. These have been ok so far with 550 ft/lbs. But if there is a Rover SD1 box that could be dropped in for cheaper money I'm interested?
Regards
Perry