Is it worth doing a V8 conversion anymore?

[Orophin]

I'm still tempted to do a full v8 conversion. May be able to do it without it costing my an arm and a leg but here's the question -

Is it worth running a thirsty engine like that with petrol going through the roof? Especially in Britain? I'd love to do it, but I don't know how economic they can be. I just want a standard 3.5 rover V8, but may stick with 2L as petrol is a flipping nightmare.

Your thoughts?

[trphil]

If your TR isn't your daily driver then it doesn't really make any difference does it? If you're only doing 2000-3000 miles or so per year the difference in cost between 30-35 mpg and 20-25 mpg is not going to be big - less than £200 per year. Just go for it if you want to!

[Wayne S]

I dont know really either. Have to say my V8 doesnt drink THAT much than my 2 litre with the fast road cam. I think its 20 - 23 mpg against 26 - 30 or something so not huge.

But if you have a really nice 2 litre especially a FHC i think it would be worth keeping as is and just making sensible upgrades to enjoy driving it - maybe buy a V8 thats already done like I did at a fraction of the effort and cost of converting a 2 litre.

If your young, bear in mind you wont get insurance until you are well into your 20s or have at least 5 years driving on a V8 in most cases.

All up to you though I suppose.

Purple 2.0 Litre DHC Grinnal

[busheytrader]

I've experienced more smiles per mile of motoring in my 7V8 and the satisfaction that I built it myself.

You'd be hard pushed to get such serious road performance from anything else for the price of a properly built V8 conversion. (Uprate the brakes and suspension properly or it could become a death trap)[:0]

As Wayne says, there are many TR7V8's for sale for less than it takes to do it yourself. Just make sure that the car is solid and has the right modifications to handle the power.

Cheers,


Adam

TR7 V8 DHC Jaguar Solent Blue. 9.35cr Range Rover V8, Holley 390cfm, JWR Dual Port, 214 Cam, Lumention, Tubular Manifolds, Single Pipe Exh, 3.08 Rear, 200lb Spax & Solid Bushes, Anti- Dive, Granada Vented Discs & Calipers, Green Stuff, 4 Speed Rear Cylinders, Uprated Master Cylinder & Servo, AllyCat 5 Spokes. No Door Stickers.

[bmcecosse]

You could install the V8 - and convert to LPG costing 54p/litre at the same time ! Of course -you could go LPG on the 2 litre engine. That V8 is always going to use about 40% more fuel than the 2 litre - especially if you use the extra performance.

[Beans]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Orophin</i>

...Is it worth running a thirsty engine like that with petrol going through the roof?...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
I think there are better (but less original) options [}:)]

<center>
<font color="blue"><i>1981 TR7 FHC Sprint (better known as 't Kreng)
1981 TR7 DHC (not very well known yet, but back on the road)
Also a 1980 TR7 DHC, 1980 TR7 DHC FI, 1981 TR7 FHC
http://tr7beans.blogspot.com/</i></font id="blue"></center>

[john mc nulty]

I have the option of putting LPG into my 7 I bought a SD1 as a doner car for the engine to put in the TR7.The SD1 has a LPG system in it just now so I could swap it over with a few minor ajustments. I will not be using the V8 as a daily driver I am just going to run it on petrol. I run my van for work on LPG and when you go from petrol to gas you can feel the diffrence in the loss of power.LPG is great cost me about $30 a week 15 quid to fill it up get about 300km out of a tank.

[nadg63]

Yes, I did hasve a link somewhere where a Lexus quad-cam was being fitted - seriously thought about that myself, (modern technology), but stuck with the Rover. Besides, the Lexus motor wasn't eligible for what I want the car for!

[Hasbeen]

Yes!!!





But only for a fun car. You need a UK spec stock 7, for a daily
driver.

Hasbeen

[nadg63]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by nadg63</i>

Yes, I did hasve a link somewhere where a Lexus quad-cam was being fitted - seriously thought about that myself, (modern technology), but stuck with the Rover. Besides, the Lexus motor wasn't eligible for what I want the car for!
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Found a pic!

[tr8coupe]

[:D]on mine with engine with about 4000 miles from new on a 4.8 litre average is 28 mpg on a run like 10 % in town 80% motor way and 10% racing at north weald
with £20.00 fuel made 105 miles including 3 times down 1/4 mile
use to be bad when engine was tight like 18 to 25 mpg
now i am doing better mpg than on the 3.5 litre i had before lol
one guy that is running a cortina is averaging 32 mpg on a very hot rover v8 but on fuel injection

BMW Z1 ( sold)
Westfield sport carbon (sold)
Eurosport x1/9 turbo (sold)
TR8 coupe
TR7 v8 monster on 245 tyres all round
TVR VIXEN

[http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/6885/img0605uo7.jpg]

[Sondar]

Damn right it is!

Sondar

[Chunk]

tr8coupe, what was your best time and speed at North Weald?

1979 TR7V8 FHC 3.9 Litre
19 years of tinkering and tuning...... So Far!
Better to burn out than fade away.

[richards]

IMO I don't think its worth doing yet another rover V8 conversion unless you have a good point of difference to make it stand out.
How about a v8 merc diesel.










Get a lifestyle
Get a TR7!

www.ttr7.co.uk

[cinnobar]

My 7 V8 when it had SU's would average over 32MPG on a run & wasn't too bad even around town. Given that it used to do 3K per year the difference is minimal. The enjoyment is thousand fold though![:D]

Jim