Quote:
Duncan wrote:
A Rover aluminum V8 looks like it might fit *reasonably well* and they are very light. A lot of guys stick them in MG's, and they say they are lighter than the British 4 cylinder motors.
In the US, the motor is a Buick 215 as I recall.
Actually the Rover is the Buick, since the Buick engine was made first [1963] then later the design was sold to the Brits & they fixed it up with Lucas electrics [gag choke]
The problem with the Buick/Pontiac/Olds/Rover engine is the length. A friend of mine runs one in his Nash Bucket & has done so for about 30 years now. He loves it. It's light, has great power to weight, it's narrow & it makes the right noises, but it's long. This doesn't matter in a Hot Rod where the chassis was made to fit even bigger engines, but in a car that came with a small & short 4 cyl engine, it just doesn't fit quite so easy.
Damn pity says I.
Speaking of lightweight British engines, I remember one fellow that removed the six cylinder engine from his Rover 90 & replaced it with a 1957 Ford 272 cube Y block engine, & they were an overweight pig at the best of times.
He had to lower the front of the Rover almost 2" to make it look stock.
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