Rover / Buick 3.5 ltr alloy V8

[kiwi ka]

I am in the process of putting my Rover to gether `with a little help from my friends`. Having never done this before I am learning about push road length and hyd lifter pre load etc. as I have put in a mild cam. There has been some disscussion re fitting adjustable rockers to same. To save an awful lot of looking, has any body done / know the tricks involved.
I also have access to a spare Rover mated to a UNI 1 gear box if interested.
Cheers
Russell

[Ian Anderson]

Hi Russell

Join up on www.v8forum.co.uk :: Index

They are a great bunch of guys and they deal mainly with Rover V8 stuff

Loads on the site and the search works qute well

Cheers
Ian

[Ron Earp]

Hi Russel,

My buddy races one of these here in the US and we have done quite a bit of work on it. Once when the engine was rebuilt we couldn't get the proper preload on the lifters. We made some shims to raise the rocker arm tower and not push the lifter plunger down too much. Shims must have the oiling hole in them too so everything gets lubricated, so be aware of that.

Measuring preload wasn't that easy but eventually we found a piece of wire that was the thickness of the preload we wanted and used that for a gauge. After a few tries we were good to go. Engine worked great.

If you could use adjustable rockers that would be the way to go. We could not due to class rules, but either method can work to get it adjusted correctly.

R

[Russ Noble]

Russell,

Volvo adjustable rockers (from the 144 series Volvos, I believe).

Not that easy to find out here though, so for my TR7V8 I went with a combination of adjustable pushrods, available from Real Steel in Middlesex, and pedestal shims that I made myself.

[Jac Mac]

Yella Terra,

YT 6000- bushed, fits on std shaft, adjustable @ pushrod end.( Shafts need to be in excellent order.)
YT 6305- Full Race System with platform incl end supports-needle roller -adjustable @ pushrod end.

Yella Terra - Yella Terra high performance engine parts look under Rover logo/rockers/parts

[kiwi ka]

Many thanks, I knew that at least two Kiwi`s would know. Jac Mac have you done this conversion and what was the advantage.
The motor that I have used has turned out to be almost mint condition.
Cheers
Russell

[Ian Anderson]

Russell

Make sure your followers and cam are both new - if you mix and match - cam lobes tend to be eaten terribly quickly (A few hours of running)

No idea why this happens but it is something to be aware of on the Rover engine

Ian

[Fred W B]

HI Russ

My very helpfull rover part guy,

Paul @ ASC Ltd 044 1953 607274
www.v8tuner.co.uk

Advised me as below, for roller rockers. I have bought the parts, but not fitted them yet. I can get them out and take photo’s if you like?



" Pushrods - Typically these need to be made to suit however the easiest way around this is to fit the Adjustable pushrods which allow the correct valve train geometry and lifter preload to be achieved £134.95. It is important to set the rollers with a contact or strike so that the roller is central to the valve tip midway through the valve travel. This minimises side thrust and consequently reduces friction = less wear and more power"


As an aside, I really got lucky. After pretty much finally deciding that I would have to rebuild the old smoker P6 RV8 I bough as a "setup" engine, a tiny local paper add turned this up - Brand new block, built and blueprinted by a reputable local engine builder years ago for a stillborn racing car project. Never been started, still with assembly lube inside. Oversize valves, gas flowed heads, roller rockers, dry sump, even came with some of the dry sump setup bits. Unfortunately somebody had pinched the lifters and pushrods, but it did came at the right price.

An invoice with the engine shows a huffacker intake manifold that was included cost 127 UKP from RPI in 1995! I plan to run quad downdrafts on the real engine though

I had already ordered all the rebuild parts I needed for the older engine (pistons, rings bearings etc) at more cost than I paid for this, and Paul was okay with me cancelling that order and instead just buying a milder cam than that was in this engine, plus the lifters gaskets etc.



Cheers

Fred W B

[Jac Mac]

Russell-, Have not used either of these sets myself- would imagine the 'bushed setup ' would be sufficient for your combination. You possibly could use your original setup if the 'new' cam has a similar base circle dia to the old one & as long as you have not gone berserk in decking the block/heads or seating the valves. When using the 'Factory' non adjustable stuff its important to get all the valve stem heights equal plus the block/heads squared so that preload is similar for all the valves due to the shaft rocker setup.Solid spacers as per the setup on Fred WB's rocker shafts is better than original springs & a 'Must Have' for any roller tip rocker.

As Ian pointed out the Rovers have a bit of a reputation for eating lifters/lobes, however if you carry out the lifter bore mod as Russ has done in his build thread ( Dont go overboard on the groove size as in Rover this is also main gallery.), or use 'cool face' orifice lifters along with checking for positive lifter rotation during pre assembly- ensure you have oil pressure primed prior to startup-soft or outer springs only & straight up to 2500 rpm on first start you will have done everything you can to ensure good lifter break-in & life.

Fred WB-, The valve clearance notches on those pistons look a bit suspect- did you verify proper clearance on ALL the valves prior to assy.

[Fred W B]

Hi Jac

Thanks for concern. Motor is not built up yet, and I intend to fit a milder cam with less lift than the "full race" cam it came with.

I also expect I will have to reduce the compression ratio, by using the thicker composite head gaskets

Cheers

Fred W B

[Jac Mac]

Originally Posted by Fred W B

Hi Jac

I also expect I will have to reduce the compression ratio, by using the thicker composite head gaskets

Fred W B

No, keep the minimum possible squish distance ( piston to head distance @ TDC ) & lower compression by enlarging either piston dish volume or head chamber volume or if necessary a combo of both. Using thicker than necessary head gaskets increases the risk of detonation even though the comp ratio is lower. Since motor is not assembled yet I would machine piston dish-- dont touch the squish band--- & rebalance if reqd.

Oh, and while the pistons are out cut pressure relief & anti det grooves on the two top ring lands.

[Fred W B]

Thanks Jac, good points that had not occured to me. I still have a lot to learn re engine building.

Regards

Fred W B

[kiwi ka]

Ian / Jac Mac.
Cam and followers are all new and have checked for all valve tops being level. One is .25 mm below the rest. Is that worth worrying about. I have modified my `best` older follower to solid and will make up an adjustable push rod to work out the correct push rod length re rocker to valve tops. This is all new to me as the last motor I pulled down was a 125cc YZC Yamaha so none of this valve stuff. So all the advice is greatly appreciated. I have also cleaned out and flowed the inlet / exhaust on the heads without going silly to help it breath a little better.
Cheers

[Jac Mac]

Russell, The Valve that is 0.25mm (0.010" Approx) different should not be a problem if you decide on just enough preload to suit it, all the others will have slightly more preload. For -normal use this is fine- but in a race situation where you might be inclined to use every last RPM available the 15 other lifters would be more susceptible to 'pump up'.

[Ian Anderson]

While I remember it's 20W50 mineral oil - none of the synthetic stuff or you'll have problems

Ian