Sorry Bob, what was I supposed to measure? The 340 is the same length of course. It is also wider and taller. I do have a 215 bare block handy. JB
50 years ago I was in a rod club and a hard-headed member wanted to put a caddy engine in an early MG. The max HP and torque in the lightest body equals maximum fun--right? All cooler heads advised no but he did it any way. I recall 2-3 guys rode shotgun and it was scary to even the widest of us then no one would ride in it. The frame would twist to a point of severe control problems--wheel hop, steering ect. Start with a heavy frame or fabricate one and mount the body on it. Waste of time with stock frame --my opinion. Chuck
Sorry Bob, what was I supposed to measure? two pages back i asked if you could point me to a list of the measurements across the front of the intake for the different Rover deck heights. you responded by saying you'd measure the 215 and 300. i just figured it would be interesting to be able to ID a specific Rover block like how you can for a Nailhead. 300 and 340 measurements would also be interesting, but i assume we're not likely to see a whole lot of those. see the sidebar at the bottom of this page for an example of what i'm talking about: http://www.teambuick.com/forums/view.php?pg=casting_numbers_nailhead
OK, I'll measure across the points of the block. Those corners where the valley cover meets the heads. If I can I'll get the same measurement for the 340, it should be something like an inch and a half wider. The 300 should be halfway in between. All of the Rover motors will be the same as the 215 except for the P76 Australian version which is I think 4.4 liters. It will fall between the 215 and the 300. The tires on the car right now are 245/50-17 and we have a pair of 225/45-17's to try. Final size should be between those two, as the 245's rub lightly in a couple spots. There were a few of those old V8 TD's around, Bill Cosby had one which I think was built for him by Carrol Shelby. It's a hoot to listen to him talk about it. But the MGB is a different animal entirely since it has no independent frame and the unibody was designed to be strong enough for a V8 engine. In fact, when they began building them with V8's later in the production run they only made a couple of very minor changes to the car. We have driven the car, we thrashed it rather soundly in the motel parking lot this summer and it exhibited no bad manners whatsoever. Very tractable and controllable. Now granted it'd gladly spin the tires at any time if you asked, but we were all very impressed with how well it put the power to the ground. We made that parking lot a very smoky streaky place! JB OK, I measured it. On the 215 it comes out right at 7". On the complete engine you will be measuring between the head bosses so it could be off by a little but since nothing else will be close to that you might as well say 7". The 340 (and 350) is 8-3/4" so it's easy to tell the difference. Late big blocks (430, 455) will be 8-7/8". Based on deck heights the 300 should be 7-7/8" and the P-76 should be 7-7/16" or right close to it.
All of the Rover motors will be the same as the 215 the 4.6L and 5.0L are all the same deck as the 215? huh, i wasn't expecting that.
Yep, sure enough. That way all the intakes are interchangeable. There is a fair bit of piston pin height to play with, I'm pretty sure that's where they made up the difference. JB
Re: Big Block MGB/Leyland 4.5L FWIW, Aussie/Kiwi 4.5L, has 9/16" more deck? Say approx 9.53". As I recall the mains are 2.45" ? More alum in lifter valley than "early" 3.5's. Put in a 350sbb crank with ford 427 mains(2.75"). Heads have ball/stud rockers with potential for splayed valves ? Good Luck. roverman.:3gears:
FWIW, Aussie/Kiwi 4.5L, has 9/16" more deck? Say approx 9.53". i wasn't actually asking for deck heights but now that you bring it up that's a good question. does anybody actually know the blueprint deck for the P-76? i've got decks for pretty much all the other Buick v engines from the 322 on up to the late 70's.
Bodywork in progress. Most rough sanding is done, rear flares are straightened, one front fender is bonded in place. Jim
The bodywork is done and primer is in progress. Terry (Schulte Subaru, Sioux Falls, SD) tells me that it will be complete in two weeks. WOO HOO!!! His guys have spent 300 hours getting things just right and he thinks we will be pleased with the results. Can't wait to see it. Paint will be burgundy with a silver stripe matching the wheels. That ought to go nice with the Buick Red of the engine block. Bill Young has donated new seals for the glass so externally it should look fantastic and with the new seat covers, the interior is going to be pretty nice too. JB
Steve and I are headed up Friday to get the car and bring it back. $12,000 worth of finish and paint. It should look mighty good. JB
I know it's been awhile. Some of you probably doubted the car would actually be finished. I think these photos should lay that fear to rest. JB
The car will go to the annual British V8 meet held this year on May 15th to the 19th at the Tally Ho Inn in Townsend Tennessee. By that time we'll have the glass installed and it is scheduled to go out for new wiring afterwards and final assembly following that. Then after testing and QC checks it will go out on rotations. If there is enough interest in seeing the car it might be possible to bring it to one of the V8 Buick meets. Everyone is welcome to show up at the British V8 meet of course. JB
Work weekend coming up. Steve will arrive Wednesday to get an early start, Dan is coming in Friday. Anyone else is welcome. We hope to install the glass, latches, lights, and everything that uses electricity. Then it's off to Townsend for the BritishV8 meet and then on to Jack Austin for the wiring install. JB
Sorry I didn't report back from the Townsend meet until now, been a lot going on here. Also regrettably I just noticed I won't be able to upload the photos from this computer so they will have to come later, but I can post an update anyway. The car made a big splash at the meet and plans were made for the rest of the build. From Townsend it was trailered to Blowing Rock, NC where Jack Austin took over the rewiring chores using a kit supplied by Advance Auto Wire, certainly one of the best kits available. Then at the end of this month it goes to Danville, VA where the interior is to be completer at Flying Circus. After that it will be brought back here for shakedown and final touches. So before long we'll have some videos of it in action. After that it goes out on tour, presumably kicking off at next year's British V8 meet in Tyler Texas. I added an air bag front suspension to the car just before the meet, trim parts have been donated, and we have now collected enough cash donations to pay for the remaining parts we need to finish the build. Of course there will be some ongoing costs. So at this point we are definitely on the downhill slope and gaining momentum. Hopefully we can make arrangements to have the car at one of the V8Buick events in the next year or two. JB
