4.6 RR V8 Serpintine into a V8S

[SaltySeaDog]

Hi All,

Having brought my V8S to Australia with me back in 2013 when I emigrated its about time it had some TLC.

I have the opportunity to drop a 4.6 in which is appealing, especially as it has an A/C compressor on it and if the car had A/C it would get used a lot more as its often to bonkers hot to enjoy roof down motoring. The extra power is also appealing and obviously not the main reason for thinking of doing this .

Just wondered if anyone has changed out the standard 4.0 ltr TVR Rover V8 for a serpentine unit and if so was it a smooth transplantation?

Cheers

Warwick

[GreenV8S]

I've got a 4.6 in mine. It's got the preserpentine front end which means it drops in place of the original engine. The engine that is often referred to as serpentine in TVR circles is actually an 'intermediate' engine and this has a different cooling system but still has a distributor. If you go for the full serpentine front end you'll need a new engine management system.

Do you have anyone locally who can remap the 14CUX ecu? If not, you might be better off planning to replace that anyway.

[SaltySeaDog]

Thanks for that, I was planning on changing to coil packs as that's what's on the engine running Gems Sagem. I believe that ECU may need some sort of recoding otherwise could be fitting another brand

[phillpot]

Having an air con compressor is obviously a start but a lot more work required to fit an A/C system

[GreenV8S]

I gather the GEMS system is extremely powerful and it may not need remapping for the vehicle but if it was me I'd want to know there was somebody local able to work on it. Presumably since the engine is available locally there are cars using it too so that may not be a problem, but this isn't the sort of thing that a typical DIYer can sort out for themselves. If this is something you want to install and maintain for yourself, you might be better off going for a more open aftermarket system. And if you're expecting somebody else to look after it, that's who you should be asking for advice about your proposal.

[SaltySeaDog]

Appreciate it won't be a five minute job fitting A/C but think it will be worth the agro and expense. Carbuildersolutions do a universal unit, I found it through the Chim section of Pistonheads.

The source of the engine is my mechanic and good friend who happens to be a Land Rover/ Range Rover nut/enthusiast (my other car is a Discovery 3) excellent with mechanics and electrics and will be overseeing any engine re con / upgrading and will do the install and commissioning, if I go ahead with the project. If the current ECU does turn out to be expensive to have reworked, if required, then a user adaptable aftermarket system will definitely be the way ahead.