350I wedge engine upgrade to 5.0 litre tuned
Discussion
rev-erend said:
One of the first things to find out is whether you have the later drive shafts and rear suspension - as the this was a know weak spot.
Best ask on the wedge forum and show pictures and measure the driveshaft diameter..
Think you mean UJ bearing diameter. It's cheap to get these upgraded to the latest spec anyway. A bigger cost concern is upgrading the anchors which would be a must!Best ask on the wedge forum and show pictures and measure the driveshaft diameter..
There are bigger diameter drive shafts as well. A 5 litre tuned engine covers a multitude of sins. How much power will it be and based on that you may well need to uprate brakes/suspension/clutch/gearbox/cooling etc etc.
The other challenge concerns the type of engine. If its a serpentine prepared for some grief as the ancillaries do not fit, the pipes are in the wrong place.
In addition does the engine come with its own ECU and setup as the original one will struggle to cope.
The other challenge concerns the type of engine. If its a serpentine prepared for some grief as the ancillaries do not fit, the pipes are in the wrong place.
In addition does the engine come with its own ECU and setup as the original one will struggle to cope.
I tweaked my 350 over the years I had it until it was putting out 230 ish at the wheels and the things I did were:
First thing I would say is mine was an '86 model so it had the superior 'A' Frame rear suspension which I would say is a must.
Fitted the 2.8 Granada brake set-up (vented discs with wider calipers and larger pads)
These together with braided hoses and green stuff pads meant the brakes went from ruddy awful to reasonable.
Also made a brace to stop the brake master cylinder moving all over the shop when you heaved on the pedal
Fitted a large ally radiator ( strictly speaking not req'd but it was free) you can just re-core the existing one with a triple core and its fine.
Had to weld the chassis up and add bracing where it started to crack around the tubes joints at the back end around the diff.
As always good quality shocks, tyres and bushes and tracking to make sure its handling like it should.
Use 75W-90 oil in the gearbox.
And that was about it, I will say the driveshaft UJ's could have a bit of a short lifespan about 4K was the record.... but Dave Mac props in Coventry sells an uprated / better quality joint which lasts a lot longer (20K) and is sight cheaper than fitting the big 400 spec drive-shafts.
Also keep an eye on the condition of the rear upright bottom pivot hole as mine were ovalised over the years and I had to get some bushes fitted.
That said I did about 80K miles in my wedge most of them with the 278Bhp engine and it was at 150K miles total when I sold it
A great car
Matt
First thing I would say is mine was an '86 model so it had the superior 'A' Frame rear suspension which I would say is a must.
Fitted the 2.8 Granada brake set-up (vented discs with wider calipers and larger pads)
These together with braided hoses and green stuff pads meant the brakes went from ruddy awful to reasonable.
Also made a brace to stop the brake master cylinder moving all over the shop when you heaved on the pedal
Fitted a large ally radiator ( strictly speaking not req'd but it was free) you can just re-core the existing one with a triple core and its fine.
Had to weld the chassis up and add bracing where it started to crack around the tubes joints at the back end around the diff.
As always good quality shocks, tyres and bushes and tracking to make sure its handling like it should.
Use 75W-90 oil in the gearbox.
And that was about it, I will say the driveshaft UJ's could have a bit of a short lifespan about 4K was the record.... but Dave Mac props in Coventry sells an uprated / better quality joint which lasts a lot longer (20K) and is sight cheaper than fitting the big 400 spec drive-shafts.
Also keep an eye on the condition of the rear upright bottom pivot hole as mine were ovalised over the years and I had to get some bushes fitted.
That said I did about 80K miles in my wedge most of them with the 278Bhp engine and it was at 150K miles total when I sold it
A great car
Matt
Edited by 350Matt on Wednesday 26th March 12:36
Hi chaps,yes the engine will come with ecu but not sure if its a surpentine,will find out at weekend and the right clutch.Where on chassis tubes did you need to brace Matt,was it the diff cradle itself or the main tubes? We have all the rear end off at present so would be ideal to do some welding if needed,chassis and cradle are pretty good but still getting a clean down b4 new paint.Have drilled access holes in boot to reach tops of shock mounts and diff bolts etc.Tell ya,great fun getting diff off then removing it from cradle FINGERS!. So all in all if driving the nuts off it,it should drive sloppyer than a sloppy thing till i get the suspension and brakes done if the chassis aint snapped and the gearbox has'nt turned to steam by then.WHY OH WHY OH WHY
It was the tubes on the chassis underside where they meet the east-west tube( front -rear being north - south) just in front of the rear wheels, the one which the trailing arm is fixed to.
Also the verticals which run up to the top of the 'square' backbone were cracking where they met the bottom tubes
Matt
Also the verticals which run up to the top of the 'square' backbone were cracking where they met the bottom tubes
Matt
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