Rover V8 in a Westfield?

Rover V8 in a Westfield?

Author
Discussion

GrahamJay

Original Poster:

5,420 posts

266 months

Wednesday 18th September 2002
quotequote all
I have a westfield SE and a Land Rover 90, someone has offered me a 3.9L V8 and g/box from their broken Range Rover (to go in the Land Rover), I'm happy with my landy the way it is, I was wondereing if I could put it in the westi!?!?

Any advice????

Cheers

Graham

juansolo

3,012 posts

285 months

Wednesday 18th September 2002
quotequote all
Need an SEiGHT chassis to drop the Rover into a Westie I'm afraid

GrahamJay

Original Poster:

5,420 posts

266 months

Wednesday 18th September 2002
quotequote all
br!

Oh well!

joost

50 posts

268 months

Wednesday 18th September 2002
quotequote all
between 0,9 and 2,5 liters and 4 cylinders is the maximum a Westfield needs to be very quick. A V8 will slow it down. For sure with that gearbox!!
There are some very quick V8's but they are very expensive and not my kind of toy!

>> Edited by joost on Wednesday 18th September 19:08

gnomesmith

2,458 posts

283 months

Sunday 22nd September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

A V8 will slow it down.



But only if you use it as an anchor.

smeagol

1,947 posts

291 months

Sunday 22nd September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

But only if you use it as an anchor.


No Joost is right with the standard range rover gearbox it would be slower, the v8 westfield should use the R380 5 speed box from a Rover SDI, I believe. The principle of the seven cars is performance through lightweight. The v8 is very powerful but its also very heavy. The fast V8 are expensive and not worth the difference in insurance, tax etc. If performance is everything then Bike Engined is the way to go IMHO.

joost

50 posts

268 months

Sunday 22nd September 2002
quotequote all
I realy mean that a V8 will slow down a seven. A seven doesn't need a V8.
Look at the times at Brighton Speed Trials this year.
There was a Westfield SBD VX 1600 cc car (417Kg) with 260bhp. The 1/4 mile time was 10.87 secs @ 129mph.
This means :
0-60 mph ins 3 seconds and 0-100 mph in 6 seconds.
It's an awsome performance.
Before people start saying that it does not go round corners. Take a look at this site and download the clips.

www.sbdev.co.uk/site.htm

This proves that a seven needs to be light and doesn't need a V8.

quote:

quote:

A V8 will slow it down.



But only if you use it as an anchor.



>> Edited by joost on Sunday 22 September 19:16

johnelliott

293 posts

267 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

The v8 is very powerful but its also very heavy. The fast V8 are expensive and not worth the difference in insurance, tax etc. .



WRONG
The reason that the Rover V8 performs so well on road-going 7's is that it is LIGHT. It is made of alloy and is lighter than a Ford Pinto. It is useless quoting performance figures from cars developed for competition if you are contemplating using the car as a road car. The V8 is ideal for use on the road, no need to constantly keep the revs ups, you can floor it at 2000 and get a solid rush of power, and overtake most other road cars without even changing gear.

John

juansolo

3,012 posts

285 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
Indeed the V8 is actually a very light engine considering. However, once you've bolted it into a 7 the car ends up weighing in the region of 700kg's due to the wieght of all the kit that bolts to it.

joost

50 posts

268 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
A PINTO engine is also to heavy for a seven.
Both engines are too old and heavy for a seven.
Both are nice to drive on the road but there are better engines for a seven at the moment. A well sorted VX 2.0 16. will also overtake most of the roadcars when you floor it at 2000 rpm. (Ask Juansolo)
If you have a proper 2.0 liter engine you will have more than enough torque. You don't need more torque in a seven.
Take a testdrive in a proper K series seven or a BEC.
Take a drive in a Westfield or Megabusa a Dax Rush.
And then drive a Seight from Westfield.
After the first corner you will think that it's a VW beetle from 1967.
The engine is too heavy for a seven and it does not rev enough.
It's a nice engine to cruise. But who wants a seven for cruising?

quote:

quote:

The v8 is very powerful but its also very heavy. The fast V8 are expensive and not worth the difference in insurance, tax etc. .



WRONG
The reason that the Rover V8 performs so well on road-going 7's is that it is LIGHT. It is made of alloy and is lighter than a Ford Pinto. It is useless quoting performance figures from cars developed for competition if you are contemplating using the car as a road car. The V8 is ideal for use on the road, no need to constantly keep the revs ups, you can floor it at 2000 and get a solid rush of power, and overtake most other road cars without even changing gear.

John

johnelliott

293 posts

267 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

A PINTO engine is also to heavy for a seven.
Both engines are too old and heavy for a seven.
Both are nice to drive on the road but there are better engines for a seven at the moment.


I am not denying that there are better engines for 7's, of course there are. The original question was whether the 3.9 V8 would be a good choice for fitting in a westfield. If he had been offered a choice of engines then it may well be that the V8 wouldn't be the top of the list.

People often get confused between what are desirable attributes for road cars, and what are desirable attributes for competition cars. If a car has to serve both purposes than the owner will need to compromise one use in order to optimise the other. If, however, the car is intended for use only on the road then the fact remains that the Rover V8 is an excellent choice.

John

joost

50 posts

268 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
Hello John,

I don't agree with you.
If you want a proper Roadcar take e Zetec 2.0L or a VX2.0. It's enough for a seven and a i don't see it as a compromise.
IMO a V8 is to extreme for a seven (I love V8's!!!)
Did you ever drive a V8 in a seven. If yes what other seven did you drive? A BEC?

quote:


People often get confused between what are desirable attributes for road cars, and what are desirable attributes for competition cars. If a car has to serve both purposes than the owner will need to compromise one use in order to optimise the other. If, however, the car is intended for use only on the road then the fact remains that the Rover V8 is an excellent choice.

John

johnelliott

293 posts

267 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

I don't agree with you.



That's obvious. Notwithstanding your agreement or otherwise, the Rover V8 continues to be an excellent choice for a Westfield or similar car.

It is not too extreme, and it is a much more pleasant way of acheiving the torque characteristics desiarable in a road car.

John

juansolo

3,012 posts

285 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
Indeed, each to their own. As it's all subjective, there is no right or wrong engine. It all depends on what you want.

joost

50 posts

268 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
@John,

Obviously we have a different taste!
That is life!
Some people prefer boys other people girls.
I prefer girls
And you????????

quote:

quote:

I don't agree with you.



That's obvious. Notwithstanding your agreement or otherwise, the Rover V8 continues to be an excellent choice for a Westfield or similar car.

It is not too extreme, and it is a much more pleasant way of acheiving the torque characteristics desiarable in a road car.

John

johnelliott

293 posts

267 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
quote:

@John,

Obviously we have a different taste!
That is life!
Some people prefer boys other people girls.
I prefer girls
And you????????



Was that supposed to be funny? It's quite clear you don't like losing arguments.

John

GrahamJay

Original Poster:

5,420 posts

266 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
Girls!

I'm not going to be changing the engine at the moment, I was just wondering as the V8 was offered to me for free by a good mate of mine!

I'll stick with what I have at the moment for a while, but in the long run I will be looking for something a bit bigger than what I have in at the moment (below)!



Regards

Graham

joost

50 posts

268 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
Yes it was supposed to be funny! Did you see the smile?
I just wanted to say that we have a different taste of engines that are suitable for a seven.
A seight is not my cup of thee.
In my opinion a seven should be as light as possible and have a nice powerband and large rev range, so it can be very quick and pull nice out of the corner.
IMO the Seight is too heavy and doesn't rev enough.
Obviously you have an other opinion about that.
I respect that but i don't feel like loosing arguments.
Everybody has a different tast.

Regards,

Joost
quote:


Was that supposed to be funny? It's quite clear you don't like losing arguments.

John

joost

50 posts

268 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
And you need IRS.

quote:

Need an SEiGHT chassis to drop the Rover into a Westie I'm afraid

PetrolTed

34,443 posts

310 months

Tuesday 24th September 2002
quotequote all
I'll be taking a look at a pretty mad V8 powered Westfield tomorrow. Full report when I get back.