Triumph Sports Cars

I have a Triumph Spitfire Mk3 1968 in very good std shape. I however want to swap engine and I have found 2 engines, but if you have any good ideas on another engine, feel free to advice. I just know I want much more power.

The question is however: "What engine to choose?"

- 3.9 L V8 from Range Rover 1992 with the 5 gears manual box. I just need to find the "tube" or what it is called, the part of the gearbox that is in the rear/end of the box. Because the Range Rover is 4x4 I will not use the middle transmission (4x4) and that leaves me with the gearbox and a axle out of it and nothing to close it with and connect with the cardan to the rear diff. Where can I get this "tube"?
I can also get this engine with automatic transmission, will that fit better? I would think this solution should be easier, but I am not 100% sure.
Is this engine a good choice? Will this engine fit my car? Is it the same size as the 3.5?
Will I have to do some modifications to the body? Obviously I will have to make/fabricate the engine monts etc.
Can I buy a chip and raise the power above 250 hp? I find the hp figure rather low or appr. 200 hp. I can get this engine+box for a very good price...the clutch should be very strong in this engine I am told, is that true?
Is the space for the bellhousing+gearbox big enough?

- V6 3,5 L VQ35 engine from the 2003 Infinity.(Nissan), This engine is 265 hp as std! It weighs only 313 lbs and I must say I am very keen on this one. I will however need flywheel, gearbox and clutch, etc. Or I could find automatic gearbox. This engine did come with auto. I would think it should fit, but it is 60° while the Rover is 90°, so I simply dont know yet if it will fit better then the Rover V8. I can buy this engine for a good price as well as the V8, but here I need to add for flywheel, clutch, gearbox etc.

Rear diff.: I will also have to consider replacing the rear diff. Any good advice's are most welcome.

Brakes: Is it necessary to upgrade the brakes? This is a very light car.

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I really would appreciate your thought on this, as I know some of you have done something similar.

Thanks,
Markus

PS can anyone help my finding:
- Car Cover
- Seats that "are lower" and will fit the Spitfire, as I am a tall guy ;)

I am a big fan of the Nissan VQ35 engine. The stumbling block most people run into is the wiring and flashing the computer. Do you know if anyone has come up with and economical way of handling the wiring and computer?

Megasquirt would work.

JB

Thanks for your reply's.
I also think the VQ35 engine is a interesting chose but I fear it is to high, I have to measure both the height and width on the VQ35.
And the easiest way would be the standalone solution and Megasquirt is cheap.

Will the V8 Rover fit more easily?

But if anyone could help me out on my questions in my post, I would be grateful.

No matter what engine you choose you will face height issues with the low hood on a Spitfire. If you look through all the Spifires that are posted on this website you will see just about everyone has a modified hood or has a hoodscoop. Measure up your Nissan/Rover v8 engine from bottom of oilpan to the highest part of the engine. Measure from the bottom of the oil pan to to center of the lower pulley and then measure from the center of the lower pulley to the top of the engine. Now repeat the exercise with the Spitfire engine in the car making note of the distance from ground to the base of the oilpan. Now plot the measurements you got from the Spitfire onto a piece of paper and then overlay the dimensions of the Nissan/Rover v8 motor on this drawing using the centerline of the lower pulley as a datum. This will tell you whether the Nissan/rover v8 motor will work. You can always lower the Nissan/Rover v8 motor and modify the oil pan and maybe then you can get away with a minor bump or hoodscoop to take care of the excessive height. The limiting factor will be how low the automatic transmission/standard transmission will fit into the Spitfire frame These frames are not swap freindly because of the way the two frame rails come together along the center of the car. The frames will most likely require some surgery in this area.

Cheers
Byron

For the rear diff Subaru and Datsun diffs are used commonly. The big problem if mounting your leaf spring after the swap. You can either go with the PRI setup (prirace.com) which excludes the rear spring, or find a way to make a bracket to mount it.

For brakes, many people have upgraded to GT6 brakes in the front. This involves changing everything except for the A-Arms. It is relatively inexpensive. You can also install Toyota calipers onto the GT6 setup. The process is explained more in depth here: [www.turbo-tr6.info]. Make sure your wheels will accommodate for the larger calipers! Rear disk brakes are also available from PRI if you don't feel like that is enough. I'm in the process of putting a v6 in my MKIV. Good luck!