Engine and Transmission Tech

Hi, I'm new to rover engines, but not to cars. I'm in the process of building a RoverV8 to go into a 64 Datsun 310 Roadster. As far as I know, it hasn't been done yet. I got a 3.9 with a stripped and then badly repaired head bolt hole, so the block is likley trash, but it was cheap and is a good mockup. Rest of the motor is OK, complete from Edelbrock 4bbl and manifold to all accessories.

My big issue is that the oil pump and filter assembly hits my crossmember, and I don't want to get out the torch. I see that the later engines use a crank driven oil pump, so the preliminary plan was to mill off the oil filter casting and tap the cover for AN fittings and remote the filter. My question is how is the pump driven, from the crank, timing gear or the harmonic balancer, and am i going to need to go to a 4.0 or later crank to drive the pump, in which case I may as well get a whole engine, or can I use a 3.9 or a 215 Buick and fit the late cover. I would need a crank trigger ignition, as the cover I found has no provision for a distributor, but that's not too big a deal.

I thought I'd ask for suggestions here first, as someone may have already done something similar.

Thanks
Dave
East Coast Roadster

Hi Dave, welcome to the site! MGBs have the same problem with the oil filter hitting the steering rack and/or sway bar, and the way we solve it is by replacing the oil pump base with a low-profile one. This is available from Clive Wheatley in England.

[mgv8.homestead.com]

Below are a couple of pictures of one installed. Not great pictures; my car's up on the jacks now, so I'll head out to the garage and get some more once the sun's up.

Turns out since I installed the radiator I can't do much better than I already posted. Here's an attempt:


I've also dug up a few photos of remote filters. Obviously you'll need a different solution, but these may provide some ideas. The first two are in the wheel well:



This one is set up like the original MGB GT V8, with piping to an oil cooler.

Quote:

and the way we solve it is by replacing the oil pump base with a low-profile one. This is available from Clive Wheatley in England.

With respect, there seem to be very few cars in our photo gallery using the Clive Wheatley part. The D&D swivel adapter appears to be much more popular, at least on the west side of the pond:

My bad, thanks for keeping me in line. Looking a bunch of pics, I see I could have used that adapter if I'd gone with a T5 (or shortened my LT77's remote housing). If I had a nickel for every time I wish I'd used that gearbox....

Thanks for the replies.
The compact pump was the original thought, but my crossmember is across the whole front of the engine and there are large projections for the idler arm/steering box. Crank pulley sits in a small recess on the back of the crossmember. I'll get some better photos. Car arrives tomorrow, all the others have engines in them :)

Here's a bad angle, but only photo handy. Red arrow is where pump and filter hit, yellow arrow points at yellow blob, the approx crank pulley position. I'll dummy up the motor in place for a better view when it arrives.

Here are some better shots of the low profile / remote base. Hopefully these will give you a pretty good idea of whether it'll help you clear your crossmember.