Race Cars and Motorsports

Anyone road raced this engine ? I'm currently building one for my Huffaker car. Since raceworthy heads,(besides Wildcat), seem to be in limbo, for the Rover, I'm goin this direction for now. I wonder what vintage race groups will allow this build ? I also need to select a suitable 5 spd/od., to handle 450/500hp. Thanks, roverman.

That used to be a popular motor in Nascar Busch series back when they ran the V6. I think some of the IMSA guys ran that motor as well. There was a GT1 TR8 up in Canada not too long ago that ran a Chevy V8. I guess the rules are different up there. Build whatever you want. You can always do track days and maybe even some SCCA regional races as a GTO, SP, or maybe even ITE. The Vintage guys will be a little tougher to persuade.

Roverman,

Great news ! I'll be following your Rover V8 build very closely, for I need to begin a similar project - though I won't aim at 500 hp.
I need more like 300hp. (The dyno revealed about 200 hp on my first and present 3.5 Rover V8)

In the SCCA GT2 class with the RV8, I 'm restricted to the 3.5 Rover V8 displacement and limited induction. Most everything else, though, is open to the RV8 (& the MGB GT V8).

Roverman, your input on the building of your enhanced Rover V8 will be very valuable. I hope you write up for these pages everything you plan to do and everything you bring off.

Thanx

keep them on the track

phillip g

Lots and lots of race cars used the Buick V6... including IMSA's whole "Camel Lights" class, all of the old CART "Indy Lights" cars (from 1986-2001), and also a bunch of Indy 500 cars. (In the Indy 500, cars with Buick V6 "stock block" engines were allowed to run more turbo boost than thoroughbred racing engines.)

Will vintage groups allow your TR8 / Buick V6 to compete? Apparently most of the organizations will bend rules to fill their grids, but how much they'll bend rules depends on complicated factors like what cars they'd have to group you with. IMHO, you should make phone calls before you start investing a lot of time and money. Find the right guy in each club and get an answer straight from him. DON'T simply read rule books and assume the rules are enforced to the letter because the very nature of vintage racing makes that rare.

Thanks one and all for input-thus far. Good news is, I won't have to "hack" the car at all. It'll look much like a Rover,- 2 cyls,lol. This way, I can have much senior-fun,at like say Silver State Classic, etc, etc., while working on my skills? and waiting for Rover heads ? roverman.

Roverman,

Tell me about the Buick Wildcat heads for the 315 Buick V8. Are they superior to the standard Rover 3.5 V8 heads ?

keep them on the track

phillip g

Phil, it's not the Buick Wildcat heads, but heads from Wildcat Engineering. [www.roverv8engine.co.uk]
Your experience importing the bodywork for your car will tell you how expensive they might be over here. At this point I'd be reluctant to think about big port and valve heads as you don't have the intake restrictions figured out for sure. No sense buying big heads if the restrictor won't allow enough flow. The smaller port heads in that case might be better to keep the intake velocity up and maintain better fuel atomization.

Clan, easy to "peep" Wilcat Engineering webbsite. Being a former customer, I'll go with-out. The stage II V6 heads are able to support 2.45hp./cu. in., gas,all motor. The pity is, no one will equal this for the Rover.

Art,

G Force puts together T-5s they say will handle 600hp and 500lb/ft

gforcetransmissions.com

Tracy

Tracy, Thanks, I have an email in to them. I might be off here, but I don't think I need a $3K box to do the job.The obsolete TR 8 box held up, but would be a poor choice to maintain. The rear suspension/tire combination produces conservative shock loading, to trans and rear end. IF there were close to 100% traction available, the trans and rear would have given-up long ago. roverman.

You can get a TREMEC TKO-500/600 for around 2 grand.

Carl, Yes, I've been "peepin around" and many contend that a well prepped T5, shifts better. I'll see what "Liberty Gear" and "G-Force" have to say. Thanks, roverman.

Clan, Got an email back from "Liberty". Their not interested ! G-Force ?

Waay too much $'s, for a "gussied-up" T5! The Race conversion is NOT to be shifted above 6,300 rpm. Does not compute. TKO Tremec 5 spd has better suited ratios, 500 ft/lbs capacity and approx 1K $'s less. Tough decision, lol. Thanks for the input; roverman