So I have finally got my 3.5L Rover installed in my 62 F85 Cutlass.

For those of you that have done this swap, what did you do for the valve covers?

The passenger side is where the issue lies. The heater duct does not allow for the valve cover to install.

I have a set of Offenhouser and the Rover covers.. Neither will clear.. I have ordered a set fro OBrien that are slanted on the ends (I hope they will work.. should be here next week)

But incase they are still too tall, what have you guys done?

Thanks

 

Rover heads are the same physical size as Buick 215 heads, and I KNOW the Buford stock valve covers fit because I have a Buick motor in my 62 right now.

 

Thanks for the reply Joe... I dont have a set of Buick covers.. Just the Rover ones and they are a tad too tall.. I hope these new ones I ordered will fit

 

On my '61, I removed the fan and box assy, separated them at the spot welds and bolted them back together.
Now I can remove the fan and then the scroll, which gives lots of room without removing the box from the firewall.
The change can't be seen and continues to look stock.

 

That is a great idea.. If these new covers do not fit.. That is the route I will take

Thanks for the idea

 

Got the valve covers today.. These are probably one of the highest quality valve cover I have ever seen.. VERY heavy duty, beautiful casting, and polished..

and the best part is.. THE FIT under the heater box with ease.. So for anybody who has the Buick or the Rover in their Olds.. this is a great option

 

looks like a great job on your engine swap - please educate me when you say Rover is that an older Land Rover engine - I believe that Land Rover used to install Buick engines correct? Or am I wrong.

 

Let's see the covers, I have Buick heads on my 215

 

GM sold the rights to the Buick 215 C.I. to Rover in the 60's, who used it in many vehicles for a couple of decades. I know that it increased in size to 4.0L, I'm not sure if that's what it maxed out to, hafta wait for Joe to pipe in.

 

I will try and get some good pics of the engine once I finish getting all the hoses routed and what not.. I am waiting for some more hose parts..

The A/C addition has proven to be somewhat of a hassle but I think it has turned out VERY clean..

Also the custom aluminum radiator I installed required some special hoses that I have got all sorted out.. The alternator conversion changed things up a bit as well..

Once I get all these AC lines in place I will snap off some pics.

The engine is a 3.5L rover from a 1988..

The valve covers I have are here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Buick-215-30...owlyXQ&vxp=mtr

 

I made a quick webpage with some pics of the restore, thus far.. It did not put the pics in chronological order... But it seems to read OK

Here is the link if anybody want to look..

http://2strokeheads.com/62OLDS%20Restore.html

 

Rover went to 4.6, tvr had a 5.0

 

Wow

 

Rover made 3.5 (215), 3.9, 4.0, and 4.6 liter versions of the BOPR motor. The 4.0 and 4.6 versions used a redesigned block with cross bolted mains. The TVR and other engines were also supplied by Rover. Some of these special versions were as large as 5.3 liters. There is also the Australian P76 4.2 liter version that uses a tall deck block. Those are rare but can be built into some awesome motors.

 

Which covers? Offy? Those were designed for the 61-63 cars. The Rover covers are taller and are designed for a Rover that does not have the heater box constraints.

 

Joe, I have a nice set of OFFYs but they are a tad too tall.. These are made by O'Brien

 

So made a bit of progress with the engine and other..

Still have a lot of wiring to do and finish up the FI and the AC..

Had to get creative to get the Hydraulic throw-out bearing to work..

See if you can spot what had to change?

More to come later.. I hope to get the wiring near complete by this weekend .. but something always comes up that makes it take longer than it should..

 

Although Rover bought the rights to the engine in 1965 I believe, and it was put into a large range of vehicles up to 2004, more engines were built while it was owned by Buick than in all the years Rover built them. A reflection of the scale of the US auto industry compared to the UK. Bear in mind over here most cars had engines between 1 and 2 liters,anything much over 3 liters went into upscale cars which sold in much fewer numbers.
The engine hasn't died even now, the tooling has been bought by an engineering company and still makes them in batches to supply the small but steady demand from aftermarket hobbyists.
It has long been a staple of British hot-rodders.

Roger.

 

Those look like the covers on my engine, idk anything about mine.

 

I think yours are the offenhausers.. I just sold a set of those because they would not clear nice covers

 

I thought the offys say offenhauser. my olds 215 offy covers, and I’ve seen buick ones, say “offenhauser”.

 

Getting all the electrical switched to having everything "relay triggered" is not hard just VERY time consuming.

Got all the relays installed.. Waiting on my custom head lights to finish up the front lighting connections..

Coming along slowly but surely..

 

Got most of the wiring sorted out.. All is triggered via relays.

Started to mock up the Fuel Injection as well

 

Mocked up the 15" new wheels so I could get a measurement for some taller rear coils.. I think I need another 2-2.5" rear lift in order to get the stance I am looking for

 

Pretty tall tires. What size are they? My friend has 215/60-15s on stock 15" rims on his 62 with no fitment problems at all - totally stock springs and suspension.

 

Joe it has 215/65/15 on there.. Got plenty of clearance once I put taller coils in there.. I had to add the valence to get the full effect.. Look slike I need about 2.5" lift in the rear.. Then if I want to ever have the tires extend pass the body, I can..

 

Yeah, your 215/65s are about an inch taller than the 215/60s on my friend's 62.

 

Getting close with fitting the body panels... I don't think Olds was too concerned with gaps and lines back then ..

 

^^^^^^
How can you tell an old American car has been badly restored?.
Easy, the panels fit properly.

Roger.

 

Body work is near completion.. Having all these curves and fins makes it interesting for my son who is a perfectionist.

https://www.facebook.com/kelsey.manning.73/videos/1777313125624445/

 

lol, My body guy was saying the same thing about all the body lines on them. My cars is on hold now but he is telling me that his new shop will be going by winter. Hope to be the first car in his new shop.

Yours is sure looking good.

 

looks great man. keep us posted!

 

Almost ready for 1st coat of filling primer.. See if you guys can spot what is "missing" from the original design.

 

Shaved parking lights. Vent windows are missing but I imagine because its in paint.

 

It has been a LONG time coming.. But I , FINALLY, fired the Rover Engine in the 62 Cutlass.. The Sniper EFI still needs a bit of tuning, but overall, very happy with how it all turned out since almost everything on the build is a "one off"

 

Did the actual engine fit in there without many mods?

 

The Rover motor is externally identical to the 215. GM sold the rights and tooling for the 215 to Rover in 1966.

 

yes, I was aware of that but you said everything was a "one off" and I wonder how much of that was your customization or due to engine swap itself if that makes any sense.

 

The "one off" comment was directed at the entire car build including the engine, tranny etc etc..

With this car being a 4 speed.. the Rover did not have provisions for the Z Bar set up. So, switching to a hydraulic clutch was the best option. NOTE: this option was full of surprises and very expensive! Also the crank needed to be modified (rear portion shortened). Then another "snag" fitting the valve covers (no-go) So, had to find a set of custom valve covers to clear the heater ducting. Rover Oil-Pan could not be used (too deep) and other little things like that prevented it from being a direct replacement engine.

1) Engine has ported heads, intake manifold, and is fuel injected. Car was converted to an Alternator and Air Conditioning was added (tons of work in the A/C install). Custom pulleys needed and mounting brackets fabbed.
2)Tranny is a 4 speed manual with a custom McCleod Hydraulic throwout bearing and clutch
3)Wire harness was designed and made from scratch.
4) ALL elements in the electrical system are switched with relays. So, there are many relays within the system to keep the load off of the battery
5)Custom radiator with Dual 11" cooling fans installed
6) Custom Dual exhaust system
7) TONS of chassis modifications
8) Custom fuel tank used to allow for housing a submerged high pressure fuel pump.

No expense was spared in this build. Many custom parts fabbed. 1st Gen F-85's are a bit difficult to get parts for.
Car is still far from finished.. but hearing the engine fire was a big relief. Car should be ready to drive after this Winter.

 

Rover sold V8 powered cars with a 4 speed stick option from 1973, and a 5 speed from 1976. What transmission did you use?.

Roger.