slodat

I'm looking for a write up, build thread or other detailed information on the Rover EFI swap information for a Olds 215. Or info on swapping in the newer Rover v8 in my '63 F85.

Thanks in advance!

Oldsguy

This would be interesting to read. Just subscribed to your thread and let's see what comes of it.

Aron Nance

JUst be sure and check in with Joe Padavano, as pretty sure he plans on doing the Land Rover 215 swap along w/a blower, in his '62 little Patina Wagon.

joe_padavano

In fact, the 4.6 short block is sitting in a crate in my garage. The Rover motors bolt in place of the 215. Even the bellhousing bolt pattern is the same. There are some differences in the crank flange and flywheel, so I got a Rover flywheel to match. I'll be running a T-5 manual trans behind mine. The big difference is in the front cover. Early Rover motors use the same front cover and oil pump as the GM 215s, but later ones use a crankshaft-mounted gearrotor oil pump. Depending on the year of the motor, these may or may not have a hole for the distributor, since the later motors used an individual coil system. You can retrofit the GM cover onto the later Rovers, but a spacer is required to make up for the missing gearrotor oil pump, and of course you need to install the GM distributor drive gear on the cam.

Everything else is pretty much the same. GM exhaust manifolds bolt up. The Edelbrock 4bbl intake bolts up if you want to run a carb instead of EFI.

You might find this webpage informative, as it has photos of the differences between the Rover, Buick, and Olds motors:

http://www.roversd1.nl/sd1web/capacity3.html

slodat

What donor vehicle would I look for? I'm wanting to do a megasquirt EFI. So, an engine with no distributor would be my preference. I'm leaning toward a T5 transmission using D&D's bell housing.

joe_padavano

Depends on what you want. The 4.6 liter motors were installed in Range Rovers from 1996-2002. The 4.0 was installed in the Discovery in those years. The difference between the two is stroke, so if you wanted to drop in a crank from a Buick 300 (it gives you a 4.9 liter stroker) it doesn't matter which you start with. The earlier Discoveries and Range Rovers used the 3.9 liter motor. That also has the same bore as the 4.6 motor but it only has two bolt mains. The 4.0 and 4.6 have crossbolted mains.

slodat

The car will be a driver/cruising car. I'm not concerned with having more than 200hp or so. I want EFI, accessory drive, no-fuss from the drivetrain. Which is why I'm considering the Rover engine swap with the T5. Any tips on getting the Rover engine on the cheap?

joe_padavano

"Cheap" is relative. Around here, 4.6 motors are scarce, 4.0s are available, and 3.9s are pretty common in wrecking yards.

slodat

I found some great articles on britishv8.or on Rover EFI swap onto the Buick/Olds 215 and wanted to put them here for those reading this thread that haven't found them yet.

Service and Troubleshoot Rover 14CUX Electronic Fuel Injection

How Glen Towery Installs Rover EFI on MGB V8 Conversions

joe_padavano

Saw your pictures over at H.A.M.B. Pretty cool car.

aliensatemybuick

SOunds like a neat project...back in the 70s, my Dad put a Buick 215 from a '63 Special in the family '73 Triumph Stag...the Rover swap was then and still remains an option for those cars.

gothammer

This sounds really interesting as I'm trying to make my mind wether to rebuild my Olds 215 (1963 Cutlass convertible) or to swap in a modern Rover EFI engine. I do however prefer the automatic tranny - does the Rover engine match with the original Hydramatic or would anybody have a better idea on the drivetrain?

joe_padavano

The Rover block is externally identical to the GM 215. The bellhousing bolt pattern is the same. The Rover transmissions are your only direct-bolt up options. Alternately, D&D Fabrications sells adapter plates to bolt up a GM automatic like a 200-4R. Your problem will be that any modern automatic will be larger than the original Rotohydramatic 5 and usually requires floorpan mods.

gothammer

Hi Joe,

Thanks for your input. Do you have any experience on how the original Rotohydramatic and a "new generation" EFI engine fit together in terms of driveability? Rotohydramatic is not the smoothest of all the automatics in the world, but what I mean is: how does it work together with a 30-40 years younger, computer controlled engine? I would prefer not to do any modifications on the body as I wish to keep the car as original as possible - just in case...

rustyroger

British Rovers used the bw65 transmission, I think some AMC models had them, I don't know if they had the same bolt pattern as Rover though.
Incidentally over here it is a cheaper option to use sbc or sbf for a custom or hot rod build than our home grown Rover unit.
If you end up using a carb setup the factory SU setup returned much better economy than any aftermarket system, again I don't know if that's how the export models were set up.

gothammer

Hi Roger,

Thank you for your input. What I'm fishing for is a "bolt off - bolt on" type of solution so I'll have to check the measures of a BW65. What comes to the engine, I'm looking to find a complete salvage unit including the wiring harness. In the mid 90's I did drive a Custom Cruiser equipped with a Holley "aftermarket EFI" - and that was a disaster. However a modern power plant with OEM injection system and electronics should be more reliable. Maybe?

joe_padavano

They are not. The BOPR (Buick-Olds-Pontiac-Rover) aluminum motors have their own unique bellhousing bolt pattern that is not common with that of any other motor (except the original 1961-63 198 cu in Buick V6).

rustyroger

I won't tell the Stag owners club about this - they would want to send a hit man out to anyone who put another engine in a Stag!

1969w3155

Been one of those at local cars shows around here for many years, I always assumed that the owner did the conversion.

rustyroger

Apologies for getting away from the original point of this thread, Rover V8s were always popular for putting into other cars over here, their main virtues being lightness and availability. In the '60s someone started putting them into MGBs, Rover thought it a good idea and started doing it themselves soon afterwards.
Stag engines were notoriously problematic as they were underdeveloped and swapping to a Rover unit was a way round it.
Nowadays nearly all Stags are restored to original, like most classics it's rare to see a rough one on the road now.

63 F85 Cutlass

On the topic of fuel injection, I've got my hands on a vintage hilborn Mechanical fuel injection setup i'll hopefully have on my olds 215 in a few months, and i was just curious while we were on the fuel injected 215 subject as to how many of these setups you guys have seen around, i know i havn't bu i also havn't been around as long as most of you guys have

-Ryan

joe_padavano

Nice find. I've seen them for the 215. If you plan to run it on the street, I'd seriously consider having it converted to EFI. Driveability will be much improved.

63 F85 Cutlass

I had thought about it but i think the cool factor of keeping it mechanical outweighs the function of converting to efi, for now at least, may change my mind over time.

joe_padavano

You might want to do a little research before making that decision. Constant-flow mechanical injection setups like the Hilborn were never intended for street driving. For example, since there is no accelerator pump system, you need to keep a squeeze bottle of gasoline and squirt it in the injector stacks to start the engine. Tuning requires trial and error changing of bypass restriction "pills" (as opposed to simply dragging points on the fuel map on a laptop in the passenger seat). People HAVE run these systems on the street, but compared to an EFI conversion, it's really not something most people want to put up with for very long.

63 F85 Cutlass

Thanks, I looked into it before i bought it, i know its not intended for street, and its got to be kept up with tuning with the pills constantly. In order to prime the system you can out a small electric fuel pump on separate fuel line to prime the system and start it opposed to spraying fuel down the stacks. I've also looked into tuning of the buterflys and the quirks, and i understand its a bit tedious, inefficient, impractical for street use, but thats kinda why i want to try it, having an old school hilborn mechanical setup would be out of this world cool to me, and worse case scenario i could take it off and save it for another project which requires less practicality, but id rather run carb or carbs than efi for the nostalgia, and i do have an offy 2x2 with holly carbs to be slapped on if it gets old

-Ryan