Having owned several Rover V8 saloons, i'd have thought keeping the sod properly cooled would be challenging enough.

cost of bloody petrol for starters

Why........ Go bec and your life will never be the same. bec = bike engined car. If you want v8 build a cobra.



[Edited on 2-5-05 by mangogrooveworkshop]

Kevin,

Do what a few of us have done and buld your chassis 4"wider than the book. Tht will give you additional space for

Seats
Pedals/Footwell
Engine bay space

There's a few on here ding R V8 cars at the moment (have a look at Craig1410's website, it's nicely done with lots of pics).

An R V8 has been fitted to book chassis - see book for pics.

Only really awkward bit is th steering column route.

Oh yeah, don't worry about fuel costs the VW polo rad should keep it cool.

ATB

Simon

Hi,
Ditto what "Simon says"...

There are a few issues but as far as I can tell, provided you build a +4" chassis then the issues aren't any worse then, say, a Pinto installation.

Quick list of areas needing some attention (no particular order):
1. Steering column route
2. 2 off Custom exhausts (see the way I have done mine which, by the way, was inspired from Simon's design
3. Chassis mods (extra triangulation alongside engine bay to and replacement for "R" tube)
4. Getting engine far enough back
5. Tunnel mods and gearbox mounting
6. Ideally need larger (8Gal) fuel tank but you should see 25+MPG anyway.
7. Bonnet clearance for SU carbs and Dizzy.
8. Suitable bespoke alternator mounting.

I'm using a Polo/Passat radiator which should be fine for cooling.

Give me a shout if you need any help or visit my website (Click the www button below)
Cheers,
Craig.

I am about half way through building an RV8 locost. You need the wider chassis, but other than that, it's pretty much the same. The RV8 is no heavier than most cast iron 4 cylinder lumps.

Even the lowest performance option (about 160 bhp) will out perform smaller capacity engines with similar bhp figures, as there is a lot more torque available throughout the range.

It's a much better option for a road car than a bike engine. (IMHO)

In a car this light, fuel economy won't be an issue, it's not exactly a big engine anyway.

Alternator and exhaust work are not that significant in the context of the whole build, those bloody great SU's are a bit of a worry though, we might have to change those.

Go for it mate, good luck.

Cheers