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buick v6

wally stokes

Freshman Member
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Hi everyone i am new to your forum only because i do not own a triumph at least not yet. My question is that someone in the club bought a triumph with a v6 it was the first time i heard of someone doing this. now some one called me with one for sale and said that they were made for one year all my research shows that they are all conversions. so i thought i would ask the experts
 
all conversions. There were Stags and TR8's with a rover v8 which kind of started life as a GM v8... sort of.

but anything with a Buick V6 is definately a conversion.

What kind of car is it and what are they asking for it?
 
[ QUOTE ]
There were Stags and TR8's with a rover v8 which kind of started life as a GM v8... sort of.

[/ QUOTE ]

The Stag V8 was not a Rover - for some odd reason, Triumph decided to use an engine of their own design for the Stag.

Out of curiosity, why do you say the Rover V8 "kind of" started out as a GM V8? In fact, the Rover engine was the BOP aluminum V8 produced by GM in the early 60s. GM sold the rights AND the tooling to Rover. Initially, the engine was used as-is, but over the years, Rover made many improvements to it, but it still remains pretty close to the original.
 
OK. I stand corrected.

I figured if I just said it was a GM V8 then someone would jump on me and say it started as such but wasn't really a GM V8 when it was all said and done.

I guess I had a 50/50 chance of not getting someone worked up and I picked the wrong one. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

But I will say definately, unequivicably, without a doubt, no V6 ever came from the factory on any of the "normal" Triumph models that some buddy hooked you up with here in the United States. (until someone jumps in and says "hey! what about xxx prototype racer they built in such and such year just for the Zimbabwe Grand Prix or something equally obscure) /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi Wally,

Dan and Jim are correct, there was never a V6 used in a Triumph originally.

There were inline 6 cyl.: 2.5 liter TR250, TR5, TR6 and 2 liter in GT-6.

There were small V8s (about 3500cc) as noted. The Stag's is an overhead cam motor, while the Rover/Buick V8 is not.

The Rover/Buick aluminum V8 is/was widely used in a sizes from 3.5 liter to 5 liter in a variety of British cars, including TR8. Currently, all Land Rover gasoline models use the Rover/Buick V8. I'm not sure of other cars now using it.

I've seen several TR engine conversions done using V6 in 3.5 to 4.? liter sizes. One at the Dixon British Car Show was a 4x4 Spitfire!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
Actually, Alan, I believe that Land Rovers now use something else. :-(

Meanwhile, I also seem to remember that John's Cars, he of the "XK engines s**k, drop a Chevy V-8 in your Jag" fame, has long had a kit for TR7s to convert to that GM V6.
 
Just as a point of syncronicity there is a V6 TR7 on Ebay right now. At least the guy didn't say it's a rare factory original...

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
My nicer Stag has a 231 Buick V-6 in it. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonod.gif Ick... Better than the Ford 2.8 conversion IMHO, eh bcliff? Very common for Stags though. Always cracks me up when these converions make it onto ebay, and they'll have 85 pictures of the car but nothing under the hood. There was a Stag with a TR6 I-6 in it a couple months ago. I'd like to see that one. Never got a responce from my emails... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
There's a guy in England who put a Stag V8 into a TR6. An odd choice to be sure, but it seems to work for him. Download the September/December 2002 issue of the British V8 newsletter if your curious, at https://www.britishv8.org/sep2002.pdf This is a large file, so you may want to right-click and select "save target as" to ease things a little.
 
Just a quick response to Jim Sneddon; even though I lived in Zimbabwe for 14 years and have an adult daughter who has lived there for 35 years, I don't recall any V6 Triumphs over there either!
Races in Rhodesia, as it was known in the 1960s and 1970s, when I lived there, attracted many top cars from South Africa and even drivers from Europe as it was their offseason, but currently the shortage of fuel and political climate have ended motorsport.
I was a member of the MG club in 1967, and a friend used to do hillclimbs organised by the club.Pleasant memories!
Simon.
 
The Rover SUVs (LR3, Range Rover, etc.) have been using a version of the Ford/Jag 4.4-liter, all aluminum, DOHC, 4-valve per cylinder V-8 since shortly after Ford acquired the brand. Until then, it was still a 4.6-liter version of the old Buick/Rover OHV V-8. But Ford apparently felt about using a GM-engineered engine in one of their "luxury" brands the same way Chrysler Corp. felt about using a Ford 289 V-8 in the Tiger when they acquired Sunbeam. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/pukeface.gif

Of course, putting an DOHC, four-valve engine in the Rover was long overdue--Rover should have done it in the 1980s! Maybe that's why there is no more Rover? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yesnod.gif
 
I'm sorry but being from Oregon "Races in Rhodesia" just makes the imagination run wild. Maybe it's all the stories of African revolutions and wars ect. but do the racers have accessories like machingun mounts on the luggage racks or racing colors of green, black and brown and racing jackets that can stop a bullet? Can I get "run flat racing tires" for my TR? I worry about hitting a deer here but an elephant would really be serious.
 
Hello Steve,

"Of course, putting an DOHC, four-valve engine in the Rover was long overdue"

Why would anyone want to put a sports car engine in a truck?

Alec
 
Just out of curiosity, was the Triumph V8 in the Stag not reliable? I've seen so many Stags advertised as having a Rover V8 transplant. Always thought about getting a Stag someday...
 
Hi,

There were some "issues" with the Stag engine when it was first offered, but there are now some pretty well proven solutions.

You probably got a clue from the previous posts, as to the main problems. One is rapid cam chain wear, the other is overheating. AFAIK, there is not a real solution for the chain issue, just good maintenance will help avoid problems. The chains need to be changed every 30,000 miles or so, I think. There are several possible solutions for the overheating issue, as previously mentioned.

Looking back now, we can see teething pains with many Triumph engines, not just the Stag's V8. The inline 2500cc 6 cyl. has it's own set of issues. The 4 cyl. TRactor motor is pretty sturdy, but has its quirks, too.

This sort of thing is not at all uncommon. For some reason, Land Rover put stainless steel face caps on the rockers in the 4.0 L for a couple years... which have caused no end of problems for owners (maybe the 4.6 too). The engine is a serious gas hog, too.

A friend's Pontiac 4 cyl. has well documented overheating problems, a constant maintenance issue that can get very expensive if not watched.

I had a Fiat at one point and got to know a couple of mechanics at the local dealership. They used to take bets on crankshaft breakage in 124s. Usually right at 85,000 miles, like clockwork. And a friend's sedan, a 131 or something like that, averaged 2 or 3 mufflers a year... they just rotted away.

The list goes on and on!

Personally, I think the Stag's "problems" got blown out of proportion. In fairness, its engine is a pretty good one and I'd certainly consider swapping one into a smaller TR for fun. Wish I knew what was happening to those engines that were being pulled out of Stags!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif
 
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