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Wedge TR7 - 8 conversions

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Yes. this is a reply to a very old post. i figured if I reply I, we, may get an update to which way the OP went with his motor swap.
My opinion (for whatever its worth) is to go with the Ford 5.0
i am gong that route myself after researching engine options.
the Rover was my first choice till I found the average price to be about 1k for a hi mileage one, and about 2500-3k for a fresh built unit.
add to this that the Rover motor puts out a paltry 133HP compared to a 245HP average of an EFI 5.0
weight is only a tad over 140lb difference. A set of aluminum heads and new light weight intake cost under 2k add 80+ HP (AFR Brand) and now your only about 60 lbs heavier. If you hollow out the front bumper youll drop 30 lbs alone. Im deleting my front bumper and fabricating the front and rear of the car to mimic the Lancia Stratos. So my option is pretty much the same weight as the Rover when all said and done. Except i'll be just around 300HP.
i'll be using a trimmed down Ford 8.8, T5, and am still working on an idea for the front suspension and crossmember. I may make my own out of tubing and flat stock, or I have been playing with the idea of a miata front assembly.
I like the sound of a hopped up hi revving 4 banger, but after looking into costs on that, it ended up more. A V6? Just not my taste. The sound isnt as impressive as a 4 or 8.
I picked up a complete 80K 5.0 with harness and all accessories for 550.! The car was only 600. I'll get at least half my money back selling the original drivetrain.
So I figure i cant loose.
as far as fitting the engine to the engine bay, im planning on raising the factory double bump hood 2" total. 1.5" on the main bump and .5" for the smaller center bump. The entire wiring is being replaced with a universal EZ wiring kit. AC will be the vintage air universal mini unit. The car will be crazy fast, have great AC for AZ summers, and will look cool as **** without those god awful tug boat bumpers.
now the hard part is getting enough time to complete it in a year. :smile:
 
Wow, how relevant is this topic. There are a couple of guys that just did the 5.0 swap over on British V8 forum. One of them lives about 20 miles from me, and I helped him with bits and pieces over the winter. I have lots of spare parts and know TR7/8s. He had lots of spare time, some spare cash, a great place to work in, and most importantly, the skills and tools to do the job. He started last fall and finished this spring. Toughest part was finding a suitable donor Mustang. He used the engine, T5, steering rack, and rear end out of the stang. He fabricated the subframe and the tranny mount from scratch using square stock steel. They mount in the stock locations, and use the stock TR7 lower arms. He made up front coilovers, rear adjustable spring perches, bigger brakes using Willwood calipers and vented Mini Cooper rotors in the front and Ford calipers with BMW solid rotors in the back. He made the driveshaft(he has a full machine shop in his garage). Scored a set of used 15X7 Miata wheels which fit up to a modified wheel bolt pattern of 4X100. His budget was 10K and he ended up just under that even with all the work he did himself. Car still needs a paint job, original interior is meh, and he still wants to rebuild the engine for some real power. So, if you do the math, 9K will buy you a real nice TR8 that doesn't need a paint job, requires no fabrication, and can actually be resold for what you buy it for. If your goal is 300 plus HP, then from this point on, the 302 will get there much cheaper than the Rover. 300 HP from a Rover 4.6 will cost you 8 to 10K or more. You can get 400 out of the 302 for around $2500 or less if you buy used parts. The guy near me goes by Glenzo654, and you can find him on the V8 forum and the triumph experience forum.
 
tr8todd said:
Wow, how relevant is this topic. There are a couple of guys that just did the 5.0 swap over on British V8 forum. One of them lives about 20 miles from me, and I helped him with bits and pieces over the winter. I have lots of spare parts and know TR7/8s. He had lots of spare time, some spare cash, a great place to work in, and most importantly, the skills and tools to do the job. He started last fall and finished this spring. Toughest part was finding a suitable donor Mustang. He used the engine, T5, steering rack, and rear end out of the stang. He fabricated the subframe and the tranny mount from scratch using square stock steel. They mount in the stock locations, and use the stock TR7 lower arms. He made up front coilovers, rear adjustable spring perches, bigger brakes using Willwood calipers and vented Mini Cooper rotors in the front and Ford calipers with BMW solid rotors in the back. He made the driveshaft(he has a full machine shop in his garage). Scored a set of used 15X7 Miata wheels which fit up to a modified wheel bolt pattern of 4X100. His budget was 10K and he ended up just under that even with all the work he did himself. Car still needs a paint job, original interior is meh, and he still wants to rebuild the engine for some real power. So, if you do the math, 9K will buy you a real nice TR8 that doesn't need a paint job, requires no fabrication, and can actually be resold for what you buy it for. If your goal is 300 plus HP, then from this point on, the 302 will get there much cheaper than the Rover. 300 HP from a Rover 4.6 will cost you 8 to 10K or more. You can get 400 out of the 302 for around $2500 or less if you buy used parts. The guy near me goes by Glenzo654, and you can find him on the V8 forum and the triumph experience forum.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you guys had a well thought out plan to begin with. That makes all the difference in budget and build time.
ive been on British V8 many times. I'll check his car out for sure!
what I like about the TR7 over the 8 is the 7 isnt worth anything, so you can build it any way you want without fear of it loosing value.
 
Yes, the place to start is BritishV8, all the help you need to drop any V8 into a Tr7. BTW, there is a TR7 here north of Birmingham Alabama on Craigslist. All the stuff is there, not too bad of shape but if it does not go soon it will waste to nothing.

Have a look, but it is not in the shape the photos show, and it ain't worth $2400 - non-running, some seams rusting and starting to mildew the interior being left outside - soft top up in the Alabama summer in a pine wooded subdivision.
https://bham.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=TR7&sort=rel

I may offer him $800 and drop a special tuned Stag motor into it.
 
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