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Wedge TR7 Engine and Performance

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Hegg

Hegg

Jedi Hopeful
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Hello again everyone! I've been wicked busy at work the past few months and haven't had a chance to drop by.

Anyway... I've been thinking about my TR7 and wondering what anyone has done to increase the performance a bit (or a bit more). I'll probably be pulling the engine in a few months to do some tranny work and maybe even rebuild the motor if I feel like it, so I've been thinking about the UK 9:1 compression pistons instead of the weaker US ones. Has anyone (or is it possible) replaced the original US spec pistons with UK spec ones? And if so, is it worth it?

What other mild performance modifications has anyone done? The little 4-banger could use some extra HP, but I'm not much into the XTREME type of stuff.

Hope everyone had a great holiday, and happy Chinese New Year!

Hegg
 
Assuming your engine is carbureted, you can install the UK spec pistons(yes, its worth it), have everything ballanced, have the head ported and polished by someone that can flow them, install a better cham, and a header.

I knew someone that did all that and is getting ~130 horsepower on a chassis dyno. Thats around 42 horsepower more than the stock US spec engine.

He is using the stock Zieneth-Stromberg carbs with different needles.

He spent less than $1000 US on the engine.

You can get more out of the stock 2L engine, but the $ go WAY up fast.
 
Cool, that's good information and just what I wanted to know. I do have the dual-carb setup (Zenith-Stromberg) on my 1980 TR7 and I need to get them tuned and balanced. What type of modifications were made to the head? Just re-porting for better air/fuel flow? Do you know which cam he got (assuming it was from Vicky Brit or Moss)?

Thanks for the feedback!

Hegg
My 1980 DHC TR7
 
I just went through all of my parts catalogs (Moss and Victoria British) thinking that I had seen the option to buy the 9:1 UK pistons, but I don't see them.

So, where does one actually GET the UK pistons?
 
Pull the motor and rebuild it as a 3.5 L V8! Fairly common mod to get a pretty good approximation of a TR8. I had a TR8 years ago - big, noisy fun!
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by philman:
try tsi auto sports for performance parts, they seem to have everything,

on a note about cams, I purchased a 'hot' cam off ebay and tried it on my 2L engine. I couldn't figure out how to get the fuel/air mixture adjusted right (a fi engine) so I took it back out and stashed it some where.<hr></blockquote>

So are you saying you have one to sell?
grin.gif
My TR7 is carbureted, so maybe it'd work better.

Thanks for the TSI reference. I'll look 'em up and check 'em out.

Hegg
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Eric:
Pull the motor and rebuild it as a 3.5 L V8! Fairly common mod to get a pretty good approximation of a TR8. I had a TR8 years ago - big, noisy fun!<hr></blockquote>

Yeah, I've thought about it a few times, but I just can't decide. Just seems like a lot of modifications and a lot of cost to do it. Where do I even get a Rover 3.5L motor? Just look in the junkyards for one to rebuild? How much more modification needs to be done to the car in order to make it a V8?
 
Hegg,
To answer your question about where to get a 3.5 Rover, you have several choices. The engine is based on an old Buick/Oldsmobile engine from the mid 60's. British Leyland purchased the rights to the engine in the 70's. They are currently standard in Land Rovers and I believe come in several different displacements(I could be wrong about that). They are not too hard to find, but are not cheap either. IF you are interested in engine swaps, Johns Cars has a complete kit to swap a Buick V6 into a TR7. If you are happy with the 2.0, its a lot eaiser to build up instead of swap for something else. Good Luck
 
I've an '80 Rover SD-1 for sale...it has a great running V8 w/5-speed tranny...just right for a conversion
 
About the Rover v-8's. I'm running a '88 Range Rover, I just replaced my original 3.5 litre in it after only 140,000 miles. They are great running motors, but being all aluminum are heavy on the maintainace & pocket book. They tend to slip cylinder sleeves & show characteristics like a head gasket, but usually it means an entire re-build. I replaced my 3.5 with a brand new 4.0 long block & redid my heads. Lots of other things done like rad, mounts, exh totalled $6000 at an independent Rover shop. You can get brand new 4.0 long blocks for $1500-2300 & a pair of rebuild heads for +/- $1200 but need to work on the intake (carb, injection) Do a search on buick 215 & there are a couple of web pages.

try these:

https://www.team.net/TR8/mp/html/body_buick_215.html
https://rover-v8.community.everyone.net/commun_v3/scripts/directory.pl

Good luck!
wink.gif
 
i bought a book from a guy in the uk called something like "how to race triumph tr7/tr8" that has a good section describing the rover engines and converting to a tr7/v8. costs US$20 for the book, took about 2 weeks to arrive.
 
how much more modification needs to be done to the car in order to make it a v8?

I've spent about $2500 so far on vehicle modifications to put a v8 in (not including the motor). TSI or Wedgeparts can assemble a kit for you that will include most everything.
 
try tsi auto sports for performance parts, they seem to have everything,

on a note about cams, I purchased a 'hot' cam off ebay and tried it on my 2L engine. I couldn't figure out how to get the fuel/air mixture adjusted right (a fi engine) so I took it back out and stashed it some where.
 
If you are thinking about a cam for a LBC and have NOT contacted IntegeralCams , well too bad. Check out their website, I was VERY happy with my cam and the help I got from Steve.
MD(mad dog)
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by philman:
how much more modification needs to be done to the car in order to make it a v8?

I've spent about $2500 so far on vehicle modifications to put a v8 in (not including the motor). TSI or Wedgeparts can assemble a kit for you that will include most everything.<hr></blockquote>

What types of modifications have you had to do? Subframe and wiring modifications I would assume, but what other types of things do I need to expect?

I'm really just trying to assess if I feel that it's worth my time/money to do a V8 conversion... aaarrrggghh!!

Thanks everyone for your feedback!
 
go to the website

wweb page

buy his book " A Guide to Racing Your Triumph TR7V8" for $20. The author gives pretty good ideas for conversions or just upgrades for a TR7. It is a self published book, but the cost is pretty reasonable for the information. He also raced spits and seems to know what he is talking about.
 
Hehe, just to confuse you with some more options. If you really want a LOT more power than you can reasonably get out of the stock 2L engine, but don't want to go to the expense of the Rover V8 conversion. You could always do a Sprint conversion.

Rimmer Brothers and S&S preperations both sell Sprint conversion kits. The engine has the same block as the standard TR7 engine, but it has a 16 valve head. Its a bit more complicated than slapping the 16V head on a TR7 block, its best to just buy the whole sprint motor.

The kits for it include the complete engine, intake, carbs, distributor, exhaust manifold, exhaust system, and usually an upgraded front brake system.

Kits from Rimmer Brothers run from around $2900 US to $3700 US depending on wich brake upgrade you get and if you get a reconditioned engine or a brand new one.

S&S Preparations sells comperable kits for slightly less than that, but has more options for performance builds.

Keep in mind, there would be shipping from the UK also. I still feel that its a preferable option over the V8 conversion for people that are not wanting to build a 300+ HP Corvette killer.

For less money than it would cost to properly do a V8 conversion with a stock USED engine, you can have a Sprint engine with a mild street performance build. It will make more power than a stock TR8 and have the better handling of a TR7. Needless to say, fuel economy will be a world better also.
wink.gif


I plan on having a fairly agressive performance build with a cham that will give good mid range power and torque. I'll be fuel injecting it with Jenvey throttle bodies mounted on a dual webber DCOE intake manifold. A DTA vehicle management system will run the injection, distributorless ignition and traction control. The DTA system also allows for full throttle gear shifting and launch control if I feel the need to dust someone in a stoplight race.
driving.gif
 
Doesn't seem to be a limit to what can be done to the 7 engine if youve got the $. There are 2 things that I wish I had done when I had mine rebuilt. I should have gone with the higher compression pistons and I had a 4 speed (lighter) flywheel that I debated using and did not but wished I had. Good luck on the project and be sure to get it done by 5/29 so you can join us for the Global Cruise.
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dale:
Doesn't seem to be a limit to what can be done to the 7 engine if youve got the $. There are 2 things that I wish I had done when I had mine rebuilt. I should have gone with the higher compression pistons and I had a 4 speed (lighter) flywheel that I debated using and did not but wished I had. Good luck on the project and be sure to get it done by 5/29 so you can join us for the Global Cruise.<hr></blockquote>

I definitely want to put in the UK pistons with the higher compression. I'm also seriously considering putting in a higher performance cam to gain a little HP, too. I have also been looking at having my flywheel lightened, and I've seen a thread or two about the advantages of that.

Do you have any tips, gotchas, or recommendations for when I rebuild mine? I just barely put it up on stands and started taking the carbs off, so my first sticking point is "how do I get it out?"
grin.gif


I'll need to look up some information on this Global Cruise thing-a-ma-jig. Sounds like it could be fun!
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Hegg:
I just barely put it up on stands and started taking the carbs off, so my first sticking point is "how do I get it out?"
grin.gif

<hr></blockquote>

If you are planning on removing the front suspension and subframe, you can drop the engine and transmission out from below.

If you don't plan on removing the front suspension, you will need to remove the hood and radiator and very securly block the front tires so the car cannot roll forward. Raise the back of the car 18 inches or as high as you have the means to safely raise it. The higher the better because you need to lower the transmission to get the angle you need to pull the engine and transmission out together.
I recommend using a load leveler that can be adjusted under load because you will need to adjust the angle of the engine as you pull it up and over the front of the car. You have to start off at a fairly steep angle.
 
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