rover race build snag...

[John Boy]

hello all;

I have run into a snag with my 1963 IIa.... So... who am I, and what am I talking about? Lend me your ears, and your experience. I'm new to this forum, met a few members in Lady Smith one day as I was pulling my new IIa find home behind my Range Rover. The members invited me to join and asked about my IIa. I mentioned that I bought it to build a race truck for a 24 day rally through Asia, called the Road to Mandalay.. http://www.endurorally.com/pages/road-to-mandalay ...

That was then, this is now... I have since pulled the IIa into my garage and have begun stripping it apart, taking photos along the way to start a build page on this forum. Let me start by saying I'm not a purest, but I am mindful of historic automobiles. I have raced in many rallies over the past ten years, Targa Newfoundland, Targa California, Targa Canada West, and several other smaller events, plus auto cross. I race a few BMW's and a collector Mini with a David Visser build 998cc.

The plan with this Rover build was to find a wreck that no one would miss ($800), and remove all the running gear and other needed parts from my Mazda B2600 and as the donor, build a two wheel/ four wheel race Rover to run in Asia. The reason for the Mazda is obvious, 2 and 4 wheel allows me to run the rally as a two wheel racer with the option to four wheel if needed. Check the web site for info on that if interested.

So... to the snag I spoke of earlier. I have removed almost everything, just the drive train and bulk head to go, and the dam thing is mint. Sure there is a few minor spots of surface rust, and even one or two holes, but I was expecting something I could cut up. With the demise of the Defender, and facing a mostly mint IIa, I find now I can no longer bring myself to cut this Rover up and build a racer like I wanted. Drop a fresh engine in what I have and you could drive this away.

I would still like to run the race in Asia, but now I think it best if I don't destroy a perfectly salvageable IIa to do it. So here is where I need your worldly wisdom... I need to be able to do 60 to 70 mph for a good part of the day, for 24 days to be in this rally. How can this be achieved using Rover parts and be durable and not butcher a piece of history? The block that is in the Rover now is likely not repairable but the remainder of the drive train looks promising.

With some guidance and direction, I would start a build page.

Cheers
Johnny B

[terayon]

Hi Johnny B,

Firstly welcome and congrats! I'm not a purist either, but I had similar questions with my '63 109 rover. I'm looking to build a daily driver/dog hauler that I had feel happy about hopping in a driving to Cali in if I want. This is what I have learned us possible with the standard engine.

The 4 cylinder 2.25L puts out a tired 70ish hp, and can be made to put out 115hp with some simple tweaks. 1) swap out to a 2.5L cam. 2) change to a Rochester carburetor (as much power as a Webber and none of the clogging issues). 3) Change to a Kenlow electric rad fan. It's been said that the belt driven fan takes 7-12hp to drive. 4) Rover Drive overdrive (there's one on ebay right now for $500) which is the same idea as a fairey drive but much more robust.

Most of this info I have found here and on other forums, just be careful not to put more than approx 150hp through the rearend. I've been told any more than 150hp and you'll munch it.

So far I've done all of the changes to my rover except the 2.5L cam. I can easily keep up with traffic and hills on the highway rarely call for a downshift.

Hope this helps!!
Jordan

[John Boy]

wow... thank you... I've been searching the web for this exact info. What you described might be perfect for my needs, without wrecking the IIa. Thanks so much and cheers

Johnny B