1963 IIa V8 Race Rover

[John Boy]

So, yes I bought the 1955 rover 88, series 2 from a member of this forum. Fear not, for I do respect the rovers. So, I will be swapping some of my worn bits with the better bits of this series 2. In the end the series 2 will still be hole, with additional parts from my 2a to boot. So for any member interested in salvaging the series 2, in time this can be done. I will start posting photos soon to.
Cheers all.

[John Boy]

So, here are a couple of 1959 Rover 2 photos, I boobed and called it a 1955, my bad.

[John Boy]

Ahh the steering box, the unmovable British work of wonder that I read so much about on this forum. I spent all of five minutes looking at the problem, then used my cutting wheel to remove the unit. Don't hate on me for doing it this way, I saved the insides and have a spare sleeve to install into. So for the future, I have a working steering box thing that can be installed if needed.

[John Boy]

Finally patched up the front of the frame, and will modify the front bumper to use the bolts from a side position instead of the top down way the Rover once used.

[John Boy]

A splash of short strand fibre glass and presto, all good now. Also a look at how roughly the P38 power steering box will fit.

[John Boy]

All four mounts finally welded in place after an eternity of fine tuning. As you can see, I have generally got 18 inches of motor height from the top of the frame where the radiator once sat. I checked with the 1959 rover and it has generally 19 inches of height, So the hood should close with 1 inch of room to spare, just don't let the motor mounts fail.... :wink:

[John Boy]

So.... Who's your Daddy? That's right, me... I have been trying desperately to reuse and keep as much of the original Rover as possible for any future possibility that this unit might be returned to its original condition. To that end, I was disappointed to have to use the D1 cross members on the original rover, that was until now :D In the following photos, I managed to reuse the original cross members though not in there original positions, but still there none the less.

[John Boy]

The exhaust system will be a bit of a challenge as I want to keep it as high into the frame as possible. This will secure good ground clearance.

[John Boy]

The original exhaust headers will also allow for the starter motor to fit with little difficulty.

Capture58.JPG

(109.66 KiB) Downloaded 7077 times

So your probably asking yourself, Ya... but John, what happens if you need to drop the transmission? That's easy actually, there is clearance still to pull the block straight up, the bell housing gets pulled off, then the whole transmission can be pulled straight out while resting on the cross members. But hey... I build things never to fail, and so never need to be removed... :lol:

[John Boy]

So, I got to thinking. I have room I think to reuse the discovery 1 power steering box, but it comes with pro's and cons. The P38 puts the control arm ahead of the front diff, but the D1 puts the nut for the control arm over the diff.

[John Boy]

The pro's are that it is a cleaner fit, and allows for the possible reuse of the original rad from the D1. Cons are the bump stop problem, with two solutions. One; place the diffs on the bottom of the leaf springs, this screws with the drive shaft geometry, but not terribly. Two; use a stiff shock to prevent the bump stop from impact, like a heavy duty shock or air shock.

[John Boy]

I think for my purposes of a race truck, option two is best. A stiff ride is good for cornering and racing, this also allows for minimal impact to keep the rover traditional. Longer bump stops might also be needed to insure the steering is never impacted.

[John Boy]

This will also mean cutting into the rover fender wings, but that can be done on a minimum impact.

[John Boy]

one can see that the wings come almost flush to the frame, and so does the D1 rad. Then there is also the idea of power breaks or just stock man power breaks.

[John Boy]

Just a note on stanz, the D1 diffs are wider, as are the aluminium rims. Good for racing, bad for appearance. With the stock white rims, the tires come flush with the outside of the wings, rather then recessed like stock. Gauge from the bulk head holder thingie doma hicky on the original and mine.

[John Boy]

There is also the option of longer shackles, this might be needed, but only if I'm desperate. Want a low profile for racing, not a tall one :twisted: :twisted:

[John Boy]

Dropped the bulkhead on the frame today for a look, and thanks to the excessive measurements, the fit is very nice. The only tight spot is the passengers exhaust manifold, but it only needs a bit of fudging to make work. The severe gap on the back side, between the block and bulkhead will house the electrical parts for the 3.9 GEM, placed on a tray.

[John Boy]

The transmission tunnel will be customised to hold the auto shifter and high/low shifter.

[John Boy]

The block does sit low in the frame, and gives good clearance all the way around. The sides of the block also give adequate clearances.

[Tony4921]

Hi, do you still need that driveshaft manufacturing?

[John Boy]

yes tony, I do. Still just working out the differential angles to be sure, but soon, very soon. :)

[John Boy]

Well, after forever, loading the frame to compress the ride height and then unloading the frame to produce differentials and tires leaving the pavement, I finally have a midpoint geometry for the drive shafts. This is a race truck, so the need for the differential travel is not dramatic as in off-roading, but more for compression in tight corners and under acceleration and deceleration loads. I have today given the two shafts to Tony to be modified and balanced, and wait with baited breath for the return. In the mean time, the bulk head is under repairs and almost ready for paint. soon the body will be reunited with the frame and then the real hard work begins, electrical. I hate electrical.

[StuartL]

That is Peter, both he and his Rover live in Victoria now :)

[Tony4921]

Hello John, how is the Rover build going?

[John Boy]

hey Tony; Things are good, been busy with house project and family issues. The build proceeds well, and I should post photos soon. Typical put the parts on, check fit, remove the parts, paint, reinstall parts, check fit, remove, etc. Cheers mate