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Well I meant that I thought the V8 could be further back in the Dolomite than the TR8 in relation to where the slant-4 sits in the Dolomite and TR7. I take the point that it's still forward with respect to the lines of the front wheels, but that's not what I meant.
Don't give me short of money - BL had just started getting shedloads under Don Ryder's recovery plan in the Ryder Report. His guess was near to £3 billion to 1985 - inc. the paltry sum of £270 million of operating capital upfront -, but there's suggestions it were nearer £10 Billion by the time Edwardes had done with the government. So, for them programmes that made it through the bankruptcy of 1974, it should have been a happy time till 1 Nov 1977 - had it not been for the Castle Bromwich body builders, BL toolmakers, Lucas toolmakers, and Coventry axle workers. Did I miss anyone?
Graham
As someone who has stuffed unlikely stuff into a Dolomite engine bay (including attempting a Rover V8, which I passed on as too difficult technically) I think I can call myself something of an expert. And it leaves me uniquely qualified to understand the position of the engineers at Triumph when they were faced with fitting first the 1850 and later the Sprint into a hole it wasn't made for.
And what I reckon, is that the problem begins and ends with the front subframe. Notwithstanding that there are no less than 4 different subframes, not counting FWD derivatives (if any) they are all derived from the "long A" model fitted to the first Toledos which is, in turn the same as or derived from the 1300FWD part.
So there they were, stuck with the Long A, triple bar frame. It would have been easier to design a new frame that wasn't so bulky or restrictive but they settled for minimum mods to make it work. (cost is the only reason that makes sense, this was all done and productionised BEFORE the banrupty of 74 so they WERE skint) So for the 1850, Sprint and 1500auto, they chopped off the long A and put the closer coupled, cranked leg on the back. This, in my considered opinion, is where they shot themselves in the foot, as it is this particular space, between the 2nd and 3rd rails of the subframe, as I know from bitter experience, that MUST be occupied by the bellhousing and this governs the position of everything else to within an inch or so either way. The rack on top of the centre leg and behind the axle line is just the icing on the difficulty cake, making it nearly impossible to move that centre leg forward and allow a decent sump size to fit at the rear of the engine.
Now as a modder, I have played fast and loose with the subframes on my cars as that is legitimate and only costs me 2 points on the 8 point rule, so long as I keep the suspension anchorages and steering stock, i'm OK. But that means the centre member and the rack above it must stay put or I lose more points that I CAN'T spare. Problem number 1!
The "no cutting the shell" bit of the 8 point rule also means I can't alter the bulkhead AT ALL, so the hypothetical V8 must fit ahead of the stock bulkhead. And here comes problem number 2, A V8 IS longer than a 4 in line because the banks are staggered to line up with the rods on the crank journals, that's the first 3 or 4 extra inches to find. Then take account that the V8 has an oversquare design and the pistons are bigger in diameter, not a lot, maybe only 1/2" each, but that's another 2" that needs to be found. And it mostly needs to be found at the front of the bay cos the position of the bellhousing is fixed by the blankety-blank subframe. I won't bore you with problem 3 (where to put the offside downpipe) and all the others, Suffice it to say that I reckoned, to engineer the Rover V8 in properly, I'd have to dry sump it AND run an electric water pump. (to save space at the rad end, the stock pump is VERY long)
When I was contemplating this job, I didn't know it had been done, several times before. Now I DO know, my hat is off to those who accomplished it. It certainly looked a bridge too far for me, so I went with the KISS principal, fitted the Carlton engine instead and the rest, as they say, is history. With the benefit of hindsight, I think I made the right choice!
Steve
PS, Who else did you miss? All the lovely folk at the Speke works for a start! (though "works" is a misnomer, mainly, they didn't!)