project dolomite 3500HL

[PeteH]

Just following this thread myself, I know a thing or two about electrics and have rebullt a varied portfolio of engines and done other mechanincal work on my cars but ONE thing I never did and cannot see myself doing is Welding - I definitely think that is a job for a pro - this conversion is very professional looking and some great work done, I go to a lot of different classic shows and am gobsmacked by the professionalism of some of the mechanical work I see, just the other day I saw a very standard looking VW Type 2 camper van, absolutely no idea that there was a VW Passat 1.9 TD engine sitting in the back, the engine, exhaust and water cooling / radiator setup were done so neatly and professionally, turned out that the owner was a fitter ina factory - hope this V8 project runs like stink! (would be great craic - an Irish expresion - to see this Dolly V8 burn up some of the Honda VTEC brigade at the lights...) (and to look in the rear view mirror at the bewildered faces in the Integra/Civic!)

[jikovron]

well a mere week away from hopefully its first outing and its mot worthyness is fast aproaching ,,,save for the front brakes completely hindering the fitment of the antiroll bar as can be seen the antiroll bar can be fitted but the caliper then decides to use it as a lock stop so i'm now on the hunt for some brake caliper setup that mounts behind the upright

one thing i forgot about with this conversion was the hassle of fitting a starter,,,,none of the standard v8 ones fit withot hitting the rack or the column depending on its solenoid orientation so i had to buy a early sd1 underslung solenoid st. motor and remote mount the solenoid so as the linkage could skim over the rack


the alternator saga i had before with the 3 broken ones was solved when a friend breaking a volvo 940 for spares donated a bosch alternator (fits with no modifications apart from some spacers) only trouble is the engine idles far too slowly for it
it also had a dual circuit master cylinder that i think fits the dolomite servo and i got a decent expansion tank from it too so saving lots of cash


the rover 2000 radiator was binned after it was found to be sieve like so was repalced by a saab 900 item (the volvo one would have done just as well)and it will idle happly for 30mins before the need for a rad fan becomes apparent

and as it stands currently

[JPB]

Just a thought, but would the brackets you made for the callipers not fit on the opposite sides of the car and behind the hub carriers? Though I'd assume that you'd already have done that, had it been feasible.

I've not offered up a 900 series master cylinder, but I did discover that a 340 one fits the Dolly servo, has an i/d that's within 0.020" of the Girling CV (single-line) master fitted and only needs a very slight bit of file work to the holes in its flange plus some pipes would need to be made with metric unions at one end, imperial at the other. If Ben (VND) asks, no, I haven't abused the cylinder that's on his 340. Much.

[jeroensprint]

Or more easy, change the complete uprights from left to right and opposite.

Jeroen

[sprint95m]

I've not offered up a 900 series master cylinder

This is worth exploring.

If you can lay your hands on a Girling catalogue (or possibly a Lockheed one as these have some Girling cross referencing) you should be able to see which servos share the same components. That should give a clue as to which master cylinder you should consider.
Usefully these catalogues the bore size of each of the master cylinders. Don't go bigger than 7/8" bore.


How about Saab 99/900 or Audi 80/100 as well as the big Volvos?

[jikovron]

well its been to a thorough mot and came away with a full test bill of health apart from the emissions that needed a tweak via the carb/timing settings and headlight aim setting up

its certainly not a slow coach by any means but its much more akin to a cruiser that disregards what gear your in,,,2nd sends the rears spinning easily and third is effortless to move off in from standstill,,,,overall its like a big tdi as the exhaust and for now open carbs are limiting it to 4500rpm

cooling seems to work but it does run quite hot ,,heater burns you,,temp guage at the top (but on a v8 temp sender) rad gets hot also so something will need sorting out there

brakes need quite a shove but are very progressive so nothing much is needed in that area apart from the safety of dual circuit (940 MC needs offered up)

ahh and the gearing is abit low for my liking 2000rpm at 50 so an auto sprint axle is on the list

anyhow a good result for me as its bonus point is oil tightness

[jikovron]

ahh the trouble with the calipers was that they where too large to fit behind the upright without hiting both the steering arm and the upper balljoint,,,but i mounted the anti roll bar underslung on the wishbones

[JPB]

Road-legal then, excellent! Second Briar Dene old car meet this Saturday (7th), any chance of bringing it along?

[jikovron]

will try but its got 2 issues come up starter motor soleniod has given up activating the motor and this VVVVVV

pictured at silverlink retail park after it decided to dump it coolant out of the expansion tank cap

[sprint95m]

ahh and the gearing is abit low for my liking 2000rpm at 50 so an auto sprint axle is on the list

Is an Sprint auto fitted with a different diff ratio to the manual versions?

Three ratios are available from the 2000 range....
4.1:1
3.7:1
3.45:1
but none of these is higher than the 3.45:1 Sprint .

[JPB]

As Ian suggests, the auto Sprint is fitted with the same diff as the manual cars.
Automatic 1850s do have a higher ratio than any other car in the range at 3.27:1, but the torque of that new engine would soon become a little too much for any non-Sprint Dolomite/Marina diff to handle I should think. The only other car that has that 3.27:1 diff is the Morris Ital 2000 auto, though quite possibly it appears in some of Australia's bizarrely big-engined Marina variations too.

I doubt that the fitting of a completely different diff would be beyond you though, after all, you've shown us that your ability to improvise and adapt is strong. Speaking of which.....

How much energy would the Saab radiator have been expected to convert originally? Is it possibly a bit too small to cope with the larger Rover engine? Just a thought, but maybe a larger rad, or a second one mounted in the boot with its own, electric fan would help?

I'm crossing fingers that all you have there is simple overheating and not HGF but even if an HG has failed, the Rover engine's pretty simple to work on so in your case the heads could be off, skimmed and refitted during your tea break. Good luck with that teething problem.

[Jon Tilson]

I think what you need is a 5 speed TR7 diff which can be had with a 3.08 to 1 ratio. Think the smade diff is used in SD1 rovers too but I'm no expert.

I'm not sure that a triumph diff strong enough can be had in less than 3.45, which is what you already have. The dolly auto 3.27 is barely up to an 1850...

Jonners

[jikovron]

ahh i didnt know the sprint had uniform ratio diffs lol,,my next plan was to either as said there try a tr7 axle or get one of those unbreakable salisbury 4HA items from a early scimitar ,,,then fit a XJS jaguars powerlocker to it (left some tolerance in the prop sliding joint to accomadate the longer diff nose)

and indeed given how the car accidently broke traction going from 3rd to 4th on a dry road i think the little series standard vanguard axle would cry somewhat

i think the head gasket may be slightly weeping rather than a catastrophic crack or defficient rad as it did hold reasonable upper temp for about 12miles @60 before the heater went cold and it basically just steamed abit on the a19 silverlink roundabout so hopefully it its not far off

[bodgerben]

Nice dolly.

4HA Axle -The wifes Lexus V8 engined Scimitar uses one of those - with a Jag slipper and about a 3.3 ratio (not entirely sure) which as you say are plenty strong enough - the LexScim pulls about 130 in 3rd (as found on the 1 mile straight at RAF Odiham) - it's still auto and never got into 4th
A supercharger may help.

http://www.bodgerben.com/Scimitar.htm

[sprint95m]

How much energy would the Saab radiator have been expected to convert originally? Is it possibly a bit too small to cope with the larger Rover engine? Just a thought, but maybe a larger rad, or a second one mounted in the boot with its own, electric fan would help?

Pondered this, myself.

I reckon the Saab radiator will be more than adequate, given the power the Saab turbo models generate.

Instead I would be looking at bleeding the cooling system efficiently as well as doing an engine compression test.



From the photograph of the engine installation I se you are using a Volvo (?) expansion tank.

These have a 16 or 19mm outlet at the bottom to be plumbed into the bottom radiator hose.
Is yours connected up this way?
It should be!
For filling the coolant it is important to have the expansion tank as high as possible. To this end I would use
long hoses to allow the ET to be temporarily lifted from its mounting.
SET HEATER TO HOT (VERY IMPORTANT).
Fill coolant, (DON'T fit ET cap), run engine for 3 minutes at 1500 rpm.
Top up as necessary (shouldn't need much), then fit cap.
Refit expansion tank to mounting bracket.
(For any subsequent topping up it is necessary to lift the ET from its mounting).


Hope this is useful,