I have a 2000 +8, and by the time I 'm ready to change gear in 3rd I'm going a bit too fast for the lumpy bumpy roads I normally drive on. I wouldn't mind it to accelerate a bit quicker too! Can anyone give me some advice on what to expect, where to go etc. I don't use the car for touring, so the higher rpm isn't a problem, fuel efficiency is already atrocious, I just want to rev up the red line a bit easier in 2nd & 3rd.
The little Buick 215/LR/Rover V8 is analogous to referring to your claret as "Bordeaux" or saying "cheese" to specify your favourite, specially aged Gouda made only by a single personally-known-to-you Dutch family along with Kraft-sliced. When you understand the very different Rover V8 engine iterations and the changing car weights of Rover Plus 8s over their 36 years in various continents, a generic term becomes meaningless. I have played with 5 of these V8s engine variants and counselled on others All rebuilt differently. None the same. I have even gone so far as to swap these my own variants V8 engines mid-season to have different fun.....from a screaming 3.5 (6500+ rpm) to my long distance mogging ones (tuned 4.6L & 4.8L)
And yes, the MMC Rover stock transmissions used are silly for that much torque (made for a 4x4 truck) I keep meaning to move from my updated R380s, but something keeps stopping me. However, adjusted as they should be, the R380 provides a VERY smooth shift in a VERY hefty unit. Yes, 1st gear is useless. But I win competitions from 2nd gear. Richard..acceleration is how fast your torque comes into play. However, you are also using a sadly heavy flywheel and a non-exciting rising rate fuel regulator..
Aside from its iconic status, the great joy of these engines is the number of variants and their incredible torque at low rpm. What is the point of having a power band that can only be used at non-legal speeds? 10 years mogging Europe 5-6 months a year taught me that! Using a trad on Autobahns in Germany is a sad waste of time IMHO. That being said, at legal or near legal speeds (under 110mph) , a Rover Plus 8 can be prepared to a point where it comfortably it runs circles anything in the modern line up. (in coming!!!!!!
) For me fun is all about acceleration not speed. There are so many Rover V8 options that 95% of Plus 8s can be personalized to suit YOU. Morgan than 30 years ago, when I was itching to get deeper into things I knew nothing about 😂 I asked famous trad racers what camshaft I should use The answer was the pretty much the same on both sides of any ocean. "Tell me the roads you like best and I will answer you".
Codicil 1: Trads kept getting heavier. And some trads for some continents even heavier to meet local regs. They cannot achieve the same performance as the UK stock ones.
Codicil 2: Some block variants are weaker, than others. Actually, the 3.5s are the most solid. The cross-bolted seem fine but they do not replace the stock removed between the cylinders. (tsk) However, all Morgans are so light that they do not produce enough load to self-damage as has been the case in other vehicles.
Codicil 3: Rob Wells was right. You cannot get more than 275 bhp to the ground with stock tyres. Fat tyres are too much of a sacrifice in handling to interest me.
[b]Best to deal with each owner, what he has and what they want individually.[/b] There are also more ways to skin that cat than one.
Lorne
