Rover V8 in fiat spider

[Flatspyder]

Met a fellow fiat spider enthusiast today and just love what he is doing:

He put a Rover V8 in a 72 spider







Aluminum radiator. MSD ignition, External oil filter. The fan is is the front side of the radiator.
Chromoly support for chasis by the radiator.

Also the same guy has his engine completely polished on his 73 spider.

[TStark]

Wow
Amazing he could stuff the msd where most have to chop.

[narfire]

Am I seeing things, or does the 4 cyl. air filter have more surface area than the Rover's V8 air filter. I'm thinking the Rover's engine might breath a bit better with more surface area... Would it be a 4 bbl or big 2bbl in the Rover?

[Flatspyder]

4 barrel carb.

It's a good setup. Starts and sounds mean.
He even has room to change the spark plugs.


Just giving me ideas.

The two air filters are about the same but the dmsa air filter is higher on the stock motor.

[toplessexpat]

Awesome - and that Rover V8 is very very tractable. It was the starting point for many a TVR model, and the Range Rover tuners built a supercharger for it too!

Which displacement is it? 3.5, 3.9 , 4.2 or ???

A

[SpiderJunkie]

Hi, the Rover V8 started out as 215 cu in , for Buick and Oldsmobile , 1961, 62, 63. It's an all aluminum block, heads and intake. It was also used in a highly modified SOHC verson for Indy racing.

[toplessexpat]

Grrrrr... Pesky US sizes.... What are those in litres [sic]?

A

[AriK]

That would make it a 3.5 l

[Flatspyder]

He said it was a 215

[vandor]

I bought one of those engines about 20 years ago to put in a Spider, but the project never happened. Does this car have a manual or a automatic transmission?

[toplessexpat]

Csaba - you never did? Really!!?

Whilst my not so secret ambition is to fit an AJP 4.2 v8 into a spider... A 4.2 rover block would be awesome....

[Flatspyder]

2 speed automatic transmission

Powerglide