dont want to flog a dead horse here, rover v8 swaps

C

craigfitzgerald

Member
i recently acquired a rover 1976 p6b 3500. now in the process of doing it up.
the reason i am asking these questions is to find out more info. if this has been answered a million time before can someone please post a link to the info, as im struggling to find it.
engine questions are, what exactly is involved in fitting a rover 3.9 serpentine belt rover v8 in place of the 3500, can it be done? or is there an easier option please point me in the right direction.
can you swap crank pulleys over to keep the 3.5 vee belts what else needs swapping.

, can you use a 3.9 cam in a 3500 (rope seal), or is there a better mild cam to be used, if so can some one please let me know of type and brand
also i saw a post about changing the front rope seal to a lip seal, anyone know where that kit can be purchased?

also the 3.5, do you need composite gaskets of can you use multi layer steel ones? the do's and dont's would be much appreciated

thanks in advance
craig
 
I can answer a couple of those:

You can pretty much use any cam. The difference between the later ones is that they have a "spacer" instead of the distributor drive gear. You can swap this over. Many use the 3.9 cam in the early engine but opinion is split on this because it's a very high torque at low revs cam profiled for the Land Rover disco and Range Rover which are much heavier. It might have some merit in an auto but probably isn't what you want in a manual car.

All 35cc heads use a tin gasket. The Later 28cc ones use the composite. You can use a composite gasket with the early head and drop of the CR 0.4-0.5 (real steel do one for the 3.5 as the bore is different). Similarly a 20 thou skin means you can use an early head with a composite gasket and keep it the same. An SD1 or later head is a good idea as you get 16% better airflow. Later ones have improved valves and valve seals (actually only the very later "cup type" actually really work) and only a single instead of double spring. Given that heads are cheap, there is almost no reason to keep the earlier type should they need work.
 
Surprised you didn't get more on this. All the info is in this forum if you search for this. I can't help with the serpentine engine but since people here do have 4.6 motors then the answer is clearly yes but I don't know how much work is involved.
 
Hi Craig,

There is insufficient clearance to fit a serpentine engine into a P6. There is also the problem of the interface between the serpentine timing cover and the P6B sump, the latter being necessary in order to clear the cross member.

If you wish to run a 3.9 litre engine, then ideally you would use the P6 or an SD1 timing cover mounted to that engine.

Ron.
 
The rope to regular seal conversion is a simple fix. Go out and find a GM iron block V6 and whip the cover off that.
You get the regular seal and the added bonus of the uprated oil pump included.

If you can't get the V6 cover, the rope seal cover can be modified to accept the old type seal.
 
The rope to regular seal conversion is a simple fix. Go out and find a GM iron block V6 and whip the cover off that.
You get the regular seal and the added bonus of the uprated oil pump included.

what is the engine code for an iron block v6, is that a 3.8 commodore motor? if so which year?
 
It might though, the VN Commodore that saw the introduction of the 3.8 Buick was a rush job and the VP Commodore onwards had lots of upgrades.
 
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