Rover v8 gurus required

IIRC you have to use an earlier timing cover to get the dizzy hole back.

Dunno why you'd want to though, the std dizzy/ignition was a weak POS IMHO

I think its possible by swapping the front end casing, but most builders who drop a 4.0/4.6 V8 in are dismissive of the carb setup as they go for the injection.
Dizzy drives for the Rover are readily available - just got to make sure you have the correct drive for your oil pump - female or male.
I currently run a 3.5 rangy engine in my Capri with a Weber setup, but will be swapping that for a 390cfm Holley. Binned the coilpack etc & got a good quality electronic dizzy.
Have a look here for 'in depth' info:
Rover V8 Forum (RV8's into anything = WIN!) www.v8forum.co.uk/forum/index.php
Rover SD1 Forum (RV8SD1 biased) julianreynolds.forumup.co.uk/index.php?mforum=julianreynolds&sid=1e646c39b8ec0104172f3f5977323ce9

Noooo, you need the extra cubes!

If your hooked on carbs, the run them and use a mega jolt to fire the ignition.

Two sets of bike carbs with big stacks would look &sound awesome!

I just put a 4.6 block into the CSK.

The block is a 2000 era P38 4.6, the timing cover is from the 3.9 Range Rover engine.

The only thing you need to be aware of is the crank spacer, which can be made easily or bought fairly cheap.

You need to use the sump and oil-pickup from the early engine too, the sump may need "adjustment" to clear the throw of the crank.

I also had my ECU re-chipped to handle the increase in capacity (and the other mods like heads/cam).

All in, not a terrible job.

The "intermediate" cover is fitted to every 300 shape Disco1 V8 and all the soft-dash Range Rovers so they do come up, if you can find one then I'd go for that cover over the multi-belt.

Something to watch out for with the later "Serpentine" covers is less availability of cam shafts and the clearance behind the timing cover does not allow you to run after-market timing chains (A weak point of all Rover V8's).

Have a look here for more info;

www.mez.co.uk/TuningTheRoverV8-pt6.html

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Instead of a 3.5, why not a 3.9? AFAIK you get the benefits of the 4.0 (4 bolt cranks, stronger engine, better sealing etc.) and you may still be able to use conventional distributors off the shelf .[/quote]

The pre-serp and intermediate 3.9 does not have cross-bolts. Cross bolted engines (with very few exceptions) were not fitted with distributors. The intermediate engine does have the bosses for the X-bolts though

Bring me in a P76 - you can have the v8 and I'll build something else to go in the hole.

Instead of a 3.5, why not a 3.9? AFAIK you get the benefits of the 4.0 (4 bolt cranks, stronger engine, better sealing etc.) and you may still be able to use conventional distributors off the shelf .[/quote]

The pre-serp and intermediate 3.9 does not have cross-bolts. Cross bolted engines (with very few exceptions) were not fitted with distributors. The intermediate engine does have the bosses for the X-bolts though

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Ah, you learn something new everyday .

I knew the 4.0s were cross bolted but not the intermediate 3.9s. So with enough effort (but probably as much as it would be to go to mappable ignition!) you can run a cross bolted engine with a dizzy?

No, very easy, you just swap the front cover/cam shaft/timing gear/sump and add a crank spacer. V8 Developments will sell you a spacer or you can machine one on a lathe.

Certainly much easier/cheaper if you already have the sump/front cover. I'd always put a new (uprated) cam/followers/timing gear into an unknown engine.

I missed what car this was though?

I still don't get your infatuation with old archaic clock work dizzys...

I've owned more RV8's than I can remember and ignition systems have always been a weak spot.

On a RaRo classic with LPG I was changing rotor arms and dizzy caps on a monthly basis.

IMHO ditching the dizzy and going Megajolt (ignition only) is the way to go. Combine that with lots of carbs and it'll sound awesome, and be reliable.