1994 Rover 420 Gsi Turbo

Cool, you shoulnt have to wait too long. I plan on uploading more over next couple days while I'm on holiday.

Congrats, It looks pretty nice and tidy. Will follow

Sometimes if a car hasnt any evidence of overheating i don't bother to get the head skimmed. But this one, i decided to anyway. I sent it off to MODUS engineering, they cleaning it all up, skimmed it, pressure and leak down tested it. SO not only is the gasket face all levelled and shiny, but i know all the valves seal properly too. It cost a fair bit, but makes me happy!

It was like unwrapping a present to reveal much shinyness.







Then it was reassembly time. I refitted all the tappets in their correct order and then applied liberal ammounts of engine build goop so the interface between the buckets and cams were protected at first start up.





Next it was time to refit and torque down the cam carriers. They seal to the head with special sealer. Its an anaerobic sealer, so it only sets once it is held between two surfaces without oxygen. Clever stuff, as it dissolves in oil. Basically if you were to use normal RTV, the bits that squidge out would block all teh oil ways under the carriers that lubricate that cams, or possibly get entrained somewhere else and cause blockages. This stuff just gets washed away and mixed in harmlessly with the oil.





Then it was time to start refitting the inlet and other ancillary stuff. I fitted new cam seals, and then the plastic upper timing cover behind the cam sprockets. The rubber mounting rings had all gone out of shape from oil contamination so fitted some new ones. They are pretty much impossible to find now sadly.



Thermostat housing to head gasket



I cleaned up and repainted the upper inlet manifold/plenum thing



I also sent the injectors off to be cleaned and serviced. They had new rings and pintle caps too. I got this flow chart back too.





All assembled to the head with new gaskets





Then i set about cleaning up the block. I removed the big alloy bracket that holds the alternator, the water pump and power steering pump so i could give it all a decent going over and change the o-ring between it and teh block.

One of teh bolts holding the alternator was seized solid and then rounded off which was super annoying as i couldnt get very good access to the last bolt between the alloy housing and the block.

Mega frustrating but managed to move the alternator away just enough so i could remove the whole assembly. Then i welded a nut to the old bolt and wound it out.

Black all washed down, de greased





Then painted in gloss black engine enamel. Kind of pointless because pretty much all of this is hidden by the alloy housing, radiator , exhaust manifold etc etc

More mess and devastation as stuff went back together. Been using the mighty DAF400 as my mobile workshop and tool cabinet!



I don't have any photos of it, but i also removed the sump, sent it off to be blacked and then powder coated. That was most therapeutic to see as it is one of those crappy pressed steel items, and the paint had all flaked off.

Cleaned up the block with a razor and some brake cleaner. Then installed new plastic location dowels. Even these are hard to get now





I put a drop of oil in each cylinder after i gave them a good clean, and then dropped on the new Klinger head gasket and then the cylinder head.





Then torqued it down with a set on new stretch head bolts. Below is the photo from the manual if anyone needs the torques etc.



New cam seal and cam gasket



New plugs, dizzy cap, rotor arm and i also replaced the split rubber intake to throttle body plate with a new alloy one.



I had everything that was black and metal and was in teh engine bay sent to the blasters and powercoaters. This was the radiator and intercooler frames, battery tray, fuse box bracket, ABS bracket, expansion tank bracket, relay holder etc etc etc. Expensive but should look good and last for ages.

They are great. People curse word about them being old fashioned etc etc but they are unbreakable. Mine has the non turbo 2.5 peugeot/indenor diesel and chugs along just fine. Just come back from delivering about 1 ton of wood in it.

I had a 416 GSI back in the late 90's.
They really are very underrated cars, very comfortable, handle well and are pretty quick.
The only thing that was a massive pain in the **** was changing the clutch and setting up the handbrake for the MOT which caused me more issues than it really should have.
Watching this with great interest!

Brilliant stuff, really rare cars and one of the best factory sleepers ever I reckon, 200hp, 150mph in a 4 door Rover saloon.

Yeah its nuts when you think about what else was on the road back then. These were rockets by comparison. Faster than standard cosworths of the time i think?

Hello?

Is this project still ongoing?

I am a new member,  I came across this thread whilst doing a search for "Rover GSi Turbo  Airline Pilot "  which was how Rover Group advertised it back in the day.  The slightly sporty looking car, ( as they thought -- not really)  but very quick, one for young BA pilots to aspire to.  I still haven't found a picture of that newspaper and magazine advert.

Though I am happy to stumble across this.  It was such a nice Wolf in sheep's clothing compared to the real in your face coupe 220 Tomcat which I think shared the same engine. We had two guys at Viglen back in the day who went for that alongside their Sony Mars Bar phones ! )

I think the shape has aged well,  the interior dash dials are so easy to read ( like BMW and Mercedes of the time, not like this modern LCD  "flash"  )  and even the seats have not got too worn on the bolsters.  The wood is not too in your face. I think BL, sorry, Rover Group, judged the interior well between plush and sporting for that time. The 620 turbo also good.

What a rare car, very glad you are doing it up.  When finished it will be quite speedy considering the light weight. Will raise some eyebrows. 

Interestingly I always thought the red paint was slightly darker from the adverts? Maybe it has faded more to strawberry than cherry, or maybe my rose tinted glasses are a shade too far

All the best.

Andy