This discussion came about because friend has just bought a Rover 75 (2002 I think!) and after the usual ?brown nectar? fuelled jibes, where we told him that the engines were known ?trouble?, he defended it by saying that he was prepared to put up with a few breakdowns from the engine because he really loved the rest of it. He wasn?t best pleased when we said he was lucky it got him home from the dealers, and that it only had 22000miles on it because it had been broken down so often!.
Rovers used to have Honda engines, would say a 2.2 prelude engine in a heavy 75, actually be any better than the 2.0lt unit that?s in it now, apart from reliability, or do these cars really need a decent Diesel lump as standard? Did Rover lose this unreliable ?stigma? whilst they used Honda?s?
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There is a stigma around Rovers, but I'm not sure its unreliability. Yes, the K series is a dog of an engine, but if you avoid that I'm not sure they're any less reliable than anything else of the same year. There are stacks of early 90's 200 and 400 models still going strong, and in good nick too. Get one with the Honda engine and it'll run forever. Ditto the 600 which is a rebadged Accord with a nicer interior.
There's not much wrong with the 75 either. It was designed and developed by BMW, and if you avoid the K-series, it's a good car. A neighbour of mine (an OAP incidentally) is on his second 75, and loves it to bits. No trouble with this, or the previous one.
Their biggest problem was the OAP image and the fact that in later years they clearly thought the British public were stupid and would pay £10k+ for a reheated 1994 Honda Civic, and £8k for a car that cost £3k in India!
Cheers
DP
--
04 Grand Scenic 1.9 dCi Dynamique
00 Mondeo 1.8TD LX
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When I had my old Audi 80 quattro, my fantasy engine at the time was to have the 2.2 5-cylinder bored out to 2.6 litres, which would give 175bhp. One was tested by a magazine and some of the 3rd/4th gear acceleration times were quicker than an urQuattro turbo, because the 2.6 had more low down torque and no turbo lag.
IMHO your engine capacity limitation scuppers the 'fantasy' a bit Billy. ;o)
One impressive one I saw recently was a late model Mazda RX7 (great looking car, better than RX8 IMO), with a 6 litre Chevy LS2 V8 and gearbox in it (yes it does fit). Brilliant basso profundo growl instead of rotary sewing machine sound effects, tons of power and torque. Quite thirsty but then so is a rotary engine!
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Honda CRX 1.6 engine in just about anything small and sporty, wonder what it would be like in an MG Midget or similar
Suzuki Swift GTI 16 valve engine really was ahead of its time, would be good to have have it in an MG Metro or similar, or even put this suzuki engine in something like a Toyota Ayrgo or similar
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Their biggest problem was the OAP image and the fact that in later years they clearly thought the British public were stupid and would pay £10k+ for a reheated 1994 Honda Civic and £8k for a car that cost £3k in India!
The daft thing is that in principle the idea is a perfectly good one.
Take one cheap but solid car from an overseas manufacturer and build it up into something that's a nice place to be.
Only problem was they chose the wrong car.
If they'd managed to do a deal with the like of Hyundai (probably the modern equivalent of the Honda of the early 80s) to spruce up something like a Getz, and sell *that* for £7500-8000 with the 1.3l engine, they may have got somewhere. A reasonably good, modern hatch with good build quality, just let down by a few rough edges here and there -- ripe for Roverisation.
On topic, would have to say a whizzy 1.8 or 2l Honda VTEC in a mid-80s hot hatch.
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"The Jaguar XJ220 had a "metro" 3.5 V6 - why not fit the Jaguar V12 it was supposed to have!"
As a Jag buff I was surprised to learn that. According to Wikipedia the reason for the Metro engine was that the physical engine size and emissions are the reasons given.
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 08/10/2007 at 20:43
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is this the Group B rally car engine we're talking about? I thought the Jag 220 got a V6 turbo purely for reasons of £s, even at that price.
JH
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Yes according to Wicki straight out of the Metro 6R4 - regardless of its (very) humble origin that car was beast...Tony Pond remember him ?
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indeed. Drove all sorts as I recall eventually tying up BMC/BLMH/BL or whatever they were called that week.
Speaking of the Metro 6R4 where's the latest Clio with it's engine where the shopping normally goes? And gran.
JH
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I think the old Rover V8 engine was a popular power unit to be shoehorned in all sorts of cars, as was the Ford 3.0V6.
For my money I would quit like a combination that is easily obtainable. A S2 discovery with the 4.6V8. The only practical problem I have is affording the petrol.
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Yes I remember Tony Pond from watching the Group B cars at Clumber and Chatsworth. They were the days!
Metro 6R4 - regardless of its (very) humble origin that car was beast...
Even more of a beast in twin turbo form for rallycross, as piloted by Will Gollop. Capable of producing 800bhp, but this would have been "unuseable" in a Metro so was limited to 650bhp. :-o
Spoilsports! (only joking).
0-60 in 2.5 seconds...
www.ten-tenths.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-35643...l
Edited by Rich 9-3 on 09/10/2007 at 13:58
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I recall the car was indeed meant to get a V12 - that's what it was meant to get. Production version changed a lot. People with £50,000 deposits placed not too happy either. More powerful mind but with turbo lag. Also lost the scissor doors and 4wd.
What I didn't know was the V6 was one and the same as the one in the Metro 3.5 v6. You learn loads on here.
Now as for "engine fitting" the VW Golf GTI W12 (as seen in Autoexpress and now Top Gear) has the engine from a Bentley in the back of a Golf .... well not really a Golf but it looks like one. But the Escort Cosworth was not based on an Escort either - it was a shortened Sierra Cosworth I recall.
Edited by rtj70 on 08/10/2007 at 23:20
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WELCOME to the automotive version of What's My Line Guess today's mystery guest.
I was born small and light, just 215 cubic inches and 318 pounds, in 1961 in Flint, Mich. I was raised in Europe. My corporate parents were General Motors, British Leyland/Rover Group, BMW AG and Ford Motor Co. I have worked for Buick , Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Rover, Land Rover, MG, Triumph, Morgan, Marcos, TVR and others.
Who - rather, what - am I?
puzzled? apparently it's an old friend of many!
tinyurl.com/2smgsy
Billy
She certainly put herself around!
Edited by billy25 on 09/10/2007 at 02:31
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It has to be the 3.5 V8
JH
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Good link Billy
I knew it had been in production for a long time but 1961 WOW.
And it's not a 32 valve either!
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