Randell,
I considered RPI, actually talked to them at length one night. The problem
with that is twofold. Yes, I am going totally concours with this car, since
there are so few Factory V-8s in the US. The other problem is that the
original GT V-8 gearbox design is at its operational limits with the 3.5,
and probably would grenade behind a 3.9 block.
I know, I should replace the tranny with a Rover 5-speed and put in a 3.9,
but after all the originality that I have gone after (trips to England to
get trim bits and stuff from Syd Beer, for example), I couldn't bring myself
to make the changes. Even if the mod is visually inconspicuous, I could see
myself in a car show yelling out to the judges..."Gentlemen! Dissemble no
more!! Gaze upon the beating of this hideous non-original engine!!" (with
apologies to E. Poe).
Cheers, PK
PS: What is CDA II?
Randell said:
> Replace the block with a brand-new late-model Rover 3.9 short
> block. Seriously. RPI engineering in the UK sells them (new, no
> exchange)
> for <800 pounds; complete short blocks with crank, rods, pistons, timing
> chain, gears and cam. They're stiffer, will stand higher RPM's better,
> have better main-bearing caps, etc, and you get 400cc's more displacement.
> (Note that the pictons will be set for a compression of 9.35:1 I suspect,
> though you should check - you may have some options there. You might also
> want to swap for a different cam while you're at it; the cam may be a
> low-end-torque Land Rover cam, and you might want a higher-rpm power
> band.)
>
> At those prices, it's hard to justify rebuilding a 3.5 short block.
>
> If correctness bothers you, keep the original 3.5 block around and
> rebuild it at a leisurely pace, and then if you ever want to go
> really serious concours you can drop it back in (I doubt you'd lose much
> by having the 3.9 block, though).
>
> See http://www.rpi-engineering.co.uk/
>
> --
> Randell Jesup, Worldgate Communications, ex-Scala, ex-Amiga OS team
> ('88-94)
> rjesup@wgate.com
> CDA II has been passed and signed, sigh. The lawsuit has been filed.
> Please
> support the organizations fighting it - ACLU, EFF, CDT, etc.
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