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Rover V8 engine
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==History== The Rover V8 began life as the [[Buick 215]], an all-aluminium [[overhead valve|OHV]] pushrod engine introduced in 1960 for the 1961 US model year (it was on their drawing boards in the late 1950s). The compact alloy engine was light, at just {{convert|144|kg|lb||abbr=on}}, and capable of high power outputs: the most powerful [[Buick]] version of this engine rated {{convert|200|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, and the very similar [[Oldsmobile]] "Jetfire" [[turbocharged]] version made {{convert|215|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}, both numbers [[Horsepower#SAE gross power|SAE gross]]. Based on sales volume and press reports, the engine was a success. Buick produced 376,799 cars with this engine in just three years. A comparable number of Oldsmobile 215 engines were produced. In addition, some [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] models were fitted with the Buick 215, leading to the nickname "BOP 215" for the engine (BOP standing for Buick/Oldsmobile/Pontiac). The aluminium engine was relatively expensive to produce, however, and it suffered problems with oil and coolant sealing, as well as with [[radiator (engine cooling)|radiator]] clogging from use of [[antifreeze]] incompatible with aluminium{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs references to reliable sources.|date=June 2021}}. As a result, GM ceased production of the all-aluminium engine after 1963, although Buick retained a similar 300/340/350 cid engine (iron block and alloy heads, later all-iron) (1964β1980), as well as a [[GM 3800 engine|V6]] derivative (1962β2008) which proved to have a very long and successful life. In January 1964 Rover gave American operations head J. Bruce McWilliams permission to investigate the possible purchase of an American V8 engine for Rover cars. History relates that McWilliams first saw the Buick V8 at the works of [[Mercury Marine]], where he was discussing the sale of Rover gas turbines and diesel engines to the company (Mercury Marine did indeed use the Land Rover {{convert|2.25|L|cid|1|abbr=on}} [[diesel engine]] in marinised form){{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs references to reliable sources.|date=June 2021}}. However, it is likely that McWilliams was aware of the Buick engine before this. In any case, McWilliams realised that the lightweight Buick V8 would be ideal for smaller British cars (indeed, it weighed less than many [[straight-4]] engines it would replace). McWilliams and William Martin-Hurst began an aggressive campaign to convince GM to sell the tooling, which they finally agreed to do in January 1965. Retiring Buick engineer Joe Turlay moved to the UK to act as a consultant. The Rover V8 has long been a relatively common engine for [[kit car]] use in Britain, much as the [[Chevrolet small-block V8]] is for American hot rod builders (though many British hot rods have traditionally used four cylinder engines, like the [[Ford Pinto engine|Ford Pinto]] and [[Ford Kent engine|Crossflow]] units). Even in the US there is a strong contingent of builders who select the Buick or Rover aluminium V8 engine for use in small sporty cars like the [[MG MGB|MGB]] . The 1964 Buick iron-block {{convert|300|cid|L|1|abbr=on|order=flip|sigfig=3}} engine had aluminium cylinder heads, 3.75 bore and a longer 3.4" stroke [[crankshaft]], which with modification can be used with the Buick 215 or Rover engine blocks to produce a high-output, very light weight V8 with displacement of up to about {{convert|300|cid|L|1|abbr=on|order=flip|sigfig=3}}. The 300 crank, after machining the mains to the 215 size in the 215 block yields {{convert|260|cid|L|1|abbr=on|order=flip|sigfig=3}}. Traco in the USA were prominent builders of such engines. The British made engines were run on two SU carburettors, initially HS6 then HIF6 and HIF44 variants (14 years), then two CD175 [[Stromberg carburettor]]s (2β3 years), [[Bosch (company)|Bosch]] [[L-Jetronic]] (7β8 years, aka [[Lucas Industries|Lucas]] 4CU Flapper), then [[Hitachi]] Hotwire (5 years, aka [[Lucas 14CUX]]), then the GEMS system (many years) and finally Bosch [[Motronic]]s for 2 years. The engine is still cast now (2011), in an improved version, by Coscast in [[Birmingham, UK]]. As well as appearing in Rover cars, the engine was sold by Rover to small car builders, and has appeared in a wide variety of vehicles. Rover V8s feature in some models from [[Morgan Motor Company|Morgan +8]], [[TVR]], [[Triumph Motor Company|Triumph TR8]], [[Land Rover]] and [[MG (car)|MGB V8]], among many others. By the late 1990s, the Rover V8 had become uncompetitive with other V8 engines in its class. Compared to modern V8 engines, It produced less horsepower, it used much more fuel, and used an aged pushrod architecture, whereas V8 engines made by other automakers often used overhead-cam designs. After Land Rover switched to the [[BMW M62]] V8 in the 2003 [[Range Rover]], and the petrol-powered Land Rover Discovery 3 switched to the [[Jaguar AJ-V8]] engine, the last mass-produced Rover V8 was made in May 2004, after 37 years of production, and just under 1 million engines produced. The 2004 [[Land Rover Discovery|Land Rover Discovery II]] was the last mass-produced vehicle to use it. The last Rover-badged vehicle that used the Rover V8 was the [[Rover SD1]], which was discontinued in 1986 and replaced by the [[Rover 800]], which used a 2.7 litre variant of the [[Honda C engine]] as its top engine choice. [[MG Rover Group]] used the 4.6 L SOHC 2-valve [[Ford Modular engine|Ford Modular V8]] engine in the [[Rover 75#Rover V8|Rover 75]] and [[MG ZT#V8|MG ZT 260]] from 2003-2005. The Rover V8 remained with Land Rover when it was sold to Ford by [[BMW]]. Although Land Rover has switched to the [[Jaguar AJ-V8 engine]] for new applications, they wanted production of the engine to continue, and they arranged for production to restart in [[Weston-super-Mare]] under MCT, an engineering and manufacturing company. MCT will continue limited production of the engine for the foreseeable future, supplying engines for aftermarket and replacement use.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=13228|title=The Rover V8 Will Burble Again: Famous torquey powerplant rumbles on|work=Pistonheads.com|access-date=23 February 2006 }}</ref> The Rover V8 based on the Buick design was not the first V8 engine produced by Rover. When the Rover Company was having engineering differences of opinion regarding the development of the [[Frank Whittle|Whittle]] turbine engine, the Wilks brothers did a deal with [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] to swap technologies. The turbine engine project at [[Barnoldswick]] went to Rolls-Royce and Rover Co took over the V12 [[Rolls-Royce Meteor|Meteor]] engine production used in a range of world war two tanks and the post war [[Centurion Tank]] - (the Meteor V12 was a 'detuned' version of the Merlin aero engine). From this a V8 variant was developed. The [[Rover Meteorite]], also known as [[Rolls-Royce Meteorite]], was a V8 petrol engine of {{convert|18.01|L|cid|abbr=on|0}} capacity. In essence it was two-thirds of a V12 Meteor, and it shared the Meteor's 60Β° bank angle. Meteorites were built for heavy duty vehicles, for marine use and as stationary power units: it powered the [[Thornycroft Antar]] or Mighty Antar Tank Transporter β and as such was used to transport Meteor-engined tanks β and also heavy transport on the [[Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme]] in Australia.
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