what can you do with a petrol?

[scott]

i'm pulling my 2.25 this week. gotta do a complete rebuild. besides shaving & porting the head a bit to increase compression and polishing the insides of the intake manifold to help with breathing is there anything else that can be done to add a horse or two to this thing. it's in my 64 iia 88. i'll be towing a sankey wide track and want more power. do want to stay close to original so no tdi's for me. are there higher compression pistons available? are there RV Cams or a way to optimize the valve durations for more power?

[Eric W S]

Never seen any higher compression pistons for the 2.25. How high are you planning to go? Most OEM pistons can probably live fine up to a 9:1 head.

You do have options as far as cams go. Your best bet is the Land Rover Cam for the 2.5. My old mechanic's son installed one and it did provide noticebale results.

You can check out ACR http://www.automotivecomp.com/landrover_perf.html I contacted Roland, the owner, and he does have a few kitted engines in the states. The price on one of his long blocks and his parts (SU carb, intake manifold, head) is extremely expensive. RESEARCH ACR ENGINES! That is all I will say.

I would research if a local shop could replicate a Turner head for you to the same quality. If not, then buy a Turner. Make sure that the block is machined properly and to factory specs. I would also recommend have the engine properly balanced by the shop.

I would install the 2.5 LR cam.

Forget polishing and porting the manifolds. Not much to be gained, IMO. Make sure they seal well or replace. Headers are a waste IMO. But let me say that in Chicago, I need the stock exhaust manifold for extreme cold weather starts and let's be real, headers on this motor aren't going to do much IMO. 350? yes. 2.25? not worth the price.

I would get a dual barrel weber and peirce manifold. Or a Rochester properly ported to the engine.

Finally, check into ignitions. Petronix is very easy. I am liking the MSD ignition and coils myself. I am researching on how to adapt their 4 cyclinder ignition to the 66. Timing is off the crank via a sensor and I have seen one executed by Cooper Technica. It drove very sweet as you can adjust the timing to suit.

You could look into the stainless exhaust out hosts sell. Personally not a big fan as any custom muffler shop can build you a far nicer one for cheaper. That and the NRP my old D-90 rusted at the welds. BAD. The change in back pressure is debatable, IMO. Several diagnostic sections of the factory manual deal with the exhaust. And let's face it, what is the cost of the minimal perfromance per dollar?

Aside form that your polishing a turd. I mean you can get horses from these engines, but at a very high cost. A nicely done rebuilt engine is quite peppy. If your looking for more power, than time to consider a motor transplant.

[greenmeanie]

Scott,
It ain't ever going to be a hot rod. Having said that here's what I know.

The head is where the power is made in an engine.
- You can shave the head to give 9:1 compression. Just be careful about clearance to the thermostat neck at the front. A little clearance grinding may be required.
- The pistons are already flat top so you would have to find something domed from another application or custom. There's not a lot to be gained as ou can achieve 9:1 with head work alone.
- If you have not done it already add the hardened valve seats and stellite valves for an unleaded conversion. A 3 angle valve job can't hurt if they are going to cut new seats for you anyway.
- If you have the time, the knowledge and the inclination you can do some porting. Given the rest of the engine this has limited gain.
- The cam from a 2.5L engine or the diesel (Check that one) provides a bit more grunt. You can also source a performance one from ACR in the UK but I've heard it's not really any better than the 2.5L.
- If the engine seized you will be having it bored. With new pistons some people swear by having the rotating assembly balbnced. It will make the engine smoother but doesn't add any power to an engine that only revs to 4200rpm.
- You can look at the carb. The single barrel Rochester adds a bit of top end at the expense of a mile or two on the fuel consumption.
- If you haven't done so already put in electronic ignition and good spark plug leads. Magnecor do a good set. make sure you get a set of plugs that are for the later 8:1 engine. Adding at least one extra earth strap to the engine is a good idea too.
- Oh, and put the oil filter adapter on the right way round

I would recommend shaving the head to 8:1, the 2.5L cam and carb as giving the best bang for the buck. After that you start spending serious money and will still be pushed to break 100hp.

For an idea of head work possibilities Turner engineering are useful to talk to.

Cheers
Gregor

[scott]

thanks guys, i was running with a weber 2 brl. after a custom exhaust of a 1.75" vs the 1.5" dia i did noticed a slight increase in power, so i thought if i increase the inhalation maybe more. i will be going electronic on the ignition. so the 2.5 cam fits w/o a problem in the 2.25?

i would never expect 100hp out of this thing. prior to seizing it would cruz at about 65 mph w/o a problem, got an o/d. speed/hot rod is not what i'm seeking. just want a strong engine that won't scream at me when i hook up the sankey that i'm converting into a soft top caravan that should weigh in just under 2000 lbs loaded

[greenmeanie]

i will be going electronic on the ignition. so the 2.5 cam fits w/o a problem in the 2.25?

Big reliable spark will do wonders for how smooth the engine runs.

The 2.5L cam is a straight swap other than you need to order the special bolt that goes in the end to hold the sprocket in place. IIRC the 2.5L cam is a metric thread.

Gregor

[Eric W S]

thanks guys, i was running with a weber 2 brl. after a custom exhaust of a 1.75" vs the 1.5" dia i did noticed a slight increase in power, so i thought if i increase the inhalation maybe more. i will be going electronic on the ignition. so the 2.5 cam fits w/o a problem in the 2.25?

i would never expect 100hp out of this thing. prior to seizing it would cruz at about 65 mph w/o a problem, got an o/d. speed/hot rod is not what i'm seeking. just want a strong engine that won't scream at me when i hook up the sankey that i'm converting into a soft top caravan that should weigh in just under 2000 lbs loaded

Cam is a direct replacement.

Turner site is really good on what to ask your machine shop to price. Pretty much all that was mentioned the site goes into a little bit more in detail. They also have a really good testimonials section on what you should expect from similar modifications.

[jp-]

It might be possible to fit a small blower to the 2.25 (without tremendous work), which by itself would easily push you over 100hp.

[Daurie]

It might be possible to fit a small blower to the 2.25 (without tremendous work), which by itself would easily push you over 100hp.

Oh lordy.. Putting the blower on would be the easy part.. fuel delivery and tuning would send me to the crazy house! The joys of adding forced induction to a normally aspirated engine..

[jp-]

Daurie, maybe I'll make a kit and sell it?

Tuning already done.

[msggunny]

i'm pulling my 2.25 this week. gotta do a complete rebuild. besides shaving & porting the head a bit to increase compression and polishing the insides of the intake manifold to help with breathing is there anything else that can be done to add a horse or two to this thing. it's in my 64 iia 88. i'll be towing a sankey wide track and want more power. do want to stay close to original so no tdi's for me. are there higher compression pistons available? are there RV Cams or a way to optimize the valve durations for more power?

Chief,

A. when did you get back from the sand box?

B. what the hell did you do to your engine?

I know people here say that a header is useless but i run one with a 40 series flowmaster and i love it. That plus the Weber 32/36, Pierce manifold, 2.5L cam, Petronix, and 8:1 head make her have quite a bit of grunt. I need 5th gear or OD.

Look into getting the internals balanced.

I dont know, if things like headers, high flow muflers, free flow intakes, etc, work for other 4cylinder engines i dont see why they wouldnt work for a LR 2.25.

O, the Chief Mess on the USS San Antonio is ok....

[thixon]

Look into getting the internals balanced.

I dont know, if things like headers, high flow muflers, free flow intakes, etc, work for other 4cylinder engines i dont see why they wouldnt work for a LR 2.25.

Those things add some horsepower, they just don't add enough to justify the costs to some on this board.

As far as balancing goes, I generally have it done on any motor I rebuild (rover or not), but not for extra powers sake. A balanced motor runs smoother, and will (sometimes) last longer due to the decreased vibration.

blueprinting a motor, knife edging the rods, porting, polishing, headers, exhaust, better carbs, cam, fuel injection (yes, you could pull it off on a series), all that stuff can add horsepower. I think the point most are trying to make is that you are better off throwing money at an engine conversion that's guaranteed to make more power, with greater reliablitiy.

I'd be willing to bet you a gallon of gas that if you got rid of the header and went back to a stock manifold and exhuast you wouldn't notice much difference. The grunt you feel is from the 2.5 cam, hot spark (pertonix), and the 8:1 head. It would make some difference, just not very much.

BTW, don't get me wrong, I love overdoing a motor. I sold a jeep two years ago that I built a 383 stroker for. I had it balanced, aluminum heads, alum roller rockers, big arse cam, the whole deal. It would smoke all four tires in 4wd. Hmmm, maybe I should have put that motor in my SIIa.

[scott]

gunny

got back in late july, home late august. engine siezed. had a spin on oil adaptor that i put on backwards 2 years ago. worked fine 'till i put on a new filter that has this new anti-back flow valves in 'em. two days after getting home i go retrieve my rove from the roversitter start for home and after 15 miles she siezes.

chief's messes are always nice

god's speed devil dog

[StX_Rovers]

"I am liking the MSD ignition and coils myself. I am researching on how to adapt their 4 cyclinder ignition to the 66."

We have the MSD 6AL in our 70 Road Runner and it has worked very well. It will work with points or electronic ignitions. I am not sure how well it will work with a Pertronix but I think it will work just fine. I have found their tech line very helpful. Just checked, there are explicit instructions for hooking it up to a Pertronix ignition

MSD's like good grounds, I ran the power and ground straight to the battery with #12 AWG wire. They also like a fully charged battery. Ours is mounted where the heater box used to be in the RR. It is up under the dash out of sight and out of the heat of the engine room.

Realistically, for the RPM's a Rover petrol runs probably a hotter coil like a Lucas sport coil or a MSD Blaster will be all you need, at most. After all, you do not have a cam with a lot of overlap resulting in a tendency for low RPM fouling where the multiple spark helps. The multiple spark cuts off at 3000 RPM. Still, it certainly will not hurt.

I believe that it is very simple to set up the 6AL at least for 4 cylinder operation. I think you just snip a wire or two and there are explicit instructions in the installation booklet. Just checked, there is a little cover you remove and you snip the red and the blue wire and it is set up for 4 cylinder operation. The other thing to know is that it will not work with solid core wires due to excessive electrical noise (EMI). The 6AL will not work with a distributorless system.

Even with a 7:1 Petrol engine you can still have fun with your Rover. In addition to making it home and up our road no matter what the weather, Michelle races her 67 88 in street class here on St. Croix at the dragstrip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idH1Bck_U5s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9Cf0_ovo9I

[Tim Smith]

I love the videos StX!

[greenmeanie]

One other thing is to convert to an electric fuel pump or at least overhaul the machnaical one. My old OEM mechanical part was reliable as it lasted well over 100K but performance did fade over time. I chased spark, timing, air flow and everything else under the sun but because I could see fuel pumping through the filter I didn't give it a thought.

It got to the stage that I couldn't rev past 3300rpm. When the pump eventually failed I put on a 'lecky one and she revs up past 4K with ease.

Cheers
Gregor