Viva hb V8 fitting?

[petespops]

Just a few questions re; hb viva
Wondering what route to go V8 ford or V8 rover or xe twin cam?
How much needs to be cut from bulkhead for the V8?
If fitting V8,can original heater be retained?
Something tells me that the steering will need to be modified to get around the exhaustmanifold/headers, is this correct?

Thanks in advance





Pete

[Sid]

V8 Ford? Do you mean an American engine in which case that's a *lot* of weight to think about., or did you mean V6?

V8 Rover is nice as it's lightweight, though as you say bulkead needs cutting, amount depends on whether you use the SD1 or P6 water
pump (2" length difference), but either way the stock heaters will have to go and you'll need to modify the top of the transmission
tunnel slightly as well.
Not sure about the steering linkage but I'd guess you'd at very least need to change the rubber coupling for a smaller metal UJ
(that's what I had to do to fit the ford V6).

I guess the XE is the "sensible" conversion, with an easy 160BHP on tap and *relatively* few fitting issues, but the end result
isn't quite as "interesting" as a nice V8
If you're building an daily-driver then the XE must be the logical choice, but if it's a weekend/show car then I'd go for the Rover
V8, but then you've also gotta think about gearboxes and axles.

Sid

----- Original Message -----
From: "petespops" <modifications@vauxhallviva.com>
To: <modifications@vauxhallviva.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 1:08 PM
Subject: Viva hb V8 fitting?

Just a few questions re; hb viva
Wondering what route to go V8 ford or V8 rover or xe twin cam?
How much needs to be cut from bulkhead for the V8?
If fitting V8,can original heater be retained?
Something tells me that the steering will need to be modified to get around the exhaustmanifold/headers, is this correct?

[Edd_V6]

I have a V8 Rover in one of my viva's and there is very little cutting of the bulkhead in fact it is only modified so the hydrolic clutch can sit inside the car and not outside in the way of the engine, the steering however is very modified to miss the engine and this is the bit that worried me the most about the conversion.
I also have a Cologne V6 in a viva and again there is very little modification to the bulkhead to fit engine. There are no modifications necessary to the steering its all standard HB viva.

Edd

[petespops]

Thanks folks, I was thinking of a small block ford, partially because it is dimensionally smaller than the rover and puts out more power in stock form than the rover in stock form, but weighs heavier. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
I have already got an xe and manta box, so will probably go that route, I don't want to do too much fabrication on this one, I have enough to do on the Thames van and the 2 Ford 100E estate cars which are very modified under the skin.




Pete

[Sid]

Given that you've already got the bits the XE seems the obvious choice then. It will certainly make for a more driveable car, if not
so much of a show car.
So, does that mean you've got a small block Ford engine looking for a home

Sid

----- Original Message -----
From: "petespops" <modifications@vauxhallviva.com>
To: <modifications@vauxhallviva.com>
Sent: Monday, October 09, 2006 12:03 PM
Subject: Re: Viva hb V8 fitting?

Thanks folks, I was thinking of a small block ford, partially because it is dimensionally smaller than the rover and puts out more
power in stock form than the rover in stock form, but weighs heavier. Swings and roundabouts I guess.
I have already got an xe and manta box, so will probably go that route, I don't want to do too much fabrication on this one, I
have enough to do on the Thames van and the 2 Ford 100E estate cars which are very modified under the skin.

[petespops]

No, sorry Sid, but could probably get a small block ford or rover v8 pretty easily, as a lot of my friends are running v8 fords in their cars, they may have spare engines.




Pete