rover/honda engine swops

JackH

Unlikely I'd say, without major work. The 216 vtec conversion was possible because the vtec engine is similar to the 216 Honda lump (obviously). The

2.0T Rover lump is gonna be nothing like the Honda lump so absolutely nothing will match up. You'll need to fabricate engine/box mounts, exhuast, driveshafts, rewire the whole thing etc etc. And from what i gather the vtec lump is a tight fit - a 2.0 DOHC engine with a turbo too is gonna be even tighter.

was wondering with the honda/rover tie up whether or not a lot of bits would be the same/similar ie shafts mounts etc

anyone suggest any good rover forums :)

Not a chance.

For a start, ISTR the engines run the 'wrong' way in a Civic.

Obviously, this won't stop you taking a grinder to the front of the Civic before abandoning it on your front lawn.....

just a thought, a complete rover 600 turbo would be a damn site cheaper than a B16a1 :)

Don't know about the Rover 216 but Honda-powered Elises are a reality.

Expensif though...

Tom De Moor

High with enough money or skill, the question should be is it worth it? Probably not. IIRC the mounts don't line up the way you would expect them to with the close ties they had back then.

And they have custom fabricated engine mounts. They don't drop straight in.

Drop in they do but I get your point.

Apart from the price (more than the car is worth; the Audi Turbo conversion is as costly) I do not like the extra weight involved. The Honda lump is really heavy compared to the k-series Rover.

In an Elise S1 everything "gravitates" around weight.

Still looking for the Rotrex supercharger on mine but time goes by so fast. Nice to drive it without the roof. Never thought I would like a roofless car.

For those who believe you drive slower without a roof: bollocks. I behave like a hooligan with it. :-)

I honestly can't see why some-one who go into the effort and money to put a Honda engine into a Rover 216 but then who am I?

Tom De Moor

I don't know, I could only get into the S1 with the roof off and I doubt the S2 is any different.

Dont know, why dont you ask rover :) I want to put a rover engine into a Honda car.,

Sorry , I can't: they seem to be out of business.

Putting a Rover engine in a Honda seems equivalent to replacing a man's healthy hart by that one of a 95-old person. If everything goes to wish and the patient survives, he won't live long to tell.

On the other hand: I like the k-series a lot. Nice and light piece of engineering. The 214 -216 series were mildly good (looking) cars, just as the 600. Rover declined big time with the 25/45 series.

Tom De Moor

Why?

Because I got offered the running gear complete with all the necessary mounts etc. (allegedly), at a reasonable price.

The fact there was a reason it was cheap, i.e: the seller hadn't been entirely honest with regards to the condition of the engine, is another matter.

That, and the mounts were more a fabrication of the truth than a fabrication of use. (!)

What I should have ended up with if all had gone to plan was something with VTEC power and an arguably better interior than the equivalent Civic or CRX, which would have cost at least twice what the Rover would have stood me in at, had all gone to plan.

What else can I say... I like the 216 GTi, at least in DOHC three door form - I'd still like one with a tuned VTEC in it.

-- JackH

putting a B16a1 vtec lump into a rover 216

Not that similar unless we're talking wiring, which is a matter of about four extra wires needed for the VTEC system to work.

The mounts are all in slightly different places. The engine isn't even the same ccs as the non-VTEC.

It's not that tight a fit.

It does however weigh an absolute ton...

-- JackH

Nothing in common at all... as others have said, for one thing the Honda lumps are in the other way round, i.e: gearbox sits on the drivers side, compared to the more conventional mounting seen in most FWD stuff.

I would... but having seen you at work on MIGWeb, I'm not sure I want to.

-- JackH

Yep, I know that feeling. But have you counted the hours (at a reasonable price) which you will work on it?

Hey! That feeling recalls semi-fond memories too.

I now make the distinction between dirt-cheap, cheap, normal, expensif and very expensif.

If in doubt I go for the 2 extremes. Seems to work out quite well.

Tom De Moor

This all happened early last year...

In the end I scrapped it, because having got the running gear in, it was blatantly obvious it was going to need plenty of TLC and a head gasket (amongst other things).

That, and the 16v VTS 106 Rallye conversion came along - we spent less than a weekend getting the engine from the salvage Rallye out, and then into the other one.

That one restored my faith in these kind of projects anyway, given the Rover VTEC one was a complete disaster that culminated in the wrecking of a perfectly good 216 GTi Twin Cam.

Heh... I've gone all boring and respectable.

I'm still debating whether or not to drop something bigger, (or smaller, if we went the bike engine route), into a KA, mind. ;-)

-- JackH

Ah, it was nice of you to try sell it to us all then for several hundred quid as "Just needs a little tidying" :-)

Because at that time, that was all I thought it did need... :-)

Further investigation revealed the head gasket was knackered and the running gear was sold as such, whilst the rest of the car was binned.

-- JackH

Hehe I know, I was just messin :-)

I suspect I've just comitted to buying a new car - how does one pay for a car when buying privately?