Comments invited: Rover 214SEi 1995 (old shape) engine alternatives?

Hi all

I'm inviting comments on replacing the engine in a rover 214 i have just bought. I knew the head gasket had failed on the car before i had bought it, but pulled the engine apart as a minor curiousity, and because.. well.. i was bored. Now, rather than go to a load of hassle repairing it, i'm looking to put another engine in. A bigger engine would be good, just for the sheer hilarity of eating little boys at traffic lights, in a relative grandad mobile.

So, i'm here inviting comments as to which other engines in the world, would fit this particular car.. Ideally such engines would be available in a smashed car, for relatively little money; i'm doing this because, as a computer programmer, i get bored of the office work and like to play with mechanical things. I have workshop facilities, including welding, milling etc, but the fewer structural modifications, the better. The less i can spend on it, the better, because like I mentioned, this is sort of a hobby/idle project; i'm not likely to fit blue LEDs to my window washers upon completion of the project.

I've been wondering about a rover 2 litre turbo (e.g. 820 vitesse) or similar - would a lump of this size fit? An engine out of a 220/420 would probably be the most straightforward fit. Would i see any appreciable gains by fitting a turbo from a diesel 1.8 to the standard

2.0 petrol? Would the ECU be able to adjust to make use of the extra airfolw? etc..

So, some comments are invited as to what can be thrown into this engine bay with minimal hassle.

Regards Matt

Reply to
Sum Ting Wong
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Don't waste your effort, just go and buy a quick car, an old 2.0sri cavalier is an absolute racing car and dirt cheap.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

In news:CefNc.8838$d snipped-for-privacy@news-text.cableinet.net, mrcheerful . decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

But handles like a shopping trolley on Diazepam. *Avoid*

Reply to
Pete M

I like that one.

Reply to
SteveH

He mentioned acceleration, not handling.

mrcheerful

Reply to
mrcheerful

In news:DifNc.8845$ snipped-for-privacy@news-text.cableinet.net, mrcheerful . decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

To give the 2.0 Cav its due, they do go quite well. Torquey lil buggers. Engines are a bit rough, but they're certainly effective.

Reply to
Pete M

souls

To be fair, they don't really have that either.

Reply to
Dan405

In news:ctgNc.1015$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe1-gui.ntli.net, AstraVanMan decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Er, Rover put the 2.0 Turbo in the 420 Turbo, for example. So I imagine it'll fit.

Reply to
Pete M

Sounds painful - engines go through lots of expensive machining processes when being bored. It must have hurt quite a bit.

I dunno, the 1.4 K-series engines are really great - I'd be tempted to find another one of those. Tip - look for a Metro GTi with a knackered gearbox - it's a well known weak point and finding one shouldn't be too hard. Make sure it's been well looked after regarding keeping a careful eye on the coolant, and you'll be laughing. Don't know if the 214s had the same gearboxes as the Metros, but there is a standard gearbox from another model Rover 200 that is a straight swap to use in its place, I'll ask my mate which one this is.

Or you could always go the 1.8 K-series route - they're quite tuneable I think, being that they use them in the Elise. Maybe an Elise gearbox (lower ratios perhaps?).

Or maybe the turbo from the 2 litre L-series diesel might work better. I'm really taking random stab in the dark guesses here though.

At a guess the 2 litre turbo petrol from the 620ti/820 Vitesse would possibly be a bit physically big, but maybe not. I think the 1.8 K series is the same physical size as the 1.4, so maybe that could be an option.

Congratulations if you've managed to find any of this post useful, by the way.

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

Oh yeah. And there was the 220 (GTi was it? Definitely a 220 anyhoo). There might possibly have even been a 220 turbo. So it should fit.

Peter

Reply to
AstraVanMan

There was indeed a 220 turbo coupe, and a special edition Tomcat Turbo Coupe, which has a cool name :)

Reply to
Dan405

Sum Ting Wong ( snipped-for-privacy@aber.ac.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yes, you'd gain another broken engine.

Reply to
Adrian

AstraVanMan ( snipped-for-privacy@WithThanks.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Since the origami 400 was the same car as the OPs 200 from the C-pillars forward...

Reply to
Adrian

AIUI, the Tomcat was the 1.6, not the Turbo.

Reply to
Scott M

Scott M (smorris_12@delete_this.yahoo.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Wasn't "tomcat" the project code name for the coupe itself, which (like XJ40) slipped into general usage?

Reply to
Adrian

No the 1.4 ECU would not be able to cope. You'd need to transplant the matching eCU for the engine your goiung to put in- the 2litre M series is going to offer you 150bhp out of the box (along with its gearbox).

Wiring it all up and getting around the built in immobilizer if you dont have the donor cars keys is going to be the biggest hurdle.

Tim..

Reply to
Tim (Remove NOSPAM.

Sounds like either heaven or hell. Personally, I've only got as far as electronic ignition, in a bid to avoid geek-work creeping into the toys :->

Cheers,

Reply to
James Dore

That'd make sense. Certainly never seen it writ on the back of one.

Reply to
Scott M

Hello,

Why do you want to race with idiot boy racers? They usually drive 1litre 12v Corsas with stupid bodykits. You could run faster. If they had saved all that money they could have bought a decent car. Everyone laughs at boy racers anyway, so best to let them pass and think they have burnt you off with their pathetic little car. Far far safer that way as they're a danger to other road users. They can only drive fast in a straight line, but don't know the first thing about handling a car - never mind a fast one. See loads of them at

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Why anyone would want to ruin a car is beyond me. Just get yourself a better car. I would prefer a quiet comfortable ride with a bit of power rather than some heap of boy racer crap like a Nova, Corsa or Micra. They are often noisy due to silly oversized exhausts that slow the engine down, a massive air filter that sucks in hot air from around the engine and decreases performance, and not to mention oversized wheels that interfere with suspension and steering making it a death trap as it can't be steered fully.

Absolute waste of money and time. The boy racers only do it as they haven't got a life or a partner. The "oh look at me" type of idiot. Leave them to it, load of idiots all of them!

Reply to
klf

I've been mulling over a 2 litre turbo rover engine, but the only ones I see with any regularity (i.e. one a months) seems to be the 820 turbo. Now, that would be great, but always, it seems the 820s end up dirt cheap on ebay or in scrap/slavage yards because the engine is bollocksed. I've yet to see a 220 that is a turbo, that isnt a coupe (expensive, even when smashed up.. people love paying more for fewer doors?), and though i've come across the odd 420gti, i didnt think they had a turbo? i'll look into that one..

I've just seen a Saab 9000 2.3 turbo for a hundred quid... hmmm

Reply to
Sum Ting Wong

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