The Rover V8 was based on a Buick engine with alloy block and was particularly light in weight for a V8. I seem to recall that when fitted to the MGB it was no heavier than the 1800 MGB engine. The V8 engines you mention would be much heavier units and while anything is possible I would think that there are plenty of modern 2 litre engines around that would be far more suitable if you want it as a reliable car to use. If you look at other cars when they get old and collectible, the value is always in the ones that have original motors so you might want to think about that too. There are plenty of ways to make either the 1600 crossflow Ford or the 1800 Volvo engine more powerful.
Best of luck!
Roger Andreason
ex Marcos racer
To: MarcosManiacs@yahoogroups.com
From: chinojuan2@...
Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 13:11:02 +0000
Subject: [MarcosManiacs] modern engines for 1600/1800GT
Read some old Wiki articles saying certain engines made the 1600/1800GT a bit nose heavy (perhaps iron block engine). As later Marcos had Rover 8 cylinder, did this make it evebn worse---or were Rover 8 cylinder cars not the same as 1600/1800?
I bring up these questions because I wondered if anyone had a experience or thoughts on placing a Ford or Chevy V-8 into a 1600/1800GT (something like a 289/302 Ford or a 305/350 Chevy). Would these engines make the car too nose heavy and ruin the handling?
I was dreaming about a way to make the 1600/1800 GT more powerful, sound great, have a modern engine anyone can work on....but not at the expense of handling.....
Figured some MArcos had Ford as well as GM engines, so thsi idea shouldn't be too blasphamous :)
I bring up these questions because I wondered if anyone had a experience or thoughts on placing a Ford or Chevy V-8 into a 1600/1800GT (something like a 289/302 Ford or a 305/350 Chevy). Would these engines make the car too nose heavy and ruin the handling?
I was dreaming about a way to make the 1600/1800 GT more powerful, sound great, have a modern engine anyone can work on....but not at the expense of handling.....
Figured some MArcos had Ford as well as GM engines, so thsi idea shouldn't be too blasphamous :)
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