Yeah, Ford Modular V8s. Crate engines,basically.
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Relax....it’s a Rover
- Thread starter -Simon
- Start date
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Prodrive started the development of the 260 alongside the supercharged version which would have been the 385. Apparently the management at Rover thought it best to outsource the work as if anything went wrong then they had someone to pin the blame on. For one reason or another it development got took in house and a lot of redesigning got done, especially around the suspension and subframe. The 2 race cars were built in partnership with Dreadnought Racing in Scotland. They developed a N/A 5 ltr 32 valve V8 alongside Sean Hyland Motorsport in Canada and these engines got fitted into the race cars. The dreadnought one put out 520bhp.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Isn’t every car enthusiast.... :tonguewink:
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
The engine in the SV was the 32valve DOHC version of the 4.6. Unfortunately that engine wouldn’t fit in the ZT so they used the SOHC 4v one....well it would but you wouldn’t have any heating.
They make shite power as standard but can take big power once supercharged.
You think rovers are s**t but off the top of my head I had loads ! Lol
2 metros K reg and L reg
214si ( my mums ) blowed head gaskets more times than I Rember
216 tomcat ( Honda power )
220 turbo tomcat ( black / black leather ) tried to kill you constantly
And a silver 2002 45 ! My life that was a boring week of ownership lol
Oh and the best tomcat I had 218vvc with a s**t air filter and a whooping 2 cold feeds ( zip tie life yo!)
2 metros K reg and L reg
214si ( my mums ) blowed head gaskets more times than I Rember
216 tomcat ( Honda power )
220 turbo tomcat ( black / black leather ) tried to kill you constantly
And a silver 2002 45 ! My life that was a boring week of ownership lol
Oh and the best tomcat I had 218vvc with a s**t air filter and a whooping 2 cold feeds ( zip tie life yo!)
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
So it has been 9 months since i updated this and there has been quite a few changes to the car since then. Mainly due to the central reservation of the M5 and some poor guys van. To cut a long story very short i was on my way to Northampton at 6am one snowy morning in Feb. Pootling along at 55mph, eased out to overtake said van and next thing i knew the car was impersonating Ken Block , spinning, hitting the concrete reservation hard plus the side of the guys van. Eventually came to a halt facing sideways in the middle of the motorway, looking out the side window seeing Artics bearing down on me at a rate of knots. So....slammed it in reverse and floored it until I reached the hard shoulder. So pics:
At the side of the M5 with front wheel hanging by the top mount bolts. Cause of the accident still unknown. At first i thought it was mechanical failure, as the track rod end looked like it had snapped. The more time goes on though I suspect that the car hit a patch of ice, lost traction and because the traction control system is as sophisticated as a bag of chips it cut the fuel dead and induced terminal lift off oversteer. Car then went on a transporter and into one of Dudley’s finest recovery centres with people so adept at car care you would think they belong in Harrods fine china department. Their waiting area looks like a holding pen for the criminally insane so to say that i was happy for it to be in there was an understatement.
So.....onwards and upwards. Bought it back from the insurance company and began the slow process of rebuilding it. Luckily the chassis is still straight but it did need quite a few bits that on any other car would be very straightforward such as a rear hub assembly. However that part alone took 3 months of searching and literally bought the last new one available in the UK. The front end rebuild meant having new dampers made by Bilstein and various long winded emails and phone calls to locate other hard to source bits.
The good thing is I was already looking to refresh the rear so this just gave me the impetus to rip it all apart. So rear subframe has been powder coated and all components either refreshed or repainted. Floor sanded down and new under seal put on to protect it as it was quite ropy underneath before. Diff has been serviced and all dampers revalved and painted. Also had a set of custom springs made to lower to car down as it was on stilts before. It has been residing in my mechanics yard for the last 2 months waiting for the wide arch kit to be made which i am pleased to report, is now ready.
So plan is the get the body kit put on, then measure up and get the split rim wheels made. Then she will be ready to go again - just in time for winter!! Oh hang on, maybe I’ll wait till spring.....
Plans after that will be new seats as the passenger one is wrecked with the airbag going off. Buckets like the ones in my clio in black leather i think. I would then like to supercharge it but i think my clio would have to be sold to fund it so not sure yet.
Anyway some more pics mid rebuild:
Before the deluge of people calling the mental hospital asking them to rush round to my house, sedate me and put me in restraints, i am well aware of my insanity but like i said 9 months ago - i love this thing and when its finished it will be amazing.
Anyway, all comments welcome, thanks for reading
At the side of the M5 with front wheel hanging by the top mount bolts. Cause of the accident still unknown. At first i thought it was mechanical failure, as the track rod end looked like it had snapped. The more time goes on though I suspect that the car hit a patch of ice, lost traction and because the traction control system is as sophisticated as a bag of chips it cut the fuel dead and induced terminal lift off oversteer. Car then went on a transporter and into one of Dudley’s finest recovery centres with people so adept at car care you would think they belong in Harrods fine china department. Their waiting area looks like a holding pen for the criminally insane so to say that i was happy for it to be in there was an understatement.
So.....onwards and upwards. Bought it back from the insurance company and began the slow process of rebuilding it. Luckily the chassis is still straight but it did need quite a few bits that on any other car would be very straightforward such as a rear hub assembly. However that part alone took 3 months of searching and literally bought the last new one available in the UK. The front end rebuild meant having new dampers made by Bilstein and various long winded emails and phone calls to locate other hard to source bits.
The good thing is I was already looking to refresh the rear so this just gave me the impetus to rip it all apart. So rear subframe has been powder coated and all components either refreshed or repainted. Floor sanded down and new under seal put on to protect it as it was quite ropy underneath before. Diff has been serviced and all dampers revalved and painted. Also had a set of custom springs made to lower to car down as it was on stilts before. It has been residing in my mechanics yard for the last 2 months waiting for the wide arch kit to be made which i am pleased to report, is now ready.
So plan is the get the body kit put on, then measure up and get the split rim wheels made. Then she will be ready to go again - just in time for winter!! Oh hang on, maybe I’ll wait till spring.....
Plans after that will be new seats as the passenger one is wrecked with the airbag going off. Buckets like the ones in my clio in black leather i think. I would then like to supercharge it but i think my clio would have to be sold to fund it so not sure yet.
Anyway some more pics mid rebuild:
Before the deluge of people calling the mental hospital asking them to rush round to my house, sedate me and put me in restraints, i am well aware of my insanity but like i said 9 months ago - i love this thing and when its finished it will be amazing.
Anyway, all comments welcome, thanks for reading
wtf is with the ludicrously short damper?
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
It is one of the 2 dampers for the diff. It is off a Kawasaki bike of some sort. There are 2 of them front and rear of the diff to help with axle tramp and traction. It was one of the many alterations that the MG Rover engineers made to the car after being handed back the initial car by Prodrive.
the
Christopher
ClioSport Club Member
Z4M
You're absolutely insane but I f*cking love it. Great work!
davo172
ClioSport Club Member
TCR'd 172
I had a as zs180 as a hire car from new it had done 27 miles when I picked it up 50 miles in on the work trip up m6 and the gear lever linkage fell to bits !!!
Christopher
ClioSport Club Member
Z4M
I love how it's a complete 'parts bin special' of a car. I've never seen one in the metal.
BMW M4; S1000 RR
Does having the diff suspended from the chassis make it feel really smooth/bit disconnected ?
so the diff is isolated and has a hydraulic damper between it and the monocoque, but the subframe which holds the lower suspension links is also soft mounted? Any more pics, struggling to understand how that works!
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
It reduces vibration through the drivetrain and stops axle tramp as the original development cars were horrific.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
This is the engineers drawing of the rear suspension to give you a better idea. It is a multi-link setup with a six-mount subframe housing the diff, while each wheel is located by three lateral links (2 steel and 1 light alloy) and a light allow trailing arm. There is also a bespoke Anti roll bar.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Yes mate it was solidly mounted but the axle tramp and strong vibrations through the chassis were shocking according to the MG engineers so they decided to damp the diff. I think Prodrive would’ve done this initially but Rover wouldn’t pay the £1M to redesign the fuel tank. In the end they had to do it anyway. The other problem with the solid mounting was they kept snapping propshafts. Apologies for the nerdishness but i could go on for hours lol
Ahh so the subframe (pink and yellow parts are mounted to the floorpan, whilst the damper acts to control the black part which is mounted to the diff casing.
Christopher
ClioSport Club Member
Z4M
I love the nerdy sh*t that comes with limited-run cars like this. How they worked around problems etc. Proper interesting.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Correctamundo ? and amazingly it all works
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
***Update***
Well Saturday i drove upto Yorkshire to collect the body kit. Weather was awful but it was worth it.
Bundled it all in Dad’s van ready for the 100 miles trip home. The Workshhop was full of interesting stuff but we were in a rush so i didn’t have chance to take any pictures. Just google “retro sports cars ltd” and you will see some of Chris’s work. His current project is an MG SV which he is rebuilding plus a ZT Coupe that he has fabricated almost from nothing. Awesome thing with a 32v N/A Mustang engine producing around 370bhp. My kit is the 6th ever produced and that includes Chris’s 2 cars and the original Rover prototypes.
Managed to get all of the kit in the Alpina bar the back bumper after unloading it at my parents.
Left the back bumper in my parents garage - they are moving house which is why there is so much stuff in there ?
The rest of the kit on my drive ready to be put into storage until the New Year when it will be fitted. Will update again when the body shop start tearing the car apart and rebuilding ?
Well Saturday i drove upto Yorkshire to collect the body kit. Weather was awful but it was worth it.
Bundled it all in Dad’s van ready for the 100 miles trip home. The Workshhop was full of interesting stuff but we were in a rush so i didn’t have chance to take any pictures. Just google “retro sports cars ltd” and you will see some of Chris’s work. His current project is an MG SV which he is rebuilding plus a ZT Coupe that he has fabricated almost from nothing. Awesome thing with a 32v N/A Mustang engine producing around 370bhp. My kit is the 6th ever produced and that includes Chris’s 2 cars and the original Rover prototypes.
Managed to get all of the kit in the Alpina bar the back bumper after unloading it at my parents.
Left the back bumper in my parents garage - they are moving house which is why there is so much stuff in there ?
The rest of the kit on my drive ready to be put into storage until the New Year when it will be fitted. Will update again when the body shop start tearing the car apart and rebuilding ?
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Well it has been a while since i updated this. It has been with the body shop since March - told him i was in no rush and went over at the weekend to have a look at “progress”. He has some of the kit installed but it has and still will need a lot of custom fabrication to make it a) look OEM b) parts able to be removed and refitted with ease. I had lost a bit of interest to be honest as i had not driven it since February last year but seeing it again has got the mojo back. Should be done end of October so then the extensive refit process can begin.
Arches will be bonded to the wings and the bumpers are having custom brackets made. Fit will need a lot of adjustment but so happy to see the kit start to take shape on the car. Will have real presence when it is done.
They have also had to repair the crash damage such as the rear arch as above
Once it is all painted i will measure up and get the wheels ordered. I think it will be 18x10 front and 18 x 12 rears.
Hopefully then it will return home looking something like this. Will try and be a bit better updating this but as always insanity comments welcome
Arches will be bonded to the wings and the bumpers are having custom brackets made. Fit will need a lot of adjustment but so happy to see the kit start to take shape on the car. Will have real presence when it is done.
They have also had to repair the crash damage such as the rear arch as above
Once it is all painted i will measure up and get the wheels ordered. I think it will be 18x10 front and 18 x 12 rears.
Hopefully then it will return home looking something like this. Will try and be a bit better updating this but as always insanity comments welcome
Yeah this. And you're defo gona need some more power with 12" rears. will be painfully slow!
Evo 5 RS
Awesome!
I miss my 216 Coupe. No, I mean genuinely I do. It felt like it was on rails.
I miss my 216 Coupe. No, I mean genuinely I do. It felt like it was on rails.
Darren S
ClioSport Club Member
Genuinely bloody awesome this!
So different - so mad! Would love to see the finished article with a boot spoiler fitted. Would elevate the look from a pootling saloon, to something with a bit more 'intent'.
So different - so mad! Would love to see the finished article with a boot spoiler fitted. Would elevate the look from a pootling saloon, to something with a bit more 'intent'.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Yes mate - will be be putting some custom bbs LM style wheels made by a local company Image Wheels. When the kit is all fitted i will take the required measurements as there is normally a 8 - 10 week lead time on them.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
It will be getting the original big rear spoiler fitted which i have (still in the car at the moment) ready. Should balance the car up a bit i think. Below is the only original prototype at Studley Castle for a photo shoot. Apologies for the quality of the photo(out of a book) but you get the general idea.
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Agreed
- when funds allow i will install a Kenne Bell supercharger to it which should see around 450bhp safely. Should be around E39 M5 quick then which I will be more than happy with
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
So been a while since i have updated this. A lot has happened since October 2019. To give a little context my dad used to work for MG Rover and he used to use a body shop on Coventry to prepare all of the photographic and press cars that the press garage couldn’t do. We have been using the same body shop for 20 odd years and they have done all the bodywork on virtually all of our cars in that time. Back in November the owner told me the horrific news that he had throat cancer and was shutting the shop (Thankfully as i write he is making a full recovery). We agreed that he would paint the kit and do the repairs needed - this involved repairing the rear quarter crash damage and fitting and painting the 2 doors on the drivers side. This was the last car to ever leave their shop and it was a very sad day. It now resides in my parents garage (it is too long to fit in my own garage).
Below is what it looked like after we had fitted the 2 doors back up with all the glass, rubber and handles:
The quality of paint is awesome - this is the front bumper fresh out the van:
Had a bit of a draft mock up day in December just seeing how everything would look and started to buy fixings etc. Started at the rear by fitting the rear spoiler. This is from a MG ZS hatch. The hole guides are already on the underside of the ZT bootlid but need a bit of modification to make fit. After measuring about a million times i then plucked up the courage to put the first hole in the boot. The inside of the lid needed a bit of dremeling but all the original fittings still work as they should. The finished article below:
It was then time to tackle the rear bumper. We trial fitted it then drilled the holes in the top and underneath where it meets the exhausts and used all the original fittings to secure. I then cut up the original rear bumper to make template for the parking sensors. I made a dummy in cardboard and then set out masking tape to mimic the original locations. The drill was then dispatched again and the plastic outers of the sensors were placed in position:
So the rear is virtually there - need to sort the electrics for the parking sensors, exhausts as they now look microscopic and make some brackets to secure the bumper corners to the wheelarches.
Today we got the bumper into position, drilled the holes to attach it the front end. Adjusted the headlights and drilled out the holes for the fog lights. Got some universal fog lights off Ebay which i am really please with i just need to work out how to mount them and wire them into the existing loom. I have also bought some black mesh for the upper and lower grilled and cut them to size to be glued into place next week. Badge drilled and fitted so again really happy with how it looks:
Need to buy the right front indicator lenses (there are 2 variants), get the fron number plate fitted and then start on the other jobs. Next will be fitting the side skirts and then onto cutting the front and rear arches before bonding on the extensions. Really loving tackling this myself with my dad and getting real pleasure on making sure everything is as good as it can be. I will try and keep this updated a bit more often. As always - comments welcome.
Below is what it looked like after we had fitted the 2 doors back up with all the glass, rubber and handles:
The quality of paint is awesome - this is the front bumper fresh out the van:
Had a bit of a draft mock up day in December just seeing how everything would look and started to buy fixings etc. Started at the rear by fitting the rear spoiler. This is from a MG ZS hatch. The hole guides are already on the underside of the ZT bootlid but need a bit of modification to make fit. After measuring about a million times i then plucked up the courage to put the first hole in the boot. The inside of the lid needed a bit of dremeling but all the original fittings still work as they should. The finished article below:
It was then time to tackle the rear bumper. We trial fitted it then drilled the holes in the top and underneath where it meets the exhausts and used all the original fittings to secure. I then cut up the original rear bumper to make template for the parking sensors. I made a dummy in cardboard and then set out masking tape to mimic the original locations. The drill was then dispatched again and the plastic outers of the sensors were placed in position:
So the rear is virtually there - need to sort the electrics for the parking sensors, exhausts as they now look microscopic and make some brackets to secure the bumper corners to the wheelarches.
Today we got the bumper into position, drilled the holes to attach it the front end. Adjusted the headlights and drilled out the holes for the fog lights. Got some universal fog lights off Ebay which i am really please with i just need to work out how to mount them and wire them into the existing loom. I have also bought some black mesh for the upper and lower grilled and cut them to size to be glued into place next week. Badge drilled and fitted so again really happy with how it looks:
Need to buy the right front indicator lenses (there are 2 variants), get the fron number plate fitted and then start on the other jobs. Next will be fitting the side skirts and then onto cutting the front and rear arches before bonding on the extensions. Really loving tackling this myself with my dad and getting real pleasure on making sure everything is as good as it can be. I will try and keep this updated a bit more often. As always - comments welcome.
Attachments
-Simon
ClioSport Club Member
172-E92 M3-ZT V8
Been another busy few weeks on the MG. Spent some time getting the front bumper figment correct and adding the mesh grille etc. Bought some mesh based on the correct spacing. Made a template out of cardboard and then began to cut and bend the mesh into shape.
Used some tin snips to make the fitment decent and bent the edges to 90 degrees so there was something to bond to
Clamped it all in place and then used some automotive adhesive to bead round the edges. I cable tied the top parts to ensure it stayed secure and left it for a day or so to dry:
Then set about wiring up the front fog lights. These were universal ones from Ebay as the apertures are 102mm. I cut the holes using a drill bit for Spotlights and then dremeled the edges smooth. I then wired them into the original loom and tested they worked ok - the battery is totally dead - which is located in the boot so is a bit of a design flaw as the boot lid doesn’t have a key. It is a solenoid which is powered by yes you guessed it, the battery. I have now left the boot permanently open to avoid any more annoyances.
Put the MG badge on and then mounted the bumper again so i could then start test fitting the front arches
Next up were the side skirts. These were relatively straightforward bar taking the wheels off and lowering it down to road height as needed to measure the wheels. Side skirts:
Test fitting of the arches after masking the area fully. Front arch fits almost flush but the rear is going to take some persuading...
Finally yesterday taped the line of each arch and then started taking pencil measurements do began the scary task of cutting next week. Front should be relatively easy as it is single skin. The rear is double skin so will have to be done in 2 stages. I have learnt a hell of a lot by watching countless YouTube videos but really enjoying it so far:
Next job is measuring the wheels and choosing which ones to have which is giving me sleepless nights as the possibilities are endless.
Used some tin snips to make the fitment decent and bent the edges to 90 degrees so there was something to bond to
Clamped it all in place and then used some automotive adhesive to bead round the edges. I cable tied the top parts to ensure it stayed secure and left it for a day or so to dry:
Then set about wiring up the front fog lights. These were universal ones from Ebay as the apertures are 102mm. I cut the holes using a drill bit for Spotlights and then dremeled the edges smooth. I then wired them into the original loom and tested they worked ok - the battery is totally dead - which is located in the boot so is a bit of a design flaw as the boot lid doesn’t have a key. It is a solenoid which is powered by yes you guessed it, the battery. I have now left the boot permanently open to avoid any more annoyances.
Put the MG badge on and then mounted the bumper again so i could then start test fitting the front arches
Next up were the side skirts. These were relatively straightforward bar taking the wheels off and lowering it down to road height as needed to measure the wheels. Side skirts:
Test fitting of the arches after masking the area fully. Front arch fits almost flush but the rear is going to take some persuading...
Finally yesterday taped the line of each arch and then started taking pencil measurements do began the scary task of cutting next week. Front should be relatively easy as it is single skin. The rear is double skin so will have to be done in 2 stages. I have learnt a hell of a lot by watching countless YouTube videos but really enjoying it so far:
Next job is measuring the wheels and choosing which ones to have which is giving me sleepless nights as the possibilities are endless.
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