Ok i have picked this up now dont know much about it as he didnt either, so here are the pictures i thought you lot might be able to help, The turbo has a little bit of play in the shaft but i dont know how much is safe? also is it a 3.5 or 3.9, sorry to sound so nieve but was only just getting started on research when this came up and for £235 i didnt think i could go far wrong!








Also is tyhat a standar flywheel, i know rover v8's aint your Thing but i thought some of you might know a thing or 2

 

flywheel? flexplate mate!

 

?? sorry just getting used to this? so what is it,?

 

3.5 i think you will find, i'm not too up with Rover V8's either though so could be wrong!

The flywheel is just a ring gear for the starter motor to engage againest for it to start. They would be a torque convertor that would have four lugs on which would fit into those four holes on it, this would then live in the bellhousing of a auto box splined onto the input shaft.

 

Thanks for any help, i probarly should be as i have bought it anybody know anythink about the turbo?

 

You need to be on here:

http://www.v-8.org.uk/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=45

Thats the place for Rv8 talk.

 

old rotomaster turbo, looks to be t3 size, the play in the shaft isnt so much it scrapes the housing is it?

could do with more pics

single turbo conversion or?

 

Yeah its a single turbo conversion with a transfer pipe running under one side into the manifold on the other.
What are roto masters like, ie reliabiltiy, how common, power?
What sort of bhp/torque would you expect as i cant find much info on the net, i only want a vague estimate?

 

well a 3.5 rv8 makes around 160bhp, so say running 6-9psi i would guestimate 210-260bhp and lots of torque

 

YEah i was wondering how much torque because thats Important?

 

 

I concur with Doh regarding power and torque.

Rotomasters are old, but strong enough, IIRC are pretty much Garretts anyhow.

Is there no wastegate? (internal with an actuator, or external)

Its got a v.big ex housing and early turbo conversions sometimes never had wastegates and just relied on the overly big housing making the turbo spool up slow to not make the car overboost.

That will make it a bit poo then as the boost will just slowly increase until the redline, wheras a more modern version would spool up from feck all and just sit at the max set boost.

 

Cant find any waste gate, how would i go about swaping it?

 

As i thought then, the motas not even got a wastegate

Id bin the rotormaster T3 and put on a std wastegated Cossie T3 if i was you mate as they cheap and will build boost a lot quicker (by about 2k i reckon!), giving you far nicer powerband and more torque.

Looks like a T4 exhaust side though, so the manifold flange will be bigger than a Cossie T3 one, so will need a T3 one welding on if so.

T3 flange-


T4 flange-

 

it looks as if the manifold has been worked on under the turbo, prehaps this is where the wastegate should be? thats were it was mounted on my old capri conversion... that also had a T4 sized exhaust housing, with the l/c engine JS reconed on 260bhp at 9psi also some xr4 JS conversions had the wastegate mounted to the downpipe with a small connecting pipe to the turbo manifold...

i should image it would be pushing 300lb/ft depending on boost and motor spec

 

Yeha i get what you mean, Doh is this where you ment fitting a wast gate it looks as if a retard with a welder filled it


Also what sort of money for a T3 cossie, i dont know the complete spec of the engine, we suspect a different cam but have no evidence, would this maybe not run aswell with the Cossie turbo or would it make no difference?

 

 

yup, where circled does look like where a wastegate should go!

if it ran without one at some point when it needed one id take the heads off and see if the pistons are in one piece

a second hand cossie turbo sells for 100/200quid IIRC

cam or no cam, a cossie turbo will do it better i reckon, much more modern, more efficient, less lag, but overall a very similar size.

the .48 ex housing on a cossie is pretty small for the engine size, but you wont be revving it high so shouldnt be a problem

id run a cossie intercooler too, can get one for about 40quid last time i looked

 

Run them to nearly flat out, when geared properly, Would the engine be ok if i just put a waste gate there? Is there any other way to check the pistons without removing the heads, It never ran with a intercooler but i thought that would be a reasonable upgrade. I have 4 meetings left this year, then i will buld a new car and fit this engine the idea is to get it in and running then see what to do but by the sounds of things i should put a wastegate on it first atleast, any idea which to use?

 

you will probably find a wastegate will cost about the same as a 2nd hand cossie turbo anyway i would go that route personaly coz if you need that rotomaster rebuilt it'll cost ya, plus there won't be many people who'll touch it.. at least the cossie turbo is an off the shelf part

heads gotta come off for checking the pistons LOL unless there that knackered you can see the damage from underneath!!!

 

Lol i could just try and start it Think i will try that first, befor switching turbo's but also my rotomaster will be worth a bit to the people still running them on range rovers etc.
What about the small exhaust outlet as i will be running it nearly flat out! not for long but it will

 

small exhaust outlet? you mean the cossie .48 housing? shouldnt be an issue, flat out on a rover v8 isnt high revs and a .48 isnt so small it will choke power much id say.

and that rotormaster one is huge if you sticking with that old smoker

 

I am seriously thinking about swapping to a cossie T3 should i get the mainfold as well? and obviously the waste gate, 2wd or 4x4 better? or no difference?
I should be able to flog "the old smoker" on That v8 forum

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Garret-T3-Turb...QQcmdZViewItem
Somethink like that?

 

yup, perfect, tho will need to weld a t3 flange onto the manifold as the current old turbo looks like it got a t4 housing

 

rotormaster are easily rebuilt. Turbo Technics will rebuild them for you turbo appears to be the same size on the 2.8 colognes if so i'd prolly be tempted to keep it very very good turbo's when compared to the garett turbo technic conversions. Should have held out, Janspeed did a twin turbo kit for the RV8 aswell on twin SU's

 

Great i was all set to go one way then sent another!, but what about the lackof waste gate, and slow boost build up? I am still thinking T3

 

YEah i know about the twin turbo conversion nearly bought one but, how big would the advantages be? i might still sell this but i think i will keep!

 

well it'll be similar work to get the exernal wastegate on and mounting the T3. horses for corses. the rotormaster turbo's arent bad at all and spool up well. Either way if you wanted the most from the setup you'll end up spending some dollar. I'd bin the carb and go EFI anyway, but where do you want it to end? the possibilities are endless.

If the rotormaster turbo proves to be good, then use it IMO, if not and is more economical to get a T3 then get one. adding the external wastegate wont be hard, just buying them can be dear, but they're readily available. think you have a couple of options and see which will give most bang for buck

Rob

 

Bear in mind the engine cost 235, lol, upto kind of 300ft/lb is ideal and 250ish bhp is hwere i want to be, anymore and it would be wasted, dont want to goinjection want to keep it simple, although i didnt know if that carb was big enough?

 

oh just a thought, I havent seen the usual 90degree elbow thats normally on the exhuast housing of janspeed conversions. uses a Vee band clip to secure it. if you dont have this you will prolly be better off going for a T3 as it'll be more work again.

RV8 arent dear to strip and rebuild IMO, certainly worth doing, but then again you can always sling another lump in for pennies

The RV8 EFI is really simple, tis quite dated. As for the carb I cant see what one it is but you'll find it'll more than likely flow enough especially at the required levels of boost.

 

How on earth anyone is able to categorically state that it's a 3.5 or 3.8 from looking at the engine is beyond me.

 

scrap the old manky carb setup all together and run it on on the "hot wire"injectection set up from a 3.9 you can get serious power from these on the cheap 500bhp for around £3-4k (with turbo's) me mates runnin this kind of set up in his samba with a 150shot of N20

 

becuse the 3.5 is earlier if it were 3.9 it would be runnin injection plus there is a difference in some of the cast ribs on the block

 

Saff lad again bear in mind the Engine cost 235, if i wanted to spend 4k i wouldnt have started with it! My budget is more like 3-400!
Rob, no i dont have that bit So looks like T3 is more and more likley, what sort of boost will it run to get that power and torque?
And there fore what else will i need?

 

 

weld t3 flange on manifold, buy cossie t3 turbo, but cossie intercooler, bodge up some pipes, stick to that carb, maybe buy a rising rate carb adj fuel pressure reg, job done on not much cash.

cant see more than 15psi being ok without det, and even then be very careful with the fueling to stop it blowing to bits.

 

SOunds like a planItsmeagain, Think that is what i will do, 12psi would be safe then? what sort of power torque then?!?

 

10-12psi!

 

Lots.

Standard 5litre V8s with twin cossie style .48 T3s bolted on them running 10-15psi make full boost by about 2300rpm, and they often make over 500 at WHEELS and 580lb/ft

But with yours i can see about 250bhp if its in ok condition, and really nice torque, maybe 300+

But unsure as dont know Rovers too well, dont like the bloody things, but its a good guide i reckon