Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[BazaJT]

Out on the dog walk this morning I saw an E reg Sunbeam Rapier parked on the driveway of a house.It looked to be in beautiful nick although the alloy wheels it was wearing to my eyes didn't suit it at all,nor did the twin exhaust pipes sticking out of the rear down the centreline of the car.However the small chromed V8 badge affixed to the boot lid might make up for those drawbacks if it held to be true.

[Alnico Blue]

Out on the dog walk this morning I saw an E reg Sunbeam Rapier parked on the driveway of a house.It looked to be in beautiful nick although the alloy wheels it was wearing to my eyes didn't suit it at all,nor did the twin exhaust pipes sticking out of the rear down the centreline of the car.However the small chromed V8 badge affixed to the boot lid might make up for those drawbacks if it held to be true.

Could it have the Sunbeam Tiger V8 engine  fitted  ?

[Nick W]

Rovers were very popular swaps into Rapiers(and all the other Arrow cars) because there's no need to cut the engine bay or trans tunnel to get it in. They used the same auto gearbox, and the front suspension is a well designed strut setup.


Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

[Raeturbo]

They were dangerous enough with the holbay engine, well for me anyway, I wrote it off😂😂

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Rovers were very popular swaps into Rapiers(and all the other Arrow cars) because there's no need to cut the engine bay or trans tunnel to get it in. They used the same auto gearbox, and the front suspension is a well designed strut setup.


Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

Early Tigers used a 260 cubic inch 4.2 V8......which gave a paltry 164 BHP.

[Rangie]

Rovers were very popular swaps into Rapiers(and all the other Arrow cars) because there's no need to cut the engine bay or trans tunnel to get it in. They used the same auto gearbox, and the front suspension is a well designed strut setup.


Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

Early Tigers used a 260 cubic inch 4.2 V8......which gave a paltry 164 BHP.

.   


But they sounded fantastic.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

Rovers were very popular swaps into Rapiers(and all the other Arrow cars) because there's no need to cut the engine bay or trans tunnel to get it in. They used the same auto gearbox, and the front suspension is a well designed strut setup.


Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

Early Tigers used a 260 cubic inch 4.2 V8......which gave a paltry 164 BHP.

.   


But they sounded fantastic.

Yep...few things sound better than a crude agricultural lump of Detroit V8.

[Doctor Gollum]

Rovers were very popular swaps into Rapiers(and all the other Arrow cars) because there's no need to cut the engine bay or trans tunnel to get it in. They used the same auto gearbox, and the front suspension is a well designed strut setup.


Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

Early Tigers used a 260 cubic inch 4.2 V8......which gave a paltry 164 BHP.

The Rover V8 was hardly a powerhouse in carb form

[Nick W]

Sunbeam Tigers used a low spec 289 Ford V8; the rest of the running gear is not interchangeable with an Arrow.

Early Tigers used a 260 cubic inch 4.2 V8......which gave a paltry 164 BHP.

.   


But they sounded fantastic.

Yep...few things sound better than a crude agricultural lump of Detroit V8.

That 164BHP was about double what the Alpine made. Although the whole car was rather compromised just to get it in.


A V8 sounds OK at low RPM, when the out of balance cylinders make the characteristic burble. But once the revs rise, it sounds like a handful of rocks chucked in a cement mixer. A straight six sounds better at any RPM. Adding the other six cylinders is a further improvement

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I have a road test from 'Motor' magazine for the 4.2 Tiger from 1965.

116 MPH
 60 MPH in 9.4
£1448.

Low speed torque seems to be it's trump card.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

258 lb ft at 2200 RPM.

Kerb weight 23.1 cwt.......which is SFA by the bloated standards of 2020.

[Migv6 le Frog Fan]

Which is hwy modern performance cars are completely different animals to old style ones.
For fast driving, I preferred old style ones. Relatively low power, with a lot less weight was much more fun imo.

[Rangie]

Sooner have a V8 over any V6 or straight 6 had them all & there's no comparison over the sound of a V8.

[Raeturbo]

Especially a cross plane one

[Nick W]

Especially a cross plane one

Which is what V8s ought to be. It's production costs that stop them - you only need 4 big end bearings, and the crank can be shorter. Although having to do separate setups to machine two banks of bores claws some of that back. The V8s attributes are usefully compact exterior dimensions for a large capacity, durability and low speed torque that capacity produces. Making a nice noise is very low down the priority list. Which is just as well, as traditional V8s are like listening to an enthusiastic pub band. Modern V8s are even worse, why do they make such a racket?