First produced in 1967, the Rover V8 engine was developed from an original Buick design, which was aborted by General Motors in the early 60s. It has an all aluminium construction, with overhead valves, giving compact dimensions and light weight, with powerful output capabilities for its time. Initially the engine was launched in the Rover P5B, but it was subsequently fitted in many Rover, BL, and Land Rover models, from the SD1 through to the Range Rover, via MG, Triumph and LDV. When production was finally ended, 37 years later in 2004, the engine had undergone numerous developments, and grown in size from the initial 3.5 to 4.6 litres. By this time it could no longer compete with modern V8 engines in terms of both power and efficiency, but with somewhere near to 1 million engines produced, it had been very successful.

The light weight powerful nature of the Rover V8 soon made it very popular with low volume sports car manufacturers, and motor sport applications alike. Morgan and TVR were probably the key proponents, including making their own developments to the engine performance, however the engine made its way into many kit cars, as well as being commonly used for hot rods and engine swaps. In motorsport, BL works teams themselves used the engine in rallying with the TR8, and on the track with the likes of the SD1 in touring cars.

Scholar Engines have great experience of rebuilding the Rover V8 engine, from complete standard remanufacture through to track specification, including using modern methods and materials to address some of the inherent issues with the original engine design. As well as rebuilding, we are able to run your engine on our dyno to carry out running-in procedures and initial set up, so you can fit the engine with confidence.

Some of the features available with our engine rebuilds include:

• Top-hat liner conversion for increased durability
• Engine capacities from 3.5 to 5.0 litres
• Replacement pistons and con rods
• Porting and polishing of cylinder heads
• Performance camshafts
• Later spec main oil seal conversion

The ongoing popularity of the engine means that standard and uprated parts are still widely available via our trusted supplier network.