The Two Sixty Super charged? 400 big ones

[Jamie]

Folks, I have to say like many others I am seriously tempted by the thought of the V8 and wondered how many folks had had gone for the dreadnought supercharger?

Having built a few 'specials' over the years.....It crossed my mind that as the V8 is based on the US FORD V8 that it may be possible to import aftermarket tuning equipment direct from the states......has anyone explored this route?

just for example 3 years ago I imported a turbo conversion for an 82 six cylinder Celica which tranformed a smooth old straight six into a fire breathing 250bhp monster....surely some tuning gear for the V8 available?

Jamie (dreaming....wishing....and buttering up the wife):drool4:

[Keith]

Jamie there are a few out there, pm scooter as he is "dreadnought"

I am quite happy with mine as it is at the moment it can break traction quite easily in standard spec thanks very much ;)

[Womble]

If you're not already a member of the MG Car Club and getting it for free, you might want to buy next month's edition of MG Enthusiast.

A few of us spent a rather enjoyable Saturday throwing a Dreadnought car around the back perimeter road of Dunsfold airfield (it's not often you can say "on private roads" without winking and crossing your fingers) for the purposes of writing a head to head for the magazine.

So, what car did we pick for the comparison? It was tricky! It had to be something with 400+ horses. Preferably a V8, and certainly rear wheel drive. Automatics were a bit of a non starter. Could be a saloon or an estate, but had to be a 5 seater.

Go through the above process, and you're left with pretty much a list of, erm... the £60k+ when new E39 BMW M5.

The first reaction to this is "that can't be right"? We were looking at comparing an iconic family supercar with an MG which, even if you paid the full list price (let's face it, far more likely to have happened with the M5 than the 260) and then added on the £6k for the supercharger conversion, would have left you with almost £20k in change.

That's before you even take into account the fact that you are talking about a chap in Scotland waking up one morning thinking "I've got a cunning plan"! OK, that's being grossly unfair to Brian, and between him and Sean Hyland they appear to have performed a miracle with presumeably less development budget than BMW would have spent on the M5's dust caps, but even so, how could we even consider putting these 2 cars head to head?

Well we did. You'll have to read the magazine for the feedback, but by the end of the day, everyone, including Andy the M5 owner, was in complete agreement that the comparison was a perfect one to make! That alone has to serve as testament to what a superb job MG Rover made of the basic car (remember that there is no need to upgrade any of the braking, suspension or drivetrain components before strapping on a 50% power increase), and also what an excellent job Dreadnought have made of enhancing it :drool4:

Just for a laugh, I also explained about the existence of the R75 V8, and the fact that due to the concealed exhausts, it was even harder than the 260 to tell apart from the smaller-engined derivatives. Andy and his brother (who drives an E36 M5) aren't to know that you can't supercharge that car, so there's 2 M5 drivers who from now on will be looking at every Rover 75 they pass, wondering if Grandad is about to put his hush puppy clad foot down hard on 400 horses! :D

In short, if I had £6k to spend on the car - currently waiting to hear back from the NSPCC on the minimum age at which they would condone my 3 year old becoming a chimney sweep - then I can't imagine a better way to spend it!

[anglaslt]

Just for a laugh, I also explained about the existence of the R75 V8, and the fact that due to the concealed exhausts, it was even harder than the 260 to tell apart from the smaller-engined derivatives. Andy and his brother (who drives an E36 M5) aren't to know that you can't supercharge that car, so there's 2 M5 drivers who from now on will be looking at every Rover 75 they pass, wondering if Grandad is about to put his hush puppy clad foot down hard on 400 horses! :D



Chris,
Picking up on this point, did you discuss with Dreadnought the feasibility of supercharging an R75 V8? In the past their opinion has been to resist it because of concerns over the auto box but does that necessarily mean it cannot be done? Wouldn't that be a fun car?
Tom

[Womble]

Chris,
Picking up on this point, did you discuss with Dreadnought the feasibility of supercharging an R75 V8? In the past their opinion has been to resist it because of concerns over the auto box but does that necessarily mean it cannot be done? Wouldn't that be a fun car?
Tom

I've certainly heard Brian be very categorical in his statement that it can't be done...

Given how soft & squidgy R75 seats are compared to those in the MGs, I expect you would find the limitation on performance would be based on how long you could grip the steering wheel as the car tried to thrust you into the back seat! :D

[Jamie]

Reading your comments with mucho interest.......but has anyone tried importing tuning gear for the V8? if so whats available?

even the thought of rear wheel drive and 400 bhp is giving me an adrenalin rush!

Brings back the memory of battling a mk2 escort BDA around the welsh countyside....ok it was only 170 bhp.....but I still dream about the sideways drifts and the induction roar from the twin 48's.....bliss pure bliss.

Jamie

[Womble]

As far as I know, the only mods carried out other than supercharging are swapping the standard throttle body for an Accufab unit and swapping the standard backboxes for those made by Zero exhausts.

The space in the engine bay is exceptionally tight with the V8 in there, so you would have to get custom induction systems and manifolds made if you wanted to play with those, as the usual Mustang tuning options are unlikely to fit. Needless to say, this would get very expensive very quickly, so you might as well go for the blower!

[Jamie]

Needless to say, this would get very expensive very quickly, so you might as well go for the blower!

Is it just me or is anyone else picturing that huge blower strapped to the engines on the 70s Mad Max movie?

Oh yesssssssssssssssssssssssss:drool4:

[Womble]

Is it just me or is anyone else picturing that huge blower strapped to the engines on the 70s Mad Max movie?

Oh yesssssssssssssssssssssssss:drool4:


To give you an idea of how much the Dreadnought blower stands out, 99% of people who haven't seen a standard 260 engine would not be able to tell it wasn't a standard factory fitted unit, imho. Certainly not your wacking great big chain driven monster poking through the bonnet number!!! :D

[Jamie]

To give you an idea of how much the Dreadnought blower stands out, 99% of people who haven't seen a standard 260 engine would not be able to tell it wasn't a standard factory fitted unit, imho. Certainly not your wacking great big chain driven monster poking through the bonnet number!!! :D


Awwwwwww......just burst my bubble....or should that be Buble?

[Zeb]

Awwwwwww......just burst my bubble....or should that be Buble?

No reason why the V8 couldn't have an NOS kit fitted though is there?

[JP53]

No reason why the V8 couldn't have an NOS kit fitted though is there?

You would need a parachute as well as brakes :D

[Zeb]

You would need a parachute as well as brakes :D

Well it works very well on motorbikes....and I reckon it would be a whole lot cheaper...

[JP53]

Well it works very well on motorbikes....and I reckon it would be a whole lot cheaper...

MOTOR BIKES????? I would want to be glued to an ejector seat to try it on one of them :eek:

[Zeb]

MOTOR BIKES????? I would want to be glued to an ejector seat to try it on one of them :eek:


Ha ha...you just haven't lived (yet) have you mate.....:D

[JP53]

Ha ha...you just haven't lived (yet) have you mate.....:D

No, but I want to :D

[Womble]

Ha ha...you just haven't lived (yet) have you mate.....:D


Many years ago, there was a major at my TA unit who used to NOS his bikes. He had an additional pair of foot pegs welded on so that he could effectively lie down and brace himself when he hit the NOS button! :drool4:

[Jamie]

Many years ago, there was a major at my TA unit who used to NOS his bikes. He had an additional pair of foot pegs welded on so that he could effectively lie down and brace himself when he hit the NOS button! :drool4:

Hi Womble....I built a Drag GSX1100 a few years back ...it ran 1260cc bores, A Kawasaki Turbo unit and yes.....Nitros! I never got to have the bike Dyno'd but estimated around 250bhp...I also used rearsets but devised a Velcro Belt which stopped me being pulled away from the handlebars!

Jamie

[Keith]

MOTOR BIKES????? I would want to be glued to an ejector seat to try it on one of them :eek:


Funny you should say that in my early days on bikes I used to wear simple nylon waterproofs till one day I got to ride a really fast bike (well fast for 1977). I slid all the way down the seat and very nearly fell off the back

Which considering I was on a mental Kawasaki H2 of tank slapper fame meant it all went very light and wobbly and for a few seconds VTO at the front :)

[welly]

H2's were light on the front even if you sat on the clocks. You were very luck Keith it could have been :hurt2: for you.

[Pete]

Just going back to the question being posed......

Dreadnought have done a huge amount of work on the supercharging of the V8 motors, and to be honest when you look at the cost of importing the bits into the UK then the extra to have them fit it all is a bit of a bargain. Best to trailer it up there and let the experts do the work in my opinion as their knowledge of the whole shebang is quite something - Brian really is something of a sage on the topic.

Of course, the other reason to have Dreadnought do the work is that you get the chance to drive it back along some wonderful roads as well. No better way to bed her in if you ask me. :D

[ksilver]

I saw the MGE article and it is very tempting for the next motor.

Deadnought are not too far from me and I can see it now - drive down in around 90 minutes, drive home in 45!!!! :flame:

[mach1rob]

Entirely possible, I imported a load of bits for my old 69 Mustang from a specialist in the States, worked out loads cheaper even including the shipping, which was great until it arrived in the UK, and VAT and a handling charge got slapped on which set me back another £100, so it didn't work out that much cheaper. Just another factor to add on when getting bits from the States, but then there's a much bigger market out there for performance tuning the Mustangs, catch 22 situation.