VP T16 turbo

[matthewsemple]

Yes, there is a massive range of F and TF wheels that fit on Maestro, Montego, Dolomite and TR7 without any difficulties. Although unlikely, because they are only building 50 cars, I am just waiting for someone to put a set of these on a Maestro:

[Jumturbo]

Yes, and i must admit they tend to suit the Maestro more than the Montego as they fill the arches better especially the bigger 7.5x16" items. I think the ones countrydude has gone for really suit the Maestro.

[Chris Y]

Ah, didn't recognise them as TF/F wheels, due to the colour

[countrydude]

Yes I think these are original paint and have not been resprayed, they certainly have not had much use, I think there is one tiny fleck of paint missing apart from that immaculate. I think these are 7j, currently with 195's which seems odd to me as they are standard width for a 6j wheel. They are in good shape but will be replaced with 215's when the time comes.

Mal has a white monty turbo with the same wheels but in silver, I remember seeing it at the barn, I thought they looked the part there too.

[countrydude]

Finally got the engine bay cleaned up so I thought I'd post a pic:

[Russ]

Looking really good mate

[countrydude]

Cheers Russ, it should have the M series cam covers on it but when we came to putting the new cam followers on (as a few were rattling before) we realised you need to make up some quite big plates to cover oilways in the head. Also it turns out you should never fit different cam carriers to a head as they will be individually made to each head.

I will look into getting a 5mm spacer made up so I cam tap into that for the cam covers as I would be gutted to never use them, they are a work of art!

[Guest]

Just found this thread. Awesome and totally inspiring for a conversion novice like me!

Is the new engine based on the design of the old one? Do all the engine and gearbox mounts line up? Sorry if this is common knowledge, as I said- i'm a novice!

[countrydude]

Is the new engine based on the design of the old one? Do all the engine and gearbox mounts line up?

Yes, it is an o series block with a 16 valve head. You can reuse all the old engine mounts and do an ample job at keeping the engine still. I uprated some of the engines internals so I uprated the mounts accordingly, although I did add one that isn't usually fitted to the maestro being the sump to front crossmember which I would strongly advise.

[countrydude]

Running well and pulls like a relentless train. The turbo doesn't come on fully till mid to late 3k atm at around 2.5k it is boosting but the real kick in the back isn't till say 3.6k this may well be a sloppy actuator setting as it runs 5psi off the actuator!

I have a couple of future mods to run by people:

Adjustable suspension top mounts. These are made for a R200, the idea is to cut turrets off a coupe shell, then slice the lid off and weld the tops in allowing adjustable camber and castor settings. Importantly this gets rid of the top bush that allows the suspension to slop around on steering and acceleration.

At the same time I'm going to have a look at the rear beam and see if I can fit r200 rear hubs as they use a single piece taper bearing. The rear bearings are eaten very quickly with the turbo engine. They do also make rear camber plates which I'm sure I could make fit.

It is all about refinement. Currently I have a hooligan that does handle well, with these mods it will handle much better and be able to transfer more power onto the road. At the same time if I can sort out rear hubs and camber with taper bearings that don't need changing every few months then I'll be happy!

[countrydude]

Oh, and for the record a friend has recently done the classic rover bubble conversion with the t16 engine. By all accounts they should be a fair match, similar weight and same engine. All that is different is a turbo really seeing as I'm using around 10psi atm I'm not really using the benefit of the pistons!

We did a classic drag race. First gear was all about wheel spin, second started the same then I found some grip then I literally flew past, into 3rd and I was upto the national speed limit for a b road

All power to the T16, in the form of a maestro unbeatable!

We recounted stories of what happened, seems he changed into 3rd earlier as the t25 ran out of puff. I just nailed it to the redline and that was the point I flew past. I'll get to a dyno soon to get some results. till then:

[E_T_V]

Running well and pulls like a relentless train. The turbo doesn't come on fully till mid to late 3k atm at around 2.5k it is boosting but the real kick in the back isn't till say 3.6k this may well be a sloppy actuator setting as it runs 5psi off the actuator!

I have a couple of future mods to run by people:

Adjustable suspension top mounts. These are made for a R200, the idea is to cut turrets off a coupe shell, then slice the lid off and weld the tops in allowing adjustable camber and castor settings. Importantly this gets rid of the top bush that allows the suspension to slop around on steering and acceleration.

At the same time I'm going to have a look at the rear beam and see if I can fit r200 rear hubs as they use a single piece taper bearing. The rear bearings are eaten very quickly with the turbo engine. They do also make rear camber plates which I'm sure I could make fit.

It is all about refinement. Currently I have a hooligan that does handle well, with these mods it will handle much better and be able to transfer more power onto the road. At the same time if I can sort out rear hubs and camber with taper bearings that don't need changing every few months then I'll be happy!

Get the actuator running 7psi or thereabouts and you may see the boost come in sooner. It does on other T28's I've been in

Cutting out the top of the struts and welding in others isn't what I'd do. Too many opportunities to give problems. Welding will have to be VERY accurate to keep the geometry straight, and then there is the welding itself which will need to be good and will always be a weakpoint from a fatigue point of view.

I think it would be easier to make or adapt some top mounts to the existing strut tops rather than do a fair bit of metalwork. Its not something I've tried myself though.

As for the rear hubs, the rear bearings shouldn't be giving you issues. Something must be amiss if you are eating them that fast? Worn drums? or perhaps stub axle? I presume you are only doing them up hand tight or simiar, they don't need a lot of pressure and you need to install the bearings the right way round (I have seen someone do it wrong once!).

You can also make camber plates easily for the standard axle too. All they are is a bit of plate drilled and surface ground to the desired taper.

[countrydude]

Good input as always Dan, yes it shouldn't be too much work to reform the top mount to fit the existing turret. I'll have a look at the actuator. I think the drums are worn. I'll dig around for some spares which I think I have.

I tend to give the rear bearings a good torque as the centre spacer will take up any excess pressure. Everytime I set the bearing to the book torque I found the bearing would not be pulled into the face of the hub enough and would already show some play.

[E_T_V]

Is the spacer supposed to be tight between the bearings though? I'm not sure. I've only ever done a handful and i've only done them up till all the play has gone, then knocked it back the tinyest amount. This is usually either hand tight or just above. It has always worked for me so to be honest I've never read what it should be in the book!

[countrydude]

hmm, I'm not sure either tbh. What sort of mileage have you seen on the rear bearings?

I think I have seen around 15-20 ish on the estate and that is with a fair weight. With that in mind I'm guessing my hubs are a bit of a mess.