The beginning of the end of Crane Sr's dreams began when Chris got his hands on his Dad's old "Meccano" set.  Chris's  first solo engine experience (at 9 years old) was an 'Atco' lawnmower engine, duly nailed onto  two 4 /4 wooden blocks and puttered over until at last it roared into life.  A 'Lambretta' scooter that would only start on ether soon followed, and it was these that paved the way for the many hundreds of internal combustion powered vehicles that followed over the years since ...

After a long time of both formal and hands-on training, Chris set out, armed with determination and a lifetime of savings (£1k), he purchased his first Rover V8-powered SD1 in 1979, the first of over 1500 over a ten year span, also introducing worldwide assistance and parts export through his originating company 'Roverpart'. As the SD1 model became less mainstream, Chris turned his attention towards all the other marques using this unique and lightweight power plant including Range Rover, Land Rover, MG, Kit cars, TVR Morgan and many more, providing an amassed database of appropriated V8 knowledge which he had accumulated.

Today, the well-known and hugely informative 'V8 information centre' has won much acclaim and a faithful following in the Rover V8 international community at www.V8engine.com
Chris has written the ongoing and up-to-date V8 Engine sections in Haynes Range Rover and Land Rover restoration manuals, along with many magazine articles pertaining to all aspects of V8 engine use and improvements over the years.

V8 drag racing, high performance (street & race) tuning, and 20 years of talking nothing but  Rover V8s with a daily diet of more than forty E-mails, dozens of phone call queries from all over the globe, characterize a Crane day.

Chris is always happy to answer questions and assist with any V8 engine problem, appropriation & upgrade issues, and while he can't promise miracles, he's happy to offer any advice that's relevant or helpful, with a professional and unbiased intent & an unflagging interest.