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V8BART

New Member
Hey, I got it on the stand last night and started to clean it. Ever tried to wash off 30 years of gunk on a V8 the engine? That thing has never been cleaned and at the front where it was leaking oil from rockers there is a 10mm thick layer of rubbery goo. Found thet the best way about it is to scrape as much as possible with a spatula and than blitz it with brush-on Gunk cleaner. Voila! clean aluminium. Then another quick clean with Autoglym engine and machine cleaner and it is even cleaner. So now I am dismantling it. Do you think I should get the crankshaft out and blow out the oil passages? Might be a good idea. My baby is getting SD1 heads, K&Ns and slightly richer needles (any recommendations?), uprated oil pump andmaybe an extra oil cooler, all new hoses and gaskets. Anything else I should pay attention to? Go on, advice needed, I dont want to overlook anything while it's out of the car.
 
Definitely have a look at the bearings and the bores. Then see how much money that leaves for improvements. No point turbocharging it if the engine is shot !
 
A basic V8 rebuild will cost you £400.

Its well worth getting it ballanced. I know of a mildly tuned V8 which will rev to 7200rpm all day long. Mainly due to spending £160 on ballancing.
 
I would want to have a Lip rear main seal, SD1 front cover, if it's 10.5:1cr I'd use composite head gaskets to knock the cr down a bit,when fitting a new camshaft I've heard the 3.9 shaft is cheaper and gives an increase of about 10hp. I would avoid a rebore, if it needs one (unlikely) I'd get a standard block. New rings and shells, and rebuild it with care.
If you balance it up and want to use those extra revs you'll need high rev lifters at the very least.
A good book to buy is "Tuning the Rover V8" by David Hardcastle. The come up on ebay regularly
Standard carbs are adequate for about 200bhp, if you've got that much power I'd uprate the 65 box to a specification that can handle up to about 220bhp.If you want more go for EFI.
 
well, engine has done only 70000. By V8 standards it is just run in. My main concern is the cleanliness of oil tracts. I'll get the crank out just to have a look at it but engine was always sound and it pulled likea train so I am not worried. Any scouring on the bearing would imply neglect by PO's. If found I'll consider a major overhaul of the bottom end.
 
You can do as much or as little as you like (or can afford), just a decoke, valve grind, clean out and rebuild will make a difference, and only :D cost the price of a gasket set. There are probably a couple of cheap/free mods you should do while its apart e.g. the crank rear oil seal.

Don't do what I did, strip the engine, dream up all sorts of wonderfull mods, then don't do anything because you can't afford to ! :p



Edited By webmaster on 1165594714
 
If you want to build an engine for power the worst block you can start with is a P6 block.
Would suggest you look for a stiff block and throw your money at that. Perhapse buy yourself a cheap range rover vogue and nick the engine out of that? You will get an extra 400cc AND the EFI bits which you can either sell along with the rest of the range rover or use in your P6.
As Rover V8's go the early blocks are simply crap.
 
To be honest I am not interested in mental amounts power, just a slight gain and reliability. The rear seal is already of modern type ('75 car) and can't see any leaks around it. Difference beteeen the blocks, yeah stiff block has got some more webbing around the crank which is good for a lot of power and competition purposes but my P6 block is enough for my needs. Already found some good SD1 heads for 40 squid and just letting the engine to breathe more will be a sufficient improvement. Why would you like an SD1 front timing cover?
 
Hi

Comments on using the 3.9 cam, I've used this and the engine is that bit perkier, but I come to the opinion that it would be better to fork out that extra £100 or so for a uprated kent or whatever (see the RPI website). Its cheap horspower and I'm hankering for it long after my £100 saving has been frazzled away, but of course I'm not going back and fit another cam again !
They claim you can have an extra 20 GG's or so AND keep low down torque.
My other tip is to fit good electronic ignition, leads, uprated coil etc and have the whole lot set up on a rolling road.

Oil cooler ? never heard of anybody needing one on the V8, (where would you put it ?), you can spend the money saved on that cam and tappets !

Ron
 
V8BART said:
. Why would you like an SD1 front timing cover?
Click to expand...
SD1 front cover has the high volume oil pump, and a lip type front crank oil seal, and if you want to use an electric fuel pump (either normal or high pressure for EFI) the hole for the mechanical pump is already blocked up.
 
In engine building circles theres a quote that I think might be worth mentioning
"Fast, Reliable, Cheap - Pick 2, for rotaries pick 1!"
 
Hmm, interesting. Any Idea where can I get some more SD1 guts? What would be cheaper? Get a high volume kit or SD1 cover? But then I surely have to change the dizzy? I think it will be less fuss to install a kit witha spacer plate. My car already been converted to electric pump so the hole has been blanked off. Oil cooler? Well, one of the main purposes of oil is engine cooling so I reckon it is a good idea. P6 engine bay is so spacious I will definately find somewhere to put it.
 
Good place for the oil cooler would be under the lower valance. There is a shaped duct just perfect for it!
MGBGT V8's come with an oil cooler as standard equipment. Principal reason is hot under bonnet temperatures.
 
Hi all
Got to go the obvious route!!!
but on a manual car should'nt it be possible to use a v8 auto's radiator to connect to, to cool the eng oil instead of the auto oil ??? ??? and if its an auto,when the rad needs rebuilding,get another cooler core fitted to the n/s bottom of the rad!!
It gets over the problem of space,and its better than nothing
 
pilkie 0 said:
but on a manual car should'nt it be possible to use a v8 auto's radiator to connect to, to cool the eng oil instead of the auto oil ??? ??? and if its an auto,when the rad needs rebuilding,get another cooler core fitted to the n/s bottom of the rad!!
It gets over the problem of space,and its better than nothing
Click to expand...
I think the subject of the auto cooler in the rad has come up before. After the number of rads I've had to replace due to ATF/coolant cross contamination, I wouldn't have one for the auto let alone engine oil (or worse still both) With the range of separate coolers available, and the fact that rads with coolers tend to come out dearer, and their habit of failing with potentially damaging (expensive) results it's separate coolers for me. (not such a problem as I always prefer manual cars anyway)
 
Remember to check with your insurers about the oil cooler. I modified a Midget once. Head, Cam, LCB, K&N's etc no problems Sir.
Oil cooler ? suddenly my rates went through the roof, if I needed a oil cooler I must be a high risk boy racer (wot me, on the street ?) they said. Why I would do all the other stuff if I did'nt like going fast I have no idea. ??? I think I moved from poser to speed freek catagory.

Sorry to be Mr sensible

Ron
 
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