Rebuilding the 2000 engine in So Cal

Limey Steve

Limey Steve

Member
My car came with a broken engine ,#4 rod exiting through the side of the block !! I managed to get a spare SC engine here locally , priced right & free turning on the crank, an auto engine so little wear. I found -010 bearings here in the states but the stock rings I bought on ebay never materialized so a set of NOS Rover +010 pistons , rings & gudgeon pins were located in London & have arrived at my friends house up in the Midlands .We are back on Schedule to get the car running ready for the Queen's English Car Show in May .
 
Are you building a 2000 SC motor, or a TC motor? Are you re-boring the block, and grinding the crank or were they already done previously? Are you familiar with under bucket tappet shims? Do you have a source of shims locally? Has the car always been in California? I own a Rover 2000 automatic in South Australia, so I am familiar with the advantage of keeping a car in a Mediterranean climate. No rust. I cannot say the same for upstate NY.
 
Hi , I'm rebuilding a TC engine which had a really good top end all looked fresh with a nice bottom end from an SC unfortunately I couldn't find stock bearings or stock piston rings so a regrind of .010 on the mains & rods with a + 010 clean up of the bores for the .010 over size pistons I found on Ebay UK . The car is a California car that was bought from the San Diego Car Museum 10 yrs ago ( I have the original sales receipt from the museum ) by the guy I got it from . On the cam I kept all the parts & shims etc together so they will go back whence they came & hopefully all will be good .
 
Hey Steve,

Don't assume the valve clearances are correct. They do recede slightly over the years and the gaps close up. Once you're able to torque the head down check the clearances before replacing the engine. If there are tight clearances fix it then. Our engines seem very sensitive to the correct clearances. I was chasing poor idling for ages before doing this. Fixed that and getting the valve timing correct and all of a sudden smooth idle and loads of bottom end torque.
 
Thanks a lot for the info , I will definitely do this , I'm really enjoying the rebuild & as it is at work , I'm in no hurry so I want it right first time. Is there an interchange on the clutch cover , the center part on mine is worn , I found a disc on ebay so that is bought , I'm going to rebuild the clutch release apparatus too
 
Good info, I picked up a spare gearbox from the seller for free, nice guy , as well as a spare TC exhaust manifold & the missing window winder , all in all a good trip to San Diego. I removed the clutch release assy from both transmissions & noticed the brass guide ring was external on the trans in the car , I'm assuming that's why the center of the clutch was very worn as it would have had pressure on it as the clutch release was 1/8" further out than it was designed to be . Maybe just a theory but the replacement will be installed assembled as it should.
 
Yes thanks , I cleaned up the "new" clutch release mech. & it's like brand new, the clutch slave just needed a light hone to be good as well , all on track, block & crank are at the M/C shop , time will tell but I need to get it done asap as I have customer's cars getting closer to needing shop space.
 
I finally got my sleeved block & reground crank back from my local shops, I got .010 over NOS pistons & rings from Ebay UK , then got .010 under rods & Main bearings here in the States , for cheap off ebay .The crank is the best grind I have ever seen.

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Thanks guys, I found the Crank Grinding Guru just around the corner from my workshop , all the bonneville & race car guys use him, It looks like chrome it's so perfect, The crank went in lovely last night after work , rods & pistons tonight.
 
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I finished putting the engine together & in & she's a runner , the chains & tensioners would be a good job for a gynecologist but I got there in the end :) I left the gearbox in the car & fitting the engine onto the trans was a doddle. Fired up , no problems, tomorrow it's the clutch slave & arm , then the electric fan, the A/C can wait until the weekend :)
 
Looks great. Very nice job on polishing the valve cover. So removing engine only isn't as bad as engine and gearbox? Always done them together personally?
 
Being a Rover Novice but having been restoring cars for 30 years I went with just the engine removal , I lowered her back in on the hoist using the motor mounts for the strap , got her in place, jacked up the gearbox as high as possible, aligned the clutch & trans , it slipped right on the spline, I put in a couple of bolts, removed the jack from the trans, stuck the floor jack under the pan with a block of wood on the jack , took the weight , removed the strap lowered the engine onto the mounts using 2 alignment bars. In all it only took about 30 minutes . Tonight she moved under her own steam . Tomorrow adjust the pedals as they are too low & bolt in the electric fan.
 
Your ignition coil is in a very odd spot, I've never seen one there before. Normally it would be where the fan resistor for the A/C is located, and usually they moved it to between the battery and the brake servo. But then the install has got other odd features, like the PVC valve.

Yours
Vern
 
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