75 P6 V8 - Bye, this car

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

OIL PRICE CRASH! The time to buy a V8 is NOW!
 

 
I love my Rover 2000. It's a wonderful car, but I've had it a while and I've noticed that it's suffering from a severe cylinder deficiency. Time to fix that with the purchase of this lovely ruin:
 

eBay seller's photo

I know it looks perfect in that picture, but you'll be surprised to know it's been off the road since Yazz's The Only Way Is Up was in the charts. There are a few minor niggles to sort before it's ready to return to the tarmac - the brakes aren't working, and while the engine runs the fuel pump is broken and the exhaust is in the boot.



It has 35k on the clock which, backed up by MOTs back to '81, might well be genuine. That said, it's been a tough 35k. The blue paintwork has been covered by burgundy brown paint and topped off with some, uh, delightful stick on stripes.



But the cosmetics are low priority. The goal now is to get it running right and MOT'd as soon as possible. Junkman & I are going to tackle this at the weekend.

Until then, I have the interior to work on. It's black fabric, and smells musty. I have plans for the interior which will be detailed in another post. Until then, here's a clue:



Exciting times! I hope this car will be unrecognisable very, very soon.

[Inspector Morose]

LOVE IT! ( want another one now. Thanks.)

[phil_lihp]

Top work, I liked driving your P6 but it did seem a little short on oomph, I daresay this one won't be.

[Shep Shepherd]

Summer 1988? That means it's been off the road longer than it was on the road!

[Minimad5]

Great thread !

I have had the pleasure of riding in Junkmans lovely P6, which instantly became added to my 'WANT' list.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Top work, I liked driving your P6 but it did seem a little short on oomph, I daresay this one won't be.

 

I had the timing reset and carbs tuned since Shitefest, and while that improved matters a bit I still wouldn't mind just a little extra power. Mainly I'm looking forward to a more relaxed cruise on the motorway. 

[dollywobbler]

Like many cars, these are just MADE with a V8. My 3500 was an absolute joy at motorway speeds. Just sublime.

[Junkman]

It's truly amazing to what degree they managed to fuck it up in only 35,000 miles.

That thing looks like it went right through WW3 and back.

 

But they painted the wheels green. That's important.

[jonathan_dyane]

So so jealous, I saw this on ebay and wanted it badly!

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

UPDATE

 

It runs! ...and here's video proof:

 

 

When we viewed the car it ran for about five seconds (the fuel pump is borked), and after seeing inside the carburettors even that was quite astonishing. A thick grey goo caked every internal part. Once that was dealt with I left it to Junkman to figure out the choke and throttle linkages (inexplicably different from the otherwise identical Rover BrownMotion's), rig up a gravity fuel feed, and... well, watch the video!

 

 

Did you hear how good that sounded? And how well it ran for an engine with vintage oil and potentially original plugs and leads?

 

But the fact that the engine works isn't all that amazing. You want amazing? Here's amazing: It's not rotten to hell. Those shite brown panels with comedy stripes are hanging from what appears to be a solid base unit. That's not to say it's never been welded, it has - and by someone who clearly paid attention during the health and safety portion of their welding class:

 

 

But this car might be a lot closer to an MOT than its appearance suggests.

 

COMING (VERY) SOON

Repair the fuel pump, replace the alternator and fix all the broken electrics.

 

STILL UNINVESTIGATED

The brakes and the auto box (wcpgw?)

[Minimad5]

Top work lads !

[Tayne]

Excellent.

 

Though the oil pressure looks a little low.

[sporty-shite]

Top stuff.

 

Also, bonus KNOB VAN content.

[mat_the_cat]

COMING (VERY) SOON

Repair the fuel pump, replace the alternator and fix all the broken electrics.

 

Ah, so you must have the repairable type then. Mine was the crimped together type although strangely despite not pumping fuel when on the engine and driven by the cam, it did when manually operated. The alternator is simple to rebuild (~£20 in parts) if you'd prefer to go down that road; alternately I found this bunch who do uprated output (and chrome!) versions in the same casings:

http://www.ratsport.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=9667763&XMLOpt1=0&XMLOpt2=-1&RelatedPdtIDs=

[Junkman]

Excellent.

 

Though the oil pressure looks a little low.

 

That's with god knows what piss plus engine flush in it.

We'll see what it does once it's filled with fine Miller's 20/50 and fitted with a new oil filter.

It doesn't make any worrying noises. There is zero rocker rattle or anything.

[Junkman]

Ah, so you must have the repairable type then. Mine was the crimped together type although strangely despite not pumping fuel when on the engine and driven by the cam, it did when manually operated.

I'm not sure, but it looks like the bolted together one.

Doesn't matter really, since I have a skeleton down in the dungeon we can rebuild for sure.

Currently, you can't even blow through the pump in either direction, so I assume it's full of the same vol-au-vent as the carbs were.

 

The alternator is simple to rebuild (~£20 in parts) if you'd prefer to go down that road; alternately I found this bunch who do uprated output (and chrome!) versions in the same casings:

http://www.ratsport.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=9667763&XMLOpt1=0&XMLOpt2=-1&RelatedPdtIDs=

I did that once and it worked even worse afterwards.

They sell 60 amp alternators for 44 sqids including postage, new, not remanufactured, and those do transform the car:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/380983601627

 

There, that's £0.73 per amp. Beat that.

 

I hate chromed or polished stuff on or near engines, because this seriously affects heat dissipation,

i.e. contributes to the shiny shit getting too hot inside.

 

Besides, it would stick out like a sore thumb in that decidedly ratlook engine bay.

[Bren]

These engines will run with remarkably low oil pressure.

 

The SD1 has the cut off - pressure drops too low it cuts the fuel supply.

 

My mate spent a fortune on a 3500se - nobody twigged that a lack of oil pressure (engine fubar) was causing the fuel supply to cut off. He had Head gaskets and many other things replaced.

[Junkman]

This one actually shows oil pressure, even with what is most likely the content of a cesspool in the sump.

In Rover V8 terms, that's a win.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Excellent.

 

Though the oil pressure looks a little low.

The oil pressure looks terrible! But that is at hot idle with ancient oil, so not too troubling. Miserably low oil pressures seem to be a hallmark of these engines - look at this excerpt from the owners manual:

 

 

"oh yeah, the oil pressure gauge on your brand new car is going to be in the DANGER ZONE sometimes, don't worry about it"

 

Ah, so you must have the repairable type then. Mine was the crimped together type although strangely despite not pumping fuel when on the engine and driven by the cam, it did when manually operated. The alternator is simple to rebuild (~£20 in parts) if you'd prefer to go down that road; alternately I found this bunch who do uprated output (and chrome!) versions in the same casings:

http://www.ratsport.com/PBSCProduct.asp?ItmID=9667763&XMLOpt1=0&XMLOpt2=-1&RelatedPdtIDs=

Thanks - I have ordered a 60amp new alternator, so that should liven it up a bit! I think all the P6 V8s have rebuildable fuel pumps, so in luck there. Your V8 came out of a Range Rover, didn't it?

 

Top stuff.

 

Also, bonus KNOB VAN content.

I bought a new battery for the Rover, the poor thing's first job was to crank KNOB VAN over for ages while the fuel system tried to prime itself. Now it's providing sparks in a car with a dead alternator [checks warranty documentation].

[Lord Sterling]

This is great. Watching the video, seeing and hearing these cars always makes me wonder why the hell I'm bothering with feeble V6 800s.

[mat_the_cat]

Thanks - I have ordered a 60amp new alternator, so that should liven it up a bit! I think all the P6 V8s have rebuildable fuel pumps, so in luck there. Your V8 came out of a Range Rover, didn't it?

 

It did, although the block has a late SD1 engine number. Looks like it was built to early Range Rover spec though. I don't know whether the difference between fuel pumps is down to the application or simply whichever supplier wasn't on strike that week - I just know that I almost bought a rebuild kit before realising there was no easy way to take my pump apart non-destructively!

 

I do hope your new alternator is unchromed...

[Junkman]

This is great. Watching the video, seeing and hearing these cars always makes me wonder why the hell I'm bothering with feeble V6 800s.

 

I'd sound a lot better, if the exhaust system lying around in my garden would actually be hanging underneath it.

[Skizzer]

Outstanding.

 

I hope you're planning to run around in it looking just like that once you've got it fully up and together?  The Gaffer would be proud.

[Bren]

Outstanding.

 

I hope you're planning to run around in it looking just like that once you've got it fully up and together?  The Gaffer would be proud.

Remember the song from the show - "" REGRETS THE TIME HE SPENDS ON PAPERWORK AND VAT - KEEPS THE MONEY THAT THE TAX MAN DOES'NT SEE."

[Junkman]

Outstanding.

 

I hope you're planning to run around in it looking just like that once you've got it fully up and together?  The Gaffer would be proud.

 

I guess we'd have to dulux it white for that, no?

[Skizzer]

I suppose, if you really insist on authenticity, but I reckon we'll let you off with the existing burgundy/fire engine combo.

 

You'll need a few dozen parking tickets for the dashboard as well though.

[jonathan_dyane]

Result! I'm positively green with envy!

[Junkman]

Well, I can report, that today it ran by pumping petrol into the carbs by means of its own fuel pump.

We also learned today, that for some odd reason, it'll only start, when one puts a rotor arm in the distributor.

[Noel Tidybeard]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzLNEGMELkY

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

★ Ã¢Ëœâ€¦  DAY 15  ★ Ã¢Ëœâ€¦

 

Progress has been swift! I've been visiting the car every afternoon this week, and Junkman has been idling away his lunch hours under its bonnet. As a result, it has a functional charging system and a repaired fuel pump. Unfortunately the fuel tank contains something unpleasant, presumably 1988 vintage four star, which turned the fuel filter black and reduced our easy starting sweet running V8 to a spluttering mess.

 

The jammed fuel reserve tap was a big problem. It's a simple cable controlled tap, but it lives in the deepest darkest recesses of the engine bay and access is notoriously difficult. Fortunately Junkman is something of an expert at fuel tap manipulation and a couple of lunch hours worth of precision surgery resurrected the tap, complete with a new ethanol resistant seal.

 

But it hasn't been all good news. This car might well be low milage, but if this is really a 35k car, it's been 35k of short journeys and zero oil changes.

 

 

Faced with that evidence of utter neglect, the best we could do was clean everything as thoroughly as possible, and flush the engine with cheap oil before putting the decent stuff in. We should have known... how could anything with these stripes not be neglected?