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HMC- XK8 Starts!

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trigger Rank: Matra Rancho towing a Tagora

trigger

Posted
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What a mentalist! I love it! We had these at work with the 2.5Di lumps and they weren't a patch on the smiley faces Transits we had, but they felt quicker and would lock up the rear axles nicely when dropping to 1st from 4th at 60! (These were port vehicles which made manufacturers testings look like a gentle drive to the shops).

  • mercrocker and Lacquer Peel
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Zelandeth Rank: Talbot Matra Rancho

Zelandeth

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Good work but I can't help thinking the V8 will be strangled and less impressive than the noise would suggest.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

But what a noise...sure it wouldn't take much to unleash a few extra horses either...surely as many off the shelf bits to tune that motor must be out there as are to turn a Mk II Escort into a rally car replica.

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Guest Hooli

Guest Hooli

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Remember when these were used as Ambulances?

 

Well one of the most impressive bits of driving I've seen was one going around Steine Gardens in Worthing, He came hammering down to the seafront in the rain & turned right towards the pier. Backend came out & he didn't even lift slightly, it was still sideways 100yrds down the road. Great to watch with an excellent sound track, I'm damn sure he changed up & floored it again before it fully straightened up too.

  • tooSavvy, Squire_Dawson, eddyramrod and 1 other
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SiC Rank: Matra Rancho towing a Tagora

SiC

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If it's ex-MET surveillance van, I bet there is some history and stories it could tell if it spoke. Given its rarity and the bonkers engine, I reckon if that was done up, it'd be worth a fair ol' bob. Not a quick seller but there will be some rich British car van who would be all over that.

 

Is it the Rover V8 in it?

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HMC Rank: Talbot Matra Rancho

HMC

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If it's ex-MET surveillance van, I bet there is some history and stories it could tell if it spoke. Given its rarity and the bonkers engine, I reckon if that was done up, it'd be worth a fair ol' bob. Not a quick seller but there will be some rich British car van who would be all over that.

Is it the Rover V8 in it?

Yup a Land Rover sourced low compression v8 these have apparently coupled to A ZF automatic. Agreed about its reported past life. It's a bit of a wierd spec with a very basic body with no side loading door, and the engine with autobox combo. It may have bullet proof glass but I'm unsure how you know rather than the obvious. It's also Chelmsford rather than central London registered but maybe the surveillance people were canny and ensured it had no apparent ties to their other fleet vehicles. I've submitted a FOI request online to the met police as apparently this is one way to look into its history. I'll also do a v888 with the DVLA but rev bluejeans said recently they've got a lot more information governance heavy in how they handle V888s.

 

Speaking to the vendor it was the source of a low miles proven working zf4hp22 transmission for him and nothing more; I think it's great of him to offer it at what it owed him rather than strip and scrap it.

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SiC Rank: Matra Rancho towing a Tagora

SiC

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A quick Google suggests 18-22mpg is normal as stated on some forums and owners. Not bad imo. That's about what a RX8 got with me. Apparently the SD1 head fits on and increases the compression and power out of the engine.

 

Also if it becomes tiresome, LPG conversion should be easy enough. Would make a great camper conversion.

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Zelandeth Rank: Talbot Matra Rancho

Zelandeth

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I'd say probably 10-12mpg realistically, 15 out of town if you're gentle.

 

It's on carbs remember!  18mpg might just about be doable if you're driving really gently on an injected version.

 

4hp22 does at least have a lockup mode in top gear as I recall which will help over some other auto boxes of the time!  *Points in the direction of the Borg Warner Type 37 in his Saab*

 

Curious what emission control kit is on it...on an N plate it's got a cat surely?  Was 1993 onwards for cars, were commercials given more leeway before they were required?

  • Talbot and Nicola H
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spartacus Rank: Renault 16

spartacus

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What a winner! Bucketeer has the idea, you don't actually have to drain your bank account driving it anywhere. Just start it every now and then to listen to that lovely V8 burble, the rest of the time you can just look at it and congratulate yourself on achieving such a high score in the 'Autoshite' game.

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dollywobbler Rank: Matra Rancho towing a Tagora

dollywobbler

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My Land Rover 90 V8 with the twin-carb 3528cc and manual box could never better 15mpg, so I'm pretty sure this'll be horrific. 

 

I'll admit it. I'm still disappointed by the lack of Favorit. Even though I did my college work experience at the LDV plant. 

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DodgeRover Rank: Talbot Matra Rancho

DodgeRover

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I managed on LPG to get 18mpg from a good carb'd low compression rangie with a 4 manual speed box and it never did less than 2.8 miles per litre even towing.

 

As long as this has the fast 4.63 diff in it then in excess of 18mpg doesn't seem beyond the realms of possibility with a modern auto with lock up - people occasionally claim low to mid 20s for the 3.0 essex powered transits on a steady run - I can't imagine this being worse.

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andrew e Rank: Renault 16

andrew e

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It's also Chelmsford rather than central London registered

Cracking pointless buy! The Essex police driving school and workshops is/was based in Springfield (I went round the skid pan in 1993, it house the IT dept now....) and the police museum is too. They might be worth contacting to chase the history?

 

https://museum.essex.police.uk/contact-us/

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