Jake's Story

Please excuse the posting dates, but will be posting retrospective journal entries of progress over the last 2 years.

We went to visit a friend locally, with the intention of checking out a SWB series 1 Land Rover they wanted to sell. Turns out the Landie was a series 2 Truck Cab, not on my shopping list. Walking back to the house, we noticed a BGT in the back of the shed, covered in dust & birdcrap. We diverted across to take a look. Pete's first question, 'Want to here it start?'. Sure enough, find the keys, ignition on, fuel pump clatters, and fires into life! Next question from Pete 'Wan't to go & try it?' WHo could resist. A quick flick down the road showed that most was good, apart from a trail of Blue smoke, and a wheel wobble.

Suddenly we're shopping for a car, not a Land Rover
From my limited experience, the rust prone spots seemed good, and the engine smoke could well be a breather trouble

The car came home with us a week later

Jan 2013
Once we got Jake home, we took a look around.
Washed off the dust and bird crap was the starting point!
I quick nosey underneath confirmed no overdrive. Never mind.
The car drove quite nicely, the WOF having only run out in December. The previous owner had spent a little money to put the car on the road for his son, but the cool young lad wasn’t going to be seen in this old car!

There was some engine smoke, & we had been told the head had been overhauled in an effort to stop the smoke. I contacted the guys that had looked at the head, but the full story was that the head had come off, nothing was found, and the owner was left with the choice to ‘Go a little further’. He didn’t !
An advisory note on the preceeding WOF checksheet highlighted engine smoke as a problem.

I’d hoped the smoke was from crankcase pressure/blocked crankcase breather dumping into the inlet.
After a little digging, the tappet covers & breather all seemed OK. Bummer

Mar 2013

Still hoping to put the car on the road and clock up some miles.

Expecting the job to develop, I spent a little time with a steam cleaner, to shift the majority of the build up of grime & oil around the engine bay and underneath. ( And a plausible excuse to drive the car to work a couple of times)

If the oil smoke wasn't a blocked breather, a little more digging was required.

Next job was lifting the head. Disappointingly nothing too scary to see. So was ‘what next’. After a couple of weeks of consideration, we (I) bit the bullet. Out with the engine.

Once engine was out, and the ‘box was off, the first 2 things that struck me were
• How HEAVY the engine is
• Someone at BLMC had added a stuffing great steel plate between the engine & box. I bet there aren’t any lumps of steel like that in a lotus Elan!

Once the engine was on its stand, off with the sump. Out with the pistons, and keep stripping.
We found:-
3 Broken rings
Worn bores
Pitted cam followers
Saggy cam chain
Pitted cam lobes
Worn Mains & big ends
Crankshaft in need of some TLC
At least the head looked OK !
I took some of the bits & pieces to our local engine machine shop for an expert view.
On opening the hatch of my car, from about 6 feet away, Graham's first comment was ‘You know that heads cracked eh?’ Couldn’t believe it. I'd looked all around the Valve seats, all looked OK.? He could see a crack down the front, outside of the head, where ‘they all crack’ Amazing what a little trade experience adds to the mix.

After making up a list of the casualties, and costing up the engine rebuild options, what to do? Of course, rebuilding the old B series would be the way to go. If it needs a rebore, then 1950cc would be the way to go? Replacing the cam, would have to be hotter? A new head – would have to have bigger valves. What about the alloy 5 port replicas, or even cross flow?
That steel bellhousing adapter plate would have to go.
5 speed conversion, or overdrive?

A Petrol heads mind is always full of ideas.

There was a little seed of an idea growing in my head. A nagging voice getting louder. And then the bight light switched on in my head

Only 1 option, lets start looking at the Rover V8!!!!!
I’ve always had a soft spot for the rover V8, thinking about
• My grandfather had 2 P6B’s, then in my youth,
• Tony pond would be making awesome noises with the TR7V8 rally cars, then the SD1 rally car. No one can forget his spectacular early exits from the RAC rally.
• The Goup 1 / Group A touring cars
• A former colleague from ERF trucks in middlewich with an amazing sounding TR7V8

The more I read, the more I was convinced this was the future
Eventually my darling wife succumbed to the enthusiasm!

Once the engine was on its stand, off with the sump. Out with the pistons, and keep stripping.
We found:-
3 Broken rings
Worn bores
Pitted cam followers
Saggy cam chain
Pitted cam lobes
Worn out Mains & big ends
Crankshaft in need of some TLC
At least the head looked OK !
I took some of the bits & pieces to our local engine machine shop for an expert view.
On opening the hatch of my car, from about 6feet away, Graham's first comment was ‘You know that heads cracked eh?’ Couldn’t believe it. He could see a crack down the front outside of the head, where ‘they all crack’. Amazing what a little trade experience adds to the mix.

After making up a list of the casualties, and costing up the engine rebuild options, what to do? Of course, rebuilding the old B series would be the way to go. If it needs a rebore, then 1950cc would be the way to go? Replacing the cam, would have to be hotter? A new head – would have to have bigger valves. What about the alloy 5 port replicas, or even cross flow?
That steel bellhousing adapter plate would have to go.
5 speed conversion, or overdrive?