Sam's new engine build thread!! HELP! :D

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
Thanks again Jonnyt, you provided some seriously awesome help with that build, very very grateful!

Mark, I would like to think my efforts over here spurred you on to get yours fired up?! Hey if it's not ****ed it will be sweet enough, although tbh I wouldn't be scared of rebuilding another now. Was great to cut my teeth on one that was basically already done...

Which brings me onto fett, yes i thought it might have got a bit dull now we're back to normal :(

Well, as things stand I'm just running about in the motor keeping that engine on song, at the moment 1500-2500 rpm just driving about on part throttle, once I get to 200 miles I'll pick up to 3000 rpm and gradually working towards opening it up further at 500 miles.

At the moment I'm on the same oil with the comp cams additive and the graphogen residue in there, going to hopefully break the 100 mile mark today (have done about 40 on to now, drives lovely, easily got enough go and that at low revs with no throttle!) and then tomorrow i'll give it oil & filter. Will run that oil and filter up to the 500 mile mark then change again, then it'll be done.

The bonnet is a little job, going to fit aerocatches front and rear to make it fully removeable, SO much easier for working on/display (want to get this car to shows more often)

I have a couple of other body repairs to do also, but this is a v8 thread. As it happens:

I am now looking for a placement for the motor that came out.

As it stands it has block, heads, cam covers, sd1 front end and sd1 sump.

I firstly want to strip it to a pile of bits and then get everything hot tanked, and proceed with a rebuild. Finding a hot tank is bloody difficult!!

I would like to start another project, ideally a hot rod, but it needs to be on the cheap. or maybe some kind of cheap classic that I can throw the engine in.

Have wanted a v8 toy since I was a kid, by that I mean something which blatently shouldn't have that motor in. It's only a small engine so it needs to be a small car. A classic ford hot rod replica would be awesome but I feel even a glass fibre body might be very expensive :(

Anyway so that's where I currently stand :)

Will most likely get the old engine built first, makes a project much easier to finish when you've got a beautiful engine there ready to drop in!

Probably looking at a couple years or something, no rush just yet :)
 
Last edited:
Mark, I would like to think my efforts over here spurred you on to get yours fired up?!
I think it did to be honest! :flame:

A classic ford hot rod replica would be awesome but I feel even a glass fibre body might be very expensive :(
you should look into making your own fiberglass body... fiberglass is quite easy to work with, my old man made a observatory dome a few years back... took some time but wasnt too difficult
 
if you need any help fiberglassing I am your man, its part of my day job lol.

keep your eye on ebay and random searches and see what takes your fancy bud- like you say you have lots of time.

I know lot of people are struggling to get parts for the rv8 that arnt ****e- even supposed genuine ones. I would try (and will when the time comes) LR direct and tell them its gotta be good quality stuff. I know a guy who got genuine rover lifters off ebay and they didnt even work when bench tested :eek:
 
A good kit car project would be the best , loads of stuff on ebay . another cheap car to get thats a dam good kit is a quatum , ford xr2 base , 2 seater softtop . nail a v8 lump init...:) you can pick a car with mot and tax for £1200. been into kit cars for years now , my old man ,was always going to shows when i was younger .. :) Or another option , get a robin hood kit, you can pick them up cheap. old kit but well made , same as what green hornet got . You got more room in them , to fit a bigger lump. you need to get to a kit car show , but once you have been , trust me , you will get the bug.:)
 
Last edited:
Cobra daytona's the next project for me... Obviously once the cobra is back on the road and the 90 is in looking like a 90 again. Maybe 10 years?? Still got my old 3.5 block but as Sam has found the machining is prohibitively expensive.
 
There was an awesome daytona replica at the car show I just went to this weekend, had a 7.0 roush motor in it!

There you go Jonny, agreed on the cost of major machine work. Comp test will tell but so far this cheap rebuild is looking good :)

Thanks for that Jim btw, yeah will get to a kit car show, great idea!

Regard the plucky v8 in question, I gave it it's first oil and filter chane this morning, seemed to pull out a slight silvery shade with it too so it's good to get that out of there, also sorted the little oil leak on one of the pump blanking plugs. Still need to find the little water leak but it might sort itself out, otherwise will get a look proper outside of work time!

Need to tighten the pas belt slightly and fit the cover plate under the bell housing, zero sign of leaks back there which is a pleasant change :D

Cheers!
 
WELL

have covered around 185 miles so far! :eek:

it is driving perfectly, its just very time consuming/expensive getting these miles covered!!

it sounds rather different to my old motor on tickover, i think it is the good compression that makes it sound better tbh, you can hear each cylinder crack inside the manifolds whereas before it was just a monotone brummmmm!

tightened that PAS belt and fitted the bell housing shield, have found my water leak i think - thermostat housing.

foolishly during the build i fitted my thermo housing cover with hylomar (loctite dark green equivalent) instead of RTV silicone instant gasket maker by accident.

the non hardening stuff is for improving gaskets, not making gaskets.

so that needs to come off. it is filling the valley gasket which is not good, i hope it seals well. oil seems fine but even so not happy about a puddle sitting on the valley gasket, have ordered an 82 degree thermostat and new gasket, little job for tonight.

once i have passed 200 miles i will increase rev limit to 3500 i think and steadily work up from there...

cheers :)
 
Back
Top