Top hat liner block

Looking to build up an engine for the p38.want to use a top hat liners in the block,who do you recommend in doing the work?been looking at acr anyone used them before,did it turn out ok?i will be rebuilding it myself so it's just to get the work done to the block,also heard about top hats shearing the top hat off is this common?it will also be getting a new cam,which ones have you all been using? Would prefer a high lift cam while I am at it for more torque etc ?( Kent 180 200) etc.its all good reading it on paper but would rather hear from the folk that's done it

Job done;
Rover V8 Engines, new and reconditioned for Range Rover, Discovery and Defender supplied by Turner Engineering

Seen them as well a bit more expensive than acr £975+vat from acr for top hat liner block (exchange)

dove said:

Seen them as well a bit more expensive than acr £975+vat from acr for top hat liner block (exchange)

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You get what you pay for.

Nice read that website

Turners sound good,but also a lot of people say acr is good.going buy both company's websites they seem to specialise in land rover engines,so both company's must be well up to doing a professional job,but there still is almost £300 difference in price,and that can put a new cam and lifters in the engine.it would be good to hear from people who has had one of their engines done and how it's holding up with miles ,age etc,also whether on LPG as well .thanks for replys so far

i use acr for top hat linered blocks allways been good and never had one back ,the only one that did had bolted vicous fan up previously and fitted extra electric fan and wouldnt let me change rad as it had been allright before id changed engine ,he got 30 miles and had new rad in end,but he never complained about overheating fault since

V8 tuner too

Kent H180 is a good cam for low/mid range torque, H200 more biased towards top end

what you have to consider here is bodging or doing on the cheap aint worth it!
my blocks are supplied with new core plugs top hat linners and new cam bearings not many do that in the blocks!
i would be inclined to also change the rad,state,pump and heater o rings.
and when you put it back together irontite it too

Where do you get your blocks from vougsey ? I want to do a proper job of it,the water pump,radiator and o rings have all been done in the last year,why put sealers in the block?i thought top hats were a permanent fix.dont want to end up putting stuff in coolant that might block up water ways.any idea on best cam to use piper 270 on eBay for £145,never had a Kent cam before but the h180 sounds like what I am looking for.does acr renew core plugs,cam bearings?turners states it does on their web site

I bought a top hat block from ACR, with new core plugs and cam bearings, and its Peachy.

Roland is a top chap and knows his onions.

Would highly recommend.

I used a piper 285 cam, thats peachy too!

Hope that helps, Dave.

there are two types of piper 270 one for carb and one for efi. you should really take 0.1" off the valve guide and fit double springs if you fit the piper 270 for EFI engines.

consider the real steel DW252 Viper Cyclone which is a good cam for landies

dove said:

Where do you get your blocks from vougsey ? I want to do a proper job of it,the water pump,radiator and o rings have all been done in the last year,why put sealers in the block?i thought top hats were a permanent fix.dont want to end up putting stuff in coolant that might block up water ways.any idea on best cam to use piper 270 on eBay for £145,never had a Kent cam before but the h180 sounds like what I am looking for.does acr renew core plugs,cam bearings?turners states it does on their web site

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It's actually piper 285 cams that are for sale on eBay for £145 my mistake,can the viper cyclone be used as this is the gems engine ?thought they were for for older engines with distributors ,I've got a viper typhoon fitted in my 3.5 v8 kit car but that's running edelbrock 4 barrel carb and manifold,but that doesn't make power till higher up the revs,would the piper 285 be good for torque?as when driving the range rover hardly goes above 3k rpm

dove said:

It's actually piper 285 cams that are for sale on eBay for £145 my mistake,can the viper cyclone be used as this is the gems engine ?thought they were for for older engines with distributors ,I've got a viper typhoon fitted in my 3.5 v8 kit car but that's running edelbrock 4 barrel carb and manifold,but that doesn't make power till higher up the revs,would the piper 285 be good for torque?as when driving the range rover hardly goes above 3k rpm

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you can get the cam machined for the retainer plate thats all


piper 285 - not one I would want to run in a land rover

viper typhoon more suited to lightweight cars as it has a more aggressive profile and really needs better flowing heads to make use of the cam.

picking my block back up from Chesman motorsport in coventy tomorrow afternoon, only dropped it in wednesday morning !

they came highly reccomended from a man that knows lol

and it was suprising how many of the others that offer top hat liner fitting had there blocks lined up on the machine shop floor ready for machining !!!

so the man that recommended them was right !

and the price was very good

there numbers 02476689665 ask for andrew

The long duration of the 285 is dampened down quite a bit in a big capacity motor, mines a 4.6, and running an auto box too.

Its nice and torquey from low revs, but also picks its feet up when I ask it too.

Its not something I would consider for a 3.5, you would have to kick its head in all the time, but as you say its for a P38, I presume its gonna be a 4.0/4.6.

As far as I'm aware, all (new)piper cams for the rover v8 are machined to take the retainer plate. If one isn't fitted, then it isn't an issue.

POAH - you didn't say what would put you off the 285?

its too wild for my liking - fine if you are reving over 3000rpm all the time but I've got a 3.9 110 auto I need low/mid range

crazydave said:

The long duration of the 285 is dampened down quite a bit in a big capacity motor, mines a 4.6, and running an auto box too.

Its nice and torquey from low revs, but also picks its feet up when I ask it too.

Its not something I would consider for a 3.5, you would have to kick its head in all the time, but as you say its for a P38, I presume its gonna be a 4.0/4.6.

As far as I'm aware, all (new)piper cams for the rover v8 are machined to take the retainer plate. If one isn't fitted, then it isn't an issue.

POAH - you didn't say what would put you off the 285?

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Dove, What size engine are you building?

I am building a 4.6 .With the piper 285 cam did you have to machine valve guides,change springs etc?I also run on LPG,and have read that you can run higher compression when on gas ,makes for a more efficient burn?in my garage i have a set of 4.0 pistons .i read on turners site you can use these with 4.6 crank to raise compression to 9.75.Has anyone done this mod with a high lift cam?and did you have to get pistons machined so nothing hit?my heads have previously been skimmed already due to an overheat,14 thou I think,when the top hats are done the block decks will also be refaced I presume,so again bringing everything closer.thanks for all the replys

If you read the spec sheet for the 285, it can cause a little concern, regards clearance between the valve spring keeper and the valve stem oil seal (at full lift), and also compressing the valve spring too much and the coils 'binding' (also at full lift). Neither of which are particularly desirable. I read somewhere what the minimum clearance needs to be between to coils of the standard valve spring at full lift, but can't remember off the top of my head, sorry.

The only way to be sure is to assemble each one without the spring and measure how much space you have, allowing the necessary clearances.

When I built mine, I had all the valves and valve seats re-faced so everything was tip-top, which had the side effect of the valves sitting ever so slightly deeper into the head, and therefore giving a little more clearance for the things mentioned above.

I heard a similar thing about 4.0L pistons, but ended up using custom forged ones, so can't really comment. I can't remember if you need the 4.0L rods too. I also raised the compression a little, and run LPG.

Make sure you use genuine head gaskets too, not the cheapest tat that you can find.

Also check that both heads have had the same amount removed. you might be surprised!

Hope that helps, Dave