Recent content by Geordie Chris

Today I had a final twiddle with the settings of the engine. Ignition timing is now set at 18 degrees BTDC at idle (no pinking under load). Smooth idle and nice power delivery. I can only assume that the pointer and marks on the crankshaft pulley are incorrectly matched because this shouldn't...

I decided to try a few more adjustments today. The engine is running okay'ish but still down on power when accelerating. I tried advancing the ignition timing to see if it influenced the issue. I set it to 15 degrees BTDC and this has transformed performance (although it shouldn't really). Light...

Okay...so here's where I'm up to. I now have the air filters fitted near the headlamps where the air is cooler. As an added bonus it also means that I'm not getting crankcase fumes coming into the car anymore as the trunking is too long for that. I have set the carbs as best as I can as it...

Well...the beast is up and running again :) Seemed to take an age working for an hour or so each night after work. Both cylinder heads stripped and decoked (although they weren't that bad to be honest). Valves reground and new springs and valve stem oil seals fitted. All torqued down with just a...

Update. I have spoken to the very helpful people at 'Real Steel' and ordered a new camshaft. A standard P5B camshaft with new followers (they advised me that Rover had 8 different camshaft profiles which would all fall under the banner 'standard'. The later SD1 cams had milder profiles for...

...also forgot to mention that there seems to be a lot of end float on the camshaft. I presume it is held in place by the timing chain and perhaps the timing cover? I have managed to drill out one of the snapped bolts and re-tap ready for the rebuild. Will tackle the other one after work...

Since the last post things have progressed a little. The cooling system is starting to pressurise after very short periods (and before the engine temperature has reached operating temp). I'm convinced there is a head gasket issue (where else could that much pressure come from so quickly?). I...

Many years ago (when the world was still black and white lol) I was told by my lecturer at Gateshead Technical College, "When a diesel runs away...you run away!" But he was talking about the really big stuff in commercial vehicles and had suffered a very near miss when a red hot big end shell...

Hi, I'm fairly new to the Rover V8 engine. I have installed a 3.5 SD1 engine into my Volvo 740 (it seemed like a good idea at the time). It was a very tight fit and I was forced to retain the cast iron exhaust manifolds due to space issues. It's up and running now but low on power and thirsty on...