The V8 Owners Forum -

Hi, new here.
Just bought a 1964 series 2A Landy with a Rangy 3.5 V8 fitted. Its mint, and sounds cool. Except it races away a bit at idle. Haven't a clue about V8's (my other Landy is a 200Tdi) so how do I adjust the idle down a bit.
It has SU carbs and K&N filters.
Also the crankcase ventilation pipe has been disconnected and left dangling below the engine. Should I reconnect it and if so where?

Which SU's?, have you a picture of the engine?

Chris.

Is there different types???
I'll take a picture tomorrow.

Sounds like air being sucked in somewhere . .. ?
The only crankcase ventalation pipes with carbs are one going from each rocker cover via a flametrap ?
Crankcase ventalation pipes depending on where its connected to could be vacuum servo take off ...
Hence air being sucked in , hence high tickover ....

Hi
the two main types of SU are the integral float bowl and the remote float bowl, the remote bowl type have the bowl to one side the integral has it underneath, HIF are the later integral type, HS are remote. Check for air getting in even if all the crank case evacuation pipes are attached to the carbs make sure there is not a pipe (or lack of) allowing loads of air into the crank case. if the throttle plates on the carbs have poppet valves on them (intended to lean the mixture on over run and cause the piston to drop more rapidly on over run) solder them shut, by now the springs will be too soft to close the poppets properly and you will not get a steady idle with them.
Once you are sure you have no air leaks and that the poppets are sorted you adjust the idle by disconnecting the throttle cable from the linkage, remove the air filter and get a piece of plastic tube, stick one end of the tube next to the open end of the carb, stick the other end in your ear slacken the linkage throttle opening screws on the linkage and remove the bar linking both sides, use the throttle stop screws on the carbs to set the idle to so the flow into the carb mouths sounds the same (hence piece of tube) and so it idles at the speed you are happy with. re attach the link bar and make sure the carbs still run in balance, if not look at the length of the bar, now re attach the lifting screws and again check the idle is the same . . finally re fit the throttle cable and adjust so it has minimal slack but maintains the correct idle speed.
Best regards
Mike

Here's the carbs.

And here is the pipe from the rocker cover that just vents overboard.
Doesn't look right to me.

Those carbs are HIF's, the dashpots are HIF44, but the inlet manifold is incorrect for those carbs, it's for HS6's because it has the plug in the front of the tower where the AED would have been fitted originally, and it has provision for an Otter switch. That hose that comes out of the tower and has been blocked up is going to make you think the head gaskets have blown....(It needs to go to the header tank and it's vitally important that it is always kept clear).

As for the idle speed problem check to see whether it has poppet valves in the butterflies, and if it does, solder them up tight or replace with plain butterflies.

The pipe out of the top of the carb tower ( blocked off with a short hose and bolt ) needs to be plumbed into the top of the header tank , it allows flow and prevents air lock in the tower , helping keep the carbs cool and avoid vaporisation

Sorry Harvey , didn't know you were here

On the subject of the header tank. How much water should it have in it?

If it is truly a header tank (as opposed to an expansion tank), then as long as the water level is the highest point of the system, that's OK.

An expansion tank maybe 1/2 full?

Chris.

I think its more of an expansion tank, so I'll go with half full.

Plus today I noticed it has a little bit sticking out of the top to accept that pipe from the carb tower.

I don't know the set up in your landy , but i would think if you plumbed the pipe from the carb tower to the expansion bottle it would flood , the expansion bottle is just a space for the expanded liquid to migrate to and return to the system as it cools . The flow from that carb tower outlet is quite strong when it's running and properly clear . On the P6 it runs from the tower into the top tank of the rad just under the filler , so basically straight back into the system .
Hope that helps
Ps the outlet you talk about on your expansion bottle is just the over flow i suspect , for if the system develops more pressure than the value in lbs of the cap .

Looked into this a bit more. I don't think it has the correct radiator in it. The other V8's I've seen have a little input at the top of the radiator. Mine doesn't have that. It looks more like the original radiator.
I'll have to keep my eye out for a V8 one.