The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

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30sqm
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The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by 30sqm »

Hi I'm Pete,

The only V8 I've ever owned was a 1964 Daimler 2.5 ..in polished black with aromatic beige leather, richly figured walnut dashboard and chrome wire wheels. It burbled wonderfully, but drank more than m' mother, and handled as awfully as any MkII Jag. Its 140bhp through a slush box struggled.. with the sublimely comfortable n' quiet but monstrously heavy '60's saloon body and its abundance of fluted chrome. I loved every aspect of it ..but not all together in a one package.

Some years later I had an equally as gorgeous but somewhat more sexy in red, with light-tan Connolly leather and Wilton carpeted, '66 S-type Jag. This was probably not a lot lighter in weight despite its noticeably slimmer bumpers, but it did have the benefit of the 3.8ltr straight six coupled to a manual with overdrive box and a long legged diff. In almost every respect it was a far better motor car. That straight six motor in metallic cyan with polish aluminum rocker covers looked incredible too (once the air filter was dumped - so you could see it). The power and the delivery was there, and so was the ride and handling thanks in no small part to its truly superb IRS. Even the brakes were better and the seats more supportive. To my mind that model has a different, rather than lesser look, to the MkII style (more feminine & elegant versus maverick), but then has the benefit of more space and airiness within, and seemingly double as useful a boot.

Anyway, I now seem to have developed an itch for another Daimler V8, which I'd like to experience without it being burdened like a Himalayan mule. And so I have a bit of a sleeper-project in mind. More on that another time ..save to say that if anyone has a V8 2.5ltr Daimler motor complete with ancillaries, perhaps pulled for a project - but then decided to go another route, then I might well be interested. Drop me a line. If it happens to be inexpensive and in the East Midland / East Anglia then so much the better. 8-)

So, for now I'd just like to say Hi ..And a BIG thanks to previous contributors whose truly remarkable expertise and hands-on experience seem to abound on this site. I've already spent quite a few hours reading various reports and studying their photos. So Thank You to each - who have not only converted their car to V8 but then also taken the time out to photograph, to write, and to share the experience. Blinking Brilliant.

One final note. If anyone has layout drawings / engineering style elevations of the Daimler 2.5ltr shown with ancillaries - then I'd be most grateful to have a copy. Any format would work from jpg or gif through to ACAD or Rhino. NB. I'd only need one or two dimensions so I might scale it ..to then drop it into a layout. ;) Thanks,

Pete.



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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by Gerro »

Howdy Pete! That Daimler sounds amazing ride. Do you got some pics to share?

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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by garrycol »

The Daimler V8 was a great engine and performed a but better than the 2.4 six in the equivalent Mk 11 jag.

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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by DaveEFI »

Daimler also made a 4 litre V8 for the Majestic Major. Often wondered why Jaguar never used that for other things.
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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by garrycol »

DaveEFI wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:22 am
Daimler also made a 4 litre V8 for the Majestic Major. Often wondered why Jaguar never used that for other things.
Because a 6 cylinder/12 cylinder layout in inherently smoother than other layouts and when Jaguar was Jaguar, V8s were not considered acceptable as they were too rough and lumpy to go into Jags - hence they remained in the Daimler lineup and not in the Jaguar. 90s ownership changed things.

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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by DaveEFI »

I know Jag were very keen on only using their own engines. To the point of making sure the Rover V8 couldn't be fitted to a new model in BL days. XJ40? Which also ruled out fitting their own v12. :D

But your theory makes no sense with the Daimler 2.5 saloon. If a six was better in every way. It's true a six gives a smoother idle, but not so easy to make it so smooth at higher revs as a V8. And the Daimler with its auto box was hardly a sports car.
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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by garrycol »

DaveEFI wrote:
Mon Jul 29, 2019 11:59 am
I know Jag were very keen on only using their own engines. To the point of making sure the Rover V8 couldn't be fitted to a new model in BL days. XJ40? Which also ruled out fitting their own v12. :D

But your theory makes no sense with the Daimler 2.5 saloon. If a six was better in every way. It's true a six gives a smoother idle, but not so easy to make it so smooth at higher revs as a V8. And the Daimler with its auto box was hardly a sports car.
The Jaguar V12 was fitted to the XJ40.

The Daimler V8s were developed by Daimler before Daimler was purchased by Jaguar so Jaguar was stuck with these V8s - hence the V8s stayed in the Daimler lineup even if the bodies were Jaguars badged as Daimlers. The exception was the Majestic which continued in its latest Daimler owned form under Jaguar for a number of years.

Not my theory about the 6 cylinder engine - it was the philosophy of William Lyons that the best engine layout was a 6 and multiples of that - hence the XK 6 cylinder - and from the 80s the AJ6 and then the V12 from the late 60s. AJ6 was basically half the V12 with twin cams - the AJ6 head will go on one bank of a V12 and with modification on the other bank.

Because a 6 cylinder/12 cylinder layout in inherently smoother than other layouts and when Jaguar was Jaguar, V8s were not considered acceptable as they were too rough and lumpy to go into Jags - hence they remained in the Daimler lineup and not in the Jaguar. With William Lyons running Jaguar there was no way a v8 was going into a Jaguar. However by the late 90s things had changed and the V8s and V6s began to appear.

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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by DaveEFI »

If the XJ40 was the replacement for the XJ6, and fitted with the new aluminium engine (AJ6?) early versions were engineered to prevent a V engine being fitted. All down to BL internal politics. It had to be re-engineered to accept their own V12 some years down the line. Was much discussed in the motoring press at the time. And I can quite understand Jag wanting to keep their individuality - their own bodies and engines.

Still not sure about a 6 being always more refined than a V8, though. Did anyone tell Rolls this? :D Even Although I've owned several sixes, including the best of BMW and Jaguar and love the design.
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Re: The only V8 I've ever owned was a Daimler 2.5 - But I Liked it !

Post by ChrisJC »

A straight 6 is perfectly balanced. So is a V12.
A V8 is not perfectly balanced, it to have huge counterweights to achieve the reasonably good balance that it does have. Hence the low maximum RPM.
A V6 is hopeless, and a V4 should not be allowed.

Chris.
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