Rebuild or not?

[VatoG]

Hello,

I currently own a Belgian Rover V8 out of a Rover P6. I bought it for a bargain and I trust the previous owner saying the engine was running before the dismantling.

To be sure I will have to rebuild it with the essential parts. But after a lot of ebay.co.uk-time I've seen a lot of Rover V8's that are sold for a low price, but maybe don't need a rebuild.

As the motor will be used to built into a Landy Series, it doesn't have to be top quality. And the conversion will cost enough as it is.

Should I just get rid of this engine and buy one of ebay or do you think these ebay-engines also need to be rebuilt? (and I'm not talking about the RPI-turnkey engines )

[kiwicar]

Hi welcome
I presume as this is going in a series landrover then you are after a modest output so I would rebuild what you have. For off road use the SUs are ideal if in reasonable condition. I would change the heads for later SD1 or post SD1 heads, not expensive freshen them with new guids and a basic stage1 porting if you can afford it. Even a basic clean up of the ports and opening of the valve seat throat, which you can easily do yourself is well worth it. Strip and measure everything you have, I suspect the bores will clean up with a hone and odds on the bearings will only need a 10 thou grind. Beyond that it is a case of clean everything and renew the usual stuff, oil pump, cam, cam-chain, lifters.
to be honest there are many range rover engines on ebay claiming to be good runners, but unless you can inspect them before you buy then you are taking a big gamble.
Best regards
Mike

[DaveEFI]

It depends. Early UK P6 had a very high compression ratio. But later ones a lower one which is OK on 95 octane petrol.

It's impossible to generalise. An old engine well looked after could be in better condition than a much newer one - these V8s can do a very high mileage if oil changes are done on time. So buying from Ebay is something of a gamble - unless the seller states it is good.

[ChrisJC]

Note that the timing cover and ancillaries are different between the 'car' and '4x4' versions of the engine. The fan / water pump is much higher in the '4x4' version.

Therefore if you want an engine for a Land Rover, I would get a Range Rover V8 from eBay.

Chris.