Hi,
You guys must be sick of me asking daft questions about V8's by now but here goes:

Does anyone know if the P6 era Rover V8 engine has any weaknesses compared with the SD1 era engine? I can get a P6 engine (10.5:1 CR) with 14,000 miles since rebuild and a low-mileage manual LT77 gearbox for just over £300 which seems fair to me. I'm just worried that the older engine might be problematic in some way compared to later engines. I don't plan to tune it much (maybe better carbs, better ignition, K&N's etc so perhaps 180 BHP compared with standard 164BHP for this engine.

Should I bite the guys hand off or walk away?

I previously asked about using unleaded fuel in a RV8. What about the P6 engine - should it be okay too?

The guy who's selling me the engine is a reliable enough guy and actually has the engine in a kit car at present. He is a professional motor engineer and I have no doubt the engine will be in good condition. He is replacing it with a tuned 4.0 litre hence the chance to buy his old one. He says the only problem he's aware of with the older V8 is the rope type crank seal which is a bit of a pain to install.

Any advice would be appreciated!
Thanks,
Craig.

Craig,

In response to my rant about Rimmer Bros, Rorty advised the following:

"With regard to the rear rope seal, your friendly engine builder can re-machine the rear of the block to accept the later SDI seal".

You can get better breathing heads, stronger (crossbolted) blocks etc etc.

If you trust the bloke selling the P6, I'd be inclined to go for it, but then I tend to be a bit impulsive buying things.

It's a low mileage, mechanic owned engine in a (lightish) kit car. So its last 14k miles are hardly likely to have stressed it!

I'm sure (others could confirm or otherwise) that you could pop some SD1 heads on at a later date.

Assuming car is going to be used on the road 99% of the time, I wouldn't worry about it!

That's all IMHO of course.

ATB

Simon

Simon,
Thanks, I tend to agree that it's a good deal. Better the devil you know and all that...

Yes, I'll maybe look at doing some work on the engine at a later date but I was concerned that this may not be a good platform for doing that.

Does anyone know exactly what differences there are between engines of different ages? Is there an evolution chart for the rover engine showing the differences along the way? I used to tune A-Series mini engines and David Vizard had a comprehensive list of various evolutions of the engine which was helpful.

Anyway, thanks for the info Simon,
Craig.

Just found a partial answer to my question which elaborates on what you said Simon:

Extract from http://www.mgcars.org.uk/cambs.mgoc/eng.htm

"The engine has remained fairly standard over the years and any Rover V8 engine is suitable for a conversion. Many compression ratios have been used and this has been achieved by different piston design. The cylinder heads were standard until the introduction of the SDI that has been fitted with single valve springs and large inlet valves for more efficient breathing. The SDI has also been fitted with an uprated oil pump (giving higher flow rate), improved crank oil seals and electronic ignition instead of points. British Leyland used the unit in automatic and manual cars and the only difference in these engines is the rear crankshaft or spigot bush that can easily be changed."

The whole page is worth reading by the way.

Regarding the cylinder heads, I'll check with the seller because the engine may have been rebuilt with SD1 heads and oil pump etc.

Cheers,
Craig.

There are quite a few more differences than those mentioned, though those are the main ones. The SDI block is a better casting, and slightly stronger, but not enough for you to worry about in your situation.
I would leap on that engine, and fend off all others. Manual engines are hard to come by, and AM flywheels are expensive.

Hi Rorty,
I agree, I'm going to see the guy on Monday although I'll have to wait a couple of weeks to get the engine since it's in his own kit car at present. He also offered me my choice of several "stripped" engines (all parts complete) including a couple of 3.9 litre versions. I might take a look at these too since he's only looking for 100 GBP each. The later heads alone must be worth that not to mention a later block, camshaft etc.

Is there any easy way to identify the differences in later blocks/heads. What is the "ideal" block/head and how do I recognise it?

Cheers,
Craig.