The V8 Owners Forum -

Hello All,

First time posting. I have been lurking for a while and now I need some guidance. I have been thinking about rebuilding a V8 for a while. I already have one in my Land Rover, but a spare would be good and I would like the challenge.

I have just been offered an old 3.5 engine for free. At the moment I don't know anything about it except that it has been stored for a long time. Apparently this blokes wife is fed up with the abandoned project hanging arround! As it is free I am thinking of having it and stripping it down for fun.

I am interested to know what to do with it and what to look for. A new cam would be a definite. New crank shaft bearings would be put in. New piston rings (honing the bores) The sort of guidance I am looking for is getting the crank ground (how to know if it necessary) and assesing the pistons and bores. I am not too worried about the heads as I would probably use what I have as they have been skimmed for composite gaskets. My current engine was rebuilt about 6K miles ago. I sort of helped with it (spanner monkey!), so I am not put off by what is inside.

Any books to look at? I am not after a tuning manual. Just guidance on the build with pictures.

Thanks,

Paul.

Hi!
Are you Mr Cheese from difflock per chance?

When I did mine I just did a lot of reasearch before starting, so that there are as few unknowns as possible, however things still managed to resemble disorder
If it's been sitting a while internal rust might be a problem?
Crank regrinds I found were about £15/journal (9 journals). Rebore about £20 per bore.

I was told that if there are ANY circular scores on the crank it should be reground. As for the bores, I was told that any scratches below 1/2 the stroke isn't worth worrying about (unless it's a chasm!) because it won't effect compression and bolw-past is minimal.
I bought a honing tool from the states (loads of carbide dingle-berries on a drill attachment), after discovering I didn't really need a rebore, for about £35 delivered, and it would have cost me aver £100 to get it done professionally. It's easy to get good 45 degree hatchings too - champion.

I'll leave everything else to the veterans...

Best way to tell is something needs machined is to measure it. You can have a perfectly good looking bore but its oval or just plain worn. Likewise the crank, the journals can look smooth but are still worn. If its an old timer its worth measuring the big end circle of the conrod as they have a habit of going oval. Having a good look at the shells that come out can tell you things as well. Get a hold of an SD1 or rangerover manual on ebay for clues as to what is in the engine and what settings should be. Other things to change while your in there would be the oil pump gears and at the least give the pump base a good inspection for heavy scores or bad relief valve bore. 3.5's are probably the toughest of all the rover engines so there shouldn't be anything really bad in there, just general wear.

I used the haynes range rover manual for my first build without too much bother, but I've now got the land rover v8 overhaul manual, clearly laid out, easy to photocopy for greasy fingers to hold and covers almost every factory variant of the engine.

What it doesn't cover is the intake/fuel systems and other ancillaries, where you should get the haynes or factory manual that best covers you're intended top end set-up.

Simon

You'll need to budget for a complete set of lifters, rocker shafts and rockers. I bought an old lump for 20 quid and burst out laughing every time a removed a component, it is TOTALLY Knackered!! The rockers had over 1mm of play on the shafts the lifters would hardly come out of their bores as they had mushroomed over.

I would suggeast speaking to a local engine builders/reconditioners - i was able to persuade mine to dip the block, heads, pistons and gearbox bellhousing for me which makes an engine so much easier to rebuild. Alternatively clean with gegreaser and a pressure washer.

I also got them to check the crank for wear (although in my case the scoring was pretty evident. they might also check whether your bores are oval.

All the above was done for a "drink" - I just had to deliver the block etc and wait until they could do it in their spare time.

I got away with honing the bores but replaced rings, cam,all bearings, cam followers, rocker shafts and arms, pushrods, valves & springs, oil pump gears and timing gear

Most guidance came from Haynes manual & David Hardcastle's book. Also asking lots of stupid questions at places where I bought my parts.

Mostly though, enjoy the build - it's very satisfying.

Thanks for all the advice. I'll be clearing some space in the shed and I hope to collect the engine in the next couple of weeks.

Regards,

Paul.
P.S. Yes, I am the same Mr Cheese.

mrcheese wrote:Thanks for all the advice. I'll be clearing some space in the shed and I hope to collect the engine in the next couple of weeks.

Regards,

Paul.
P.S. Yes, I am the same Mr Cheese.

If it turns out to be a total junker you might want to consider looking for another engine, rather than investing in complete all new internals, as they are usually available for chump change off Ebay.

Or do like I did: bought a complete running taxed and tested Van de plas 3.5 for £310 off Ebay.

I have a motor in my lockup that was supposedly rebuilt but 'wouldn't start', and I intend to pull that down one day and see just what sort of a 'rebuild' it has had.

It may well be brand new inside, but one peoples idea of a 'rebuild' varies from another persons.

mrcheese wrote:Hello All,

First time posting. I have been lurking for a while and now I need some guidance. I have been thinking about rebuilding a V8 for a while. I already have one in my Land Rover, but a spare would be good and I would like the challenge.

I have just been offered an old 3.5 engine for free. At the moment I don't know anything about it except that it has been stored for a long time. Apparently this blokes wife is fed up with the abandoned project hanging arround! As it is free I am thinking of having it and stripping it down for fun.

I am interested to know what to do with it and what to look for. A new cam would be a definite. New crank shaft bearings would be put in. New piston rings (honing the bores) The sort of guidance I am looking for is getting the crank ground (how to know if it necessary) and assesing the pistons and bores. I am not too worried about the heads as I would probably use what I have as they have been skimmed for composite gaskets. My current engine was rebuilt about 6K miles ago. I sort of helped with it (spanner monkey!), so I am not put off by what is inside.

Any books to look at? I am not after a tuning manual. Just guidance on the build with pictures.

Thanks,

Paul.

Hi Paul

I have done what you are contemplating. Have a look at my website to see how I got on!! Some mistakes, but with a Haynes and some enthusiasm it went fairly well!!

Martin

I collected the engine today. A couple of mates came along to help move it in and out of the Landy. Looks like their efforts in the gym have payed off as they lifted it easily between them.

The engine has been stored outside under a tarp for quite a few years. The exhaust manifolds, pulleys and fly-wheel are all badly corroded. I couldn't ask the owner any questions as he is out of the country. The engine is supposed to have 50K miles on it.

I have struck lucky in that I now have somewhere to work on it. A friend of mine will move house in a couple of weeks and the new place has a big garage. The engine is there now. I won't be able to get access again for a couple of weeks though. In the meantime I'll go looking for an engine stand.

I would tell you more about the engine, but what I thought was the engine number wasn't. I was looking in the wrong place.

Paul.