VW V8 Project

[ELVIS]

Adaptor plate(s) , My friend who works on V8 landrovers dosnt recognise the alloy part so I guess it is an adaptor for something else ??

Might be worth a punt ringing Peter Alan (well remembered Paul ) he might be able to shed some light on adapter maybe.

[DentedDevon]

Engine and gearbox now refitted , cooling and electrics all connected up .
And....... its up and running
Had minor problem with failed fuel pump relay - part of original rover wiring loom, but hadnt been used in original conversion.
Cooling system working a treat , sat at tickover for over an hour , temp steady , radiator fan cutting in and out on low speed ,as it would with vw engine. Elecric pumps only running at medium speed , plenty in reserve.
Clutch operation seems to be fine, no judder but not been on the road yet though.
Now a load of minor bits and pieces to tidy up and then off for its MOT , later this week ..... maybe.

The adaptor plate has the name PHILLIPS cast into it , a quick google would seem to indicate it was intended for converting "series" landrovers to take a V8.

[DentedDevon]

Done it, first drive this evening , petrol station then 6 mile drive to drop it of at garage for MOT tomorrow.
Goes well , feels very under geared , realy need to get tacho to see whats happening.
Gearbox dosnt like being rushed for 3rd gear plus strange noise from rear suspension ? on some corners.
It will all get a thorough check tomorrow.......
I got the reg document back last week with the correct engine number & capacity , it took about 2 weeks. No problems as had a letter from the garage confirming the details.
Pictures

Outside.....
#
Inside .

V8 view - love it

Engine and transmission ready for refitting

Just thought I'd chip in! Rover V8 with a 14CUX injection system? Magic stuff to install on an earlier carbed car (P6B taht I put a 5 speed in after the Auto went pop) as you only need about 4 wires to make it run, or is that for the earlier 4CU system I've got a bit of modified 3.9 injection gear knocking about here if you need anything, left over from my aborted supercharged project...
How much are you spending on a superbeefy gearbox then? 300+ Nm is going to turn the mainshaft into a barber's pole, surely?

Yep, 14cux , once you sort out all the stuff you dont need its realy quite basic.
Hoping Gearbox will hold up if Im sensible with the loud pedal , however with iffy 3rd gear rebuild looks like a n unavoidable job this winter.

[silverbullet]

Pure nostalgia Has it got a combined exhaust or two seperate systems with a balance pipe? How does it sound?
Makes me want a late 2-door RR again...

[camper]

Strange noise on some corners could be wear in the hub bearing carrier.I had this problem on my van. I replaced the rear bearings but occasionally a strange noise occured on right turns on roundabouts.Oh what a lovely engine conversion did it pass the MOT.

[DentedDevon]

Its passed ! We now have an MOT
Will be taxing it on Wednesday 1st june
Strange noise may have had somthing to do with the loose wheel nuts on the n/s rear wheel
The exhaust system is a 2 into 1 meeting just infront of the gearbox , then through a central silencer and into a second one under the n/s , tail pipe exiting under the sliding door near the rear wheel (first picture on the first page).
The exhaust is fairly quiet , unless you realy put your foot down.

[DentedDevon]

Thanks to Brickwerks for sending out new wheel studs and nuts - arrived in less then 48hrs from placing order!
The loose rear nuts would not stay tight , long studs had been fitted and cut too short !
When I removed the hubs I found these studs had only been pulled half way through the hub !
New studs pressed in properly - end of problem.

Been having problems with selecting reverse when from cold , oil level was low . Made use of the ramp at work today and changed the gearbox oil. Feels much better now, deffinatly No syncro on 3rd though.

Here it is from underneath


Driving it is brilliant.
Accelerates hard in 3rd up to about 60, change into 4th ... keeps going to the end of the speedo !
(on a private road of course )
Or short shift to 4th and it pulls nicely from 25mph onwards.
Brakes, standard and in good condition , stop an empty panel van with ease.
No idea what revs yet , must sort out a rev counter.

Checked speedo against local speed signs. Actual speed is 28 rather than the 30 showing on the speedo.
When it gets new tyres will put 60 series on instead of the 55's fitted. this will bring the tyre diameter up to standard and correct the speedo reading

[camper]

What a great conversion i bet it eats long motor way gradiants & no problems passing heavy lorries.

[DentedDevon]

We now have a full width seat in the back which folds out into a bed , complete with cushions.
Its far from finished but it works.
Fitted 215/60R16 Tyres which have made the gearing a little better and softened the ride a bit as well.
Last weekend we took it for its first proper run , up to Yorkshire and camped overnight.Did about 200 miles.

Camping was done as simply as possible -inspired by Jedthespread's video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaqM8zUl04o
No problems with the van , engine cooling worked well especially considering the temperature was 28 deg on the way home.
HOT FLOOR I had expected heat from the exhaust to cause problems but heat from the radiator was even worse.
By the time we got home the rubber cab mat was quite warm and floor underneath it was too hot to touch ! Should be nice in winter .
Fuel consumption , 20.6 mpg that was 70 miles of motorway and 40 miles of hilly A & B roads. Cruised at a steady 55 on motorway. IMHO that its pretty good when a carefully driven 1.9 petrol struggles to hit the 30mpg mark.
Next trip is to Camper Jam ...

[ELVIS]

i put 3.9 'hotwire' and 4 speed auto into a 110.

I was a lot luckier than you, thr pure luck i managed to buy all the remaining 3.9s with liner 'issues'

Good effort chap.

[DentedDevon]

Off to Vanfest tomorrow morning
Ive entered the V8 for the Alternative Engine Display.

[DentedDevon]

Had a good time at Vanfest .
Managed to find another gearbox , its a DT which has the 4.57 diff in it. I would realy like to rebuild it with a higher top gear as well ....
It was great chatting to people at the alternative engine display.
Would of been nice to see more vans and a larger variety of engines displayed though.

[t25adict]

i had a lok at your van, looked like a nice tidy engine bay.
what did you pay for the DT box...
lets hope they dont get as popular as the aap...!!

[DentedDevon]

Thanks, paid £180 for the box which seemed fair to me.
The DT is a 4 speed box, as it is listed along with the DK I had assumed it was the older type like the DK.I didnt realy want to change my gear linkage and gearbox mounting as they are already modified.
I was looking for the ABB which has similar ratios, saw the DT and realised it was the later type of box.
I always refer to Brick Yards http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/VehicleSpec ... fo/gbx.htm for reference.

[Aidan]

DT nice ratio often good core for rebuild, be aware the third and fourth gears are much finer toothed than the later ABB etc and liable to strip if loud pedal given full expression