Rover P5B Coupe - MGB V8

some progress to show.
Had the exhaust manifold coated and fitted these with new locking tabs.


Then prepared the SS exhaust for fitting. It is a well made system. Bought this from a Dutch Rover specialist. The first system was returned to them as it contained a few plain steel pipes. The only fault/difference i could find on this system was that the 2 pipes were closer to each other then with the original silencer so had tio make a new clamp out of SS sheet



Fitting aftermarket (SS) exhaust system can be a pain in the *** as normally these need some rework which would not be easy with these pipe diameters. But not this one!!. It fitted like a glove without any trouble. fitting a SS exhaust system to my Laverda took me 2 days. Heating the pipes up - slight bending - check and this i don't know how many times.



It went threw the center of the hole in the subframe



Then fitted the external cooling system for the ZF4 HP22 box which replaced the BW35. For my daily P5B, i fitted high pressure hoses as the nearby company couldn't supply low pressure hoses but the high pressure hoses were rather stiff. Found another company which could supply low pressure hoses which also have a smaller diameter



Made a bracket for fitting the cooler.The cooler is fitted with rubber grommets to the bracket .  The re cored radiator was fitting as its pretty tight there



And made some pipes which run from the cooler and pass the radiator



For making these pipes i made a pipe bending tool from a few pieces of steel and the inner rings from some old large ball bearings



It can make some tighter bends then the normal tools. It slightly flattens the pipe a small bit which i can live with

Underneath a picture of the loose pipes (which are from special hydraulic pipe)



At the back of the radiator the pipes are connected with some short hoses which are conncted to the pipes which run along the engine sump and bell housing



Underneath a picture of the pipes (and the brackets made out of SS) which run along the engine sump





With some bending, i was able to fit the Range Rover trans dip stick which was given a fresh coat of paint after removal of the rust and old paint



Also gave the fan a fresh layer of red paint after it was shotblasted and got a coat of primer.




That's it for now

Peter

"better than new" will be a gross under statement!

thanks Alex!. Can't find any corners cut on your Granada and also a very high level of detailing.

I used 12mm hydraulic pipe. The cooler is an MGB oil cooler which i took to an industrial hydraulic shop and they have all kinds of fittings. No flaring tool is needed for the pipes as these pipes work with ferrules. Just tighten the nut and the ferrule cuts into  the pipe (principle underneath).    I used connections with single ferrules.


I used 4 hoses which were "R6" hoses (up to approx 28 bars) which is more then enough. I found out that not all hydraulic shops have these. You could use "standard" hoses (up to 300 bars) but these are thicker and stiffer. Another option would be to use fittings suitable for "ear" hose clamps as the pressure is very low.
It is worth to shop around as these shops charge industrial prices. Total including cooler was around Euro 300,- . The pipe is expensive at Euro 11,- per meter. I bought 6 meter as i expected to make some bending faults. Hoses were around Euro 35,- each. I could have made it with 2 hoses but on the Rover you cannot make 1 long pipe on the as it would be very difficult to make and also fit. I guess you have more room on your Landrover .
Peter

Didn't do much on the Rover. Fitted the radiator and the hoses, the fan and some other bits and pieces. There is not much left to install in the engine bay and i am happy with the way it looks





Had a very nice holiday by taking my MGB V8 out for a trip threw Germany  and France along the Rhine and Moselle. We first took the "Autobahn" to get past the industrial area called "Ruhrgebiet".
As some German roads don't have speedlimits and there was not much traffic, i couldn't resist flooring it too 200 km/hr.
The car has slightly stiffer springs and Koni's and the road holding is extremely good a high speeds. Although the brakes are slightly upgraded to MGB GT V8 spec, these are no match for todays brakes so i had to be careful.



Soon after the "Ruhrgebiet" we took B roads along the Moselle which was nice and great fun. Not much traffic, almost no sleeping policemen it was a pleasure to drive. In Holland there are not many of these roads with not much traffic



Visited some castles. The wetter was good, friendly people and good food.







The car performed very well. Its such a nice car for touring and due to the Rover V8, it is so smooth and mountains are no problems.

Peter

The car is coming together so very nicely Pete.

cheers Steve. you still have your P5B?

Peter

Did some small but time consuming jobs on the Rover

I replaced the BW35 by a 4ZF HP22 automatic transmission and wanted to use a Jaguar XJ40 to connect the box with the shifter but this didn't work as the cable was very stubborn.
Arranged a cable from a more modern Jag which is more flexible but has the wrong mounting bracket. cut of the old one and made a new one from a piece of pipe and a plate



Some time ago, i repainted the fuel tank and now i assembled the parts on the filler side. The parts were got a new layer of zinc and /or pain
The fuel cap doesn't have a lock with a key but can be locked by a pin in the boot.



The large diameter hoses were hardened so i bought a new piece of the right diameter

Protected the paint with some duc tape as due to the stubborn inner pipe, its not easy to fit the filler cap housing



This fitting took much more time then expected as the inner pipe is really stubborn.
Next job was to fit the fuel lines from tank to the divider. There are 2 lines running from the tank to the divider underneath the car as the Rover has a reserve fuel option. Initially had the idea to replace the plastic lines by copper lines but the connections to the tank and divider had different diameter connections so i checked and cleaned the plastic lines and these were in good nick.

I had the clips send out for zinc coating but due to rust, these were heavily pitted (see the left one in the picture) so i made new ones out of 2mm SS



These should last forever....


I already had made a bracket for the fuel pump which was suitable for the copper fuel lines but i couldn't fit the plastic lines.



The first version

As one often faces its 2 steps forward and one back, especially with modifications (replaced the mechanical fuel pump by an electric one). I made some new brackets which gave enough clearance for the plastic lines to be fitted.



Next job was to fit the rear heather (fitted underneath the RH rear seat) which was completely dismantled and all parts were zinc coated, powder coated or painted. Its a shame its hiding underneath the rear seat



fitted to the car which some black sealant



Bought some plastic flexible hose as a kind of idolator for the rear heather hoses which run underneath the car




Ordered some oil for the ZF box. when this arrives, its time to let the engine run so a great milestone in the build.

Peter

It took some time for the transmission oil to arrive as it was damaged during transport. took out the oil priming tool made from an old distributor as the engine stood for a fair bit of time.



Removed the distributor and inserted the priming tool



Got oil pressure quick and installed the distributor and it was time to start up the engine. The engine fired up almost immediately but looking underneath the car it leaked cooling fluid. It soon became clear it came from the heater valve.
After dismantling the heater valve it became clear that i had forgotten to fit the thick o-ring. At the time, i overhauled the heater i didn't have a new o-ring. Ordered it later but forgot to fit it. It was quickly found and installed.



Second thing worried me was the oil pressure. Went to full scale and i thought the overpressure valve was stuck so i dismantled the oil pump housing and found it moved freely.



Installed it again and fired up the engine again. no more leaks and after engine came on temperature the oil pressure dropped a little so its oke.
It starts very well, runs smooth and has an excellent oil pressure. Need to adjust timing and carbs but these are not to bad as the choke is needed to start it from cold, it starts on the button and reacts good to the throttle.


am very happy with the engine running smooth with no mechanical noises! A reel milestone it is!

Peter