Down on power, 1970 3500S NADA

Hi Chris,

No you haven't told me so you're okay, not senile anyway! :D

Inlet manifold was off a while ago and flushed everything before fitting with compressed air, so I guess it's okay. I don't think, or at leatst asume, that a lot of old goo from the bottom has found it's way to the top of the engine after running only 150km's or so. Yesterday, we flushed it exactly as you described it. Poored some fresh coolant in (the level was a little low) and then ran in with the radiator cap off, there was a lot of air coming out of the top but not yet the steady stream as you describe. I will do this today. Should be an easy fix, right?

I don't remember which thermostat we fitted. Is there a specific brand which is the correct one?

Well, I've got a confession to make :oops: .. When we bought the inlet manifold + HIF6 carbs, we never bothered to check the jet height because there's only one standard setting recommended by SU. Turns out the jet's were to high in the chamber which was maybe a part of the problem with her being so nervous at idle. I've tuned them according the SU (Burlen) website which is ' 'turn the jet adjusting screw until the jet is level with the bridge, then turn the jet adjusting screw two times clockwise ' . Having done this, she's much more stable at idle with less blowing from the exhaust.

Well, I'm going to order some needles today. Condensor, coil, cap and some other stuff is still underway. Haven't decided on the Magnecors yet, they are quite expensive and I don't notice any strange stuff going on there altough for cylinders 7 and 8 the wires fitted now are a little short.

Thanks for all the advice!

Andries
 
It's very rare to be able to source the correct one today. Best plan is to source a standard one and drill the hole yourself.

Sounds as if the outlet from the tower could still be blocked. Once blocked the muck is usually extremely hard to shift, so a flush won't have gone near it.

Glad to hear things are getting better. I find the book method of adjusting mixture extremely difficult. I always use a pair of colourtunes - one each in a cylinder supplied by each of the carbs.

I think we discussed the vagaries of trying to get the loud pedal to actually translate into full throttle at the carbs, so you should be good to go once the remaining bits arrive.

I know Magnecors are pricey, but you will be able to tell the difference! Perhaps have the engine running on a really dark night and see if you can see the tell tale flickers of sparks going where they shouldn't!

Chris
 
I have fitted a new thermostat, the problem is that I don't remember wether is it the correct one. It came from a local Dutch specialist so it could be okay but it's worth to check it I guess. You were completely right about the tower-blockage! I took off the hose and stuck in a drill bit, turned a couple of times and there came out some rubber :shock: After that I ran it as you described until all te bubbles were out. With the reving of the engine there was a constant stream of coolant coming from the tower between the carbs. It only could have been a small item because the inlet manifold was recently cleaned.

Well, after the coolant blockage was fixed I went to get some Arden Green out-of-a-can and groceries and she ran with aircon on and in D a stationary RPM of 600/ish. Enough pull considering the upcoming top end overhaul this winter but still a little lazy beyond 3000 rpm. I also need to rev the engine from time to pump oil round.

I will run her tonight, in the dark. If I see sparks ; I will give in and cough up some Magnecors.

Andries
 
Well if you've already fitted a new one, you should at least be able to get the cover off to check for the hole without risk of breaking studs! My guess is that, specialist sourced or no, it won't have one!

Chris
 
I have the same ones as you stina. 2 years on still working but I'd never pretend to be a perfectionist (good job as nobody would ever believe it :) )
 
I replaced a 2 month old set of supercheap 17 quid leads with red magnecors and, disappointingly, noticed absolutely no difference whatsoever.

I've bought them now, but at the price they are at, I wouldn't buy them again, I'd go for the ones Stina posted. Magnecors guaranteed for 10 years, yes, but even cheap leads don't need replacing before about 5 years. 10 pounds a year just on leads :? Good, but too expensive, and you pay for the name, a bit like K&N.
 
stina
I've had a set on mine for a year now
Stina. I have toyed with renewing my OE set leads for a couple of years now, they must be 10 years old but they keep “seeming” to be ok, no tracking anywhere even in the dark. :shock:

The red set pictured on your engine, are they Magnecors KV85 or Powerspark 8mm – as per your link, which seem of adequate quality at a reasonable price.--- as opposed to £121 + carriage for Mags.to fit V8

I am a retired old skinflint these days :roll: and the latter sum seems a bit OTT to me, are they really worth it ?

I would appreciate your views though please......
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Hi all .
The leads in my signature pic are the power spark 8mm items i posted . Always a good idea to keep them well separated , and clean . Google Simonbbc and have a chat with the guy , i can't recommend him highly enough !

Edit , his phone number is at the top of the link i posted
 
Fitted right now are 7mm silicone leads, black, probably standard leads. I've ran the engine last night in pitch black darkness and I couldn't see any sparks flying around. They are well seperated according to the postitions indicated in the owners manual. Only the leads to cylinders 7 and 8 are a bit short. Right now I don't have the intention to spend that amount of money. I will check it again with the new coil fitted.
 
Andries,

Your list of modifications does not mention any distributor changes. The NADA emissions setup includes a different distributor that reads vacuum off the intake manifold, whereas non-emissions distributors read vacuum off a port on one of the carburetors. The NADA distributor retards the ignition more with higher vacuum, while the more typical distributor advances the ignition with more vacuum at the carburetor (I hope I don't have that reversed, but the work shop manual describes these differences in detail).

I have acquired a UK-spec distributor for my 1970 3500S, and will use it with a pair UK-spec HS6 carbs with proper manual choke linkage after I pick them up from a friend on my next UK trip.

Hopefully this is some help; I've learned a lot about my Rover V8 from this forum, but haven't written much here yet. I got the car running pretty well just in time to drive it to RoveAmerica12, but there is more to do to make it a good runner.

Steve Manwell
Massachusetts, USA
 
Hi Steve,

First of all welcome to the forum (they love pictures here)! It's a great place with a lot of helpful people who have years of experience fiddling with the P6.

But you're right, there's a banjo at the back of the manifold with 3 outlet's instead of only one on UK-spec cars, I guess. I really didn't consider the effect it has, thanks! But what does this mean in practical terms? Have you made any changes compard to the recommended settings (6 degrees btdc and 26% dwell angle) for the ignition as per workshop manual?

There are a lot of discussions on here about carburation, most people prefer the HIF6 setup.

Andries
 
chrisyork said:
The other common error is to have fitted a standard thermostat. The V8 requires one with a small pilot hole in the plain ring surrounding the stat proper. This is to allow the cylinder heads to bleed properly. Without it, there will be very hot coolant in important places, even if the radiator and sensors are at normal temperature. If the stat does not have a hole, it is quite acceptable to drill your own, say with a 1/8 drill, and then replace the stat with the hole at 12:00 looking from the front of the car. When refilling the system you need to take quite a long time to ensure the car is properly "winded" or bled. I run the car up to temperature with the radiator cap off so that I am sure the thermostat has opened. Then still with the radiator cap off I continue to alternately rev and idle the engine until all trace of bubbles emerginging from the engine are gone. This can take up to 20 minutes.

There, that's something to be getting on with whilst you are waiting for the new needles!

Chris
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Chris, I've checked my new parts stash today and found the new thermostat. This means I've put the old thermostat back in the car without knowing if there's a small pilot hole. The new one has one. I can make a picture if somebody is interested and obtain the partnumber/manufacturer.

I've ordered BCF and BCA last friday from Burlen. New distrubutor cap and rotor already fitted, she's starts much easier now. Coil is still underway, as is the condensor. I will give an update when everything is fitted.
She did develop a new nasty noise today, coming from the front of the manifold at stationary rpm. First thought was to set the tension on the fan belt, didn't solve it so now I'm going to the garage and change the thermostat. :roll:

Andries
 
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