Odd engine nos

C

carlssonaero

New Member
Hi
I just bought my series 2 V8 from a member (an who some of you may know. He is not on the web so isn't a board user but he is called John and is from a land down under originally but I won't give his last name He still has P6's. He got the car from someone in St Albans called Bill S. I won't give his full name. The car has 50K on the clock and is in very good nick and I paid a lot for it. It has a very full history including every MOT but weirdly there was a piece of paper in the service file which says what the engine nos on the reg doc is (451...D) i.e correct for a series 2 auto low comp but also says the engine nos on the block is different. I called John about this but he thought it was a mistake. However today we took a look at the number cast on the side of the engine (near side cyl bank) and the number was indeed weird. It was 845200429D. It also had the low comp ratio there as well. This does not look like a P6 number to me and I am confused about the number and also wonder why it had a new engine and whether it was brand new etc, when it was fitted and why, bearing in mind the history is so full no one thought to record the engine change and keep any doc such as a receipt. Any views especially on the origin of the engine would be much appreciated.

Thanks
Julian
???
 
Even if you can't help do you know anyone or a web site which might help trace the origins. Rudiger Wicke tried but didn't know the answer

thanks
 
Julian,
The capri club have a web page on Rover V8 engine numbers.
I had a quick look at the other day (following your initial query) but it did not seem to help at all. However they may be worth contacting.
How about contacting our club historian, James Taylor, as he is the considered authority on Rovers of all types.
Regards, John.
 
Julian,
Sadly not. Dr. James Taylor values his privacy.
His address and contact details in the club magazine consists only of a box number. However, he is the Regional Organiser for the Berkshire / Oxfordshire area so if you look at MEETINGS on this website you will find a 'phone number for him which may be used between 6 and 8 pm.
Regards, John.
 
John Your suggestion was excellent. Mr Taylor is clearly very knowlegeable. The S452 number almost certainly denotes that this was a service exchange engine fitted by Rover possibly before delivery due to a fault when tested straight off the production line or very soon after original delivery. I have a few more enquiries to make but the S452 was the number for a Rover new replacement for the 451 number and the fact it was not in the log book is probably down to sloppy paperwork.
 
Nearly

Whilst the archives man at the heritage centre agreed that the number was a proper number for a P6b auto low compression, Rover never provided on dispatch sheets engine nos details so he could not confirm independantly of me what the number was and when it was changed. As tor the S prefix, he looked this up . He said it meant "sequiv" but as to whether that stood for "sevice exchange" etrc he did not know ???

Regards

Julian
 
Off Topic slightly, I have a 1939 Rover 10 and the engine no. gearbox no. back axle no and chassis number are supposed to be the same and are except the engine number is 2 out! Can't believe that someone previously managed to find a secondhand engine whish was only 2 numbers away so I think there was a problem on build and the next engine available was dropped in and numbers not changed, again no final despatch records. Only added this as it gives evidence to Rover's lack of detail to the paper work!
 
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