Category Archives: Engine

Engine

Will it fit?

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With the engine in place it’s clear that there’s quite a bit of work to do before everything fits properly.  We installed the Thor V8  with most of its ancillaries in place. Now I am removing parts that prevent the bonnet from shutting.

  1. The throttle body mounting had to go. That required the removal of the  entire top end of the inlet manifold – the part that looks like a bunch of bananas. I will be replacing the original single 68mm throttle body with two 48mm Jenvey units.
  2. The coil packs were already partially removed. Those may have to be repositioned, or I could just relocate the cabin air intake.
  3. Mounting lugs on the top of the  manifold are too high, so it’s the hacksaw for them.

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There are now two more serious problems to fix. The inlet/outlet position on the aircon compressor is too high  and will only get higher with its pipes attached.  Perhaps there is a variant of the part that has a different pipe configuration?

Although I won’t be keeping the steering pump, I would prefer it not to be acting as an engine mount. When I can clear the engine steady bracket, I will gain another 10 mm of extra bonnet clearance.

Steering pump touches chassis

For some light relief while I had the inlet manifold off the car I  started trying to get a polished finish like the  show engine  that was shown a few posts ago.

More soon

Ian

Engine, Moving

Home at last

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Today the Marcos came home to Bembridge for the first time. It’s been squeezed into our tiny single garage where the rebuild will begin.

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The old engine has gone, it didn’t survive being left untended for so long. Although it was just about possible to turn it over by hand it was clearly in a bad way.

The new engine is a 4.6 litre ‘Thor’ V8 from a 2001 Range Rover. It came with all ancillaries including alternator, air-con pump, power steering pump, ignition system and various odds and ends.

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20140922_165739The big plan for the engine is to replace the single throttle body and tapered plenum with two 48mm Jenvey throttle bodies. This modification is to give clearance between the inlet manifold and the bonnet.

I don’t expect that the power steering pump will stay, but the air-con pump will be used, but only if I can find a suitable compact system to plumb it into.

I will need a new low profile sump too, but that’s for later.

Engine

A ‘new’ engine

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I have to admit that the idea of starting the build in April was wildly optimistic, however I have made one big step forward…

I was never really happy with the very old 3.5 V8 that I had rebuilt back in 1984. I guess I have a lack of confidence in my skills as an engine builder – remembering the struggle to get the crankshaft main bearings to fit. I would always be expecting the worst. With all that in mind I was looking for a more up-to-date alternative. Ideally it would be a fuel injected 4.0 or 4.6 unit.

While looking around for a bodywork specialist here on the Isle of Wight I discovered Steve Matthews’ and Ray Lover’s ‘Island Classics’, a relatively new outfit but with a growing reputation for restoring Jaguars and other interesting older cars. While discussing the 30 year Mantula build with Steve, he mentions in passing that he has a spare, low-mileage 2001 Rover V8 4.6 ‘Thor’ engine for sale. It even had all ancillaries included, so it’s effectively ready to run.  Just what I need…

One day it will look like this:

V8 Thor show engine

today it looks like this:

Inlet manifold

Front view
Front view

The next step is to find out if I can realistically fit it into the Mantula’s engine bay. Despite appearances the Thor plenum is lower (but wider) than the more common GEMS system. Maybe some subtle bonnet mods will be needed? The other potential problem point is the alternator which may interfere with the steering linkage.