Kelv

She's running and driving well. I'm taking my time with her though. Don't want to stress her too much.

SHE'S FINISHED AND BACK HOME. I missed the old girl. I can get back to finishing her paint now.

Ah, yes, I understand what you mean now. Yes, that would have diagnosed the issue and possibly cleared out any blockage too. Cheers. I was having a thick moment. Lol

Latest update from Bern... "Hi Kelvin, I managed to get a trade price on a battery and when fitted the engine span a lot faster and started using a gravity fed fuel supply. There was an increased voltage of 14.1v across the poles with the engine running. I removed the fuel pump and using an endoscope I could see wear on the cam that operates the pump which could give a slight loss of fuel pump efficiency. I re fitted the fuel pump and fed the pump from a fuel can, there seemed to be a slight improvement. I disconnected all the fuel lines and found that the main steel line was partially blocked, I cleaned it with an airline. I stripped the top of the carb down and removed the float valve and found it to be sticking slightly. I gave everything a good clean and re attached the fuel lines. The engine started and ran well. I will start the engine a few times today and if all is well I will take if for a short run."

The pump has a priming lever though so not needed but that's a useful device there

Bernard has just done that very thing lol

Yes I had that issue a few months ago actually. Bernard had replaced ALL lines and hoses.

Further update... Hi Kelvin, Although the engine turned over sluggishly, it started and when warm the engine oil was drained, the oil filter removed and the bottom hose was disconnected to drain the water from the cooling system. The sump plug did not have a copper washer fitted and there was a large amount of debris on the magnetic part of the plug including the pin from the rocker shaft!! After cleaning up the plug and fitting a copper washer it was refitted, a new Powertune filter was fitted and the engine was filled with 20/50 mineral oil. The bottom hose was reconnected and 4 pints of anti-freeze was added. I took the car for my usual 2 mile round trip road test, I got about 1/2 mile and the engine cut out. After checking that there was a spark the engine fired and got me half way back, I had to push it the rest of the way. The battery was flat. I fast charged the battery and the car started after using some "Easy Start" but would not run. The battery was again flat when I tried to re start the engine. I charged it again and disconnected the fuel line from the carb, with the battery charged there was hardly any fuel being pumped through, I had found a good used pump last night in my shed at home and I fitted it, it did not increase the fuel delivery. I set up a gravity feed and had to charge the battery again, at which point I had run out of time. My next actions will be to fit a new battery, clean out the carb, try to run the engine from a gravity fed fuel reservoir, then re fit the new pump, if this doesn't help. I will fit an electric fuel pump to at least prove/disprove a fuel delivery issue, I'm not happy with the amount of fuel that is getting to the carb, I have come across this in the past and it was because the fuel pump cam profile on the camshaft had worn, but this is VERY rare. Show quoted text

Bernard replaced all fuel lines recently. I expect the pump he ordered isn't working too well

I'm worn out with the Triumph tbh. She's still showing faults. Fuel isn't pumping. She drives for half a mile and then dies. The battery drains flat after one start too. Bern is getting a new battery and setting up a gravity feed test for the fuel.

I understand. You're right nobody will follow this thread to chat about RV8s lol

Yes. Of course. Will do. Although Pete invited me to say more. But if talking about Rovers on a Triumph site makes your knees quiver, then I'll go elsewhere 😂

I can only ask him? Although I tried asking him a few things about the Rover last week and his reply was, he didn't know anything about Rovers. So I'll take the hint from that statement lol

Transmission was bone dry. No reading at all on the dipstick. Symptoms were reverse wheel movement when reverse gear selected but zero forward wheel movement in drive gears. I put 5 litres in the box and forward movement was fixed at all drive positions. But there's no strength to the forward movement. Also in neutral there is movement of the rear wheels but holding the wheel stops it quite easily. This is with wheels in the air.

I have a P6 V8 barn find that I'm restoring visually and cosmetically. I have no idea about mechanics. I found a guy in Scotland who's replacing the interior on HIS P6 and he's giving me his old interior. The engine runs on mine and the rear wheels drive forward and backward when they are jacked off the road. The car drives backward but not forward when wheels are on the road. I'm thinking the BW35 auto box forward clutch is lacking friction and needs an overhaul or replacement. But it might be something simpler and cheaper. There's a torque converter, a kickdown cable, transmission fluid levels to consider and God knows what else! I have no idea. I can buy a refurbished box for £500 from eBay but don't know anybody who can replace it. And what if the box isn't the fault? I need someone like Bernard to look at it and discover the fault and remedy it. Without it costing the Earth!

Well done Bernard, indeed! Now if only he knew about Rover P6s. 😂

I bloody hope so Graham. Credit card is being used for these repairs. I'm on the bones of my arse here lol .. no Christmas for us this year. But I always bloody hated Christmas anyway. 😂

Final update from Bernard Hi Kelvin, The new petrol pump was fitted and the connections made. Using the priming lever I attempted to pull through from the tank ( I had tested the pump before installing it and it sucked well). No fuel would pull through. Pressure was applied at the fuel filler, but still no fuel would pull through. I removed the pump and cranked the lever that the camshaft operates and eventually fuel flowed. I tried the priming lever again and fuel flowed, I have had issues in the past with pumps struggling to draw fuel until they are full and I can only conclude that it is the thinner ethanol fuel. I re fitted the pump, operated the priming lever and fuel flowed up to the disconnected carb union. The carb was connected and the engine was cranked over, it would not start, I tried altering the timing and was just about to fit points and condenser so that I could set the timing statically when the engine fired. Between trying to get the engine started I was having to fast charge the battery as it was going flat very quickly. After another charge and with my jump starter, the engine fired and idled. I set the timing and turned the engine off. I tried to re start it, but the battery was flat again. After a few tests with my meter I could only guess that either the battery, the starter motor or both were at fault. The starter motor seemed to be drawing far too much current ( a guess ), so I acquired a good used replacement (£35) and fitted it. The engine started and ran well, I turned the engine off and re started it many times and it started and rean well each time. I will see if it starts tomorrow morning, if it does the car is ready for picking up, but I STRONGLY advise an oil and filter change (which I can do if you want). There is no antifreeze in the cooling system which I can add if you want, or you may want to wait a few days to ensure it doesn’t leak. The head will also have to be torqued down and the valve clearances re set after 500 miles.

I'm really excited

Another update from Bernard... Hi Kelvin, I checked the radiator and found that the water level had fallen ( it wasn't full when I received the car). After a good examination I found damp at the rear of the engine. With the radiator topped up and blowing into the filler, a leak was detected from the smaller rear cylinder head core plug!!! I removed the heater assembly and drilled a hole at an angle in the core plug in the hope that I could extract it without removing the head and buying more gaskets etc. I destroyed my core plug pulling tool trying to remove the core plug, but after an hour using various tools and methods I managed to remove the core plug. It was very fiddly trying to fit a new one due to the restricted space, but I finally managed to do so, it was checked for leakage before the heater assembly was re installed.

😭😭

It never ends. Ha ha

Update from Bernard... Hi Kelvin, I fitted a good used manifold stud then fitted both the manifolds using new nuts. The SWP supplied carb gaskets were too small so I modified some of my Spitfire gaskets to use. The outer carb mounting stud would not allow the carb to sit correctly on the manifold!! I had to remove it and fit a correct length stud to enable the carb and linkages to be fitted correctly. The coolant hoses were fitted along with the spark plugs, one was damaged so I may have to replace them, the radiator was re fitted and filled with water and the fan belt was fitted and the alternator fixed in place. I used the manual lever on the fuel pump to draw fuel through, it came as far as the filter, but when I stopped pumping the fuel flowed back. I put another gallon of fuel in the tank to give the pump a better chance of delivering the fuel, but it would not get fuel to the carb. I removed and stripped the pump to find the diaphragm and valves in poor repair. I removed a pump from a spare engine, but this was no better, I have ordered a new pump.

Update of works carried out from Bernard... Hi Kelvin, After picking up the bare cylinder head I cleaned it thoroughly with white spirit and fitted the valves, springs, collets and spring seats. After cleaning the block the SWP supplied head gasket was fitted, the head put in position and the head nuts were torqued down. After examining the rocker shaft before fitting I found that 2 of the rockers were sticking so I stripped it down to find that the shaft was worn and slightly bent. The cheapest option was for me to fit a decent used item from my spares. The pushrods were fitted then the rocker shaft assembly. The valve clearances were set. I wasn't able to fit the water pump housing as the threads needed cleaning up with a tap. To do this I had to remove the radiator. The water pump housing was fitted, then I noticed a bent inlet manifold stud which I will have to replace. As the SWP gasket set came with the standard rocker cover gasket, I had to supply the correct wide and thin item from my spares stock before I could fit the rocker cover.