Plug lead guides for Rover V8

I have made replacement guides for the spark plug leads that attach to the rocker covers on Rover V8 engines.

The screw was seized and the original guides did not come off intact! 

A few measurements and design changes to suit 3D printing and the results work well.

The guides do need supports to print, mainly because of the large overhang for the counterbore.

I bought new machine screws. That was an exercise in working out historic imperial abstract naming conventions! The screws are 3/16"-24tpi x 5/8" long. That's not what you look for to try to buy them. They are called #10 UNC or #10-24. I will never understand the thinking process of naming something with another number to represent the size, instead of using the size!

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Hot rod bits

I spent a day machining a few more bits for Dean's hot rod.

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Weber adapter for a Rover V8 manifold

The SU carbs that came with the engine, destined for the hot rod, have seen better days. This led to the idea of replacing those with a Weber carb.

This is a common adaptation and already modified manifolds for the Rover V8 3500 are readily available, at a cost. However, Dean picked up a damaged manifold from an SD1 at a bargain price and I have a mill :-)

The carburettor is a Weber 38 DGAS. Dual 38mm bore with synchronous operation. It has an automatic choke, but most likely we will replace that with an electric one. The Weber carbs, spare parts and upgrade components are all readily available in the UK, making this a good choice.

I'd already managed to hold the manifold on the mill table to clean up the cut off top. I've now milled an adapter plate.

I'm using M8x40mm set screws as mounting studs. On top of that goes the thermal insulating spacer and then the carb.

The adapter will be attached by someone more experienced with welding aluminium.

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... and a few weeks later, just before Christmas, the result arrives:

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Hydraulic leaf spring spreader

We are now on the third version of adaptations to use my pre-existing 10-ton body repair press as a leaf spring spreader for use on Dean's emerging hot rot.

This latest version has an adjustable length. This solves the issue that none of the combinations of tubes supplied with the 10-ton strong arm were quite the right length to get the spring eye's where we needed them. Prior to this, full extension was not quite enough but we could not get the next longer tubes in between the eyes when under no compression!

I turned up an adapter to slide into the strong arm tubes. This is simply to keep the M24 threaded bar central. A nut at the interface and flat faces for a spanner on the threaded bar allow the length to be adjusted, even under load.

Worked but not ideal

Our first attempt used a combination of whatever we had to hand to deal with the reverse eye on the spring. This did not always work out. The picture shows the lifting shackles overhanging the holes that we need to get the spring mounting shackles into!

The second version used some plates to push against. They avoided anything obstructing access to the spring shackle mountings. Although these brackets worked, and still do, the plates and the M12 bolts bent significantly.

The current version works well and it is relatively easy to fit and remove the spring. If I make another version it will be to strengthen the brackets that are used to push on the spring eyes.

Scientifically tested :-)

To get the tension right, the spring has been on and off the car a few times. Using the best measuring techniques we have to hand, it now feels about right :-)

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Spacers for the hot rod

The hot rod build has progressed. Dean has made the main rails of the chassis and the engine, gearbox and front suspension are in place. He is making sure that everything lines up as he goes. Sticking with the original model A hubs and trying to get the alignment of the available brake discs and calipers has been challenging.

He's tried a few that sounded on paper to be close, but searching on the internet for accurate enough information is difficult, so the only option is to buy bits and try them out.

With a bit of trial and error, and only one adjustment to the spacer that I made on the lathe, it has all gone together nicely. With the information from that mock-up Dean can make up the various mounting brackets needed for the final assembly.

Parts:

• Ford front spindle (c.1940)
• Volvo 240 brake caliper.
• MGC or Austin Healey 38mm offset brake disc.

Lathe:

• Warco WM250V

As a side note, I have been very pleased with the lathe.

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Starter suitcase

Dean's life long dream is to built a hot rod from scratch. He's bought a 1970 Rover 3500 V8 engine, probably from a P6, along with a Borg-Warner model 35 auto gearbox. He needs this to be able to layout the chassis mounts and spacing.

I'll be helping out, mainly with the electrics. Today, I made up the wiring for the starter motor and we tried it out.

The good news is that the engine is not seized and by the feel of the airflow out of the spark plug holes, it appears to have some compression in all of the cylinders.

I'll add more electrics to the suitcase to enable testing as the build progresses.

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