110 County engine upgrade

Hmmmmm, the old 3.5 is looking like it could be the way to go then. More straight forward job. The motor has 140km's and starting to get pretty tired, made worse by the fact I live on a steep hill. New rings, bearings, cam and chain should do it, I hope😋

I opted for the 4.2 and kept the SU carbs. It made a huge difference and the engine bay still looks the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lebanon

I opted for the 4.2 and kept the SU carbs. It made a huge difference and the engine bay still looks the same.

---

Unfortunately for us we didn't get that engine here 😣😣.

Jc

Maybe keep it simple? Get a price on the essentials to freshen up the 3.5. Admittedly it is 20 years since I did mine ('76 R/R), but I was surprised at how cheap and easy it was. As Bee Utey says, the work was all done with motor in situ; a better camshaft and headers/exhaust had made a big difference a couple of years earlier. Best of all was that glorious sound, still miss that...
Rich.

Just a shame the front output shaft leaks like a sieve, otherwise would do it in situ. At least I can give the engine bay a tidy up while its out.
Any recommendations re cam? I know this topic has been done, and done again, but people don't often mention how the cam performed after the install.

Just a word of warning. If you change your engine for a later model you need to comply with the emission regs for that engine. I know nothing of the differences between all the engines. But in the eyes of the plod it is a defect not to comply explicitly to the smog rules of the engine. You can go forward in years but not back too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by justinc

Certainly can maintain the natural county engine bay look with even a 5.2 upgrade....��.

Make sure that you get/ build an engine with high compression (your 3.5 has 9.35:1) and even more importantly that the carb needles get changed to suit engine capacity. You will be amazed at how much torque an SU fed engine can produce when they are set up right!!!
My pick would be a post 2002 4litre d2 or a 1999 on p38a 4.6 as they are 9.23:1 compression ratio.

Jc

---

JC,do 110's still have the restrictor plate under the carbs?,that was the first thing you threw away with the stage one V8's when looking for power. Pat

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mustlust

Hmmmmm, the old 3.5 is looking like it could be the way to go then. More straight forward job. The motor has 140km's and starting to get pretty tired, made worse by the fact I live on a steep hill. New rings, bearings, cam and chain should do it, I hope😋

---

If your motor feels sluggish I'd say your cam is worn,it's a common thing with that motor,the cam doesn't get enough oil,once the heat treatment is worn through the wear accelerates and the motor couldn't pull the skin off burnt milk. Pat

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by PAT303

JC,do 110's still have the restrictor plate under the carbs?,that was the first thing you threw away with the stage one V8's when looking for power. Pat

---

Hi pat no thank goodness with the arrival of disc brakes to the front of the county and slightly more efficient wipers the restrictors were a thing of the past...☺

Jc

How well do the heads travel after 140 000 k's? Do they usually require attention? Is this another thing to factor into the budget?
I will be chatting with the local engine reco bloke tomorrow and aim to get a $ figure for a clean, bore check and hone and tidy up of the crank.
Is there anything else he needs to look at?
I think I can handle all other work.
In reading older threads, it seems the TR Spares has a cam for pre-pollution gear for the RRC 3.5, with mild torque gains and good for hwy. will have to call them for more info.