Thread: unusual engine no. & which head gasket

Originally Posted by ahud7844

hi all,
my 1988 build rangie has had an engine transplant done before i bought it. the previous owner claimed it to be a 3.9 built by vitesse developments in melbourne. there are some vitesse stamps in the service book so that part seems true but the engine no. is 47A07775B which is different to other 3.9 no's i've seen. it has a 7L sump on it, scorcher ignition & the old flapper injection system. does anyone have any ideas?
also the head gaskets are weeping from the corners so i'm thinking about replacing them. can anyone recommend which ones i should use & where to source please?
regards, adam

G`day Adam ,


From a Morgan plus 8 being 47A prefix and B suffix should be 9.35:1 compression ratio , stamped near engine number .

B suffix should be 10 bolt cylinder head block but won`t be cross bolted .

If you`d like to know what they are when you have the head casting numbers let me know . They`ll start HRC , ERR ETC .

Being vitesse ( they like red paint ) it could have any heads on it .

For the head gaskets being as it`s not std factory you`ll need to look at the gaskets first to decide what is appropriate .

From the engine number it can be found what the factory had in mind for a block .

When you remove the heads you may find it has flat top pistons with cutouts for valve clearence , this type is a special build 3.9 of higher than normal compression ratio .

I have the heads of one of these engines and they are later 4.6ltr , 10 bolt heads .

Peter

I have one of these engines with the same format engine number. I bought it used and was told that it was a 3.9 conversion done by Ritters. They used a new block, pistons, and cam and then used all the 3.5 parts from the engine that was being converted. My engine has the pocketed pistons but the 14-bolt heads from the original motor. The casting number is HRC2411, and it's one of those blocks with the unused crossbolting bosses on the side.

The head gaskets on this one are composites - using tins the compression ratio would be too high. So you should need plain old 3.9 gaskets. There is a lot on here, (of course!), about which head gaskets are best and doing a search may be helpful, (or confusing).

There were a number of 47A prefix engines.

47A40P???? were from the TVR 3.9 litre 9.8:1
47A43P???? were from the TVR Griffith 4.3 litre
47A50P???? were from the TVR Chimaera 5 litre 10:1

but as suggested the 47A0???? were built for the Morgan +8

I wonder if the "47A07" were Morgan 8 spec engines sold to the preformance tuner market?

I't be trying to source the parts from Triumph Rover Spares in Adelaide Triumph Rover Spares - The World's Largest Land Rover Dismantler

The records do show those engine numbers for those cars but as well the factory just seems to have sold bare blocks that were used to upgrade from 3.5 to 3.9. But, as usual with the olden days of the Landie factory, it can get a bit mysterious.

I have a brand new engine here that seems to be made of bits: 14-bolt block with unused crossbolting bosses and 10-bolt heads, but it came in a crate as a new engine. A few of them were found in the back of a warehouse! What did that factory get up to?

Originally Posted by PLR

G`day Adam ,


From a Morgan plus 8 being 47A prefix and B suffix should be 9.35:1 compression ratio , stamped near engine number .

B suffix should be 10 bolt cylinder head block but won`t be cross bolted .

If you`d like to know what they are when you have the head casting numbers let me know . They`ll start HRC , ERR ETC .

Being vitesse ( they like red paint ) it could have any heads on it .

For the head gaskets being as it`s not std factory you`ll need to look at the gaskets first to decide what is appropriate .

From the engine number it can be found what the factory had in mind for a block .

When you remove the heads you may find it has flat top pistons with cutouts for valve clearence , this type is a special build 3.9 of higher than normal compression ratio .

I have the heads of one of these engines and they are later 4.6ltr , 10 bolt heads .

Peter

Just as an aside comment, the pistons you speak of are usually Omega's that are specially made for John Eales. They take Ford 250 rings, cheaper than the Eales items

i've just taken the driver side rocker cover off & the numbers stamped on the head are ERC 0216 & 6E 652. the comp ratio stamped on the block is 9.35:1, but there's no sign of any red paint. is it likely that vitesse has modified the heads? otherwise i've got another set of heads, not sure what year, that are stamped ERC 0216 & 22A2 with brass plugs screwed in next to the exhaust ports which i was considering as replacements after having recoed & ported. any input most welcome.
regards, adam

My engine number is 47A06889B & when I asked here a few years ago, it was said to be an engine out of a Morgan which ties in with Lotza's post.

I was also told that TRS in Adelaide shipped a batch of these engine in & this was probably one of them.

It is a rocketship - will happily spin a front wheel off the line on tarmac (with 7.50R16 tyres) & leaves our 4.6 P38a for dead.

although mine will spin a front wheel on concrete i feel that it lacks torque. this noticeable when you hook up a trailer, thats why i'm thinking about head work. i'm comparing it to my other rangie which is a '78 with a worked 4.4. heads ported big valves & roller rockers on a wilpower manifold & 465cfm holley. even with taller transfer gears & 3 speed auto it will spin front wheels & pull around a corner in top gear without complaint. the only problem is the bw35 is starting to slip. by working the 4.4 heads it made a huge difference so i have to figure out which set of heads to go with 3.9.