Thread: Timing on rover V8

Thanks both of you.

I have check the vacuum re the cam and it is fine.

If I drop the timing back to about 12-14 degrees then it just dies at anything over about 2500 RPM and is terrible to drive.

I was wondering if the Stronberg would be able to handle the 4.6. I have only had it on short runs around the block but when I pulled out the plug it was very very very sooty so it must be running rich. You are right, I really need to get it set up and tuned by a pro. I am running jets which I think are from a 4.4l but I dont even know that for sure. It may be that it cannot suck enough air at higher revs which is causing it to die although I thought that if this were the case no matter where I put the timing it would die at higher revs and that is not happening.

Since I have already spent the money reconditioning the rest of the engine, it is probably woth while getting the distributor reconditioned as well.

If it is the carby, then I am not sure what I will do. i have been very happy with the WW. Since I reversed the mounting it has been fantastic offroad

Look 4.6 is only 200CC or about 4% bigger than the Leyland. In other words the carby should have enough capacity for a 4.6, and it should go like a P76above 3000RPM, which was OK I think. Never driven on but I remember once haviong a dice with one in a 302 falcon and thinking it went well.

What cam did you put in? Was it a short duration towing cam?

It all depends I guess on what "fixes" have been done to the carby and distributor over the years.
maybe you should once again go back to basics
1 Is the choke going off
2 has the carby got full throttle plate opening with your foot flat to the floor
3 How many degrees advance are you getting. Should be 30total advance so mark this plus static on the balancer and check whether it is happening.

4Have you got too much or too little lifter preload. too much will cause pump up . Too little noise and valve not opening.

5 Is the cam lift compatable with valve collet to guide clearance . less than .430
6 What is the compression ratio. Did you use tin gaskets with 35 CC heads or composites. If composite and no head shave of 35 thou Min to 28CC chamber you have CR of mid sevens. Come to think of it this could cause your symptoms.
Regards Philip A

Ok, we will do a bit more research today...if the cool change comes in

The cam is a standard 3.9 cam which I was told should be better for low down torque.

Heads were shaved when reconditioned and a composite gasket was used.

i did a similar thing with a 4.0 litre block and 3.5 heads, inlet manifold, zenith carbys and even kept the original dizzy with the points. i have an electronic unit but something is wrong with it and it cuts power when the engine is laboured under 1200rpm.
i have a stage 1 cam from bruce davis performance landy's. my timing usually sits around 8 deg BTDC, standard it should be 5-7 deg BTDC. i set the dwell at around 24-26 deg. because of the cam, it idles a little lumpy and is herefore hard to get exactly right to the degree.
these settings are pretty much what they should be for a 3.5L.
as the others have said, you have either misaligned a tooth or maybe your dizzy is ****ed.
when the timing marks are lined up at TDC, the rotor in the dizzy should be pointing towards number 1 ignition lead on the cap.

I just had a thought.
Did you use exhaust manifold gaskets when you put the exhaust manifold on??

You know there are two ways that the gaskets go on, the right way and the wrong way. The wrong way covers half the exhaust manifold opening, so would give OK power down low but none up high.

Please do not be insulted , but sometimes it is just some simple thing. And someone else can come along with fresh eyes and see it.
Regards Philip A

Thanks everyone for the help. I finally got it all fixed.

It was...........the mechanical advance mechanism. The pins which hold the weights were totaly worn and about to break off. I had the distributor fully reco'ed and now it runs perfect!

It idles heaps better and accelerates great with no flat spots all the way to the limit.

Now I am a happy chappy.

Best thing is it was a cheap fix at $90

Well, you have to admit it was one of the guesses!!!!!
Regards Philip A