[ROVERNET - UK] P4 conversion conumdrum

adam2402 at bellsouth.net adam2402 at bellsouth.net
Sun Nov 5 14:24:27 GMT 2006


Hi everyone.

I'm still trying to get my '60 P4 100 back on the road after dropping a
valve that caused severe damage to the original 2.6 litre motor 3 years ago.
Please keep in mind I've since moved from Mississippi to Tennessee.  The car
is still in Mississippi , about 500 miles away, and I only get to work on it
a few days a year.

I finally found a very good used (35,000 miles) 3 litre motor that came out
of a P5 in Scotland and had it shipped over here to the U.S.  I replaced the
flywheel on the 3 litre with the one required (been so long I can't remember
now, but I believe it was from a 4 cyl. series Land Rover) per Rover folks
knowledgeable to the conversion.  Also, per advice of those who had
experience with this conversion, we had the new flywheel carefully balanced
by a specialty shop.

After the engine was installed, we had trouble pulling the transmission and
the engine together to bolt them up.  It would go in fine, but lacked about
1/4" coming together.  We pulled the engine back out and found the main
shaft on the transmission was hitting against the back of the engine, so we
cut the end of the tranny shaft off a little over 1/4".  The tranny and
engine then mated up and bolted together fine.

Fast forward about 5 months and I get back to MS looking forward to cranking
the engine for the first time and taking the P4 for a drive.  The engine
cranked right up and ran perfectly.  Only problem now is clutch appears to
be stuck.  Couldn't get it broken loose using the safer methods, so finally
put the rear wheels up on a jack and dropped it to the floor while in gear
and doing about 30 mph.  The clutch then broke loose.  Works great, but
quite scary!!
But we still can't shift while the engine is running.  With the clutch pedal
to the floor, the car still wants to move very slightly.  If you let out on
the clutch, you can feel it engage at the appropriate point and the car
moves at regular speed.  The clutch linkage appears to be properly adjusted.

Our best guess is that the end of the transmission shaft is still coming in
slight contact with the end of the crankshaft at the engine and the
transmission is still rotating enough to prevent it from being shifted while
the engine is running.  It shifts fine when the engine is not running.
We're thinking our only choice is to pull the transmission and try to take a
little more off the end of the tranny shaft.

Any thoughts / ideas / suggestions / other options will be greatly
appreciated.

Al Adams
Madisonville, TN
'60 Rover P4 100
'80 Rover SD1





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