1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

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Captain Bobo
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1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Captain Bobo » Sun Jul 07, 2013 5:13 pm

Hi everyone, you can see the back end of my Rover Sterling saloon on the left of the picture, but the main subject is my 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon.

Rebuilt the engine over the last year and have just run it in after 1200 miles of careful motoring: such a joy to open her up and hear that glorious V8 sound track!

Quite a good spec for 1969: Leather all round, lots of walnut inside, heater, fresh air vent, power steering, power brakes, stainless exhaust, Borg Warner type 35 auto gearbox, thick pile carpeting, map reading light, light in the rather capacious boot, AM radio, heated rear window: you get the general idea. The V8 engine delivers 140 bhp and low 20's mpg, so it's no slouch driving around town and it handles brilliantly on winding country lanes when you open her up.

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Any other Daimler V8 owners in the Rover forum?

Best wishes, Dave B
Dave Bennett
1998 Rover 820 Sterling
1937 Daimler 15 Mulliner Sports Saloon
1969 Daimler V8 250 (Mark 2 Jaguar body)
2005 Volvo S80 D5 SE Lux

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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by BennyVitesse » Sun Jul 07, 2013 5:51 pm

'GREETINGS'
Ben

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Richard Moss
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Richard Moss » Sun Jul 07, 2013 8:48 pm

Nice
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 1:36 am

Very nice! Is that a typo - "the engine delivers 140bhp"? I know it's older technology but i thought they were a fair bit more than that?
That said, if it pulls along well then it's obviously enough!

Out of curiosity, roughly whereabouts are you near Cambridge? Think i've seen your car once or twice and maybe your Sterling too.
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Aug 12, 2013 5:19 am

140bhp from a 1950's/60's 2.5L engine is pretty good. For example, the 2.8i Capri from 20 years later was only about160bhp
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by TDHFastback » Mon Aug 12, 2013 8:15 am

Nice Daimler. Welcome aboard the flagship. Any pictures of your 800?
Kate :D

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scoobyh123
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:14 am

Richard Moss wrote:140bhp from a 1950's/60's 2.5L engine is pretty good. For example, the 2.8i Capri from 20 years later was only about160bhp

Good point Richard - for some reason the brain cell was thinking of the fuel-injected 4.2 XK engine like i had in my Series III 4.2 Jag Sovereign (one of the first few to have the Daimler trim level on a Jag) which if memory serves was 215bhp (or was it 205bhp?). An even more obvious comparison is the Rover V8 which of course was 3.5L and only put out 155bhp in factory trim, so about 10% more than the Daimler V8 but using a hefty 40% bigger engine to achieve it.

Sorry for the confusion!
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


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'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Richard Moss » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:58 am

There was a 4L V8 version that Daimler used in some limos
Out in the desert with a 1998 Grand Cherokee V8, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4L and a 1997 Chevy Tahoe V8. Back home: 1969 MGC GT

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scoobyh123
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by scoobyh123 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 11:51 am

Hmm, that would give a nice dose of torque!
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Bert3 » Mon Aug 12, 2013 12:37 pm

Road engines should be all about 'Area under the curve' ...... and the Rover/Daimler V8's have a 'curve' that looks like Table Mountain :wink:

The only place bhp calcs are of any use is where top speed is the only aim...... oh, and of course talking BS at the local Max Power gathering ......

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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Captain Bobo » Tue Aug 20, 2013 9:11 pm

Just a quick response to the interesting comments:

You've probably gathered that 140 bhp is the correct spec. The engine is heavily over engineered (low compression ratio, sturdy con rods, large bearings, excellent pistons, etc.); one specialist I know has got 1400 bhp out of this engine running it (and winning) in drag races. He then started working on a 1900 bhp version so "they" changed the rules so that he couldn't keep on winning! The Daimler Dart SP250 uses the same engine and it is a popular racing classic car in the USA because the engine can easily be tuned and upgraded.

Dave (scoobyh123) I live in Kimbolton to the west of Cambridge: is this anywhere near you?

Kate, I posted pictures of the Rover Sterling in another section of this forum, if you search for postings made by me I'm sure you'll find them. I've also posted pictures of my 1937 Daimler 15 Sports Saloon elsewhere in the forum if anyone is interested.

Best wishes, Dave B
Dave Bennett
1998 Rover 820 Sterling
1937 Daimler 15 Mulliner Sports Saloon
1969 Daimler V8 250 (Mark 2 Jaguar body)
2005 Volvo S80 D5 SE Lux

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scoobyh123
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by scoobyh123 » Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:03 pm

Hi Dave,

Kimbolton is quite a way from me as i've recently moved over the border into Suffolk but i used to go through and near Kimbolton quite often some time back so i reckon it probably was yours i've seen.
Also i'm more "used" to the moe modern Jags where 140bhp would just about get the wheels turning, things like the Series III Jag Sovereign (XJ6) and XJ40 Jag Sovereign 3.6 that are near 2T kerb weight. I'm guessing your car is a little over half that?
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

Captain Bobo
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Captain Bobo » Wed Aug 21, 2013 8:45 am

Yes Dave, the dry kerbweight of the V8 250 is 26 1/2 cwt (1340 kg) which gives it a pretty good power to weight ratio for its year. Add to that the ridiculously low gearing on the diff and it is very sprightly from a standstill even driven through the BW35 auto box.

I'm seriously considering changing the diff ratio to something more sensible so that I can cruise at sensible speeds without high revs: right now 70 mph is over 4000 rpm! I suspect that the diff gearing was a ploy to make the V8 250 less attractive to those who were looking for a car for long distance cruising compared to the ageing Jag 340 and 380 models. With sensible gearing the V8 250 would be just as sporty and offer much better fuel consumption that the Jags.

Best wishes, Dave B
Dave Bennett
1998 Rover 820 Sterling
1937 Daimler 15 Mulliner Sports Saloon
1969 Daimler V8 250 (Mark 2 Jaguar body)
2005 Volvo S80 D5 SE Lux

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scoobyh123
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by scoobyh123 » Wed Aug 21, 2013 9:49 am

Going off at a slight tangent that's probably why they were used so much in things like The Sweeney etc for car chases etc - with a diff ratio that low, wheelspins, power slides etc would be quite easily achieved with a slightly damp film set road and probably in "real life" too!

I seem to remember seeing something on another forum about a BW45 gearbox being available. While 4th wasn't any higher than your 3rd/"D" (direct except for the torque converter) the suggestion was made to fit a BW45 and higher diff ratio to give more relaxed cruising but without losing the "off the line" acceleration.

Something else i've seen advertised is overdrive units that can be retro-fitted to almost any RWD car. Obviously this would mean you'd need a modified propshaft too but could potentially give you a 5 speed box - 1st, 2nd, O/D 2nd, 3rd, O/D 3rd. Again this would give more relaxed cruising but without the back breaking work of changing an axle over and all the problems swapping brakes etc. The drawback is cost as although kits are available, they aren't cheap. Depends on what you want to achieve and funds available etc. although i'm sure i've seen other retro-fit overdrive kits (in Practical Clasics i think) advertised at a more wallet-friendly price!

Think you've probably hit the nail on the head about the long distance cruising and economy points, especially considering the hot-bed of inter-company politics (aka back-biting) that was rife during the times your Daimler was made!
Cheers,
Dave

'02 Honda CR-V SE Executive
'99 Jag S Type 3.0 V6 SE


Image
'94 827 Sterling saloon
'88 Volvo 760 V6 Estate
'95 827 Coupé LPG gone but not forgotten!

Captain Bobo
Regular Visitor
Posts: 59
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2011 8:57 pm
Location: Near Cambridge
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Re: 1969 Daimler V8 250 saloon

Post by Captain Bobo » Fri Nov 28, 2014 9:06 pm

A late follow up to your input Dave; I've spoken to several providers of overdrive units and they all seem to say the same thing, namely that they don't recommend fitting overdrives to auto gearbox cars even thought they will physically fit under the car (and the mods to the propshaft aren't too complicated).

So, it looks like I'll be putting a Jag 3.8 diff gears in the rear axle, which should drop my revs by around 1000 rpm at 70 mph. This would probably be cheaper anyway!

Best wishes, Dave B
Dave Bennett
1998 Rover 820 Sterling
1937 Daimler 15 Mulliner Sports Saloon
1969 Daimler V8 250 (Mark 2 Jaguar body)
2005 Volvo S80 D5 SE Lux

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