Engines
Best of British : Gardner 6LX diesel engine
Mike Humble Ask many a seasoned truck or bus engineer the simple question ‘who made the best large diesel engine?’ and more than likely the answer without delay would be Gardner. Most of you out there in reader-land will claim not to have had any experience with such engines, some may not even know who [...]
September 17, 2012
· 
Mike Humble · 
13 Comments
Buy parts with AROnline and Rimmer Bros
KEITH ADAMS Rimmer Bros sponsored AROnline‘s Polish SD1 restoration… Buying parts for your Jaguar, Rover, Lands Rover, Triumph or MG has never been easier through AROnline… HERE at AROnline, we receive a large numbers of emails from people all over the world looking for parts for their cars MGs, Rovers, Landies and all manner of [...]
August 20, 2012
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Essays : The 500-Series – Leyland loses its head!
The 500 Series diesel cost Leyland a packet – and not just in development costs. Mike Humble tells the story of this ‘interesting’ engine Fixed head asset CONTRARY to modern day belief, Leyland Truck and Bus was once a formidable force on a truly global scale with British trucks and buses operating in all four [...]
October 10, 2011
· Mike Humble · 27 Comments
The cars : MG RV8
WORK on a new MG sports car was a running theme within Austin Rover and the Rover from 1984 onwards. The success of the MG “M” models had kept the flame of the Octagon alive, but what people wanted – and what market researchers repeatedly told the company was that the public wanted – was [...]
October 2, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Engines : Powertrain 2000-2005
POWERTRAIN Limited was a very busy company between 2000 and 2005 – Keith Adams explains how it was working on an exciting range of developments which would have modernised MG Rover’s engine line-up and powered that company’s cars confidently into the future… A new range of petrol and diesel engines featured some very exciting technology [...]
August 28, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Engines : Powertrain in the 1990s
During the 1990s, the sum total of new Powertrain engine launches wasn’t that great – new Land Rover diesels and the KV6-series seem to be about the sum of it… …to the casual observer, anyway. However there was a lot more than that going on behind the scenes – did you know that the KV6-series [...]
August 28, 2011
· Keith Adams · 8 Comments
Engines : Powertrain and the Iranians
After extracting Powertrain from BMW in 2005, MG Rover set about turning the operation into a stand-alone business, supplying K-Series engines, and development expertise to motor manufacturers who needed the assistance. MG Rover’s brief flirtation with the Iranian company, SAIPA, during 2003 to 2005 was a clear indication that its management knew that in order [...]
August 28, 2011
· Keith Adams · 4 Comments
Engines : Jaguar AJ-V8
Taking Jaguar forward into the 21st century inevitably meant weaning it off its love affair with the straight-six, and taking the company in a whole new V8-powered direction. The AJV8 engine was the result of this radical thinking. Ralph Hosier tells the story of its birth… A change in direction… THERE WAS a time when [...]
August 28, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Engines : Rover SD1 Six
Although it has received a bit rap in the trade thanks to its well-documented problems, the SD1 Six is a very capable engine. However, it could have been so much more had it been given the start it so richly deserved. On its 30th birthday, Robert Leitch casts an analytical eye over this oft-maligned engine [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 9 Comments
Engines : S-Series
Another evolution of the E-Series engine, ARG’s S-Series emerged capable and strong, and proved a remarkably capable mid-range power plant after a false start with the R-Series ‘hybrid’. Mike Humble tells the story of an engine killed before its time. The forgotten mid-sized engine Launched in 1984, Austin Rover’s new S-Series engine first saw the [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 3 Comments
Engines : O-Series Turbo, take one
Whatever your opinions are of the styling and overall packaging of the MG Maestro and Montego Turbo, there’s no denying that they remain revered to this day for their scintillating acceleration and mid-range torque. However, we could have seen the engine a whole lot earlier had it not been for a strange turn of events. [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · One Comment
Engines : O-Series
The O-Series was designed to act as the company’s mid-range engine mainstay for the late 1970s and beyond. If at first you don’t succeed… The formation of Austin-Morris from the ashes of BMC in 1969 allowed BLMC’s product planners to focus on the demands of the middle market, without worrying too much about the more [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Engines : M and T-Series
History will record it as the Rover 800 engine, but Rover’s mid 1980s twin-cam four acted out a diverse range of roles, and proved the soundness of its basic design by its ready adaptability when faced with unpredicted emissions legislation. Robert Leitch tells its story… Anchored down in Anchorage THERE was surely no more significant [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 5 Comments
Engines : K-Series
In taking over from the venerable A-series, Rover’s hi-tech new engine had a hard act to follow. However, it went on to earn itself an enviable reputation for fragility in both four- and six-cylinder forms. KEITH ADAMS discusses this controversial engine… The light fantastic HOW to replace the irreplaceable A-series engine? Build a light, powerful [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 16 Comments
Engines : H and K-Series prototypes
The A-Series may have been almost immortal by the early 1970s, but it did not stop the company developing alternatives. Here we describe the H and K-Series engines that were designed for the ill-fated ADO74. Transmission-in-sump could have had a future As reported in the Metro development story, the decision was made in the mid-1970s [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Engines : E-Series
Designed and specially built to become the Corporation’s new mid-sized engine, the E-Series had a troubled early life, but eventually matured into something very worthwhile indeed. New engine, new factory; new start? By the mid-1960s, it had become clear to BMC’s management, that in order to maintain sales volumes, the company would have to produce [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 5 Comments
Engines : C-Series
The C-Series engine was the shortest lived out of the triumvirate of BMC engines, and has since gained infamy for being the motive power behind of the MGC and Austin 3-Litre. Sadly, it’s been underrated ever since – unless you’re a Healey owner. Words: Tony Cooke Unloved, but not unworthy THE C-Series engine was the [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 13 Comments
Engines : B-Series
The B-Series engine started out as a humble 1.2-litre unit that powered the Austin A40 Devon. Over time, it was developed – and developed – and developed. Middle-market mainstay After the end of World War II, Austin and Morris continued to rely on pre-war engines for their mid-range family cars. Out of the two companies, [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · No Comments
Engines : A-Series
The A-series engine did service in a variety of cars for almost 50 years, during which time it was available in a bewildering variety of capacities and states of tune. A hard act to follow The A-Series engine was certainly a case of the ‘British Curate’s egg’ – good in places. In fact, that is [...]
August 26, 2011
· Keith Adams · 16 Comments
Essay : K-series – what makes it tick?
THE K-Series engine has a long history of problems – but people forget it was was world beating engine in terms of efficiency when it was launched. In an article originally published on the Sands Mechanical Museum website, SIMON ERLAND takes the lid off the K-Series and sees what makes it tick. King K History [...]
August 7, 2011
· Keith Adams · 12 Comments
