FC II-A or II-B Owners - Help for a Friend

[Jeff Aronson]

I have a friend from Austrailia, now traveling in South Africa, who has purchased a FC Series II-B and needs help.

Here's his plea:

We are currently failing at registering our newly purchased F/C landrover motorhome as we can not find the original engine number stamp-
If any you could offer any advice on exactly where to look, please do! I have tried everything, the African ploice are saying that i will have to replace the engine if they can not see the number.

-- L/R Series 11B with Series 111 four speed gear & transfer box H/L ratio.
- motor (petrol) ex 1961 Rover sedan, straight-six, 3litre

Can anyone who owns one provide this information?

Thanks,

Jeff

[LaneRover]

The only thing that I could suggest is getting in contact with the LAnd Rover Enthusiast magazine as they have a sister publication about Rover cars and there might be someone there who knows the answer to your question.

Brent

PS - At least I have seen an add in their magazine for the Rover car magazine.

[TSR53]

I don't know if this will help, but could be a starting point...

Series II Forward Control FAQs (http://www.retro.co.za/lr/FC/109FCFAQ.html)

Series II Forward Control Brochure (http://www.retro.co.za/landy/FC/SIIB-brochure.html)

At the least, this brochure page (http://www.retro.co.za/landy/FC/707/pg5-6-m.jpg) lists the Rover 2.6 litre as an additional alternative.

[leafsprung]

If I remember correctly, its on the upper left front of the cylinder block on a machined surfece near the block/head mating surface. Its been awhile since Ive had a FC (or a 2.6 for that matter) but I think thats right.

[Jeff Aronson]

Thanks. I passed the information along to South Africa. I can't figure out what engine he has in the FC if he claims it to be a "3 litre."

Jeff

[leafsprung]

Who knows whats in it then. Should be a 2.6L

[greenmeanie]

From memory a Rover 3 litre straight 6 is from a Rover P5 saloon car from the 60's. IIRC it is if the same family as the 2.6L or at least it has the same F head layout. Power was in the 120-130hp range.

I don't know the details but it sounds like it would be a simple bolt in performance swap over a 2.6L.

[leafsprung]

Good thinking gm but without more details it could be any 3L.

[Jeff Aronson]

Thanks for your thoughts. I've passed them along to my friend. If anyone has additional insights, please share them. He's not really a "car guy."

Jeff

[msggunny]

Have him check out this site and see if there is any info/contact for LR nuts that may be able to help:

http://www.landyonline.co.za/

What about the PO?

I sent them an inquiry, hopefully they will reply in a timely, and not African time, manner...

While we are waiting on them to reply i found this info on Terri Ann's site, it may mean that the 3L has the same number placement as the NADA 2.6:

Note #1: Rover 6 cyl engines From Dr James Taylor "The 3-litre version was designed FIRST, for the 1958 (1959 MY) Rover P5 3-litre. They needed 3 litres because the car was competing higher up the market than the P4, and they needed 7 bearings to improve smoothness for that market. So the bore centres were repositioned and it ended up as very different from the original 2.6 IOE engine (2638cc) in the P4.

The short-stroke engine (2625cc) was developed from the 3-litre as an improvement (smoothness, also manufacturing cost) over the earlier 2.6. Rover did try the 3-litre in Land Rovers but found that the high torque could cause transmission problems and that the fuel consumption was higher than they wanted. So they went for the 2.6.

The original 3-litre and 2.6-litre engines were upgraded with a water-heated inlet manifold and other modifications in 1962. These are known as the Weslake-head versions because tuning expert Harry Weslake was consulted* although Rover engineers insist that most of the design changes were their own. All the 3-litre saloons went to the Weslake-head engine because they needed the extra performance. The Rover 95 (P4) kept the 100 engine (give or take a few tweaks) and the new 110 took on the Weslake-head 2.6. There were also very small numbers of 2.6-litre (and even 2.4-litre) versions of the Weslake-head engine used in the 3-litre body for overseas markets.

The NADA 109 Station Wagon was the ONLY Land Rover to use the Weslake-head 2.6 engine. All other six-cylinder models used the earlier (Rover 100) engine, although improvements were made to this over the years until production ended in 1979-80. The Weslake-head engine was fitted for the US because Rover North America's head, Bruce McWilliams, insisted that Americans wanted the extra performance."

[Jeff Aronson]

Thanks for the link and the info on the development of the 2.6 liter and original 3 liter engines.

I still need to find if the engine number is stamped differently on that engine compared with other Rover engines, like the 2.25.

Jeff

[jp-]

Thanks for the link and the info on the development of the 2.6 liter and original 3 liter engines.

I still need to find if the engine number is stamped differently on that engine compared with other Rover engines, like the 2.25.

Jeff

I may have a photo of my 2.6 engine, I'll check when I get home. Several years ago, when rebuilding my 2.6, I looked into the 3L and ended up doing a great deal of research. The 2.6 and 3 share the same block and cam. The pistons are nearly identical, but very slightly different at the crown (I have one of each). The real differences are in the crank and I believe the rods (never got any of the 3L rods, so can't say for sure).

[jp-]

Here is a photo:

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/9244/rovee2.th.jpg (http://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rovee2.jpg)

Left arrow points to date stamp (10-6-66 for my engine). Right arrow points to a flat just above the timing cover where the engine serial number is. Note, the engine serial number will not match the VIN exactly (even if the motor is original). It would be very easy to just make up a number plate and attach it to the engine. No one would know any different.

[Jeff Aronson]

Thanks, John, I'll send the info to my friend in South Africa.

Best wishes,

Jeff

[ivarra]

If he is still stuck, get him to call my brother, Marc Rademaker at Adventure Rovers (011-708 2266) in Johannesburg. He has a Land Rover repair and restore business, mainly Series and FCs. He also has his own FC he uses to travel through Africa every few years.

Ivar

[Jeff Aronson]

Ivar,

I'm cutting and pasting your message and will email it to him. Apparently there's some issue with registration without an engine number.

Jeff

[Marc-SA]

Hi there Jeff,

Get your friend to e-mail me directly on rademaker.marc@gmail.com. Where is he in South Africa as I am in Johannesburg. He will not be able to register the vehicle without the engine number. As my Ivar, my brother, let you know, I have a specialist Land Rover workshop and own a Forward Control myself, so if I can be of help, it will be a pleasure.

Marc.

[msggunny]

Its a few days late and a few Rand short but here is what i got from Landy on Line

Richard,

The number is usually stamped (not very deep or clearly) on the engine block forward of the exhaust manifold on a slanted face pointing towards the exhaust manifold side of the engine.

I will have a look at an engine at home to confirm.

Regards
Brian

If his engine is anything close to what mine looked like after i had it painted in Zimbabwe he will most likely need to scrape the paint off to see the engine numbers.

[msggunny]

FYI, the guys at Landy On Line sent this, confirming the placement of the engine numbers:

CONFIRMED - in front of #1 exhaust port on the block.