Ford Prefect v8 Hot Rod, Engine Done

Published on 11 January 2023 at 15:39
1951 Ford Prefect hot rod with rebuilt Rover 3500 v8 engine

The engine is starting to look a bit more hot rod like now, it's got lots of new bits in it, although it's still in a standard state of tune - about 165 BHP, which is not going to set any records. I would love to supercharge it but the money is not there so I will have to make do with what I have for now. I have had it turning over, oil pressure is excellent, I have a spark but timing is not set just yet. I have a radiator and fans for it - the radiator is Mazda 626 turned through 90 degrees, the fans are from a ford Probe 2.5. I just took a massive step back when I fitted the flip front only to find the wheels did not clear the arches. I also found the front of the bonnet was too close to the ground and likely to get wiped at by the first sleeping policeman that sodding councils seem to love so much. I ended up cutting the whole front end off and raising the body at the bulkhead by 75mm. It looks and works much better now but it was quite a chunk of work. I now have to redo my steering linkage so that everything clears as it's all at different angles now.

 

Rover v8 in my ford prefect

the front wheels are temporary, just so I can make sure everything clears and so I can move the car about as needed. The seats are in temporarily as well, they are a fairly tight fit in there. I fear I may have to remake my brake pedal as where the angle of the steering column needs to change I fear the brake pedal may hit it. Rather annoying as it took about 4 goes to make it work before I changed the chassis to body height. Oh well, nobody said it would be easy.

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