er...its a rover V8, i.e. 8 cylinders [well, 5 1/2 three weeks ago, back up to 8 now]

Wed rather stick to this beast. The block is light enough to be lifted out of the boat by 2 blokes, and it still gives in excess of 150bhp at 5500revs

Well, it wasnt entirely broke, so we roughly followed the old rule.

er...its a rover V8, i.e. 8 cylinders [well, 5 1/2 three weeks ago, back up to 8 now]

Strictly speaking, its a Buick V8 that rover bought the rights to.

For all the comments of "Buy a more modern engine" most modern engines dont take the same level of punishment that those old V8s can. Ive seen them used in loads of boats over the years purely because they are such old tech that not much can go wrong.  Perkins used to take the V8 block and build marine engines round it even.  They are old, clunk and near impossible to kill.

For all the comments of "Buy a more modern engine" most modern engines dont take the same level of punishment that those old V8s can. Ive seen them used in loads of boats over the years purely because they are such old tech that not much can go wrong.  Perkins used to take the V8 block and build marine engines round it even.  They are old, clunk and near impossible to kill.

A modern 1.0 litre japanese engine would run flat out for maybe 10 times longer.

A modern 1.0 litre japanese engine would run flat out for maybe 10 times longer.

A modern 1 litre jap engine wouldnt give 200ft/lbs of torque

Anyone who has been watching Top Gear recently would know how much engines have improved over the last decade. A more modern lump would provlde more power and be more economic to run.

Obiously the older one would have less problems with reliability, which is why older cars have longer warranties and didnt keep breaking down

Difference is that those V8 lumps can pretty much have the pistons slapping around the bore, and they still fire.  One of the favs in boat yards with older boats was the old Rover 2.5D.  They stink, they are noisy, but they keep on running no matter what you do.  On the other hand more modern engines are made with far more precision, but as a result they require far more looking after and maintenance.