The project failed because this engine didn’t have the basic torque characteristics we needed. We did quite a lot of work with the 2.2, installing it into a 109 inch Series III, but after about a year we abandoned the idea.
Then we looked at the V8. The V8 concept was pre One Ten which was in theory Stage 2 of the same massive government reinvestment and development plan, to rescue the floundering Leyland empire whereas series III and the One Ten, but costs had to be kept to a minimum.
The whole remit behind the V8 project was minimum change at minimum cost. One example was the radiator, which was simply brought forward to accommodate the larger engine but the front wings remained more or less unchanged. Likewise, the bonnet was the lengthened but the rest of the body was the same. Even the chassis changed very little, we just altered the engine mounts and fitted a removable gearbox cross member.
No comments:
Post a Comment