almost took the wedge to work.

[gromit wedge]

Up early to fetch car from lockup and go fill with fuel. No petrol gauge or speedo = no idea how much fuel I have!!! Jump back to house to get sat-nav so I now know how fast I'm going and head for work. Get onto motorway heading to Falkirk and within 5 seconds of getting onto the motorway, the bloody battery light comes on and the voltage guage starts going down. OH st!!!! No hardshoulder or exit for a few miles and a busy motorway aint a good mix so I sweated a bit until I managed to reach the exit and drive the 5 miles back home.

Just have to get a new fan belt and I think I will replace the power steering belt at the same time and hope I havent cooked the engine!!!!!

[ed_crouch]

That belt also drives the water pump on a pre-serp V8 wedge. As long as the temperature gauge didnt show an overheat, you'll be fine. That said, if the belt was thrown off or broke, the waterpump will most certainly stop pumping water, and it'll get bloody hot rather quickly.

Key question - was the belt thrown off or did it overheat?

Edited by ed_crouch on Wednesday 21st July 20:30

[alex290568]

Don't know where my post has gone!

Hey ho, as I said, someone would be along with greater knowledge and here they are!!

Cheers ed

[gromit wedge]

The gauge just got to the max for a minute before I turned it off so I'm hoping there isn't any damage done. If there is then I can see a larger engine in the future.
I'm on standby at work tomorrow so should have time to get a new belt and fit it and will keep you guys posted but the way my luck has been lately, who knows....

[adam quantrill]

Should be OK, check the water levels and top up with antifreeze mix.

[gromit wedge]

A wee update. Went to halfrauds to get a new fan belt and fitted it today. All appears good. Just went for a blast and temp gauge sits where its meant to and I now have a spare belt in the boot. Now where did the sun go!!

[c pryor]

I think the Rover V8 engines are more durable than you would expect for an all alloy lump. My 390 overheats just about every time I drive it but goes fine after a refill of several litres of coolant !!
A slight incursion into to red sector of the guage will have done no harm.

[Henry Harris]

Hi Steven, taking your post title literally, that is exacly how I am treating my Wedge. It is my everyday car and I have sold my other one. My Wedge starts first time, does not drop oil or water and of course is a totally involved drive. This is what motoring should be.

Edited by Henry Harris on Friday 23 July 12:38

[taimar78]

I drove my first wedge (1983 Tasmin) as an everyday car for at least half of the 15 years that I owned it. It was certainly very usable in that regard. But once I had it restored, I acquired a second car that was my everyday car and the Tasmin was used on more 'preferable' weather days. I've almost driven my current wedge to work several times recently but the 90-100 degree temperatures we have been enduring here in this part of the US made me change my mind. Hopefully, we'll get a cooldown soon to where I can get it out and enjoy it.

[Wedg1e]

c pryor said:

I think the Rover V8 engines are more durable than you would expect for an all alloy lump. My 390 overheats just about every time I drive it but goes fine after a refill of several litres of coolant !!
A slight incursion into to red sector of the guage will have done no harm.

The RV8 dates from the pre-CADCAM era and right to the end of production the blocks and heads were sandcast rather than diecast... which means huge amounts of alloy that can cope with the thermal cycling. Modern engines are designed using 'thin-wall' techniques to save material (and weight) with the resultant intolerance of overheating - witness the number of cracked cylinder heads you get these days.
I suspect the inlet manifold and most of the plenum parts were also sandcast due to the surface finish - hence the massive wall thickness which leaves plenty of scope for porting work
Towards the end, the RV8 was cast at Hydro (formerly West Yorks Foundries) in Leeds, alongside the 6.75L Rolls-Royce block... now that is a BIG lump! A lot of the ancillaries were cast at Metal Castings in Wolverhampton/Worcester and some bits, as well as parts of TVRs own-design engines, at Sarginsons in Coventry... who also did parts for the Rolls engine.

So now you know

[gromit wedge]

The RV8 dates from the pre-CADCAM era and right to the end of production the blocks and heads were sandcast rather than diecast... which means huge amounts of alloy that can cope with the thermal cycling. Modern engines are designed using 'thin-wall' techniques to save material (and weight) with the resultant intolerance of overheating - witness the number of cracked cylinder heads you get these days.
I suspect the inlet manifold and most of the plenum parts were also sandcast due to the surface finish - hence the massive wall thickness which leaves plenty of scope for porting work
Towards the end, the RV8 was cast at Hydro (formerly West Yorks Foundries) in Leeds, alongside the 6.75L Rolls-Royce block... now that is a BIG lump! A lot of the ancillaries were cast at Metal Castings in Wolverhampton/Worcester and some bits, as well as parts of TVRs own-design engines, at Sarginsons in Coventry... who also did parts for the Rolls engine.

So now you know
[/quote]

It looks like the engine is fine with no damage after driving it with no fan belt. I think you are right in what you say as a modern engine would be cooked if driven whilst overheating.