[DaimLan] Daimler 2,5 V8 really slow i acceleration, is it correct?

DaimLan
1

Hello everyone

I has resently bought a 1966 2,5 V8 that has only run 44500km since
new! One owner from 1972-2011. All papers since new. (The former
owner passed away in december so I bought the car from his children)
He has mainly spent his time caring about the car and not driving.
No rust what so ever and I very good condition.

It is very quick to put in the 3:d gear. At only 20km/h and maybe
1000rpm it easily puts in the 3:d gear and then the acceleration is
not so good…Yeah even if I put it in D1 it wants to quickly
select the third gear. Of course I can maually choose the L but it
some way takes away the smooth ride shifting the car ‘‘manually’’.

It runs well but might be misfirng but it is hard to tell. I have
tried to take away one sparklead at a time but it�s not so easy to
hear any difference. And I also get some electricity in my fingers!

The sparkplugs all have the same nice colours and the fuelmixture
seems to be ok. (The carburators has been restored and kept after a
lot with new seals and so on. He turned the key every month to let
the fuelpump fill up the carbs with fresh fuels also)

In the sparkplugholes there seems to be some ‘‘preservation-oil’’?
(The formar owner was obsessed of preserving everything on the car.
Oil on everything and plastic on all doors protecting the ‘‘leather’’
and so on) Could this be a problem with the spark beeing
grounded/lead throug the oil and weakened that way?

How does your cars run? There are not so many of these cars in
sweden so it�s not so easy to compare against any other.

When I ‘‘free rev’’ the engine with no gear selected it sounds very
fresh and willig to rev. A lovely sound!

I�had a old retired proffessional Jaguar MK2 workshopowner look
ower the whole car. (At the time he had 3 MK2 in his shop!) He had
been working with these cars all his life but this was only the
second time he came across a Daimler 2,5 V8! He thought that the
engine was running fine but it indead was not very quick compared
to the different MK2�s he was used to (He owns a MK2 340 himselfe
right now) Yes I�m aware that MK2.s with 3,4 and 3,8 has 210-225Hp.

But mine still feels really tired.

The steering is also quite loose in the ‘‘steeringbox’’. Can it be
adjusted?–
Skogstomten
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2

I have two V8s, both left hand drive. The 2.5-V8 has the Model 35 auto
transmission and my V-8 250 has a manual overdrive. I experienced the same
slow acceleration in my 2.5, and I tracked it down to dragging brakes caused by
one or more collapsed rubber brake hoses. The V8 is a little underpowered
compared to the 3.4 and 3.8 sixes, so the dragging brake was more noticible.
Once those were repaired, it was quite a bit peppier, but still not nearly
as quick as my 3.8 MK2.
Good luck. Bob McAnelly

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3

In reply to a message from Jagdad11@aol.com sent Tue 10 May 2011:

Thank you for the quick response!

I have examined the brakes. The car is really easy to push by hand.
I have also mesured the temperature on the brakediscs after som
40km driving and they are cold. So it is probably not sticking
brakes.–
Skogstomten
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Hi,

It runs well but might be misfirng but it is hard to tell. I have
tried to take away one sparklead at a time but it´s not so easy to
hear any difference. And I also get some electricity in my fingers!

Never try that on a modern car, it could kill you.

The sparkplugs all have the same nice colours and the fuelmixture
seems to be ok. (The carburators has been restored and kept after a
lot with new seals and so on. He turned the key every month to let
the fuelpump fill up the carbs with fresh fuels also)

I don’t think that was a good idea. He pumped up all the fuel and the lighter fraction evaporated leaving the gunge and the additives in the carbs. Probably best to get some carb cleaner and get rid of all the muck.

In the sparkplugholes there seems to be some ‘‘preservation-oil’’?

I expect this is because the copper washers which seal the bottom of the plug tubes to the head are leaking. The tubes should always be dry. If the engine oil is new then it is only a problem when you take out the plugs and it gets into the combustion chamber. Theoretically there could be that danger of the engine ‘hydraulic-ing’ but I have never heard of that happening on a Daimler V8 but why take the chance? Suck up as much as you can then take out one plug at a time and start the engine and allow it to lose it into the exhaust. Never stand behind one of these cars when it starts up. Unless recently restored they tend to leave big black marks on anyone or any other car behind. The valve seals tend to leak a little and the oil collects in the combustion chamber whilst the engine is stationery.

(The formar owner was obsessed of preserving everything on the car.
Oil on everything and plastic on all doors protecting the ‘‘leather’’
and so on) Could this be a problem with the spark beeing
grounded/lead throug the oil and weakened that way?

How does your cars run? There are not so many of these cars in
sweden so it´s not so easy to compare against any other.

My car runs very well. Not as good as my other Daimler which is a supercharged 4 litre model but well enough. It easily gets to a hundred miles per hour in the motorway but acceleration is not great. Looks much nicer than 4 litre too and is the start of many conversations with people admiring the car and telling me their relations used to own them. If yours is a 2.5 V8 rather than V8-250 then you will have a different ratio back axle which should give better acceleration at the expense of top speed. You would also have the thicker bumper where I have the thin one and a dynamo where I have an alternator etc.

When I ‘‘free rev’’ the engine with no gear selected it sounds very
fresh and willig to rev. A lovely sound!

Indeed, and even better with a slight exhaust leak :slight_smile:

I´had a old retired proffessional Jaguar MK2 workshopowner look
ower the whole car. (At the time he had 3 MK2 in his shop!) He had
been working with these cars all his life but this was only the
second time he came across a Daimler 2,5 V8! He thought that the
engine was running fine but it indead was not very quick compared
to the different MK2´s he was used to (He owns a MK2 340 himselfe
right now) Yes I´m aware that MK2.s with 3,4 and 3,8 has 210-225Hp.

But mine still feels really tired.

At one time my fuel pump was on the way out and could not pump fast enough for high speed running, but fast enough to keep the engine running. Just a possibility.

The steering is also quite loose in the ‘‘steeringbox’’. Can it be
adjusted?

Same as jag so ask your local expert. Mine has a later AdWest power steering box.

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5

In reply to a message from Roger Holmes sent Wed 11 May 2011:

The steering column on my 2.5 was loose and the horns kept sounding
when cornering,was the 2 nylon bushes in the column needing
replacing,a steering column out job.–
Vee Ate
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In reply to a message from Jagdad11@aol.com sent Tue 10 May 2011:

In the sparkplugholes there seems to be some ‘‘preservation-oil’’?

This is not preservation oil it is oil seal failure and leakage at
the base of the metal sparking plug tubes.–
DAIMLER : V8 SALOONS SAFELY FAST AND BUILT TO LAST
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