My new V8 query
 

Well yesterday i finally took the plunge, much to my wife's annoyance, and bought a 55plate V8260. Moving from my V6190SE was a big step and full of questions, uncertainty and also nervous excitement. Now i admit i know virtually nothing about the big lump under the bonnet and on driving the car back home yesterday afternoon i noticed that driving along normally on motorways, main roads and dual carriageways etc. the temperature gauge was quite low, the needle pointing down and the heater was blowing only warm. However, once parked up with the engine on idle for at least 5 mins the temperature gauge returned to what i would call normal, smack bang in the center and the heater started blowing nice and hot. I was hoping some of you experienced V8 guys might be able to provide an answer to this head scratcher. Sorry if this question has been answered many times before but like i say i am brand new to the V8 world and i dare say i will have many more questions to ask over the coming months.

Needs a thermostat

Hi Dave to be honest i thought thermostat but maybe i was overthinking it and fearing the worst. Are they easy enough to get hold of do you know? Cheers Mark.

The guy i bought the car from said its a new thermostat so it must be the temperature sensor. Dont know.

Sounds like a faulty thermostat if it heats up when stood

It does doesn't it mate to be honest. I'm no expert on the V8 by any means but that basic principle surely applies to all engines.

Go to your local motor factor, give them your reg. no. and they should be able to get one in for you.

Simon

Expecting things not to fail straight out of the box was a reasonable assumption before China industrialised.
Now not so much.

Strangely, I had to buy 3 thermostats (diesel inline thermostat mod) before I found one that worked as it should, each of the failed ones heated to only 68/70 on the IPK, the third one worked as it should, 88 degrees.

First two were Gates ones from a motor factor, third one was a Borg & Beck one.
Chinesium everywhere now.

Additional expertise on the Two-Sixties forum. Also might be worth joining a Mustang forum as engine is a Ford Mustang 2004 year. Can't remember the engine designation, might be a Windsor engine type but the Two-Sixties will have that info in the database of held posts.

Good luck with it.
Kev

For any parts that are common with the Mustang, Crown Vic etc. and can't be found in the UK, I hear https://www.rockauto.com/ is supposed to be good. They are in the US though, so don't forget there will be postage and import fees.

Thank you very much to all you guys who have been kind enough to reply i am excited to finally own one but also slightly apprehensive about what to expect. The chap who i bought the car from gave me a folder with all the service history and receipts for the car some of them going right back to when it was almost new back in 2006 and i noticed there are some from Rock Auto in the States for various bits and pieces. Obviously i hope i won't be needing very many parts for it all being well :}

Try the 260's forum rather than some generic Mustang one https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/mgoc260/html/f0rum/. Might be worth having a word with Chris Flanagan at Retro Sports Cars in Baliff Bridge, West Yorkshire. He's knowledgeable about the V8s, did all the servicing/repairs on mine for the previous owner before I brought it north.

Agreed Chris Flanagan is one of the go to people he knows his stuff. He also works on the SV.
I see your in Tamworth and i understand Nick at Austin Garages burton on trent is also a good place to go to.


As regards Rock auto i was amazed how quick it took to get something. I ordered a MAF sensor on a Wednesday i think, i opted to go for delivery with all import duties already paid upfront and was told it may take about a week for delivery. It arrived on the Saturday.
There is a lot of information and very knowledgeable people on the Two Sixties web site. A lot of people think why do you need a separate web site and have criticised them thinking they think they are better than 75 owners. That's not true it boils down to preservation of these cars. They may share a 75 Bodyshell but that's about where it ends they are a different beast. The two sixties have done a lot to try and obtain certain parts in the past such as shocks and struts.
If the clutch feels heavy thats normal. I hope you enjoy your new purchase.

Thats a useful one mate thanks for that.

Oh mate i absolutely love it. I went out in it last night after work just to get some bits and bobs from the shop and i ended going a little bit further than i needed to! Its just addictive, its the only car i have ever owned where i want to drive along in the dark in the freezing cold with the window open just to hear that sound. To be honest i don't find the clutch or gear change too bad at all.

As for snobbery well there certainly seems to be a lot of that about these days, from the car you drive to the bike you ride to the clothes you wear. When you get to my age, late 50,s you can sort of deal with that. As for me personally well i am definitely not a V8 snob just an ordinary working class bloke who has owned Rovers and MG,s now for 20 years and has decided to invest in a V8 with his own hard earned cash. When i say invest, thats how i look at it , i consider it to be an investment. An enjoyable one :}

That's all most of us are with our cars whatever they be, enthusiasts.
Pleased to hear your loving it. I assume its number 450? The previous owner i understand had owned the car for some time.

Not sure if the OBD works on the dashboard on ours as per the normal 75 i have never tested it but in case you've not come across it i attach a link https://www.youtube.com/shorts/alnYULOLRas

Welcome to V8 ownership Mark. Rock auto are very good, plus the normal bods like Scott and Matt at DMGRS and Rimmers. The club shop also stocks parts which are unique to the V8, rear discs, struts and some R75 springs to name a few. :cool:

Yes mate the previous owner Chris Barrett had it for 14 years and really looked after it. Respect to Chris and his wife Lorna, lovely people, couldn't have bought the car off a nicer bloke.

Thank you for the welcome. Appreciate it. I've already been looking at the basics, engine oil, filters, anti-freeze etc. To see whats available. Chris the previous owner has also given me a boot full of spares, parts bits & pieces even 2 spare wheels.

Clutch should not feel heavy at all. Mine has been light for 9 years now and last year I changed the clutch as the slave was leaking. If you have a heavy clutch you should change the flexy pipes as they can collapse internally. There's only one pipe so the clutch shouldn't feel heavy

Thanks for setting the record straight Jeff (I'm not been sarcastic and quite happy to be corrected when I'm wrong:duh::getmecoat::bowdown:) . I honestly thought it was a common thing i had heard owners say. At least i know for future.
I'm going to use the excuse I've never driven a manual 260.

Not a problem, I helped a guy on a Facebook page who slave cylinder kept popping due to it's heavy clutch. Once he changed the flexy pipe it was lovely and light.
I do many say their 260's clutch are heavy but I've never had that so it is a common thought. If they would only change the flexy pipe it would be better

The upper part of the bodyshell is a 75 but the floor pan is RWD design. The FWD pan was "cut-out" and the RWD pan welded in at Longbridge.
Kev
p.s.
JJay, What area of York?

Hi guys, well I've just been out to the V8 and i have just changed the coolant temperature sensor which i got from DMGRS. Needless to say it hasn't made a scrap of difference to the temperature problem. I started the car from cold and the temperature gauge just doesn't move for ages and then after what seems like an eternity it very slowly starts to creep upwards but only goes up slightly. So i took the car out just for a 15 minute run and it still does not get up to temperature. Only when i got back home and parked up with the engine at idle for another few minutes did the temperature gauge reach its normal position in the centre. Even so my heater is still blowing cold on the drivers side but maybe that is a matrix issue? Does this sound like thermostat or maybe even something more serious?

Well it might be a bad batch of temp senders or thermostats. However, I think they are o.k. as the readings are normal on idle.

Has anything been by-passed?

I would book an appointment with Austin Garages if nothing is obvious and the car will get a real thorough inspection which the findings will probably be detrimental to one's wallet. Always is for mine :shrug:
Kev

detrimental to one's wallet oh dear story of my life with cars! I contacted Chris Flanagan today at Retro Sports Cars in Brighouse and he is confident it is the thermostat that is stuck open. Ordered a new one today so as soon as it comes i will fit it and see if that makes any difference.

Changed the thermostat at the weekend and its not made any difference at all. So it must be just the way it is.

It’s not right, I’ve had three 260s and they all warm up quickly with the temperature needle in the correct position.

Have a check of the heater valve, these are known to fail on the 260, other than that it’s going to be a full check of the cooling system.

Just a thought is the cooling fan running all the time?
The heating system on a 260 is quite complicated, the valve is in front of the windscreen on the left hand side and can cause problems.
Do get over to the 260 Forum as there is a lot of knowledge over there.

Good shout Trikey. Jules did a modified one (from a plumbers supply I believe) and Steve (SCP440) also provides a good pointer with the 3-speed setting issue.
Kev

Thanks lads, the heater valve is where? When i find it what do i look for?

In the plenum in front of the windscreen, remove the wiper arms and the plastic in front of the screen and its above the passengers feet. The pollen filter is in there as well.
Check to see if the actuator is moving when you select different heat settings and it has 3 pipes attached to it.
When you go from ''low'' with the engine hot the pipe that gets hot should change as you increase the temp to ''high''.
It is a bypass valve so hot water is always passing through it and selecting more heat allows some or all of the hot water to enter the heater matrix and as it gets up to the desired heat it goes back into bypassing the heater valve until more heat is needed.
The heating in mine was hit and miss and fitting one of these fixed and returned it to full health https://www.dmgrs.co.uk/collections/...alve-jge000020

Ok mate thanks looks like a process of elimination again although i do hate trying to remove the wiper arms, they have a habit of not wanting to come off!