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Conquest and Century engine numbers

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Richardthwaites
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Oct 06, 2018 5:53 am
Location: Canberra

Conquest and Century engine numbers

Post by Richardthwaites »

I'm trying to untangle the history of a DJ250 Conquest, located in Australia, which was re-built at some point using parts from two vehicles.

The current configuration is apparently a standard Conquest body, though with a Century bootlid (added chrome flashes).

Engine No. 76409
Chassis No. 85295
Body No. 013231

Can anyone tell me whether that engine number is from a Century or a Conquest? It has twin carbs that would suggest a Century, but I'm wondering if just the carbs and manifold were substituted.

Richard

Fossil
Wise Man
Wise Man
Posts: 516
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 5:08 pm
Location: Helensburgh, Argyll

Re: Conquest and Century engine numbers

Post by Fossil »

Richard

Having done this once, and only once, many moons ago I can give you a note about the fitting of a Century twin SU inlet manifold to a Conquest engine, and also the twin Century exhaust manifolds if those have also been fitted together with the 2 into 1 downpipe. This is not as simple a conversion as you might think because the manifold studs on the Century alloy head are spaced further apart to allow for slightly larger Century inlet and exhaust ports. However it is possible to open out the stud holes of the inlet and exhaust manifolds with round files to enable the Century manifolds to be fitted to the Conquest cast iron head, using Conquest gaskets. The exhaust manifold holes taken longer to do, being iron and not aluminium!

Of course due to the different size of the ports there is inevitably a step between each manifold port and its cylinder head port, about which not much can be done unless you wish to open out the cast iron ports of the conquest head slightly, which will not be possile without removing the head from the engine. You might think that it would be better to fit the Century head to the Conquest block, but I don't know whether this is possible, and I suspect it is not, because the head studs are not be in the same positions.

Nor do I know whether it is possible to replace a Conquest camshaft with the higher lift Century cam. However I do just happen to have a complete spare used Conquest engine which nobody seems to want, and one of these days I may dismantle it to find out the definitive answer to those intriguing questions.

Having done all the above stud hole work and fitted the manifolds and associated carbs and downpipe the result is a slight but definite improvement in the behaviour of the car, if my memory serves me well. But this is not what you wish to know; from your point of view if you find evidence of that work done to the manifolds you will have answered your question. I think that the simplest way to do this without having to completely remove both SUs would be to remove the air cleaner from the carbs, and remove one or two of the most easily accessible inlet manifold top nuts. You may then find that the stud holes have been opened out.

Alternatively and more simply, is the cylinder head made of cast iron or aluminium? Much easier to do.

Best regards

Fossil

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