My build thread Monaro VXR
Discussion
So, a few months ago I bought a 6.0 VXR
As with all Monaros it needed a few bits and pieces doing!
My car is a 05 VXR, it has Wortec brakes all round, now on coilovers, headers and few other bits a pieces.
The bushes as usual are all completely shot, so I ordered up some new Pedders. I used the Polytuff bushes from Aus on my previous CV8 but their prices seem to have gone up so it really made no sense dealing with the hassle shipping them in from Aus.
I fitted coilovers back onto the car aswell as my wheels from the CV8. Still need to tweek it, as it is too low on the front and too high on the back!
I have a few plans for the car, I have still got my Comp cam that i was going to be fitting to the CV8 sat in my garage, and luckily with a differant timing chain set I can still use this and all the other parts I bought.
I took the car for a run down to Goodwood breakfast meet (not realising it was the supercar meet and it would be heaving with people)
So I gave the car a clean up, I am normally terrible at cleaning cars, however I conned my sister into giving me a hand with it and I was rather pleased it came up like this!
I am terrible at taking photos so you will have to excuse!
The goodwood trip (apart from driving it home when it was bought) was the longest trip I have done it. Tons of traffic and bloody hot weather so I was pleased to find the AC blows super cold.
Since then however the alternator died, annoying as it is only 8 months old. So that is off being tested and should be replaced under warranty which is a nice change!
Once its back then I will get onto sorting all the suspension bushes and ride height.
I have to get passed both my sisters getting married this year then Ill be fitting the cam to this car hopefully before the end of summer!
As with all Monaros it needed a few bits and pieces doing!
My car is a 05 VXR, it has Wortec brakes all round, now on coilovers, headers and few other bits a pieces.
The bushes as usual are all completely shot, so I ordered up some new Pedders. I used the Polytuff bushes from Aus on my previous CV8 but their prices seem to have gone up so it really made no sense dealing with the hassle shipping them in from Aus.
I fitted coilovers back onto the car aswell as my wheels from the CV8. Still need to tweek it, as it is too low on the front and too high on the back!
I have a few plans for the car, I have still got my Comp cam that i was going to be fitting to the CV8 sat in my garage, and luckily with a differant timing chain set I can still use this and all the other parts I bought.
I took the car for a run down to Goodwood breakfast meet (not realising it was the supercar meet and it would be heaving with people)
So I gave the car a clean up, I am normally terrible at cleaning cars, however I conned my sister into giving me a hand with it and I was rather pleased it came up like this!
I am terrible at taking photos so you will have to excuse!
The goodwood trip (apart from driving it home when it was bought) was the longest trip I have done it. Tons of traffic and bloody hot weather so I was pleased to find the AC blows super cold.
Since then however the alternator died, annoying as it is only 8 months old. So that is off being tested and should be replaced under warranty which is a nice change!
Once its back then I will get onto sorting all the suspension bushes and ride height.
I have to get passed both my sisters getting married this year then Ill be fitting the cam to this car hopefully before the end of summer!
Its been a while since i updated this thread!
The car has been sat in my garage for a while. My alternator packed up but luckily this was still under warranty as it was only a few months old.
So i stripped the old one of the car and sent it to the supplier who provided the parts and they sent me a replacement, took a little while as it had to come in from the states but very pleased that the supplier honored the guarantee even though it was the previous owner who bought the part!
I got the alternator fitted then took the car up to my friends garage, which is Superduper Garage in Basingstoke.
I stripped the car down to do the cam swap, im ok with spanners but had a deal with the head mechanic up there that any bits I could not do (more like the bits i didnt want to screw up) he would do! I realised during this I only took one photograph!
So here is a picture of it just before I started to remove the oil pump. The oil pump pickup bolt is a pain to get to and in the end I dropped the sump as much as I could whilst keeping the bolts in to give me access.
The swap went rather smoothly, I fitted the new camshaft which is a 231/237 Street Inc grind made by Comp Cam, the old camshaft that cam out barely had any wear and all the cam bearings looked perfect in the motor despite having 90k + miles
Next on I fitted a new SLP ported oil pump and double row timing gearset, finished up the rest of the gaskets and bolted it all back together. I also had a set of PAC valve springs that I fitted along with new pushrods.
The swap went relatively smoothly, I didnt like the idea of fitting the new cam but using the water pump bolts as a grip it actually slid in rather easily, one panic moment was when the valve spring tool bolt snapped clean off in the cylinder, I thought it was game over but James at the garage managed to remove it with ease!
Bolted everything back up together and turned the car over for a while to try and get the oil moving about and after that it started first time, even without the map itll sit and idle perfectly. Yesterday dropped the car off for mapping so fingers crossed for a good hp figure!
Heres a little video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9ddO7M_pE8
I followed this guide which was a great help
http://www.ls1howto.com/?article=23
The car has been sat in my garage for a while. My alternator packed up but luckily this was still under warranty as it was only a few months old.
So i stripped the old one of the car and sent it to the supplier who provided the parts and they sent me a replacement, took a little while as it had to come in from the states but very pleased that the supplier honored the guarantee even though it was the previous owner who bought the part!
I got the alternator fitted then took the car up to my friends garage, which is Superduper Garage in Basingstoke.
I stripped the car down to do the cam swap, im ok with spanners but had a deal with the head mechanic up there that any bits I could not do (more like the bits i didnt want to screw up) he would do! I realised during this I only took one photograph!
So here is a picture of it just before I started to remove the oil pump. The oil pump pickup bolt is a pain to get to and in the end I dropped the sump as much as I could whilst keeping the bolts in to give me access.
The swap went rather smoothly, I fitted the new camshaft which is a 231/237 Street Inc grind made by Comp Cam, the old camshaft that cam out barely had any wear and all the cam bearings looked perfect in the motor despite having 90k + miles
Next on I fitted a new SLP ported oil pump and double row timing gearset, finished up the rest of the gaskets and bolted it all back together. I also had a set of PAC valve springs that I fitted along with new pushrods.
The swap went relatively smoothly, I didnt like the idea of fitting the new cam but using the water pump bolts as a grip it actually slid in rather easily, one panic moment was when the valve spring tool bolt snapped clean off in the cylinder, I thought it was game over but James at the garage managed to remove it with ease!
Bolted everything back up together and turned the car over for a while to try and get the oil moving about and after that it started first time, even without the map itll sit and idle perfectly. Yesterday dropped the car off for mapping so fingers crossed for a good hp figure!
Heres a little video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9ddO7M_pE8
I followed this guide which was a great help
http://www.ls1howto.com/?article=23
Greg VXR said:
Ro looks good, I have a std ride height peddars on mine and it grounds out sometimes, how do you get on with that low-ness?
To be honest, fine. The front is still a little low and the back is still a little high!Mot ramps, rollers, my garage is on quite a steep drive all of which havent had much of a problem
SturdyHSV said:
Listened on headphones. Awesome 
Get it idling lower (I appreciate that was with stock tune), will sound fookin' epic!
Yep, had it mapped, the idle is too high now so that needs to be lowered.Get it idling lower (I appreciate that was with stock tune), will sound fookin' epic!
Power figures that came out im a little disappointed by, to be honest ill get it tuned again, i just got a little impatient not being able to drive it!
It put down 450hp & 480fblt, which is stock LS2 6.0, aas headers and the cam. The torque figure im happy with, just not the HP
On the RR the car did have one exhaust that had fallen off (crappy rusted clamp) and a cam sensor fault (which i have ordered a replacement!)
Edited by Phillphill on Monday 12th September 10:21
Greg VXR said:
Phillphill said:
To be honest, fine. The front is still a little low and the back is still a little high!
Mot ramps, rollers, my garage is on quite a steep drive all of which havent had much of a problem
Interesting.....maybe Roger should have convinced me to get coil overs or the lower peddars kit then Mot ramps, rollers, my garage is on quite a steep drive all of which havent had much of a problem
I wont say give the best handling as a monaro isnt really a handling car but the ride was night and day...
SturdyHSV said:
Are they mapping it with HP Tuners? I struggled with EFI Live to find the right tables to modify to lower the idle. The live control works fine and it'll happily idle much lower than stock, but despite setting the desired idle tables etc. it wouldn't even consider dropping to it... Bit weird.
Anyway...
You said stock LS2, AAS headers and the cam. So you mean stock intake manifold? Looks like it is based on earlier pictures. If so, I'd wager this is your bottleneck. The stock LS2 manifold is the worst of the whole LS range. Are you revving it high enough for that cam? It is a big old cam, if it's only going up to 6,300 or so, you're probably not getting up it enough. I'd imagine the intake manifold will be even more of a restriction at that sort of rpm too.
I'm sure you're way ahead of me here but it may be worth considering valve train upgrades to allow you to actually make use of that cam's power band, as it's going to get a lot more exciting around 6-7k and the standard top end isn't designed to flow well up there
Either way, it'll sound frickin' awesome
As soon as that idle is lowered, please post another video, 10* of overlap is plenty for a proper idle 
Yea they used EFI Live,Anyway...
You said stock LS2, AAS headers and the cam. So you mean stock intake manifold? Looks like it is based on earlier pictures. If so, I'd wager this is your bottleneck. The stock LS2 manifold is the worst of the whole LS range. Are you revving it high enough for that cam? It is a big old cam, if it's only going up to 6,300 or so, you're probably not getting up it enough. I'd imagine the intake manifold will be even more of a restriction at that sort of rpm too.
I'm sure you're way ahead of me here but it may be worth considering valve train upgrades to allow you to actually make use of that cam's power band, as it's going to get a lot more exciting around 6-7k and the standard top end isn't designed to flow well up there
Either way, it'll sound frickin' awesome
As soon as that idle is lowered, please post another video, 10* of overlap is plenty for a proper idle Yep, intake manifold will be changing soon and cylinder heads at some point when either me or family go to the states
I just got impatient and wanted to drive the thing!
Looking around at intake manifolds and what to get, I know the FAST intakes are pretty much the best, but its really getting my head round the cost. Those things are not cheap.
The electric TB is another pain, presuming from my reading that most upgrade the intake then port the stock TB as it is 90mm already.
mikeyb1987 said:
It may be worth considering LS3 heads and intake. The cost of an LS2 FAST intake would go quite some way to getting the LS3 top end. They flow well out of the box and would suit your cam spec.
Interesting how LS3 heads are fairly well priced, a set of ported heads even from Summit inc valves are just under $600 a side, mmmm!Any advantage in say ported LS3 heads against a ported set of 243 LS2 heads or say even LS2 PRC heads?
Yep, so I am on the hunt for new cylinder heads and intake.
To be honest it will be a little budget directed (as with everything), so if I find a good deal using LS2 heads like PRC or TSP and intake over LS3 then ill stick with LS2 heads.
I dont want to build a N/A monster just something that does improve the engine but also does give options if I do go supercharged at some point. Hence the choice in cam as it works well in both applications
Intake wise I think it is just going to be simpler to go for a Fast 102, in november my brother in law is heading back over to Vegas so it maybe another time for shopping....
Now I have had a chance to drive the car it really pulls strong, a BIG difference to how it was before. 3k up you really start to feel the torque. Rev limit is a bit high for my liking as itll pull 70mph in 2nd with needle nearing 7k, but that just maybe me being cautious!
Showed a clean set of heals to a flappy paddle E90 M3, so a big improvement to my heavy turd.
I will get the car on Surrey Rolling Road at somepoint too
Anyway, picture time...
I went to Players show at the weekend with my friend, it has a bad reputation but there are some interesting cars that go
Im terrible at cleaning cars and doing it at 1am in the morning isnt fun either, but atleast I think it came up well this time.
Still a few things to do on the car, I really need to spend a day underneath cleaning it up and also the engine bay as it is a little tatty.
My friends Porsche makes my car look huge
To be honest it will be a little budget directed (as with everything), so if I find a good deal using LS2 heads like PRC or TSP and intake over LS3 then ill stick with LS2 heads.
I dont want to build a N/A monster just something that does improve the engine but also does give options if I do go supercharged at some point. Hence the choice in cam as it works well in both applications
Intake wise I think it is just going to be simpler to go for a Fast 102, in november my brother in law is heading back over to Vegas so it maybe another time for shopping....
Now I have had a chance to drive the car it really pulls strong, a BIG difference to how it was before. 3k up you really start to feel the torque. Rev limit is a bit high for my liking as itll pull 70mph in 2nd with needle nearing 7k, but that just maybe me being cautious!
Showed a clean set of heals to a flappy paddle E90 M3, so a big improvement to my heavy turd.
I will get the car on Surrey Rolling Road at somepoint too
Anyway, picture time...
I went to Players show at the weekend with my friend, it has a bad reputation but there are some interesting cars that go
Im terrible at cleaning cars and doing it at 1am in the morning isnt fun either, but atleast I think it came up well this time.
Still a few things to do on the car, I really need to spend a day underneath cleaning it up and also the engine bay as it is a little tatty.
My friends Porsche makes my car look huge
Edited by Phillphill on Monday 19th September 15:22
Edited by Phillphill on Monday 19th September 15:23
Edited by Phillphill on Monday 19th September 15:24
Again its about time I should update this thread!
I got bored of the oval pipes on the exhaust so I had my friends garage change them for some straight duals on either side.
Now the have blackend up a bit with the fumes they look great.
I never realized that the Wortec tips were baffled, so the car is louder now and has a much edgier note which I love
Once a year my brother in law and sister go to America for a few of the geeky computer conferences in Las Vegas, last time they went I got my camshaft kit shipped to them to bring back for me, as it saves so much in tax!
This year I got a little carried away with the black friday sales and ended up ordering my bucket list of parts.
I got some really good deals.
I first found some used Dart heads, with 2k use, they were pretty good and fully cnc ported
So I picked up a fast 102, billet lines, ls7 lifters and trays, also some new BTR dual springs with TI retainers
I also managed to pick up a new air filter set up, I went with the XAIR kit from NZ which had just arrived in America. Its HUGE, quality of it is really good and all the reviews of these seem to be rather impressive
As I am going to be changing the clutch at the same time I ordered the rear oil cover gasket and rear main oil seal
I hunted for a new slave cylinder but couldnt get one in time, I was going to use the F-body cylinder and change the fittings however I called Summit and they were expecting a shipment in of new Gto cylinders for $70 so went for those. Now i just need to order a few bits from MF and rip the poor car completely apart
No idea what power to expect but im sure ill be happy with it and hopefully I can get it all done in time for the SRR meet!
I got bored of the oval pipes on the exhaust so I had my friends garage change them for some straight duals on either side.
Now the have blackend up a bit with the fumes they look great.
I never realized that the Wortec tips were baffled, so the car is louder now and has a much edgier note which I love
Once a year my brother in law and sister go to America for a few of the geeky computer conferences in Las Vegas, last time they went I got my camshaft kit shipped to them to bring back for me, as it saves so much in tax!
This year I got a little carried away with the black friday sales and ended up ordering my bucket list of parts.
I got some really good deals.
I first found some used Dart heads, with 2k use, they were pretty good and fully cnc ported
So I picked up a fast 102, billet lines, ls7 lifters and trays, also some new BTR dual springs with TI retainers
I also managed to pick up a new air filter set up, I went with the XAIR kit from NZ which had just arrived in America. Its HUGE, quality of it is really good and all the reviews of these seem to be rather impressive
As I am going to be changing the clutch at the same time I ordered the rear oil cover gasket and rear main oil seal
I hunted for a new slave cylinder but couldnt get one in time, I was going to use the F-body cylinder and change the fittings however I called Summit and they were expecting a shipment in of new Gto cylinders for $70 so went for those. Now i just need to order a few bits from MF and rip the poor car completely apart
No idea what power to expect but im sure ill be happy with it and hopefully I can get it all done in time for the SRR meet!
Edited by Phillphill on Sunday 1st January 16:47
mfp4073 said:
That is a lovely looking Monaro you have,I would love to get mine to a similar spec....one day!
I have to say that when I saw the picture of your XAIR filter I was a bit concerned about the jar of mint jelly and apple sauce! I think they would screw up your MAF sensor. Better off with some proper cleaning fluid.
John
I have to say that when I saw the picture of your XAIR filter I was a bit concerned about the jar of mint jelly and apple sauce! I think they would screw up your MAF sensor. Better off with some proper cleaning fluid.
John
You can see my priorities, food and car parts!!
Decided tonight to build up my cylinder heads
I needed to replace the springs as my cam is .595 lift and the springs that were in the heads have done a few thousand and are a .600 lift.
First I needed to take off the existing springs, valve seats and locators
Relatively simple
Once all the springs are off its just some pliers to remove the seals and locators
I went with the BTR dual springs with Titanium retainers as the were on a really good black friday deal
When using the dual springs the valve spring locators need to be changed to stop the inner spring binding.
Unfortunately mine are the wrong size, somewhere along the line I have been sent the wrong size. BTR were great to chat to and have sent another set out in the correct size, cant fault them apart from the shipping charges at 60$!!
Whilst I am waiting atleast I can get the heads cleaned up nice
I needed to replace the springs as my cam is .595 lift and the springs that were in the heads have done a few thousand and are a .600 lift.
First I needed to take off the existing springs, valve seats and locators
Relatively simple
Once all the springs are off its just some pliers to remove the seals and locators
I went with the BTR dual springs with Titanium retainers as the were on a really good black friday deal
When using the dual springs the valve spring locators need to be changed to stop the inner spring binding.
Unfortunately mine are the wrong size, somewhere along the line I have been sent the wrong size. BTR were great to chat to and have sent another set out in the correct size, cant fault them apart from the shipping charges at 60$!!
Whilst I am waiting atleast I can get the heads cleaned up nice
Boosted LS1 said:
Be certain the retainers are wider then the springs by a proper amount. I've come across one race engine where the outer spring ended up outside the retainer with only the inner spring doing it's job. It was a failure about to happen.
Not good!Edited by Boosted LS1 on Wednesday 4th January 20:26
Yep, checked out all the rest of the setup incase any other parts had been picked out incorrectly!
Must say the BTR kit is miles better quality then my previous PAC spring set
So more progress and more wrong parts....
Finally got sent the right seals so I got the heads finished up. Annoying I didnt take a picture of them fully cleaned up
So made sure I had everything I needed to start tearing the car apart, luckily my friends has allocated me a spot in his garage to work on the car
So got the heads off and the lifters out, pistons are super black because the car has been moved in and out of a garage for about two weeks
Old lifters out, the main reason for going this far with the engine is I was driving home one evening and it started knocking badly! It sounded like a lifter had shat itself so I parked the car for a few days as I couldnt bear to look at it.
Popped the rocker covers off and it turned out to be a loose rocker, still wanted to make sure nothing else had happened and for peace of mind replace the lot!
So new lifter trays in with new GM lifters
Popped the new heads on..
Whilst I had the headers off I had them coated in a high temp powder coat, will see how long it lasts...
Both heads on, I hadnt swapped the valley gasket out just yet
Valley plate fitted, when running the Fast intake you have to swap out the bolts for dome heads to allow for clearance, customs had ripped apart all the bolt packs that when I recieved my parcel they were all floating around, so ended up losing a few and having to improvise, also managed to arrive with 7 intake seals instead of 8!
Mocked fitted the intake with the fuel rails, annoyingly I have been sent LS1 rail fitting kit instead of a LS2 set up, so my injectors are dangling freely as they are no where near the injector ports! So just waiting for that to be sorted out
The fast is a nice bit of kit, theres a couple of things that have to be done before fitting but its all simple!
One thing that has happened is the fittings for the tb have started to pull out of the manifold so that is something that needs addressing....
I have also got to get hold of a pushrod length checker, interestingly the new lifters that GM supply (LS7) are indenitcal sizes however the pushrod seat is .0.50 higher then a stock LS2 lifter, when tightening down my rockers they felt wrong, so I think i need to order up some shorter rods but dont want to be ordering 3 sets!
Finally got sent the right seals so I got the heads finished up. Annoying I didnt take a picture of them fully cleaned up
So made sure I had everything I needed to start tearing the car apart, luckily my friends has allocated me a spot in his garage to work on the car
So got the heads off and the lifters out, pistons are super black because the car has been moved in and out of a garage for about two weeks
Old lifters out, the main reason for going this far with the engine is I was driving home one evening and it started knocking badly! It sounded like a lifter had shat itself so I parked the car for a few days as I couldnt bear to look at it.
Popped the rocker covers off and it turned out to be a loose rocker, still wanted to make sure nothing else had happened and for peace of mind replace the lot!
So new lifter trays in with new GM lifters
Popped the new heads on..
Whilst I had the headers off I had them coated in a high temp powder coat, will see how long it lasts...
Both heads on, I hadnt swapped the valley gasket out just yet
Valley plate fitted, when running the Fast intake you have to swap out the bolts for dome heads to allow for clearance, customs had ripped apart all the bolt packs that when I recieved my parcel they were all floating around, so ended up losing a few and having to improvise, also managed to arrive with 7 intake seals instead of 8!
Mocked fitted the intake with the fuel rails, annoyingly I have been sent LS1 rail fitting kit instead of a LS2 set up, so my injectors are dangling freely as they are no where near the injector ports! So just waiting for that to be sorted out
The fast is a nice bit of kit, theres a couple of things that have to be done before fitting but its all simple!
One thing that has happened is the fittings for the tb have started to pull out of the manifold so that is something that needs addressing....
I have also got to get hold of a pushrod length checker, interestingly the new lifters that GM supply (LS7) are indenitcal sizes however the pushrod seat is .0.50 higher then a stock LS2 lifter, when tightening down my rockers they felt wrong, so I think i need to order up some shorter rods but dont want to be ordering 3 sets!
Edited by Phillphill on Friday 27th January 11:01
Again I havent updated this in ages
I had to wait a while for parts and also actually getting time to work on the car.
Turned out my pushrods were actually the right length, it was more a case turning the car over by hand and letting the lifters settle.
One thing that happened was I actually snapped both my rocker stands, so had to order a set of those. With the dart heads you have to grind a small amount of the locators on the rocker stands..
Mud - your pushrod checker will be on its way back!
The issue with the throttle body mounting points was sorted out by Fast very swiftly. They really are a great company and sent out via special delivery a whole new top to the intake manifold.
Moving on from there, I made my new fuel lines and bolted everything back together.
The car needs a damn good clean, especially the engine bay.
Time came to start it, I let the fuel system prime and checked all the fittings about 50 times, tried to get as much oil pressure as possible before firing the car up and it first turn.
Its running mega rich as it needs mapping and also I will be running no mass air flow sensor.
Next jobs are to install the wideband sensor and fit the new clutch, Luis Sola from Aus will be mapping the car remotely so cannot wait to get started on that.
Here is a short video of it running
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9UqaUYvaN8
Specs are now
6.0 LS2
AAS Mid length Headers
Sports Cats
Wortec Exhaust
Ported Dart Pro1 heads
BTR Dual springs
Fast 102 intake
Stock TB
Speedinc SI5 Cam
Not sure on power, to be honest Ill be happy aslong as the car is running right. I just want to make it more lairy as I find it a little tame
I had to wait a while for parts and also actually getting time to work on the car.
Turned out my pushrods were actually the right length, it was more a case turning the car over by hand and letting the lifters settle.
One thing that happened was I actually snapped both my rocker stands, so had to order a set of those. With the dart heads you have to grind a small amount of the locators on the rocker stands..
Mud - your pushrod checker will be on its way back!
The issue with the throttle body mounting points was sorted out by Fast very swiftly. They really are a great company and sent out via special delivery a whole new top to the intake manifold.
Moving on from there, I made my new fuel lines and bolted everything back together.
The car needs a damn good clean, especially the engine bay.
Time came to start it, I let the fuel system prime and checked all the fittings about 50 times, tried to get as much oil pressure as possible before firing the car up and it first turn.
Its running mega rich as it needs mapping and also I will be running no mass air flow sensor.
Next jobs are to install the wideband sensor and fit the new clutch, Luis Sola from Aus will be mapping the car remotely so cannot wait to get started on that.
Here is a short video of it running
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9UqaUYvaN8
Specs are now
6.0 LS2
AAS Mid length Headers
Sports Cats
Wortec Exhaust
Ported Dart Pro1 heads
BTR Dual springs
Fast 102 intake
Stock TB
Speedinc SI5 Cam
Not sure on power, to be honest Ill be happy aslong as the car is running right. I just want to make it more lairy as I find it a little tame
I noticed photobucket has decided to be pricks about third party sharing so all the photos I will sort out!
Update on the car....
So the car was up and running well.
Spent the morning at SRR with Luis Sola sorting the final tuning. The car did well and put down 409rwhp.
A few more logs and we decided that because it would not take any more advance on the timing that the valves were hanging open.
After a couple of checks I had put slightly too long pushrods in.
Changed the pushrods from 7.400 to 7.350 and simply enough the engine was back to how it should be
So we started mapping again this time just on the road doing some datalogs.
On a long pull the engine shut off with a rather loud bang. Zero oil pressure, either the pump gave up or the relief valve stuck open either or the engine is toast!
So out the engine came
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hyz4m6px72r1j9e7e...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e_3rmxburAvyox-Yu...
And I started to tear it down....
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tbibp1-ahe69HPzUT...
This is what came out of the sump
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IclQTdr49Wr01sENi...
What looks three bearings that decided to mate
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iSt-kQa3FMMHV17qI...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blqsV8i4Y8dWCm_0Z...
Basically the crank was written off.
I fell (again) out of love with the car, I didnt want to spend time and effort again on it to bring it back to the same power level but nor did I want to pour thousands back into the car
I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do, either supercharge, buy a stroker engine, nail a old stock engine back in and sell.
I was so close to going a supercharger route but to make it worthwhile I would need to fly to the states and bring all the parts back in a suitcase but then I started to think about fuel systems, clutch etc and the costs can quite easily spiral out of (my) budget.
In the end I have decided to go with a built LS3 with a few add ons.
The spec in the end is a brand new LS3 but built with a 24x reluctor wheel, forged pistons, BTR Cam which is good for .640+ lift and a set of CNC LS3 heads. Hoping it should net quite a gain over the old LS2
Picked up a mega light flywheel to which should help liven it up too!
Luis Sola has been a perfect gentlemen and has agreed to help out with the mapping again and also be on hand for the first start in the car.
Next job is to prep and clean the engine bay, once the engine is in I dont want to have to open the bonnet ever again!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blqsV8i4Y8dWCm_0Z...
Update on the car....
So the car was up and running well.
Spent the morning at SRR with Luis Sola sorting the final tuning. The car did well and put down 409rwhp.
A few more logs and we decided that because it would not take any more advance on the timing that the valves were hanging open.
After a couple of checks I had put slightly too long pushrods in.
Changed the pushrods from 7.400 to 7.350 and simply enough the engine was back to how it should be
So we started mapping again this time just on the road doing some datalogs.
On a long pull the engine shut off with a rather loud bang. Zero oil pressure, either the pump gave up or the relief valve stuck open either or the engine is toast!
So out the engine came
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hyz4m6px72r1j9e7e...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e_3rmxburAvyox-Yu...
And I started to tear it down....
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tbibp1-ahe69HPzUT...
This is what came out of the sump
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IclQTdr49Wr01sENi...
What looks three bearings that decided to mate
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iSt-kQa3FMMHV17qI...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blqsV8i4Y8dWCm_0Z...
Basically the crank was written off.
I fell (again) out of love with the car, I didnt want to spend time and effort again on it to bring it back to the same power level but nor did I want to pour thousands back into the car
I spent a long time trying to figure out what to do, either supercharge, buy a stroker engine, nail a old stock engine back in and sell.
I was so close to going a supercharger route but to make it worthwhile I would need to fly to the states and bring all the parts back in a suitcase but then I started to think about fuel systems, clutch etc and the costs can quite easily spiral out of (my) budget.
In the end I have decided to go with a built LS3 with a few add ons.
The spec in the end is a brand new LS3 but built with a 24x reluctor wheel, forged pistons, BTR Cam which is good for .640+ lift and a set of CNC LS3 heads. Hoping it should net quite a gain over the old LS2
Picked up a mega light flywheel to which should help liven it up too!
Luis Sola has been a perfect gentlemen and has agreed to help out with the mapping again and also be on hand for the first start in the car.
Next job is to prep and clean the engine bay, once the engine is in I dont want to have to open the bonnet ever again!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1blqsV8i4Y8dWCm_0Z...
Realised again...
Haven't put anything on here...
Are forums dying now because of facebook etc?
So updates are....
Received my new engine, it took a few goes mainly because of s
t parts.
Turned out the NEW camshaft I bought was bent, long story but anyhow.
The new engine is a LS3 built with CNC heads, cam, comp lifters, forged pistons (cr in the 11s somwhere) and ARP rod bolts.
I ditched the Fast as I have now swapped away from cathedral heads.
Although its an LS3 I have had it built with 24x reluctor and all LS2 Sensors
The engine made 570hp at around 6500rpm on the engine dyno, yet to tune it so we shall see what it makes in the car.
Whilst the engine was out I decided to clean up most of the accessories
The engine dropped in surprisingly easy, gearbox and clutch bolted on and then just spent a day plumbing it back in.
Had to order a few new parts that I had misplaced when i took the old engine out (because the old engine was so fked I was just tearing it to pieces!)
Everything plugged in it fired first time on the base map from Luis.
Ran up to temp and noticed I hadnt installed the block sump bung. Pain to do when an engine is in the car but not matter it was all done.
Couple of earthing issues but I went through the car fully and solved those issues..
I have just sold the AAS headers and am now awaiting a set of longtubes, I think i will look at making a switchable exhaust for long journeys with the kids in the car.
Once they are bolted up itll be a case of final checks and getting the car ready for mapping.
O I also swapped out the suspension for a set of Pedders. I am just working through the car completely!
This is the only photo i can upload! Are there any better sites for photo hosting>?
Haven't put anything on here...
Are forums dying now because of facebook etc?
So updates are....
Received my new engine, it took a few goes mainly because of s
t parts.Turned out the NEW camshaft I bought was bent, long story but anyhow.
The new engine is a LS3 built with CNC heads, cam, comp lifters, forged pistons (cr in the 11s somwhere) and ARP rod bolts.
I ditched the Fast as I have now swapped away from cathedral heads.
Although its an LS3 I have had it built with 24x reluctor and all LS2 Sensors
The engine made 570hp at around 6500rpm on the engine dyno, yet to tune it so we shall see what it makes in the car.
Whilst the engine was out I decided to clean up most of the accessories
The engine dropped in surprisingly easy, gearbox and clutch bolted on and then just spent a day plumbing it back in.
Had to order a few new parts that I had misplaced when i took the old engine out (because the old engine was so f
ked I was just tearing it to pieces!)Everything plugged in it fired first time on the base map from Luis.
Ran up to temp and noticed I hadnt installed the block sump bung. Pain to do when an engine is in the car but not matter it was all done.
Couple of earthing issues but I went through the car fully and solved those issues..
I have just sold the AAS headers and am now awaiting a set of longtubes, I think i will look at making a switchable exhaust for long journeys with the kids in the car.
Once they are bolted up itll be a case of final checks and getting the car ready for mapping.
O I also swapped out the suspension for a set of Pedders. I am just working through the car completely!
This is the only photo i can upload! Are there any better sites for photo hosting>?
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