Monaro Twin Turbo Build...............Eventually
Discussion
Monaro Twin Turbo Build...............Eventually
After talking to a few pistonhead members, you know who you are
i have been persuaded to post up details of my monaro so far.
So to start with, the car is a 2004 Vauxhall Monaro CV8 which has a T56 manual gearbox and a 5.7 litre V8 (LS1). I purchased the car in January 2009 as a 22nd birthday present to myself, yes i know how sad. I then joined this forum and thats when it all began.
I fitted a set of AP racing brakes and a ripshifter after scaring myself due to the very poor standard brakes.
After having the car serviced i was informed that 3 of my wheels had minor dents in them, so after alot of head scratching and searching my friend convinced me on a set of 18” Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2S alloys, which at the time was a good idea. Team Dynamics caused me loads of issues but this was mainly down to them getting my order wrong and then ignoring what me and a specialist was telling them. Got the wheels exactly how i ordered them but it took Team Dynamics 4 attempts and over 6 months to manufacture and deliver.
It started i suppose with firstly with the Performance Vauxhall Show, where i met the a few monaro and ute owners, in particular BonnieandClyde, mym8v8, and tiger_kpt. I was then convinced to run up the ¼ which i did and did a 15 or so second run, poor i know but it was the first time that id ever drag raced, and i was hooked. I will find the slip and post it up.
I then attended Shakey’s for a forum drag day, and realised that bonnieandclyde and me were closely matched and after the performance Vauxhall show where she beat me by 0.1 of a second i needed a rematch, i think that ended badly and she beat me again
I then attended Surrey rolling road where the car again for a forum event and the car wasn’t running right, in a way this was good as it meant that i had less power then bonnieandclyde so her win wasn’t so big, but it was something that needed to be sorted. I later found, well actually tinker-27 spotted that my intake pipe had deformed for some reason just after the maf, which i then sorted and the car was running better.
Oh yeah just before surrey rolling road the diff developed a leak, so with the help of mym8v8 who assessed it the night before the event we came to the conclusion that it was minor and that it was safe to drive the car.
I then attended a forum standing mile event called thunder road, i managed a speed of 145mph in a standing mile which wasn’t too bad.
Over Christmas the first major set of mods were done, this was to fully polybush the suspension and fit adjustable anti roll bars and coilovers. These mods made a huge improvement to the handling, but lowered the car nicely.
The next major event was thunder road again, i had also just purchased EFI Live so i can map the ecu myself and then plan was to get some high speed data logging done from the standing mile event. This unfortunately didn’t happen as i suffered major problems during the event. The result of this major problem led to the twin turbo build. I only did 3 or 4 runs at thunder road, ive forgotten now, but basically i thought that i suffered some clutch slip on my second to last run whilst racing Monkfish1 (one of the main men at Monkfish Performance), i then let everything cool down and decided to risk a few more runs. This was a big mistake as the ¼ was good and i ran a 13.7, a new personal best but unfortunately i lost drive at the end of the mile, i was racing magic919. I managed to coast on the return road and pull over before being towed into the pits, after a brief discussion with monkfish1 and a few other experienced owners the conclusion was that i had blown the gearbox up good and proper and not just cooked the clutch. I then got picked up by a nice man in a big yellow truck who got me home.
After eventually fighting the gearbox and getting it pulled with the help of family and friends, i managed to get it half stripped. I struggled to get the countershaft out, and after speaking to some experienced builders in the states they couldn’t understand why it wasn’t coming out. I then managed to convince Andy Frost to have a quick look as mym8v8 knows him very well and even though Andy does autos he was the only gearbox company that i contacted that was willing to help me out. He managed to pull the countershaft ¾ way out with a slide hammer and alot of effort but told me that the box was scrap. When i got the box back i decided that i had nothing to lose and with alot of fighting and pulling on a slide hammer got the countershaft out. Yep, frosty was right the countershaft was totally screwed, i managed to get the parts priced up from the states but was quoted around £1800 shipped and taxed just in parts. I also tried to source a used box but all the big breakers in the states apparently had no gearboxes for sale which i don’t believe, i did manage to convince Monkfish Performance to sell me a spare box they had outright. I also fitted a twin plate clutch and braided clutch line. After getting the box in i and started to bleed the clutch, my brother noticed that the slave was leaking, and my heart sank. We had spent the best part of a weekend fitting the new clutch and box and it all needed to come out. The only problem was that i was busy and so was my friend who was helping me, so a tow truck was arranged and the car went to dyno torque for the box to be pulled and the leak to be sorted. I did this as dyno torque is an LS series specialist and i thought that my slave might be shot, so i would need another one and it was quicker for Craig at Dyno Torque to source one.
I got the car back and all was fine, well sort of and i think the end needs a bit of attention as the diff is clunking a bit, the monaro diff’s do clunk a fair bit so hopefully nothing an oil change can’t sort. Well anyway i then purchased most of an APS twin turbo kit at a very good price from a forum member who upgraded with custom headers and bigger turbos, thanks crisisjez
I also attended an Aston Martin Chairty event for the Umbrella charity, and an Ace Cafe meet.
The mods so far include:
Fully polybushed suspension
Pedders anti roll bars
Pedders coilovers
Act twin plate clutch
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2S
AP racing brakes
Wortec sport pac
I think thats all the mods so far minus the twin turbo stuff, and the mapping software.
The future plans are fit the twin turbo kit, rework the rear end and get some wider rear tyres, eventually forged internals with a cam, maybe a set of heads and crank the boost up, i also have an Aston Martin Vanquish gearbox which i plan to rehouse in a monaro case and strengthen. Ultimately with around 500rwhp want to run 200mph in Germany, a few people have got close with 500rwhp and standard gears.
I think thats about everything so far, i plan to write a much more detailed blog at a later date, as i also purchased a dodge viper gearbox to use as spares but decided not to rip it apart as i got the vanquish one cheap.
I will add more details and photos in a few days as im sure ive forgotten some important details.
Now for the pictures
First got it
First thunder road
007's door handles trial fitted to prove that omega door handles can be made to fit
getting stuck in the snow
still stuck
getting out of the snow
some style 71 bmw wheels fitted
last thunder road
gearbox out
broken bits
Man with a yellow turck
old fried flywheel
outside dyno torque
Aston Martin charity day
and turbos, i will sort the picture out later
i will add more detail and photos later.
Hope you like this
After talking to a few pistonhead members, you know who you are
i have been persuaded to post up details of my monaro so far.So to start with, the car is a 2004 Vauxhall Monaro CV8 which has a T56 manual gearbox and a 5.7 litre V8 (LS1). I purchased the car in January 2009 as a 22nd birthday present to myself, yes i know how sad. I then joined this forum and thats when it all began.
I fitted a set of AP racing brakes and a ripshifter after scaring myself due to the very poor standard brakes.
After having the car serviced i was informed that 3 of my wheels had minor dents in them, so after alot of head scratching and searching my friend convinced me on a set of 18” Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2S alloys, which at the time was a good idea. Team Dynamics caused me loads of issues but this was mainly down to them getting my order wrong and then ignoring what me and a specialist was telling them. Got the wheels exactly how i ordered them but it took Team Dynamics 4 attempts and over 6 months to manufacture and deliver.
It started i suppose with firstly with the Performance Vauxhall Show, where i met the a few monaro and ute owners, in particular BonnieandClyde, mym8v8, and tiger_kpt. I was then convinced to run up the ¼ which i did and did a 15 or so second run, poor i know but it was the first time that id ever drag raced, and i was hooked. I will find the slip and post it up.
I then attended Shakey’s for a forum drag day, and realised that bonnieandclyde and me were closely matched and after the performance Vauxhall show where she beat me by 0.1 of a second i needed a rematch, i think that ended badly and she beat me again
I then attended Surrey rolling road where the car again for a forum event and the car wasn’t running right, in a way this was good as it meant that i had less power then bonnieandclyde so her win wasn’t so big, but it was something that needed to be sorted. I later found, well actually tinker-27 spotted that my intake pipe had deformed for some reason just after the maf, which i then sorted and the car was running better.
Oh yeah just before surrey rolling road the diff developed a leak, so with the help of mym8v8 who assessed it the night before the event we came to the conclusion that it was minor and that it was safe to drive the car.
I then attended a forum standing mile event called thunder road, i managed a speed of 145mph in a standing mile which wasn’t too bad.
Over Christmas the first major set of mods were done, this was to fully polybush the suspension and fit adjustable anti roll bars and coilovers. These mods made a huge improvement to the handling, but lowered the car nicely.
The next major event was thunder road again, i had also just purchased EFI Live so i can map the ecu myself and then plan was to get some high speed data logging done from the standing mile event. This unfortunately didn’t happen as i suffered major problems during the event. The result of this major problem led to the twin turbo build. I only did 3 or 4 runs at thunder road, ive forgotten now, but basically i thought that i suffered some clutch slip on my second to last run whilst racing Monkfish1 (one of the main men at Monkfish Performance), i then let everything cool down and decided to risk a few more runs. This was a big mistake as the ¼ was good and i ran a 13.7, a new personal best but unfortunately i lost drive at the end of the mile, i was racing magic919. I managed to coast on the return road and pull over before being towed into the pits, after a brief discussion with monkfish1 and a few other experienced owners the conclusion was that i had blown the gearbox up good and proper and not just cooked the clutch. I then got picked up by a nice man in a big yellow truck who got me home.
After eventually fighting the gearbox and getting it pulled with the help of family and friends, i managed to get it half stripped. I struggled to get the countershaft out, and after speaking to some experienced builders in the states they couldn’t understand why it wasn’t coming out. I then managed to convince Andy Frost to have a quick look as mym8v8 knows him very well and even though Andy does autos he was the only gearbox company that i contacted that was willing to help me out. He managed to pull the countershaft ¾ way out with a slide hammer and alot of effort but told me that the box was scrap. When i got the box back i decided that i had nothing to lose and with alot of fighting and pulling on a slide hammer got the countershaft out. Yep, frosty was right the countershaft was totally screwed, i managed to get the parts priced up from the states but was quoted around £1800 shipped and taxed just in parts. I also tried to source a used box but all the big breakers in the states apparently had no gearboxes for sale which i don’t believe, i did manage to convince Monkfish Performance to sell me a spare box they had outright. I also fitted a twin plate clutch and braided clutch line. After getting the box in i and started to bleed the clutch, my brother noticed that the slave was leaking, and my heart sank. We had spent the best part of a weekend fitting the new clutch and box and it all needed to come out. The only problem was that i was busy and so was my friend who was helping me, so a tow truck was arranged and the car went to dyno torque for the box to be pulled and the leak to be sorted. I did this as dyno torque is an LS series specialist and i thought that my slave might be shot, so i would need another one and it was quicker for Craig at Dyno Torque to source one.
I got the car back and all was fine, well sort of and i think the end needs a bit of attention as the diff is clunking a bit, the monaro diff’s do clunk a fair bit so hopefully nothing an oil change can’t sort. Well anyway i then purchased most of an APS twin turbo kit at a very good price from a forum member who upgraded with custom headers and bigger turbos, thanks crisisjez
I also attended an Aston Martin Chairty event for the Umbrella charity, and an Ace Cafe meet.
The mods so far include:
Fully polybushed suspension
Pedders anti roll bars
Pedders coilovers
Act twin plate clutch
Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2S
AP racing brakes
Wortec sport pac
I think thats all the mods so far minus the twin turbo stuff, and the mapping software.
The future plans are fit the twin turbo kit, rework the rear end and get some wider rear tyres, eventually forged internals with a cam, maybe a set of heads and crank the boost up, i also have an Aston Martin Vanquish gearbox which i plan to rehouse in a monaro case and strengthen. Ultimately with around 500rwhp want to run 200mph in Germany, a few people have got close with 500rwhp and standard gears.
I think thats about everything so far, i plan to write a much more detailed blog at a later date, as i also purchased a dodge viper gearbox to use as spares but decided not to rip it apart as i got the vanquish one cheap.
I will add more details and photos in a few days as im sure ive forgotten some important details.
Now for the pictures
First got it
First thunder road
007's door handles trial fitted to prove that omega door handles can be made to fit
getting stuck in the snow
still stuck
getting out of the snow
some style 71 bmw wheels fitted
last thunder road
gearbox out
broken bits
Man with a yellow turck
old fried flywheel
outside dyno torque
Aston Martin charity day
and turbos, i will sort the picture out later
i will add more detail and photos later.
Hope you like this
Egg Chaser said:
Very nice mate, always liked Monaros . Althought if I'm honest, I think the standard wheels looked better
Bookmarked, looks like that could be a erm.. 'interesting' project
I will be changing the wheels next year sometime as i will need more than 235 rubber on the rear. I am thinking bbs LM replicas or m3 csl replica wheels. Althought if I'm honest, I think the standard wheels looked betterBookmarked, looks like that could be a erm.. 'interesting' project
gsd2000 said:
Egg Chaser said:
Very nice mate, always liked Monaros . Althought if I'm honest, I think the standard wheels looked better
Bookmarked, looks like that could be a erm.. 'interesting' project
I will be changing the wheels next year sometime as i will need more than 235 rubber on the rear. I am thinking bbs LM replicas or m3 csl replica wheels. Althought if I'm honest, I think the standard wheels looked betterBookmarked, looks like that could be a erm.. 'interesting' project
at least 9.5 with 285 tyres
ok bit of an update, ive found out that i cant fit the turbos until next summer due to my age and insurance. This isnt too much of an issue as it gives me time to sort out all the other items needed for the build.
I decided to do some cheap mods first, changed the side indicator bulbs and side repeater bulbs
before
after
I also purchased a Hurst shifter lever and knob to fit to my GMM ripshifter base, i personally quite like it and it has reduced the throw slightly
Also picked up a front mount intercooler, 600mm X 300mm X 75mm for the pricey sum of £50 delivered. Im still undecided as to use it, i might make a custom twin in, twin out intercooler using 2 smaller cores
Also picked up a set of Nissan Skyline R32 GTR front seats and rails for £100, they need retriming but the covers zip off, so it shouldnt be too much trouble. Im going to use them as track seats as just by swapping the seats it should shave around 40-50kg off the weight of the car.
Ive got some more photos and things to add which i will do later on today
I decided to do some cheap mods first, changed the side indicator bulbs and side repeater bulbs
before
after
I also purchased a Hurst shifter lever and knob to fit to my GMM ripshifter base, i personally quite like it and it has reduced the throw slightly
Also picked up a front mount intercooler, 600mm X 300mm X 75mm for the pricey sum of £50 delivered. Im still undecided as to use it, i might make a custom twin in, twin out intercooler using 2 smaller cores
Also picked up a set of Nissan Skyline R32 GTR front seats and rails for £100, they need retriming but the covers zip off, so it shouldnt be too much trouble. Im going to use them as track seats as just by swapping the seats it should shave around 40-50kg off the weight of the car.
Ive got some more photos and things to add which i will do later on today
On December 22nd 2010 i ran into a small issue. Pulling the car off the drive i went to select 1st gear and had zero drive, i just got a grinding noise.
Due to other commitments i pulled the gearbox out again with some help from family a few weeks back
This is what i found
The spigot bearing had broken up, luckily though it had not damaged anything else
I have decided to redo the rust proofing and its taken some time to do. I will put some pictures up of the next few weeks of the little jobs that im doing
A picture of my front AP calipers
I have also just purchased a 6.0 VXR prop shaft which is stronger than my current prop due to the increased diameter, and thicker flanges.
I have also ordered a set of 6 line Russell braided brake lines, a custom adjustable master cylinder and a quicktime SFI rated steel bellhousing. The bellhousing has been delayed and wont be here for another 2-3 weeks which is fine as it gives me time to finish off the underside.
Forgot to give an update on the status of the Vanquish box.
I ended up taking the tailhousing off to have a looksy.
The first thing that i noticed what that the top bearing on the countershaft looked like the item off a t56 which has a 2 piece countershaft.
I decided to strip it down upto 6th gear.
What i found was;
- the mainshaft is splined around 6th gear
- the gearbox is single/double synchro
- the mainshaft is 40mm longer, so the same length as a viper mainshaft and would require machining down to fit
- the countershaft is 2 piece
- the mainshaft is also 30 spline
I could have made this box work and it would have been stronger than an uprated 27 spline monaro box, mainly down to the larger stronger mainshaft.
The only items that i didnt like was the fact that it had a 2 piece countershaft, and was only single/double synchro.
I ended up selling the box to another monaro owner who will put it to much better use.
I am going to try to hunt down a z06 vette, chevy ssr, or a cheap viper box for my 32 spline, double/triple synchro, 1 piece countershaft t56 project
So photos of the internals of the vanquish box
Due to other commitments i pulled the gearbox out again with some help from family a few weeks back
This is what i found
The spigot bearing had broken up, luckily though it had not damaged anything else
I have decided to redo the rust proofing and its taken some time to do. I will put some pictures up of the next few weeks of the little jobs that im doing
A picture of my front AP calipers
I have also just purchased a 6.0 VXR prop shaft which is stronger than my current prop due to the increased diameter, and thicker flanges.
I have also ordered a set of 6 line Russell braided brake lines, a custom adjustable master cylinder and a quicktime SFI rated steel bellhousing. The bellhousing has been delayed and wont be here for another 2-3 weeks which is fine as it gives me time to finish off the underside.
Forgot to give an update on the status of the Vanquish box.
I ended up taking the tailhousing off to have a looksy.
The first thing that i noticed what that the top bearing on the countershaft looked like the item off a t56 which has a 2 piece countershaft.
I decided to strip it down upto 6th gear.
What i found was;
- the mainshaft is splined around 6th gear
- the gearbox is single/double synchro
- the mainshaft is 40mm longer, so the same length as a viper mainshaft and would require machining down to fit
- the countershaft is 2 piece
- the mainshaft is also 30 spline
I could have made this box work and it would have been stronger than an uprated 27 spline monaro box, mainly down to the larger stronger mainshaft.
The only items that i didnt like was the fact that it had a 2 piece countershaft, and was only single/double synchro.
I ended up selling the box to another monaro owner who will put it to much better use.
I am going to try to hunt down a z06 vette, chevy ssr, or a cheap viper box for my 32 spline, double/triple synchro, 1 piece countershaft t56 project
So photos of the internals of the vanquish box
Edited by gsd2000 on Thursday 10th March 21:57
Ruskie said:
Love the car but quick question. Would it not be easier to change to a VXR and have that as a base to mod. Or is insurance the big issue?
There isnt a major advantage swapping to a vxr plus with the amount of work gone into this, there isnt really any point.Once ive finished most the drivetrian will have been rebuilt and uprated in someway shape or form.
The cv8's are also slightly more aerodynamic than the vxr's and the body panels are alot cheaper if one breaks
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