A new 5.15 litre engine

[JazzyZ]

Hi guys. I have a friend (a trader) who is willing to let go his brand new 5.15 litre engine that was rebuilt by JE Development, UK about 8 years ago. Apparently, it was a brand new engine, and the engine has not seen any light since it was re-built (it was kept in the container !!). This trader does not provide any form of warrenties tho. I have been thinking of converting my 4.0 litre chim to 5 litre, and I was just wondering how much I should be paying for the whole thing. The following is the specs of the engine:

90 Degree Alloy V8
Capacity 5.15L
Bore 94.5
Stroke 91.6
Compression Ratio 9.75 : 1
Max Rpm 6000
Max Power 302bhp at 5000 rpm
Max Torque 347 lb/ft at 3600 rpm


And it comes with the following brand new components:


Cross Bolted Block
90/92mm Crank
JED Steel Rods
Omega Forged Pistons
Ported Inlet & 45mm Trumpet Base
Distributor & Ignition System
HT Lead
Clutch AP 9 1/2" (heavy Duty)
14 Cux Injection with Plenum Chamber
B/V Heads
Camshaft
Baffled Sump
Lightened Flywheel
Serpentine Front Pulley
Alternator and Belt
Dyno & Balanced

Whats the market price for this kind of stuff? And what would be the bargin price at which I should be buying this enigine?

Edited by JazzyZ on Tuesday 29th July 17:54

Edited by JazzyZ on Tuesday 29th July 17:55

[daz the plumber]

you want to make sure its ok for the road, drivability is more important.if it as high lift cams it might not be for you .what about a standard 5l , theres a low mileage one on ebay .

[hiltonig]

Do you know if its a standard cast crank or a steel one, It looks a good spec although you dont say what cam is installed. price is a little difficult to estimate but since its a full engine say 3k at a starting point. if its been stood some time it would need an inspection.

just my thought !

Edited by hiltonig on Tuesday 29th July 18:02

[JazzyZ]

hi daz the plumber, thanks for a quick response - yeah, thats a good option too - i mean the E-bay. and you are right - there is a serious issue with its reliability!

[JazzyZ]

hi hiltonig, i have not been informed about the crank. is the steel one is quite expensive?

[JazzyZ]

hiltonig, i will find out about the cam!

[dogbucket]

I am thinking surface rust on internal bits unless it was well oiled up before storage

[griffter]

Was it built for a range rover, or a sports car?

[GreenV8S]

An engine that's never been run in is quite a gamble since the original builder will have washed his hands of it years ago and you have no come-back with anyone if there are any problems with it. To stick a stake in the ground, I'd value it at say half the value of the equivalent new engine.

[shpub]

Why not talk to JE Developments? If you are worried about warrenty and the fact it has been standing for so long, I'm pretty sure he would do a good deal on a refresh/rebuild.

[rev-erend]

Steve - good idea.. maybe just a bore hone would all thats needed..

[thenick]

I wouldn't have thought the cam was an issue with those numbers... It has lots of torque and not a huge amount of horsepower for a 5+ litre engine so it probably something like an MC1 or stealth type cam IMHO which would mean no problems with driveability.

[2Munkys]

Running a relatively low CR too; I think most 5 litres run between 10.1 and 10.2: 1.

[thenick]

Maybe it's been built for supercharging with all those strengthened bits in there as well...

[trackcar]

sounds like an expensive engine to me .. you pay 3k plus for a 5 litre out of a crashed tvr that's got uncertain history and maybe 40k miles on it!

[hiltonig]

I have a 5.4 built for supercharging, and I am using a steel crank, low compression ringed heads

[Boosted LS1]

hiltonig said:

I have a 5.4 built for supercharging, and I am using a steel crank, low compression ringed heads

That's interesting. I built a 5.4 stroker for supercharging using one of my custom cast cranks, fuellie rods and buick 300 heads. It was sold years ago to a fellow ooop north. I never heard what happened to it or if it ever ran. Is this the same engine or was yours from somewhere else?

[rev-erend]

There is a set of Buick 300 heads on Ebay at the moment .. if anyone is interested.

[shpub]

thenick said:

Maybe it's been built for supercharging with all those strengthened bits in there as well...

No that's how John tends to build his engine. Make them as strong as an ox so they don't break. It also means as the owner needs more power, it's change the induction stuff etc. My 520+ bhp gearbox wrecking, diff mount splitting 5 litre s/c is running the same bottom end that John put into the engine when it was a mere baby in 2001. Done nothing to the bottom end since. Been running the S/C for two years now as well.

[Boosted LS1]

rev-erend said:

There is a set of Buick 300 heads on Ebay at the moment .. if anyone is interested.

They drop the c/r down by a couple of clicks due to 54cc chambers allowing something like 9:1 on a 5.4. Useful heads to have but casting quality is pretty rough, ports are quite good though. Usually need a refurbish due to their age.