Engine rebuild

[dixieflatline]

Hello again - been a while! I've had my S3 rebuild project on hold because I moved to a flat that needed a lot of work and started a part time degree which greedily sucks up most of my free time. However the first breath of spring - and driving behind a maroon S2 for several miles on the A30 - has made me want to pull my finger out and get back to work.

I got as far as completely dismantling the car, having the chassis powdercoated, and gathering most of the parts for the rebuild and then... I stopped. Just when it got to the good bit!

Where I got bogged down was with the engine rebuild. The mechanic who's helping me doesn't have the time to completely rebuild the engine, much as he'd like to, and I don't have the time or the skill, so I've decided to get it professionally rebuilt. I have the budget for it, but the problem is that I'm not sure where to go. I thought I had found a place in Windlesham - which came recommended - but they were too busy and didn't want the work.

I'm hoping the collective-wisdom of the hive mind can help me out. I live in Reading and the S lives in Windsor so the South-East is preferable, but I'm happy to go further if there's somewhere suitable. In the meantime I can work on the suspension and brakes and get the car ready for the engine to be dropped in.

[phillpot]

Bring all the bits to SCH 2011, a combined effort, we'll soon have it thrown together

Joking apart its not rocket science, with a Haynes Granada or Sierra XR4 manual shouldn't be a problem and money saved will cover cost of torque wrench and any other special tools if you don't already have them ?

[Tant]

these may be quite close....not sure of their reputation though

http://www.vulcanengines.com/

cheers

ant

[wizzer]

You could try Automotive Solutions at Dunsden just north of Reading. Tony who runs the show did his time with Vanwall I know him well they are good race car engineers and spanner a couple of Le Mans cars. I'm not saying he would take it on but he is worth a call. If he did it, you know it would be done properly. I haven't got his number to hand but it is in the local directory.

[dixieflatline]

Cheers all. Philpott - I'd like to see everyone's faces if I turned up with a half dismantled engine, a bag of spanners and a hopeful smile! Seriously though, I did really want to do it myself and I have access to a fully kitted out workshop (and the manual of course), but I just don't have the time. I'd really like to get the car rebuilt before the end of summer so that I can get a couple of months out of it. I'll have a lot more time in summer, when uni is over for the year, but until then I have to concentrate on books not spanners (sadly). Getting the engine done by someone else seems like a good trade off between my time/my pocket.

Ant/Wizzer, I'll check those people out, much appreciated.

[Boosted LS1]

I build these. Is j25 M1 to far away for you? I've just received a Minker engine from Orkney which cost £48 delivered on a pallet.

[bobbybo]

Have you thought of putting in a different engine? Duratecs are very light and put out 200bhp without touching internals, good exhaust note with right set up.. very untraditional but just a thought

[The Lukas]

[quote=bobbybo] are very light and put out 200bhp without touching internals, good exhaust note with right set up.. /quote]

I was thinking the same. It would a good natural progression as the Duratec is in effect the new Cologne. I doubt it would sound as good though.

[NTEL]

I can highly recommend John Toovey Race and Road in Cannock who specialises in ford V6's. OK, its a bit far from Reading but you can just stick it on a pallet and send it. His prices are very, very reasonable (PM me if you want an idea of how much).

John looks after my 2.9L 12v V6 fitted in my Tasmin race car. After the rebuild he will put it on his engine dyno, tune it, run it in, and print off the figures. He will also advise on the best cam to put in as well as any low cost upgrades that can be done while the engine is in bits. Not only will the engine be spot on, it will also be treated to a coat of paint and thoroughly cleaned. They look brand new when they come back.

[bobbybo]

[quote=bobbybo] are very light and put out 200bhp without touching internals, good exhaust note with right set up.. /quote]

I was thinking the same. It would a good natural progression as the Duratec is in effect the new Cologne. I doubt it would sound as good though.

'The Lucas' Yes the sound would be the major disadvantage, I was thinking of the four cylinder Duratec as a future swap, its 85kg as opposed to 150kg or so for Cologne so quite a difference, more along the lines of Lotus 7/Caterham keep it light principle, on you tube there are a lot of exhast clips for Duratecs with different setups, some are pretty close to the current V6 burble and sound good imo.
Becoming more cheap & available & loads of tuning forums available.

[dixieflatline]

Boosted LS1 said:

I build these. Is j25 M1 to far away for you? I've just received a Minker engine from Orkney which cost £48 delivered on a pallet.

Hi Boosted - you're a bit far away, and I've had a couple of responses closer to home. I appreciate the offer though.

bobbybo said:

Have you thought of putting in a different engine? Duratecs are very light and put out 200bhp without touching internals, good exhaust note with right set up.. very untraditional but just a thought

Nice idea, but I think I'm going to keep this one original! We're trying to get the car as close to the original factory spec as possible.

NTEL said:

I can highly recommend John Toovey Race and Road in Cannock who specialises in ford V6's. OK, its a bit far from Reading but you can just stick it on a pallet and send it. His prices are very, very reasonable (PM me if you want an idea of how much).

Thanks for the tip - I have a feeling I spoke to them once before about a Tasmin I was going to look at in that part of the country - if it was them they were really helpful. It is a bit out of the way (same part of the country as Booster I think?) but I'll definitely keep it in mind if things don't work out closer to home.

Once again, thanks for all the advice. I'm feeling a lot more positive about the project again now!