Chim 500 Engine Rebuild, Advice Please!!!
Discussion
Hi Folks!
Im removing the engine from the Chim 500 next week and sending it off to a very capable (and very reasonably priced!) RV8 Engine builder up in Morray (N Scotland). The Main bearings are failing and extremely noisy! (sounds like a bag of spanners!).
Prior to this happening, the engine has been very good over 5 years of ownership (MAF failed once).
if you look at my profile you will see a list of Mods, basically a Bosch MAF, larger injectors, MA Chip and RR set-up. with 100K on the engine. Although I think the Cam was getting tired.
She used to pull from 1000RPM, no lumpiness, flat spots etc all.
My question is, What are my options for Cam choice, stage of tune for the heads, oil pump upgrades etc? or, even build for low compression with the option of a 100BHP NOS Kit for later?
Any thoughts or tried and tested recommendations would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
Ian
Im removing the engine from the Chim 500 next week and sending it off to a very capable (and very reasonably priced!) RV8 Engine builder up in Morray (N Scotland). The Main bearings are failing and extremely noisy! (sounds like a bag of spanners!).
Prior to this happening, the engine has been very good over 5 years of ownership (MAF failed once).
if you look at my profile you will see a list of Mods, basically a Bosch MAF, larger injectors, MA Chip and RR set-up. with 100K on the engine. Although I think the Cam was getting tired.
She used to pull from 1000RPM, no lumpiness, flat spots etc all.
My question is, What are my options for Cam choice, stage of tune for the heads, oil pump upgrades etc? or, even build for low compression with the option of a 100BHP NOS Kit for later?
Any thoughts or tried and tested recommendations would be appreciated.
Many thanks!
Ian
Speak to John Eales http://www.rover-v8.com
He will be able to sort you out the right camshaft for your need, at a fair price also.
He will be able to sort you out the right camshaft for your need, at a fair price also.
If you are only wanting 100bhp from a nitrous kit then there is no real need to lower the compression ratio. A few degrees retard from optimum advance in the ignition will help prevent detonation due to the faster burn of the nitrous.
Standard parts should be ok and you should see at least 3 seconds off your 0-100. Enjoy but dont get greedy with it or misuse it as i did. I ran upto 250bhp through my fairly standard 450 with problems only due to not retarding the ignition enough.
An ECU with switchable maps such as megasquirt would be an ideal set up to run the engine at optimum ignition on and off the gas.
A few more safety features in the nitrous system would be good for peace of mind such as a fuel pressure cut off transducer, a rpm switch and maybe a decent progressive controller such as the max extreme from the 'wizards of nos'. Also invest in a bottle heater to keep the pressure up and consistent.
Standard parts should be ok and you should see at least 3 seconds off your 0-100. Enjoy but dont get greedy with it or misuse it as i did. I ran upto 250bhp through my fairly standard 450 with problems only due to not retarding the ignition enough.
An ECU with switchable maps such as megasquirt would be an ideal set up to run the engine at optimum ignition on and off the gas.
A few more safety features in the nitrous system would be good for peace of mind such as a fuel pressure cut off transducer, a rpm switch and maybe a decent progressive controller such as the max extreme from the 'wizards of nos'. Also invest in a bottle heater to keep the pressure up and consistent.
Don't forget to ask for new cam bearings, core plugs and new pump gears (I'm assuming it's serpentine) as well as the usual .. pistons, rings, crank grind etc..
Might also be worth having the engine balanced individually (pulley and flywheel too) while you are there but this will probably add £300 to the bill.
Might also be worth having the engine balanced individually (pulley and flywheel too) while you are there but this will probably add £300 to the bill.
Thanks for the advice!
Heres what's offered "as standard" for the rebuild.
"All engines are subjected to a thorough examination on stripping, all consumables such as piston rings, crank bearings, oil pump gears, camchain and gears, and camshaft and lifters are replaced as a matter of course, crack-testing of certain components, honing of cylinders, weight-matching of pistons and con-rods (end to end), de-burring of the cylinder block oil return paths, modifications to the oil system, a time-consuming piston to block deck height equalisation process and where required either shimming or the use of adjustable pushrods to set the correct lifter preloads. The standard crank is good for up to 6200rpm without any further balancing."
"Around 95 % of the engines that leave here have further modifications carried out, the most popular being improved oil drainback to the sump, a main bearing stud kit on non-x-bolted blocks and simple gas flowing of the cylinder heads to approximately stage 1 specification, which yields around 5-10bhp depending on the original condition of the head castings.!"
"As a guide, the labour cost for our engine refurbishment service is around UK£320.00 for a fully rebuilt engine, cylinder head port gas flowing modifications are UK£80.00 and to skim qty 2 cylinder heads and re-cut all 16 valve seats, UK£70.00"
"All engines are unique and tailored to your individual requirements and are therefore priced individually."
Sounds pretty good to me? and the labour price looks very competative! leaving cash for quality engine mods etc. What do you guys think???
cheers
Ian.
Heres what's offered "as standard" for the rebuild.
"All engines are subjected to a thorough examination on stripping, all consumables such as piston rings, crank bearings, oil pump gears, camchain and gears, and camshaft and lifters are replaced as a matter of course, crack-testing of certain components, honing of cylinders, weight-matching of pistons and con-rods (end to end), de-burring of the cylinder block oil return paths, modifications to the oil system, a time-consuming piston to block deck height equalisation process and where required either shimming or the use of adjustable pushrods to set the correct lifter preloads. The standard crank is good for up to 6200rpm without any further balancing."
"Around 95 % of the engines that leave here have further modifications carried out, the most popular being improved oil drainback to the sump, a main bearing stud kit on non-x-bolted blocks and simple gas flowing of the cylinder heads to approximately stage 1 specification, which yields around 5-10bhp depending on the original condition of the head castings.!"
"As a guide, the labour cost for our engine refurbishment service is around UK£320.00 for a fully rebuilt engine, cylinder head port gas flowing modifications are UK£80.00 and to skim qty 2 cylinder heads and re-cut all 16 valve seats, UK£70.00"
"All engines are unique and tailored to your individual requirements and are therefore priced individually."
Sounds pretty good to me? and the labour price looks very competative! leaving cash for quality engine mods etc. What do you guys think???
cheers
Ian.
TVRleigh_BBWR said:
Prices sound very good.
That's to good to be true. It's a lower estimate. Nobody will balance rods end to end and match piston heights to the deck plus strip and rebuild an engine for £300 ish. That's a starting price imo. Apart from that it sounds good though.ETA, are they going to press the pistons off the rods in order to weigh them prior to balancing the parts? It all takes time.
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Sunday 27th June 23:43
Boosted LS1 said:
TVRleigh_BBWR said:
Prices sound very good.
That's to good to be true. It's a lower estimate. Nobody will balance rods end to end and match piston heights to the deck plus strip and rebuild an engine for £300 ish. That's a starting price imo. Apart from that it sounds good though.ETA, are they going to press the pistons off the rods in order to weigh them prior to balancing the parts? It all takes time.
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Sunday 27th June 23:43
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