Discussion
The Ultima rebuild has been slightly altered due to a full analysis of the costs involved in dropping in the Chevy lump 
. The conversion is going to be rather expensive, and I've been given a pair of recon heads for the Rover engine 
, so it looks like the most sensible option for this season is going to be to rebuild the Rover lump (with obvious enhancements to take it up to somewhere in the 350+ BHP region), and save some pennies for the Chevy upgrade next Winter 
.
The trouble with the Chevy route isn't so much the cost of the engine, it's the ancilliaries. I'd need new exhaust and manifolds, complete injection system, gearbox adapter plate, just to name a few bits. On top of the £8k for the engine and £1500 for the gearbox, it's going to cost about another £3-5k for the rest of the conversion. That's a bit outside my budget for this season, so I think I'm going to tak a bit longer, and try to pick bits up as and when I can.
I'll be sure to post up my progress with the engine rebuild as it progresses, along with the other bits and pieces like aerodynamic changes and setup 
.
James
. The conversion is going to be rather expensive, and I've been given a pair of recon heads for the Rover engine , so it looks like the most sensible option for this season is going to be to rebuild the Rover lump (with obvious enhancements to take it up to somewhere in the 350+ BHP region), and save some pennies for the Chevy upgrade next Winter .
The trouble with the Chevy route isn't so much the cost of the engine, it's the ancilliaries. I'd need new exhaust and manifolds, complete injection system, gearbox adapter plate, just to name a few bits. On top of the £8k for the engine and £1500 for the gearbox, it's going to cost about another £3-5k for the rest of the conversion. That's a bit outside my budget for this season, so I think I'm going to tak a bit longer, and try to pick bits up as and when I can.
I'll be sure to post up my progress with the engine rebuild as it progresses, along with the other bits and pieces like aerodynamic changes and setup .
James 
I can't post a picture to this list, but I've set up an egroup for anybody who is interested in following our progress, making suggestions or asking questions about the car, and I've uploaded a couple of pictures to the "Files" area there.
It's called ultima-racing@egroups.com and can be subscribed to by sending a mail to ultima-racing-subscribe@egroups.com.
If anybody wants me to send them a copy, just let me know your email address, and I'll send it.
James
Current engine is an NCK Racing 4.0 with one dropped valve, knackered piston and head It used to kick out about 265 ponies. After rebuild and a few mods, I should get up to about 330-360.
The track day sounds like fun. I'll need to do a bit of testing before the race season starts. Where is it (and what are the noise regs like)?
I ran it in the last race of the Smartone Special GT series last season (where I dropped the valve). Planning on doing the whole season next year, as well as the odd run in Ace Vehicle Deliveries.
James
It used to kick out about 265 ponies. After rebuild and a few mods, I should get up to about 330-360.
The track day sounds like fun. I'll need to do a bit of testing before the race season starts. Where is it (and what are the noise regs like)?
I ran it in the last race of the Smartone Special GT series last season (where I dropped the valve). Planning on doing the whole season next year, as well as the odd run in Ace Vehicle Deliveries.
James The track day is on 15th feb £125 with a mix of race car sessions and road car sessions...
not surte on noise ect but steve@b-chip.com is the man to check details with...
All i've got to do is paint the chassis, drop the body back on, put the engine in, sort the witring and fuel tanks and the taz is ready to play!!!!!!
G
I was planning on dropping one of those nice Chevy engines in this Winter, but when I costed out the other bits needed to fit it, it was going to be rather too pricey. I'm now intending running with the Rover engine this season, then trying to get hold of the bits as and when I can find them at the right price. I hope to save a few quid that way, and have the full performance available for the following season. The car will probably still be quicker than me this season anyway
We managed to remove the somewhat dead engine from the Ultima this weekend, all ready to be shipped off for a rebuild. Unfortunately, it would appear that there is somewhat more damage to it that I originally thought. It looks like it's going to be a whole short engine required, as well as one head.
About the only bits salvageable are going to be the dry sump kit and the water pump
James
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