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What grinding bits did you use to smooth out those oil paths?
Just 80 grit cartridge rolls. It takes a bit longer than using a carbide but you have zero risk of altering the shape of the port and it gives a much smoother result. No need to use any finer grits, you don't need a mirror polish on this or anything crazy as going any smoother won't affect oil flow at all.
The difference between cast surface and polished finish is definitely noticeable though just from running your finger over it. Even if the improvement in oiling is super minor it's still worth the time IMO.
Yea I was curious because the result looks smoother compared to using a carbide grinding bit. I am going to stick with the carbide grinding bit. That way I only have to remove the metal dust from the galleys and other surfaces. I am not sure how to remove silica dust (sand) embedded into a metal surface (wd40 or oil?) so I will stay clear of that option.
Yea I was curious because the result looks smoother compared to using a carbide grinding bit. I am going to stick with the carbide grinding bit. That way I only have to remove the metal dust from the galleys and other surfaces. I am not sure how to remove silica dust (sand) embedded into a metal surface (wd40 or oil?) so I will stay clear of that option.
It doesn't really get embedded in the metal but cleaning it wouldn't be any more of less thorough than using a carbide. No matter what whenever you start moving metal on an engine component you should always have it put in a wash tank or jet wash, blown out with compressed air, cleaned with brushes and brake clean. Or maybe it's just me lol, but I always try to be as thorough as possible when cleaning and reassembling and engine.
Went to PRI this weekend and had some awesome conversations.
Ran by Callies to look at their crank. Had some discussion about our cranks cracking. Their forged ones are made in China like everyone else's but they do the finish machine work at their plant in the US (like everyone else) but also heat treat them as well (unlike everyone else). Their attention to detail looks a cut above the other guys, the oiling holes are well chamfered and polished, might have just been extra done for the show but either way I feel confident after talking to them. Turns out they also make H beams for the 4G as well which aren't anything special but are a damn good bargain, rated for more than my Manley rods and they said they do offer package deals if you guys a crank with rods.
I talked with Saenz about rods as well. Their attention to detail on the rods is phenomenal and after talking to them they have a couple extra steps to make their rods lighter than most everyone else while remaining plenty strong. But of course that comes at a higher price than the Callies rods. Still not sure which way I'm going to go until I hear solid numbers from both of them.
Talked with WPC and played around with some of their product which is pretty cool. Debating having the bearings WPC treated and maybe some other components as well.
Chatted with a couple cylinder head companies. Something I've been toying around with is changing to a different valve seat. I was originally thinking of moving to a BeCu type seat but one company told me that BeCu and similar alloy seats don't fare too well in engine that run on E85 so IF I end up changing out the seats I'll be moving to a Moldstar $90 seat. I talked with a couple companies that sells Moldstar seat and was quoted around $25/seat but I think I can get it done for less, will have to look into it more.
Talked to a lot of other companies but nothing that needs to be shared here
Tomorrow I'll be going over my front case to make sure there's no work needed to be done on that. Going to port the pressure relief in the oil filter housing and maybe shorten the spring a tad as well in an attempt to lower pressure and keep more oil in the pan.
Started trimming the back of my front fenders to help vent the wheel well a bit better to decrease drag. Also going to get the lip a bit flatter which should give me a few precious mm of more tire clearance. Progress is probably going to be pretty slow until I get the engine back together.
Long time no update. Been busy working on the car over the past couple months and just keep forgetting to update here but things are going well and I finally see the end (for this down season) in sight.
Since the past 3 months are kind of a blur I'm just going to throw up a list of everything I could think of that I got done since I put the car away:
Clean engine bay and undebody
Remove firewall insulation
Delete rear crash bar
Chop rear bumper
Reroute wheel arch wiring
Port turbine housing
Port compressor housing
Polish oil galleries in engine block
Polish combustion chambers
Relocate oil cooler
Rebuild rear suspension arms with Energy Suspension Whiteline bushings
Energy Suspension rear diff bushings
Treat minor rust on underbody and seal it
Rebuild engine
Raise shifter
Make new water lines for turbo
Replace clutch
Move EGT sensor from O2 housing to manifold
Trim front fenders
Make new wastegate
Replace solid trunk mounts
Remove passenger seat
Make side exit exhaust
This past week has been a rush, getting home very late from working on the car every night but last night I was rewarded with an issue free first start. It's idling pretty poorly since it needs the tune tweaked for the larger cams. There's still a small list of to do's and ends to tie up before the car is track worthy and I still have some more exciting stuff coming up that I can't wait to post up!
Some photos of the engine rebuild. I resprayed the block because it was looking tired. The head and block were both decked, crank was ground and the head got a valve job. It's now got Comp 272 cams, MAP beehive springs, and Blox cam gears, other than that it's all mechanically the same as before.
The exhaust is a custom 3.5" side exit that I made. The O2 housing is made by an Australian company called Artec. It's cast stainless, has bungs for 2 O2 sensors, and a 3.5" vband discharge. The main reason I chose to do this is to free up space underneath the engine so I can make a wet sump oil pan that will solve any starvation issue. Went with the teardrop tip to try and help point flames away from the car, I already melted one rear bumper, trying to avoid repeating that on the front, plus who doesn't like a little flair?
Hell yeah man! Cant wait for summer plus track dayz. Also bushings in rear besides mustache are WL.
Derp. Yes I'm hoping to get out mid-late April to kick off the season. I'll let you know when I find a couple days and we can pick one that works for both of us.
Car was thrown in a show last weekend. Usually try to get it in for one show before track season starts every year. It got a fair bit of attention haha
