very nice build

looking forward to see the end result

 

very nice

 

Shortblock assembly was this Saturday and I was like a kid on Christmas . Frank blocked off a whole day so he could work slow and explain how everything comes together. I learned quite a bit about the inner workings of the VQ bottom end. Frank offerred for me to get my hands dirty, but I passed on this particular project since I don't want to learn on something that is this important.





You can see where the cooling passage has been clearanced for the HR head gaskets.

 

Nice new bores and new ACL Race Bearings. Everything went together smoothly and it turned like butta bishes!! The crank was reinspected, balanced and polished prior to reassembly.

 

Nice build congrats...

 

All the pistions were weighed prior to assembly as well. For those DIYers out there I can assure you that the assembly is the easy part. Frank said there is a lot of math that gets done before anything gets assembled.

 

Bore/compression math?

 

Frank was explaining how all the pistons need to be weighed out and balanced, then add up the piston + rod + some grams for oil and then use this to balance the crank correctly. Also, there are a lot of measurements taken to be sure the bearings are sized correctly as well as the piston rings themselves. I believe that most machine shops that specialize in motors have a program that can spec a block to check cylinders and head surfaces.

 

looks purrrrty!

 

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys. I did have a "what am I doing" moment after Frank and I sat down and went over all of the expected costs to get things installed and ready for a tune - lets just say that $30K is like the new $20K .

We hope to have the heads back this week since there was another delay when Headgames found a slightly bent valve and Ferrea had to make one since it wasn't in stock. On the plus side it worked out that no new buckets were required to set the valves, so I saved appx $400 there. My parts arrived at Jethot today and that should be a two week turn for them and I hope to see them back in mid January. I am also hoping to see my headlights and some other neat little goodies I just purchased from the classifieds.

What I really need is a serious buyer for my old kit, lots of interest and nobody with cold hard cash . Either way, the build moves forward at full speed. If all goes well I will be doing longblock assembly on Saturday this week and I will see how the color scheme for the motor looks as it comes together. I am the powder coater's best friend right now and am sure I have single handedly helped him have a merry Christmas.

Frank and I discussed where the power bottleneck will occur first as we try for max HP - 650cc injectors, single 255lph Walbro fuel pump, stock fuel rails or the turbos themselves. Frank thinks the fuel pump may be the weak link if we modify the rails slightly, but we are open to any input from the 550+whp veterans. We are also waiting to get input from Dave at F:T, as things come together we all want to be on the same page as to what is best. Lots more to come, it was a very busy weekend.

 

Unless you dump more money - you are kinda locked in on the turbos (already purchased, correct?)....DONT skimp on the fuel delivery, especially if your looking to go big and not boom I'm not sure if you recall our one conversation but ANYTHING to keep cool......thicker Rad, oil coolers, nismo thermostat, rear cooling mod, water wetter, water injection, ANY heat coating for the exhaust/turbo components....also be mindful with your exhaust system so you don't cause any restrictions

 

you gotta pay to play........

 

What's your hp goal?

I got north of 550 hp with a single Walbro and a CJ Motorsports Stage 2 fuel return system. On the track, though, the single Walbro sucked the stock swirl tank dry and it leaned out a couple of times, even when I started the 20 minute session with a full tank (which ran down to less than 3/4 pretty quickly). If you want to stick with the stock fuel pump assembly, you may want to try drilling holes in it to allow more fuel to run in.

I have not yet tried out the SPR tripple pump hangar on the track (2 pumps active, 1 as a spare), but it does not use an internal swirl tank and I'm a little nervous about losing fuel pickup in high G turns. For that reason, I am adding an external swirl/surge tank. According to SPR it may not be needed, but I don't want to risk a motor over it since in the overall scheme of things, it's really not that expensive. I'm either going to run two in-line Walbros from the surge tank, one for each rail, or run a single Aeromotive A1000 fuel pump. Right now I'm leaning toward the A1000, but I'm going to consult with Roger on this before I make a decision.

 

- You would know!!

I saw your thread on this and will run it by Frank and Dave, not like I'm looking for another thing to spend $500 on right now.

Frank was thinking of adding an inline pump and running a higher gauge electic line to the pump to max it out. I would be interested in you setup for the dual Walbros, one feeding each rail. Jim Wolf has some tricks for the fuel rail that should allow them to flow better. Phunk has given me an idea as well. My goal is 600whp on the heartbreaker at Function:Tuned.

 

With a good fuel return system, a single Walbro may get you to 600 hp. If you're not going to be running it for road racing, then you probably don't need the external swirl/surge tank, but be sure to modify the stock swirl tank to allow more fuel flow into it. The stock setup is not sufficient. My Walbro sucked the stock swirl tank dry a number of times when I was at Sebring. Adding another in-line pump won't help that; when the Walbro sucks air, that's all that the second fuel pump is going to get.

 

Turbos are purchased already.

Nismo Thermostat - Check
Pathfinder Cooling Mod - Check
Water/Meth Injection - Check
Jet Hot on Downpipes and Wastegate pipes + Manifolds - Check
Exhaust - 3" APS True Duals - Check (coming soon)
No Cats - Check

Not trying to skimp, just looking at any and all solutions so I don't max out before I hit my goal and have to re-tune after buying more parts.

 

I agree with ibkarlito on the fuel delivery issue. IMO, you should have a good fuel return system. Other than that, you are good to go from what I can see. I have a CJ Motorsports fuel return system, but there are a number of others out there that should suffice. The GTM fuel return systems look interesting...

Also, unless you are going to go with another plenum, I would recommend adding the Motordyne 5/16" plenum spacer to your stock plenum. I have done the research on this. For FI, it seems to be the most cost effective option for high hp, like you are shooting for. The Cosworth seems to be a little better for FI, but it isn't cheap and there is a long wait for one. (I waited for months).

I'm assuming you have a clutch to handle 600 RWHP. If not, you need one of those too. I started with a Clutchmasters FX600 twin disk, but fried it the first time I tried launching hard. I now have a Carbonetics triple disk. It's working well.

 

Sorry, I missed that part (playing playstation with my son at the same time). I already have the F:T custom fuel return setup as well.

I have an APS Tallboy plenum. I have a pic of the powder coating I had done in the thread, but I didn't like the silver and have sent it back out to have it redone in a different color scheme. I also didn't like the textured look it had to it, so I will make sure its sanded smooth before its recoated. Details, Details, Details ..... I just want it back in one piece.

 

I'm sorry if I missed it earlier in the thread, but what clutch are you using?

 

Carbonetic Twin Disc 1350kg Carbon Clutch w/ 9lb. Flywheel + NISMO Braided Steel Clutch Hose



It held up to the power Karl's car was making 550+whp, so it should be OK for mine.