I also can't wait to see how the R8 coils work out!

 

I’ll keep you guys posted on the coils, I’m surprised there is so little use of them.
I took the driver side aluminum valve cover to work today so I could use the torch to remove the hose nipples and old spark plug tube seals, for those that don’t know the aluminum pathfinder valve covers have replaceable seals that are pressed in


I will be welding vibrant performance 6AN bungs to the valve covers for my PCV setup but I did notice for anyone interested that a 1/4 npt tap could also be used instead

 

Rinz - where did you source the alum pathfinder covers? spoon-feed me, what years did those come equipped on?

 

if I remember correctly it’s 2000-2001 pathfinder after that they went the way of the plastic covers that everyone hates and they don’t make them anymore so you will have to source them from either a junk yard or eBay, I think I payed 50-75 for each one from eBay just search for used pathfinder valve covers and you’ll probably fine one or both depending on the day. But either way 50-75 for each side plus a new set of seals for $10 from rockauto and it’s a lot cheaper than replacing with new plastic covers. You might have the covers cleaned at a motor shop, I’m installing custom pcv baffling for my setup so was able to remove the oem ones and clean out all the carbon build up but if you can’t or don’t have access to a tig welder I would have them tanked here are some old photos from when I got them the last photo is without the baffling after I already spent a good bit of time cleaning the carbon out. I will also note that the passenger side cover has an extra long spark plug tube that has to be cut down to fit the oem coil or the R8 coil for whatever reason on the pathfinder that coil is different I’ll get a pic later when I go to remove the old tube seals from the passenger side cover

 

Here ya go npt tap will also work on passenger side bung

 

Mid week update, I still haven’t gotten my stuff back from the machine shop yet. I called them and they said everything was done except the balancing of the rotating assembly so I’m hoping it will be done soon. I just got a partial shipment notification from CZP on my order that I placed a month ago that’s been on back order 🙄 they are shipping everything except the l19 studs. At least I’ll be able to assemble the short block and cylinder heads once I get them from the machine shop,

on another note I 3D printed a switch box to hold the controls for cycling the fuel setup, the idea is that I want to be able to activate the fuel pumps to cycle fuel in the system at the push of a button. They are printed from PETG which is non reactive to gasoline or E85

 

Got the fuel system wiring finished today now I just need print a new cover for the terminal block

I’m using the power wire for the in-tank pump as the relay trigger for the holly dominator pump

Also got a number of parts in
here is a comparison of oem valves and the Brian Crower sport valves





you might take note of the smaller stem neck for the intake valves
as for weight





the exhaust valves look and measure the same but the BC intake valve is 7 grams lighter than oem
here are a couple pictures of the dynosity girdle



And then there are the boost reference fuel pulse dampeners which adjust there dampening affect based on boost or vacuum. They plug right into the fuel rails I got





and then the Radium fuel rails for the DE and HR

 

Did some work on the passenger side valve cover. Cut the extended spark plug tube on cylinder 1 down and reshaped the bolt nub, also cut out the breather vent plate and drilled the holes for it

 

Small picture update of the girdle and upper pan clearance

 

not much there ... are you gonna run a windage tray?

 

yeah there is about 1/4” of room above the girdle so I’ll fab one out of 1/8 aluminum sheet, nothing too elaborate just enough to keep windage down. I might coat and bake glyptal onto the tray to help move the oil down to the pan

 

How do you anticipate attaching the windage tray to the girdle?

 

I’ll drill and tap small holes on the girdle above the front and rear main caps between the studs, I will also chamfer the holes to prevent stress cracking and I probably won’t drill entirely through either. I don’t need a lot of thread to attach the plate

 

Update time, haven’t done as much on the car as I would have liked, I hurt my back a week and a half ago and it’s slowed my pace significantly as I try and take it easy. I finished my windage plate as you can see below with the larger girdle the clearance issue with the oil pan comes at the hump at the rear. Even using low clearance bolts the pan touches so I had to drill recesses for the bolt heads and cut a bit away to fit the end of the plate






ive done some electrical and fuel stuff I’ll have to post later when I get some more pictures

 

Slowly finishing up the surge tank setup

 

Started powder coating parts Saturday, At the last minute I decided to change colors to a polished base coat and a metallic red top coat and I am very happy with how it turned out. I plan on doing the front and rear timing cover in the same colors but ran out of time so I’ll probably finish it later this week

 

I think the powder coating should also help a little bit with the radiant heat.

 

My L19 head studs finally shipped today! I should be able to assemble the rest of the engine soon. Anyway after a bit of difficulty I managed to get the rear timing cover powder coated but it took a few touch-ups to get it right. I wasn’t getting even coverage of the top coat and the color wasn’t coming out right so I had to go back and do a third and then forth coat before I was satisfied with it

 

The powder coating is DONE!!!!! I managed to complete the front timing cover with a single layer of base and top coat and it looks amazing!!!

 

Well I plumbed the hard line for the fuel injection but I’m not sure how I feel about it, it does the job but I don’t know, it feels bulky thoughts?