Tom M'Guinn

I am a big fan of helicoils myself. The stud started turning before it snapped, so I thought an extractor would get it. The extractor shattered as if made by glass. I then figured the machine shop would get it out better than I could. Won't make that mistake again.

Tom M'Guinn

Well, I made a little progress today while waiting for a bucket of parts and fasteners from Sunset. After posting in another thread about the balance shaft end bearings, Alex (chilibluepepper) stepped up and loaned my his home-made 9210 tool. Worked like a champ. After cleaning the housing and installing the new bearings, it looks practically new! Next up, rod bearing clearance checking....

Tom M'Guinn

Well, time for an update on my multi-year 3L project. After botched bores, screwed up stud holes, chipped cylinder tops, etc., I finally called in the cavalry (Mr. Gomes) and recently received well-packed boxes containing (a) one 89 block bored to 104.5, with o-rings, (b) one 2.7 head, swain coated exhaust ports, minor port work, (c) on 951 intake recontoured for the 2.7 head. I have new carrillo rods, Mahle 104.5 pistons, and a freshly polished 968 crank waiting for their new home, so now its just a matter of confirming the new clearances, cleaning, and assembling.

My plan is to assemble in March - April, get my bi-annual smog cert as soon as I can with the 2.5 -- probably in June -- then install the 3 liter (no doubt during the dog days of summer, oh well). Stay tuned...

In the meantime, I've sorted out the HG bugs on my 2.5 and its running stronger than ever without any issues. Go figure.

PCinDC

Congrats Tom, that sounds like a fun project! Take photos of your new toys for us all to drool over, green-faced with envy.

Tom M'Guinn

Ok, its been a year or so, but intalled the pistons today...

Crazy Eddie

WOW drooling .....

David Floyd

333pg333

God, what happened inbetween Tom? I thought you've had this car up and running in the interim between posts on this thread? What piston to wall clearances have you set? My 8 month nightmare seems short by comparison.

Tom M'Guinn

Long saga actually... but mostly just too busy to get back to it. Hoping to finally drive it home. I actually stared this in 2004 (with a different block), but have just steadily accumulated parts/tools, etc. Once you have everything together, it assembles pretty quickly though...

In the meantime, my 2.5 is running great. Burns a little oil, but makes over 355 at the wheels, so I have not been in a huge rush...

Gomes bored the block for these pistons. I'd have to check my notes on the piston/wall clearance but if memory serves, it is about .025mm or .001"

333pg333

Ah that explains it, you have 2 cars. I thought you must have as I remember you having trouble with your ZT2. Did you ever resolve that by the way? I told sales at Zeitronix that mine failed after 3 days and they were happy to sell me a new harness.

ehall

ahem....ummm...okay Mr. OCD polisher!

Tom M'Guinn

Actually, only one car, and two motors. The motor in the car is getting a bit tired and is sooo small. The new one is 3019cc's.

The Zeitronix folks have offered to look at my unit. Since I got it, the LCD fails to go on about 1 in 10 time. More recently, the a/f reading gets lazy about as often. I actually think I will switch over to different brand eventually -- one with a dash-friendly gauge.

Under Pressure Performance

You Go Boy!!!

333pg333

What's your eta on the 3L? I'm hoping to be up and running with the 104.6's in a couple of weeks and I can tell you will love the extra tq. It's very noticeable and can really help override any lag. Plus the S2 cw&p is a great addition to try.

Tom M'Guinn

Hard to guess and on my eta. It's slow and steady here... I'm hoping to be installing the motor before football season, but we'll see... In the meantime, here is a picture of the oil pump mounting surface after an hour or so with an "oil stone" I bought at Orchard Supply (in the tool section). The picture doesn't do it justice, but the joint is as smooth as glass -- can't even feel it with your fingernail. I tried tapping the girdle over, and I tried the freezer trick, but neither got it flush. The oil stone was surprisingly easy to use and leaves a glass-smooth finish.