I broke the motor, now time to build a new one :)

[There I Broke It]

Hi All,

Well the inevitable has happened. 2 weeks after buying the 05 ba turbo sedan privately, the bottom end has let go. Haven't got the car to the mechanic to inspect all the damage I live in Central Qld, and hope to get the car back from Barcaldine next weekend, but from what I can see, it looks like the turbo oil valve to the block has gummed up, and end result is it looks like an alien has burst out of the chest of the block on the drivers side!!!!!!

So time to get a cheap daily driver and start the build. Any general advise and pitfalls that ppl have come across would be greatly appreciated. car is totally stock, with some weight saving done (engine oil all over the road instead of in the engine)!!! - takes a couple of kg off the front suspension

At this stage, I want to run approx. 20% more power than standard when the tough engine is dropped in, and over the next 3 yrs wind it up to approx. 350-400rwkw. At that point of time I would look to pull the engine back out for an inspection and freshen up and possibly look to extract more.

This will be a series of ongoing builds to the vehicle.

At this stage I am looking to do the following to get the car back on the road (subject to strip down/inspection/testing):

Forged rods & Pistons,

Light weight hi-po pressure plate for the converter

Port/Polish head. Replace standard valves set up with a Crow setup inc better srings and retainers.

move battery to boot.

change air intake with f6 item and put it where the battery was.

replace clutch pack with heavier duty set up.

Improve intercooler/transmission cooler set up.

Decent modified tuning

decent exhaust system (thinking about putting in a variable system which has electronic controller to bypass the muffler etc for better performance at the track, whilst still being practical on the street).

I know there are certain barriers with the setups at various power levels. eg, standard transmission failure at approx. 250rwkw. so advise on power levels and common breakages would also be appreciated (and yes I know any component can fail at any power level).

 

Common sense ideas from people have who have gone through the process before will be a huge help. such as "When I did this, Damn I wish I had of done that at the same time" sort of stuff.

[BAXRTUTE]

Plenty of NA FG engines running 15-18psi with no issues.

Id suggest buying one of those and wind it up to 300-330rwkw ish. Can be found for $500 or less at many wreckers.

The trans im guessing is a btr 4sp? It will hold at that power if u are kind to it, though 300rwkw is really the limit id push one.

 

Unless u get a better trans, u have no point in building a block capable of huge power.

 

So honestly,  FG NA block with a good aftermarket intercooler and a good trans cooler and id not bother with the rest until u can afford a 7k tranny.

Edited 23/10/17 12:51 AM by BAXRTUTE

[Puffwagon]

Buy an fg short block from a wrecking yard and bolt it back together.

 

Apart from that you should read the ever loving fark out of the forum as this has all been done before and most of what you are suggesting is either not necessary, or isn't a thing.

 

Last time I checked torque converters don't have pressure plates.

[BAXRTUTE]

His BA valve springs would be rubbish.

Better off going the fg na with plenum attached and just fitting a B series sump. New cooler/piping to suit the fg plenum and BA turbo side.

cheap fix and solid enough engine to keep the tranny together.

[There I Broke It]

Sorry, yes it is the BTR 4 spd. and as per original post, initial is +20% power, but will slowly increase it as other mods are done such as improving the tranny & cooling, as well as tailshaft and rear end. The main goal is to do repairs/upgrades once (other than tuning) and do it right. so hence forged rods etc into a tested block and crow valves etc into a tested head. They can sit there putting out not much more than standard power while other stuff is built tough enough. Gentle? Transmission? that's just not going to happen. I don't tend to redline to much or bounce it off the limiter, more of a leave it in D for Drag and launch the car until I hit a ridiculous top speed kind of guy.

 

Regarding the battery, as the vehicle will see some drag use, the idea is to get the weight off the front suspension and over the back axle. it also allows the airbox to be moved to the other side and shortens the intake piping

[BAXRTUTE]

Then set 25k aside do the box why the engine is being built.

Otherwise your gonna end up spending 10k more doing it bit by bit with things not working out as planned.

Believe me, ive blown a BA and im now 70k down the drain.

 

Do u have a power goal inline? 

F6 blocks are handling well over 500rwkw with the right bolt-ons

Edited 23/10/17 01:15 AM by BAXRTUTE

[There I Broke It]

Hey mate,

how much power were you chasing to spend that much?

im working on a rough budget of $3k bottom end, $3k top end, $2k cooling and bolt ons, $5k tranny upgrade, $10k tailshaft/rearmed, $2k incidentals. And most work done at cost price and no labour 

[BAXRTUTE]

I was chasing 550rwkw, though, doing things the wrong way/ getting stung by a tuning place cost me big time.

Got a healthy setup now, with room to move with a couple of upgrades to come.

 

To reach a healthy 500rwkw in a BA with a btr

Built block 6-8k or f6 long 4-5k

Drive line 7-10k tranny/shaft/diff 

Cooler 2-3k

Fuel system 3-6k

Turbo 3k

Exhaust 3k

Brakes 3-5k 

Suspension 2-4k

Rims/tyres 3-5k to get all that power to the ground.

 

Then factor in about 3k for things that need changing along the way.

 

If u can build and fit things CORRECTLY yourself u will save farrrrk loads, but u run the risk of stuffing up things and costing u money in the end anyway.

[There I Broke It]

Thanks BAXR, 

I am an insurance broker and a mechanic client is happy to do the work at cost price as long as I look after him with insurance, so no it won’t b a back yard build. Your costs are around what I was expecting so it’s good to know I’m penciling in around the right figures..... and of course I’m not hunting that kind of power for a fair while which gives me time to upgrade rear end etc over time as it should handle +20% without rear end probs.

[BAXRTUTE]

If u are not looking at doing it for a while, why not chuck a fg na in it so u can drive it around?

$500 for a block plus tuning and then built the built block when your ready?

Id buy a T400 tranny as well, if it isnt a daily later on