Turbo Rebuild #8 - Cam Timimg

Finished off the assembly of the top end. Fitted a new APE cam chain and added spacers from Extreme Engines to position the cam chain tensioner. As the engine is fitted with a spacer, the cylinder and head are lifted slightly which makes the cam chain tighter. To rectify this, the cam chain tensioner is moved outwards by the spacers which means that it can operate normally with the barrel spacer in place.

Fitted the Extreme regrind cams and dialled them to 105 inlet 108 exhaust. May need to be adjusted later on the dyno. Engine is now back together and ready to go back in.

Modified Rear Calliper to Fit 13 inch Wheels

I found that when using Sierra rear callipers the spring and handbrake mechanism catches on the inner rim of the wheel. To fix this you replace the handbrake spring and trim back the cable fixing hook.

I managed to get a pair of modified springs from a guy on locostbuilders. I then cut back the cable fixing hook with the grinder. The wheel does not catch now, Will look at getting a 5 to 10mm spacer to move the wheel out a little as the rim is close to the shock absorber. 

Compomotive CXR Wheels and Slicks

I traded my SBD throttle bodies for a set of 13 inch Compomotives CXR's plus cash. The fronts are 7 inch wide and the rears 8.5 inch. For tyres, I found a place in Tamworth called www.superslicks.co.uk who sell part worn slicks. They import a large number of tyres from Italy that have been used by race teams. I picked up a full set and collected from Tamworth.

For the front I have 20/54-13 and the rear with 24/57-13. The fronts are the same width as my road tyres and the rears are a lot wider than the 205's on the rear and should provide plenty of grip on track.

Turbo Manifold #2

G19 Engineering TIG welded the manifold for me. The quality of the welds is superb with strong penetration in all of the joints. Really pleased with the results.

Turbo Manifold #1

Removed the exhaust silencer and manifold, started work on the turbo install. Bought a kit from eBay for a diy hayabusa turbo manifold. Quality looks great with heavy duty flange and elbows.

First job was to tape the joints together and then to cut away half an inch or so to then tack weld in place. A friend dropped by with his welder and tacked a couple of the bends in to place. I then ground back one of the elbows to allow the flange to sit parallel with the body tub. 

Trial fitted the turbo and checked with the piper cross filter fitted, seems fine and doesn't foul the front wheel. Have the option to fit a 102mm elbow and fit the filter inside the tub. Will have the filter externally to start with and may modify later.

Now that the alignment is sorted, I will take the kit to a professional welder to get the remainder assembled and properly TIG welded.

Aluminium Turbo Plenum

Spent some time designing and modelling a new plenum for my install. I wanted it to have a centre 3 inch inlet and integrated blow off valve. After quie a bit of cutting and adjusting I finally came up with a design that fits under my bonnet and that I am happy with.

I have seen some of the work completed by G19 Engineering and I must say that I have been impressed with the quality of their aluminium work. I called Doug to discuss and he will be bringing my cardboard box to life in aluminium. He is going to make a billet base with smooth radii to aid airflow, the inlet flanges will be turned to 54 mm diameter to exactly match the throttle bodies and maximise flow.