I assembled the engine as summer is getting closer and closer. This time I want to be ready right at the beginning and I still have a lot to do. I also realized that this will be the last evolution of N/A engines to this car. I really can't find out what could be better, more powerful and still streetable engine. If this is not fast enough(are they ever?) I will go turbo.

I had an -12 bungs welded to improve breathing. Last summer I blew oil seal three times and really hope it will not happen again.

I added O-rings to center main studs. I noticed a small oil leak while the engine was hot and running, not sure it was from there but they do no harm. I also put sealant to head studs and cylinders and hopefully the engine will stay dry this time. The green stuff is VW factory sealant, quite expensive but great stuff.

Exhaust

OK, time to start building the new header. That will be the only new part for the engine, rest will remain the same. This time we'll use all kinds of cool stuff found from Aalto University's art department's laboratory, like 3d scanner, cad programs and all the cutting and welding tools. Header may not be any better than the previous one but at least it's interesting enough to see what all those gizmos can do.

First we made a simple cutting template for the collector. It's 16 degree collector for saving space and it's also easier to weld than 12 deg.

Family portrait

We finally got to move into our new house and now I have more time to consentrate on other projects. Here's a line up on our garage's winter project engines, about 2500 hp on the counter. Three turbo engines and two roller cam N/A engines, all destined for street cars.

From left: Pauter 3.5l turbo, ARPM 2.3l turbo, Scat 2.9l N/A, Scat 2.9l N/A, Autorcaft 2.3l turbo

Oh well...

I managed to drive the car for more than a month without major problems. I also got it tuned to a bit dissapointing numbers 250 hp and 285 nm with belt and muffler. So, I'm missing some 30 hp and most of that must be from the header which is way too long. But this will do for the summer as I have quite a lot of other things on my mind for now. However, I got new specs for the header from JPM and will start building new one as soon as I put the car on stands again.

I also got to test the car on 1/4 mile in Pori and for a test it was good, otherwise nothing special. I did 12.6 @ 171 km/h with clutch slipping from 2nd to 4th gear. It did not hold even the burnout so I'm still confident I will run mid 11's when everything is OK. At the end of the track I also blew breather hose and oiled the engine bay pretty good. The breather is absolutely not up to date with such a big engine and I also popped crank seal and had to pull the engine to fix that. Everything is going back together and I hope to get back on track soon.

It's alive again

Engine fired right up and the sound is very aggressive. I like it a lot. Didn't want to let it run for a long time as it was quite late sunday evening and I'm sure every neighbour did hear it.

Gearbox is in.

Transmission

I picked up the transmission from Alhomatic's garage. He was leaving for the holiday and did not have time to finish it. Basically the only thing that was left for me was the dialing in the final drive and nose cone/ hockey stick modifications.

the diff

Engine ready

Engine is ready. Alhomatic called and he's having some problems with transmission. Looks like 091, berg mount and finnish gear set is not a bolt on job. It takes quite lot of grinding and fitting to get it right but I'm sure it will be just perfect when it's all done.

Getting there

Bottom end is now fully assembled with heads and all. Lift is 16.4mm at the valve, right as it should be. The rest is just bolting parts together and waiting for the gearbox to be finished by Alhomatic.

Some setbacks

Things didn't go as planned. I assembled the bottom end and as soon as I torqued it to specs the engine seized. Instead of trying to find the reason myself I took the whole engine to Pekka. He has all the right tools and skills to find all problems and so he did. The cam bore in the case was too small and flywheel side bearing was conical. Also the cam needed some clearancing between the lobes to clear connecting rods. After a week I got the engine back and now it spins easy. Excellent work by Pekka but what else can you expect?

Oh yes and if that wasn't enough also one of the conrods was defect. The thread was broken and there was no way of using it. Well, better to find it out now and not when the tachometer hits 8000 rpm. Thanks to Sami from our garage I got new set of rods in an instant. Also thanks to Aircooled's Tomppa who sent me a new set of rods as warranty. Great service.

3mm taken off form the camshaft.

New cam

Now this is what I would call a camshaft. It's JPM's custom grind roller Raptor with 294 degrees @ 0.05" and 10.93mm lift at cam. Max power should be at 7300 rpm. Just perfect for a street engine and best of all the spring pressures it requires are far less than traditional american grinds.

Comparison between Pauter vn011(left) Raptor (middle) and Shawn Geers' wildest grind (right) shows the differences. Raptor is quite fat and keeps the valve open really long. According to JPM that is exactly what I need if I want 2.9 liter engine with 50mm intake valve to breathe easy above 7000 rpm.

Alternator stand

My friend Manne came to see the engine and spotted my alternator stand. There is no stand available for Killer case so I tried to make one myself. Well, I did and actually it didn't fit at all. Manne being a master at the local art school Aalto (formerly known as TaiK) was horrified with my efforts. He promised to see if he could do something with it and two days later he came with this very nice piece of aluminium.

Side to side with my version.

Perfect fit.

I assembled the heads and they're ready to be bolted on.

More good news is that my camshaft has left from JPM and is on its way here. Also Kotten promised I'll get the crankshaft back this weekend. Looks like I will be able to finish the car well before summer after all.

New gears

I finally got the new SSF pyörä gears with no syncros. Looks pretty cool but hopefully this is the last time I see them. I gave them to Alhomatic's gentle care and I wish soon have a fresh 091 in the garage. Ratios are 3.4 - 2.0 - 1.5 - 1.15 and final drive 4.57. Differential is Peloquin torsen type locking unit.

Head job pt.2

Nothing beats a good head job and this time it really was worth it. Flow was improved 10% all across the range and even more with the manifolds.

Xceldyne titanium valves this time. 49.6mm intake and 38.6mm exhaust

Before and after(yellow)