V6 Re-build

[bumpy]

I'm looking at buying another V6 engine and box, for my VN Calais. The main purpose for me buying this engine/box combo, is to strip them down and go wild . I want to try and extract as much power as mechanically possible, without stroking it, turbo, or supercharging it. I'm thinking of doing the following to it, feel free to add onto it people.

'89 VN V6
chemically cleaned, mild ported heads, yella terra roller rockers, double valve springs, flow test the heads, crack test, all the head work i might leave it upto the guys at racetech, but that's a start.

Bottom end would be, shotpeened and crack tested conrods, crack test the block, balance the crank, new welsh plugs (ofcourse), don't know exactly what pistons to run, cam/chip (????), ROSS harmonic balancer, pacemaker extractors, 2.5" exhaust, hi flow cat.

Gearbox is going to be fully manualised, shift kitted, the works, and hopefully be nearly bulletproof.

So many options, i should just go and :b: . Once all finished, take it for a good run on the dyno and tune it to perfection and see what power i'm pulling, then sit back and

[OSL-060]

I'll take the honest approach....

Don't waste your time and hard earned cash building an n/a V6, want you want will cost 5-10k without blinking an eye and still only make 150 or so rwkw. If you've got the money to spend and really really want to keep the Calais consider putting a RB25DET in it, the motor and box can be had for 4k, then the usual cooler, exhaust and highflow will bring it up around the 180-200rwkw mark before you have to upgrade injectors.

VN's were designed to be fitted with an RB anyway, so the room is there, back in the day they were supposedly only 12mths from release when the dollar fell againest the yen and we had to revert to the buick V6 from the states. I used to have a photo somewhere of a VN Calais prototype fitted with the RB30ET and I'm pretty sure zoom magazine fitted a RB20DET to one. The RB20 is a cheaper option but they make so little torque I don't think it's worth it, unless you like reving the ring out of it on every outing.

If you don't want to go that way ( although I do like the originality and the feeling you'd get when the VN wallops a VL turbo or R32/R33) Go with an ecotec bottom end, drop compression with some factory SC pistons, aftermarket injectors and ecm then run a massive trimmed centrifugal supercharger at double the rpm, making V8 eating boost straight from idle.

Either option would give you a quick six cylinder VN, it might go a few k over the cost of building an n/a but your going to get so much more enjoyment out of it.