Hey guys i'm building a buick series 2 engine and i just have a few questions to ask.. i plan on taking the disassembled engine to an engine builder and getting them to work out what size bearings and pistons i need and getting them to get the clearances right and supplying me with an ACL race series kit with correct size pistons and bearings. so anyway i just got the engine and completely stripped it down this arvo after work and i'll be just cleaning bits and pieces up over the next few days.. You guys that build engines, would you be able to give me an approximate price i'd be looking at to get the engine completely ready for me to assemble.. as in all bearing clearances machined and cylinders bored out and whatever else needs to be done?.. could you also recommend some machinists that will do a good job with my engine so i can have a talk to them about it.. when the crank is machined to get the right bearing clearances does this also include balancing the crankshaft and when its machined does it need to be re-hardened? the lifters look to be fine... is it okay to use them again or should i get new ones? also push rods are fine but would new ones be the go for them aswell? any other info you think will be useful to me would be greatly appreciated also =] Thanks guys
hey mate your in sydney right? Give Intune Performance in penshurst a go. I got my engine built ther full turbo ecotec with forgies etc. I supplied them with all the pistons and bearings and rods, double row timing chain. they removed my balancer shaft aswell and they installed a cam for me. all up $1500 for the engine machine work, balancing, boring, honing and installing my supplied parts.
really depends how far you want to go, if i were u dont bother with the acl pistons they are over kill on a n/a and arnt cheap at all get some factory replacement ones, get some arp conrod bolts and have the lots balanced and blue printed. if your after a cam for it iv got a wade992a with little use for sale pm me if ur keen. with a cam such as above some mild port work, you should be able to crack 140-150rwkw with a nice little tune, should go allright and sound pretty tuff too.
First off machine prices are rough and depends on workshop bore and hone $180 deck block $120-$160 heads milled $120-$160 Also factor in moeny for cleaning of parts maybe another $100 or so Thats the basic stuff Optional - bottom end balance $250 (can remove balance shaft after doing this) Line hone crank and cam tunnel $400-$500 at a guess Getting heads recoed not sure i do it myself and have never priced it but id hazard a guess for about $200 excluding the maching that is mentioned above Also get the timing cover rebuikt or at least new spring and valve for oil pump. Though it good to check the drive as they can wear out the timing cover I'd go acl race series rebuild kit they're well priced at about $700 (for me anyways) Lifters and pushrods should be fine might give a good clean with some deisel and leave them in clean oil till ready to use. Invest in some single heavy duty springs and a heavy duty singlle row chain with new tensioner unless you want to go a double but theyre pointless on a v6. Cam get a wade as theyre probably the cheapest and are a good cam. With the extra comp from race series pistons decked block and maybe 20-30thou off the heads you'd be well into the 9.5-10 comp with that cam as cracker said youd be looking at 140 odd rwkw
yea the cylinders pretty rough though so i'll have to go oversize, can you get oversize factory replacement pistons? also the acl pistons are slightly higher compression which should give me fairly good compression with around .020" shaved off the heads too... im pretty serious with building a good strong engine so i dont really mind spending a fair bit lol.. i got a price from peps for around $900 for the acl race series kit.. but im hoping that wherever i get my machining done they'll be able to supply it for cheaper as they're making money off the machining. i'll get back to you about the cam ay... i'm actually pretty sure i'm gonna get the wade 1114a but i'm still waiting to confirm that it'll work with my 1.8:1 rockers that i already have.. if not i'll probably hit you up for your cam if you still have it by then ay lol yea i'll be getting arp rod bolts and do you think its worth getting arp headbolts aswell.. and whats the advantages of head studs over bolts? ive done a bit of mild porting work before so i'll be doing my heads myself when i get the gaskets so i can mark out the ports and port match and stuff.. thanks man
thanks mate.. prices seem cheaper than i thought they'd be.. thats good lol the acl pistons increase the compression to 9.9:1 anyway.. well so it says on the site.. so i should get it abit over 10 maybe 10.3 or so.. yea i'll give pushrods and lifters a good clean and use them again they seem pretty good i wanna keep the balance shaft so i'll just get a good single row timing chain as a double wont fit... and i'll do the heads myself to save a bit of money.. the valves seem like they have been getting quite hot and look a bit burnt.. would i need new valves or should they be alright just get them reseated?
$900 not bad retail price most reco joints should get them for $700-$800. You'll find the VR have the higher 9.9 comp you said series 2 i assume it was a vn s2 motor but if its a vr then the higher comp if better. I wouldnt bother with head studs ( they provide better clamping force) on a n/a go new bolts if u want but you can probably get away with ones if they are in good condition. Remember to use sealant on heads as they go to water You can keep the balance shaft and save some on the balancing but i recommend getting it done. One i built for a mate cops a thrashing everyday and if it was a stocker i have no doubt it wouldnt last like this one has regularly sees rev limiter with the cam it has. Most valves will end up like that inlet should be ok but if exhaust have gone a reddish white orangy colour id probably replace them. If you get new ones get the seats recut properly. If your keeping the old ones they should be ok. if you got a pedestal grinder with wire buff clean them and see what they look like then you could use grinding paste if you want to save money.
yea sorry man its a vr motor i'll clean up the valves with the wire buff and see how they look.. hopefully ill be able to re use them... i'm definately getting the bottom end balanced.. coz mine too will be seeing 6000 rpm though im gonna keep the balance shaft aswell.. it was put there for a reason and it just feels like i should keep it lol... it is still a daily driven car and i dont wanna have some annoying vibration..
i cleaned up the valves on the wire buff the intake valves look pretty good but the exhaust valves dont look too good... theres carbon build up all over the part the actually sits on the valve seat and wont clean off... i'll take them to a head place and see if they can machine them and reseat them or not... ive actually been thinking now that i will remove the balance shaft as im getting it fully balanced anyway... what is involved with removing the balance shaft.. does the hole where the bearing sits in need to be plugged.. will i be able to just press a welch plug into it? and is there any oil gallerys i need to plug or anything? Also does anyone have a good method of cleaning parts or could recommend some solvent that will work well for cleaning.. ive been soaking the heads in just degreaser and scrubbing alot... seems to work okay but i wanna try to get them cleaner
ueah you can get the valves refaced takes abotu 10 mins to to do all of them sohould real be done when seats are so you get a good seal. On the buick blocks theres nothing that needs blocking off when you remove shaft so theres nothing that needs doing. Cleaning degreaser will only do you any good at home clean them up as much as you can and just pay to get them acid cleaned at the reconditioner when your block gets done they'll do a better job than you ever could. As for other parts depends on what thyre are get most of mine acid cleaned like rods and the like small parts you can do yourself
