Merkur Engine and Head Work

Plan to stick with the 2.25 - 2.5" tubing that I have already. I don't worry about shit like throttle bodies too much personally. I ran the stock one cause it's what I had. I'll run the 70 mm one cause that's what is coming with the new intake manifold. If it's a problem, I'll downsize. Not a big deal.
Pistons, rods, bore size, and cam shaft are much more pressing on my mind than a throttle body.
Option 1: Have Pete use the cams and solid lifter buckets and such and finish assembly of whole head. Maybe $1000 or so in cost and would be done next week.
Pros: Cost. Time.
Cons: Reground cam. Different (claimed by the people selling the same thing) and possibly lower quality metalurgy in buckets.

Option 2: Have Knox Motorsports make a cam from the billet cores and use their solid lifters and such.
Pros: Not a Reground cam. Options for cam profiles (which I readily admit I know little about or about optimizing).
Cons: Cost. Probably end up costing $1500+ due to shipping, assembly fees, and added cost of the cam and buckets. Time is a big one. I don't know Knox Motorsports or how they operate or what profiles they have or how long it will take to profile and assemble. I've had enough with paying people money and then being stuck waiting for 6-12 months or sometimes even years.

Option 3: Don't decide on cams and such now.
Pros: Would mean I could buy a camera to use to film Max Attack at Olympus. Could also divert some funding into building the bottom end. Also could divert funds into the sauna project in the backyard.
Cons: I'm going part time in a few months so all this large ticket item spending will disappear and become a need to save for a few pay periods to afford it...

On the TB, you should just be able to find an adapter that'll let you jump from one size to the other so not a big deal really. I was just thinking if you were paying extra for a 70mm over a standard size (which presumably already mates to your IC piping) that could be a waste of money.

Yeah, just get it together and run Temple. Racing > Waiting/Assembling

Dave

I'm going to work on the car and paint the engine on Sunday.

I think I'm just going to wait to decide what to do about camshaft and lifters and not spend any big money on the car for a little bit. I'm not really in any rush and need to work on the sauna and patio remodel as well as fund Olympus expenses.

Rabin. Answer a few of your questions?

One more...

Grant, somebody making sure there's distributor clearance?

36-1 trigger wheel and EDIS was planned before head decision was even made. Like been sitting on the shelf in my closet with the AEM Stinger ECU, new engine harness, AN-6 fuel lines, fuel pump brackets and all the other stuff I've just been accumulating.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/15/2011 05:16PM by NoCoast.

Awesome - that's pretty much exactly what I was envisioning doing with my intake, I'd just never seen it done like that till now.

Rabin

Finished disassembly yesterday. Noted abnormal wear on the front main bearing. Likely due to the belt for power steering pump being too tight. I knew it was too tight but I didn't realize it was that tight! Lots of wear on the thrust bearing too. Rods and rest of mains all looked okay. Now to figure out what pistons I'm going with to send the block to shop for cleaning and cleaning up the bore, mayhave to go .010 over but nice thing is it appears in some quick measuring that I may still have a stock bore engine.
Found an extra pin from the oil baffle floating around too. All three are on the block but there must have been an extra one hanging out in the oil pan.

Grant,
I've used both Delta (and before that Pacific) reground cams for years with no big issues. Delta seemed to have a better finished product tho. Obviously can't say anything about the people you're considering, but you might contact Delta Cam for a comparison.

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heymagic
Grant,
I've used both Delta (and before that Pacific) reground cams for years with no big issues. Delta seemed to have a better finished product tho. Obviously can't say anything about the people you're considering, but you might contact Delta Cam for a comparison.

Delta could do the job just fine, and that's where i went and ran the Volvo normal aspirated cams and the stock turbo Cossie cam and the wicked Cossie hydraulic cams thru their Cam Doctor.

See a big bore ---bigger than 90mm---won't be as detonation resistant as a small bore like 81mm or say Evo 85, so that means a smart person would keep comp on a turbo motor lower---max about 8.0, then give it some boost---which is in effect adding compression.
And if you are making boost you don't NEED radical duration---unless you want to constantly roast right thru tires...
The Knox Motorsport cams which I made the cores are beautiful.
4130 CrMo cores, nitrided for wear, full base circle so no whacky geometry changes or compensation needed.
Grant COULD---if he was smrat and made the thing a real turbo motor---I'm thinking basically a scaled up YB Cosworth, save a shit-ton of dough by staying hydraulic on the lifters---they're the same PN as Cossie and Cossies with stock cams will rev well past 7000...

Stock YB cams good well past 360 bhp.

Seems enough for me, 'specially in 2wd.

Benefits vs. disadvantages of hydraulic vs. solid?

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NoCoast
Benefits vs. disadvantages of hydraulic vs. solid?

Hydraulic will tick when you're oil's hot. They're nice because they are self adjusting.

Solid require shimming and readjustment from time to time.

On the mazda stuff I seem to remember if you wanted to really rev the piss out of the motor the HLAs would start having issues at 7500 with valve float, where as the solid stuff could handle more RPMs with ease although at a much higher cost.

Course I could be totally wrong about this and its translation to Volovo stuff.

Dave

7500 is about the limit for the audi hydro lifters too.

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DaveK

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NoCoast
Benefits vs. disadvantages of hydraulic vs. solid?

Hydraulic will tick when you're oil's hot. They're nice because they are self adjusting.

Solid require shimming and readjustment from time to time.

On the mazda stuff I seem to remember if you wanted to really rev the piss out of the motor the HLAs would start having issues at 7500 with valve float, where as the solid stuff could handle more RPMs with ease although at a much higher cost.

Course I could be totally wrong about this and its translation to Volovo stuff.

Dave

Solid require buying them and around $20-23 each thats a pile of dough just for lifters that a 2wd turbo car doesn't need.

Grant iy is a 2wd turbo car, remember?