138 replies to this topic

[Mat Jackson]

Had a real issue getting the arch liners off, and found the captive nuts all rusted and seized - so drilled out all the old ones and fitted brand new all around.
Everything was refitted with stainless bolts and plenty of copperslip!!

Rusty nuts:


All drilled out and ready for new nuts:



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[Mat Jackson]

Like to do a job well, so cleaned up the engine mount whilst it was out, along with the header tank bracket...





I don’t have an after photo, but was striped and repainted as new...


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[Mat Jackson]

New mounts then back in place each side...



Also fitted poly bushes front and rear to stiffen up even more...


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[Mat Jackson]

Quick test drive, and found a world of difference...




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[Mat Jackson]

Towards the end of 2018 I start thinking about next upgrades... ITBs are running well, but the ultimate plan would be to get to stage 2...

Then, a stage 2 head comes up for sale from Vocky so a Saturday morning toad trip from Cardiff to Milton Keynes and back and it’s sat in my garage...

A few weeks later Atspeed racing have a special offer on CatCams, and next thing I know there is a set of stage 2 cams ready to go in too...


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[Mat Jackson]

Jan 2019 and MOT time, but on the morning car is jittery and misfiring. Failed the MOT test on emissions and established the TPS was faulty. Replaced the TPS, but struggled to get it set up right for emissions...

When I had it mapped after the Itb instal I didn’t note the ‘home’ voltage of the TPS. Therefore I can’t set up the new one!!

So, rather than pay for a new mapping session, seemed like the perfect opportunity to jump into stage 2!!!


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[Mat Jackson]

So, planned spec for this phase.

Skinned head to increase CR, ported exhaust ports, updated valve springs, stage 2 cans, 2.5” tulles exhaust. All controlled through a new SCS delta ecu...


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[Mat Jackson]

Last install was done with clam on, but this time I’ll need the clam off...

Seats out to begin...



Little helper dying to get involved



Clam off for the first time - I was lucky, no stuck bolts...




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[Mat Jackson]

First job, old cams out and head off...

Old cams coming out


Sods law, one of the bolts holding the chain guide sheers, so needs to be drilled out. Accompanied with lots of swearing!!!



Needed a right angle drill due to lack of space (thought the engine would need to come out at one point!!)

But, all out, new hole tapped and new bolt in...





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[Mat Jackson]

Next steps, head off - making a careful list of all connections and components...



New and old head dude by side on the bench. Took the old head off with ITBs fitted, making it easier to swap on the bench.




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[Mat Jackson]

Next steps, swapping over ITBs onto the new head...(new head on the left)



Took the time to repaint the can cover in crinkle black - looks great all together..



Looking at the exhaust ports you can see how much more opened up they are, now the same size as the gasket..




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Edited by Mat Jackson, 16 October 2019 - 06:04 PM.

[Mat Jackson]

Next, new head fitted back on the engine:



New cams fitted and trimming chains all back on. Quality of the cams is really impressive, and you can really see the profile difference against the piper cams..

Looking good







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[Mat Jackson]

The new ecu uses a 36-1 trigger wheel rather than the old alpha 4+1 - thus will give 9 times the definition in the software and remove some of the long crank starts needed...

New trigger wheel in situ..





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[Mat Jackson]

Next, the new shiny new exhaust to go on!!





Looking really good under there for a seventeen your old car!!

Engine bay looking good too with the new cam cover:




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[Mat Jackson]

New ecu fitted on the bulkhead.

I want the comma cable in the cabin, so modified one of the current holes to accept the wire.



Next, fill with oil and water and let’s start!!!




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[Mat Jackson]

So - car doesn’t start..

Beauty of this ecu is the ability to access it yourself and diagnose the issues...



Found a few things. Crank sensor was set as the wrong type in the base map so changed that. Can see the crank now registering so that’s ok.

Tested each injector one by one and all ok.

Engine sounds like it’s only firing on two cylinders, so had a quick call with SCS. Great customer support, even remote connected to the car to test and we came to the conclusion it was timing...


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[Nev]

Good effort fitting that accelerator pedal, nastiest job on the whole car is getting down in the footwell. You've certainly been busy.

 

I'll have to come round to Cardiff one day in Nipper and show you how a turbo induction can sound.

[Mat Jackson]

Ordered a timing gun, and set to work...

Timing wheel mocked up..



And spark plugs out so I could fit a dummy lead and attach the timing gun.



Another beauty of the software is I could turn the fuel off and also set timing to 0 deg tdc...


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[Mat Jackson]

Then got funny results, in fact could get get a spark so had to earth each spark plug directly.



Managed to get a spark and got the timing checked. Timing was spot on, but only got a spark / signal on no1 cylinder and no 3. Not what you would expect for wasted spark.

Bolted it up and again the car would run but only one two cylinders. Felt the exhaust header and it was 2 and 4 warm this time...

To rule out anything else, refitted the alpha set up and it stared and ran first time....

So I wasn’t the engine or wiring...


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[Mat Jackson]

So, on a slight break from trouble shooting, noticed the car was now very loud on a stage 2 set up with a vse, so decided to fit a tullet back box thus giving a full 2.5” system.

Shiny new exhaust:



No wonder the vse is loud, look at the size comparison!!




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