Wes-Spec 4x4 Sapphire Cosworth
29-07-2010, 10:45 AM
#123
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Cheers Fella's 
It's a Nissan Skyline gearbox with a Pfitzner dog engagment gearkit and an Ikeya Sequential shifter. It was really easy to work out how to fit the sequential shifter with the Japanese instructions 
29-07-2010, 06:54 PM
#125
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All up about the same cost as the complete Reyland OS Giken conversion is now, but this was done way before he started doing that conversions, infact mine was the second skyline gearbox conversion done by Martoon, after Sean Bicknell’s old Escort.
30-07-2010, 03:26 PM
#127
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Cheers
I changed the wheels as the old ones were only 7.5" wide and I wanted to run 235 wide tyres all around so needed 8" wide ones really, I did have 235's on those 7.5" wheels on the rears but they were a bit "balloony" as the wheels were abit too narrow for them.
I would have gone wider but you can't really do much with a saph to make them fit unless you put a thunder saloon kit on haha! The front arches have been modified quite alot to take 235's.
I changed the wheels as the old ones were only 7.5" wide and I wanted to run 235 wide tyres all around so needed 8" wide ones really, I did have 235's on those 7.5" wheels on the rears but they were a bit "balloony" as the wheels were abit too narrow for them.
I would have gone wider but you can't really do much with a saph to make them fit unless you put a thunder saloon kit on haha! The front arches have been modified quite alot to take 235's.
have you got any pics of the gearbox mods as i would like to do a skyline conversion my self later on next year
18-10-2010, 08:01 PM
#137
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Thanks for the kind words everyone. I've been meaning to update this for a while but I just haven't got around to it, so here goes.
Engine was run in over a few weeks and I was then driving it faster and faster to test it out, it had a misfire at 1.5 bar boost which I put down to the plugs (Ford 071’s), so I put a set of Champion C57’s in it and it seemed to clear, but then it was reading rich when I went over this boost level. I decided it was too dangerous to try and map it on the road by myself so I took it up to Martin's place to do some mapping on the rollers, the misfire at 1.5 bar returned (with the champions still fitted) which we eventually traced to a faulty coil so we swapped that out and mapped it up to 2 bar. The ecu didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of boost control either so we ended up using a bleed valve.
It was running fine after that and felt very fast indeed, then the next day the misfire returned at the same 1.5 bar, I decided I'd had enough of those coils so I put on the old wasted spark setup and misfire disappeared immediately (even with the Ford Plugs) and all was well
I then worked out how to get the boost control working properly (eventually), and I needed to do some data logging to trim the boost in the boost offset table.
So last Tuesday evening I set it to low boost (1.6 bar) and went for drive, went through the gears and got it into 4th and then this happened at 6900 RPM (was only in 4th gear for 2 seconds):
Well it seems if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all :-( The head has fallen off one exhaust valve on cylinder 3 and lunched the engine. The valves were all brand new Cosworth items too! It seems I have just been unlucky and it's a faulty valve, oh well shit happens.
The cylinder head is repairable, but I don’t know what to do with the block. The bore is finished on no 3 and the others have all got score marks from where bits of exhaust valve and valve seat / guide have been sucked into the other chambers. The bores are already at the max safe limit size wise so they won’t be able to be bored out any more, so it’s either Nikersil wet liner it or find another block to start over with. The pistons are obviously finished too. I won’t know about the crank and rods until I pull the bottom end out, but fingers crossed haha!
So there you have it, over 5 years to get it back on the road, and 3 months later it’s back off the road for who knows how long :-( I'm just going to leave it for a month or so and then decide how to proceed.
Engine was run in over a few weeks and I was then driving it faster and faster to test it out, it had a misfire at 1.5 bar boost which I put down to the plugs (Ford 071’s), so I put a set of Champion C57’s in it and it seemed to clear, but then it was reading rich when I went over this boost level. I decided it was too dangerous to try and map it on the road by myself so I took it up to Martin's place to do some mapping on the rollers, the misfire at 1.5 bar returned (with the champions still fitted) which we eventually traced to a faulty coil so we swapped that out and mapped it up to 2 bar. The ecu didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of boost control either so we ended up using a bleed valve.
It was running fine after that and felt very fast indeed, then the next day the misfire returned at the same 1.5 bar, I decided I'd had enough of those coils so I put on the old wasted spark setup and misfire disappeared immediately (even with the Ford Plugs) and all was well
I then worked out how to get the boost control working properly (eventually), and I needed to do some data logging to trim the boost in the boost offset table.
So last Tuesday evening I set it to low boost (1.6 bar) and went for drive, went through the gears and got it into 4th and then this happened at 6900 RPM (was only in 4th gear for 2 seconds):
Well it seems if I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all :-( The head has fallen off one exhaust valve on cylinder 3 and lunched the engine. The valves were all brand new Cosworth items too! It seems I have just been unlucky and it's a faulty valve, oh well shit happens.
The cylinder head is repairable, but I don’t know what to do with the block. The bore is finished on no 3 and the others have all got score marks from where bits of exhaust valve and valve seat / guide have been sucked into the other chambers. The bores are already at the max safe limit size wise so they won’t be able to be bored out any more, so it’s either Nikersil wet liner it or find another block to start over with. The pistons are obviously finished too. I won’t know about the crank and rods until I pull the bottom end out, but fingers crossed haha!
So there you have it, over 5 years to get it back on the road, and 3 months later it’s back off the road for who knows how long :-( I'm just going to leave it for a month or so and then decide how to proceed.
27-10-2010, 02:25 PM
#148
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Well it was 3 weeks ago yesterday that the damage was done, and last night I picked up the repaired head from Julian Godfrey Engineering, I didn't know what to expect when I got there as they said they would do their best with it:
I was VERY impressed with the outcome Especially considering how it went in there! All chambers have been cc'd and matched, it's had all new valve guides, they've replaced all the damaged valve seats, and lapped in the replacement valves, basically it's ready to assemble!
They are a very friendly and helpful bunch down there, I couldn't recommend them highly enough!
I was VERY impressed with the outcome
Especially considering how it went in there! All chambers have been cc'd and matched, it's had all new valve guides, they've replaced all the damaged valve seats, and lapped in the replacement valves, basically it's ready to assemble!They are a very friendly and helpful bunch down there, I couldn't recommend them highly enough!
28-10-2010, 09:19 AM
#154
PassionFord Post Whore!!
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Gutted Wes!
I didn't even know you had it back on the road (would have been hassling you for a passenger ride if I did!) let alone it'd dropped a valve
Stick with it mate... you'll get there in the end!
I didn't even know you had it back on the road (would have been hassling you for a passenger ride if I did!) let alone it'd dropped a valve
Stick with it mate... you'll get there in the end!
28-10-2010, 11:48 AM
#156
I've found that life I needed.. It's HERE!!
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01-11-2010, 11:44 AM
#159
I've found that life I needed.. It's HERE!!
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Yesterday I decided to take the exhaust housing off the turbo yesterday to see what the damage was, when I took the head off I had a quick look in the back of the turbo and it looked fine but I’ve learned to always check everything.
I’m glad I did, a few posts up there is a picture of 2 exhaust valves and one of them is missing a section, well I found where that missing piece of exhaust valve ended up:
Looks like it was spinning around one of the ports in the red hot turbo, and when it cooled down it has melted into the exhaust housing, looks like it was cast in there now! I think the exhuast housing (which had also been ported) is now scrap :-(
The exhaust wheel has also taken some damage:
So it will need a new shaft too, great. Might go a different route turbo wise, will have to have a think.
I’m glad I did, a few posts up there is a picture of 2 exhaust valves and one of them is missing a section, well I found where that missing piece of exhaust valve ended up:
Looks like it was spinning around one of the ports in the red hot turbo, and when it cooled down it has melted into the exhaust housing, looks like it was cast in there now! I think the exhuast housing (which had also been ported) is now scrap :-(
The exhaust wheel has also taken some damage:
So it will need a new shaft too, great. Might go a different route turbo wise, will have to have a think.
15-11-2010, 12:49 PM
#160
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Well I finally got around to taking out the bottom end this weekend, I was not looking forward to it to be honest, not just because it's a pain to do but more along the lines of not wanting to find any more stuff that I would need to fix / replace.
So Saturday afternoon was spent removing the bottom end from the car:
Then Sunday afternoon I then stripped the bottom end down. Obviously I knew the pistons were scrap
The main things I was worried about were the crank and rods. The rods appears to be undamaged, as are the big end bearings, I will plastigauge the bearings to check tolerences once I get the replacement block.
I then took number 1 main cap off and setup my dti gauge and turned the crank by hand: (click to play, sorry about the wobbly camera hand haha!)
I would say that is straight
but more along the lines of not wanting to find any more stuff that I would need to fix / replace.So Saturday afternoon was spent removing the bottom end from the car:
Then Sunday afternoon I then stripped the bottom end down. Obviously I knew the pistons were scrap
The main things I was worried about were the crank and rods. The rods appears to be undamaged, as are the big end bearings, I will plastigauge the bearings to check tolerences once I get the replacement block.
I then took number 1 main cap off and setup my dti gauge and turned the crank by hand: (click to play, sorry about the wobbly camera hand haha!)
I would say that is straight