Im thinking about a set of champion heads because I hear so much about how good they are.Can anyone tell me if they offer these heads with the springs and should I use them or get the Lt1 springs that I hear so much about. Keep one thing in mind though, I am definately going with bigger turbo and front mount with a 9 inch converter and would prefer a good (Lumpy) cam. has a 208 in it now. Car is going to be driven only once in a while not everday driver but when I take it out I prefer to really spank anything that comes my way. ( just the way I am)Not concerned about choppy idle just like its sound because I was heavy into small blocks when I was younger. As for turbo thinking about t60 with stock gate and Red armstrong 108 chip 9 inch 3200- or better? converter with a front mount..Any suggestions or different configs would be appreciated. Thanks....
With a Turbo car, it ain't in the cam. You especially don't want a lumpy cam. Lumpy means you have the intake and exhaust valves open at the same time. This is called valve overlap and it is related to lobe separation angle. With a turbo, you will get a lot of reversion with a lumpy cam. (Gases going the wrong way.) The 208 is a great cam. It has a wide separation angle with only a small amount of overlap. Leave it in there and put your money elsewhere. Read and follow the build formulas on this site.
Answer the following first. How much can you spend, and how fast do you want to go? The formulas give you the most bang for your buck!
This is only my opinion and if I'm wrong, I hope someone jumps in to straighten me out.
I understand what your saying about the cam and your right it does make sense. I am taking the motor out in a few days to redo the engine bay( very dirty and needs painting)while I have the motor out I wanted to do as much as I can to it while it is out to prep it for add ons later on. I would assume the heads would be a little easier with motor out of car etc...Main seal can use work also.Now about champion heads, idea what i could expect from bolting them on??HP gain with right tuning of course...Also which rocker arm should I have in there to compiment the cam, is there better than stock if I do find stock ones in there? 1.7? 1.6? Also not daily driver so what benefits will I get if I elimate an already bad a/c compressor besides sweatin my ass off.Any HP gains there? or just less weight thing.
Again, what's your budget? My car has the stock 4 bolt iron heads. I did the runners, chambers, and port matching myself. It made a huge difference. I prefer iron heads with ARP fasteners because they are stronger and a heck of a lot cheaper. Ever seen a diesel with aluminum heads? Jessel has a nice rocker setup. If you put them on the Champion heads, you should have about the best heads available.
I would move the battery to the trunk before giving up my A/C. It's real hot and humid in SoCar.
And lastly, read and follow the formulas! The hot combinations have been worked out several years ago. Don't try to reinvent the wheel!
Figure my budget is around 3,000 and all the labor could be done by myself and a co-worker. I heard of Jessel , is there a particular size that is best. Also what do you think of RJC stuff like billet brackets and pulleys? Waste of time and $$ ?
OK! Heads and rockers; there goes your $3000.
My opinion is; you're starting in the wrong area. You would be WAY better off to invest in a turbo and injectors first. Then go to the front mount. Then go for the heads, etc. I can't emphasize enough. Follow the formulas! Start with Spring cleaning, the fuel pump and wiring, then your exhust system and downpipe. Do your suspension. Get your wheels and tires. Then pick the level of HP you want and buy the stuff they mention in the formulas. Do otherwise and you'll just be disappointed because you'll spend a lot of money and you won't get the power you expect.
RJC makes a quality product but it's stuff you don't need right now.
Come back after you've done all of the above, and we'll talk then. Anybody else want to jump in?
Mike Nelson (no relation... that I know of
)had this to say on the gnttype.org mailing list: +~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
I'm in the camp of optimize the parts for where you want to go, go as far as the stock turbo will take you and put the pieces in place first, then when the new turbo comes into play there will be no bottlenecks in the system.
Good valvetrain and cyl heads, along with induction, fuel and exhaust optimization gives you a platform to build upon.
The recipes are great and let you go fast cheap, but nothing beats a solid foundation in long run, when trying to keep your fast car going faster and staying together. "BUY IT ONCE" aim for where you want to go.
The $3000 budget can make you faster spent on a turbo etc, but you will need the heads at some point if you are headed to the mid to low tens.
Donald has it right, open the exhaust, add injectors ( plan for the future in size ) maybe a front mount, suspension, valvetrain, then turbo.
Mike Nelson
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+
There were couple references to current production diesel engines having aluminum heads (GM Duramax 6.6L and Ford Ford 6L) by Matt Wright and Nick Micale, respectively.
Dean
Right now mods are:
RJC power plate
Red top injectors
Walbro 307 pump
208 cam
adjust. regulator set 45 psi
hooker 2 1/2 exhaust
tie down
cold air with k&n 9 inch filter
adjust wastegate
Recently found problems with tranny though looks like its got a lazy 1 to 2 also feels like its slippin to me. The previous owner had a trans go shift kit with a d5 converter. But he put a tranny cooler and a trans temp guage in but where he put the sender is what bothers me.
He put it into the pan??? Shouldnt it go soomewhere on the return line?? When I bought the car it was reading 160-180 which I think is good. Now its climbing to 230-250 and when parked getting a large leak if sits for a while. I think this thing has had it! so Im gonna throw some money into tranny first because I think thats whats holdin me back alot.Question Art car makes good converters I heard but who would you recommend that sells a complete 200r4 complete race ready or do you have to deal with local shop for that kind of quality.
A BIG NO to a local shop doing your tranny. You will not be happy in most cases. A good place to look for a reputable rebuilder is in the vendors section of the website or visit TB.com and ask in the transmission forum for a place close to you. It is a ton cheaper to do it right the first time than to have to do it again. Be warned, to do it right is not cheap. And yes, if the trans temp is reaching 250 it is more than likely toast.
What I meant by local shop was a GN specialist in my area as opposed to a ready made unit that they sell aftermarket. I bought my first 87 from the new owner of dynotech performance transmissions and been in contact with Eric. He lives in my area agreed to pick up tranny whenever I yank it out, NICE GUY! Just debating on converter . Thinking about 9 1/2 lockup to go with bigger t60 when i get it.Sorry for the confusion I would never bring it to an Aamco or somewhere like that, thats just askin for trouble. (No offense to anyone who works there, hehe)