TurboWood

Yikes, it looks like you were overall lucky. If there is one thing aluminum is guaranteed to do it is fatigue. I vote for 2 & (3 or 4). This way you get a running car and a fun (low urgency) engine build. Daniel

It's more of a fish-eye than a bug-eye.

I agree Bruce has been very responsive to my questions. I also have to give credit to Superformance and Caterham UK who worked to correct a few issues I had that Jon seemed completely unwilling to help with (dent in the hood and no center caps for the wheels). Bravo to those organizations for their support so far. I know Caterham's were/are a hobby for Jon, but it does look like I'm getting the short end of the CatUSA stick. Some of the parts on my car didn't arrive with the initial shipment (seats, weather equipment, etc.). As I've been traveling a lot I got some help from family and friends to take the car to him and had him install those things while I was gone (I was not looking forward to drilling/riveting the roof straps or the knee panels anyway). It seemed like cheap insurance to get some tricky work done quickly so I could focus more on the fun aspects of the build. Unfortunately he (or someone in his shop) did a piss poor job of installing the doors (everything else was great). I had every reason to trust his work and I was in such a rush when I picked up the car that I didn't notice until I was home. He wouldn't do anything to correct it unless I brought the car back to him which wasn't possible in the short term (had to borrow a trailer and I was again traveling). Now that I have time to get things corrected it looks like I'm SOL. It's not the end of the world, but definitely annoying. The doors are functional, but I can't help but notice the >1/2" height difference between the two when I sit in the car. I'll just have to order another set eventually and do it myself. Live and learn... Daniel

I'm sorry for bringing this old thread back from the dead, but does anyone know if Jon is still around?

This looks like a good opportunity to make a Walker Texas Ranger joke... Stalker Texas .....Ringer? I like the white. Daniel

Pictures are a must.... I hope to follow in your footsteps in terms of enjoying a 7. It sounds great. Daniel

It may not be that dire of a situation. I think the LNF/LDK engine will fit and it is bigger than this LTG engine. I'm not sure about the bellhousing bolt pattern, but I was able to adapt the LDK to the Ford Type 9 so maybe it's possible with this engine too. Incredibly the input shaft splines are the same from 80's Ford and 2010 GM. The cost will start adding up if the stock manifolds won't fit (as they don't for me) and finding/making a dry sump in order to keep enough ground clearance. Maybe the bigger 7's wouldn't have this issue, but in a Cat it's a must. The ford Duratec is 23" from top to bottom with a dry sump pan and it doesn't have an excess of ground clearance. Daniel

It looks like the engine still has a separate exhaust manifold, but this is something you will see less and less of in the future. The 1L Ford Ecoboost has an in-cylinder head exhaust manifold already. This could turn out to be a good engine and it's nice that GM is making it aftermarket friendly. As I'm down the road of trying to put the predecessor of this engine (LNF/LDK) into a Caterham I can highlight a few obstacles. For Caterham's the GM transmission is very unlikely to fit, but it might in some bigger 7's. The gear ratios will be ok, but 1st is more or less useless (>4:1). 2nd gear is actually still shorter than the 1st gear of the 5spd I'm using, but very close to the Caterham 6spd 1st so about right. This engine is clearly an evolution of the earlier ecotecs and is surely improved, but looking through the specs it isn't immediately obvious what is better. Both are aluminum block, aluminum head, direct injection, sodium filled exhaust valves, twin scroll turbo, and with dual VVT. The power and torque are also similar. The main things that stand out are they moved the balance shafts/mechanism to the sump (which is nice for those that want to remove it) and it has a variable output oil pump (maybe not so important for us). The other thing I'll mention is that currently you can buy the earlier ecotec for ~$3500 in the same condition as this crate engine. Getting all the adapting parts is more difficult, but not impossible. The earlier ecotecs also have the advantage of available off the shelf dry-sump kits and some racing background with GM. Hopefully GM will push the same with this new engine, but I'm not so sure. They did build a 1400hp drag car with a few generations old ecotec (which shares many of the pierce points as the LNF/LDK that I'm using). They also released a build book that outlines what upgrades to perform at various hp levels. This is quite handy. But don't take my skepticism as a roadblock, somebody should do it! Daniel

Nice work guys!

Beautiful car. Now we need an action shot...

Me too! Come January I should be back in the states more permanently which will allow for more rapid progress. For the last few years I've had to do everything in 1-2wk chunks.

I'm making baby steps. I ordered a flywheel made by Aasco and a slightly stronger clutch than the original (which I didn't have). From what I can tell on the cobalt forums people seem to abuse them to 400ft*lb so I should be more than ok. The two flywheels shown are both for the same engine, but for different vehicles. I chose the one on the right as it's lighter (duh) and because the stock version is solid steel so I have an easy replacement option should I find it undriveable. The stock GM flywheel for the one on the left is a dual mass unit which would be much too heavy. I'm also a little excited about finding some balance shaft delete kits from GM Racing (second picture). They made these back when they were building 1400hp drag engines. It's the cleanest way of removing the balance shafts. The alternative was to cut the end of the balance shaft off so only the front bearing and gear was still there. This allowed the use of the stock chain. Having the GM racing version means I won't have any bits spinning at 14krpm (other than the turbo, at idle). I was originally thinking of keeping the balance shafts, but then realized having something spin at twice crank speed that weighs 10lbs has no business in a 7. Next comes pistons, upgraded oil pump gears, crank pulley, and some wrench time...

Haha, nice recovery. It only took me 3months to notice:willy_nilly:. I hope your recovery is moving along more quickly than my response time.

I do appreciate anything advertised with 666. Hopefully I'll find time to have a dedicate track car. When I bought the '94 Supra in '98 the battery was removed (during the first of many subsequent modification) which resulted in the radio being reset. Fortunately the radio had a three number code with only one obvious selection which turned out to be correct. Thankfully the previous owner had a similar sense of humor. DWood

I have to side with the thought that TG will not be the same now. Part of what makes the show great is the pranks they all play on each other. Those pranks build drama and I believe they can only exist with a group of guys that know each other well enough to cross all the grey lines, but never go too far. If you look at the first few seasons these didn't exist, the show was far more serious. The jokes was a result of evolution. I'm not sure the public will have patience for this to develop with a new host.

Red mist and compressed flammable gas do not mix, who knew? Who's up from fuel cell racing?

that should be my alarm clock

I approve this message

I wonder what it was like to not need CFD to make leaps forward in development.

I was hoping for a "Super Trooper" ending

In other unrelated but equally useless information, this thread is operating at about a page a week. Nice work fellas. If only we could capture the asking/sales price data! DWood

why buy one when you can buy two for twice the price...

Hi Dave, I'll take the hydraulic release bearing so long as it works with the Caterham master cylinder (I assume it does). Daniel

Hopefully a little bit of everything. By living in SoCal I hope it can serve as a daily driver most of the time. I also want to do some trips up the coast, autocross, and track days. I've done a handful of 24hrs of Lemons (not LeMans) and auto-crosses over the years. I want the 7 to give me more regular access to that fun. The operating cost and risk of failure with the Supra was always too great for me to do anything other than drive around the street and wash it. Daniel

I finally had some more time with the engine over the holidays. The LDK crate engine arrived. This an Opal version of the 2L turbo ecotec engine (LNF) which was used in the Solstice and Sky. For some reason they are much easier to find and very reasonably priced ($3100 delivered). I completed the tear down and get the block modified. The oil filter housing was chopped off and fittings welded to the block. This will help installation, but also gives me the freedom of choosing any oil filter I like. I also had the first modifications made to the bellhousing to make it fit the engine properly. There is more to do, but at least I now have 4 bolts lined up with the engine. The remaining tasks are to cut a hole for the starter and build some blocks to link the lower two mount holes to the block/sump. Daniel