Extra cooling in the block :(

[jfgw]

It is a very sad day....that I bring myself to tell you that I put a conrod through the side of my VX XE block last week 4 laps into my first trackday with slicks and my sequential box, concentrating on my lines and a pesky Elise, and relying on a 'faulty' rev limiter is not something I am proud of.

 

I have had many thoughts about what to do now. The car is incredibly high spec (I have just fitted a 6 speed sequential box to what was already a pretty serious car), and I wondered if I should look for a buyer as-is, but I can't bring myself to lose the money, or the car. I thought about taking this opportunity to go to 2.3 duratec, or turbo hayabusa, but the most economic and "right' thing to do is to replace the block and use this as an opportunity to go to forged rods and pistons, keeping the standard crank if it's salvageable...

 

I wonder if anyone has a VX 2.0 XE block kicking around, or any similar stories to share with happy endings to cheer me up a little...

 

Thanks guys,

James

[slngsht]

no VX block here, but that's a bummer. Hopefully you'll have her all better soon.

[yellowss7]

Sounds like a call to Simon at QED is in order. Sorry for your loss. :ack:

 

http://qedmotorsport.co.uk/the-engines/vauxhall-xe-c20xe/alloy-block

 

In a joint venture with Millington Engineering our Aluminium Alloy Cylinder Block for

the Vauxhall XE engines has been re-designed to take full advantage of state of the

art casting and machining technologies.

The new blocks are still designed as a direct replacement for a standard 2L block

and can be used with standard components for an overall weight saving of 19kg.

For an oversquare engine the alloy blocks can be supplied for a bore size up to

88mm. For ultimate capacity stroke can also be increased to 94mm giving a

maximum capacity of 2.3 litres.

Fixed ‘through bolt’ design provides head and sump studs for race engines.

The standard mountings for a Vauxhall bellhousing are complimented by additional

mounting points for the common Ford bellhousings allowing use in an even wider

range of applications.

QED XE Alloy Block

£2450.00 + VAT

 

Link to Vauxhall parts cataloge http://files.qedmotorsport.co.uk/vauxhall_c20xe_pricelist.pdf

 

These guys built my K series motor.

 

Tom

Edited May 6, 2010 by yellowss7

[Spaz]

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/1691869062.html

 

Or you could go north and pick this up.

[supersportsp]

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/1691869062.html

 

Or you could go north and pick this up.

 

Ed has been trying to sell that car for nearly two years now. I thought pretty hard about it last year before I found my car.

[jfgw]

So it has been a few very long months since I put the hole in the side of my C20XE Vauxhall block, so I wanted to give you guys a bit of an update.

 

This is what I managed to do.. Looks horrible doesn't it?

 

I'll add another post with some extra pics to show what I have managed to do so far

[jfgw]

This is what I got when Santa turned up with a box marked QED...

 

Forged rods

Forged pistons (86.5mm instead of 86mm)

ARP bolts for rods and main caps

New Caterham Ali dry sump pan

Lots and lots of gaskets and washers

 

Head was stripped and tested and luckily showed no damage, so the block is being cleaned and overbored, and then all rotating parts will be balanced and blueprinted prior to the engine being rebuilt by my trusty mechanic. The goal is to have it running and run-in before Winter hits Ohio...wish me luck!

 

James

[jfgw]

These are a few older pics from when the Quaife sequential box, lightened flywheel, new clutch etc went it...

[jfgw]

and a few more

[scannon]

Head was stripped and tested and luckily showed no damage, so the block is being cleaned and overbored, and then all rotating parts will be balanced and blueprinted prior to the engine being rebuilt by my trusty mechanic. The goal is to have it running and run-in before Winter hits Ohio...wish me luck!

 

James

Did you get a new block or did you have the 'holy' one patched and welded?

[jfgw]

I looked on ebay.co.uk for several weeks until I found a suitable one and had it packed up and shipped to me using DHL - that was a 'fun' story...

[DeanG]

Show DHL the old block. Tell them that when it was sent out it was OK so they must of damaged it in transit.

[jfgw]

Hello everyone, I wanted to give you an update of the progress with my engine build, especially as today is a very good day! My fully built engine came home today, and I just need to get it back in the car now!

 

Here are some pics of the progress...

[timax]

Fantastic piece of kit! Please keep the pics and updates coming.

[scannon]

Hello everyone, I wanted to give you an update of the progress with my engine build, especially as today is a very good day! My fully built engine came home today, and I just need to get it back in the car now!

 

Here are some pics of the progress...

 

What are the teeth for on the 1st crankshaft counterweight? How about some specs on the engine?

[jfgw]

Skip,

 

Teeth are for the crank position sensor, if we're on the same page?

 

Engine is a Vauxhall C20XE which has been over bored from 86mm to 86.5mm making 2.1 litres. Engine has been blueprinted. Standard crank has been polished (reputed to be strong to 10,000 rpm which I won't be going near - rev limiter was previously 'supposed' to be set at 8250!!!). Rods are forged items from QED in the UK. Pistons are forged race items, again from QED. Cylinder head is a Coscast item (Cosworth), port matched and polished, with quite a lot of material removed. It uses two Q450 QED cams but retains a street-drivable nature with a normal idle. QED 45mm throttle bodies on a manifold with 90mm trumpets and an ITG foam filter. DTA fast ECU, wasted spark system. Dry sumped, Quaife 6 speed straight-cut sequential box. Aluminium flywheel, heavy duty clutch case and heavy duty ceramic 4-paddle clutch. JPE style 4 into 1 exhaust. Radtec aluminium radiator with larger diameter Spal fan, silicone hoses. According to QED, the Q450 set-up is around 245bhp, but I never confirmed that. I am very keen to get the car on a rolling road for mapping on the new capacity once it is run in. Just need to get it out to Arizona or Florida over the winter to get some miles on it!

 

There's a ton of other stuff on the car, but this is most of the engine detail from a non-mechanic

 

James

[scannon]

First time I've seen the toothed wheel for the crank position sensor on the inside of the engine. Do you know where the pickup is located?

 

Impressive specs, should make your car a rocket ship.

[Kitcat]

Drool, drool. Ditto Skip's rocket ship observation.

 

Santa provided the parts, who assembled them?

 

I say, "Bring on the "pesky Elise".

 

Mike

[James A]

Wow, what a set up! Very nice!

[jfgw]

Hey guys,

I wanted to give you an update on my engine progress...it is all back together and running...YIPPEEEE!

I will post some pics but I have been very busy trying to get some miles on the new set-up - it has been such a chore driving around in my car in the sun

So anyway, I wanted to see what opinions were out there regarding running-in of the engine. The head/cams etc are not new, but th4e block, bores, pistons, rings, rods, bearings etc are all new.

The machinist recommended Brad Penn mineral break-in oil so that is what is in it. I am keeping the rpm below 4000, not laboring the engine, and not sticking to constant rpms, also only using light throttle.

At what point should I change the oil, should I go straight to fully synthetic, or to an intermediate, and at what point can I start using the full performance?

I am getting married at the end of April (the same day as another English wedding ) and wanted to have it fully run-in by then as I have lots of friends and family coming into town....

Thanks in advance,

James