1998 Evolution V GSR: Classroom

[Tim_M]

Brian: The hood on that Impala alone is bigger than most cars in their entirety...certainly don't blame you!

Les: Wouldn't surprise me...even non-stock tire size is listed.

Thanks to the new Federal Holiday...we got started on the 'bullet':



Piston squirters install:



Crank cleaning:



Popping OEM size 1 bearings in place:



Interesting thrust bearing install:



Plastigauge demonstration...first time using:



Seemed to work...good clearances:



Crank is done:



Some blood letting occurred...thanks to the floating pin 'C' clips - flat blades makes some deep cuts!:



So far so good...look to hang pistons and ring install tomorrow...

And...package from the Uk arrived to top the engine compartment off...slick Kansai Service strut bar:

[Tim_M]

Another fun day in the garage...

Threading rings - she got pretty good by #4 nearly performing the install solo!:



Hanging pistons...took 3 hands:



First piston going in - the ARP ring compressor is expensive, but when you damage a ring using a universal...and spend an extra $100 for another set of rings...:





Finally, temp installed oil pan:



Unfortunately, the supervisor missed a rod cap installed backward resulting in a 'tight' rotating assembly...once discovered the offending rod bearing looked a bit worse for wear...likely putting us on hold until a replacement arrives...

Pivoting to other tasks...completed draining the 7 gallons of 6+ year old fuel - fortunately, no water nor rust flakes came out:



The novelty of the fuel smell wore off...but the persevered with pulling the plugs on both side (saddle tank) - nice to have a drain plug!



Nice comparison between mostly OEM (HKS mushroom filter) to the ATP set up - got to be worth 5 HP?:



Fun shot with the bigger Rival's installed - the refinished calipers add a bit of pop!



Not a bad Father's Day weekend!

[Native]

Rock on!
and happy father's day.

[Solar]

Those good spring compressors are worth every penny, those universal ones with the adjustable band clamp are okay when using on a large displacement engine, but the good ones make the job much easier. Plastigage is more about making sure you don't have under sized or over sized bearings, or make sure the machine shop didn't take to much off a crank journal, its not perfect, but it does confirm you have the correct set up. Thanks for bringing back memories. Good job !

[Tim_M]

Steve: Thanks - right back to you (if appropriate).

Brian: Agree! I've busted a ring using these adjustable - that was another $150 for a set of eight as they wouldn't sell me a single cylinder. Ugh. Dislike buying tools...especially one that I will use for 4 cylinders and then never again. I've got three of these ARP deals now...just taking up space in the toolbox. Oh well...they do work like magic.

[Solar]

You might be giving me the inspiration to rebuild the KA engine in the 240, I’ve been pondering having it rebuilt, but now I know I might be able to by a slightly used ring compressor for a fair price.

[Tim_M]

Brian: building an engine is so easy...even a 12 year old can do it!

Still waiting for the rod bearing...bummer. She leaves on 4th of July for good chuck of the summer. Will be hard to resist screwing it together and picking her at the airport in it...but missing the point. Oh well.

[Solar]

Brian: building an engine is so easy...even a 12 year old can do it!

Still waiting for the rod bearing...bummer. She leaves on 4th of July for good chuck of the summer. Will be hard to resist screwing it together and picking her at the airport in it...but missing the point. Oh well.

Building a engine is easy, building one correctly is another story lol. It is a bummer your helper can't be there for the finish, is she coming state side ? We already have a tropical storm/hurricane with Florida projected in the cone of uncertainty for Tuesday.

[Tim_M]

Right you are...we will see how long this one lasts! Unfortunately, the car will wait for the assistant to return...

Wish you the best on the weather...crossing fingers.

Another task complete...we have brakes!

Took 2.5 containers of RBF600 before the pedal appeared:



She worked the pedal and I worked the bleeder for this go around:



Also took liberty to fit a portion of the newly acquired strut bar...going to look nice!



And surprisingly the offending rod bearing showed up in the mail...

[Loren]

You didn't paint the strut brace bracket to match the car? You're slipping.

[Tim_M]

Loren: we noticed that too. Likely the least of our worries...

Some real progress! Replacement rod bearing showed up...comparison:



Second time around it went together smoothly and effortlessly - complete bottom end:



and topside:



Gasket installation:



Freshly assembled cylinder head:



Long block - starting to look like a real engine!



Happy with the result...

[Tim_M]

While installed the cylinder head, it became evident the larger aftermarket valve springs and ARP head stud washers wanted to occupy the same real-estate...so out came the Dremel - an amazing tool. Three washers received minor scallops...easy-peasey:



Also updated the head oil system with a Kiggly hydraulic lash adjuster regulator...OEM apparently pumps excess oil to the top - OEM:



Kiggly 15 psi model:



Folks on the Evo specific forums suggested to pull the valve cover oil baffles if blast media was used to prep the powdercoating...I was leery as I saw next to nothing especially after a thorough clean/blasting. But I did still see something and the coater mentioned the factory finish required a bit of blasting (and they taped it off well)...so out came the Dremel to top all the 'rivets'...I was quite shocked to see the debris hiding!:



It was far worse than I expected - thanks for the suggestion!

Post-cleaning...and no engine damage!:

[Tim_M]

Our unfamiliarity of this powerplant is becoming evident...lots of trial fitting and to verify what we are missing...fun!

Temp installed our stage 1 GSC cams (should be rather tame) to replace the unknown Cosworths:



Close - certainly a nice finish!:



Interesting...is this 'crack' of concern? Is this the excuse for us to be looking at one of those new Forced Performance cast manifolds...;-):



Close:



Starting to really look like a something...all temp installed...:

[Native]

"Yeah...it's got a Kiggly."

[Solar]

Ewww, that manifold crack isn't good and will only get bigger, you can sometimes "channel" the crack with a grinder and weld it, but being its inside the manifold thats going to be tough to do. Being your new motor is going to be pushing some serious HP, I would go with a new one, you've come this far, why risk it ?

[Tim_M]

Steve: supposedly helps with oil starvation...only a few things one can do and this was one. Easy install for sure...too bad it is hidden away during operation. Cute name.

Brian: I agree, but doing a bit more research, appears not a direct swap. JDM 4G63 has an AIR system. Stateside is not the same or it is missing...so would have to modify. The crack does not go thru the entire wall. We are leaning toward letting it ride until we get a good baseline/operation. The FP manifold looks like a good product - more power, hidden, no negatives other than $.

Another large order of fasteners...lucky to have many available still...from UAE??? I have no idea why most of the OEM stuff comes from there.

[Solar]

Another large order of fasteners...lucky to have many available still...from UAE??? I have no idea why most of the OEM stuff comes from there.

UAE has a huge car culture there, probably doesn't hurt that gas is basically free, maybe this is why ?

https://www.ssg.asia/

[Tim_M]

Brian: Quite possibly. I've got a dealer parts source in UK, but the larger is in UAE. A challenge with UAE is shipping cost for some reason (not including the 30% German Duty fee)...tentatively placed that order for $200 in nuts/bolts, etc...their shipping was $400! $600 total cost. Regrouped with the UK vendor and only ordered what I had to from UAE...much more reasonable.

Dropped the exhaust today for a close look see...downpipe comparison:



Inlet (should be good increase in flow:



Outlet:



The bad...the cat and rearward is a disappointment. This will add nearly a grand to the project cost...major leak among 2:



Been outside for a bit:



And the insides coming out:



and when attempting to weigh (52 pounds cat and rear portion):



We are going to try a custom UK exhaust from Russ Fellows. Positives: full 3 inch, lower noise (extended silencer), light weight (very direct), bit lower in cost. Negatives: lightweight construction (longevity?) and angled muffler...not my cup of tea.

[Solar]

Is that one of those commercial grade freight scales they use at NASA ?

You defiantly didn't have much of a choice on the exhaust, from the pics it looked trashed. Is the extended silencer a resonator or the word they use for muffler over there ?

[Tim_M]

Brian: Hey, it is digital! Always seems off though when I step on it...

Exhaust: Ordered it today. 3 inch with no reductions. Will come with a 200 cell cat (less restrictive than OEM 300+) along with a extended rear 'box' (silencer/muffler). Standard is a mid mounted resonator. @ 5000 rpm it typically holds at 96 dbls...which will meet most track day requirements according to the fabricator (some limits are quite low here). I recall getting sound tested at Snetterton (Lotus test track) with my completely stock at the time STI (exhaust too!).

Also received our K+N filter for the intake system. Obviously tried to get the largest filter...but our measurements were a bit optimistic! The filter just fit and even then had to finagle the install.



Installed:



Thumbs!



Another task complete...and the little lady is back in town...time for some progress!