Operation 1300 - Suggestions

[Geth]

Following on from my previous thread "DCOE Carbs - A few question", Nick was commenting on my budget setup. To be fair, I can't deny that it is a budget setup because that is exactly what it is due to a crappy salary.

Now, due to a promotion in work I will have an extra grand or so to spend on the car, so I was wondering what peoples opinions would be on where to spend money on making it non budget. Please bear in mind that I will be keeping the 1.3 lump in there (one for Stu maybe?).

The plan is that I am building a track car so a fair amount of money will be going into wheels, tyres, suspension, seats etc so I am looking to spend about ?800 on the engine.

I am only looking for answers about what to do to the engine, as I already know what I'm doing with the rest of the car.

To save people from listing things I have already done, this the spec as it stands:

1.3SR
Rebuilt bottom end rebored to 1330 and ground crank
1.2 head - reconditioned with some home porting and matching
AST 2 cam
New springs, lifters & followers
T40s
Janspeed 4-1 manifold
Mongoose exhaust system

All other engine components are OE.

Any serious suggestions are welcome.

Cheers
G

[Adam]

Could get the Rods shot peened iirc to make them stronger, and fit a set of ARP rod bolts making higher RPM safer.

I'd stick with that, as it seems a good sensible spec.

[Nick]

well it depends on how long you plan on keeping a 1300, look at keith, he spent a fotune on his 1300, and now he's doing a turbo ! it obv wasn't enough for him !

I've spent a small fotrune on my 1600, but a 1600 is capable of competing, and being quick ! wheras a 1300, isn't really a match for modern day small hot-hatches !

so i'd think realistically before you spend your cash !

but, in terms of mods.

if you can, rebuild the bottom end yourself, get the crank/flywheel lightened and balanced, and fit a set of ARP bolts.

personally i'd just get the block honed, if its in good condition ! Save the "rebore" money, and get the Engine bay stitch welded. it was by far one of the greatest improvments i have made. Regardless of power, for a track car it'l make the world of difference, and it'l also be good for when/if you go to a bigger, more powerfull lump !

All the other plans sound good. Just a simple Rebuild, L&B , ARP bolts, A fairly lairey cam, 40's , 4 branch, bit of DIY headwork - and you'l have yourself a nice little 1300, without spending the world !

Also the 40's and the Cam are interchangable for a 1600 :-D

[Adam]

He's already had done the rebore etc aint he tho???

[Nick]

****, i should have read it properly, again !

[Nick]

Well, apart from fitting some ARP bolts like Ad suggested. I'd leave it at that !

If your just using it for trackdays and fastroad, then i'd say it's a pretty good spec !

[womble sri]

yeah sounds good matey just play woth it for a while untill you get bored then buy a 1600 bottom end have it worked and 'bulletproofed' and just swap the head over. and set the carbs up again obviously

[Geth]

lol @ Nick

Second time lucky seems to be your thing at the moment.

Well that seems to make sense. I'll get some ARP bolts fitted. I should have done it during the initial rebuild but money was a lot tighter at the time and I didn't appreciate how much she would rev with with kent cam (it's been a bit of a learning process) and I'm guessing she's gonna rev a little higher with the T40s fitted as well.

How much would having the rods shotpeened cost? ballpark figure? And what benefits, if any, would I see from getting larger valves fitted? I've bent a valve stem :mad: so it would be easy to get the head machined while I'm sorting that out.

[Nick]

As you probably, know... ARP bolts are about ?89 ish lmfao, and they're a well worthy upgrade !

it shouldn't rev higher, what's the powerband on the AST2, 2500-7200 or something !? One thin i would fit, is an Aftermarket OMEX limiter (or other brand) this is just a coil inhibitor, and provides no mechanical limit, but is worth it for a safety precaution !

Shotpeening wont cost much at all, They only blast them with some Shot lol. however labour is the killer ! but i guess your doing this yourself !?

[mikey14sr]

An sri head with t40 manifold for a gsi will solve the big valve problem, and has been prooved to give up to 10 brake over a modded 1.2/1.3 head

[garyc]

Aluminium flywheel? Not that expensive give better acceleration out of corners if your doing a track car.

[Geth]

Yeah, all work is done at home. The only thing I won't be able to do is get the piston off the rod, but I have a mate who will do that for free anyway.

I've already looked into an omex limiter, seems like a worth while buy, and it's another one of those parts that will fit a 1.6 should I deecide to do it in the future.

Anyways, here is the plan for the engine so far:
ARP Bolts
Shotpeened Rods
OMEX Lmiter
1.4 SRi head, skimmed & new T40 manifold
Or
Enlarged Valves in existing head

I've been thinking about a lot today and will probably leave the engine at that. Spend the rest of the budget on the cassis, suspension, wheels, tyres etc. At least that way I can have a quickish track car ready for 2007, then build up a monster spec 1.6 to fit to fit into a good chassis for 2008.

[Stuart]

1.6 head and skim it.. far cheaper. also i belive the std valve on a 1600 head are good enough to jsut about squeeze 150bhp from in future lol

[Nick]

Well i made 142bhp on a standard valved head and a mildish cam !

But people will argue this, and it's only a RR readout

[womble sri]

and i made 134bhp on standard valve sri head with a spicey cam and again its only a readout. 1400 btw i reckon nicks is probably about right for his spec as there are quite a few 16oo t40 novas around the 150 bhp. to top youyr spec of why not fit an f13 with a 4.73? fd and a diff. maybe not a diff if your on a budget but gearbox could be built on the cheap.

[Geth]

F13CR already fitted, awaiting delivery of 4.18FD ;)

[Adam]

Keep with the std 1600 mpi if your keeping a standard head.

Because as already mentioned people charge a lot for a 1.4mpi head because of there usefullness for a 1400 t40'd engine, but the 1600 head is identical, just needs a big skim.

[Stuart]

baaaboy (need a real name lol) have a read of the 1.4 tuning guide in my sig link... most of it is essentially transferrable (and its written with a budget in mind)

[Matt2107]

Is it worth having a HH strenghening kit (or similar) fitted when you have the chassis stitch welded... I've been thinking about this for my GTE?

[Nick]

^ that makes my readout sound right lmfao

[craig green]

Is it worth having a HH strenghening kit (or similar) fitted when you have the chassis stitch welded... I've been thinking about this for my GTE?

Yes it makes a nice improvement to the chassis.

I'd be tempted to think about a mapped ignition if I was set on using carbs. Megasquirt is cheap & almost as much fun as LEGO.

[Stuart]

matt start your own thread regarding your own questions...

mappable ign is good, but its fairly "dangerous" in the wrong hands lol

[Matt2107]

Dont need to now ;)

Although it was worded as a question it was also a suggestion.

[Geth]

baaaboy (need a real name lol) lol Cheeky Git!

I think this 1.6 head idea could be the way to go. By my calulations I should be able to skim the head to give me the correct CR for a 1.3 which would give me a CR of about 11.2 when/if it's fitted to 1.6. One thing I'm not sure about is if I will need the the 1.3 pistons re-pocketed to take the valves. I pressume I will but not sure.

Plan so far:
ARP Bolts
Shotpeened Rods
OMEX Lmiter (maybe with shift light)
1.6 head, skimmed & new T40 manifold
1.6 Cam Carrier & Cover
Facet Fuel pump & Regulator
High energy Coil (maybe)
High performance leads (probably)
Different plugs (not sure what but will tackle that problem when I get to it)

One other thing. I'm not looking for suggestions on what to do with chassis setup. I know what my plans are in this area.

[Nick]

You should See a pretty decentish amount of power. I'd be interested to know how you get on with an Aftermarkey, hi-power/racing coil !

[garyc]

NGK Iridium plugs 1 range colder and a std coil should be OK. I doubt the high energy coil will make any difference. I got my leads from the Autosport show for about 40, much better than Magnecor. I cant remember the company but they make em up when you order them.

[Geth]

I'm not sure about the coil either but for the sake of ?35 why not find out?

[Novasport]

Don't forget to budget for a rolling road session at a decent tuner.
Worthwhile to get the best power from your engine & getting it running right so it doesn't do any damage.