Jim Bowen Corrado VR6 - New engine build

[Jim Bowen 1]

Some bits come out better than others, i think photos do it justice, things seem to look better in photos :lol: My main aim is to just get rid of rust and seal things up until i am ready for a proper respray.

 

Jim, i haven't painted the whole wing only the lip, i spend quite a bit of time doing it as seem to just hang out in the garage most nights... Waiting for the engine has given me the time to do it rather than driving it and never getting round to it. Still debating using it as a daily again when i get it sorted. Seems a waste to not drive it.

[seanl82 23]

Great work Jim. I did a fair bit with a rattle can on my car prior to respray. It's just having confidence that you've got enough lacquer on before wet sanding and polishing, as it a pain in the arris if you strike through and have to start the whole process again! Once the orange peel has been eradicated, so long as the colour match is good you really can achieve good results. Just takes a great deal longer than if a pro did it with a gun!

[Jim Bowen 1]

Got a call yesterday, i was thinking it was the call to say all done, but Vince says i need a new crank as the mains are destroyed and that he had never seen that before? I'm not even sure what he means by the mains :lol:

 

I'm now considering sodding off that engine block and just keeping the head, Vince just says its been caused by oil starvation, i don't know why that might be? Vince can't really offer much explanation either.

 

Am thinking of taking up another complete bottom end that i've had running in car for 20-30k, and just getting him to check that out, possibly replace any bits that need it and just using that instead. I just don't trust the other bottom end anymore.

Edited September 29, 2016 by Jim Bowen

[VEEDUBBED 0]

Jim, did you ever receive the photos and postage quotes I sent a while back? The onse of the Vr block, crank, rods, pistons, oil pump, chain cases, sump,the bottom end of the 19.000km engine??

I don't trust this bloody Libero server much..

Let me know if you did or if you still need it all.

Cheers.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Hi mate, yeah i did get the photos thanks, was unsure at the time if i needed anything though as stealth racing seem to have taken an age to get on with it. Also unsure on how much it'll cost to get it all over to the UK.

 

Will see what Vince thinks to my other bottom end before i go buying anything else, i have 3 engines in various states spread around the country :lol:

[Jim Bowen 1]

I did some more painting

 

Sanded it back and added the primer

 

Then hi-build primer

 

Rubbed it down smooth

 

Added the paint

 

Lacquered

 

Have now completed one side of car

 

 

Still needs to be wetsanded and polished but i'll do that once car is complete

[coullstar 0]

If that's with rattle cans that's a great job!

[Jim Bowen 1]

Thanks, 10yrs of practice :lol: Not sure why but i've never used a bodyshop and seem to fear going to one.

[robrado974 1]

On the subject of your oil starvation. It may be obvious to vince and he would have spotted it , but , I was talking to a mate the other day who had his G60 rebuilt . It blew up after a short time . It was only when it was stripped that they noticed one of the shells had been put in the wrong way round, this led to oil starvation. Just a thought Jim .

[Jim Bowen 1]

From reading online it seems to suggest you should be able to tell what caused it, i guess not many builders would really be too keen on admitting to a silly mistake.

 

I don't really know what to think or do tbh, i just want an engine now.

[Dox 23]

I'm not even sure what he means by the mains :lol:

 

A crank has 2 different sets of bearing shells, big ends - these go inside the con rods wrapping around the crank journals, main bearings - these wrap around the centre part of the crank and are held against the block by the main bearing caps.

 

 

[VEEDUBBED 0]

Just How the *ck one can mistakenly put a main bearing in is just unconceivable.. You really have to be a dumb s*it. The crank wouldn't turn and the shell wouldn't even seat 'cos of the locating tab that would be squashed. I personally have never seen or heard of a twisted Vr block, one that was line bored badly yes but twisted, no. Maybe when running 1000 hp with a huge shot of nitrous on top, maybe.

I've never seen a girdle reinforcing plate fitted either, unlike the 4 cyl blocks that tend to distort, again when one is dealing with very high turbo boost or nitrous shots. The same thing regards the crankshaft, I've never heard of a forged steel crank distorting, unless maybe it was Tuftrided badly or damaged in some other way..

Very unusual issue here concerning your engine Jim..

Edited October 1, 2016 by VEEDUBBED

[Jim Bowen 1]

The weird thing is that it ran fine and really quiet for 3000miles, i did 3 oil and filter changes in that time and strictly followed the running in procedure.

[VEEDUBBED 0]

Any chance of putting up some photos of the offering bits?

[Jim Bowen 1]

I'm going to take another engine up there soon so will probably take back the broken bottom end. I've not seen any of the damage myself.

[Jim Bowen 1]

After some thought i've decided i'm going to take the engine back from stealth and just use the bottom end from another engine i have, so just swap a few bits over and chuck it back in the car.

 

Will cost me nothing that way.

[waller 10]

great thread Jim just read from start to finish great results with the paint im local only on Braintree and wondered where you get your spray cans from and what you think to them quality and cost ? keep up the good work :thumbleft:

[Jim Bowen 1]

Hi mate, thanks, its felt like a lifetime i've spent out in the garage :lol:

 

I get the coloured paint from here, they mix it up and post it out, seems to be the best match out of all the paints i've tried (i bought them from most places i could find to test them)

 

http://www.autopaint-pro.co.uk/

 

Someone on here recommended this lacquer to me, wouldn't buy any other type now, its great stuff.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/282118666445?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=27377119746&rlsatarget=pla-181479839106&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=9044905&device=c&campaignid=620794543&crdt=0

[waller 10]

Hi mate, thanks, its felt like a lifetime i've spent out in the garage :lol:

 

I get the coloured paint from here, they mix it up and post it out, seems to be the best match out of all the paints i've tried (i bought them from most places i could find to test them)

 

http://www.autopaint-pro.co.uk/

 

Someone on here recommended this lacquer to me, wouldn't buy any other type now, its great stuff.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/282118666445?lpid=122&chn=ps&adgroupid=27377119746&rlsatarget=pla-181479839106&adtype=pla&poi=&googleloc=9044905&device=c&campaignid=620794543&crdt=0

 

thanks ill check them out :thumbleft:

[Jim Bowen 1]

Went and collected the engine back from Stealth last week, they haven't fixed it, just took it apart and took me about the crank etc, i ended up deciding not to get them to rebuild it as i didn't know what was wrong with it and not wanting to risk it again.

 

Got it home and started looking at bits myself and noticed this paint on the head was flaking off when the timing guide was removed, so rubbed it a bit and the paint just flakes off, am now suspecting this is what caused the oil starvation

 

 

 

I didn't notice it was painted before, this head came from VEGE, although i bought if off someone else on here that hadn't ever used it (he did have two of these heads for sale so not sure where the other one is?)

 

Took cams out and the head caps are the cams are all scored quite deeply, so guessing all that is junk as well now :(

 

 

 

 

 

Just going to fit the engine i took out for now, and will have to go back to standard cams. Will take the 263's to a machine shop to see if they can be salvaged and thinking of taking all the valve gear from the head and putting into another head. Not really sure when, losing the will a little.

[Dox 23]

I'd say the head is scrap due to the scoring of the cam journals based on the pics shown above.

 

The cams are much harder and may be salvageable with a polish - are the grooves deep enough to that your finger nail falls into them? Are both cams damaged? Someone sells them singularly on ebay if only one is scored

[Jim 2]

What an absolutely debacle, Jim. Can completely understand how you're struggling with enthusiasm over all of this.

[Jim Bowen 1]

I'd say the head is scrap due to the scoring of the cam journals based on the pics shown above.

 

The cams are much harder and may be salvageable with a polish - are the grooves deep enough to that your finger nail falls into them? Are both cams damaged? Someone sells them singularly on ebay if only one is scored

 

Yeah, i won't be using the head again, could be paint everywhere. You can feel the scratches in the cams as well.

[Jim Bowen 1]

What an absolutely debacle, Jim. Can completely understand how you're struggling with enthusiasm over all of this.

 

Must be something in the name, as you and me don't have much luck..

[Jim 2]

Must be something in the name, as you and me don't have much luck..

 

You're not kidding there mate.