2.7i Build Thread, Guide, and Learning Experiences

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

I get that you're trying to save money where possible, but if you're going to rebuild the head for a new stock pattern Febi cam, you might as well spend the extra $60 to rebuild it with a cam that's better matched to the bottom end and your performance goals. If you're putting in a new cam, you're going to need to either replace or resurface your rockers. So you might as well change the valve stem seals and lap the valves, which may require replacing valve guides if they're out of spec. Doing it correctly is more than just replacing the cam. It's more expensive now, but the engine will be done and you won't have a second rebuild in the future.

If that's just too much cash for right now, why not replace the cam with a used cam and hope for the best?

I think I see where the disconnect is. The only thing new going into the head right now is the cam, everything else is original. I plan to fully rebuild the head in a year or two. The machine shop didn’t mention anything about needing to resurface the rockers but I’ll ask them about it when I go up there today, thanks.

[digger]

dumb question whats the machine shop scope for the head?

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

dumb question whats the machine shop scope for the head?

I think it was about $150ish to have the head pressure tested, valves tested, decked, cleaned, and disassembly/reassembly of cam. My original bill was $240 for both the block and the head, but has since gone up since I sent my crank to get polished and my rods to be honed. When I have time I will try to find my bill and give you a concrete number. Should be able to break down the price of each service. I used a small shop in Diamond Springs, CA because they were the cheapest I could find in the Sac area. It takes them a while to get stuff done, but we'll see how the quality is when I get my stuff back. Should be Monday.

[digger]

I think it was about $150ish to have the head pressure tested, valves tested, decked, cleaned, and disassembly/reassembly of cam. My original bill was $240 for both the block and the head, but has since gone up since I sent my crank to get polished and my rods to be honed. When I have time I will try to find my bill and give you a concrete number. Should be able to break down the price of each service. I used a small shop in Diamond Springs, CA because they were the cheapest I could find in the Sac area. It takes them a while to get stuff done, but we'll see how the quality is when I get my stuff back. Should be Monday.

was more asking for the fact if they are only doing pressure test and resurface id would have been tempted to leave the shit cam in there, a bit of worn groove seems to be able to run a while problem free

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

was more asking for the fact if they are only doing pressure test and resurface id would have been tempted to leave the shit cam in there, a bit of worn groove seems to be able to run a while problem free

I wish I had known that before I dropped the cash on a new cam. They gave me the impression that it was to the point where it needed to be replaced. I don't plan on breaking the head open again for another year or so beyond valve adjustments, so I guess it still isn't the worst thing to spend the $160 to avoid any future complications. Needs to be reliable enough to daily before traveling to picnic next June followed by a cross-country move to North Carolina right after. Once I'm settled down at my parent's new place there I can focus on progressing the build (excited for the relaxed car laws in NC compared to CA!).

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

Hey everyone! it's been a while so I just wanted to shoot out a quick update:

After not being able to find standard size main bearings domestically, I ended up buying a set off Ebay from Russia. After about 6-8 weeks they finally arrived, but when I went to fit them I realized I had accidentally ordered bearings for an early model eta block (all single tang). Guess I can add double check before you order something to the list of learning lessons

On the plus side, I found someone in my area who made the same mistake as me with his early block, so we're going to swap bearings tomorrow and I'll be able to finally start rebuilding the motor and get the car back on the road. Stay tuned for a big update soon!

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

Swapped bearings this morning with the guy mentioned in my previous post and got to working on putting the motor back together. I was struggling to get the rod bolts off of the rod so I could separate the halves for install and I had to go use my neighbor's vice in combination with a breaker bar to get them loose. I have no idea why, but it seems like the machine shop I had all the work done at decided to put RTV on the rod bolts and tighten them down to the max. Once I figured out how to get the bolts off it only took me a couple minutes, but I can safely say I won't be working with that shop again. Got the crank installed as well as all the pistons. Going to work on putting on all the new gaskets and seals tomorrow before I install the new rocker arms in the head and bolt it back up. Hoping to have the motor back in the car by Monday/Tuesday!

[ramerco]

As someone who finished mine a couple months ago, it's very pleasing to get it together, installed and fired up! Good luck, you're almost there.

[NYCDelphin]

As someone who finished mine a couple months ago, it's very pleasing to get it together, installed and fired up! Good luck, you're almost there.

Hey ramerco, do you have a build thread.

[AWDBOB]

Don't use old rockers on your new cam- either resurface or replace the rockers so they bed in correctly with the new cam.

Also SETA is a good option but not nearly the best for the $$ spent.

i pistons on e crank/rods with the deck shaved ~2mm leaves you with 9.4:1 compression and a happy piston/885 head match. The SETA setup has lower compression pistons and will likely not get you to your 200whp goal with ITBs.

Find some used i pistons and have the machine shop measure/cut your block while it's there. You may have to modify the skirts for counterweight clearance depending on the pistons used, but it's a straightforward job.

I just built one of these and it was simple outside of my machinist having to buy the proper bit for cutting the deck.

Cheers-

[Lefty_lifestyle44]

Hey everyone, It's been a while since I've posted an update. I moved from Norcal to North Carolina this summer and I didn't really spend a lot of time on the car. Fortunately I was able to get the motor back in the car and got it running the day before I left. A few weeks later the car made it to NC via a car transport service and I was able to start breaking in the motor. Everything is running perfectly besides an occasional rocker slipping out of place, but I'm still troubleshooting that issue and should have it figured out in the near future. I'm really happy with the motor, It feels noticeably quicker than the stock B25, and I've learned so much throughout this process. The plan moving forwards is to get the rest of the car dialed in (paint, interior, AC, etc.) before I dive back into the motor and start doing the upgrades I mentioned in my first post. I think once I'm fully done with this one, I'd like to build an 3.1 M20 for the car and stick the seta in something else, maybe an eta E28 or something similar.

As far as this build thread goes, I think it's about done. If anyone has questions about something I forgot to cover, feel free to drop a comment and I'll do my best to respond. I've loved sharing my experience with everyone and I hope this helped people get more informed about building seta strokers. Until next time